Entertaining People into the Kingdom of GodSource: The Biblical World, Vol. 43, No. 5 (May, 1914), pp. 289-290Published by: The University of Chicago PressStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3142967 .

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THE BIBLICAL WORLD

VOLUME XLIII MAY 1914 NUMBER 5

ENTERTAINING PEOPLE INTO THE KINGDOM OF GOD

In Jesus' day the Kingdom of God suffered violence and men of violence were to take it by force. Nowadays some of us think that its violence is a feature of men's dinners and its capture a duty of basket-ball teams. When these fail we still hope to introduce religion surreptitiously between stereopticon slides and to deepen foreign mission enthusiasm by pageants.

Amusement is legitimate. In many a community the church must fight all but single-handed against theaters and dance halls which are vulgarizing and debasing boys and girls. Such a church may rightfully and of necessity undertake to furnish rational entertainment for its community.

But is entertainment the real function of the church? If such were the case the church is already outgrown. It cannot compete with commercialized amusements or with municipal playgrounds.

And it will be rightfully outgrown, for it will have ceased to do the thing which as a church it ought to do: bring men and God together for the salvation of men.

It is amazing how mad our modern world is after amuse- ment. The feudal lord kept his fool, who was anything but a simpleton, but our modern world is content with nothing that is not highly spiced with entertainment. Our preachers must have their stories, our professors must be clever as well as learned, and our evangelists (God forgive us) must be vulgar before our attention is much attracted.

Is it any wonder that our world has lost a sense of reverence ? The fear of the Lord is no longer the beginning of wisdom. For wisdom itself is attending a dancing class.

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290 THE BIBLICAL WORLD

Play is a legitimate right of children, but any person who thinks that a child's needs are satisfied on the playground simply does not know children. Quite as truly that man has much to learn who thinks that sturdiness of character, abhor- rence of sensuality, heroism that scorns delicate living and welcomes sacrifice can be produced without listening to the Hebrew prophet and the English Puritan.

The world in which we live is not good natured. We have not yet quenched the lust for war, or abolished sin, or ended death. A religion that overlooks men's sins, men's sufferings, and men's death is only a diversion. It does not save men- it hardly keeps them out of mischief.

The sensuousness of our day will not be driven out by amusement. The only message of salvation that will cut into our selfishness and recklessness is one that makes us morally uncomfortable; that does not distract our attention from sin; that makes us feel the doom impending upon lives and social orders which have taught themselves to believe that we live in a good-natured universe, and are responsible to a good-natured God.

A minister should not speak comfortably to comfortable people. He ought to make such folk morally uncomfortable.

One reason why men prefer golf to church is because they have drifted into the notion that golf and church-going belong to the same general class of interests. Truth need not be deadened in order that it may find one's conscience, but a church crowded with people who want to be entertained is a poor recruiting-ground for the army of the Lord. Better twelve men who are ready to die for their Master than four thousand who come to him for free lunches.

Seriousness and gentleness, candor and fraternity, solace and inspiration-these are some of the characteristics of a genuine religion. To doubt their power and to seek crowds by cajolery, by appeal to that which is frivolous, hysterical, cheap, and vulgar, is to publish a lack of faith in the gospel of the kingdom that is love, joy, and peace in the Holy Spirit.

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