ad never said one word about
it. Christ only gave the great sin a name by calling it adultery. It was
in this way the seed was sown in the heart of the Psalmist David that
caused him to commit one of the greatest crimes ever committed on earth.
See 2 Samuel, 11 Ch. In the same way the seed has been sown in the
hearts of thousands of men in the ball room, in the dances and in the
private parlors, which has ripened into disruptions of the marital
relations--has ripened into husbands murdering their wives, has ripened
into husbands losing their wives by elopement, has ripened into husbands
being murdered, has ripened into young men killing each other; and last,
though not least, has resulted in the utter ruin of hundreds of
thousands of the fair daughters of our land and country. Taking the
declarations of Jesus Christ as true, and no honest man can doubt it,
_there never was and never will be a dancing party or ball that the
great sin He referred to was not and will not be committed in the hearts
of some men_.
Here permit me to ask an important question, and solemnly charge every
reader to make answer as upon oath:
WITH WHOM IS THIS GREAT SIN COMMITTED?
If common honesty compels fathers, husbands and brothers to admit these
things to be true, will you ever again permit your wives, your daughters
or your sisters to be found at one of these places, however decent the
people may be, while they are under your control? If you do, after your
attention has been called to the hideous deformity of the dance, God,
man and your own conscience will condemn you. Whatsoever of evil or
crime may be committed, unyielding justice, unmixed with mercy, will
certainly hold you responsible. This last objection to the dance will
hold and be just as good against the theaters and operas, because no one
will deny but that a special effort is generally made at these places to
excite the passions of men and women by an indecent exposure of their
persons. To say the least of it, Christians have no business at these
places.
A Christian has no business at any place where he cannot go in the name
of Jesus Christ, because the Scripture says: "They shall walk up and
down in His name."--Zach., 10 ch. 12v. Micah, 4 ch. 5v.--"His name shall
be on their foreheads."--Rev., 22 ch. 4 v. "Ye are my witnesses."--Isa.,
43 ch. 10 v. Can a Christian, a true follower of the Lord Jesus Christ,
"walk up and down" in a ball room in His _name_? Can a Christian go
|