p. 263 | LOVERS OF PLEASURE

Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · April 22, 1880

FromThe Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, Vol. 55, No. 17

“LOVERS OF PLEASURE.”

A METHODIST wants everybody to have liberty to dance and go to the theater. Such at least appears to be the fact from the report of the local conference of Methodist ministers held in Detroit, Mich., Monday evening, April 5, 1880. The report gives the following as the position taken by the “Rev.” J. H. Bayliss on this question:—

In the “discipline,” the Methodist code of law, we have an utterance which was born of what might be perhaps called the heroic age of Methodism. While we have that utterance distinctly made, so far as practice is concerned we pay no attention, or at least very slight attention, to it. The result is a theory which prevents many persons from coming among us, while we have in reality a weakness which does indulge these amusements to a considerable extent. If fighting at all, we have been fighting a losing battle. The whole matter is perhaps going to take the course taken by various other questions, readily called to memory. In the early days of Methodism women were turned out of the church for wearing flowers, or even ribbons. A certain style of bonnet was insisted on, and the ministers wore shad-bellied coats. That fight was wholly abandoned. Now Methodists wear what they please. The question of wearing gold went the same way. So did the subject of musical instruments in churches. The change which he saw in a single generation had gone from the one extreme of no music to the other extreme of a full orchestra in the Sunday-school. It was once considered sinful for a man to sit in the same seat in church with his wife, the mother of his children. That time had gone by. On all these topics there had been complete surrender, except on that of popular amusements; and on that, for the most part, the fight had been given up. This seemed like a very strange statement, but he believed it, as the result of his observation. In the first place, there are official members of our churches who indulge in them, and in the second place he did not believe there is any large charge in Methodism where a member could be arraigned and expelled from the church for indulging in those amusements.

He had talked the matter over a good deal, and some of the best ministers have grave doubts as to whether it would be wise to inaugurate a disciplinary crusade against those who indulge in these amusements. He had heard an eminent bishop express that opinion; so he was inclined to feel that they had virtually surrendered already. The same was substantially true of other denominations.

As to the chapter of the discipline relating to dancing, card-playing, circuses and theaters, he wished it was all stricken out; because we are in the attitude of admitting a thing to be wrong in theory, but allowing it in practice. It put them in a position of inconsistency. While he thought the discipline could not be enforced, still he felt it incumbent upon him as a faithful minister to set forth what he felt to be the truth on the question.