Regarding the SAU student-led boxing event in Collegdale scheduled for next Sabbath, Southern Adventist University just released a statement to employees and students.
The original article promoting the event has been pulled down from the student newspaper's website, presumably by its naive editor. The story has also been pulled from the Southern Accent’s Facebook page.
Here’s the SAU statement denouncing the fight night event,
“Southern Adventist University does not support violence in any form and does not condone the organization of or attendance at the upcoming boxing event that was mentioned in the recent Accent article. Furthermore, we do not believe this event, which begins during the Sabbath hours, represents the high ideals of Sabbath keeping that we, as a Seventh-day Adventist university, embrace. Southern expects primary attention be given to worship, rest, Christian fellowship, and service from Friday sundown until Saturday sundown.
Throughout the Bible, including Proverbs 3:31, we are called to reject the ways of the violent. Ellen White speaks out against brutal sports such as boxing, saying,“The love of domination, the pride in mere brute force, the reckless disregard of life, are exerting upon the youth a power to demoralize that is appalling” (Education, p. 210).
Southern Adventist University has a higher expectation for conduct than that of the secular world around us. We pray that the students and employees of this institution will daily exhibit that higher calling whether on campus or in their private lives, living out the principles found in Philippians 4:8,
“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.”
We strongly encourage our Southern community to not support this event, but instead participate in the Gym-Masters Home Show the same evening, April 15, at 9 p.m. in Iles P.E. Center. This Southern-sponsored group of students, run by the School of Health and Kinesiology, promotes positive lifestyle choices, including healthy living, teamwork, and Adventist values.”
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“To do what is right and just is more acceptable to the LORD than sacrifice” (Proverbs 21:3).
