1900
Dr. A. C. Dixon says: "Prove to me that the atmosphere of the theatre, and the ball room and the club is as good as a prayer meeting; that first-class people go to these places; the fact remains that these good people are, as Christians, sound asleep. They are not awake to winning souls, converting the heathen, building up the church. A church full of such excellent people would be a dormitory, and, for all practical purposes, is about as good as a cemetery."
—The Ram's Horn, March 17, 1900, p. 17
Showing posts with label theater. Show all posts
Showing posts with label theater. Show all posts
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
No Doubt About the Place
1910
The newcomer had just encountered a glaring billboard: "Classic drama at the Plutonian to-night. William Shakespeare in his great creation of Hamlet. Booth and Barrett as Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. Wagner and Mozart orchestra. Seats free. Everybody welcome."
"Surely this can't be hades, with this great dramatic feast free to all?" he suggested hopefully to a bystander.
"Oh, it's hell, all right," groaned the bystander. "You see, they use a drop curtain depicting sunrise in the Alps surrounded by the names of 14 kinds of whisky and 16 varieties of chewing gum; the local smart set enters during the progress of the second act; the performance is preceded by moving pictures showing a chase after criminals in automobiles; the man behind you has already witnessed the show four times; the ushers sell the complete words and music of the production at ten cents a copy, and the audience invariably demands 'Casey at the Bat.' " — Puck.
Life's Injustice
"What do you think? Mrs. Zizzel, who never goes to church, has won, the first prize in the church lottery?"
The newcomer had just encountered a glaring billboard: "Classic drama at the Plutonian to-night. William Shakespeare in his great creation of Hamlet. Booth and Barrett as Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. Wagner and Mozart orchestra. Seats free. Everybody welcome."
"Surely this can't be hades, with this great dramatic feast free to all?" he suggested hopefully to a bystander.
"Oh, it's hell, all right," groaned the bystander. "You see, they use a drop curtain depicting sunrise in the Alps surrounded by the names of 14 kinds of whisky and 16 varieties of chewing gum; the local smart set enters during the progress of the second act; the performance is preceded by moving pictures showing a chase after criminals in automobiles; the man behind you has already witnessed the show four times; the ushers sell the complete words and music of the production at ten cents a copy, and the audience invariably demands 'Casey at the Bat.' " — Puck.
Life's Injustice
"What do you think? Mrs. Zizzel, who never goes to church, has won, the first prize in the church lottery?"
Saturday, May 5, 2007
Notes on Religion – Love Unites All Graces
1895
Other Anvils
The Standard: Love is like the diamond — pure, white. Other graces shine like the precious stones of nature, each with its own hue of brilliance; the diamond uniting all colors with one beautiful and simple white. Love, uniting all graces, is "the fulfilling of the law," the beauty of holiness, "the image of God."
Presbyterian Messenger: The atmosphere of a house is what makes it homelike. Every living creature has an atmosphere of his own. He can be as chilly and damp and disagreeable as a March wind; he can be as bright, cheerful and charming as a June morning; he can be as dark and impenetrable as a November fog, or as crisp and electric as a day in December.
New York Mail and Express: It has recently been announced that two eminent western clergymen have joined in an enterprise to organize dramatic companies with a view of preventing immoral dramas upon the stage, and thereby to encourage the drama as a moralizing factor in the education of the people at large. The experiment is shortly to be tested at the People's Institute in Chicago.
London Commonwealth: Hebrew is rapidly becoming a living language again. This is one of the singular facts of the age. In Jerusalem and throughout Palestine there is a remarkable resurrection of the language of Moses. The only papers published in Palestine are two weeklies, both in Hebrew. In 1893, a Jewish monthly was started for juvenile readers, and this also was in Hebrew. There are households where only Hebrew is spoken. Here we have a sign of the times. The Jews cannot die out while they keep their old language alive.
Other Anvils
The Standard: Love is like the diamond — pure, white. Other graces shine like the precious stones of nature, each with its own hue of brilliance; the diamond uniting all colors with one beautiful and simple white. Love, uniting all graces, is "the fulfilling of the law," the beauty of holiness, "the image of God."
Presbyterian Messenger: The atmosphere of a house is what makes it homelike. Every living creature has an atmosphere of his own. He can be as chilly and damp and disagreeable as a March wind; he can be as bright, cheerful and charming as a June morning; he can be as dark and impenetrable as a November fog, or as crisp and electric as a day in December.
New York Mail and Express: It has recently been announced that two eminent western clergymen have joined in an enterprise to organize dramatic companies with a view of preventing immoral dramas upon the stage, and thereby to encourage the drama as a moralizing factor in the education of the people at large. The experiment is shortly to be tested at the People's Institute in Chicago.
London Commonwealth: Hebrew is rapidly becoming a living language again. This is one of the singular facts of the age. In Jerusalem and throughout Palestine there is a remarkable resurrection of the language of Moses. The only papers published in Palestine are two weeklies, both in Hebrew. In 1893, a Jewish monthly was started for juvenile readers, and this also was in Hebrew. There are households where only Hebrew is spoken. Here we have a sign of the times. The Jews cannot die out while they keep their old language alive.
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
Driven to Suicide By His Daughters
1908
St. Joseph, Mo., May 22. — With two daughters on the stage, which weighed heavily on his mind, and on account of other domestic troubles, Rev. Rufus R. Fletcher, forty-five years old, a Methodist preacher, committed suicide with carbolic acid. After taking the poison in a shed, he entered his house, took his Bible and, opening the book, began reading. He died a few minutes later.
St. Joseph, Mo., May 22. — With two daughters on the stage, which weighed heavily on his mind, and on account of other domestic troubles, Rev. Rufus R. Fletcher, forty-five years old, a Methodist preacher, committed suicide with carbolic acid. After taking the poison in a shed, he entered his house, took his Bible and, opening the book, began reading. He died a few minutes later.
Sunday, April 8, 2007
Romans 12: "Abhor That Which is Evil"
Atlanta, 1901
Merritts Avenue
At Merritts Avenue church the pastor, Rev. R. F. Eakes, preached at the morning hour from the text, Romans xii, 9: "Abhor that which is evil." He said in substance:
"People who have for so many thousand years had the benefit of the teachings of all the prophets, of the Christ, and of all history, ought to be able to hate evil, to abhor the wickedness that seems to entice mankind. We abhor sickness and have met with large success in removing the tendencies to it in the better understanding of sanitary and hygienic conditions. Evil in the text is translated from a word meaning unhealthfulness. It is a moral sickness, a plague, contagious in the extreme and leading to death. Just as we are interested in removing disease from our midst we are interested in removing moral sickness. We must abstain from the very appearance of evil. We must have nothing to do with it; we must leave it so far alone that it will have no further flesh to feed upon; we must allow no further cause for the spread of contagion.
"Should I venture too near a case of smallpox or scarlet fever with my child and allow him thus to contract disease, all public sentiment would condemn me as a criminal. Shall I not show at least equal care to keep my child from moral contagion? Shall I risk evil influences and allow association with questionable thoughts and people, and not be likewise condemned? God seems to have exhausted the very storehouse of heaven's wisdom and power to warn men from the evil that is present in the world. He has placarded places where sin dwells, He has declared its symptoms and He has furnished a remedy therefor, and yet man despises all these things. We have had evil pointed out to us — 'Abhor that which is evil.' The general rules of the church point out many things that indicate the tendency toward evil, and which, if properly observed, will lead mankind to a higher, better life."
Mr. Eakes read a portion of the rules of the church with appropriate and at times severe criticism upon the laxity of their observance. He scored theater-going, card playing, dancing as amusements not to be indulged in, and gave sound advice in reference to these evils that some people try to wink at.
--The Atlanta Constitution, Atlanta, Georgia, May 27, 1901, page 10.
Merritts Avenue
At Merritts Avenue church the pastor, Rev. R. F. Eakes, preached at the morning hour from the text, Romans xii, 9: "Abhor that which is evil." He said in substance:
"People who have for so many thousand years had the benefit of the teachings of all the prophets, of the Christ, and of all history, ought to be able to hate evil, to abhor the wickedness that seems to entice mankind. We abhor sickness and have met with large success in removing the tendencies to it in the better understanding of sanitary and hygienic conditions. Evil in the text is translated from a word meaning unhealthfulness. It is a moral sickness, a plague, contagious in the extreme and leading to death. Just as we are interested in removing disease from our midst we are interested in removing moral sickness. We must abstain from the very appearance of evil. We must have nothing to do with it; we must leave it so far alone that it will have no further flesh to feed upon; we must allow no further cause for the spread of contagion.
"Should I venture too near a case of smallpox or scarlet fever with my child and allow him thus to contract disease, all public sentiment would condemn me as a criminal. Shall I not show at least equal care to keep my child from moral contagion? Shall I risk evil influences and allow association with questionable thoughts and people, and not be likewise condemned? God seems to have exhausted the very storehouse of heaven's wisdom and power to warn men from the evil that is present in the world. He has placarded places where sin dwells, He has declared its symptoms and He has furnished a remedy therefor, and yet man despises all these things. We have had evil pointed out to us — 'Abhor that which is evil.' The general rules of the church point out many things that indicate the tendency toward evil, and which, if properly observed, will lead mankind to a higher, better life."
Mr. Eakes read a portion of the rules of the church with appropriate and at times severe criticism upon the laxity of their observance. He scored theater-going, card playing, dancing as amusements not to be indulged in, and gave sound advice in reference to these evils that some people try to wink at.
--The Atlanta Constitution, Atlanta, Georgia, May 27, 1901, page 10.
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