APPENDIX LIST
1-"FACING
THE CRISIS" (With
the Lesser and Greater Light - Part 1)
1a
(
- Part 2)
2
Definitions
3 "THE
MENACE OF THE RELIGIOUS MOVIE" -Excerpts from A. W. Tozer’s
book,
4
Review, January 4, 1881 - E G White
5
Letter 5, 1888 - White
6
Literary Societies: Theatrical Performances - E G White
7
The Bible and Modern Drama - Hardinge
8
Youth Instructor, October 9, 1902 - E G White
9
Moral & Spiritual Standards, No. 5 - Wilcox
10
The Joy of the Lord versus Worldly Amusements - Kern
11
The Dangers of the Religious Drama - Fulton
12
What of the Religious Motion Picture - Stevens
13
Has the Time Come for Us to Alter Our Standards and Rebuild our Platform?
- Haynes
14
The Religious Drama, Part 1 - Wilcox
15
The Religious Drama, Part 2 - Wilcox
16
The Religious Drama, Part 3 - Wilcox
17
Seventh-day Adventists and the Theater, Part 1 - Wilcox
18
Seventh-day Adventists and the Theater, Part 2 - Wilcox
19
Seventh-day Adventists and the Theater, Part 3 - Wilcox
20
Seventh-day Adventists and the Theater, Part 4 - Wilcox
21
Seventh-day Adventists and the Theater, Part 5 - Wilcox
22
Dramatic Productions in S.D.A. Institutions - A L White
23
Committee on Guidelines for Competitive Activities & Drama GC
Committee
24
Do Positive Results of Dramatic Productions Outweigh the Negative
Results? - Benton
25
Is Dramatization Wrong? - Hancock
26
Shall We Use Commercial Drama In Seventh-day Adventist Schools? - Knittel
27
The Witches’ Den Opera at
Southern College of SDA - Ferrell
28
Drama in the Elementary Classroom - Paytee
29
Guidelines for the Use of Dramatization Among Seventh-day Adventists - GC
Committee
30
Amazing Facts, October, 1999 - Batchelor
31
A - Gleaner article
B - Letters to Editor, and Editor’s
Replies
C - Author’s Letter to Editor
D - Editor’s Letter of Reply
E - Author’s Letter to Jere Patzer
32
Copy of Walla Walla College Poster Advertising “The Crucible”
33
Walla Walla Union Bulletin Article, May 9, 2001
34
Walla Walla Union Bulletin Article, May 9, 2001
(copy)
35
A Tragedy at Walla Walla College - Shafer
36
What’s Right About Drama - Lee
I -
INTRODUCTION
Seventh-day Adventist churches
and institutions are increasingly using theatrical productions (drama) and
contemporary Christian music in an attempt to draw and hold youth and satisfy
the desire of the "baby boomer" and "GenX" generations. It
is time for parents, pastors, and institutional leadership to review the stand
they have taken on drama. The question that must be answered is, "
What is the inspired counsel given to this church concerning the use of drama
and is it applicable for today?"
This is a relevant question
that needs exploration in view of the increasingly supportive attitude toward
drama in Seventh-day Adventist churches and institutions throughout the world.
Are we as a church and as individuals fully prepared to discern the issues
involved in the use of drama? Are we so grounded and settled in the truths of
the Seventh-day Adventist church that we will not be deceived by creeping
compromise? Are we so fully surrendered to God that the Holy Spirit can give us
spiritual discernment to enlighten our minds concerning the proper method of
"bundling the gospel?" Have we become so accustomed to movie industry
drama viewed on our television screens that we are unable to discern how it has
become a snare to us, our children, and our church? Are we, through a
systematic, daily study of the Bible and the Spirit of Prophecy, preparing our
minds so that we will allow nothing to cause us, our family, or the church to
forsake truth even though treason, apostasy, and persecution will prevail (and
some of that from within the ranks of our own church)?
Whenever a method of presenting truth is
suggested, Paul’s counsel to Timothy is needed: "Study to shew thyself
approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing
the word of truth." —2 Tim. 2:15
The best guide for Seventh-day Adventist
Christians who want to use a method to "bundle the Gospel" is again
given by the Apostle Paul. He says it all in one verse: "Finally, brethren,
whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are
just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever
things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise,
think on these things." —Phil. 4:8
And what other church has such magnificent,
timely, and authoritative writings to magnify God’s word than the Seventh-day
Adventist Church? Here are two examples:
Only those who have
been diligent students of the Scriptures and who have received the love of the
truth will be shielded from the powerful delusion that takes the world. —The
Great Controversy, p. 624,625.
It is not enough to
know what others have thought or learned about the Bible. Everyone must in the
judgment give account of himself to God, and each should now learn for himself
what is truth.—Education, p. 188.
What a lesson have we
here for parents and guardians of youth, and for those who minister in the
service of God. When existing evils are not met and checked, because men have
too little courage to reprove wrong, or because they have too little interest or
are too indolent to tax their own powers in putting forth earnest efforts to
purify the family or the church of God, they are accountable for the evil which
may result in consequence of neglect to do their duty. We are just as
accountable for evils that we might have checked in others, by reproof, by
warning, by exercise of parental or pastoral authority, as if we were guilty of
the acts ourselves. —Testimonies, vol. 4, 516.
While it has become
politically correct in some circles to cry "the Bible and the Bible
only," there need be no apology for studying statements from the so-called
"Victorian-age" prophet of the Seventh-day Adventist Church to guide
our decision in using drama. The April 29, 1999, special issue of the Adventist
Review, maintains that the church still holds to the 17th
fundamental belief which says:
One of the gifts of the
Holy Spirit is prophecy. This gift is an identifying mark of the remnant church
and was manifested in the ministry of Ellen G. White. As the Lord’s messenger,
her writings are a continuing and authoritative
source of truth which provide for the church comfort, guidance, instruction,
and correction. They also make clear that the Bible is the standard
by which all teaching and experience must be tested. (Emphasis supplied.)
In fact, contrary to the "opinions" of
some, who identify the Spirit of Prophecy as a "lesser" light than the
Bible, one must remember that the Spirit of Prophecy originated from the same
Holy Spirit that inspired the Bible writers. For a detailed study on the lesser
and greater light, see Elder Lawrence Nelson’s sermon entitled "Facing
the Crisis," With the Lesser and Greater Light - Part 1 and Part 2 (Appendix 1)
For, if Satan can
downgrade the Spirit of Prophecy, by this and other implications, so that the
Testimonies are neglected—left on our shelves to collect dust, he
knows that God’s people may not detect his final deceptions—deceptions
that the Spirit of Prophecy not only points out clearly, but also tells us how
to avoid. Never forget that, if possible, Satan would have all of us
perish! (Authors Emphasis) Nelson, Part 1, p. 8.
Consider
carefully this quotation from Selected Messages, Vol. 1, p. 48:
The very
last deception of Satan will be to make of none effect the testimony of the
Spirit of God. "Where there is no vision, the people perish" (Prov.
29:18). Satan will work ingeniously, in different ways and through different
agencies, to unsettle the confidence of God’s remnant people in the true
testimony.-- Letter 12, 1890. (Emphasis supplied)
It is the purpose of this paper to briefly
explore the historical developments of drama as first introduced by Satan in the
Garden of Eden, during Old and New Testament times, during the Dark Ages, and it’s
entrance into the Seventh-day Adventist Church.. Finally, recommendations will
be made on how to use practical methods to guide parents, teachers,
institutional leaders, and pastors to teach our youth to grasp, practice, and
share primitive godliness without the use of theatrical presentations.
II - DEFINITIONS
Often the argument is used
that words like "theatrical" and "drama" as used by Ellen
White had different meanings than they do today. A comparison of usages as
defined in authoritative dictionaries of her time period versus today was made.
This comparison demonstrated that the meaning of these words has not changed
over the last 166 years. Please refer to these definitions as you read this
paper.
DEFINITIONS
Actor - "n. He that acts or performs; an active agent. 2. He that
represents a character or acts a part in a play; a stage player." American
Dictionary of the English Language. Noah Webster 1828, Vol. I, p. 3.
Actor - "n … 1 : one that acts: DOER 2 a: one who
represents a character in a dramatic production b : a theatrical
performer c : one that behaves as if acting a part." Webster’s
Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary, 1984, p. 54.
Hypocrite
- Strong’s Concordance: 5273, hupokrites (hoop-ok-ree-tace');
from 5271; an actor under an assumed character (stage-player), i.e.
(figuratively) a dissembler ("hypocrite"): 5271,
hupokrinomai (hoop-ok-rin'-om-ahee); middle voice from 5259 and 2919; to
decide (speak or act) under a false part, i.e., (figuratively) dissemble
(pretend): KJV-- feign.
NOTE: Every time the
word is used in the New Testament, it was used by Jesus. It is found
fourteen times in Matthew, one time in Mark, and five times in Luke, each
time referring to the Pharisees.
It is interesting to
note that the Greek word hypocrite, used for some two thousand
years, defines an individual as an actor who assumed another character or
a stage-player. The definitions for actor used in 1828 and 1984 also
define an actor as a stage-player. An actor or hypocrite
will be pursued in depth later.
Drama - "n.
[Gr *D"µ",
from *D"T, to
make.] a poem or composition representing a picture of human life, and
accommodated to action. The principal species of the drama are tragedy and
comedy: inferior species are tragi-comedy, opera, &tc." American,1828,
Vol. I, p. 67.
Drama - "n [LL dramt-, drama, fr Gr, deed, drama, fr. dran
to do, act] … 1 : a composition in verse or prose intended to
portray life or character or to tell a story usu. involving conflicts and
emotions through action and dialogue and typically designed for theatrical
performance." Webster’s, 1984, p. 381.
Dramatize - "v.
t. To compose in the form of
the drama; or to give to a composition the form of a play." American,
1828, Vol. I, p. 67.
Dramatize - "vt
… 1 : to adapt (as a novel) the theatrical presentation 2 : to
present or represent in a dramatic manner." Webster’s, 1984,
p. 381.
Fiction - "n. [L, fictio, from fingo, to
feign.] 1. The act of feigning, inventing or imagining; as, by the mere fiction
of the mind. Stillingfleet. 2. That which is feigned, invented or
imagined. The story is a fiction." American, 1828, Vol.
I, p. 82.
Fiction - "n 1 a : something invented by the imagination or
feigned; specif : an invented story b : fictitious
literature (as novels or short stories) 2 : an assumption of a
possibility as a fact irrespective of the question of its truth {a legal -
} 3 : the action of feigning or of creating with the
imagination." Webster’s, 1984, p. 460.
NOTE: Since acting,
drama, plays and theatrical performance frequently use fiction, this
subject will be expanded later.
Play - "n. 7. A dramatic composition; a comedy or tragedy; a
composition in which characters are represented by dialogue and action. 8.
Representation or exhibition of a comedy or tragedy; as, to be at the play.
He attends every play." American, 1828, Vol. II, p.
36.
Play - "n 7 a : the stage representation of an action or
story b : a dramatic composition : DRAMA." Webster’s,
1984, p. 902.
Play - "v. i. 14. To act a part on the stage; to personate a
character. ‘a lord will hear you play to-night’. Shak.
15. To represent a standing character. ‘Courts are theaters where some
men play.’ Donne.
American,
1828, Vol. II, p. 36.
Play vi 3 b (1) : to act in a dramatic production (2) : SHOW,
RUN {what’s - ing
at the theater}." Webster’s, 1984, p. 902.
Theater - "n. 1. Among the ancients, a edifice in which
spectacles or shows were exhibited for amusement of spectators. 2. In modern
times, a house for the exhibition of dramatic performances, as
tragedies, comedies and farces; a play-house; comprehending the stage, the
pit, the boxes, galleries and orchestra." American, 1828, Vol.
II, p. 92.
Theater - "n 1 a : an outdoor structure for dramatic
performances or spectacles in ancient Greece and Rome b : a
building for dramatic performances c : a building or area for
showing motion pictures." Webster’s, 1984, p. 1222.
Theatric,
Theatrical - "a. Pertaining to a theater or to scenic
representations; resembling the manner of dramatic performers; as theatrical
dress; theatrical performances; theatrical gestures." American,
1828, Vol. II, p. 91.
Theatrical,
also Theatric adj … 1 : of or relating to the
theater or the presentation of plays {a -
costume) 2 : marked by pretense or artificiality of emotion." Webster’s,
1984, p. 1222.
For
More on This Subject Also see:
THE
BROKEN BLUEPRINT Why is that Educational blueprint not being followed today? How did our schools
veer off the path? This book provides you with that information! For the first
time in a single book, the entire fascinating story is told.
CONTINUE:
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