Based on our best data from the White Estate, Ellen White expressed a very strong caution against attending the theater. In her time, this referred to live stage performances, but many readers apply her principles to modern movie theaters as well. She described the theater as "among the most dangerous resorts for pleasure," calling it a "hotbed of immorality." Ellen White warned that such entertainments can strengthen "vicious habits and sinful propensities," and that "low songs, lewd gestures, expressions, and attitudes, deprave the imagination and debase the morals." She further stated that "every youth who habitually attends such exhibitions will be corrupted in principle," and that there is "no influence in our land more powerful to poison the imagination, to destroy religious impressions, and to blunt the relish for the tranquil pleasures and sober realities of life than theatrical amusements." Her advice is clear: "The only safe course is to shun the theater, the circus, and every other questionable place of amusement."
In summary, Ellen White's view is that attending the theater is spiritually and morally dangerous, and she counsels complete avoidance.
References:
- White, E. G. (1881). Testimonies for the Church, Vol. 4, p. 652.3.
- White, E. G. (1913). Counsels to Teachers, Parents, and Students, p. 334.3.
- White, E. G. (1903). Christian Education, p. 35.1.