These questions cause a lot of conflict in churches I think because we as Christans are affraid of relativism, looking at what is the right thing to do in different situations. Most people look at relativism from the post-modern view (what is right for you may not be right for me) which is not what scripture teaches. Scripture I think does teach that we ought to consider the context in many instances when we choose the right (or ethical) thing to do. I think most objections to the club issue are based upon 3 principles, the "Hurt witness" principle (or leading others astray), the ungodly acts principle (dancing, club music and drinking are ungodly) and the self temptation principle (which says that if you think that it is wrong, why do it, whether it is actually wrong or not). I think that all three principles are valid, but we have to examine the scriptures responsibly and critically to glean the truth about them for our lives and our time. Let's do this (as briefly as Blackwatch can
)
In 1 Cor. 8, Paul gives the meat offered up to idols analogy where he states explicitedly that people will become offended by seeing a believer eating meats offered up to idols, even though"...food will not bring us closer to God. Refusing to eat does not make us less pleasing to God, and eating does not make us better in God's sight" (vs.9 NCV). He goes on to state that the weak
believer could fall into sin because he will see you eat the meat in the temple and eat the meat himself while thinking it was wrong to do so. In other words, you sin against Christ because you lead a weaker believer (in this context weaker faith due to lack of knowledge) to do something that they feel is wrong (cf. vs. 12). The issue here is not that eating meat offered to idols is ultimate, everytime sin, but that the context (the weaker believer due to lack of knowledge) causes the eating of the meat to lead a weak believer to sin against their own conscience.
Now, as general principle in responsible Biblical interpretation, we have to understand the context of the day and of our time to see if the lesson in the scripture is applicable. In our time, the "club hoppin" is offered by many to be akin to "eating meat offered up to idols". The "Hurt Witness" principle looses it's muster here. In the club, a non-believer may not be concened with the religious ministry of the believers there. Also, the 1 Cor. 8 story is about weaker believers and stronger believers, not non-believers. And besides, who are we as believers to allow non-believers to tell us what we should be doing? The non-believer question is addressed in chapter 10.
In 1 Cor. 10:25-32 Paul talks about the meat eating thing in front of unbelievers. He again urges us not to do anything that would lead people to think that we are doing something wrong. So is Paul saying here that we should live our lives based on the conscience of someone else? I think that Paul answers this question in vs. 31 by saying that you should do all things to the glory of God. So how could we go to the club in the Glory of God? By being the "light" of the club so to speak. In Chapter 8, Paul makes a distinction between strong and weak believers due to knowledge. What separates believers from non-believers is the level of knowledge and understanding due to how we respond to the Gospel when we are confronted with it. Paul in Romans 1 explains that everyone has an encounter with the Gospel or some form of knowledge of God and therefore "have no excuse for the bad things they do" (1:20, NCV). Even only if it is evidenced in creation (chapter 1 vs 18-23), people have a knowledge of God, and also a knowledge of right or wrong. The believer accepts God's law as truth and believes in the resurrection of Christ as the pennicle of understanding right relaionship with God. The unbeliever denies this truth and sins, not because of what believers do or don't do, but because of lack of right knowledge due to the selfish desire to create right and wrong in their own eyes (vs. 28). Ultimately, if an unbeliever rejects the Gospel, it's not because of what Blackwatch did in a club, but because they refuse to accept the truth of the Gospel that is plain to everyone.
I think that the utimate goal of any believer in being "light" is to enlighten people about truth and righteousness (Just as Jesus did). When are we gonna do the work of ministry and give the people liberating knowledge so that people, all people, can know that "...food will not bring us closer to God. Refusing to eat does not make us less pleasing to God, and eating does not make us better in God's sight" (vs.9 NCV). Dancing in a club should not hurt anyone's faith, unless the conscience is weak due to lack of knowledge. The real answer to this issue lies in the effort to get people from milk to the solid food as the writer of Hebrews tells us about the deeper truths of God (Chapter 5 verse 11-14 & Chapter 6 verses 1-4). We ought to be urging people to learn more of God, rather than quibbling about acts that really don't have a bearing on God in either way.
It ultimately becomes a matter of our conscience, which can be strengthened with knowledge. Since it becomes a matter of conscience, then going to the club can be okay for some believers, but not okay for others, depending upon their own understanding. Societal mores about the "appropriateness" of clubbing, gambling, etc. have to be taken into consideration, but ultimately, society's norms and spiritual growth may become antithetcal. The true work of "evangelism" should be about teaching and right conduct from believers towards non-believers. So examine yourself, continue to grow spiritually, and allow the Holy Spirit to lead and guide you as an autonomous moral agent in this matter.
Blackwatch!!!!!!