Preaching the Gospel in Theaters
FOLLOWING closely upon the heels of the proposed religious drama comes the proposition of the National Church Organization to preach the Gospel in the theaters of the country; that is, to use the theaters of the country exclusively in the work which they have in view. They expect thus to reach a class of people which they might not reach by preaching in the churches. But it is fair to presume that the people who are frequenters of the theater, and who accept the teachings which they hear in the place where they have always found their amusement, will continue theater-goers when the religious drama has become fashionable; and, when that passes away, they will still be patrons of the playhouses, and remain such the rest of their lives. To make the theaters the home and headquarters of Gospel teaching, is to put that teaching, in the minds of the play lovers, very nearly on a par with the other things which have found their homes in such places. The Christian will teach Christ wherever he is; but he will not make his headquarters in the haunts of pleasure and sin.