Return to Adventists and Jewelry.   

Angel M. Rodríguez, Biblical Research Institute, General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, Silver Spring, Maryland, 1999, 125 pages, US$7.95, paper. Reviewed by Roy Adams, associate editor, Adventist Review. The person waiting to go onto the rostrum with me for Sabbath school was decked out in jewelry—ears, fingers, neck; and by way of making conversation, I came close to asking if they were visiting with us. But I didn’t. “Are you a member here?” I asked instead. “Oh, yes,” they said. “I was baptized six months ago.” My heart goes out to our pastors and evangelists in the field. What does one say to new converts on the question of jewelry, in the midst of widespread confusion on the subject in some parts of the church today? It’s a sensitive and highly controversial issue, and General Conference Biblical Research Institute associate director Angel Rodríguez is to be commended for tackling it in this new book. In typical Rodríguez style, the approach is refreshingly biblical. After setting out a brief history of the problem (to provide context), he delves into the scriptural materials, tracing the status and function of jewelry in both Old and New Testaments, with particular reference to key passages such as Isaiah 3:16-24, 1 Peter 3:1-6, and 1 Timothy 2:9, 10. It’s a fairly comprehensive treatment. And in his conclusion the author has the courage to face up to the biblical facts as they are: Jewelry served a variety of functions in biblical times, not all of them negative. The garment of the high priest, for example, was decorated with a variety of precious stones, “for glory and for beauty” (Ex. 28:2, RSV). Kings and other civic leaders displayed articles of jewelry (crowns, armlets, signet rings, bracelets) as symbols of political power and status. All this suggests that the Bible does not consider jewelry to be intrinsically evil. “Jewelry,” the author says, “cannot be essentially evil, because the beautiful materials used in its production were created by God Himself” (p. 92). So there’s an appropriate place for functional jewelry, Rodríguez says; and “the church must be willing to acknowledge that in some cultures a necklace is used to indicate that the woman wearing it is married; while in other cultures it is simply an ornament” (p. 105).  Also appropriate in their own contexts would be wedding bands, and military insignias and medals. On the question of ornamental jewelry, however, Rodríguez is clear. The Bible comes down firmly on the negative, he argues. “Overall,” he says, “there is a pejorative attitude toward jewelry in the Scriptures,” and “most usages of jewelry are rejected by the biblical writers” (pp. 91-93). Is the Argument Watertight? However biblical Rodríguez’s approach, does it plug every loophole? As he admits in various ways throughout the work, the Bible is far from unequivocal on the issue—either in its permission or its condemnation. It’s even possible for some to find a logical way around some of its most telling proscriptions on jewelry. The reference in 1 Peter 3:3, 4, for example. Is the apostle’s concern in the passage with jewelry, as such? Or is it with the preoccupation of these vain first-century wives with external adornment at the expense of internal beauty? And of what, at any rate, did this adornment consist?  “It was not uncommon,” says Rodríguez, “to find women throughout the Roman Empire loaded down with all kind of jewelry. Many of them, according to some historians, looked like ambulatory jewelry shops.” “Peter,” he says, “finds this to be incompatible with the Christian spirit” (p. 53). However, this vivid description clearly begs the question: Would Peter condemn a simple, unobtrusive stud on the ear of a dedicated Christian woman today? How do we apply Peter’s message to the godly Baptist or Presbyterian wife who expresses interest in joining the Adventist Church? And how do we apply Peter’s admonition to jewelry wearers within the church who otherwise show the deepest dedication to the Lord? The problem of application becomes even more tricky when the author appeals to the idea of the imitatio dei (the imitation of God). “After all,” Rodríguez says confidently, “God does not wear jewelry” (p. 61). Well, God probably doesn’t wear trousers, either, for that matter—or a tie, or high-heeled shoes. I wonder about the persuasiveness of this line of argument. Especially in the light of passages such as Daniel 10:5, where the heavenly messenger (presumably Christ) appears to the prophet “with a belt of the finest gold around his waist” (NIV); or Revelation 1:13, where Jesus appears to John “with a golden sash around his chest” (NIV).  The author considers it significant that jewelry was not mentioned “during the creation of Adam and Eve, and particularly after the Lord dressed them.” These are situations, he says, “where we would expect reference to its use” (p. 92).  I confess the rationale of this point escapes me completely. Why would we “expect” jewelry to be mentioned at the creation of our first parents? And why would we “expect” the Edenic dress to include jewelry? After all, a wardrobe (as we know it) was never in God’s original intention for the couple in the first place. If the Fall made it necessary for Him to clothe them, logic assumes He would do so in the simplest manner. To make the point that the couple’s outfit did not include jewelry and that this implies a proscription on the wearing of jewelry today is a conceptual leap that’s difficult to follow. It’s like saying that since God did not dress Adam in a tuxedo, we should consider tuxedos inappropriate. I suspect that for the vast majority of Adventists, jewelry is not a problem. But its prevalence among us is growing, and one of the perils of tackling the issue is that it can easily stumble onto center stage. The author, wary of the pitfall, is at pains to avoid it. “The acceptance of the Adventist standard on jewelry,” he cautions, “makes no particular contribution to our salvation and should not occupy the center of our lives. Christianity is centered on the person and work of Christ” (p. 9). It’s a balanced treatment of the subject, with nary a hint of legalism anywhere. A Dilemma On the question of jewelry I find myself caught on the horns of a dilemma. On the one hand, I’ve seen too many genuinely godly people wearing it for me to apply Peter’s message about the inward person to their case too quickly. On the other hand, the idea of simplicity seems so beautiful and appropriate within our own community of faith that I think it would be foolhardy simply to abandon it without further ado. To those who adamantly cling to their jewelry “because it’s such an inconsequential thing,” I often feel like saying: “But why not give it up, precisely because it’s such an inconsequential thing.” Inconsequential as it may be, it does impact others within the community. That’s the principle of Romans 14:15: “If your brother or sister is being injured by what you eat, you are no longer walking in love. Do not let what you eat cause the ruin of one for whom Christ died” (NRSV). The issue has everything to do with how we manifest our personal liberty within the community of faith. If the president of the General Conference came to your church sporting an earring, would you honestly think that was cool? So then why would you hold yourself to a lower standard? Rodríguez is one of our most competent and careful biblical scholars. And the loopholes cited above do not reflect on him, but on the intractableness of the issue itself. He is to be commended for venturing out into what many others consider forbidden territory. And his work points up the need for the church as a community to come together to seek the will of the Spirit for our times. _________________________