Hannah More, 1745-1833
I do not hesitate for a moment to pronounce the theater to be one of the broadest avenues that lead to destruction! Fascinating no doubt it is, but on that account the more delusive and the more dangerous. Let a young man once acquire a taste for this species of entertainment, and yield himself up to its gratification, and he is in great danger of becoming a lost character, rushing upon his ruin. All the evils that can . . .
corrupt his morals,
blast his reputation,
embitter his life,
and destroy his soul—
lurk in the purlieus of the theater! Vice in every form lives and moves and has its being there. Myriads have cursed the hour when they first exposed themselves to the contamination of the theater.
I do not hesitate for a moment to pronounce the theater to be one of the broadest avenues that lead to destruction! Fascinating no doubt it is, but on that account the more delusive and the more dangerous. Let a young man once acquire a taste for this species of entertainment, and yield himself up to its gratification, and he is in great danger of becoming a lost character, rushing upon his ruin. All the evils that can . . .
corrupt his morals,
blast his reputation,
embitter his life,
and destroy his soul—
lurk in the purlieus of the theater! Vice in every form lives and moves and has its being there. Myriads have cursed the hour when they first exposed themselves to the contamination of the theater.
Light and darkness are not more opposed to each other, than
the Bible and the theater. If the one is good, then the other must
be evil. If the Scriptures are to be obeyed, then the theater must
be avoided. The only way to justify the theater, as it is,
as it has ever been and is ever likely to be, is to condemn the
Bible—the same individual can not defend both!
(Editor's note: Hannah More's words have certainly come true in our generation. Our American "entertainment" has perhaps done more to corrupt our society than anything else. We Christians would do well to evaluate our entertainment choices by God's Word.)
(Editor's note: Hannah More's words have certainly come true in our generation. Our American "entertainment" has perhaps done more to corrupt our society than anything else. We Christians would do well to evaluate our entertainment choices by God's Word.)