|
AMERICA SATURATED BY RIGHT-WING PROPAGANDA The Encyclopaedia Britannica describes propaganda as follows: Propaganda, dissemination of information—facts, arguments, rumours, half-truths, or lies—to influence public opinion. Propaganda is the more or less systematic effort to manipulate other people’s beliefs, attitudes, or actions by means of symbols (words, gestures, banners, monuments, music, clothing, insignia, hairstyles, designs on coins and postage stamps, and so forth). Deliberateness and a relatively heavy emphasis on manipulation distinguish propaganda from casual conversation or the free and easy exchange of ideas. Propagandists have a specified goal or set of goals. To achieve these, they deliberately select facts, arguments, and displays of symbols and present them in ways they think will have the most effect. To maximize effect, they may omit or distort pertinent facts or simply lie, and they may try to divert the attention of the reactors (the people they are trying to sway) from everything but their own propaganda. . . Already from this description we can see that propaganda must be an essential tool of Satan in the great controversy between him and Christ. Ellen G. White has made this statement: Satan has been working at the wheel, turning it until he has the control of all the human minds who have received the lies with which he deceived Eve and then used her as his agent to entice Adam into sin. Satan has kept up his specious working upon human minds from that day to this.—Manuscript 19, 1894 (1MCP 22.5) Thus, as man has had a propensity to sin since the fall of Adam, it is obvious that unregenerate humanity would also have a natural inclination to engage in propaganda. Furthermore the papacy, Satan's representative agency on earth, would naturally resort to this brainwashing technique to achieve supreme control of the world. The following publication of the American Historical Association confirms this spiritual reality: The fact that wars give rise to intensive propaganda campaigns has made many persons suppose that propaganda is something new and modern. The word itself came into common use in this country as late as 1914, when World War I began. The truth is, however, that propaganda is not new and modern. Nobody would make the mistake of assuming that it is new if, from early times, efforts to mobilize attitudes and opinions had actually been called “propaganda.” The battle for men’s minds is as old as human history. . . The term “propaganda” apparently first came into common use in Europe as a result of the missionary activities of the Catholic church. In 1622 Pope Gregory XV created in Rome the Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith. This was a commission of cardinals charged with spreading the faith and regulating church affairs in heathen lands. A College of Propaganda was set up under Pope Urban VIII to train priests for the missions. ROME'S PROPAGANDA PROGRAM TO MAKE AMERICA CATHOLIC In his book titled Facts of Faith, published in 1943, Christian Edwardson documented the following historical facts: A letter from Rome, dated October 14, 1894, says: The United States of America, it can be said without exaggeration, are the chief thought of Leo XIII....A few days ago, on receiving an eminent American, Leo XIII said to him: 'But the United States are the future; we think of them incessantly.'...That is why Leo XIII turns all his soul, full of ideality, to what is improperly called his American policy. It should be called his Catholic universal policy." - "Catholic Standard and Times" (Philadelphia), Nov. 3, 1894; quoted in "Protestant Magazine," Oct., 1913, p. 441. The report of "the third Washington conference" says: "Our purpose is to make America dominantly Catholic." - "The Mission Movement in America," issued from the Catholic University, Washington, D.C., June, 1909. "It seems to me that the main support of Protestantism comes from the United States and England....If we put an end to this effort in England and the United States by making these nations predominantly Catholic, we will have removed the chief obstacle to the conversion of the world to the true faith....A vigorous effort in the United States at this time will reduce the opposition to an insignificant condition....In the course of another century, the [Protestant] sects will be a study for the historian and antiquarian along with Arianism." - Extract from a letter in "The Missionary" (Roman Catholic), Washington, D.C.: May, 1910; quoted in "Protestant Magazine," Vol. II, p. 22. (Underscored emphasis added.) This Catholic movement has already made such progress in England, that, with a little careful manipulation, its leaders anticipate very little opposition in the future. (See "History of the Romeward Movement in the Church of England," London: 1900, and "The Secret History of the Oxford Movement," London: 1899, both by Walter Walsh; and "The Oxford Movement in America," by Rev. C. E. Walworth, New York: 1895; also "The Jesuits and the British Press," by Michael J. F. McCarthy." Now the "Catholic Action" is focused on America, not in an antagonistic way, but quietly, in wisely planned, systematically organized, and well directed efforts along numerous lines, so as to gain favor among Protestants, and not to be suspected as propaganda. And, remarkable as it may sound, Protestant leaders and people are totally asleep on the Catholic question, even more so than the Huguenots were in France before the St. Bartholomew's Massacre. Dr. E. Boyd Barrett, for many years a Jesuit, and still a Roman Catholic, as far as the author knows, has the following to say about the plans of his church: "In theory, Catholic Action is the work and service of lay Catholics in the cause of religion, under the guidance of the bishops. In practice it is the Catholic group fighting their way to control America." - "Rome Stoops to Conquer," p. 15. New York. 1935. "The effort, the fight, may be drawn out. It may last for five or ten years. Even if it last for twenty - what is twenty years in the life of Rome? The fight must be fought to a finish - opposition must be worn down if it cannot be swept away. Rome's immortal destiny hangs on the outcome. That destiny overshadows the land. "And in the fight, as she has ever fought when battles were most desperate in the past, Rome will use steel, and gold, and silvery lies. Rome will stoop to conquer." - Id., pp. 266, 267. In a communication from Vatican City, published in the Saint Paul Pioneer Press, Nov. 4, 1936, we read: "Pope Pius feels that the United States is the ideal base for Catholicism's great drive.... "The Catholic Movement, Rome's militant organization numbering millions all over the world, will be marshaled direct from Rome by Monsignor Pizzardo - next to Pacelli the Holy See's shrewdest diplomat and politician - instead of by the local bishops as before. The priest's education is to be thoroughly revised and modernized - with special attention to modern propaganda methods. In addition there will be established in each country a central bureau, responsible only to Rome, to combat red agitation with every political weapon available....The church must fight, and at once. "Coughlin has shown us the way of getting at the modern man. He has embarrassed us by showing and using the political power of the church so openly....We know how to tackle America today, and that is our most important problem at the moment. "Pacelli is contacting the American cardinals and leading Catholic personalities,...to explain the Vatican's plan for the new crusade....The Catholic political organizations in the large cities, like Tammany Hall, will give the church a good lever. Those contacts are also being carefully inspected by the pope's minister. "The Vatican itself resembles a general staff headquarters preparing plans and arms for a big offensive. Since the time of the Counter-Reformation, churchmen say, no such extensive reorganization of personnel and propaganda methods has been undertaken. The whole world-wide net of Catholic organizations and sub-organizations is being contacted directly from Rome and cleared for action. The church is to be adjusted to modern political, social, and cultural conditions." - p. 10, col. 3, 4, used by permission. This article speaks of Eugenio Cardinal Pacelli, then papal secretary of state, coming from the Vatican to effect the above mentioned reorganization. He toured the United States "in a chartered airplane." Christian Science Monitor says: "The visit of a high Roman prelate to the United States on the eve of an election is as unprecedented as it is delicate." - Oct. 2, 1926. This Catholic plan of conquest was well understood years ago. An illustration in Harper's Weekly of October 1, 1870, pictured the pope pointing to America as "The Promised Land." (Pp. 240-242.) THE FINAL STAGE OF THE PROPAGANDA PROGRAM All of the foregoing bring into sharp relief the significance of the propaganda which now saturates the American body politic, as it also focuses attention on the role of the Church of Rome. Since the papacy was conducting a program to effect radical change in a nation with a population numbered in hundreds of millions, the title of the following article underscores its success: In Propaganda We Trust: America's Terrifying Propaganda Affair These days, one memory stands out more than most others when it comes to our education. Most of us, when we were kids in school, were forced to read George Orwell's 1984as part of our English Lit education. In 1984, a tyrannical government uses propaganda to brainwash people. Things that were printed months ago were immediately glossed over or changed by news groups at the behest of the government. At the end of the book, it becomes clear that the world was a dystopia where no one knew what was real anymore. Little did we know that art would imitate life so quickly. Today, we live in a time when people question news sources, politicians discuss "alternative facts," and the White House no longer admits any wrongdoing despite ample evidence to the contrary. Many people are quite vocal about their support of right-wing policies. They regularly vote against their own interests, attack those who are different from them, and refuse to look at the science-backed facts. It's easy to hate people who stubbornly refuse to listen to others despite the fact that they are hurting others. However, we can't fault them for their support; they've been brainwashed by a love affair with propaganda—all backed by Uncle Sam himself. . . Politicians are now attacking press members for reporting unflattering stories—even if they are true. In fact, many of Trump's party have claimed that the media is lying about the stories that they are publishing, even when there's video proof of what's going on. Everyone laughed when FOX News representatives discussed the importance of listening to "alternative facts," but this isn't a laughing matter in the least bit. Recent news sources have shown that the White House is now trying to blackmail people into publishing flattering stories about Trump. This is a major example of how a fascist regime uses "gag orders" to keep the truth from being shared. If you aren't scared yet, you should be. Not being able to see two sides to a story is the quickest way to isolate and brainwash people into committing atrocities. In fact, even Hitler used this tactic in order to seize power from people. . . The American propaganda mill may have been a long time coming — and it may actually be a conspiracy theory that ended up being true. The CIA has admitted to using mainstream media as a way to send out disinformation in the past. In fact, representatives even admitted that it's the truth in the 1970s. Declassified CIA documents also showed that the government has paid off major newspapers and headline makers to boost political figures' public images in the past. The name of this project was Operation Mockingbird, and it's believed it's one of the biggest reasons why politicians had such a strong following in the past. Ronald Reagan's propaganda machine was even stronger by 1987 when the president was able to create "hot button" issues on demand. At one point, a CIA chief was even credited with the following quote: "We’ll Know Our Disinformation Program Is Complete When Everything the American Public Believes Is False.” - William Casey What's amazing about this quote is that most people trusted the government at the time, and thought that the press was free. The CIA openly admits it tampers with the free press. Nowadays, the cracks are beginning to show—and we're starting to wake up. The information released has only been shown to be the tip of the iceberg. Imagine what's not being released, and how far propaganda has come. Who's to say that anything we see is real anymore? At what point do we realize that we've been fooled and that we can no longer trust anything that's currently being placed in media anymore? Considering what we know, it's unsurprising that conspiracy theories and fringe beliefs are becoming more mainstream. (Italics in the original.) The American body politic has historically hated lies by the leadership of the nation; but for too many truth no longer matters! The disinformation program has somehow dispensed with the need for truthfulness; laying the foundation for the work of the unclean spirits of Rev. 16:13-14. The situation is dire; but Bible Christians have the Word of God and Jesus' promise of the Holy Spirit enabling them to discern between truth and error. As often happens, researching one particular point can lead to astonishing and very pertinent information. The disinformation program of William Casey's CIA in the Reagan Administration is a case in point: “We’ll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false.” The creepy quote above has been widely attributed to Former CIA Director William Casey. Casey was the 13th CIA Director from 1981 until he left in January 1987. He died not long after of a brain tumor in May 1987. Dead men tell no tales, as they say. But did William Casey really say this quote? The quote itself has been passed around extensively on the Internet, and some people claim Casey never really said it because the only main source it traces back to is late political researcher and radio show host Mae Brussell. Brussell was the host of the radio show Dialogue: Conspiracy. She got her start when, as a radio show guest, she questioned the official JFK assassination story and the Warren Commission Hearings by suggesting that Lee Harvey Oswald wasn’t the only person involved in Kennedy’s murder. Perhaps the propagandized label of “conspiracy theorist” is the reason why people question the quote Brussell often repeated. However, Brussell is not the only person that can be attributed to this sharing quote. Someone posted this meme on Quora back in 2013 with the note, “A disclaimer: I just like Quorans debunking or showing the stupidity behind some of the worst FB memes.” This is a new trend lately, people trying to debunk old (and most especially, establishment damaging) quotes. This time, however, someone who claims to have been there when Casey said it showed up to validate the quote:
The William Casey anecdote seems incredible. It also seems incredible that a religious institution has been working relentlessly and in deep secrecy for over a century to destroy the American democracy. However, the Church of Rome's conspiracy to make America Catholic and rule the world is heralded by Bible prophecy (Rev. 13.) There are solid facts concerning the Reagan Administration which make the Casey anecdote credible. Some of these facts were laid out on a of page this website titled HOW THE ROMAN CATHOLIC SOCIAL DOCTRINE IS ADVANCING IN AMERICA, at the bookmark "The presidencies of Bush the elder and younger." Note that William Casey is one of the members of the Reagan Administration who have been described as "devout Roman Catholics." Moreover, "They regarded the U.S.-Vatican relationship as a holy alliance," and "Through the 1980s, Pope John Paul II met regularly with the head of the United States Central Intelligence Agency, William Casey, and participated in what former U.S. National Security Advisor Richard Allen calls “the greatest secret alliance in history” between the Vatican and the Reagan Administration." More documentation on the Rome-CIA alliance is provided on this website's page titled AMERICA-VATICAN AXIS AND THE EUROPEAN UNION CONSPIRACY. Note in particular the bookmark "The world power seemingly benefitting most." The hyperlinked reports in that section establish a relationship dating all the way back to the 1940s. Again William Casey is mentioned, along with Alexander Haig, both of them members of the Knights of Malta. Incidentally, the current Chief Justice of the Supreme Court is also a member of the Knights of Malta. (He is also a member of Opus Dei, which is mentioned in an upcoming paper on this website.) The case is clearly established that the William Casey anecdote is true, and it fits perfectly with the proliferation of lies now confusing and deceiving the body politic of America. It is also clear evidence of the unclean spirits of Rev. 16:13-14 at work. Also evidence of their working are the hyperlinked reports which follow. There is one notable fact that is central to the Reagan Administration and the propaganda outlets which are now at work in America. They were and are all inextricably locked in the embrace of the Church of Rome. This is not an accident. ROME TAKES OVER THE REPUBLICAN PARTY It is not clear when the Church of Rome decided that she had to control a political party in America. However, on reflection it was inevitable that she would do so when the campaign to make America Catholic, as detailed by Christian Edwardson, reached a stage which made it safe to do so. There are Catholic parties in other countries; but such a party in plain view would have been unlikely to prosper in America. Therefore, it is logical that Rome chose to take over an existing political party, and one which was amenable to be shaped into an instrument of authoritarian power. The Church of Rome chose the Republican Party, (a fact which has sadly ensnared thousands of conservative Seventh-day Adventists.): Both Democrats and Republicans are playing a part in causing "the earth and them that dwell therein" to worship the first beast of Rev. 13. Democratic Presidents Carter and Obama have both invited Popes to the White House, providing them with national exposure and acclamation. The Democratic leaderships in both the House of Representatives and the Senate endorsed the invitation to Pope Francis to address a joint session of Congress in September 2015. However, the Republican Party stands out in its promotion and passage of Roman Catholic laws and its advocacy of religion in politics. Beyond the shadow of a doubt, it is the Republican Party which has been transformed into a religious party bent on destroying the wall of separation between Church and State, and by this means making an image to the beast and giving life to it in fulfillment of Rev. 13:14, & 15 (first part.) As the influence of the first beast increases, the nation is moving closer to fulfillment of Rev. 13:15 (first part.) Anyone, especially a Seventh-day Adventist, who continues to doubt that the last paragraph describes and predicts the role of the Republican Party in fulfilling the prophecies of Rev. 13:11-17 should carefully consider the following 2006 Washington Post article by former Republican strategist Kevin Phillips, who has demonstrated an extraordinary depth of insight, and a capacity to predict the course of events: How the GOP Became God's Own Party Now that the GOP has been transformed by the rise of the South, the trauma of terrorism and George W. Bush's conviction that God wanted him to be president, a deeper conclusion can be drawn: The Republican Party has become the first religious party in U.S. history. We have had small-scale theocracies in North America before -- in Puritan New England and later in Mormon Utah. Today, a leading power such as the United States approaches theocracy when it meets the conditions currently on display: an elected leader who believes himself to speak for the Almighty, a ruling political party that represents religious true believers, the certainty of many Republican voters that government should be guided by religion and, on top of it all, a White House that adopts agendas seemingly animated by biblical worldviews. . . It does not require the keenest powers of observation to accept the validity of this Kevin Phillips essay. As stated in the above quotation, "the GOP coalition is unlikely to turn back." This has been obvious with increasing clarity since the 2006 date of the article. It is also verifiable by the historical record, which also reveals how the Republican Party is not simply the "Party of God." It is the Roman Catholic Party. Control of the Legislature is essential for the passage of Roman Catholic Natural Law. Because America has a constitution which is interpreted by the Courts, control of the Senate enables the appointment of Roman Catholic and fellow-travelling judges to the federal courts, and particularly the Supreme Court. Consider the diabolical scheme as it has unfolded: take over the Republican Party; flood the nation, and particularly rural America which includes the least populous States, with propaganda to ensure a strangle-hold on the Senate; and pack the federal courts with Roman Catholic sponsored ideologues to reinterpret the Constitution and establish Rome's desired theocratic nation. MULTIPLICITY OF RIGHT-WING REPUBLICAN PROGAGANDA OUTLETS Fox News, Trump’s Ministry of Propaganda How prepared are President Donald Trump’s adversaries to deal with the reality of a lavishly produced state media operation? This, the most-watched cable news network, functions in its fealty to Trump like a real-world Ministry of Truth from George Orwell’s 1984, where bureaucrats “rectify” the historical record to conform to Big Brother’s decrees. I am referring, of course, to Rupert Murdoch’s Fox News. Having unsuccessfully tried to sell itself as “Fair and Balanced,” Fox News debuted a new brand in March 2018: “Real News. Real Honest Opinion.” Network executives apparently chose this slogan to differentiate themselves from “fake news” outlets—and, no doubt, to dog-whistle a pledge of allegiance to their commander-in-chief, who since being sworn into office has decried fake news in at least 630 tweets (as of Dec. 4, 2019). Sean Hannity, the host of Fox’s weeknight flagship Hannity, regularly rails against the “media mob” and its “fake news,” terms he has used on more than 100 of his shows since Feb. 20, 2019. On Feb. 21, 2019, for example, he said, “The mainstream media, they devour, you know, any story that just fits their radical, extreme extension of the Democratic socialist party agenda. If it advances the narrative that Donald Trump is evil and his supporters are bad and America is scary and racist and sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, Islamophobic, the media mob will shift into full gear without … any kind of investigation.” It seems Hannity and Trump have studied the texts of the 20th century’s master of indoctrination, who wrote in his 1925 autobiographical manifesto, Mein Kampf, “The most brilliant propagandist technique will yield no success unless one fundamental principle is borne in mind constantly—it must confine itself to a few points and repeat them over and over.” Republicans launch propaganda sites designed to look like local news outlets An investigation by the fact-checking outlet Snopes found that several new local news websites are actually being launched by Republican consultants whose company is funded in part by the candidates the sites cover. Politico first reported last year that Tea Party-linked conservative activists Michael Patrick Leahy, Steve Gill and Christina Botteri were behind the "Tennessee Star,” a website that purported to be a local news website but mostly posted content licensed from groups linked to big Republican donors. Snopes discovered that the trio has since launched similar sites in other battleground states ahead of the 2020 elections: the Ohio Star and the Minnesota Sun. . . The group behind the sites does not appear content with just three outlets. According to Politico, Leahy has purchased domain names associated with Missouri, New England, the Dakotas, Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Wisconsin, most of which are electoral battleground states that will be vital in 2020. Pro-Trump Sinclair Media Poised for National Expansion by 2020 Sinclair Broadcasting Group is the largest owner of local television news stations in the United States. It currently airs original programming on 193 channels throughout the country, enough to reach 39 percent of all American homes. The company is also owned by a longtime Republican donor, and proudly operates as a platform for conservative propaganda. Sinclair formally promised to provide favorable coverage to Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign (in exchange for access to the GOP nominee). Since the mogul’s election, the media giant has ordered all of its affiliates to air commentary that advances White House talking points, and coerced their own anchors into personally reporting that the mainstream news media is biased against the president. . . It is unclear whether Sinclair will force regional baseball announcers to deliver “terrorism alerts” between batters. But even if the broadcaster leaves its sports stations well enough alone, those stations should still provide Sinclair with a healthy source of revenue for funding its propaganda operations; Wall Street analysts are bullish on SBG’s stock. And that’s probably bad news for Democrats. It is hard to overstate how much the conservative movement has benefited from its associated billionaires’ investments in mass media. A 2017 study from researchers at Emory and Stanford estimated that Fox News increased the Republican Party’s share of the two-party vote in 2004 and 2008 by 3.59 and 6.34 percentage points respectively. Just this month, a study using the same methodology found that counties where Fox News has a low channel number (and thus, slightly higher viewership) tend to have more conservative fiscal policies as a result. A Major New Study Shows That Political Polarization Is Mainly A Right-Wing Phenomenon A major new study of social media sharing patterns shows that political polarization is more common among conservatives than liberals — and that the exaggerations and falsehoods emanating from right-wing media outlets such as Breitbart News have infected mainstream discourse. Though the report, published by the Columbia Journalism Review, does an excellent job of laying out the challenge posed by Breitbart and its ilk, it is less than clear on how to counter it. Successfully standing up for truthful reporting in this environment “could usher in a new golden age for the Fourth Estate,” the authors write. But members of the public who care about such journalism are already flocking to news organizations like The New York Times, The Washington Post, and, locally, The Boston Globe, all of which have experienced a surge in paid subscriptions since the election of President Trump. That’s heartening, but there are no signs that it’s had any effect on the popularity or influence of the right-wing partisan media. The CJR study, by scholars at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society, at Harvard Law School, and the MIT Center for Civic Media, examined more than 1.25 million articles between April 1, 2015, and Election Day. What they found was that Hillary Clinton supporters shared stories from across a relatively broad political spectrum, including center-right sources such as The Wall Street Journal, mainstream news organizations like the Times and the Post, and partisan liberal sites like The Huffington Post and The Daily Beast. By contrast, Donald Trump supporters clustered around Breitbart — headed until recently by Stephen Bannon, the hard-right nationalist now ensconced in the White House — and a few like-minded websites such as The Daily Caller, Alex Jones' Infowars, and The Gateway Pundit. Even Fox News was dropped from the favored circle back when it was attacking Trump during the primaries, and only re-entered the fold once it had made its peace with the future president. The authors of the study refer to their findings as “asymmetric polarization,” and they point to some deleterious effects. The Breitbart-led sites were able to push the traditional media into focusing on Trump’s favored issue — immigration — and to frame it on their terms: overwrought fears about crime and terrorism. Clinton, on the other hand, was defined mainly by scandal coverage in the form of her use of a private email server, the attack on the American consulate in Benghazi, Libya, and the Clinton Foundation. The authors of the study, Yochai Benkler, Robert Faris and Hal Roberts of Berkman and Ethan Zuckerman of MIT, write: It is a mistake to dismiss these stories as “fake news”; their power stems from a potent mix of verifiable facts (the leaked Podesta emails), familiar repeated falsehoods, paranoid logic, and consistent political orientation within a mutually-reinforcing network of like-minded sites. Use of disinformation by partisan media sources is neither new nor limited to the right wing, but the insulation of the partisan right-wing media from traditional journalistic media sources, and the vehemence of its attacks on journalism in common cause with a similarly outspoken president, is new and distinctive. Washington Post media columnist Margaret Sullivan, writing about the study earlier this week, recalled talking with a Trump voter in Pennsylvania who said she didn’t support Clinton because “I didn’t like how she stole those emails and it got people killed in Benghazi” — a perfect storm of misinformation. THE GREAT SECOND ADVENT MOVEMENT MESSAGE SABOTAGED IN THE CHURCH These are perilous times of overpowering lies and deceptions, not only in the world of politics, but also in the community of Seventh-day Adventists. Our Lord Jesus Christ Himself gave us warning: "And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many" (Matt. 24:11.) It is obvious that we are more easily deceived by false prophets within than without the Church, and the apostle Peter confirms this statement: "But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction" (2 Peter 2:1.) "Denying the Lord . . ." is particularly significant in the contemporary community of Seventh-day Adventists with tens of thousands seduced into denying the eternal pre-existence and equality with God the Father of Christ, notwithstanding the clear revelation in the Old Testament and John 1:1-3, 14. It was in the flesh that He was the only-begotten (uniquely begotten) of the Father. Ellen G. White identifies what is happening in the Church community when she predicted that there would be "seducing spirits and doctrines of devils in the midst of the Church." How many of us are aware of her warnings?. How many are aroused to engage in deep study of the Bible to be able to identify the doctrines of devils when even the pastors of the churches express scorn for "heavy theology." Scorn for "heavy theology" is scorn for the Bible. Note in this passage from PROFILE OF Wm. H. GROTHEER AND HISTORY OF ADVENTIST LAYMEN'S FOUNDATION the definition of theology: "Now 'theology' in its simplest form is the study of God and His workings in time; in other words, the Bible." It was theology, and "heavy theology" at that, which revealed the Bible Truths on which the Great Second Advent Movement (1833-1844) and the Seventh-day Adventist Church (1863) were founded. The Church has played the harlot by the wayside, and willingly gone into Babylonian captivity. How many choose to remain in Babylonian captivity? How many are willing to walk in the light of advancing Truth? The Great Second Advent Movement marches forward in the light of advancing Truth towards "the battle of that great day of God Almighty" (Rev. 16:14,) to be with the Lamb, "called, and chosen, and faithful" (Rev. 17:14.) Who chooses now to be on the Lord's side? To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them." Isaiah 8:20. The people of God are directed to the Scriptures as their safeguard against the influence of false teachers and the delusive power of spirits of darkness. Satan employs every possible device to prevent men from obtaining a knowledge of the Bible; for its plain utterances reveal his deceptions. At every revival of God's work the prince of evil is aroused to more intense activity; he is now putting forth his utmost efforts for a final struggle against Christ and His followers. The last great delusion is soon to open before us. Antichrist is to perform his marvelous works in our sight. So closely will the counterfeit resemble the true that it will be impossible to distinguish between them except by the Holy Scriptures. By their testimony every statement and every miracle must be tested. (EGW, The Impending Conflict, P. 22.1.)
|
