MORAL DANGER.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIX, Issue 266, 10 November 1938, Page 14

MORAL DANGER.

SPEAKER'S ATTITUDE. DANCING CONDEMNED. CLOSE VOTE AT ASSEMBLY. (From Our Correspondent.) T)t'XF.DI X~. Wednesday. The ("Sonera 1 Assembly of the Presbyterian Church was practically evenly divided on the question whether it j should express itself in favour of allow- | ing dances in connection with church i functions, and two very definite viewpoints were taken by the various! speakers who participated in the lengthy debate which followed an overture from the ("hrist church Presbytery asking for a pronouncement upon the subject. In support of the overture and a subsequent motion "that the assembly should affirm the principle of liberty of conscience regarding dancing." it was pointed out that many churches allowed it. some calling it bv other names, and that conditions had changed since the assembly in I!>2."> deprecated the principle. (•ne speaker stated that dancing was respectable compared with other games plaved at church functions. On the! other side, it was held that if the as-emblv agreed to the motion it would stultify itself in the eyes of the Christian public, and that dancing in many cases led to grave moral disorders. On a show of hands the motion was lost by 17 votes to 4S. Objection to Mixed Dancing. The He v. Thomas. Miller said that if the assembly agreed to the motion it would stultify itself in the eyes of the Christian public of the Dominion. Without entering into the ethics of dancing in any way. lio would like to remind them that even in the heathen races dancing was not a mixed business. Native dances were confined to only one sex. It. had been left to Christian communities to adopt a type of dancing which involved personal propinquity and the handling of each other. There was no lack of evidence, said Mr. Miller, that dancing was a moral danger to young people. In Duuedin itself recently the position had developed to a stage that there had arisen a demand for a better control of things, and that demand had been granted and reforms had been instituted. The same position undoubtedly applied in country districts, where dancing had led to grave moral disorders. Functions Well Conducted. The f!ev. Dr. .1. Dickie said that never in his life had he danced, and it was unlikely that be would start, now. but ho felt that he must protest against the attitude taken up by Mr. Miller. Whether dancing was right or wrong depended on the concomitants of dancing. There were many members of the assembly who had danced and in taking part, in such functions had seen to it that they were well conducted, and he considered th>;t the attitude adopted by Mr. Miller was a relic of the Dark Ages, and a view not held by any reputable church in Croat Britain. There had always been dancing at Knox College, with the full knowledge and approval of tho college council, and the master, and-these dances had always been conducted in a. most satisfactory fashion. said Mr. Dickie. He had seen most devout and respected theological students dancing. and he did not think that at the present time they were any I the worse for it.

"I think that tho motion is a verv wise one, and if we Presbyterians frown 011 dancing it is tantamount to sayinj* to older Churches than ours, 'Look how holy we are. We are holier than vou.' " Mr. Dickie concluded.

At this stage tho convener of the Bills and Business Committee said that no gorwl purpose could be served by continuing tho discussion any further and lie moved that the motion be now put.