The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1916-03-04
LETTERS FROM THE PEOPLE,
The Chief is not responsible for
views expressed by correspondents.
Are the Churches Narrow on the
Dance Question


Dance Question
People whose spiritual perceptions
| are of very limited scope sometimes
accuse the representatives Of the
! christian church as being narrow in
| opposing the modern dance. And
! while those taking such a position are
aeTe r reekoned by the religious world
as authority on spiritual things, still
there are sometimes those who give a
mod of assent to this criticism, and
we wish to offer some reasons as to
why it is not just.
a II the moral and spiritual tenets
/ of the church to stand must be sup
ported by the sacred scriptures, the
! Interchangeable word Of the living God;
and when thus fortified, to assail
them is to assai the Bible itself. and
! IN most instances our critics would
not dare to do that. One who sets
aside the word of God and substitutes
| his owa word on a spiritual question
| is an anti-Christ, just like one would
| be an anarchist who would set aside
| civil law and substitute his own law on
/ a civil question. So then what
saith the law and the prophets2'
While the modern bunny hug
dance is Of so modern an invention
| that it could not possibly have been
referred to in the direct language Of
| the scriptures when they were written,
Estill there are ample passages that
cover principles involved in this form
of modern worldliness, and we suggest
the following as being sufficient to
show the teaching of the Bible at this
point, the principles stated covering
! the questions involved IN the dance.
In Galatians the fifth chapter and in
1.-The 18th to the 21st verses we have
these words: Now the works of the
/ flesh are manifest, which are these:
Adultery, fornication, uncleanness,
revelings, and such like; of which |
/ tell you before hand, that they that
do such things shall not inherit the
Kingdom Of God. But the fruit of
the Spirit is love, joy, peace. good
ness, self control And they that are
Christ's have crucified the flesh with
it's passions and desires. Again in
the eighth chapter Of the Romans in
! the fifth verse we have: For they
that are living according to the flesh
do mind the things of the flesh; but
/ they that are living according to the
Spirit do mind the things of the
Esprit. For the minding of the flesh
is death, but the minding of the
Spirit is life and peace. Here the
/ divine writer contrasted the regener-
ated spiritual life with that Of the un-
lregenerated "feshly' life SO as to
Ishow that they were separate and
lapart, the one from the other, and
/ that all such revelings as the modern
i dance are s'of the flesh, and there
fore impossible in the genuine
/ christian life.
And whether the scriptures had so
Istated or not, observation would have
Taught the same thing. For 1t IS
noticeable that genuinely pious christ
Iians never participate IN such func-
tons as the modern dance, and also
that those who might have at one time
Ibeen pious according to the serlpturai
standard Of piety cease to be thus
lpious when they take up this way
f with the world. When was ever a
dancing church member known to be
I Ia soul winner, on love the prayer
! injecting, and give evidence that be
q enioved the fruits Of the Spirit,
In ali of our observation as a christ
ian minister We have never found one
@Esuch christian, nor do we ever expect
to, for the Interchangeable word says
that the flesh and the Spirit are con-
trary the one to the other.
Another scripture passage Of equal
Z Ic e.,-t ID af Holm gao
ond chapter and the 18th verse; III
any man love the world, the love OF
1.-THE Father is not in him. For all
!. that is in. the world, the lust OF the
flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and
, the pride of life, is not of the Father
hut of the world And the Worle
!, tpasseth away, and the lust thereof
! hut he that doeth the will Of Goo
Eahideth forever Here speela
& form of "worldliness" called ''the las
! [of the flesh and the lust of the eyes,
lis said to be mot of the Father, bu
i of the world" Accordingly a gen
uine christian would not engage IL tn
: dance If he could, and could not ant
( keep his piety if he would. lhis las
scripture seems to be an almost per
feet portrayal of the present da.
+ dance where men and women EN-
) brace, thus resulting IN both the lus
. Iof the flesh and 'sof the eyes, whlel
= is mot of the Father, but OF tn
r world
4 Thus we see that is the church
I ..narroW in opposing such forms 9
IS worldly amusement as developee tn
lust of the flesh and the pride 9
life then the Bible is also marrow lar
81 land the Almighty is the one to QUA
f.Irel with. The church and its minis
tiers are only servants OF God VINO al !,
sent to declare and to teach his Wal
and have no authority to color IN u
least, as s.thus saith the Lord.
m But if it should be found that q
as R;ble and the laws of the splr1tu
ed life allow modern dancing, the pa
b. TORS should not stand in the way
.aeS any pleasure that belongs to their pc
4 ple. nor themselves abstain from Wn
Re would be a legitimate and pieasa
. pastime; but they should get tfle
parishioners together for tango
or a fox trot,' or a grizzly beal
without unnecessary delay, and ia
partners from their parishlone
wives, or from among the lasses
ma their congregations, and ENJOY w
II the members of their fiocks TINS
nocent form of pleasant pastln
"A l. LIB II, n