EDITORIAL NOTE: The following letter was sent by Pastor Tor Dahlberg to the parishioners of his church in Beltsville, Maryland. He reports a wholesome response. We thought this approach to the problem of consistency in Christian standards worthy of sharing with our readers.
Dear Church Members:
This Sabbath three fine families will be baptized in our church. Since you will be asked to vote them into church membership, you should know a bit about them beforehand. They may not meet the high requirements that some of you think should be expected of new Seventh-day Adventists, but since none of us are perfect, we have no right to judge them. We must be "broad-minded and tolerant."
Most of you know the Smiths; they have attended our church for several weeks now. As you may have observed, Mrs. Smith wears a great deal of make-up, and we have encouraged her to discontinue using it. But she has raised the objection that since many of the present members also wear make-up, it is not consistent that we expect her not to wear it and say nothing about the many others in the church who do. We believe that she has a point, and since "it is what is on the inside that counts anyway," we have decided not to make an issue of such a "minor" matter.
The Johnsons are another fine couple whom only a few of you have met, since they have only attended church once after becoming interested in the message. Both of them work long hours during the week and are quite tired when Sabbath comes, so they will not attend Sabbath school. But they have assured us that they will try to come to church at least two or three times a year to show that they really want to be Seventh-day Adventists.
Because of an accident the Johnsons have incurred some heavy medical expenses, and since they have also had to purchase a new car and have had several expensive repairs lately on their television sets, they will not be able to pay tithe until all these bills have been paid, which should be within a year or two. They have not fully accepted our health message yet they still drink coffee and tea but have told us that they intend to give up this habit as soon as they are able.
The third family to be baptized this Sabbath, the Petersons, have come to our church occasionally. Mr. Peterson still has to work on Sabbaths when the work piles up at his office, but he expects to get an assistant within a few months and should be able to attend church regularly then.
Mrs. Peterson, unfortunately, wears earrings, and, as you know, we should not baptize anyone who wears jewelry. But her earrings are quite attractive, and she insists that they are more modest than some of the large, gaudy pins our own members wear on their dresses. Since it is difficult to explain the difference between small earrings and large pins and similar ornaments, we will allow her to wear them, rather than to "offend and discourage" her, since she is so sensitive about this matter.
The Petersons have a lovely daughter who will be married soon to a young Catholic. We have suggested to her that she should not wear her engagement ring, but she feels that it would be more wrong not to wear it and thus encourage the men at the office to flirt with her and perhaps even ask her for a date, than to wear it for protection and as a sign of her love for her fiance. Since the wearing of a ring is not a test of fellowship, we have agreed to baptize her with the ring on. We are somewhat more concerned, however, about the attitude of her teen-age brother, who is also going to be baptized, and who wears a large class ring from his high school. But this young man has assured us that he will take off his ring as soon as the rest of the members of our church take off their rings.
All the members of these three families are fine persons, and they are eager to be baptized and join the remnant church.
You will vote that they be accepted as members, won't you?
Relax! You will not be asked to do it.
All of the above individuals are purely fictional. We have merely endeavored to challenge your thinking and to raise the question: Should our Beltsville Seventh-day Adventist church maintain two sets of standards, one for those who are about to join the church, and another for those who are already members?
The four fine young persons who will be baptized this Sabbath have accepted the high standards given us in the Bible and in the Spirit of Prophecy.
We earnestly pray that they will be true to the sacred vows they are required to take in order to become members of the remnant church.
Will you endeavor to help them keep their vows? Or will you be a stumbling block to them because you have compromised your own sacred baptismal vows?
Sincerely your pastor,
Tor Dahlberg
