Steve Daily’s interview with Steven Hassan regarding the SDA Church comes during a time of uncertainty and distrust for the church in North America

Mind you, I mean distrust from the church from within the church. More specifically the North American Division and to be even more specific, American Adventists. Church members distrustful of church leadership just for the sake of being distrustful.

 

It would be disingenuous and hypocritical of me to have recapped Dr. Steven Hassan’s interviews with ex-members of the Mormon Church and Jehovah’s Witnesses but not talk about his interview with Professor Steve Daily, who is a former Seventh Day Adventist pastor.

Here is the full interview. Before you listen, I want to say a few things to current Adventists and especially those who may know about Adventism via various online ministries such as It Is Written and Amazing Facts. You will hear Professor Daily say some things about Ellen G. White, the church’s early years and a few other things that you may be very upsetting. Efforts by some to discredit Ellen G. White is nothing new and more so by prominent ex-members such as Professor Daily. Dozens of books critical of Ellen G. White or questioning the validity of her writings have been written over the last 150 years. Professor Daily is not the first and certainly will not be the last. Like all denominations and religious movements, the SDA Church highlights the positive aspects of its history and is largely silent about the not so flattering details. That doesn’t mean the SDA Church hasn’t made some questionable or downright foolish decisions past and present.

On that note. I just remembered something I noticed on Hope TV–the SDA Church’s official network–around the same time Profesor Daily said he left the church in 2011. Hope TV started running PSAs explaining you can be an Adventist and still pursue your own passions and personal goals. It felt pretty sudden at the time to me but knowing where Professor Daily was spiritually around that time, I now know the timing for those PSAs was no coincidence. Professor Daily works at UCLA. He has written 11 books about the SDA Church and Ellen G. White. He has also written 4 dissertations about Adventism and is former Adventist pastor. His credability as a historian and a theologian goes back decades–he was a pastor for almost 25 years–and I’m not going to question or critique that.

What I do take issue with is how he chose to use the first third of the hour he had with Dr. Hassan. I looked up interviews he’s done elsewhere and read excerpts online. He spent a fairly large amount of the first third of the hour basically making the case to listeners Ellen G. White was a fraud and the church was founded based on extreme interpretations of scripture. I know his audience via that podcast interview was the general public but it’s like I said about the Present Truth movement for the last few years: You need to be 100% certain that you know what you’re talking about. More so when we’re talking about a church with over 20 Million members worldwide. The SDA Church is the fastest-growing protestant denomination in the world right now. Second only to the Catholic Church across all Christianity.

I get Professor Daily trying not come across as too sympathetic after he spoke about his time as an Adventist but it’s obvious he still has a lot of personal connections with his former church. He did touch on a few things I have talked about on this blog before. One is the American church’s unhealthy obsession with prophecy and end time events that’s got Adventists in other parts of the world worried. Most older American Adventists were heavily influenced by Jan Marcusen’s book The National Sunday Law which was written in the early 1980s. I talked about it a few times but Marcusen made several predictions that ended up not happening, the biggest one being crime would double in the U.S. every year through the 1990s. That actually never happened.

A real good sign a church is in decline is a combination of slow growth and steady declining membership. The SDA Church in North America has been experiencing both for the last 25 years now. This is to say nothing of the Present Truth movement and other more fundamentalist factions pulling people in different directions. It would be fair to say the church is very vulnerable right now. A combination of things have led to this but at the end of the day, this happened on Pastor Ted C. Wilson’s watch. For those who might not know who he is, Pastor Wilson is the President of the SDA Church. He has held that position since 2010.

At this point, I think it’s time for a change in leadership. There are far too many issues that need to be addressed and are not even being acknowledged. Issue number one is the church’s hyperfocus on prophecy and last day events. This is what has been driving mostly young people out of and away from the church as soon as they’re of age to leave home over the last 25 years. The SDA Church in North America has been bleeding out members for far longer but the bleeding’s been getting worse over the last 25 years. It’s much worse than most churches are willing to admit mostly because of denominational exceptionalism. No church is immune though.

Most ex-Adventists do continue to practice some of their former beliefs including keeping the Sabbath. Some do return to the church later in life. Some join a Sunday church for fellowship. Some find an independent SDA church not funded by the General Conference. More recently–as has been the case for me–some attend church virtually via Amazing Facts or other online ministries. I do still believe in Adventism myself but I also believe we have a moral responsability and a Biblical mandate to not just share what we know with others but be willing to learn and adopt truths others have. Denominational Exceptionalism is going to be the SDA Church’s downfall and it will likely happen sooner than later.

I mentioned this a few times before but the SDA Church in North America has fractured over the last 20 years. It’s not a secret among most Adventists either though some fractures became much more noticable than others in recent years. Meanwhile, Pastor Wilson is still largely silent on the matter. He did acknowledge there is turmoil and uncertainty during his appearance at Amazing Facts last month but decided not to go into detail. I’m speculating when I say this but I do think Pastor Wilson has largely accepted the reality the distrust of many current and former Adventists in the U.S. toward the General Conference is why nothing they say will matter to too many right now.

Some of the more fundamentalist factions I eluded to earlier have been gaining momentum and influence in recent years. Those voices are ultimately why Professor Daily chose now to do this intervew with Steve Hassan. One thing I have no problem saying is more than any other denomination, Adventists take pride in “having the truth” about prophecy and the Sabbath in particular. The problem is a lot has been and is being sacrificed just so Adventists can feel a sense of pride in saying “we’re special” or “We’re a peculiar people”. Amazing Facts has been trying to break through in its own way but like Professor Daily said, the more fundamentalist Adventists will dig in no matter what.

This is also why change needs to happen. Not just from the top down but in some doctrine too. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again expecting a different outcome. Until the church is willing to acknowledge there is a problem, the church breaking up is just a matter of time. The church has been indirectly using current events, Ellen G. White’s writings and Pope Francis’ growing popularity in the secular world to keep Adventists engaged or at least make them feel like they are privy to special information or knowledge.

On that note. One bit of truth about Ellen G. White’s writings on health is Adventists give her far too much credit. She definitely wasn’t the first to speak about proper diet, exercise and rest or about the negative effects smoking and alcohol have in the body. The fact that she is constantly referenced by many Adventists as a pioneer of health speaks to the fact most honestly don’t know others spoke out about these things long before her. People believe what they want to believe at the end of the day. That and when it’s drilled into you “She received revealations from God about these and other things”, naturally you have little reason to consider other sources. That a fatal flaw in Adventism and is also why other theologians of other denominations have the impression “true” Adventists worship Ellen G. White. Her writings are often held up or referenced as if they’re on the same level as the Bible which she herself warned against ironically.

This disconnect is also why new member turnover has been steadily growing in recent decades. People come into the church or visit for Bible truth. Ok great. After they become baptized members it’s quickly hammered into them the importance of reading Ellen G. White’s writings especially The Great Controversy (recently renamed The Great Hope). This causes a disconnect as a growing number of those new church members–most of whom converted from another Christian denomination–think to themselves “Why are we studying Ellen G. White instead of the Bible? This wasn’t what I signed up for”, leave and either go back to the church they came from or leave the faith completely.

As things stand now, the SDA Church in North America needs to undergo reform ASAP. A split will happen no matter what and people need to be prepared for that. I mean fractures within individual churches. People are going to start focusing on following what they’re most passionate about and push everything else aside. The proverbial dam is breaking before our eyes. The majority of Adventists just don’t realize it yet and those who do are keeping their mouths shut.

What I am most worried about is what happens immediately after that and unfortunately the most likely outcomes are not good:

• Isolated Communities: Warning bells are being sounded by some in response to these calls by some for Adventists to move away from cities and go to rural areas. Professor Daily is just one of many. Even Amazing Facts has started talking about it because of how many people are heeding the call by some move as far away from cities as possible. The Pandemic and the conflict in Ukraine came at the right time for those who have been calling for Adventists to “come out of Babylon lest you share in its destruction” for years to say the least. They use those events to make the case for people to move to the middle of nowhere and start or join an isolated community. Some point to the Amish as “being ahead of the curb” due to the fact the Amish have lived the same way for almost 400 years and have shunned modern conveniences such as cars, eletricity and the internet.
• Information Silos: This is already underway as we speak in tandem with the political discourse going on in America. Much of what’s going on is Cognitive Dissonance: People don’t want hear or accept anything counter to what they want to believe even when they know what they want to believe is illogical or faulty. It’s human nature to not want to be wrong and protect the ego. That’s one thing and most people do accept the truth eventually. The problem is when people take things to unhealthy extremes. That’s what is going on right now with the anti-vaccine, anti-science and anti-government rhetoric that’s metasticized in churches in America across all denominations. People are being indoctrinated to gradually be fearful and suspicious of “other” and Adventists are no exception.
• Abuse Within The Family: This is far more widespread than most are willing to admit with good reason. I want to be VERY careful with what I say next but I do want to make it clear most Adventists in North America are kind, loving people to not just the people around them but their families. Like other denominations, corporal punishment or spanking is condoned among Adventists. Not openly promoted or encouraged obviously but is condoned. More so among people of color and those who are low income. Honestly, I am now convinced many Christians have decided to use Proverbs 13:24 as justification for child abuse more often than not. Many Adventist families also use the 5th commandment (“Honor your father and mother…”) to spiritually and emotionally blackmail their children into unquestioning obediance.
• Families Breaking Up: That brings me to Proverbs 22:6 which says you should train your children in the way they should go so that when they are of age, they will not depart from what they were taught. The Catholic Church’s child sex abuse scandal’s been getting a lot of attention but the SDA Church has been losing its young people as soon as they’re of age for decades now. It’s fair to say Adventists are different from other denominations in several regards. Believe it or not, most Adventist kids go through public education like everyone else mostly for economical reasons. In the years leading up to the start of the pandemic there were growing calls from some to homeschool or enroll their kids into Adventist schools over concerns of certain influences including from the LGBTQ+ Community. As kids grow up, they get a better sense of just how different they are even from their peers who go to church on a different day from them. They have to turn down hanging out with friends between Friday and Saturday evening among other things. By the time they’re of age to live on their own, they have had the opportunity to see how non-Adventists and non-Christians live for almost 15 years. They then have to decide if they want to live the way their family lived and wants them to live, live how society wants them to live or try to find a third way. Most go with a combination of the last two though some do return to the fold later in life. Those who do leave the faith typically leave the family first on that note.
• Social Distancing from other Christians: Again, this is happening now as we speak and is being pushed by charismatic Fundamentalists. Fear around the passing of a National Sunday Law and concerns over current events are what are driving people being conditioned for what is basically self-imposed social isolation. It’s “Us vs. Them” more or less and it’s not surprising. Spiritual Blackmail is being used by some to keep family members in line. Scripture is selectively quoted to justify social isolation. “We have the truth”, they tell themselves. Well, Christianity’s been down this road many times before already. Churches are made up of people and the Bible makes it clear people are not perfect. This idea being pushed by some for “perfection” is a fool’s endeavor.
• Deadly Choices: I want to be careful and clear in saying this would not be something church leadership would EVER consider steering people toward. It’s the more fundamentalist voices who have gained influence in Adventist churches that would drive people to make dangerous and deadly decisions that they shouldn’t have to. Some are being conditioned as we speak to allow themselves to die in the name of their faith and for “religious freedom”. We saw this already during the Pandemic. Sadly, thousands of Christians across all denominations took this to heart during the Pandemic in just the U.S. with devastating consequences for themselves AND their families. We literally had charismatic speakers say one after the other “God won’t allow us to die before our time” and within days, they were sicked or dead from COVID-19. God will not be mocked. I could also see a scenario in which there is a natural disaster or conflict and those who refuse to heed warnings to escape end up dying or worse cause rescuers sent to get them to get hurt or killed.
• Child Abuse, Manslaughter or Negligent Homicide: This is the biggest one I am expecting to start happening sooner than later, more so since it will likely involve children who are either under minors (17 and under) or are adult children that have an intellectual disability. Right now there’s a story in the news involving an Idaho mother on trial for killing two of her three children. She and her current husband–of course, both of them were previously married to others–are part of a religious sect that is an offshoot of Mormonism. To be blunt the parents adopted extreme doomsday and endtime beliefs that had a tragic outcome. Based on some of the information that came out during the trial–verdict pending very soon–she believed her two children were possessed by demons and the only way to “save” them was to kill them so she did. This is the kind of tragedy that is unfortunately pretty common in parts of Latin America, South America and the African continent in particular. The only time you hear of this kind of thing happening in Europe, North America, Australia and New Zealand is when it makes the news. I remember about 12 years ago the Adventist Review covered a story out of California involving Adventist parents whose child died from malnutrition. The parents were trying to feed their child meals based on Ellen G. White’s writings and would not give the child anything else. The child died of starvation. The parents were rightfully charged with Child Abuse and manslaughter. I hope you can now better see where I’m going with this. Imagine it happening on a much larger scale. The political instability in the U.S. as well as the mass shootings and concerns over certain secular influences are driving parents to homeschool their kids in large numbers never before seen in this country. It’s a matter of when, not if some parents will take things too far and cause either serious harm or the death of the child(ren). In their minds, they’re justified because their interpretation of scripture says so. In their minds, the government would be wrong for punishing them for following their religous beliefs.

 

…Mind you, none of these extreme scenarios are Biblical of course. Yet sadly they are all scenarios some Adventists and some members of other denominations are steadily moving toward doing.

An added dimension I eluded to that makes these very possible are the cultural elements of many that reinforce their religious beliefs. For example many Black American, African, Latin American and West Indian or Carribbean families have elements of their cultural traditions and beliefs mixed in with their Christianity. They are basically trying to have it both ways weather it’s intended or not. Their cultural beliefs often slip out subsciously as well. It is a fact in many Black, West Indian or African families corporal punishment or spanking is common or expected to be practiced and not just behind closed doors.

Every now and then a story will make the news involving a parent being arrested and charged with assault and battery on a child, usually while at school or somewhere in public. I know the more hardline conservatives and fundamentalists will always fiercely defend their “right to discipline their child however they want to”–some often giving their child’s school permission to discipline their children in kind–but the data does not lie on the subject of spanking: It causes permanent lasting psychological damage to children. More importantly, you’re actually subconsciously teaching your children it’s ok to use violence against others. This is to say nothing of the fact some parents do take things too far. That’s why teachers and doctors are now Mandated Reporters. They are required by law to report suspected child abuse to law enforcement immediately but I won’t digress further.

Getting back on the main topic. An inconvenient truth is most Adventists in America are being conditioned to be more suseptical to various kinds of Undue Influence from more fundamentalist voices they listen to sometimes daily. It’s quite the irony that to a growing number of Protestant Christians in general, raising legit questions about doctrine is viewed as a sign of a lack of faith or worse. That kind of thinking is not Biblical either and shame on ANYONE who tries to spiritually or emotionally abuse someone who has sincere and genuine questions or concerns about doctrines or teachings.

Things would be a lot less complicated or concerning for the SDA Church if the General Conference pushed “Sola Scriptura” a lot more in just North America. There are Adventists in other parts of the world who do not have these same concerns or problems despite having access to the same resources for the most part. I know this will be a controversial move and is unlikely to happen but something Pastor Wilson could do is hold a press conference via livestream and tell the church as a whole Ellen G. White’s writings are not equal to or above the Bible in as strong a tone as possible. She herself stressed the Bible should have the first and last say so he would have that cover.

The reason I think he should publicly say this is because it is a fact a growing number of Adventists do view Ellen G. White’s writings as equal to and in some cases greater than the Bible. In other words, some Adventists view Ellen G. White’s writings in the same way Mormons view their Book of Mormonism: Fresher and more relevant than the Bible. I don’t know if it will happen in my lifetime but I do think there will come a time when some of even the most devout fans of Ellen G. White’s writings will abandon her books to keep the focus on the Bible. She would want that actually and said as much. She referred to herself as a lesser light for a reason.

All that said. The reason it’s unlikely Pastor Wilson would make such a bold statement is because the more fundamentalist voices will just spin it as evidence or proof Adventists should be distrustful of General Conference because “they want suppress truth and erase our history”. There is a lot of fearmongering around the National Sunday Law among too many Adventists that is being aggressively pushed in the U.S. by more fundamentalist voices. They ramped up their messaging during the Pandemic, many making the case government-imposed measures that were being used to get COVID-19 under control was a test or an elaborate hoax to see how much they can control people (it wasn’t).

This is aside from the fact culturally, most Americans have been conditioned to have a natural distrust of the government at all times. Given the timing, it was the perfect storm. It’s interesting to note it’s in countries where certain personal freedoms are the strongest right now that people are being conditioned to be distrustful and suspicious of anyone who doesn’t think like they do. This isn’t exclusive to Adventists or Christians for that matter of course but Christians are the ones leading those efforts right now.

…All that said, nothing happens before its appointed time.

These same trusted voices urging people to turn on their governments in the name of religious freedom don’t fully understand what they’re actually doing. When the Israelites were in the wilderness, some were complaining so violently they wanted to stone Moses. God had to tell Moses they weren’t rejecting his leadership but His, their God’s. They just didn’t understand or care. When the Israelites listened to the ten spies’ report on Canaan and wanted to return to Egypt, God declared they would have to wander in the wilderness for the next 40 years. Everyone from that first generation that came out of Egypt died off during those 40 years except Caleb and Joshua. Their children, most of whom were born during the 40 years of wandering would live to enter the Promised Land.

Honestly, right now I feel like Christianity is in a state of flux and has been since at least the mid-1950s. We really started seeing the rise of Christianized Cults and modern Christian Fundamentalist Movements in particular during that time. You only really hear about Jim Jones, David Koresh and the Moonies these days but they are three of many. It’s no coincidence these Christian Fundamentalist movements and Christianized Cults are especially active in traditionally Red or Conservative-controlled U.S. states where elected officials are hands off when it comes to anything that appears Christian.

Revealation makes reference to a time yet to come when Church and State in America will become one. It will become the Second Beast as it fits the descriptions mentioned. America is a powerful country without a King or State Religion that speaks through laws and ordinances. Many Theologians have observed more was done during Donald Trump’s presidency to weaken the wall between church and state that any other time in this country’s history. Those efforts were slowed by the Pandemic and largely halted when Joe Biden became president in 2020 but it’s probably a fair expectation the next Republican president–regardless of who it is–could make a push to tear down the wall completely.

I think of Opus Dei, the New Apostalic Reformation, The Family and other Christian Fundmentalist movements seeking political power. They now control the U.S. Supreme Court and have largely succeeded in stopping Congress from doing much for over 10 years now. Right now they are waiting for someone they can use to become president to realize their ultimate goal which is basically turning America into an Autocratic Theocracy. Once they do that, there won’t be any going back.

 

This is also why I now believe most of the current generation of Christians–Adventist and otherwise–needs to start preparing the next generation for the fractured and divided world they will soon inherit. Jesus is not and cannot return anytime soon. I know many have been saying for most of the last 10 years His coming is imminent but the fact of the matter is the conditions are not in place. Jesus is delaying his return to give as much time as possible for people to be saved. Meanwhile, most of the very elect have largely abandoned evangelism in favor of planning for their own survival. Christians in modernized countries that are largely stable politically want the Second Coming to happen before things get real bad for them is what it is. The problem is that kind of planning is not supported by scripture. In fact, Jesus himself said anyone focused on self-preservation should expect to lose everything.

Every time someone says “Heaven is our home. We’re just passing through” I immediately think to myself “that’s not Biblical”. When I hear someone say “I’m a citizen of the kingdom of heaven before I’m a citizen of this country.” I immediately think to myself “based on what?” Jesus stressed the importance of being a good citizen of the country you live in for a reason: If you feel you don’t have to respect the rule of law here because you don’t like or agree with it, why would God expect you to respect His rule of law in heaven? I’m not talking about those who rightfully and lawfully protest against injustice and unjust laws. I’m talking about a growing number of mostly Christians who feel legally, they’re entitled to special privilages. I won’t digress further but there are many who insist on doing evil in The Lord’s name.

That last part is the heart of the matter Professor Daily was trying to call attention to in his interview with Dr. Hassan. A lot of people are being conditioned to be deceived by trusted voices. Just because something sounds good or right does not mean it is.

 

 

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There sure has been a lot of Gun Violence in America lately

 

I recently wrote an article about it on my blog about current events. I reccommend everyone read it before or after you finish reading this one. I said a lot of things in that article but one thing all Christians should be mindful of is the Bible speaks of. We’re definitely not in the End Times but one thing I can admit to is I may have been wrong about the National Sunday Law to come being at least two generations away. After a recent happening in Texas, that could come in the next generation or two to come. I’ll get to that development in a bit though.

The Bible does warn strife, conflict, violence and indifference toward human life would abound in these times. The Bible also makes it clear things will get worse. We’ve been seeing a breaking down of not just the American society but societies around the world in recent decades. More recently there’s been the conflicts in Ukraine, Sudan and Israel among other places. Even Japan, which has long been regarded as one of the safest modern countries in the world for decades has recently been dealing with some pretty scary situations in the last 10 months. This is going to come as a shock to those who live in Europe and North America but in Japan, it’s long been common to see preschool-aged children using public transportation unattended. Yes, really. Times are changing now even in Japan.

Most importantly, we are definitely not in End Times yet. This is a time of upheaval and shaking headlined by immorality, violence, racism, sexism and climate change. Speaking of. Anyone who reads just Matthew 24 and Luke 21 has no reason to doubt Climate Change being real. The Bible speaks of these things. One of the unfortunate realities of living in our world that the Bible is clear about is suffering is both guaranteed and to an extent should be expected by everyone who lives here. Past generations understood that but most of those alive right now–especially those in modernized nations–are getting what most of the world has been dealing with all this time.

Most Christians are quick to point out the decline in morality that’s been getting worse than it’s ever been lately is because people don’t know God, people are being told they’re basically here for no reason and more recently–especially our children–weather someone can be something other than male or female. Those points are all true but it’s also not helpful when Christians don’t set the example and ideal they want to see. A favorite past time of athiests and agnostics is to point to the fringe Christians or the ones being unkind and hateful. They have to ignore the overwhelming majority who do their best to live based on scripture because there’s way more of us than they want people to think. They want and need people to think most Christians are like most Republican politicians. Hypocrites in short.

 

That brings me to this.

On average, tens of thousands of people die around the world every day due to various causes. Natural disasters, crime, disease, famine, war or conflict and so on. Here’s the question for all Christians to think about: How many of them died in Christ? More importantly, how many of them had the opportunity to hear about Christ? I think it would be fair to say in both regards “Not enough”.

The sayings “Tomorrow is not promised” and “Treat each day as if it’s your last” have never been more appropriate right now. Not just for those who may die lost but those who may die saved. We have a mandate from Jesus himself to spread the gospel around the world. It’s an endeavor that has largely stalled in recent decades in western countries mostly due to politics and cultural upheaval. There is much work that needs to be done to say the least.

Every time I talk to someone who’s recently done missionary work–especially on the African continent, Latin America, Oceania and in the 10-40 window–they speak of the need to return as soon as possible. Return with more resources and more manpower. More than anything, just the need to maintain those connections and relationships. As much as I don’t like it personally, the world still looks to America as a moral guidepost. As America goes, so goes the world in many regards.

 

 

This is a subject I plan to go into a lot of detail on for various obvious reasons.

On Friday, the Texas Supreme Court upheld a legal challenge to legislation mandating the ten commandments be displayed in every classroom in public school in the state of Texas. The Texas state house has displayed the ten commandments on its ground for years. The Republican-majority State Congress pushed for this new legislation on the basis “America was founded as a Christian nation. We want our children to learn these values.” Texas governor Greg Abbott is expected to sign it into law.

This would have been unthinkable 20 years ago. On the surface, this likely looks like”returning the country to its roots” by older Christians in America because until about 50 years ago, Christian symbols and Bible Study were in public schools. The problem is the obvious political undertones most Christians either don’t see or are choosing to overlook. This is also why I said at the beginning we may see a National Sunday Law passed in America either in the next generation or the one after it.

The New Apostalic Reformation, Opus Dei and The Family–three Christian Fundamentalist movements seeking political power in America–seem to have recently entered an alliance with the Freedom Caucus as well as each other and are consolidating power. They are moving to push policymakers in mostly Republican majority-controlled states to pass legislation that will go beyond Abortion bans and restricting the LGBTQ+ Community’s influences that’s been dominating most Conservative-related politics lately. I’m talking turning states and counties into theocracies. This is just the beginning.

Before I forget. I feel the need to point out we already tried to legislate morality in America once before 100 years ago: The National Prohibition of Alcohol. It not only didn’t work but created new criminal enterprises. You criminalize abortion of any kind with no exceptions, you need to be willing to accept ALL the consequences including the unintended ones. I’m not talking about those who use abortion as birth control. I refer to those who have an unviable pregnancy and need to have the pregnancy terminated or the subject could die from complications otherwise. You absolutely need exceptions for cases like that.

As for the LGBTQ+ Community. It’s like I said in my blog on politics and current events. A lot of the progress they thought they had made over the last 17 years is being reversed mostly in Republican-majority states and counties. A growing number of female athletes who identify as female regardless of where they lean politically are also starting to openly and forcefully say they do not want to share their locker rooms with transgender women. The tide is starting to turn back in favor of science fact and truth. Churches are mobilizing to firmly but kindly guide their younger members to what the Bible says about this and other matters.

Now that churches have finally started to catch up in terms of proper messaging, they are moving to counter and hopefully reverse a lot of the LGBTQ+ community’s influences on young Christians. As some theologians have recently started to acknowledge, the reason the LGBTQ+ community has been aggressively seeking special status via legislation and ordinances is because Christians gave them special attention for so long. Now momentum is clearly starting to shift as a growing number of parents are starting to realize the LGBTQ+ community has many young people fooled into thinking there are more or less than two genders. It was one thing when the LGBTQ+ community joined the attacks on marriage 17 years ago. Now that they are working to convince young people and children the gender you’re born as doesn’t matter as much as what you feel you are, a growing number of parents and in some places lawmakers are finally taking a stand for truth and science fact.

 

Having said all that. I eluded to this earlier but there are unintended consequences to legislating morality the Bible warns of. Yes you should legislate and restrain immorality. That’s different. The problem is the rise of Christian Fundamentalism I’ve been talking about a lot lately.

The Bible makes it clear: The United States is the Second Beast Power.

It isn’t right now but the signs are obvious it’s slowly becoming what the Bible says it will be: A World Power that will use military force and political power at the direction of and benefit of the First Beast Power which is The Roman Catholic Church. We’ve been seeing a gradual alliance of convenience between the Republican Party and Christian Fundamentalist movements seeking political power. The Vatican, like Russia and other countries are WELL aware many Christians in America feel they are under siege by the LGBTQ+ community in particular in recent decades.

Pope Francis voicing support for Same Sex Marriage a few years ago, which shocked the Christian world was a calulated move. As a reminder, The Vatican is all about compromise and assimilation. Pope Francis, who is likely going to step down due to declining health in the near future is simply setting the table for whoever his successor is. Pope Francis built a lot of bridges with young people and more Progressive-minded politicians all over the world. He’s positioning The Vatican to broker an alliance of convenience with Progressive politicians and governments is all.

On a related note.

Let’s also not forget Pope Francis proposed a universal day of rest during the Pandemic as a way to help the environment. Guess which day he picked that Adventists in particular were not surprised by: Recognizing Sunday as an official holy day. I do think a push for that is likely a Pope or two away and more so with Civil War in America clearly fast approaching first. Like I just said, Pope Francis is simply setting the table for his successor who is likely going to be more conservative than him. We’ll have a better idea of things between 2035 and 2050. I do think by 2035, most of the LGBTQ+ Community’s influences around the world will be reversed or restrained. By 2050, we will likely see fewer political lines on maps due to countries merging or being annexed militarily.

…As a reminder, the Bible did it clear conflict between countries would abound so…yeah.

The next 25 years will be very interesting. Now would also be a good time for those who don’t have kids to get started on that. Those with kids should start preparing them for the next two decades. A lot is being said about the threat of Climate Change and anyone who is a Christian has no reason or need to doubt its validity. I’ll speak more to this and some technological advances including A.I. in a separate upcoming post.

 

 

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When/If to “Head for the Hills” or Flee Cities and Proper context (still) matters

 

The idea of Christians heading for safer ground has certainly come up quite a bit in recent years in North America in particular. It’s an idea and a concept Christians have been mindful of for 2,000 years though. More so now than 159 years ago, many elements of prophecy are being fullfilled regarding last day events. The problem is depending on what you believe–emphasis on what–your view of Last Day events is likely different. This is also true among people within the same denomination.

Over the last 10 years, I’ve noticed a lot of confusion being spread among Adventists in North America in particular on this. It’s become easier for me to notice thanks to social media on that note (Facebook, YouTube, etc.). It’s quite the contrast from Adventists in other parts of the world and not in a positive way. The fact of the matter is most Adventists in the U.S. have been severely compromised by the influences of the political discourse and other factors.

It’s not the fault of Church leadership–the SDA Church is not a cult believe it or not–but those who have chosen to mix their political views with their theological views. In recent decades, the SDA Church in the U.S. has gained the reputation of appearing elitist or cliqueish and having a superiority complex compared to other denominations. Not just towards visitors but each other. This isn’t true for every single SDA Church every single week obviously but the North American Division is WELL aware it has a membership retention problem. On the one hand, they point to the fact this is also true for other denominations. On the other hand, that’s still a real bad look.

 

Based on their own surveys done by former members, here are the top reasons people cited for why they left the church in recent decades:

• Did not feel welcome or no longer felt welcome
• Friction or conflict with another member
• Lack of Support During Personal Difficulties
• Incident(s) involving them or loved one (rape, affair, molestation, etc.)
• Theological Differences or Heresy
• Apostasy or Blasphemy
• Church learned they were in a Same Sex Relationship–often with another member–and refused to “ok” it
• “Aged Out” (Born into or attended Church as a child, left once they were of age)

None of these should be a surprise regardless of your own denomination. I think I mentioned this in a post three years ago but my younger sister referred to churches like these as “Glorified Country Clubs”. People focus on meaningless things and either don’t know or lose sight of things that should really matter. When someone in crisis would rather stop attending church than ask for help out of fear they will be judged, that’s a serious problem that needs to be addressed. Churches are supposed to be like hospitals for those in need. A growing number of Adventist churches have lost sight of that.

I talked about this over the last two years but the SDA Church in North America has fractured theologically over the last 10 years. The surprise vote by the general conference to ban female ordaination was understandably a shock to many. More so given it was unanimous. The reason they gave to justify the vote was they “could not find evidence in scripture supporting Female Ordaination”. The problem is that is clearly a lie. The very first female prophet introduced is Miriam, the older sister of Moses and Aaron. Deborah was a Judge and a Prophet. Deborah and Esther were both leaders for their people. In the New Testament you’ve got Mary Magdeline and Lazerus’ sisters Mary and Martha.

I could go on but those are the biggest examples in support of Female Ordaination. Then there’s Acts  2:17-18 which I showed above. It specifically states “sons and daughters, men and women“.  That is pretty noteworthy given the time period it was written, the known world was traditionally patriarchal. Then there’s the obvious fact Ellen G. White is one of the SDA Church’s co-founders. That’s the main reason for much of the fallout from the vote to ban Female Ordaination. Many Adventists were deeply offended by the surprise vote beause they felt those who proposed it wanted to erase her importance to the church’s history among other things. That likely wasn’t the intention but that is the preception most were given. I won’t pretend to know what the real reasoning behind wanting to ban women from holding leadership positions within the church are but a lot of people left the church because of it.

More recently, Adventists in the U.S. were split over Ben Carson’s run for president in 2016. Some said the SDA Church should formally endorse him as he was the first Adventist ever to run for president. As a policy, the SDA Church does not formally endorse political candidates. It is an apologitical organization and does not involve itself in election campaigns. Finally, the SDA Church endorsed the COVID-19 vaccines. They stopped short of telling people they need to get it but the simple fact they would not grant a religious exception for it drove some to call the church apostate. Yes, really.

 

Before I move on, I want to clarify something on the topic of being LGBTQ+ and Christian. It actually is ok to be single or celebic if you want to. The problem is when you allow those feelings to become so strong, you want to enter a physical relationship with a member of the same sex as you or act on those feelings. This is true of any denomination and it’s the sole loophole to put it another way. The problem is obviously, most would not be willing to do that these days. Just look at the United Methodist Church splitting in two over this particular matter.

I’ve said this before but the LGBTQ+ Community has a lot of well-meaning Christians confused or fooled on this topic. They succeeded in getting many Christians to compromise on this for “unity”. Scripture does emphasize “Love the Sinner, not the Sin” but the LGBTQ+ community twisted it to mean “Love Us and our Sin”. Don’t even get me started on Trans people and “Non-Binary” people who said 15 years ago “God Made a Mistake” to explain why they no longer wanted to be the gender they were born as. Why Christians didn’t publicly refute that “reasoning” I can only call cowardice. More so since it opened the door to the LGBTQ+ Communty wanting national legislation making telling the truth about their lifestyle classified as Hate Speech. In other words, they were looking to get the same kinds of Civil Rights protections given to the Jewish Community against Antisemetism. They make the case it’s the same thing but it’s not.

I’m going to say something for my Christian “allies” to think about the next time a member of the LGBTQ+ community says they want to be “their authentic selves” or were “always that way”. Before I do, I want to make this clear: I am not for one moment trying to suggest or imply Christians should or have to hate anyone who identifies as LGBTQ+. They are our neighbors, coworkers, friends and in some cases members of our families. The best thing you can do is pray for them at the end of the day. If they’re a loved one, be there for them as well. Be clear about where you stand but let them know you care about them.

 

Having said all that. The fact of the matter is even factoring those born with hormonal issues, no is born LGBTQ+. It’s either taught, they were raped (men included), they were molested (usually as a child), they’re “experimenting” or more often these days someone told them it’s ok to have and act on those feelings. I have spoken to hundreds of members of the LGBTQ+ community over just the last two decades. Almost all of them fall into one or more of these categories. Those who didn’t were simply influenced by our society’s gradual acceptance of the lifestyle though.

It’s interesting to note the rate of those who publicly identified as LGBTQ+ exploded in the mid-2000s. I’m not saying this is the sole cause but a contributing factor in the 80s and 90s was a proliferation of single mothers. Almost none by choice just to be clear. The father either didn’t want to be involved, was abusive, died or most often was in prison. Without fathers at home, most impressionable boys in particular looked elsewhere for a strong male role model. For many, it was a teacher or sports coach.

Many coaches and male teacher both then and now who were aware of their student or player growing up without a father found themselves teaching more than just knowledge or sports but about life and how to be a man. I don’t mean toxic masculinity but how to be strong and responsible young men. With some, they joined street gangs or got into organized crime. With others, single mothers who had sons–some of whom grew up without a father themselves–started teaching their boys to be feminine or emmasculated them. This is why we now have boys growing up confused about their gender identity and thinking they can pick their gender identity.

When society rightfully started speaking out against toxic masculinity and the sharp rise in school bullying 20 years ago, an unintended side effect was triggered in both boys AND girls. While anyone would agree it’s important for boys to learn empathy and girls to learn not to be dependant on males, the problem is many well-meaning people took things way too far. In many cases, boys in particular were being conditioned to be overly sensitive or emmasculate while girls were being conditioned to adopt some masculine qualities. When boys and girls are basically being conditioned to behave like the opposite sex, you can’t be surprised by people getting confused about gender identity before long.

This was going on around the same time the push to legalize same Sex Marriage in America started picking up steam. Massachusetts was the first to do it in 2006 though eventually it would become nationwide 7 years later with the historic Obergafell v. Hodges ruling by the Supreme Court. It stands as the LGBTQ+ community’s biggest victory in America. 12 years later, states majority controlled by Republicans have started what’s best decribed as a counteroffensive to the influences of the LGBTQ+ Community.

 

 

That brings me to the recent mass shooting event at a private school in Nashville, Tennessee that took place on March 27. Up until now, most Christians who saw mass shooting events at Public Schools and Public Colleges or Universities in the headlines mistakenly presumed since their children attended a private Christian school, they wouldn’t have to worry as much. This event changes things in a way the mass shooting at Sandy Hook 12 years ago unfortunately didn’t. This will and should change the attitudes of people who are no going to demand their elected officials do something.

That aside, I know there are those who are thinking of or already are looking into home schooling their child(ren) due to these mass shooting events that are happening in growing frequency. That’s not a decision that should be made without a lot of thought, consideration and most importantly planning. It’s a huge responsability and time commitment is why. Strong convictions alone are not enough and more so if you need two incomes (including your spouse if they’re working) for your household to stay afloat financially. You have to be practical about that kind of thing as well as plan ahead.

A story out of Maine that’s recently made national headlines involves a public school that was basically helping a 13 year old student transition from Female to Male without her mother’s knowledge or consent. The mother found a chest-binding band in her daughter’s room but didn’t think much of it since it’s common for women and girls to use one especially when playing sports. The mother realized something was up when she learned her daughter was being referred to as Male at school but Female at home. She’s suing the school saying her rights as parent under Section 1 of the 14th Ammendment were violated by the school.

Here’s what it says:

…I was fortunate to find this chart online with the relevant part already highlighted. For those who might not be able to see the image, here’s the relevant part to know:

No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privilages or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty or property without due process of the law.”

~ The 14th Amendment of the U.S., Section 1

That’s going to be what will be argued in court and I can easily see this going to the Supreme Court. For those who might not know this, in America children are considered the legal property of their parents. The mother is being backed by a certain Conservative Law Firm based in Arizona. They will want this case to go to the U.S. Supreme Court for the national implications that would bring. As a reminder, the U.S. Supreme Court currently has a 6-3 Conservative majority. They would rule in favor of the mother if the casse reaches them.

No doubt the rest of the country will be following this case closely. If the mother wins, you can be sure Conservative-led states will pass laws mandating public schools either tell parents about their child’s gender identity or affirm they be identified by their birth gender. If the case makes it to the Supreme Court and rules in favor of the mother, those likely decisions I mentioned will become nationwide. If the school wins, many on the Right politically will take it as an attack on parents’ rights and the decisions I mentioned before will still happen at the state level.

Personally, this does sound like a situation in which a school clearly overstepped their bounds. This also reinforces the concerns rightfully being raised by some parents who are being made to feel by our society their kids have more power than they do in recent decades. “It takes a village” doesn’t mean what it’s being made to mean by some Progressive ideologies. In its proper context, everyone else is support for the primary caregivers. They do not have equal say or power to the primary caregivers. At the end of the day, the primary caregivers should have the final say.

That aside. I do believe children are entitled to basic human rights. Most of the world has adopted a universal bill of rights for children though the U.S. was the only modernized country that elected not to sign on to it. The reason? Politics in short. With everything going on in America these days, it’s unfortunate once again politics has to get in the way of decency.

 

Finally, I want to get to this renewed campaign being pushed by a growing number of more Fundamentalist Christians for those who live in or near major cities in the U.S. to move to rural areas. They hold up the early days of the Pandemic and the early days of the conflict in Ukraine as the latest reasons why “real” Christians should be living as far from a major city as possible.

…The problem is “Heading for the Hills” at the first sign of trouble actually is not Biblical in concept or practice if we’re going to be honest.

That and for every different reason a well-meaning Christian may have or give to justify “Heading for the Hills”, the same three practical reasons against that kind of move applies:

1. Evangelism: No question the biggest reason to stay in or near a city. Someone has to witness to the Lost who live in cities. It’s not your pastor or church’s responsability alone. Coming into a city from elsewhere is an option but it wouldn’t be as impactful as someone who lives there who does the Evangelism.
2. Life Experience: Similar to the above, you may have certain life experiences that would be a blessing to someone where you live and work. If you move away, someone will be deprived of the unique talents and gifts you could provide. More so if you’ve been living in a city for all or most of your life.
3. Practicality: Let’s be realistic, there’s a huge learning curve for someone used to living in or near a city to be moving into a rural area even with planning. More so one who’s had being self-sufficient and self-reliant heavily romanticized by charismatics. Let’s not kid ourselves, it’s a huge commitment and it’s not something just anyone can jump into with convictions alone. More so given it will take three to five years on average to become reasonably self-sufficient in a rural area. That’s based on a variety of factors.

Let me be clear: I am not saying you shouldn’t take practical precautions. Acts of violence in the U.S. are increasing by the day at this point after all. Contrary to what many well-meaning charismatic Christians like to say, it doesn’t matter if you live in a city or in the middle of nowhere. Someone looking to do you and yours harm will find a way to do it no matter where you live.

Like I said before, someone used to living in a city or suburban area will have a bit of a culture shock in a rural area. One of the biggest changes is municipal services like mail and trash pickup taking longer to get to you due to the longer distances they have to travel per shift. There is also setting up renewable food sources mostly via argriculture. That’s going to take at least two years. By the third year you should have enough of a grasp to be able to scale things up to get an economy going. You keep some of your harvest for yourself of course but most of it is to be sold or bartered for money, other goods and/or services.

I’ll assume most will want a clean water source. There’s many ways to go about that in a rural area. Same with getting your own electricity on that note. Solar Panels or Wind Turbines are two viable options if you’re willing to spend the money. There’s no getting around paying for internet service though. Those who are homeowners already know unlike renting an apartment or room somewhere, you are on the hook for property maintenance. Not just the costs of items needed for repairs but often doing the labor too. This is in addition to whatever your occupation is on that note. It’s something to think about at the very least.

I’m not saying those who are so inclined and able shouldn’t move to rural areas. What I am saying is you need to be practical as well as take your lifestyle into consideration. More often than not, you would do more good staying where you are. I’m seeing a growing number of fast-talking charismatic online evangelists mostly on YouTube basically trying to make the case only real Christians live in the rural areas far from civilization. That’s not Biblical, it’s dangerous and it’s wrong. Most importantly, who can you evangelize to if you’re living by yourself in the middle of nowhere? Who can you witness to if you’re only surrounded by people who have the same beliefs as you?

This is all the more reason Christians in America need to open their hearts and their doors to their friends, neighbors and yes, even strangers if need be. The need to run for the hills is definitely going to come–sooner than I anticipated–but the time is definitely not right now.

 

 

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The Global Population reaches 8 Billion and is expected to reach 9 Billion by 2030

This is going to be Part 2 for the same-titled article I wrote last month on a different blog. I strongly recommend reading that one first before you continue reading but I will revisit a few topics I covered there here.

 

Before I continue, here’s a quick recap of some things I covered at the beeginning of the other article:

• Just 11 years after the Global Human Population reached 7 Billion, it has now reached 8 Billion. The Global Human Population is projected to reach 9 Billion in just 8 years: 2030.
• The global population started to explode during the last century, reaching 2 Billion in 1927 (1 Billion was reached in 1804). The next milestone was just 33 years later in 1960. We reached 4 Billion 14 years later in 1974, 5 Billion in 1987 and 6 Billion in 1999. We reached 7 Billion in 2011 and we have now reached 8 Billion in 2022.
• The trend after the 3 Billion milestone is the time until the next Billion is shorter. The next milestone is the first expected to be reached within 10 years. What’s driving the population boom are a combination of education opportunities for girls, improved healthcare in developing nations–specifically vaccines–and improving economic opportunities in emerging economies.

…I forgot to mention this in the other article but it’s widely believed the total number of people who ever lived–I mean past and present combined–is close to 15 Billion. Almost twice the current global population. There are more people are alive now than the total number of people who were alive through all of human history combined. Let that sink in.

 

 

That brings me to the 10/40 Window + The United States. Ove half of the world population is represented in just the African and Asian regions in the first picture: Around 2 Billion are Islamic (Middle East + Indonesia), around 2 Billion are Buddist (China + Southeast Asia) and Hindu (India) while around 1 Billion Taoist (China + Southeast Asia) and Shinto (Japan).

As a country, the U.S. Population is around 340 Million. While many Americans consider the country Christian culturally, on paper America is NOT a Christian country as a national policy. The Founders were aware of the Salem Witch Trials from 130 years earlier. A few decades before 1776, the Massachusetts colony had become imfamous among all the colonies for Religious Fundamentalism. When the Rhode Island colony was founded, they were very careful to write the separation of Church and State into the colony’s charter which was then written into Rhode Island’s state constitution.

Legislation was passed in Massachusettss when it was still a colony that finally broke the Puritains’ hold over it. The sad irony about that period is as a reminder, those who first landed at Plymouth wanted to escape the religious persecution they witnessed or endured at the hands of the Roman Catholic Church. The problem is they brought the mindset of “You’re either with us or against us” with them from Europe. Protestantism flourished in North America thanks to the Separation of Church and State. That should NEVER be overlooked or underappreciated.

Why then is the number of practicing Christians in the U.S. expected to drop to 15% by 2030? Compromised churches and denominational exceptionalism, that’s what. In recent decades especially, there’s been a widespread hyperfocus on “Christian Speak” and Christian Culture as well as elements of Mysticism (people claiming to speak to angels) and the occult (speaking in tongues). Most American households own multiple Bibles but if you ask, most either rarely open one or direct to what their church or faith leader says even if it conflicts with scripture.

 

…How’s that for two extremes?

 

The 10-40 Window has almost 5 Billion people who either don’t know God or legally are not allowed to while in North America, most merely practice an outward form of Christianity (“In vain they worship me”, Matthew 15:9). Many Adventists in North America have been actively planning for Last Day Events as if they’re imminent. It’s not just a matter of waiting for certain events to happen. The nearly 5 Billion Unreached in The 10-40 Window alone is more than enough reason for Jesus to delay his return.

 

About 10 years back, many Evangelists realized technology had advanced to the point it was now possible to take the gospel message to almost everyone in the planet. The thing is obviously, that has not happened. Too many seemed to assume it would be done by 2020. I started hearing the talk of the need for Adventists to start moving out of cities ahead of The National Sunday Law to come just four years ago. This started being shouted by some Adventists after Pope Francis spoke to Congress in 2017. That triggered many of the more hardline Adventists, some convinced Trump would be the last president of the United States.

 

Some Adventists are so convinced it’s imminent–despite no solid proof or evidence or course–based on every cough and sneeze coming from The Vatican that charismatic preachers break down online (“this is what it means and why you should care”, “prophecy is being fulfilled before our eyes” and so on). All that’s been doing is causing needless paranoia and worry as people naturally regress to an “Us vs. Them” mentality. It goes without saying it didn’t take long for a lot of those same “trusted voices” to pivot hard into conspiracy theories and politics. Of course they wouldn’t dare admit they were wrong.

 

 

Speaking of technology. Social Media platforms have made the world more interconnected. On the other hand, they’ve done more to divide people at every level than any other medium in human history. Over the last 20 years, people have learned to socially isolate themselves even when in a room or space full of other people. More so in recent years, many have started rightfully saying out loud modern societies are regressing and becoming uncivil. The art of the debate really started to fade away 20 years ago. This is more of a problem in a Democracy were the exchange of different perspectives and ideas are vital.

…The Christian world is no exception.

While some discourse is expected and to an extent should be welcomed, there is a time and a place for everything. What’s going on right now is basically Isaiah 53:6 in action: “We are like sheep who have gone astray; each one to their own way”. Instead of the discourse leading to consensus and collaboration, what’s happened instead over the last 20 years is the discourse has led to Fundamentalist and Absolutist movements. These days it seems every high-profile preacher wants their own Mega Church, TV Show, Podcast, Video Blog or a combination of them. Even worse are the loudest and most outspoken have used their position to foment mysogeny, racism, classism, ageism and antisemetism. This is to say nothing of many churches becoming breeding grounds for anti-government rhetoric and conspiracy theories.

These are some pretty uncertain times for Christians in North America. I emphasize North America because these problems are nowhere near as prevalent in other parts of the world. In Europe, Protestants are fighting a mostly silent uphill battle against the Vatican’s renewed attempts to influence government policies. Meanwhile, South America and the African continent are both in desperate need and high demand of Missionaries from elsewhere. I’ll talk about he 10-40 Window more in a bit but it’s easily (still) the Christian world’s largest mission field.

All that said. I hear those who say “we should not sacrifice truth and principles for compromise and error” and that is right. The problem is it’s being overused lately by some to justify self-isolation. Not just as a church or a denomination but on the individual level. This despite the fact the Bible speaks quite a bit about the importance of coming together. Not just for worship services once a week. Jesus prayed that his followers would be one with not just God but with each other. When Jesus sent out his disciples, he usually sent them out in groups of two or more. This way they could support each other in the work they were to do. Too many Christians today want to live isolated from the outside world and selectively quote some verses to justify it.

 

I want to say something Amazing Facts, It Is Written SUM TV, Hope Channel/Hope TV and others have been saying for most of this year: Knowing prophecy and Bible trivia is nice but that won’t do anything for you in the end. It turns out what will help is what we were all told from childhood: Having a relationship with God first and following Jesus’ example second. All the denominations wonder why they have retention problems in recent decades yet are doing nothing to address the simple root causes. It’s human nature to not want to be where you don’t feel welcome or wanted. Not just guests or new members but longtime members.

The problem with most of the current generation of Christians in Western countries is they are nominal–Christian in name only. They want to be able to call themselves Christian and enjoy the perks but don’t want to do the work or live the lifestyle. At the same time, they expect everyone to respect them simply because they’re known to be active church members. That’s not how it works. If what you profess to be is different from how you behave or interact with others, that makes you a liar. I’ll just put it like that.

 

 

Recently, Textiles and Fabric were added to the growing list of items now to be set aside for recycling in Boston. Most of the world is aggressively stepping up measures to reduce waste from ALL sources. The second picture above is just part of The Great Garbage Patch which is in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Most of it is actually plastic and on that note. You’ve probably noticed in North America single use plastic shopping bags are no longer being used by most businesses. This is an effort to reduce the amount of plastic being released into the environment.

Once hailed as one of the greatest inventions of the 20th Century, humans first became aware of plastic pollution in the early 1960s. Unlike paper, cardboard, wood and obviously food, plastic lasts prettymuch forever. The most commonly used items made of plastic–plastic utensils, straws and shopping bags–are used only once. Plastic does break down into microscopic particles after 100 years but it doesn’t completely disintegrate like the other materials I mentioned. That’s a pretty big problem to say the least.

In a documentary I recently watched on NHK Japan, medical researchers in Japan confirmed a pretty disturbing hypothesis involving microplastic particles and pregnancy. They looked at the placentas of some women who recently gave birth and they were able to find microplastic particles in all of the placentas they looked at. Two conclusions were made, both of which should scare everyone in a modernized country in particular. The first is the presence of microplastics in the placenta means the placenta itself is compromised. It must work harder to try to overcome the microplastics embedded in it to sustain the developing baby. The other conclusion is babies are being born with microplastic inside them. It enters their body via the placenta and unless you’re specifically looking for it, you’ll never even know.

People are being poisoned from contaminated materials and don’t even know it. I’ll just put it like that.

 

 

These days, most of the human population lives in cities.

During the COVID-19 Pandemic, the Corona Virus first spread quickly in all of the world’s cities before spreading outward to suburban and rural areas. As quickly as COVID-19 spread in cities it also lessened mostly due to the vaccines developed all over the world. One of the lessons many Christians in North America gleaned from the Pandemic is the renewed desire to move out of cities to suburban or rural areas. This kind of thinking was amplified when the conflict in Ukraine began early last year as the first areas targeted for bombing were the cities. It was a sobering reminder to not just Christians but people who lived in modernized countries in particular they would be the first to be targeted if their nation is attacked by another country.

All that said, Evangelists on Amazing Facts and It Is Written in particular have been pushing back hard against those calling for Christians in North America to stock up or head for the hills. You have all these more hardline fundamentalists urging people to “Leave cities and go to rural areas now while we still can freely” or “If you can’t leave a city, stock up and start growing your own vegetables from now”. See, this exactly what they devil wants Christians to do: Focus on self-preservation and forget everyone else. When you’re focusing so much of your time and attention  on learning gardening, turning your home into a fortress or moving out into the middle of nowhere, there’s something far more important that you’re NOT doing: Telling others about Jesus.

In doing those other things, Christians are putting themselves first. Now, I’m not saying you can’t take some practical precautions for rough times. The problem is the main motivation behind those urging “true believers” to move out of cities or turn their home into a fortress is self-preservation. You might be led spritually to do those two things and if you are, it’s so you can help others. If it will benefit someone and that is your intent then by all means go for it. If you are only doing these things because you’re worried about current events, it speaks to your lack of trust in God to provide for you more than anything.

All that said. Cities need the gospel message now more than ever. Especially countries that Christianity does not have much of a presence or influence in yet. I’ll get into this in more depth in a separate post though.

 

 

 

I’m going to talk about this in more depth in a separate post but over the last 20 years we have seen Christian Nationalists on the Right and the New Age Left embrace conspiracy theories via Wellness movements in Modernized Countries. This is most prevalent not just in North America (U.S. and Canada) but Europe, Australia and New Zealand too. Regardless of where you lean politically or religiously, you likely adhere to a Health-based Wellness ideology or two. The problem is more so these days, most will become fixated and regimented on the wellness doctrine even when it is to their detriment.

The COVID-19 vaccines and the vaccine mandates used by some countries to get the pandemic under control were so heavily politicized by the Christian world, emotional blackmail was and still is being used by many to discourage people from even thinking of getting vaccinated. “We don’t need their ‘vaccine’ to help us”, they tell everyone. “If you trust God, you don’t need their ‘vaccine’.” they tell each other. “Jesus is my boss, not Dr. Fauci or <Insert Politician Here>!” they tell themselves. Two questions Adventist pastors heard the most from their congregations between 2020 and 2022 was “Are these vaccine madates a preview of what’s to come later?” and “Are we being tested like Daniel was tested with these vaccine mandates?”

The answer to both question is No, Absolutely not.

There’s a reason almost every single Christian Denomination–Latter Day Saints or Mormon Church and Jehovah’s Witnesses being the two obvious exceptions–put out statements saying they not only don’t have a problem with the vaccines but weather to get it or not is a personal decision to be made with your doctor and God. Since most of those Christians who opposed getting vaccinated didn’t want to accept the fact their denomination would not give them a religious exemption for this vaccine, they sought out faith leaders who are more funadamentalist who would be happy to give them that. What we have now are millions of people who oppose vaccinations of ANY kind.

What’s real concerning is the ripple effect this is having in not just modernized countries but developing countries where vaccines for diseases wiped out elsewhere still run rampant. Anti-Vaccine Movements have joined forces with many of these Wellness Communities and many Churches urging people not to get their kids vaccinated against many common childhood diseases such as Measles, Mumps and Rubella though in some parts of North America and Europe, Polio is making a comeback (!). “These diseases are no longer a threat us.” they tell everyone. “Kids don’t need these vaccines anymore.” they tell each other. “My body, my choice.” They tell themselves.

Well, reality is merciless. We’ve been seeing these same diseases that were wiped out decades ago by vaccines making a comeback in recent years because of childhood vaccine mandates being removed in most U.S. states. If you think it’s just a coincidence these diseases are making a comeback now that more people are not getting their kids immunized, that mindset won’t protect you from reality. The problem is a growing number of Christians have added fear and hate to their theology in recent years. Fear of modern medical facilities. Hatred toward pharamceutical companies. Fear of vaccines. Hatred toward doctors. Fear of getting sick. Hatred toward basic sanitation. I could go on but hopefully now you get the point.

There’s a quote that actually goes back a few hundred years that’s been seeing a resurgence among both the Anti-Vaccine movements and the various New Age Wellness movements that’s now being said in church communities: “Fear the ‘cure’ more than the disease”.

Well, the Bible does give one story related to this with good reason. I’m talking about Numbers 21:4-9. In that story, the children of Israel were in the wilderness and they began to speak out against Moses and God. As punishment, God removed some of his protection and allowed a plague of venomous snakes to strike the Israelites. They repented and pleaded for mercy so God told Moses to fashion a bronze serpent on a pole and set it before the people of Israel. All who looked upon the bronze statue lived while those who didn’t died. All of the afflicted were offered the same cure but only those who chose to use it were saved. Of course, it’s one of many Old Testament stories that point to Jesus.

I’ve said this on this blog a few times before in 2020 but personally, I do believe God used the Pandemic to especially punish Christians in the U.S. Like I also mentioned earlier, most Protestant Christians quickly regarded the various government measures untilized to control the spread of COVID-19 as a dress rehearsal for other things to come. There is a lot of needless hysteria on the topic of government conspiracy theories these days and they are almost entirely fueled by fiction and speculation. The thing about living in a Democracy that most people seem to forget or don’t understand is unlike other forms of government, the citizens are the government. Not the politicians in office but the people who voted to put them in office. Russia and China recognize that and it’s why they’ve both been working to undermine and manipulate elections in western countries in recent years.

Getting back on topic though. The Pandemic was the most significant event that impacted the entire world since the September 11 attacks way back in 2001. Just like that event, the Pandemic turned the hearts of a lot of people to God or back to God. Another thing it did is it went a long way in exposing the true loyalties of a lot of self-professed Christians. I’ll just leave it there for now.\

 

 

On a related topic.

On the one hand, modernized countries are becoming more secular. On the other hand, they are also becoming more spiritual. By that, I mean large sections of the population have started to embrace or profess a belief in the occult–Christians among them of course. It’s easy for most pastors to blame it on Books like Harry Potter and Twilight, TV Shows like The Walking Dead and Game of Thrones or Movies like Avatar and almost everything made by Disney. It’s true these and other things have desensitized most to violence, obscene language and sexual immortality but the problem is much deeper than that.

On the Right politically, you have a range of Ultra Conservatives to Cults pretending to be Christian denominations. On the Left politically, you have a range of Church Communities that have compromised with Culture to New Age Movements. Extremes on both sides. Both sides want everyone to believe their way is the “true”, “best” or “only” way. Both sides are obviously wrong. One thing both sides have in common is interacting with outsiders without trying to convert them is strongly discouraged. This can be pretty damaging for kids who go to public schools basically being told they can’t make friends unless those friends are converted.

This can also be difficult for parents shamed by their faith community for sending their kids to public schools instead of a faith-based school. I understand wanting to protect your kids from the many temptations of the world but selectively weaponizing doctrine for sprititual blackmail is the devil’s wheelhouse. The devil has been pulling out all the stops in recent decades to foment discourse within faith communities. When faith communities in modernized countries are fighting among themselves or with non-believers, they’re not spreading the gospel. It’s become more and more obvious this has been one of the devil’s most effective distractions to keep believers from evangelizing.

Getting back to non-Biblical spiritualism and the occult in modern societies. TV Shows, Movies, video games,  and other entertainment media mostly from Japan, South Korea and China have becoming very popular in western countries over the last 35 years in particular. Although all three countries are well known for long traditions and customs steeped in Mysticism and Spiritualism, outwardly they’ve become much more secularized since the beginning of the 21st Century. They’ve preserved their traditions of the past mostly for tourism and heritage but for the most part, they practice no organized religion. You’ll find churches in all three countries and though in the cases of South Korea and Japan you can openly evangelize, Christianity has a maginal presence at best in both countries. China has been cracking down hard in recent years on the spread of non-Buddist and non-Taoist beliefs though they do allow existing Churches to remain open.

When you go to countries in Southeast Asia–most notably Thailand, Cambodia, Malaysia, Bangladesh and Myanmar–as well as India, Nepal and Sri Lanka you’ll find millions still living in spiritual darkness. Ancestor Worship is still openly practiced in most of Asia including modernized countries to a degree. You also need to keep in mind in most Asian countries west and southwest of China, everything and every place has a God or Demon that must be appeased on a daily basis. They are taught this from a very young age. This is also why you will often see a small shrine or altar on every street corner in the major cities of these countries. Christian Missionaries can’t help but respect them because they are more dedicated to their beliefs than most Christians in the west are to theirs.

 

 

 

I want to end with this because it’s important given most of the world uses a Social Media platform or two, usually through their cellphone. It took 10 years longer than it should have but finally, we are beginning to see the end of Big Tech’s stranglehold on the world. I’ll talk more about this in a separate post but much is being said about the development of the Metaverse or Virtual Reality. Social Media is entering a bit of a decline as some of the owners of the various social media platforms have made it clear they are putting profits and ego before the safety or wellbeing of the people who use their various platforms.

With all the interest around Virtual Reality worldwide lately–including Facebook parent company Meta’s Metaverse platform–it’s all the more reason for people to be on guard. Dr. Rand Waltzman was a guest on The Influence Continuum podcast last October. I wrote an overview of what they discussed here.

You can also simply listen to the entire episode here courtesy of Spotify:

 

…I almost fainted the first time I listened to this podcast episode back in October twice and the only reason I didn’t was because I was running errands at the time. The world is utterly defenseless and ripe for mass manipulation and mass brainwashing. Even worse is we already know both China and Russia have Cyber Ops Divisions whose sole purpose is to wage information war against Americans and other Western countries. As it happens, Dr. Hassan advocates for a national policy for the public to be educated on identifying and recognizing undue influence and mind control so people can learn to protect themselves.

 

This is an important topic all Christians should already be familiar with. Remember Ephesians 6:12:

All that said. I am definitely NOT saying people should avoid using the internet, social media or technology. What I am saying is people need to be careful and educate themselves. It’s become pretty obvious by now a lot of the “viral” misinformation, disinformation and malinformation spread online via Social Media was a massive experiment in mass manipulation. It’s fairly obvious said experiments were proven largely successful to say the least. Now try to imagine such evil being spread by scripting programs commonly referred to as Bot as well as Artificial Intelligence.

A controversial new A.I. program known as ChatGPT has been in the news lately. It is likely the first of many such publicly available A.I. to come in the near future. People running fake profiles online is an old problem but can you imagine someone you met online and thought was a real person was in fact an A.I.? Science Fiction is about to get real.

The silver lining is most of those who grew up with social media over the last 20 years have now started to realize there are better things they can do with their time. What makes Social Media a double-edged sword is the fact its reach is national and global. Someone in one country puts something online, everyone on earth can see it. People say we’re in an Information Age with good reason. Pay attention to what goes “viral” online. It doesn’t take much effort for something to become well known in a very short amount of time via social media.

 

 

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When The Lord’s people engage in Hate, Persecution and Violence against others…in His name

 

This is a bit of a continuation from the previous post.

 

I’ve seen a few high-profile Televangelists who’ve discussed this either dance around the topic or handwave it for one of three reasons: They’re gun owners who don’t believe in gun regulation of any kind themselves, they don’t want people in their congregation to feel singled out or they don’t want to be targeted by Gun Lobbyists. One or a combination of all three. Without using names, I’ve seen a certain pastor repeat what I’ve heard mostly Republican politicians say when a Democrat says there should be new gun regulations: “The Gun is a tool”, “Guns don’t kill people, people kill people” and similar things.

 

Both of those examples I named are true but the same consideration being given to guns are noticably not being given to Motor Vehicles or Aircraft. Car accidents are a common occurance in most developed nations. The reason there is no talk of new automobile legislation when a person intentionally uses their car to hurt or kill someone is because that is not a car’s primary function. The intent of the user aside, guns exist specifically to hurt or kill others. That is a fact. It is worth noting car makers all over the world have been taking steps to make vehicles safer in recent decades, some now having their own Black Box.

 

Plane crashes are actually pretty rare and it’s when there is an incident they tend to get a lot of media attention. Anyone looking to get a Pilot’s License–more so for commercial airlines–have a VERY strict process they must undergo because the life of not just the pilot is at risk but the passengers and if it goes doen over a population center, whoever is below. With most of the plane crashes that have happened, unfortunately everyone on board dies. What this means is investigators can’t talk to the pilot or any other flight crew to find out for sure what happened. All they can do is draw conclusions based on the Black Box assuming it’s recovered.

 

Getting back to guns. More private citizens own one or more firearms in America than every other country in the world combined. Not only that, private citizens in America legally own more guns than law enforcement and the U.S. Military combined. Mind you, only about 44% of Americans are gun owners. What that means is obviously, there some gun owners own several firearms. Before I continue, I would like remind everyone the National Rifle Association (NRA) is a political organization that represents the Firearms Industry in the U.S. Contrary to popular belief, they do not represent individual gun owners.

 

I would also like to remind everyone the reason comprensive research into gun violence has not happened in the U.S. despite the thousands of mass shooting events over the last 25 years is because of the NRA. They’re paying off members of Congress at the Federal and State levels to keep that from happening. Why don’t they want you to know the truth? Because it’s a threat to their interests. Let’s not kid ourselves, the sad reality is some Americans worship the Second Amendment and the NRA is exploiting that. All they have to do is say “Democrats want to take your guns away” after a high-profile mass shooting event and some will rush to buy some more guns.

 

This brings me to the obvious question you’re probably thinking: Should Christians in America own guns?

 

I know this is a sensitive matter for some depending on where exactly they live. While the Bible does speak to the need for people to take up and utilize some practical defensive measures to protect themselves, loves ones, the innocent, home and property–which was to a degree the intent behind the Second Amendment being worded the way it is–the fact of the matter is in recent decades, some have elevated the importance of the Second Amendment above common sense and practicality.

 

This is also why I said some worship the Second Amendment earlier, many of them professing to be devout Christians. I have become troubled and alarmed by Christian Fundamentalists and Christian Nationalists in particular who have made it clear in recent years they believe political violence is not only acceptible but necessary to enact the change they want to see. Christianity has already treaded down that path. Ever heard of the Dark Ages and the Inquisition?

 

 

Speaking of, that’s a good segway into this topic.

For those who might not know, the Russian Orthodox Church (top picture) is closely aligned with the Russian government. It would be fair to say it’s another division of the Russian government. Anyway when the conflict in Ukraine began, church leaders would bless and annoint the weapons and soldiers before they left for the front, basically saying their cause is “Righteous” and “all who fall in battle will go to heaven”. It’s basically a “Divinely Just” war as far as the Russian Orthodox Church is concerned. To date, over 120,000 Russian soldiers have died in Ukraine.

 

On the side is the Ukranian Orthodox Church (bottom picture). Like their counterparts in Russia, Ukranian Church leaders bless and annoint the weapons and soldiers before they leave for the front. In contrast, their prayers are for safety and for the conflict to come to an end. Given the war is a conflict of Russia’s making, it goes without saying Ukraine has the support of almost the whole world behind them. Not just morally but literally obviously. To date, almost 2,000 Ukrainian Soldiers have died but the number of civilian casualties is now believed to be around 6,000 as of the end of November.

 

The primary sides involved in this conflict are or profess to be Christian. Russian President Vladomir Putin made it clear he wants to wipe Ukraine as a country off the map. Ukranian President Volodomir Zelensky has vowed to retake all every inch of land taken by Russia including the Crimean Penninsula annexed by Russia in 2014. The question isn’t whose “cause” is more righteous than the other. The question to be asked is why is it necessary to invoke God in conflicts like this?

 

 

Full House and Fuller House actress Candace Cameron Bure was recently in the news for stating she is for Traditional Marriage. Yes, really. Due to our society’s acceptance of the LGBTQ+ Lifestyle over the last 20 years, her comments are considered “controversial”. Why? Because the LGBTQ+ community is triggered by public mentions of Traditional Marriage. Christians had to adopt the term “Traditional Marriage” 16 years ago to have a distinction from the imitation they want for themselves.

What Christians call Traditional Marriage–the union of one man and one woman–established by God in Genesis 2:24 is disputed not just by the LGBTQ+ community buy Polygamist movements and cults. This is why most evangelists have made it a point to say “one man and one woman” on that note. Not one man and two women or two men and one woman. Just one of each. That is the only union that has been blessed and established by God.

What’s very interesting is despite the western world’s embrace of Same Sex relationships and LGBTQ+ culture being mainstreamed over the last 20 years, most of the world does not recognize let alone accept them culturally. South Korea and Japan are two notable holdouts despite both countries being known to be very liberal culturally. Centuries of tradition are why those who identify as LGBTQ+ in both countries are referred to as Sexual Minorities. I did recently hear Japan’s version of Congress was considering holding debates to possibly allow Civil Unions. Given there are people in Japan and South Korea who have legally married life-size dolls or body pillows, it’s pretty wild to think that is accepted over Same Sex relationships in those countries.

Getting back to the “controversy” with Bure’s comments. Bure reacted by saying she found the backlash “an interesting experience”. One of her own co-stars–someone she literally grew up with on TV–chastised her for speaking her mind. Last I checked, we still have freedom of speech and freedom of expression in the U.S. That aside, she IS being attacked for simply expressing her religious convictions.

 

For those who might not know, Bure returned to private life after the iconic Full House sitcom ended. She returned for the sequel Fuller House (on Netflix) about 6 years ago after the cast had a reunion in 2015. When she was kid, her then more famous brother Kirk Cameron–you may remember him from the 1980s sitcom Growing Pains–became a Born Again Christian and left the entertainment industry in the mid-90s. He would later become an ordained minister. His sister Candace would convert after Full House ended. Bure may not have come back for Fuller House if not for the financial incentive. From what I heard, she agreed to commit to Fuller House when former Full House castmate John Stamos, who was executive producer of the new project assured her that she would not put in a position where she would have to compromise her religious convictions.

Bure’s comments come a few years after the Hallmark Channel faced scathing backlash from outraged Evangelicals after the network announced plans to air a TV movie in which a character came out as Gay. Hallmark quickly cancelled those plans though the movie did get picked up by another network and aired. Many Evangelicals were outraged at the idea since the Hallmark Channel is widely regarded as a good secular network for Christians. While the network itself does not cater to Christians specifically, the network has long aired programming to lift up people and be a positive influence without trying to “teach” audiences or “be inclusive”. Shows and movies on the Hallmark Channel just focus on being positive and family friendly.

On the other hand, most of the actors cast for the shows and movies on the Hallmark Channel are themselves either devout Christians or just want to be a part of projects they can feel good about. The easiest way to do that would be to create a network and at this point that would probably be a good idea all things considered. Unlike 30+ years ago, it’s much easier to do that these days.

 

 

For those who might not remember, JFK was America’s first president who was Catholic. Joe Biden became the second but there is a clear difference: Seven of the nine sitting Supreme Court Justices are Catholic. We also know for a fact Amy Coney Barett–the last Justice appointed by former President Trump–is a member of a Theocratic Cult and was groomed to become a Supreme Court Justice for 25 years by the Federalist Society. Christian Fundamentalist movements have been working behind the scenes for almost 80 years to infiltrate the government at the Federal, State and Local levels. It was only when Trump ran for president that Christian Nationalist movements saw an opening.

I’ll be blunt: Christian Nationalist Movements chose the Republican Party decades ago because it would be far easier to persuade and manipulate GOP policy makers compared to the Democratic Party. The possability of the Republican Party sliding into Fascism and Authoritarianism has always been there.

When Trump was preparing to run for president 2015, he cut a deal with key Evangelical leaders: In exchange for backing him, Trump would appoint their judges to the Supreme Court and other Federal positions. They even gave Trump a list of names of people they want him to appoint, Barett and Justice Brett Kavenaugh among them. The reason they chose to approach Trump and not the Bushes, Reagan or Nixon before him is because they had the mutual understanding they were just using each other for their own ends. In exchange for their support, the Christian Nationalists would be able to further their their agenda which is ultimately overthrowing the government and replacing it with an Autocratic Theocracy. Now that they have firm control of the Supreme Court and have overturned Roe v. Wade, they–Christian Nationalist Movements–have turned their attention to overturning Obergafell vs. Hodges (that’s the case that legalized Same Sex Marriage nationally in 2015) as well as flooding local and state elected positions with their people.

 

I have been unapologetic and open in talking about these matters on this blog in part because these Christian Nationalist Movements are textbook examples of Political Movements disguised as Religious Movements. Frank Schaeffer–son of renowned Christian Fundamentalist Leader Francis Schaeffer–was a recent guest on Dr. Steven Hassan’s podcast. Listen to the interview via Spotify here. One interesting bit of info from this podcast that will probably be controversial to many ultra conservatives and Christians today is originally, most Protestant evangelists were actually Pro-Choice on Abortion. Schaeffer reveals originally, Protestant evangelical leaders were fiercely pro-Choice based on scripture and had to be persuaded to change their views in the late 1970s.

There is one faction long known to be fiercely anti-Abortion opposite Protestant leaders who advocated the right to choose: The Roman Catholic Church. A lot of Catholic traditions and ideologies have crept into most Protestant denominations over the last two and a half centuries in particular. I’m well aware Exodus 21:22-23 is held up as the the Bible’s “smoking gun” against Abortion. The problem with that idea is the wording of the passage is very specific in context and intent: If due to your actions, you cause a pregnant woman to go into labor and the baby is ok for the most part, you would be financially responsible at most. If your actions cause a miscarriage or stillbirth then you are legally responsible in proportion to what the woman feels is appropriate.

It’s one thing to say you’re anti-Abortion because God considers all life sacred. That’s one thing. On the other hand, the Bible does not explicitly say anything for or against abortion. All Exodus 21:22-23 says is if your carelessness or malice causes a pregnant woman to go into labor or lose her baby, you will be held responsible. Most who are anti-Abortion misapply it to mean anyone who performs an abortion or helps a woman have an abortion is a murderer and that needs to stop. Based on that same logic, allowing children to starve to death worldwide is also wrong but hunger has been weaponized worldwide. Many also like to use Proverbs 6:17, which says in part God hates “hands that shed innocent blood” specifically to justify being anti-Abortion but the working is meant to generalize that to mean killing people without cause. It’s not the same.

God is also not as “Black and White” as too many Christians characterize Him to be. Otherwise, God would’ve just hit the proverbial reset button after Adam and Eve sinned in Eden. That would have been the logical thing to do actually. God did take into consideration Eve was lied to and Adam was coerced. In general, God deals with people and any sins they commit case by case. God clearly takes circumstance into consideration and we as Christians need to get back to doing that again.

Pro-Choice advocates refer to Abortion as a Medical Procedure because when utilized as intended, it is. Anyone saying they would allow their 10 or 12 year old daughter pregnant from their uncle or step father’s rape to carry the pregnancy to term is either lying or heartless. The humane thing to do would be to terminate the pregnancy for the life of the mother. Allowing a young child whose body is still growing to go through a pregnancy is cruel and inhumane. I say this knowing in some cultures around the world, men are allowed to legally have sex with very young girls. Christians need to stop trying to speak for God as if they’re on the same level as God as far as I’m concerned. Our ways are not His ways as spelled our in Isaiah 55:9.

To use a graphic example of how warped the debate has become now. In recent years, Ultra Conservatives have basically asserted the idea Abortion = Child Sacrifice. It is connected to the QAnon and Deep Space Conspiracy Theories and it’s why believers in those conspiracy theories understandably become explosively violent without provocation. They assert–without proof or evidence of course–Democrats (as well as the ultrea rich) sacrifice kids and aborted babies to demons and idols for power. I’m sure some of you heard of “Pizza Gate” a few years ago and…yeah.

As a reminder, the overwhelming majority of people who at least partially believe some of these things self-professed Christians. Just so we’re clear, when I said “Abortion = Child Sacrifice” I mean they assert Democrats (as well as the ultra rich) literally sacrifice kids and aborted babies in demonic rituals. If you believe that to be true, naturally you’re “justified” to want to murder Democrats (and others) because “that’s what you’re supposed to do”.

 

 

…All that said.

The separation of Church and State is being openly challenged right now. We have not seen anything like this in America since colonial times, I’ll just put it like that. These are uncertain times to say the least but nothing happens before its appointed time. This is the biggest reason I’m so confident The Second Coming is NOT going to happen within the lifetime of everyone alive now. The clues and signs for it are nowhere in sight let alone close to being imminent. I am definitely NOT saying we should be complacent. What I am saying those who are planning wait out the Second Coming would be wise to change those plans.

Too many Christians in modernized countries have made it clear the world they’re selfish, self-centered and self-serving. They feign piety when in truth their motivations are money, power and oftentimes sex as well. As I’ve explained to many via social media, so-called “prophets” and “True Believers” who have given themselves over the seducing spirits and delusions have cloaked their political views with religion. This was exemplied by former Arizona Republican candidate for Governor Kari Lake. Like Trump, she refused to concede after losing in the Midterms last month. Things took a bizarre and concerning turn earlier this week when she appeared as part of a prayer circle being broadcast praying for the election she lost to be overturned. Yes, really.

We are at a tipping point as a society. So is the Christian world. This might feel like something better suited for my blog on politics but it’s 100% relevant to Christians today because of the ripple effect. As we speak, thousands if not hundreds of thousands of self-professing Christians across the U.S. are preparing to go to war with their own government. In their minds, they’re justified since they already consider the government illegitimate and everyone who supports the government is a traitor. Again, these people are self-professed Christians who want to plunge America into chaos.

The majority of us Christians who don’t subscribe to all this insanity need to take a stand. we need to stand up and show others what REAL Christianity looks like. Jesus said his kingdom is not of this world. Meanwhile, these Christian Nationalists want to replace Democracy with a Theocratic Autocracy. German authorities recently stopped a plot by some in the country to overthrow its government. People around the world are seeing what’s happening here and taking notes.

The modern world NEEDS real Christianity back. If it means losing modern conveniences, so be it as far as I’m concerned.

 

 

I want to end with this because it is the root of the problem for the Christian world over at least the last 170 years.

Too many modern Christians STILL believe the third commandment is only talking about swearing. It’s not. It’s also meant for those who claim to believe in God or a follower of Christ but shows otherwise in their attitudes and actions. That brings me to Matthew 24:4-5. It’s another passage that is commonly only applied to those who obviously claim to be prophets. In modern times, it is also meant for those who claim to have a message from God. Most of the ones in North America are very careful to not call themselves prophets. What they do instead is claim to have a message or “revealation” from God.

Sound familiar?

The Bible explicitly lays out some guidelines for testing people who claim to speak for God or claim to have a message from God. The most obvious is if what they say happens as they say God said it would, you know they’re legit. If it doesn’t happen as they said God said it would, you know they’re a liar or a fraud. Another area to test is who do they point to? Is it themselves, their denomination or their ministry they point people to? Or do they point to the God and Scripture? True Prophets will always point to God and Scripture while minimizing themselves. PAY CLOSE ATTENTION TO THIS. More so now with charismatic preachers and televangelists openly looking for people to mislead and defraud.

Another test is obviously, how are they living their lives? Are they living one way while claiming to be something else? There are a LOT of sham doctrines being heavily promoted out there but one most would agree to be one of if not the worst is the Prosperity Gospel. You know, “God wants you to be rich” and soforth and so on. It’s basically a Christianized version of Ronal Reagan’s Trickle Down Ecnonomics policy: “Let the rich get richer and maybe some of it will trickle down to you”.

…Whew.

Across ALL denominations, a lot distractions and confusion is running rampant.

 

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If you read your Bible, you shouldn’t have any reason to doubt the validity of Climate Change [UPDATED]

 

Scientists and researchers are sounding the alarm louder than ever and with increased frequency to anyone who will listen about the world being on the fast track to ruin because of the actions of a few. The last line in Revelation 11:18 clearly states God will destroy those who destroy the Earth. It’s embarrassing for me to see and know that the secular world is far more concerned about the state of the only planet mankind lives on than Christians seem to be.

 

Matthew 24:22 states in part “Except those days be shortened, no flesh should be saved.” What this means is there will come a time when things will get so bad, all life on Earth will be facing mass extinction. This is to say nothing of Revelation 11:18 which to paraphrase says in part God judge and destroy those who destroy the Earth at the appointed time. In short, there is scripture that supports Climate Change in the present as well as the future and obviously the past. On that note. Archeologists, Meteorologists and other researchers have been taking a more serious look at Genesis’ account of the Flood in recent years.

 

While they’re not specifically mentioned in the Bible, Dinosaurs WERE real. It’s easy to focus on the fact the global human population dropped to 8 after The Flood but it wasn’t just humans who were purged. God chose what from the animal kingdom would be preserved through the flood. The Dinosaurs were among those that were not and likely could not be preserved. Not just the carnivores but the herbivores too. Why? Science tells us Dinosaurs that were herbivores required an abnormally large amount of vegetation just to sustain themselves. They would have threatened not just the surviving humans but other herbivores in the animal kingdom too. This is why they also had to be wiped out.

 

We know that in the years leading up to the flood, most of humanity lived in the middle east region. Why then was the flood a global one? Because the Flood was primarily used to wipe out what was then Earth’s dominant species: The Dinosaus. A 40 day GLOBAL rainstorm wouldn’t have been necessary to wipe out humanity and more so since most were in one region of the world. Looking at it logically, humans weren’t the primary species God wanted to purge.

 

Remember when I said earlier researchers were taking a second look at The Bible’s account of The Flood? Traces of saltwater and seashells have been found in out of place regions such as Mt. Killimanjaro, the Nevada Desert and even The Himalayas. This is to say nothing of dinosaur fossils with perfectly preserved tissue being found more and more all over the world. That last one’s been having fun destroying the idea the world is millions of years old as Evolutionists want people to believe. Dinosaur remains with tissue and organs preserved enough to extract full DNA samples from obviously can’t be millions of years old as people are being taught as fact. Whoops!

 

That brings me to the Jurassic Park movies. For those who are unfamiliar with the Jurassic Park movies, it’s revealed in the original 1993 movie scientists used Frog DNA to fill in missing gaps in Dinosaur DNA to revive them. It goes without saying that was a very stupid and dangerous idea if the course of the movies are any indication. The Dinosaurs were wiped out for a reason. We actually do now have the technology to bring Dinosaurs back to this world but that’s a pandora’s box that should NEVER be reopened if the movies are any indication. It’s wouldn’t take much time or effort for Dinosaurs to restablish themselves as Earth’s dominant species.

 

Looking at human history since The Flood, you can consider that event a soft reset believe it or not. A hard reset would have been everything getting wiped out. One of the few things both the Christian and Secular worldviews do agree on is Earth already faced a global mass exinction event. The Flood was that event and the Secular world is finding it harder to hold on to other theories because of what’s being found in the fossil record.

 

Personally, I look at Matthew 24:22 as a promise we shouldn’t have to worry about Earth being rendered uninhabitable before The Second Coming. There certainly will be mass extinction events between now and then but nothing on the scale of The Flood. That doesn’t mean we as believers can do whatever we want and not have to worry about the consequences. Those who exploit Earth’s resources with wreckless abandon and rob not only future generations of people but plants and animals of life will be dealt with accordingly at the appointed time.

 

I’ll stop short of saying all Christians should be environmentalists but at the very least, we should advocate for conservation or restoration of places devastated by climate change. Most of the U.S. West Coast is literally on fire right now and has been for almost 15 years for example. Over half the U.S. has been experiencing record high temperatures even in places that were traditionally much colder such as Minnesota, Colorado and Wisconsin until about 15 years ago.

The earth itself is literally groaning and heaving because of the effects of sin. Climate Change is here and it has been for some time. Those who continue to deny it will not be spared from its effects either.

 

 

 

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As America is rocked by a wave of mass shooting events, the silence from Christians is deafening

 

When the racially motivated mass shooting at a supermarket in Buffalo, New York happened no one could have anticipated it would have been the first of several mass shooting events across America that have followed in the days and weeks after it. Yet, that is exactly where we are now. Whenever there is a mass shooting event, war, genocide, mass killing or homicide in general in recent decades, most who are familiar with prophecy tend to immediately think of what Jesus said in Matthew 24:12 which says “And because iniquity shall abound, the hearts of many shall wax cold.”

It’s important to understand this isn’t in reference to those who carry out acts of violence alone. It’s referring to society as a whole in every country and culture around the world. Let’s be honest, most of the Western world lost its sensitivity to violence over the last 60 or so decades because of how prevalent it is mass media. It’s much harder for a society to value human life when the overwhelming majority are entertained by depictions of violence, death, killing and murder glorified in movies, music, social media, memes, TV shows and video games we shouldn’t be surprised a growing percenatage of Americans feel violence–specifically with guns–is an acceptible way to resolve differences and disputes of any kind.

It’s quite interesting to me given entertainment media in China, Japan, South Korea and other parts of the world is today not that much different from what’s produced in the U.S. Yet, you never hear of these mass shootings or mass casualty events anywhere else in the world. Why is that? Because culturally, violence is what Americans know best and this was true before mass media too.

There is an old saying. In peacetime, children bury their parents. In wartime, parents bury their children. Although America has been at war for all but about 20 years worth of its entire history, more Americans have been killed domestically to gun violence and homicides in general than every war or conflict America has been involved in including the Civil War. How strange is it to know you’re actually much safer in Kharkiv, Port-au-Prince and Mindanao–three of the most dangerous cities in the world right now–than anywhere in the U.S.? This is where we are right now as a society.

Don’t take some media outlets “suddenly” giving daily updates on gun violence across the country as pandering to one party and trying to shame the other. There are many out there who have been quietly keeping track of gun violence for decades. As someone who grew up in Boston during the 1980s and 90s, I certainly know what I’m talking about. Los Angeles and New York were the epicenters of America’s urban gang warfare during most of the 80s and 90s but no city or town was untouched. Most kids–especially boys of color–knew or learned fast to be off the streets before sundown if they didn’t want to be caught up in gang violence or be mistaken for being in a gang by police and get harrassed.

A large part of what kept me, my brothers and cousins out of trouble was being involved in our church during that time. Church communities played a pivotal role in breaking the siege gang violence had on America’s cities by the mid-90s. Pastors and other clergy who were getting sick and tired of regularly doing fugonerals for children snuffed out by gang violence. The tipping point was the deaths of rappers The Notorious B.I.G. and Tupac Shakur. There were real concerns things could explode into urban warfare. Pastors and other clergy approached the leaders of gangs and brokered an end to most of the gang violence.

It’s worth saying gang violence is still a thing in the U.S. but now it’s nowhere near what it was during its height in the 80s and 90s. There is obviously also gun violence in America’s cities but things are different now. More so given no matter how much conservatives are pretend otherwise, it’s also reached small towns and rural areas too. People walking their dogs might find body in a ditch somewhere. A kid walking to school sees a car wreck with police tape around it. They tell themselves “This is from elsewhere. This is not us” as if to justify turning a blind eye. This is nothing more than Matthew 24:12 in action.

 

I have talked to people who used to run with gangs in the 80s and 90s. They’ve said during their youth, gangs went by a certain set of rules. One of them was on collateral damage or innocent bystanders. Basically, you try not to target anyone not connected to the intended target and more so if they’re a child, pregnant or elderly because of the media coverage and police investigation that may follow.

These days, all bets are off.

Those who used to run the streets decades ago do feel they are partially responsible for what some have referred to as urban warfare. When they ran the streets their chosen lifestyle was glorified in music, movies and tv shows. The streets of New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and Miami in particular were basically an urban wild wild west back in the day. “Why would I turn to the police when I can handle it myself? The police will just complicate things.”

By the mid 1990s, communities had enough of the often drug-fueled killings and revenge killings. More so since there were almost always innocent people caught in the crossfire. Gangs got the message loud and clear and more so after more and more of the people were being rounded up and sent to prison, often for life. Today, most who lived that lifestyle in the 80s and 90s both in and out of prison will tell you: “I wish I knew then what I know now.” Those serving life in prison are trying to tell their stories to young people with the hope they can learn from their mistakes. Those who did time and got out

Today, all of the gun violence is obviously not gang-related. No, it’s something deeper. There’s just no reason or need for it yet it’s happening on a daily basis now. It’s no the fact that so many have such easy paths to legally purchasing an assault rifle in the U.S. It’s not even the people who do it, some of whom are mentally disturbed that is concern to me.

For me, the greatest concern is those who personally knew them and did nothing to stop them in advance.

The refrain from the family, friends and colleagues or coworkers of those who carry out these acts of violence is always the same aside from condolences to the victims’ families: “We didn’t know he was capable of such a thing.”, “He was such a nice guy”, “I don’t believe it, there must be a mistake”. For every mass shooting event that’s happened, there are dozens more that have been prevented because their family members stepping in. Because of America’s cultural distrust of authority figures in general, this doesn’t happen within families much anymore. Intead’s it’s just “keep quiet” about things.

Well, the story of Achan in Joshua 7 is one of many warnings in the Bible that outlines what happens when families decide to “keep quiet” about the sins of one: Not only was Achan stoned to death but his entire household was also executed along with him. Why? Because they knew what he had done, they knew it was wrong, they knew 36 of their people were killed because of it and they STILL kept quiet. Achan’s family comitted the Sin of Omission that’s what roused God’s indignation when Joshua inquired about the casualties. Had any of them told Joshua before Achan was found out, they might have been spared. Since they put the love of the family before not just before God but their own people, they had to be cut off.

The same idea can be applied today. No, I’m not saying whole families should be wiped out because of the actions of one person. They should be made to understand that the actions of one have consequences though. Some states have already passed laws in which the parents of juveniles who commit violent acts can themselves be codefendants in a trial. I know some consider that “unfair” but you don’t need to be a psychologist to know how someone is raised can impact how they view life.

 

I want to end with this because it is important.

These are some of the caskets for the children killed in their classrooms last month. In a country like the U.S., rhe only time a parent should expect to bury a child would be if they died from an illness or accident. Not because they’re homicide victims in their school, a mall or a church. For the last 25 years our socitety has basically told the current and previous two generations of kids we can’t protect them because of politics and corporate greed.

Even worse is as Christians, we have been silent on the issue of mass shootings and reform. We are doing nothing and saying nothing especially those who either themselves are or live among people who we know put their worship of their guns and the Second Amendment before anything else. The irony for Christian gun owners is that actually violates the First Commandment which states in part “Worship Him Alone” and the Second Commandment which basically states “Do not worship anything that was made”.

You’ve probably heard of the old saying “One cannot serve two masters”. One of the new talking points from some gun owners is basically “guns are a tool and they’re not inherently evil or bad”. That’s true but like swords, they exist for the sole purpose of causing death or injury. No other reason. It doesn’t matter if you own a gun for hunting or the defense of your home and property. It doesn’t change that simple truth.

I’m just sick and tired of the fact protecting and preserving the lives of people here now is below guns, companies, and pets as far as most Christians are concerned. Everyone is in their political or denominational corners and they’re refusing to leave. This is a problem that doesn’t exist in any other country of the same makeup, size, government and values. We need to get our act together or look forward to perishing together. Full stop.

This isn’t a political problem in America. It’s a moral one.

I know too many people my age and younger who have been firm about their stance of never having children because as far as they’re concerned, this country is no longer a safe place for children to be born into. This is to say nothing of those who are so convinced The Second Coming will happen within the generation of everyone alive right now, they don’t see a reason or need to have any kids. I’ll speak more to this in a separate post but I had to get all of this off my chest.

 

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It Is Written’s John Bradshaw joins Amazing Facts and Hope Channel in pushing back hard against Conspiracy Theories being spread in the Church

 

Seeing God answer my prayers is such a beautiful thing and more so when it comes to the rampant conspiracy theories being aggressively spread online and in churches in recent years. All three organizations are separately attacking–but not naming–those who are promoting conspiracy theories within the church.

I recently took a look at the on-demand content currently available on It Is Written and Hope Channel. I was greatly encouraged and pleased to see they are answering the call for order to disorder and truth to rumor.

A few years before the Corona Virus Pandemic spread across the world, splinter factions were sowing seeds of distrust of the General Conference, which is the governing body of the SDA Church. The divisive, toxic rhetoric ramped up when the Pandemic began, again after the death of George Floyd, again during and after the 2020 Presidential Election and of course, once the COVID-19 vaccines became available. It’s simply ramped up in intensity and urgency since then.

I won’t deny some of them have good intentions but the problem is they are sowing and promoting division in the church at the least and promoting anti-Catholic rhetoric at the worst. Not just in attacking the General Conference but more often than not their hyper focus on denominational exceptionalism, politics, the Vatican’s every press release and current events in general. They want the church and by extension God to adjust to their liking when it’s supposed to be the other way around.

The problem is more so these days, people want their theology to match their political and personal views. People don’t want to be told they need to change their thinking. Instead, they want to be told why they’re right to feel the way they do and why they need to hold fast to what they believe. People don’t want to be told they should be kind and respectful to people who have different opinions, thoughts and beliefs from them. Instead, they want to be told why they should be suspicious of anyone and everyone who doesn’t think like they do and why anyone who doesn’t share their beliefs is a potential enemy.

The devil is working as hard as possible to keep Christians regardless of denomination in conflict with each other for as long as possible. Not just across denominations but in recent years within one denomination. Although it is nothing more than a delay tactic, it has clearly been very effective. Christians in conflict with each other aren’t spreading the Gospel or doing Evangelism. As I said before though, this is nothing more than a delay. God will straighten this out eventually, usually by finding people elsewhere willing and able to do the work.

 

While Hope Channel, Amazing Facts, It Is Written and 3ABN separately work to reach those in North America who have been led astray by these splinter factions and conspiracy theories, the Gospel message is STILL getting into the 10-40 Window. Slower than anyone would like but still going where it’s needed.

The above map shows all of the countries that are in the 10-40 Window. It is known across all of Christianity and Catholicism as the largest Unreached Mission Field in the world. This region is where Islam, Buddhism and Hinduism as well as Confucianism and Taoism were founded.

That doesn’t mean Christianity doesn’t have footholds in this region already:

• The biggest bastion of Christianity is obviously The Philippines. Although it is predominantly Catholic, Amazing Facts has opened the country up for Protestantism. Various Protestant Denominations do have Evangelical Training Centers based in The Philippines for training Missionaries from North America and Europe. Once trained, the Missionaries go to other countries in the 10-40 Window.
• Japan is known for Atheism, Shintoism and Buddism but it does have Freedom of Religion. Most Western Christians prefer to avoid Japan because they believe Atheism and more recently Materialism are too strong to reach the people there. Nothing could be further from the truth. Most of the protestant churches in Japan are small but many have been using their “Virtually Unknown to Neighbors” status to their advantage to witness to people. Japanese Christians are finding ways to witness in ways that are culturally acceptible. That’s what you’re supposed to be doing.
• India is known as the heart of Hinduism but there is a rapidly growing Christian population in the country. The country’s media Industry recently replaced America’s as the largest and most comprehensive in the world. In no area is this more prevalent than in Evangelism. A few years ago, Amazing Facts visited the largest Protestant Church in India–and probably the world–which holds church services every weekend and feeds all 40,000+ of their members every weekend. Amazing Facts announced this non-denominational church has accepted their request to translate their literature into the local languages.
•  Northern Africa has been an Islamic stronghold for centuries though due to pressure from Europe and the U.S. in recent decades, some of these Islamic nations have become a little tolerant and accepting of non-Muslim religions. Egypt and Jordan in particular are most known for their defense of Israel, which sits between the two countries. It’s still a death sentence to openly evangelize, let alone convert from Islam to Christianity in most of the Middle East and Northern Africa–they don’t seem to care as much if you convert to Hinduism or Buddhism–but it’s not stopping people from doing it.

These are just a few examples.

As a reminder, God can take the Gospel Message to the world without help. That’s not the point. What is the point is The Great Commission:

Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all mankind.” ~ Mark 16:15

…Emphasis on the first five words. These was Christ’s last words on Earth before he ascended into heaven. We’ve gotten the rest of this sentence taken care of but the first part has been greatly neglected in recent decades. More so those who live in North America. It’s no wonder Christians elsewhere as well as anyone who’s done missionary work and come back have all said the same thing: Christianity has stagnated in North America.

Until about 50 or 60 years ago, Missionary work was the driving force for Christians in North America. Mostly due to the pervasive influences of toxic politics, immorality and materialism, many Christians–actually, whole churches–have adopted a transactional approach to their theology publicly and privately: “What’s in it for me and what can I get out of it?” This has been made a bit more clear in recent years with America’s longstanding tradition of being perceived as a “Christian” Nation with “Christian” values. Efforts to maintain or “restore” that facade has simply made the facade more obvious is all. Take it away and what’s left?

 

I want to return to this subject but weather anyone wants to admit to it or not, the SDA Church is not immune to the divisions and conflicts so prevalent in other Protestant denominations.

Hope Channel, It Is Written, Amazing Facts and 3ABN are just some of the many Adventist-based media organizations doing what they can to try to at slow or ideally reverse the flow of members who are leaving the church to “go their own way”. If you are not seeing this where you are, that means you’re not paying attention to what’s going on or maybe you’ve already left. It’s more widespread in North America than most would be willing to acknowledge which is understandable. No one wants to admit to the reality their church family has problems.

 

To those who feel the splinter faction or online preacher they have chosen to listen to is “better” or “more honest” than the SDA Church, remember this verse:

Beware of false prophets who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are as ravenous wolves. By their fruits you will know them…” ~ Matthew 7:15-16

They always mix truth with error. Facts with lies.

One of the easiest ways to pick them out is by the fact they selectively quote half a bible verse–often having nothing to do with what they’re talking about–but will spend almost all of their speaking time discussing politics. The bible passage they reference is actually the misdirection. They need you to believe what they’re talking about is backed by scripture and this is why when they recite scripture, it always feels out of place and without context in relation to everything else they’re talking about.

Many of these outspoken independent online-only ministries want you to believe they’re justified in constantly attacking the SDA Church, Mark Finley, Barry C. Black and more recently John Lomacang basically because they say so. I’ll just put it like that. Their favorite motto is “Speaking truth to power” when in reality they are speaking confusion to whoever will listen. I say this knowing there are many sincere people who like what these online speakers say or more often want their church service to be like what they see with these online speakers.

Ask yourself this question: Why are these speakers in these various online-only platforms so fixated on using fear and persuation based on speculation and rumor to make their point? Think about it. Whole churches have joined these splinter factions because “The SDA Church General Conference can’t be trusted to tell the truth but don’t worry, it’s ok. We’ll tell you what they don’t want you to know about what’s really going on”.

That’s how they get whole congregations to leave the church. A few church members will see their ministry and send the video to their pastor and church leaders. They’ll then pressure the pastor and church leaders to either force a vote to leave the General Conference–usually citing Ellen G. White saying churches are justified in leaving the General Conference for truth–or just tell church leadership they’ll split off otherwise. More often than not, it puts the pastor in a difficult position and unfortunately most give in. Of course, the church ends up splitting anyway as those who oppose leaving the General Conference will themselves leave for another church.

This is appears to be Satan’s current plan for the SDA Church in North America and I point to the 60th General Conference Meeting as the tipping point for many. Held every several years, all the SDA Church’s leaders from around the world come together to vote and discuss matters that concern the entire denomination. At the 2015 meeting, the delegations made two historic votes.

One vote was the vote against recognizing Same Sex Marriage, Relationships and the Ordaination of anyone who identifies as LGBTQA+. They cited the Bible speaking against it as why. No one was surprised by this (though some who were not happy about it). It was a unanimous vote though.

The other vote was on the subject of Female Ordaination. The church knew in advance this vote would cause division regardless of which side won the vote. What no one was expecting was for the General Conference to vote unanimously against allowing Female Ordaination. While most of those who didn’t like the outcome did accept it, some were so angry they either left the church or wrote angry letters to the General Conference. To that point, there were probably hundreds if not thousands of ordained Female clergy. The minister who baptized my mother was herself a woman.

The General Conference reasoned there was no Biblical Support for Female Ordaination but also acknowledged there was no scripture against it either. Many people believed the vote was done because some in Church Leadership felt threatened by women in positions of power. The silver lining to this is women who already were ordained were not stripped of their status or told they could not preach anymore. They were simply no longer allowed to be the sole leader of an SDA Church. What no one could have imagined was how deeply that vote would fracture the church. Some people just decided if the General Conference did or said something they didn’t like, all bets were off.

Fast forward to SDA Church’s decision to endorse the COVID-19 vaccines this past May.

Many Adventists who oppose getting a COVID-19 vaccine have taken the church’s endorsement of the vaccines as a betrayal. Most who oppose getting a COVID-19 vaccine conveniently forget the fact the church endorsed Immunization in general long before this pandemic. These splinter factions know most people don’t know or care about the fact the church endorsed Immunization a while ago so they’re careful not to point this out.

At the same time, the SDA Church has been very careful in saying weather you get vaccinated or not in general is a personal decision to be made by the person. The church has no say either way and no one is being “forced” or coerced to get vaccinated against their will. This includes employers and various places that have recently imposed vaccination requirements. Like it or not, they have the right to do that. You don’t have to like it or get vaccinated if you don’t want to but you do need to accept the fact you are going to temporarily lose some freedoms as a result.

I say temporarily because already, there are signs certain movement restrictions are being eased across the U.S. and the world. Folks just need to hold on for a bit longer at this point. Most Christian scientists and Christian doctors who’ve commented on Christianity’s response to world governments’ efforts to control the spread of COVID-19 agree we greatly overreacted. Most experts across all denominations agree the measures governments took to try to control the spread of the Corona Virus including asking places of worship to not hold in-person services for months was reasonable and rational at the time.

The Pandemic Phase will likely end by the middle of next year and the Endemic Phase will begin. What that means is as many have said, COVID-19 is not done with humanity anytime soon. It will be contained but it will still be a threat for at least a few more years after the Pandemic Phase ends next year.

 

I want to end with this because the SDA Church’s Mission has clearly been lost among the discourse and political instability in the U.S. in particular:

The Mission of the Seventh-Day Adventist Church is to make disciples of all people, communicating the everlasting gospel in the context of the three angels’ messages of Revelation 14:6-12, leading them to accept Jesus as personal Savior and unite with His remnant church, discipling them to serve Him as Lord, and preparing them for His soon return.” ~ GC Working Policy, 2009

The SDA Church knows it has more important things it needs to focus on than the discourse and vitriol all these splinter factions are about. Thankfully, God is ensuring the work is still getting done where it needs to despite the problems in North America. Other regions are stepping up and it’s we need to refocus before God is left with no choice but to take away the blessings we have been taking for granted from us and give them to those who would better put them to use.

One question I honestly haven’t heard in almost 20 years now is “How many people have you led to Christ?” It’s an important question and not meant to invoke bragging. It’s one of the most serious questions a believer should be asking themselves and others. If you are not able to answer this question, it means you have work to do.

That’s the problem with the Church in North America especially. We’ve collectively become too complacent, lazy and cynical to focus on The Great Commission. Yes we’ll talk about it all year round but turning the talk into action has been a problem for a bit too long now. I have a theory I can’t prove but I do think the one of the reasons the COVID-19 pandemic has been hitting Christians in the U.S. the hardest is to punish us for neglecting our responsabilities. This is nothing more than my opinion so don’t quote me on it.

 

 

I completely left this out when I hit publish by mistake despite the fact it is perhaps the Number 2 topic on the minds of most Adventists in North America after Prophecy right now: Country Living.

Pastor Doug Batchelor has been pretty open about the fact he has a home that he built in the middle of nowhere somewhere in Northern California. This is aside from his primary residence near the Amazing Facts World Headquarters in Granite Bay. Pastor Batchelor doesn’t talk about Country Living much because he is keenly aware it’s not the kind of thing most Americans in particular can just jump into. More importantly, it’s not something Adventists should be so hyper focused on in the ways many have been in recent years.

More so now than in past generations, most of the world population lives in or near a city. Don’t quote me on this but the percentage is believed to be around 62% who live in or near a city now. This is why the SDA Church decided to make a special focus on Evangelism in the world’s biggest cities a bit over 10 years ago. The General Conference was pretty candid about why they were making such a bold focus: Because traditionally, Christian Missionaries prefer to focus on the rural areas of the world. With more and more people living in cities compared to the past, it makes more sense to have a paradigm shift.

That’s the juxtoposition for Adventists in North America in particular and more so those who just want to use what they know of prophecy to withdraw themselves from society and save themselves. This is the reason for the popular focus on the National Sunday Law to come among Adventists in North America. For many Adventists, that law being passed in the U.S. is the signal to be watching for so they know it’s time to off the grid and go into hiding.

…Yes, really and it’s so obvious. It’s no wonder there is another paradigm shift going on soon if it’s not already happening right now.

I have another theory I can’t prove but given recent history, it feels pretty credible. By the time Europeans started moving to the Americas 400 years ago, Christianity had stagnated in Europe. Did you know this migration of Christians from Europe to what is now the United States of America is referenced in Revelation 12:6 and 13-16? Most Adventists are familiar with Revelation 13:11, which reference Remnant Church (The Woman is White) fleeing Europe across the Atlantic Ocean (“The Earth Helped the Woman”) to present-day U.S.

As it happens, the United States is the Second Beast Power described in Revealation. The U.S. is a country without either a king (no crown) and also made up of people from all over the world (“multitudes of people”). Revelation 13:13 makes an interesting reference to “Fire combing down from heaven”. Did the U.S. did something like this at some point in its history? Yes: The Nuclear bombs dropped on Japan at the end of World War II. The world hasn’t been the same since and more so since other countries have gained Nuclear weapons. An element of prophecy was fulfilled and the world learned to fear and respect the U.S. because of that alone.

I mentioned I have a theory I can’t prove earlier. That would be Revelation 18:4-5 which appears to describe a call for believers to “come out” of a morally and spiritually corrupt society. Those who have said the Corona Virus Pandemic may be a form of divine punishment against the U.S. are probably not wrong to say so. I do think this is a warning to Christians at large in the U.S. that we may have forgotten what we’re supposed to be doing but He has not and time is running out. There is much work to be done and if we will not do it, God can raise people elsewhere on this planet who can and will do His work.

 

This is also why I plan to leave the U.S. behind at some point hopefully in the near future personally. On a personal level, I have always been deeply bothered by the Americanization of Christianity. More so with the politically motivated vitriol so prevalent from self-professed Christians in the U.S. these days. I have noticed from talking to Christians online who live in countries that don’t have the resources most Americans take for granted–education, opportunities, infrastructure and so on–there is a more sincere and earnest approach to what it means to be a follower of Christ. More doing and less posturing in short.

The biggest reason for this is they do not have many of the distractions so prevelent in the U.S. especially in the area of mass media. At least, not yet. The bible does warn that there will come a time where the world will be like it was in the days of Noah when people only thought evil continually. While signs of what’s to come has started to abound in just America over the last 20 years, globally the world “is not bad enough”.

Besides, the IS one OTHER condition that has yet to be fulfilled that most Adventists and particular have been neglecting: The Gospel message needs to go to the whole world. Jesus was clear about this. Yes, we now have the capability  to achieve this within the lifetime of everyone currently alive yet it hasn’t happened yet. If we want to know why not, we have only look at ourselves for the answer.

We can’t be moaning and groaning about the Lord “delaying or appearing to delay His return” yet also not being willing to do our part. I can’t help but wonder now that if there is in fact a delay, it may in fact be to give as much time as possible for the Gospel message to go to the over 4 Billion Unreached out there, most of them living in the 10-40 Window.

On that note, I’ll end with this.

Personally, I do not believe The Second Coming will happen within the lifetime of everyone currently alive. I cosider it a form of date-setting which the Bible strictly warns against for one. Second, it’s a popular view but that doesn’t make it true or right to believe. We are called to “be ready”, not get ready. We were already told what the state of the world will be when The Second Coming happens and like I said earlier, the conditions are not in place for that to happen anytime soon.

The time is now to Evangelize like your life depends on it because it does. That’s one of the reasons I made this blog in particular.

 

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Granite Bay SDA Church Pastor Shawn Brummund: “The Enemy is Exploiting Vulnerabilities in the Armor”

 

Amazing Facts Ministries, which is headquartered next to the Granite Bay SDA Church has recently begun to openly address the divisions within the SDA Church in North America in particular. During his August 7 Sabbath sermon, Granite Bay Pastor Shawn Brummund called out all the splinter factions that have formed across the U.S. in recent years as well as the churches that voted to leave the North American conference. He didn’t name any names in particular but he made it clear what exactly he was talking about.

It’s also become pretty clear now that Amazing Facts has become very concerned with the rampant Denominational Exceptionalism and Religious Fundamentalism being promoted by some in churches and online. Without naming names, Pastor Brummund gave a strong rebuke to pastors telling people mostly online that churches are justified if they want split from the General Conference over disagreements. That’s extremely dangerous and most don’t even realize that they are doing the devil’s work for him when they say that.

Even worse is these pastors know better. ALL of them know better. A divided house cannot stand and as these splinter factions are going to soon find out, they are setting themselves up for destruction. There is a good reason Amazing Facts and Doug Batchelor in particular has spent the better part of the last decade urging Adventists and other Bible-believing Christians to “stay in the boat no matter how dysfunctional or corrupt” their church (or the church body as a whole) may be as long as that church promotes Bible Truth.

 

God knows better than anyone that churches in general are not perfect. God doesn’t expect “perfect” and knows problems will arise. It’s how we respond to problems that come up that God is more concerned with. When people get up and leave the church as soon as problems arise, that says more about them than the church itself. More often than not, those who leave over disagreements don’t even try communicate their concerns to the pastor or other church leaders. They have no problem airing their grievances online or in gossip to others though.

 

The Bible speaks of both a falling away that will take place within the church as well those who will be lured out of the church by seducing spirits. In both cases, those who leave will profess they are doing God’s will. One dangerous tactic many of these splinter factions are using to justify leaving is accusing the General Conference of Apostasy without proof or evidence. Mark Finley inviting Methodist and Baptist Pastors to do Bible Study or Outreach is not proof of Apostasy. Adventist Churches unknowingly using Hymns whose originl authors may or may not have been Catholic is not proof of Apostasy. Hope Channel, 3ABN and It Is Written refusing to entertain the more hardline Anti-Catholic and Anti-Jesuit views many of these splinter factions promote is not proof of Apostasy.

 

 

It’s ironic most of these well-meaning but shortsighted splinter factions are all about Denominational Exceptionalism–that’s exactly what it is–but basically want certain truths Adventists have to be kept from other Christians. That’s not how it works and more so given ALL of the other denominations–the Catholic Church included–does have some elements of truth Adventists as a whole should practice. The biggest one is it costs nothing to be kind to others. This is something many Adventists today could stand to keep in mind. More so over the last 20 years in particular I have noticed a lot of the warmth, fellowship and outreach at the local level is no longer happening as much as it did when I was a child and teenager.

 

When it comes to talking to people of other denominations you obviously you draw boundaries where we disagree theologically–I don’t just mean the Sabbath–but the focus needs to be on areas of mutual agreement. If you emphasize Demonimational differences and come off as judgmental, don’t be surprised if the non-Adventist you’re trying to witness or do bible study with just shuts down on you. This is also why an unwritten rule of not trying to reach across to people of other denominations has been employed by all denominations. It’s a kind of self-imposed segreation born out of “fear” of being “influenced” by the beliefs of other denominations. Christianity may be greatly fractured but there will come a time in the near future when these kinds of differences will be meaningless.

 

The 1993 incident in Waco, Texas involving David Koresh and the Branch Davidians–an offshoot cult made up of former Adventists–is still fresh in the minds of most Americans. Although they were long Disfellowed for their hertetical and extremist views prior to that incident, their former ties to the SDA Church drew negative media attention and there were even calls by some political pundits the SDA Church is a cult because of its insistance on keeping Saturday as the Sabbath Day as the Bible commands. They quickly backed off when the SDA Church threatened to sue and government officials quickly spoke out in defense of the SDA Church.

 

…A lot of the public suspicion towards Adventists never completely went away in the U.S. and we were reminded of this when Dr. Ben Carson ran for president in 2016. The SDA Church created this web page in an effort to counter a lot of the misinformation and toxic rhetoric being spread and promoted. The General Conference also reminded its U.S. Members that it is an Apolitical Non-Partisan Organization and does not endorse political candidates. Of course, this doesn’t stop individual churches from giving “unofficial” endorsements.

 

Getting back to the Davidians or The Rod as they are more known as–and yes, they are still around–like the splinter groups of today, they did not want to be a separate denomination at first. Victor Houteff–who considered himself a prophet after Ellen G. White–insisted his followers maintain their existing membership with the SDA Church even after he was Disfellowed. His beliefs were officially denounced as Heresy in 1934 by the SDA Church which also stated anyone found to promote his teachings is subject to punishment up to and including Disfellowship.

 

Its official name is The General Association of Davidian Seventh-day Adventists and the last 3 words are why most non-Adventists would not be wrong to assume it’s a part of the SDA Church. To help have some separation from the “mother” church, Davidians and their critics refer to them as The Rod which is in reference to The Shepherd’s Rod writings by Houteff himself.

 

One of the core tenets Houteff championed–and this is probably going to sound very familiar to some of you–was a call for reformation within the SDA Church. No one’s going to argue that. Another area of his focus was on symbols in prophecy and preparing for the Second Coming. Again, doesn’t this sound familiar? The problem was his hyper focus only the need to prepare for Last Day Events. In exchange, love and devotion to God are sacrificed in exchange for–wait for it–a more hardline legalistic and fundamentalist interpretation of Adventism. Again, this is yet another viewpoint shared by most of today’s splinter factions.

 

…In other words, history is repeating itself.

 

I know people who have been captivated and enamored by these splinter factions they consider to be trusted voices on theological matters and current events. I live with one such person. I’ve mentioned Jan Marcussen’s book National Sunday Law a few times now and that mindset is what is driving what has clearly become an unhealthy obession with Prophecy and Last Day Events among many Adventists in North America to leave the church.

In their minds, Adventists should focus on self-preservation and learning to live off the grid from now and the rhetoric is constantly being ramped up. They perceive the General Conference not willing to echo their agenda and narrative as proof the General Conference is being “complicit or lazy” at the least or “Apostate” at the most. Yes, the noise has rapidly reached that level. What you end up with now is people self-justifying being a congregation of a few or more often than not,  a congregation of one.

What has been the General Conference’s response to all this? Stay the course, keep the focus on the Three Angels’ Message and encourage outreach. History is on their side, after all. The General Conference is not the sinking ship those leaving due to personal or theological disagreements insist it is. The SDA Church as an institution itself is not the problem here. The problem lies in those who don’t want to have a civil discussion or debate about disagreements and that is a reflection of the current state of affairs in the U.S. in general. Over the last 20 years, people have lost or discarded the capacity and willingness to agree to disagree. All most care about now is being “right” even when they are factually, morally and scripturally wrong.

Before I move on, I’m now going to say something that may surprise some and is sure to anger others. Based on how things have gone on over the last 5 years in particular, I now feel certain it will be the Republican Party that passes a National Sunday Law. As many constitutional scholars have noted, the Trump Adminstration has done more to weaken the wall between Church and State than any other in the country’s history.

The attack on the U.S. Capitol on January 6, the voter fraud lies that led to it and the GOP no longer pretending it’s seeking power by any means necessary simply strengthens that arguement. Unlike the Dems, the GOP has consistently proven over just the last 20 years that there is little they will not do to achieve their own ends. The Dems in comparison have consistently shown a reluctance to be assertive politically especially at the Federal level.

…Let’s be real, Joe Biden wouldn’t push for a National Sunday Law even with support from the party. He respects the separation of Church and State is why. It’s not the same with the Republican Party that has been pushing more and more for those who hold identify as Christian to have special privilages.

The more you think about it, the more it makes sense to say it will be a Republican-controlled Washington that will push for legislation to make Sunday a National Day of Worship. While I do not personally believe The Second Coming will happen in my lifetime–all of the conditions for that are not in place yet–I do think most of the conditions are now in place for a National Sunday Law to be passed in the U.S. It’s only a matter of time at this point and more so given the GOP as a political party has openly embraced Authoritorianism and Fundamentalism. Sorry not sorry but if you refute that as a possability, you are not paying attention to everything going on in GOP politics.

 

Moving on.

Thanks to Wikipedia, I now know that almost a dozen factions split off from the SDA Church over the years to officially form their own organizations. Like The Rod, all of them wanted stay in the SDA Church and promote their warped and often extremist ideologies but were quickly Disfellowed and in many cases barred from returning even if they disavowed their extremist views. It’s like the old saying. Sometimes in order to save or protect the whole, a part needs to be cut off.

 

The SDA Church is one of the few denominations that are known to have strict guidelines and policies on identifying and dealing with Religious Extremism and now you know some of the history. With these splinter factions having now started adopting some anti-government rhetoric in recent years, it’s more important than ever for people to know and remember at the end of the day, God has the final say.

I am relieved to see more believers are starting to realize the Corona Virus Pandemic may have in fact been supernatural in origin. I also believe that is why every major Christian denomination including the SDA Church has formally endorsed the COVID-19 vaccines. I do believe the fact that only about 50% of the U.S. is so far fully vaccinated speaks to the political unrest and distrust of the government more than anything.

These splinter factions have adopted anti-vaccine propaganda messaging to urge people not to get vaccinated, often using Dr. Anthony Fauci’s status as a Jesuit-trained doctor as reason enough to assume there is an ulterior motive with the vaccines. This despite the fact the hard data shows the vaccines not only exceed initial expectations against event the Delta Variant but the technology used to make Pfizer and Moderna’s mRNA vaccines have actually been around for at least 20 years. That’s the real reason they were developed so quickly.

 

I know I can’t prove this but I do believe God in his infinite wisdom knew this virus would emerge when it did and so he inspired researchers to prepare the technology and techniques used to make these vaccines in advance. We already know from another event in U.S. history that God is ever present in the affairs of this world.

 

Historians agree that if the Civil War’s Battle of Bull Run in 1861 had been won by the Union Army, that probably would have ended the Civil War much sooner. The historical record states the North, which outnumbered the South and was much better equipped lost the battle due to a hastily executed Union retreat. A battle that the North should have easily won was lost to the South.

What happened?

Some of the Union soldiers reported seeing a glowing figure suddenly appear in the middle of the battlefield urging them to retreat. This caused confusion in the chain of command as no officer had initially given the order. The confusion created an opening the South capitalized on to ultimately win the battle with half the casualties suffered by the North.

Commenting on the Civil War when it began, Ellen G. White said the war would not be a quick one as God was going to use the war to punish both the North and the South. The South was being punished for the insitution of Slavery while the North was being punished for allowing it and profiting from it. A war that many in the North expected to only last a year or two at the most ended up lasting four years. Over 750,000 people combined from both sides–as well as President Abraham Lincoln via assassination–died before the war ended in 1865. That was about 2.5% of the U.S. population at the time. If that percentage today died off, we would be talking about the death of at least 7 million people.

 

 

As it happens, so far about 621,000 Americans have died to COVID-19. Almost from the beginning of the Pandemic, America has led the world in COVID-19 deaths and infections. As a believer, you just can’t look at that statistic and not understand that there is a supernatural reasoning behind it. More so given where in the country the Delta Variant is causing the most damage right now: The Bible Belt.

As was the case with the American Civil War, I do believe God is using the Corona Virus Pandemic to especially punish Christian Americans who for too long have made a mockery of Him. They claim to love God but too often, they turn their backs on their fellow man. In short, they are Christian in name only.

I remember when the Pandemic first came to the U.S. last year. An outspoken Baptist Pastor told his congregation as long as they have faith, God will protect them from the Corona Virus. Less than a week after saying that, he was dead from it. This week, a media outlet ran a story on an American Cardinal imfamous for promoting anti-vaccine conspiracy theories. Sickened with COVID-19, he is now being put on a ventilator.

I can’t help but find it interesting one by one, faith leaders who openly mock the Corona Virus and efforts to get it under control are laid low by it not long afterward. On that note, Pope Francis not only got fully vaccinated but has been urging Catholics to get vaccinated as well, saying they “have an ethical responsability”. As a reminder, the leaders of Protestant Churches including the SDA Church have all separate endorsed the COVID-19 vaccines so there is no “Papal conspiracy” here like some of the splinter groups alledge. People are overthinking things and overanalyzing things which itself is not healthy or good.

 

The Bible makes this clear: God will not save people from tribulation but through it. Just as iron sharpens iron, trials and tribulations are when people experience the most growth. Now, God does provide for His people during those times but it’s up to us to take heed. I do personally believe the COVID-19 vaccines are one of the means of getting through this pandemic. Many believers who made the presumption that it and the pandemic are part of an elaborate conspiracy are being proven wrong but are too blinded by pride, hauntiness and ignorance to even listen to reason, some paying with their lives.  We already have the hard data proving they work and are effective against the Delta Variant. I am saddened to know so many have made it clear they’d rather die to COVID-19 than get vaccinated.

At the same time, I am angered at those who claim to serve God who are helping to promote alot of the misinformation and disinformation about the vaccines and the Pandemic. Despite any real factual or theological basis for it, they insist they know more than professionals about diseases and epidemics. What they’re really doing is urging people to make a decision that could cost them not just their lives but the lives of those around them.

That is not of God.

…Full Stop. God gets pleasure from saving lives, not seeing life needlessly ended.

If anyone is telling you God wouldn’t want his people to get vaccinated, that’s not in harmony with scripture or His character. It’s unethical and immoral for anyone who considers themselves a follower of Christ to be helping to spread a lot of the vile misinformation and disinformtion out there. It’s shameful and as I mentioned earlier, people who continue to profess that rhetoric are themselves among those getting sick and dying to the Corona Virus.

The only one who profits from that kind of rhetoric is Satan. Yes, I’m going there. Those in the church who are urging people not to get vaccinated are doing the devil’s work for him. That’s how Satan operates. He sets people up for a fall and then lays their sins before God. People need to wake up and stop letting the devil use them to spread confusion. It’s sad but not surprising at all to know hate and pride are what is driving people to promote this nonsense online and elsewhere.

 

Remember Nineveh. Jonah, the most reluctant prophet in the bible was sent to proclaim a doomsday message for 40 days to the people of Nineveh. If the people did not repent, the city would be destroyed. The people did in fact repent and after 40 days when Jonah waited outside expecting to see the city destroyed, it was spared. One of the purposes of that story was to teach the importance of evangelism as well as to show believers The Lord listens to the hearts and prayers of those outside the faith who earnestly turn to him.

 

This pandemic is a trial being imposed on the whole world but the fact that it is especially deadly in the U.S. in particular is noteworthy. Think about it. Case numbers and deaths in other deveoped countries that have higher and lower populations are lower than the U.S. in comparison. Also unlike the rest of the world, there are more vaccines than willing people in the U.S. right now due to half of the country refusing to get vaccinated. These same Christians who insist the government, employers, businesses–and in some cases faith leaders–are trying to force them to get vaccinated need to understand something: If they choose not to get vaccinated, they must accept the fact that have chosen to have some of their freedoms restricted by default. Immunization against certain diseases has been a policy in this country and others for decades and centuries on that note.

 

I have friends in The Philippines, South Africa, Tanzania and a few other countries who do not understand why people in a country with plenty of vaccines to spare that could have been fully vaccinated by the end of June is only now at 50% fully vaccinated. All I can basically tell them is people are exercising their freedom of choice though they may not like what that choice could mean for them.

 

 

On that note. Just like time for the world will come to a close at some point in the future, time for people in the U.S. to get their first vaccine shot is running out. Health officials are once again sounding the alarm saying unused vaccine doses that have been sitting in storage across the country will soon need to be thrown out. Folks might remember the mRNA vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna in particular need to be kept in Cold Storage (Johnson & Johnson’s can be kept in a regular refrigerator) prior to use.

 

About 165 Million Americans have now been fully vaccinated, myself now among them. In June, President Biden authorized 80 Million unused doses of Pfizer’s vaccine to be donated to COVAX, which is an international organization that distributes vaccines to developing countries. The reason The Biden Administration has not given away more unused vaccine doses yet is because they are waiting as long as they can to give the Unvaccinated the chance to get a vaccine.

 

With Full FDA Approval for Pfizer’s vaccine confirmed to be coming next month, Health and Government officials nationwide are hopeful it will be what convinces more to get vaccinated. This is aside from doses being set aside to be used as vaccine boosters later. The United Nations has already asked countries to hold off offering booster shots until most of the world has at least gotten one vaccine shot. It’s a matter of time at this point before those who still refuse to get vaccinated will suddenly find it hard to get a vaccine later.

 

…It’s the same principle with the Second Coming.

 

Jesus is delaying His return to allow more time for people to make a choice for Him. Contrary to what some Christians in America think, it’s a choice that a person must make of their own free will. Unlike most people, God respects Free Will. God will not force himself on anyone. All He can do is tell you through scripture and personal testimony why you should choose Him. If you don’t, God will honor your choice.

 

On that note and this will be my final point. I can’t help but notice how angry and outraged so many people in this country–Christians and Adventists included–are over the idea of getting a COVID-19 vaccine. They’re not just personally angry about that but they’re also ridiculing those who did make the choice to get vaccinated. That’s the spirit of the devil in them. They have professed they would actually rather get infected and potentially die from the Corona Virus than get a vaccine.

 

…That’s the same concept in principle for those who do not choose God or worse, say they will wait to make that choice for whatever reason(s). People who think they have time will soon find out they don’t have as much time as they think in both regards.

 

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The Seventh Day Adventist Church endorses COVID-19 Vaccines

Important Notice: Due to the controversy of this subject, any comments attacking the SDA Church for their endorsement of the COVID-19 vaccines or vaccines in general will NOT be approved. In addition, any comments attacking the u.s. government, an employer or a business over their mask or COVID-19 vaccine requirements will be not be approved. Any such comments or replies will be deleted on sight as well. I also will not respond to any emails about these matters either.

~Brendan2k5

EDIT 10/13/2021: Updated the Important Notice above. Also revised some additional information reflecting the passage of time and to clarify a few points.

EDIT 9/7/2021: Updated to make a correction and additional information reflecting the passage of time.

 

Note: This article was originally posted on June 6, 2021.

 

I knew this was coming after the SDA Church reiterated in a press release last Fall the church’s position Vaccination or Immunization is  a personal choice if someone wanted to get vaccinated or not. You can read the Adventist Review Article about it here.

 

As of the week of May 12, 2021, the SDA Church has taken the position of endorsing COVID-19 Vaccination. Before I continue, I reccommend folks read the Adventist Health Ministries’ entire section on COVID-19. I also reccommend you check out this page regardless of denomination because it addresses some of speculation and conspiracy theories being spread online about the COVID-19 Vaccines. Each topic has a printed transcript below the topic video. I’m going to reference this specific article from that second link in a bit so make a note of it.

 

In August, the Biden Administation began rolling out vaccine mandates for Federal Employees and the U.S. Military which began being implemented in September. As the “boss” of all Federal Employees, it is well within the power of the office of the President to sign an Executive Order mandating vaccination of Federal Employees in general. We have already seen some governors and many mayors issue vaccine mandates as have many businsses and employers large and small across the U.S. Some are offering regular testing in exchange and some are not. Between April and August, some local and state government officials as well as some businesses were trying to incentivize people to get vaccinated but those are separate matters and should not be seen as some kind of conspiracy to “force” people to get vaccinated.

On that note. Yes, your employer can legally mandate COVID-19 vaccination and this was true before Pfizer’s vaccine was granted full FDA Approval in August. For those who continue to hold the position “the government is trying to force people to get a COVID-19 vaccine”, I’ll put it like this: Is anyone going to your home or place of employment, tying you down and trying to put a syringe in your arm? No? Then you are not being forced to do anything against your will.

The whole “If you don’t get the jab, you will lose certain freedoms” narrative being aggressively promoted by some online is not only accurate but it’s legal. Actually, I think it would be much more suspicious if governments had knowledge of vaccines that were proven to save lifes and kept it a secret. Yet, that’s the sentiment I think most of those who oppose getting a COVID-19 vaccine are basically implying. “I don’t want it and that’s all you need to know” in short.

I’m not going to waste your time and mine trying to explain why you should or shouldn’t get vaccinated and in fact it shouldn’t have to. This has also been true of my blog on politics. My opinion aside, it is a personal matter on weather you want to get vaccinated or not. More than enough data exists that proves the mRNA vaccines developed by Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna as well as Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine work and are safe.

It’s not hard to find trusted voices who will tell you otherwise. The real facts can be found on the CDC’s website so I’ll leave it at that. If you don’t trust the government, that’s not my problem or concern. If you don’t trust your doctor, that’s not my problem or concern either. Just know that there is no religous exemption being offered for any vaccine–not just this one–for a reason. The job of  government is to protect the general public from and during an outbreaks of a disease.

Those who want to claim religous exemption from not just getting vaccinated but wearing a mask, social distancing or even just washing your hands betray the fact they are just being selfish. You don’t want to get vaccinated? Ok fine, that’s your choice. At least do everything else.

 

The Pandemic Phase of the Corona Virus will likely end by next Summer. That’s not a prediction or a presumption on my part. Enough people will be vaccinated to at least say the Corona Virus is under control. Notice I didn’t say it will not go away completely. Experts and Researchers have been saying for almost a year now that we will need to learn to live with the Corona Virus for at least the next few years and they’re right to say that.

When the Pandemic Phase ends, the Endemic Phase will begin and that is what people regardless of their vaccination status need to start planning for from now. A lot of the restrictions being placed on the Unvaccinated will gradually be lifted next year and one has already been announced: Everyone regardless of vaccination status will be able to freely travel between the U.S. and Canada in January 2022. Those who are Vaccinated will be able to freely travel between the two countries starting in November though.

Getting back onto the main topic. Unsurprisingly, reactions to the SDA Church’s endorsement of the COVID-19 vaccines so far has been mostly negative. A lot of the chatter I have seen has mostly been to the effect of “The church should not be endorsing the COVID-19 vaccines” though many are also saying “I’m leaving the church because of this.” Yes, people are really THAT upset. The church was clearly expecting a lot of blowback to this announcement from Splinter Factions with the two and a half hour Q&A program done by Hope Channel on May 15. I do think some can and will be reasoned with but nothing short of a position reversal would change the minds of others. The matter is exasperated further by the political unrest in the U.S. which has impacted Christian churches as well.

 

The sad truth is many of those who are listening to pastors and evangelists telling them not to get a COVID-19 vaccine have themselves been listening to and consuming conspiracy theories alleging the Pandemic and/or the Vaccines are part of an elaborate plot to depopulate the world or control people. To make matters worse, most Americans distrust authority figures in general regardless of politics. They are so convinced that they are right, they are unwilling to hear or acknowledge the possability that they may be misinformed or lied to. That’s what’s driving a lot of the Denialsm actually. People are not willing to accept or acknowledge the possability that what they were told by what they consider a trusted voice is not true or safe to believe.

 

That brings me to Deuteronomy 18:22:

“If what a prophet proclaims in the name of the Lord does not take place or come true, that is a message the Lord has not spoken. That prophet has spoken presumptuously, so do not be alarmed.” ~ Deuteronomy 18:22

Let’s just be honest: A LOT of faith leaders claimed a year ago–and sadly still claim now–that as long as you believe in God or have faith, you can’t get infected with let alone die from COVID-19. The sad truth and reality is this is not the case. Many still claim steaming your face, rinsing your nasal passages and boosting your immune system with herbal supplements is all you need to do to stay safe from COVID-19. Again, sadly NONE of these are true and it’s unfortunate people continue to believe these myths.

To too many people, “The cure is worse than the disease” but to each their own.

 

Now let me refer you to Provebs 14:25:

“A truthful witness saves lives, but one who breathes out lies betrays the people.” ~ Proverbs 14:25

It is my personal opinion that those faith leaders (regardless of denomination) who continue to insist people don’t need to practice social distancing, wear a face covering or get vaccinated should be made to pay a steep price. They have the blood of those who died listening to them on their hands and those who recovered or are sick would have the right to sue them if they’re inclined to do so. There is no government coverup or conspiracy regarding the pandemic and vaccines as many insist there is.

 

The SDA Church (and other Christian demominations) are under no illusion unfortunately, this world is now in a post-truth and post-reality era. Many people are not willing to listen to each other over the slightest disagreement or differing opinion. In just the U.S. in particular, people have lost the ability or capacity to agree to disagree on just about everything. The church is no exception and that has only become clear in recent years.

 

To those Adventists (and former Adventists) who spend more time “watching the clock” than listening to truth and facts, that’s exactly what the devil wants you to do. The more time all these Splinter Factions continue to waste monitoring The Vatican’s every move, that’s less time being spent on actual Evangelism. I have become very concerned in recent years with how toxic the Anti-Catholic rhetoric from some is becoming. The further away from the General Conference you go, the more toxic and extreme the rhetoric becomes.

 

Having said all that, the SDA Church would not endorse the COVID-19 vaccines without their own Adventist Health Ministries and medical experts doing their own separate research first which they clearly have for over a year. I know for too many it’s not really a question of weather or not these vaccines are safe and it never was. People just want to believe whatever they want to believe and want their trusted sources of influence to only share their world views. If their church says things contrary to what they believe or want to believe–even when it’s morally or theologically sound–they’ll just leave and look for people who share their views elsewhere. More so in recent years, people only want to be hear echo chambers. They only want to their sources of information to share their worldview. Christians are no exception. It would be foolish to think otherwise and I’ve spoken to this more in later posts because there’s a lot I want and need to say on this topic.

 

The SDA Church took what many  would consider a controversial position simply by endorsing the COVID-19 Vaccines. I recently made a post on another blog in which I break down how the mRNA Technology these vaccines use works. I urge those who have questions about that to read it. Contrary to what some “Rogue Scientists” are claiming, no the mRNA vaccines do not alter your genetic structure and in fact they can’t.

 

Before I close, I want to take the time to talk about two things. The first is about some who are using Ellen G. White’s commentary on Healthcare and Medical Missionary work out of context. While it is true that much of her commentary on healthcare was universally considered ahead of its time for the time period in which she lived, that doesn’t change the fact that it was written in the context of her time. Like the Bible, some do not always take the time period in which she lived and now into consideration.

 

A few years ago, some who read her commentary in which she said she believes all Adventists should be medical missionaries took that quite literally and unfortunately, they have mostly taken extreme interpretations of that. This is less my opinion than a fact that the timing for the promotion of The Health Message a few years ago came during a time trust in modern medicine, Pharaceutical companies and modern healthcare had all become pretty low in most modern countries like the U.S., UK and Canada.

 

I mentioned an extreme interpretation and by that I mean most of those promoting The Health Message which includes the following:

 

• Daily Exercise
• Getting enough sleep each night
• Balanced Diet
• Reducing or complely cutting meat and animal byproducts from your diet
• Mental Health Awareness

 

Those are all fine.

 

The problem is the more extreme promoters of The Health Message I eluded to have been pushing for Adventists to replace modern medicine with Herbal Remedies and instead of consulting doctors, conveniently you consult the internet. Before I continue, the SDA Church has made it very clear that it does not endorse completely cutting ties with Modern Medicine or doctors. That’s because we do not live in the first half of the 1800s like some believe we should live life as if we are. Ellen White’s writings on healthcare had that time period in mind and it’s not only inappropriate but very dangerous to apply it to the present.

 

I won’t go into too much detail but there are people with certain health conditions or ailments that require modern medicine or medical care just to live. That’s a fact. I once visited an Amish Community in Lancaster, Pennsylvania in 1999. Our tour guide stopped to point out a house in the Amish community that had electricity. He explained that though the Amish do not use electricity, other utilities or other modern conveniences, they made an exception for this family. One of the children had been born with a serious medical condition–I can’t remember what the ailment was–so severe, the child required a ventillator  just to live. The child would not live long without a ventillator so they community consented to the house being outfitted with electricity and plumbing so the child could be properly taken care of.

 

Since the early 2000s–and more so due to how reality shows like Escaping Amish negatively characterize Amish Communities as “cult-like”–the Amish have slowly started adopting some things from the modern world, the biggest among them being modern medicine. Of course, there are things they will not compromise their beliefs on such as owning a motor vehicle or cellphone.

 

All that said. Even these extreme promoters of the Health Message are VERY careful not to openly tell people they don’t need the help of doctors. That’s because they understand how dangerous that is. They want to be in a position to advise but are at least being careful–for now–people don’t use them as replacements for trained medical professionals they can see in person. The fact that they promote long-disproven conspiracy theories about modern medicine and vaccines is a problem however.

 

That brings me to the second point I want to end with. More so in recent decades, more and more Christians of all denominations have adopted the dangerous and misguided presumption that Christianity and Science are opposed to each other. That is simply not true and more so given Science and Math are both heavily used or referenced in the Bible. God gives Noah the exact measurements he is to use to build the ark for example. The Lord instructing Joshua to silently march his army around Jericho a total of 13 times also reveals an understanding of the power of psychological warfare.

 

You should also keep Isaiah 1:18 in mind, which in part says “Come let us reason together.” Here’s the full verse for context:

The fact of the matter is the modern healthcare systems we know today actually started in places of worship centuries earlier. The first hospitals were churches or run by churches. While most people go to churches for spiritual healing today, it was common for people to go to churches for physical healing in the past. In the past, medical knowledge was mostly known to places of worship. Even in Asian and Arabic countries, devout practitioners of those faiths commanded intimate knowledge of medicine and the human body. Most people also considered them the most trustworthy and reilable as well.

In the 18th and most of the 19th centuries when influences from Charles Darwin’s Theory of Evolution began to promote mostly ineffective and sometimes dangerous secular medical practices in Europe and North America, people began to openly avoid doctors in general. This only increased as more and more people died in the care of secular doctors compared to Christian Health practitioners. It wasn’t until the last quarter of the 19th Century that secular medical practices finally began to improve…after they reluctantly began to adopt common practices from Christian Medicine. I’m specifically referring to sanitation, washing hands and later separating the sick from those who are not sick to control the spread of disease.

 

Today, every Christian denomination has their own hospitals (and schools and other types of services or businesses) on every continent and in almost every region of the world. Most of them are concentrated in North America and Europe. The very idea that Theology and Science or Medicine are opposing forces–an idea that has been promoted for far too long in recent decades–is a not only nonsense but more importantly, it’s dangerous for Christians of ANY denomination to keep thinking that way.

 

I have gotten emails from people who worked in the medical field for years. After the Pandemic began, many of them–all devout Christians–are now considered pariahs in their families because of where they work. Not just because of fears of them getting the Corona Virus itself but now because of a lot of the dangerous misinformation being spread online–and in churches–about the COVID-19 vaccines. More than that, they are most concerned by their peers in the medical field–you know, the self-styled “Whistle Blowers”–who are the ones who make the misinformation and conspiracy theories appear to be credible. In their eyes and in the eyes of those who believe them, those trying to correct them are the ones who are either “misinformed”, “need to do their research”, “Sheep”/”Sheeple”, “Don’t know the truth” or worse “are in on it”.

 

Because it’s plausible to them, the truth is irrelevant and that’s a pretty dangerous mindset for ANY Christian to have. The bible gives a stern warning to those who choose to believe falsehoods over truth. God will allow those who repeatedly reject truth and facts for lies, falsehoods, heresay and rumors to destroy themselves. The only kinds of people God hates more than liars and traitors are those who sow discord among people and those who knowingly lead others to ruin.

 

Those who are urging people not to get vaccinated should keep in mind that there are consequences that come with that. For one, you will have innocent blood on your hands and God will hold you accountable. Weather you thought you were doing good or the right thing doesn’t change the fact you knowingly encouraged people to make a dangerous choice. This isn’t fearmongering on my part. It’s fact.

 

I am sad and honestly angry to know a lot of people are going to continue to needlessly get sick and/or die because they chose to believe misinformation and conspiracy theories about the pandemic and the COVID-19 vaccines and won’t get vaccinated. Getting vaccinated does not mean you don’t have faith in God or don’t trust God and those saying don’t even realize the devil is speaking through them when they say this. Who but Satan would want as many people to get sick and die from this virus as possible?

The sad irony is many people who refused to get vaccinated when they were healthy and ended up getting hospitalized with COVID-19 begged to be given the vaccine only to be told “Sorry but you can’t be vaccinated now that you’re infected. It’s too late.” The reason is because it takes 2 to 3 weeks after getting just one shot (depending on the vaccine) for the protection each dose provides to fully kick in. If you give someone who is dying a vaccine, you basically wasted the dose and that’s a chance that simply can’t be taken.

It’s like I said before: If you need a reason to not get vaccinated, they’re not hard to find or invent. If either being sick and recovering yourself, seeing loved ones and people you know sick with COVID-19 or die from it isn’t enough to convince you, may God be with you. If you’re more concerned about your Freedoms being restricted during this legit public health emergency you feel shouldn’t apply to you…no comment.

 

 

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