The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1922-01-24

The board OF deaconS OF the lawson
Baptist church requested publication
in The News OF the following sermon
delivered by the pastor on dancing
A Personal Word.-There are one
or two personal remarks ! want to
make in a prefatorial way: First many
people often misunderstood a pastor
or other public speaker when his re-
marks are adverse to given practice
in a community or church. Somehow
they feel that he is attacking the per-
son rather than the practice or issue.
Let it be understood here and now
that | am not trying to embarrass or
injure in any way any person. | am
attacking an evil practice which is in
turing our church. 1t happens that
young people are the particular class
who dance mostly, and many times
thew get the idea that pastor does
not love them or care for their inter
ests when he tries to bring them back
to safer paths. | think however, Ill
the case of my young people and my
self | will not have to prove my love
for them and my interest IN them
NV interest in them as such; my in
terest in their pleasures, and particu-
larlv their athletics and entertainment;
nv interest in the Boy Scout move
ment: in the school, and my general
interest in young people and love Tor
them as a class is too well known Tor
any one to gainsay that fact because
/ am preaching along this particular
line today
Let is be said further that | do not
love to preach on a subject like this,
where | have to condemn practice
that | know some of my own best
friends participate in. And it is only
because of love for them, love Tor my
church and love for our common Lord
that | command the courage to speak
as | must today.
In way | owe it to myself to talk
on the subject announced You re-
member the stand | took and led as
pastor of the church some time ago.
| have been misunderstood People
feel that | am not justified in going
so far in this matter. | owe 1t to my
self to make my reasons for my acts
clear to my people.
Shock Attack of the Devil.
owe it to you, my brothers and
sisters in Christ, to speak plainly upon
this subject today. For, when | came
to you as pastor, dancing was neg
ligible quantity among us. And since
then the craze for it has grown so
rapidly that dancing is the order OF
the day at many of the entertainments
for the young people; public dances
are held on occasions; public dances
out of our community are drawing
some of our people to leave the town
to engage in this practice. Resulting
from this military shock-attack OF the
devil many of our people are con
scientiously asking themselves and 9th
ers the question: rs there any harm
in dancing?" others, i'll violation OF
their own consciences, have been
dragged into the whirl. Some parents
are making a fight, that is not as pleas
ant as they wish, to keep their own
precious children from what they re-
gard as an evil Still others are SOW
ing broadcast among us the idea that
there can be no harm for a few young
people to engage in what they term
such an innocent amusement. And
while | do not ask anyone to yield
a point to me as a man | do most re-
spectfully ask you to yield to the facts
and scriptures which ! may relate to
you in connection with the dance
problem.
Some one has been asking himself
the question: why give whole SER
vice to this evil when there are so
many others practiced by church
members?" There are two reasons:
There is no sin so far-reaching in its
effect on the church as dancing. The
nature Of the case requires full dis
cussion when touched upon Then, we
cannot discuss all the sins in one SER
mon
Other than the picture show the
modern dance is the most prevalent
amusement in American life today,
and with alarming rapidity it spreads
on and on, invading every department
OF society. Along with the increasing
popularity of the dance is the growing
tendency towards indecency and i'm
morality Indeed, this has gone so far
that most OF the popular dances OF the
day are those which respectable So
ciety Of the last generation declared to
be indecent In the language OF an
editorial in the Times Picayune OF
New Orleans, there has been grad
ua1 undermining of the sensitive feel
ings OF large element OF the public,
until TODAY actions are tolerated and
moralities are accepted III connection
with social functions which, until re-
Gently, would have subjected those
who gave them to instant ostracism.
And the same leading editor OF the
south declared in the same column
that if the immoral tendencies OF the
dance are not checked by reform the
public will have to ban the practice
as they did the saloon in other days.
These tendencies are being watched
with alarm by careful students OF So
ciety. and indeed in many cities OF the
country today municipal regulations
control all public dances, and it is de-