The Christian at Play by Rev. E. P. Marvin

International Tract and Missionary Society · Oakland, California · Jun 26, 1884

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 10, No. 25.

The Christian at Play.

By Rev. E. P. Marvin

Howard Crosby says: "The church of God is to-day courting the world. Its members are trying to bring it down to the level of the ungodly. The ball, the theater, nude and lewd art, social luxuries with all their loose moralities, are making inroads into the sacred inclosure of the church, and as a satisfaction for all this worldliness, Christians are making a great deal of Lent and Good Friday, and church ornamentation. It is a trick of Satan. The Jewish church struck on that rock. The Romish church was wrecked on the same. And the Protestant church is fast reaching the same doom."

This witness is true. Play takes the place of the power of godliness. An unconscious sarcasm lurked in the remark of one of our religious editors concerning a novel and successful entertainment gotten up by the young people of a church in Buffalo, that he "was always glad to see the young people of our churches engaged in church work."

Oh that the eyes of God's dear people might be opened to see that this alliance of the church with the play-house and the club-room, which has even been incorporated into the polity of "the godly old Methodist Church," is sapping the spiritual life of the church and, delivering it over to the world! Indeed, I solemnly and sadly declare that a large portion of our religious organizations may be truly characterized as "the churches of the world." Worldliness and play-people control them, and their principal activities are directed to furnish entertainment for such as lack the joy of God's salvation. The few devout souls in them are in grief, humiliation, and contempt.

These play-people of the churches play at missions and other benevolent enterprises, and the more they play the less they pray. They have never come out from the world; and except a few forms of godliness, they are characterized by every work that defines worldliness. In their frivolous course they are trifling with the agony of the cross, and the most sacred cause in the universe, and making the church a training school for the theater, ballroom and other places of sinful pleasure. Yet these people claim that they are imitating Christ. Ministers, for various plain reasons, often wink at these things, and when the leaders fall in their solemn charge, there is usually no hope. Some of them are singing the siren song of "Peace and safety" in the midst of these revelries, and so, alas! how many of our churches, instead of being apostolic, are rapidly becoming apostate.

—Rev. E. P. Marvin.