Churches of Christ -- Sermons; Sermons, American -- 20th century
3. _Movies._ Not as they could be and not as they ought to be, and not
as they are in some isolated cases, but as they are in general, would
you say that they look like this crowd (Fruit of the Spirit) or do they
look like this crowd (Works of the Flesh)? Do they contribute to
lasciviousness, do they contribute to envy and hatred and such like
things, or do they look more like peace, self-control, and goodness?
Decide for yourself! I’ve asked a great many people this simple
question: “Do you believe that movies as they are in general are helpful
to society or injurious to society?” All of the answers to that question
except in one single instance have been on the same side. I think you
know what the correct answer is.
4. _Card playing._ Let’s consider card playing here, playing bridge, and
such like games. Please note what happened in Cincinnati a few years
ago. The city council passed an anti-gambling law which, of course,
outlawed playing bingo. Some of the preachers of the city got together
and wrote out a petition asking the city manager to amend the
anti-gambling law to give the churches permission to play bingo in order
to raise money to carry on their work. The city manager granted the
petition. It’s on the legislative record of the city of Cincinnati. Do
you wonder why so many people have quit going to church, why the
buildings are empty on Sunday?
A young lady in Cincinnati told me the first time I ever saw her that
she didn’t like to go to church, that she came away feeling worse than
when she went and that she didn’t get what she needed when she attended
the typical place of worship in the city of Cincinnati. Do you wonder
why? Now Cincinnati may be a little bit extreme, but similar conditions
prevail at a great many other places.
There was a lady in Louisville, Kentucky, who told me she was alarmed
about her son. She said he was a natural-born gambler. There are a lot
of “natural-born gamblers,” but they are not all in Kentucky. I asked
the lady if she didn’t go to bridge parties, and she said she did. Then
I said, “Don’t you contribute your share of the money to buy a prize?”
She admitted that she did. Next I asked, “Don’t you play a game of
chance to see which lady will take the prize home?” Again she answered
in the affirmative. My reply was, “Well, you taught your son to gamble.
Why are you alarmed?” She was perfectly content to gamble in the
living-room with a group of so-called refined ladies, but she didn’t
want her son to bet on the horse races or go to some gambling den in the
city. (I almost told you where I thought that one belonged, didn’t I? I
didn’t mean to do that.) Let’s take something else.
5. _Prayer meeting._ Where would you put attending prayer meeting? I
never heard anybody raise a question about that. I think everybody knows
where it belongs so we pass on to something else.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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