In recent years, many of our church schools—guided even by seasoned Adventist educators—have begun to imitate the world in music, dance styles, entertainment practices, and public displays that have no place in a Christian institution. The very things we once warned against as “conforming to the world” (Romans 12:2) are now being brought into our school programs. But these trends are not Adventism. They never have been. And unless addressed, they will quickly leaven our institutions with the same spirit of worldliness that Scripture consistently identifies as apostasy.
On November 20, 2025, the Seventh-day Adventist Matric Higher Secondary & ICSE School in Pulierranghy, Thiruvattar, India, hosted an event titled “Dazzling Sparkles Day.” This program showcased nearly six hours of continuous dancing—featuring a mixture of cultural performances, modern choreography, and riotous routines set to popular worldly music. What makes this even more troubling is that several top Adventist leaders and administrators were present and publicly prayed for God’s blessing upon the event—an event whose content, style, and spirit God Himself cannot and will not sanctify. [1][2]
Adventist education was founded to restore the image of God in the lives of its students. But when we import the world’s entertainment culture—its music, its movements, its forms of expression—into our sacred learning environments, we defeat the very purpose of having Christian education.
Ellen White warned:
“This school is not to copy after the plan on which many of our schools have been conducted in the introduction of worldly customs and ideas. Physical, mental, and spiritual powers are to be combined to make this school like the schools of the prophets. The study of the Bible is to occupy a large place; its precepts and principles are to be prayerfully and daily studied, that teachers and students may be prepared for the higher school in the heavenly courts” (Letter 16, 1909).
When our schools copy secular performance arts, pop-culture choreography, or sensual dance traditions, we are implanting worldly patterns upon the minds we are supposed to protect.
From the beginning, Adventists have always drawn a distinct line between sacred and worldly practices. We have always upheld modesty, reverence, and purity. Our schools were never meant to be platforms for performance culture or artistic exhibitions that resemble the theater, the club, or the concert stage.
“In order to be followers of Christ, we must separate from the world’s customs and practices. In doing this, we shall have God’s blessing. We cannot have the peace of Christ in our hearts, and yet be joined to the world. Then our lives are filled with pride, with the love of the world, and there is no room for Jesus. The soul temple must be cleansed of all worldliness, all self-love, so that Jesus can come in with His abiding presence. Between the children of God and worldlings there is a clear line of demarcation” (Manuscript 9, 1885).
When schools remove the line between God and the world, they are no longer preparing students for heaven—they are preparing them to be lost in the pleasures and popular trends of the world. When church administrators and teachers endorse worldly programs, they send a message to the entire school body that standards in music and entertainment are optional, and worldly culture—not Scripture—determines what is acceptable.
“Untold good may be accomplished by the righteous working with and for the wicked; but too often those who ought to lead sinners to God do not draw with Christ. Frequently the unrighteous are permitted to draw church members into scenes of frivolity and careless pleasure. Too often the principle of assimilation works in the wrong direction. Souls are drawn away from truth” (Manuscript 27a, 1900).
These practices are defining the next generation of Adventists. In order to protect our spiritual mission, these things, and those who facilitate them, must be removed—decisively—and without delay. Adventist education must return to its identity as a Bible-centered, Christ-exalting, mission-driven training ground for the remnant.
Sources
[1] http://www.sdaschoolpulierranghy.org/index.aspx
[2] https://www.youtube.com/live/8w-tXhk-kwA?si=LQ9BG3vAUHYZYtbR
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S A Division is sda in name only
Worldly minded greedy for unjust gain
One of the most corrupt divisions
And spiritually one of the most bankrupt
This has been going on for decades
I am afraid that the schools will prove the very gates of hell, unless they diligently labor in explaining the Holy Scriptures and engraving them in the heart of the youth.
Martin Luther
Cierto, el uniforme debería ser túnicas y sandalias.
https://youtu.be/vO9t82KSpV0?si=O_07svudlD9TL-u-
The Pharisees had one hope left, and that was to intimidate the man’s parents. With apparent sincerity they asked, “How then doth he now see?” The parents feared to compromise themselves; for it had been declared that whoever should acknowledge Jesus as the Christ should be “put out of the synagogue;” that is, should be excluded from the synagogue for thirty days. During this time no child could be circumcised nor dead be lamented in the offender’s home. The sentence was regarded as a great calamity; and if it failed to produce repentance, a far heavier penalty followed. The great work wrought for their son had brought conviction to the parents, yet they answered, “We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind: but by what means he now seeth, we know not; or who hath opened his eyes, we know not: he is of age; ask him: he shall speak for himself.” Thus they shifted all responsibility from themselves to their son; for they dared not confess Christ. – DA 472.4
The Lord has a controversy with his professed people in these last days. In this controversy men in responsible positions will take a course directly opposite to that pursued by Nehemiah. They will not only ignore and despise the Sabbath themselves, but they will try to keep it from others by burying it beneath the rubbish of custom and tradition. In churches and in large gatherings in the open air, ministers will urge upon the people the necessity of keeping the first day of the week. There are calamities on sea and land: and these calamities will increase, one disaster following close upon another; and the little band of conscientious Sabbath-keepers will be pointed out as the ones who are bringing the wrath of God upon the world by their disregard of Sunday. – RH March 18, 1884