A Letter on Fairs and Feasts from a Superintendent to Sunday Scholars Religious Tract Society 1889

The Religious Tract Society

A Letter on Fairs and Feasts from a Superintendent to Sunday Scholars
The Religious Tract Society, 1889
8 pages. 2-1/8 x 4-1/8 inches, 11 cm.

Blog post by Mary Katherine May of QualityMusicandBooks.com. From the Christian perspective.

Description and Summary
A short sermon in letter form encouraging children to abstain from public gatherings such as community fairs. Printed on the back cover are three stanzas from Solomon's Choice, a hymn by poet Jane Taylor (1783-1824), who also wrote the nursery rhyme Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star. 

Quantity vs. Quality
For as long as it has been possible to print them Christian tracts have been an essential evangelism tool.  They were an in-hand tangible for potential faithful in the Kingdom of God that could be read, re-read, left here and there for others to find, and passed on to others by the newly saved.

In publication the quality was not nearly as essential as the quantity.  People on fire for sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ would always want to have some on hand for salvation was, and is, essential to an eternal life with no sorrow, sickness or sighing (Rev. 21:4).  The tracts need to be affordable, but the cheap paper created a genre of (perhaps) unintended ephemera like newspapers that were meant to be thrown out after use.

Many tracts are dated or relevant to the era while others, with updated language, are still inspirational in current times.  One example of relevancy is the publication I wrote about yesterday on this blog titled The Writing on the Shutter.

A Letter on Fairs and Feasts

A Letter on Fairs and Feasts from a Superintendent to Sunday School Scholars was not only an evangelistic witness but also intended for raising children with Godly character. It is a tract about the practice of certain Christians who avoid common public entertainment venues and activities to keep from being where temptation might cause them to sin.  A quote from this tract sums up its topic.

Do you ask me what evil there is at the fair?  You should rather ask what evil is not there; for evil so abounds, that it may be seen in all directions.  Gaming, cheating, drinking, cursing, swearing, taking God’s holy name in vain, quarrelling, fighting, mingling with bad company, and stealing, are but a part of the evils of a pleasure fair.  You may not mean to do such things; but if others have been tempted by the evil one to do them, why may not you?  

On Fairs, Wakes and Revels (source: Google Books)
From The Teacher's Visitor Vol. 3, July-December, 1845
edited by William Carus Wilson

On Fairs, Wakes and Revels -1

On Fairs, Wakes and Revels - 2

On Fairs, Wakes, and Revels - 3

Understanding the Intent

This poses a dilemma, however, for believers who want to witness publicly the value of Godly life in the presence of the unsaved. How are Christians to be in the world but not of the world if they are not there?  I am not disputing the practice, but it is a question that comes to my mind, and if I think of it no doubt so do others. One solution is to be in the world until temptations start to be come so strong they feel unavoidable and then remove oneself.  Jesus spoke of that in Matthew 5:30, which common sense tells us that what He commanded is not to be taken literally.

And if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell. (NIV)

How do Christians know that their weakness will allow succumbing to temptation?  It's a very good question, and one that is not unique to them only.  Parents do it all the time to protect their children from possible threat of harm.   Jews created rules to be fences, or hedges, around the Torah to keep themselves obedient to God's commands.  In the article, How Can the Rabbis Add to Torah, author Tzvi Freeman makes a relevant point. LINK to full article.

Prohibitions without fences are like books without covers--pretty soon, the best parts of the story have gone missing.

Ultimately temptations whatever they may be are overcome some of the time, but not necessarily all of the time.  Strength and maturity will usually allow us to walk away, but not always. Perhaps it is the people who create the fences who know themselves well enough to know that every pit is an open hole that is waiting for someone to fall in.   It's something to think about.

For another thought-provoking article on this topic read Build a Fence to Protect You from Yourself  by Rabbi Dr. Eliyahu Safran. LINK to article.