February 27 2003 Editorial:
Wild Gourds in the Pot

Kevin D. Paulson

Editorial #121

Recent nightclub fires in Chicago and Rhode Island have shocked a nation already traumatized by the fear of terrorism and the prospect of war. And like the attacks of September 11, they offer the sober warning that death can strike when least expected.

At the moment, the death toll is Chicago stands at over 60, while that in Rhode Island has now exceeded 100. Certainly our hearts and prayers go out to the families of the dead and missing.

But as we note the pain and horror of these tragedies, certain warnings and counsels given to God's church come to mind, many of which have suffered scorn and neglect in recent times. Nor can we miss certain implications for a world -- and some in the contemporary church -- who seem obsessed with a love of entertainment and outrageous diversion.

"No Christian would wish to meet death in such a place"

As news of the nightclub fires dominated the "Breaking News" segments on CNN, I couldn't help thinking of the following statement by Ellen White, made so many years ago:

The true Christian will not desire to enter any place of amusement or engage in any diversion upon which he cannot ask the blessing of God. He will not be found at the theater, the billiard hall, or the bowling saloon. He will not unite with the gay waltzers, or indulge in any other bewitching pleasure that will banish Christ from the mind.

To those who plead for these diversions, we answer, We cannot indulge in them in the name of Jesus of Nazareth. The blessing of God would not be invoked upon the hour spent at the theater or in the dance. No Christian would wish to meet death in such a place. No one would wish to be found there when Christ shall come (1).

I can't help wondering how many Christians did indeed meet death on those two recent, terrible evenings. Moreover, how many Seventh-day Adventists have so rationalized the above counsel that they find themselves frequenting such places?

Time and again, in discussions I have had with fellow Adventists in recent years, I have heard Inspiration's counsel mocked regarding the lack of divine blessing, the loss of angelic protection, when one chooses such entertainment. Who could possibly mock such counsel now, in the wake of the recent tragedies? Could any of us honestly say we would have counted our salvation sure had we been among the casualties in Chicago or Rhode Island?

Network reports often featured the sobbing, distraught leaders of the rock band that had performed that night in Rhode Island. Frequently the name of God was invoked, along with prayers promised for the victims and their families. Without wishing to dispute anyone's sincerity, one couldn't help wondering how large a role prayer and God had played in the lives of these persons before now. Perhaps one reason the story of the penitent thief on the cross is found but once in the Gospel record is due to the presumptuous inclinations with which so many humans are beset.

Pyrotechnics in Adventism?

Controversy continues to rage over whether the Rhode Island club owners gave permission for the pyrotechnics which caused the fire. One CNN reporter, describing the use by such groups of these particular effects, spoke of how "people today want more and more stimulation in their entertainment."

One very alarming aspect of this tragedy was the fact that many of the injured (and presumably the dead) that night didn't make their escape sooner because they thought the fire was part of the act being staged by the band! I recall a similar story I heard as a child, in which a man was strangled to death by a boa constrictor before an audience which paid no heed to his cries for help, thinking his cries were part of the show.

As theatrics become more popular in contemporary Adventist worship services, this desire for stimulation and entertainment deserves closer, critical scrutiny. Observers at a recent ministers' meeting in the western United States reported that the very pyrotechnics which destroyed the Rhode Island night club -- complete with fireworks and smoke -- were used by a contemporary worship band performing for the pastors at this gathering! Such gimmicks are not only frivolous and contemptible in a sacred context; the recent tragedies make it clear they are also dangerous. How terrible it would be if Adventist lives and property were ever to be sacrificed in the name of anything so unworthy!

Wild Gourds in the Pot

The counsel of Inspiration regarding theatrics in a sacred setting is unequivocal and decidedly negative:

Not one jot or tittle of anything theatrical is to be brought into our work. GodÕs cause is to have a sacred, heavenly mold. Let everything connected with the giving of the message for this time bear the divine impress. Let nothing of a theatrical nature be permitted, for this would spoil the sacredness of the work.

I am instructed that we shall meet with all kinds of experiences and that men will try to bring strange performances into the work of God. We have met such things in many places. In my very first labors the message was given that all theatrical performances in connection with the preaching of present truth were to be discouraged and forbidden (2).

In counseling one minister inclined to use such methods, she wrote:

At times you do that which is represented to me as the shredding of wild gourds into the pot.

. . . The truth is not advanced, but hindered. Sensible men and women can see that the theatrical performances are not in harmony with the solemn message that you bear (3).

Ellen White's analogy, of course, is taken from the story of Elisha and the sons of the prophets, who on one occasion shredded wild gourds into a cooking pot without knowing they were poisonous (2 Kings 4:39-40). The recent nightclub tragedies have brought the disturbing awareness that, like the wild gourds of long ago, those condemned by Ellen White can inflict physical as well as spiritual death.

In these days of mounting global tensions, the original Advent faith and its call to a dying world are stirring and startling enough, without God's servants needing to resort to worldly and dangerous tactics as a means of seeking the lost.

1. Ellen G. White, Messages to Young People, p. 398.
2. ________, Evangelism, p. 137.
3. Ibid, p. 127.

Pastor Kevin Paulson serves on the pastoral staff of the Greater New York Conference of Seventh-day Adventists. Through the years he has published articles in many publications. He is also editor of Quo Vadis, a truth-filled magazine predominantly featuring the work of SDA young people. Kevin is also the speaker for "Know Your Bible," a radio program broadcast each Sunday at 5:30 p.m. on WMCA 570 AM, in Hasbrouk Heights, New Jersey. Pastor Paulson received his BA in Theology from Pacific Union College in 1982 and an MA in Systematic Theology from Loma Linda University in 1987.