Seventh-day Adventists have been warned (in the Church Manual [1990], p. 145) “against the subtle and sinister influence of the moving-picture theater,” which is a training school in what to the Christian are false values—worldliness, laxity, and love of pleasure—and at times exposes the young people who attend to harmful associations.  

 

While condemning the motion picture theater, Seventh-day Adventists are not opposed to the viewing of non-theatrical moving pictures, if the character of the activities portrayed is wholesome and instructive and if temperance is exercised in the amount of time spent. Church-sponsored institutions show, for their own groups, selected films.  

 

Television. Through television the decision as to what to see has become a daily problem in the home. The Seventh-day Adventist Church has not condemned TV, but advises members to apply to all programs the same principles as for moving pictures, and further, to avoid spending too much time watching even good programs. The following is part of a statement prepared under the direction of the General Conference Committee and published in 1956 (“What About Television?” p. 4):  “Unless viewers are constantly on guard, TV consumes an excessive amount of their time. Christians are stewards of the talent of time, being accountable to God for every moment to improve it to His glory. Time has been given to mankind for self-improvement, for work and physical exercise, for communion with God, for service to God and man, for recreation and enjoyment, and should therefore be employed in a balanced program that would bring honor to God and would fulfill all of life’s needs and duties.”  

 

The Church Manual (1990, p. 145) gives the following counsel on television:  “Safety for ourselves and our children is found in a determination, by God’s help, to follow the admonition of the apostle Paul:  ‘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).”  

 

Attendance at the Theater and Commercialized Sports. Unlike the other forms of visual entertainment that have been discussed in this article, the stage (including drama and opera) and commercialized sports (including commercialized entertainment) employ living performers or contestants, but many of the principles that apply to serial cartoons, motion pictures, and television also apply to them. Ellen White writes concerning the stage:  “Among the most dangerous resorts for pleasure is the theater. Instead of being a school for morality and virtue, as is so often claimed, it is the very hotbed of immorality. Vicious habits and sinful propensities are strengthened and confirmed by these entertainments. Low songs, lewd gestures, expressions, and attitudes deprave the imagination and debase the morals. Every youth who habitually attends such exhibitions will be corrupted in principle. There is no influence in our land more powerful to poison the imagination, to destroy religious impressions, and to blunt the relish for tranquil pleasures and sober realities of life, than theatrical amusements.  

 

“The love for these scenes increases with every indulgence... The only safe course is to shun the theater” (MYP 380).  

 

The patronizing of commercialized sports such as baseball, football, and basketball games is discouraged by the church. Thus the Church Manual (p. 146) urges:  “Let us not patronize commercialized amusements, joining with the worldly, careless, pleasure-loving multitudes who are ‘lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God.’

  1999 - Editorial by Royson James, Columnist for the Toronto Star:

  Commenting on the tragic loss of youth from his church, Mr. James, a Seventh-day  Adventist, made these observations printed in the May 1999, World Edition of the Review:  

The church in North America is facing a massive crisis. Our youth are questioning the very pillars of our faith. They are demanding answers, real anchors to cling to, and modern solutions to new-millennium problems.  More than ever, they are seeking role models to lead them in a twenty-first century revival...

 

Many youth are searching for a purpose in life. They yearn to grasp the relevance of Adventism in the next millennium. They are part of the computer generation, a new breed that requires new approaches and new methods. Many have told us they want to put their faith in action, but they don’t know how. They don’t know the reasons behind many church doctrines. They know little about Adventist Church history.  They say they want to be challenged when they come to church, not hear the same old ideas all the time...

 

This is the tragedy of our church in North America. There seems to be no corporate mission to engage our youth. And if there is, it has failed to find prominence in the courses in the seminary or capture the attention of our pastors and, ultimately, penetrate the programs of the local church.

  Is it any wonder that these observations are so accurate? How can youth be excited about a church if they don’t know its history or have not been grounded in its message?  In the Fall of 1999, a friend of mine who teaches the sanctuary message to children (who grasp the deep meanings quickly and  love it) and adults, asked two senior college students, who had been at her home for dinner, if they would like to hear a presentation on the sanctuary. They accepted the invitation. After the presentation, they both admitted they had very little knowledge of the subject and her presentation had  been “very deep.”

  1999 - Walla Walla College Drama Department in the News.

  On May 28, 1999, the local newspaper for the Walla Walla area, the Union Bulletin printed the following article:  

One-woman play banned at WWC moves to Whitman’s Cordiner Hall Wednesday   By LISA L. DIAZ  

SUMMARY: A one-woman play that was banished from the Walla Walla College stage after its debut will be performed again — at Whitman College.

Kimberly Howard believes people can rise above influences that might corrupt them by rediscovering their internal clown.

That is the theme of her play, “Floating Redundant,” and currently what she is trying to do in her own life in seeing that her work lives on.

The Walla Walla College administration canceled her one-woman play after opening night. Two weeks later on May 6, Howard, the college’s drama professor, resigned.

Lower the curtains? Not on Howard.

Her play will next be performed Wednesday at Whitman College. She will take the show to New York City’s Gene Frankel Theater in mid-June.

WWC’s official reason for canceling the play was its content. “I guess there was enough concern expressed by the campus community to hold off until we could address those concerns,” said W.G. Nelson, president of the Seventh-day Adventist college.

Jason Chamberlin, the play’s director, said the unofficial reason was that a percentage of the college was uncomfortable with the material.

The one-woman play, performed by Howard, challenged social conventions as the woman searched for her identity. Institutions, such as churches and schools, are considered by many to be society’s cornerstones. But Howard twists that perception, depicting them instead as corrupting influences.  

The play initially reveals the woman as a clown. But in time she loses her clownish characteristics, becoming first a buffoon, then a bore. Ultimately, she emerges as an adult woman.

But rather than being in a state of refinement and maturity, the woman is corrupt and devoid of creativity.

For Howard, the play’s cancellation and her resignation are all for the best.

She is considering taking “Floating Redundant” on a regional tour and starting her own theater company with former students.

She said after she resigned that she went through “the phases of grief,” but believed leaving was best in the long run.  

“I wasn’t forced to resign. It was sort of a joint decision,” she said. “The official statement is that there was some difference between the administration and me over interpreting the Adventist lifestyle.

“I would like the students to know that I’m not angry or hold any animosity,” she said.

  Sadly, Walla Walla College, one of our North American Senior educational institution of the church, has reaped what it has sowed since it’s inception on April, 1961.

  1999 - Amazing Facts Newsletter, October 1999:

  In this newsletter, Elder Doug Batchelor addressed the issue of music and drama that has been troubling him for some time:

Dear Friend,

  For some time now I have heard that “still small voice” impressing me to talk to you about a serious issue that is steadily consuming our churches like cancer. I have avoided addressing this swelling problem for fear of being misunderstood, but I can’t be silent any longer.

  Let me explain. Because of the whirlwind of speaking appointments in preparation for the Millennium of Prophecy seminar in New York beginning on the 15^th of this month, I have had many opportunities to visit with hundreds of our friends and supporters around the country and to observe dozens of different worship services.  My concern in this: I am alarmed at the pagan worship styles that are creeping into many of our churches.

  Musical Madness

One of the most powerful elements of worship that has become extremely divisive is music. From the ancient Roman orgies and primitive tribal war dances, to the insane behavior at modern concerts and sporting events, pagan music with its heavy, syncopated rhythms has been used to excite carnal passions and wild behavior. Many Christian churches have now embraced this same music. And it’s not just the loud “Christian rock.” I have seen whole congregations that look like they have been mesmerized through the New Age music with shallow, repetitive lyrics sung over and over.  If Jesus tells us not to pray in vain repetition, then it is likely He does not want us singing that way either (see Matthew 6:7).  

 

Theatrical Theology

Another element invading modern Christian worship is drama. I have no moral problem with using some visual aids to help people better understand Bible truth. God asked prophets like Ezekiel and Jeremiah to do this (see Jeremiah 32:14 and Ezekiel 5:1-4).  But some argue that this justifies the dramatic stage productions with raucous applause that are making their way into our churches.  

 

The problem is that many professed Christian have become so over-stimulated from a steady diet of movies, TV, and videos that simple, reverent worship service without drama, drums, and dancing deacons seems boring by comparison.  Many now come to church to be entertained rather than to give their worship, praise, songs, and offerings.

  The reader will find a copy of  Elder Batchelor’s October 2000 newsletter in Appendix 30. (Permission for reproduction was given by Amazing Facts to this writer on 11-22-99.)

  2000 - Walla Walla College to Present Festival Of One Acts

In the Thursday, March 2, 2000, Walla Walla Union-Bulletin, the area’s daily newspaper, printed in its “Local/Entertainment” section the following:  

Student directors will present nine one-act plays for Walla Walla College’s fourth annual Festival of One Acts.

Each play or play segment lasts about 20 minutes, and the material ranges from Shakespeare to “A Few Good Men.”

Performances will be at 8 p.m. Saturday and Sunday and March 11-12.  Because nine plays will be performed, one complete performance will span both Saturday and Sunday nights.

The plays will be at WWC’s Village Hall

The cost is $7 for general admission, $5 for students and $4 for WWC students.  One ticket provides admission to both halves of a weekend. Tickets can be purchased at the college bookstore or at the door. (Emphasis supplied. Please refer to the inspired statement concerning Shakespeare on page 32 of this paper)

  2000 - May The Walla Walla College Collegian Advocates Attending A Play and Engage in Their Own “Back Seat Show”

The Walla Walla School paper, the “Collegian,”  in its May 4, 2000, edition, carried the following calendar of events. The Harper Joy Theater is located on the Whitman College campus, which is a secular senior college in Walla Walla, Washington. This play is the product of mostly Whitman College students. .

  Arrrgggh

  It is Gilbert and Sullivan’s classic “The Pirates of Penzance.” (Pronounced “pen” “ants”) For the men, we have pirates and beautiful maidens.  For the ladies, we have love and other relational things that you tend to dwell on.  It opens today at the Harper Joy Theater at 8:00 p.m. It is only $5.  Do we have to map this out for you? C-H-E-A-P  D-A-T-E.  This package has everything you need and all the action you’d every want in an outing.  But, we guess that depends on your back seat after the show.

  2000 - May Walla Walla College Drama Department Enacts “Resurrexio Domini Nostri” (The Resurrection of Christ.

     On May 27, 2000, at the Village Hall and on May 28, 2000, Sabbath afternoon at 3 p.m. the Resurrexio Domini Nostri” was enacted by a cast and crew of Walla Walla College students under the direction of Marilynn Loveless, Walla Walla College drama artistic director, and co-artistic director LuAnn Venden Herrell. Ms. Herrell’s e-mail invitation read:  

The cast and crew of “Resurexio Domini Notri” (The Resurrection of Christ) invites you to join us for the closing run of the spring play.

Come support this large group of talented and hard-working students as they present this medieval piece enacting the resurrection of Christ. You’re encouraged to boo the bad characters, cheer for the good ones, and use the drama to help reflect on the relevance and immediacy of this historical religious event.  Enjoy comedy, drama, spectacle, and glorious music supplied by the I Contori and The Messengers. (Emphasis supplied)

  This play created a flurry of email among some of the Walla Walla College faculty.  Excerpts from some of these e-mail exchanges follow without identifying the names of the respondents. For ease in following the emails, the respondents will be identified by number. All emphasis in the emails has been supplied.  

Respondent #1.    

While I enjoyed some of the presentation last week, I was concerned about the content and language used during the play. It seemed that the content was catholic and also, in portions, unbiblical.  For example: Mary going to heaven after dying, swearing, as in “Oh God!” and the backwards storytelling of Jesus when and how he went to heaven, and when he could be touched, and the soldiers sleeping at the grave. These concerns were also shared to me by other in attendance.  It appears that the story presented ideas that are very much opposed to the mission statement of WWC. I think these concerns were shared by several older members of our community who left just after the play started. I know the play was “adapted”, but did we do all we could to make this play suitable for an Adventist campus? I had higher expectations for a biblical based play, presented on Sabbath, at an Adventist college.  

Respondent #2

I did not attend the play, fearing to see the very sorts of things you described in your message.  Needless to say, I am embroiled in enough battles on the campus that I am unwilling to put myself in a sphere where I know I will have to speak out in an unpopular fashion.  

 

I doubt that your message will “resonate” with many on campus, but I do want to let you know that I am one who agrees with it. I am really weary of the endless jokes, tales, and anecdotes that pass for “presenting Christ to people in their own language”.  We as a denomination have largely lost our sense of awe and solemnity about our message.  Indeed, I think that we have largely lost our message. In that context, I felt that your points were extremely well-taken. Thank you for taking a stand.  

 

Respondent # 3's email to Respondent #1

Your response to the play startled me a bit. ---

For reasons which I cannot fully explain, I was deeply moved by the play and what it symbolized. Our WWC drama group and I Cantori gave us the opportunity to reflect on the passion of our Lord, his death and resurrection and what that might mean for us now and in the future. I am troubled by the increasing secularization and privatization of our common life. When do we come together to share a common experience? On Sabbath we are scattered among some 13 churches in the valley while some participate in lay activities and others flee to the rocks and the mountains.

How many of us attend chapel? Faculty meetings? Tuesday Brown Bags? When was the last time we had an inter-disciplinary colloquium? Even this form of communication is a far cry from the ideal for a community which worships the Incarnate God who has called us to break bread together. The Word has become an electronic signal and dwells among us.  

Respondent #4

I am responding to the criticism of the play by (Respondent # 1).

As I see it, the point of the play has been missed. The point of this play is not either evangelism per se nor amusement, though both of those are not necessarily excludable.

Definitely, I am sorry for the way (Respondent # 1) chose to try and embarrass you publicly. This is never in the spirit of Christ as I understand him. You are a great asset to us here! Please don’t get discouraged over this. I hope that (Respondent #1) can reassess tactics and enlarge (Respondent # 1) scope of understanding of your work.

Respondent # 1's Reply to Respondent #4's above email.

While I understand what you have said below, I am left with this conclusion:

1) I did not understand the point of the play

2) You told me what the point of the play was not.

Would you be willing to explain to me what you thought the point of the play was?

Would you be willing to comment on the statements of principle I included on the bottom of my email? Things like “I have not been able to find one instance where He educated His disciples .... in theatrical performances.” or “Truth is to be presented in the utmost simplicity, even as Christ presented it, so that people can understand what is truth. Truth will dispel the clouds of error.”

I just to (do) not see the point of a play that clearly presents error for the sake of theatrical performances.  

Respondent # 4's reply to Respondent #1's above email.  

The point of the play is basically Art with all the attendant complexities and questions as well as the joys that we associate with that very human experience. This extends to an understanding of various cultures as reflected in their arts, complete with fact and error. Ours is to learn from their perspectives and to participate with them in their human joys and to learn from all that we can, as in any historical/ sociological study, and to appreciate the total esthetic that was so characteristic of the time. To avoid hearing or seeing about other religions is not the purpose, in my understanding, of the prophetess’ warnings, nor is the viewing of dramatic art forms or presentation of them.

At one time I would have “heard” her in that way as you seem to. However, with the help of serious students of her work and times, (people such as Geo. Knight (sic) in his various book), I can ask whether or not what I am asked to participate, in literature or any are, is pretention (pretension) and dishonesty the base? Is what I am asked to experience a true election of another perspective of humanity? Do the merits of the work rest only on prideful display and lack completely in redemptive directions? Is what I bring affecting my perceptions to a degree where improper distortions appear exclusively?

These issues are always points of critique and judgement in works of art for the Christian. Critical Thinking is required as is reflection my own inferences and preferences and perceptions. that help to contribute to my experience.

Many good apologies are written in defence (defense) of art for the Christian reader.  In particular, the issue of the Authentic or Truthful as different from the Factual has been carefully discussed by Geo. Knight in Myths About Adventism and I refer you to this treatise. His books on Ellen White also have been very helpful to me. (Emphasis Supplied)

  Is Ellen White still the prophetess of God to the Seventh-day Adventist Church? Since when did we need theologians to explain away or interpret the Spirit of Prophecy for us? She wrote in English, not Greek or Hebrew. The fact that dramas continue to be performed at Walla Walla College demonstrates the mind set of people like respondent #4. Unfortunately, a considerable number of the faculty think both the Bible and the Spirit of Prophecy do not mean what they say. Why? because the Bible and the Spirit of Prophecy have been “culturally influenced.” Therefore they must be re-interpreted to be relevant. Relativism has infiltrated the Walla Walla College campus and flourishes. 

  2000 - September  Gleaner Editorial Supports Drama

In the September issue of the Northern Pacific Union paper, the Gleaner, an editorial entitled “Surprising Facts About Drama and the Church” was penned.  The author extolled the use of drama and even went so far as to states that the Sanctuary service of the Old Testament and the Jewish spring and fall festivals were “dramatic-style memorialization of Hebrew history mandated by Scripture.”

Several people wrote letters to the editor in the next two issues sharing their concern with this editorial conclusions. The September 2000 Gleaner editorial, “letter to the editor,” two Letter to Editors and this author’s letter together with his reply can be read in Appendix 31.

  2000 - November The Walla Walla College Drama Season 2000 Begins With The Play “The Crucible.”

  The Walla Walla College student paper, The Collegian, Volume 85, Issue 9, for November 30, 2000, ran the following front page lead article. All emphasis supplied.  

If you’re in the mood for love, hate and betrayal, come to the WWC Drama Club presentation of “The Crucible” in Village Hall beginning Saturday, Dec. 2, at 8 p.m.

The play is co-directed by Marilynn Loveless, instructor in communications, and Jim Bock, a local radio announcer and professional actor who has performed in such productions as “The Grapes of Rath” in London. Peter Schmidt, senior speech communications, is the assistant student director.

Students compose the cast, with Stephanie Binns, senior English, and Adam Lombard, junior communications, in lead roles of Abigail Williams and John Proctor.

Students have devoted many hours to this production since the beginning of October when roles were decided; up to 11 or 12 hours a  week, said Erica Sharp, freshman communications media, who plays Mercy Lewis.

The play has everything, including romance, seduction, lust, murder and revenge, beginning with the first scene, said Dana Melashenko, sophomore humanities, who plays Betty Parris. There is even a bit of violence when Abigail pulls Betty’s hair and slaps her.*  “The play is filled with feisty PMS women,” said Melashenko

One of Arthur Miller’s two most famous plays, “The Crucible” is the story of a witch-hunt based on those that took place in the late 1600s in New England. Miller wrote the play in the 1950s during the height of McCarthyism, drawing a parallel between the witch-hunts and the communist accusations thrown on Miller and his contemporaries.

Performances are December 2, 3, 9 and 10 at 8 p.m. each night.  A performance on Dec. 7, which will be followed by a question and answer session with actors and directors, begins at 7 p.m. Tickets to this production are available at the College Store or at the box office on performance night. Tickets cost $7 for general admission, $5 for students and seniors, and $4 for students with WWC ID.

For more information call 527-2158 or log on the WWC Drama department Website at http://drama.wwc.edu.  (Emphasis Supplied)

  *This scene was enacted for Walla Walla College chapel on Tuesday,  the early part of November 2000, in the College Church. The chapel was devoted to justifying and explaining the use of drama on the college campus. The drama group was specifically ask by the chapel coordinator to present a “Christian” theme for the chapel. On a poster advertising the play, the following sentence is prominently displayed on the bottom. (See a copy of the poster in Appendix 32)  “This play contains some subject matter which may not be suitable for young children.” The local December 8, 2000, Valley Times weekly newspaper placed the following lead article on its front page: “WWC performance of  ‘The Crucible’ a worthy rendition of Miller’s masterpiece.” Paragraph seven states “One thing is certain. As the disclaimer on the play announcement noted, this play is not suitable for small children.” The real question to ask is, “Is this play suitable for your and my youth who attend Walla Walla College?”

  2001 - March Adventist Review on the Effects of Popular Culture Through the Media of Drama.

  Describing the “devastating influence of popular culture,” author Jennifer Schwirzer, wife, mother and published author writes from Putnam, Connecticut.  

CONTINUE SECTION IIII