Ellen Chat Conversation

Ellen White cautioned against billiards and the environment of the billiard hall, noting that it is certainly harmless to play a game of cards and to watch the players in a billiard hallis a common temptation used to lead individuals away from a stand for "God and truth and righteousness" (4T 435.2). Her counsel focused both on the specific nature of the games and the spiritually detrimental atmosphere that typically surrounds them. In her writings, she described how the society of the sly, deceptive classfound in such places can lead a person "a step further" away from their conscience (4T 435.2). She warned that evil angels are familiar guests in these placesand that the environment is often characterized by "the unseemly jest, the low, vile talk, which lowers and destroys the true dignity of manhood" (CE 34.3). For Ellen White, the danger lay in how these associations and activities "produce a love and passion for such things that is not favorable to the perfection of Christian character" (CCh 162.1). Furthermore, she categorized games like cards, chess, and checkers—which share similar competitive and sedentary traits with billiards—as amusements that "Heaven condemns" because they "open the door for great evil" (T12 25.1). She observed that these plays "excite and produce in some minds a passion for those plays which lead to gambling, and dissolute lives" (T12 25.1). Rather than strengthening the mind, she argued there is nothing in such amusements beneficial to soul or bodyand nothing to "store it with valuable ideas for future use" (CE 34.3). For practical application, Ellen White advocated for a distinction between "amusement" and "recreation." She believed that true recreation should be conducted to the glory of Godso that participants can return to their duties "improved in mind and refreshed in body" (PaM 248.2). She encouraged parents and youth to find "perfectly harmless" substitutes that do not tax the "mental forces" unduly or hinder the "recovery of health" (T12 25.1, PH100 69.1). In conclusion, while Ellen White specifically named billiards and the billiard hall as dangerous, her primary concern was the "spirit of darkness" that presides in such gaming rooms and the way these activities foster a "thirst for gaming" that can lead to "certain ruin" (CE 34.3). --- 💡 **You might also want to explore:** • What is the difference between "recreation" and "amusement" in Ellen White's writings? • What did Ellen White say about the influence of our social associations on character? • What types of physical activities or exercises did she recommend as being to the glory of God?