What would Ellen White say about watching baseball games?
Based on Ellen White's writings, I can provide guidance on what she would likely say about watching baseball games, though she didn't specifically mention baseball. While Ellen White didn't specifically address watching baseball games, her extensive writings on recreation, entertainment, and the use of time provide clear principles that would apply to this activity. **Her Concerns About Spectator Sports:** Ellen White expressed strong concerns about the excitement and passion generated by watching competitive sports. She wrote about witnessing crowds in Sydney: "The world is full of excitement. Men act as though they had gone mad over low, cheap, unsatisfying things. How excited have I seen them over the result of a cricket match! I have seen the streets in Sydney densely crowded for blocks and, on inquiring what was the occasion of the excitement, was told that some expert player of cricket had won the game. I felt disgusted" (CT 343.4). **Key Principles She Applied to Entertainment:** 1. **The Problem of Excessive Excitement:** She warned that "other athletic games, though not so brutalizing, are scarcely less objectionable because of the excess to which they are carried. They stimulate the love of pleasure and excitement, thus fostering a distaste for useful labor, a disposition to shun practical duties and responsibilities" (Ed 210.4). 2. **Time Stewardship:** Ellen White emphasized that "God will not require of man a more strict account of anything than of the way in which he has occupied his time" (CT 475.3). She cautioned against spending time on "frivolous amusements" when there are more meaningful pursuits available. 3. **The Danger of Worldly Entertainment:** She noted that "the desire for excitement and pleasing entertainment is a temptation and a snare to God's people, and especially to the young" (CT 325). **Her Recommended Alternative:** Instead of spectator sports, Ellen White consistently recommended: "There are modes of recreation which are highly beneficial to both mind and body. An enlightened, discriminating mind will find abundant means for entertainment and diversion, from sources not only innocent, but instructive. Recreation in the open air, the contemplation of the works of God in nature, will be of the highest benefit" (4T 653.1). **Application to Baseball:** Based on these principles, Ellen White would likely counsel against regularly watching baseball games, particularly because of: - The excessive excitement and emotional investment they generate - The time that could be better spent on more beneficial activities - The tendency to foster a "love of pleasure" that can distract from spiritual duties - The worldly atmosphere typically surrounding such events She would likely recommend instead outdoor recreation, nature study, and activities that refresh both mind and body while drawing one closer to God rather than creating worldly excitement.
Note: Ellen Chat may generate unexpected or inaccurate responses. Please verify any quotes with original sources.

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