The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-09-20
MANS RIGHT TO AMUSEMENT Delegated by God. Says
 Preacher. 10 SELECT FOR HIMSELF :. Should De Governed by Three Car
 dinal Principles. Popular opinion, Church Discipline and Civil Law of No Worth to Teach
 seif-Controb says Rev.
 stuart McQueen.

OeCiafkuB tne Gou-BtNeu Tlkuk oi man to amusement. by the text of Ec' 2 oiesiastss iii {. Rev. Stuart Mcqueen In his sermon of yesterday. told of tho restrictions which should govern ons In selecting his recreation.
 Amusements. he said. must be inno' cent, moderate and genuine. When the amusement passes the bounds of any oi thess no matter what the form. 1t be- comes sinful.
 Christians. he said. need not the pres. sure of popular opinion. or the regu- lation of popular opinion to aid them in selecting their amusements.
 Popular opinion, church discipline civil law. are of no worth to teach us temperance, or self control" he said nor do Christians need them"
 In his sermon. Rev. Stuart Mcqueen said:
 Let us note. at the beginning. the qualifying word, Christian" before recreation, for in Christian pulpit the only kind of recreation or amusement proper to consider Is that which is Christian, as indeed. very many forms of amusement are of course. people naturally have honest differences of opinion on this important subject and we should not judge one another nor seek to enforce our views upon others It Is true of us all, '"ro his own Master he standeth or faileth.' and we should not decide for othera On the other hand. they should not decide for us, for, as Christians. we have the God given right, subject to the principles of moderation and sobriety, to use that liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free" It is utter folly to ignore the place of recreation or amusement la life. It has a place and rightly. AS Christians we need 10 understand and appreciate It's place. In order to do sn we must realize its limitations and its nature
 .'There are three great spheres Of life wherein we live and move and have our being. We call them social. intellectual, religious. Each has q right to its development and its pow CTS. a right to attain satisfaction. Each is as truly a part of us as the other. Each Is essential to make the whole man. Moreover. each expresses itself. manifests itself, and does so in its own special way. ro everything there is e season. or Q time. saith Ecclesiastes or the Preacher. What does he mean time Is something eaisting outside of us. mean that time Is an objective real ityf Surely not. as a nnonent's reffec- ton will suggest. For time Is soms- thing within us. It is Q subjective state. In other words. time Is the name we give to the impressions made upon our senses by passing events and to the impressions made upon our soull by the varying impulses end modify ing phases of the life within our be- ing. Hence EccIesiastes goes on to say there is a time to weep and c time to laugh. a time to mourn and time to dance.' And why is this so? Simply because there is something within us (cail 1t feeling, emotion, impulse. fac
 
 to weep. or laugh. or mourn. or dance as the case may be. These acts are but the outward expression of an ln- ward condition. Further, as need hardly remind you. the word 2ance' in this text of Scripture. does not mean 6 single act or e specific kind of amusement. It is used to express the Idea merely of amusement Itself. Tn other words. 1t Is a generic term.
 Amusement's Part fin Life.
 "Of course, before considering the nature of recreation. we sho ould ask our selves what place ought 1t to have in a sane, well balanced Christian life Surely. the first answer is, it should never become the aim. end. object, oi any life. Next. we must realize 1t IS only through work we should enter up. on our recreation.
 The idler is not entitled to recrea- ton at all. He is good for nothing except the dung heap. Why. work Is the only thing that properly fits us for recreation. which we may well regard as a sacred privilege, not tC say duty, of the Christian. There must be earnest. faithful work before there can be any true pleasure in recre- ation. Our hands, or our hearts, oI our brains. must be put into some manly or womanly task. whether 1t bS for others, or for ourselves. or for oul Lord and Master. before we can expert ence genuine. helpful emusement. Il 50 then shall 1t be to us like the read ing of a delightful book to the tireC brain. or the strains of sweet must, to the nerve-racked system. Tn, word recreation" remember, is liter ally recreation. making over again. Gu powers become worn and wearied out In recreation. they are re-created, re newed. Hence, rightly used. recrea tion iB always means to an end, ant never mend in itself.
 Principles Regulating Amusement.
 Next. let us understand, there ar certain principles by which the Chris tian should regulate his anu sement They are, innocence, moderation, gen uineness. They are perfectly simpl and plain. Sensible people. and thos well instructed in the spirit of tn Gospel. cannot fail to recognize then as true and reasonable. Moreover ", can readily and easily apply them fo ourselves to any proposed form O amusement. This Is so because amuse ment (contrary to the notions of man, good people) ts not something oppose,