Dampening Effect of the Ten Commandments

Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · March 25, 1880

FromThe Review and Herald, Vol. 55, No. 13

Dampening Effect of the Ten Commandments

—“What shall I preach about?” said a minister to the pastor of a colored flock which he was to address. “Well, mos’ any subject will be ’ceptable,” was the reply; “only I’d like to gib you one word ob caution.” “Ah! what is that?” “Well, ef I was you, I’d touch werry light on de ten commandments.” “Indeed! and why?” “Oh, cos I hab notise dat dey mos’ always hab a damp’nin’ effect on de congregation.”

The pastor of the colored flock and his audience are not the only ones of the kind. The plain facts of the Bible have a very dampening effec’ on a large number of Caucasian audiences; and not a few of their pastors have learned that the “ten commandments” are very unpopular.