Hawaii Holomua, Volume I, Number 47, 11 November 1893 — Sensationalism in the Pulpit. [ARTICLE]

Sensationalism in the Pulpit.

Hardly a month goes bv that erratic utterances eoinol iu a moment of impassioned eloquence do not fly from the anvil of an obscure pnlpit. In the slavish pnrsuit of a theme to create a sensiition. or, more mildy. to produce a profound impre>'ion by its oddity, there is more 'ikelibood of hearing the wrong thing said than the riuht. No one is oversensitive about the just ciiticisms of the pnlpit, but verv few ean drowu tbe feeliug that mueh is said at times iu a loose fashion for the mere sake of saying something. rather thau for the suke of beiug reasonable md rdifving. For the pulpit f deride the j>ress iu the hope of affordiug entortaiument to an enlighteued audience is decidedly a breach of ethics. The imm u!ate or infallible natnre of the press no oue vonches for. but witli the desire to look nround for some object of weakness, occasionally the clang of some pnlpit hammer is heard in the couutrv, and the disconrse gets uotorietv through the agency it aims to condemn. This sort of t 'g appears with wonderful reguiarity. lt makes its ripple nnd - bsides into its periodicaI sil aee. Onee the pulpit gave all the news of the day. The tables are now turned and the press is iesponsible for tbat. Both these agencies ean and do generally work together for good. That they are doing this more tban ever is a growing conviction aiul a ready answer to imprudent attaeks. Miuisters made by the press and abetted by sensationalism mnst have some reasou to regret these occasional trials for miscalculatioos npon their personal conduct. inuoeenee is established bv preveution, and yet there is an after-result of all these tria!s, largely sensational in tbeir tone and associations, and it is the intense popnlarity of the one who has escaped these flames. Two pulpit orators of New York went through this kiud of apprenticeship for fame, but being men of renowu and strong individuality, they easily weathered the trial and established their position in people s confidence. Sensationa!ism, no matter how developed, and what excu.se it may foudle, is a vitiated air for the pulpit to exist in. It certainly does give rise to imaginary faults, and has beeu kuowo to raagnify the description of many evi!s beyond unlawful diameters; it does make some pnre)y pessimistic, and sutfers them to turn tbeir g itling gun of rhetoric upon qnarters where there is maeh to admire and grow proud of, andreally nothing to hit —(Boiion Tmn9cript).