New Lights by F. A. Buzzell

Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Feb 13, 1872

“New Lights.”

By F. A. Buzzell

From the “Life of Eld. Benjamin Randall,” by Eld. John Buzzell, I copy the following, which was from Eld. R’s diary. He says, in reference to George Whitefield:

“But oh! how disgusting to me was the news of his arrival; for I was much opposed to all traveling preachers, who in those days were called ‘new lights;’ and in short to all except the settled clergy, and to everything but form, so that the power of God was even a torment to me. Where there was any power in the preaching, I thought it was all delusion and enthusiasm; and that all such preachers were turning the world upside down, breaking up churches, frightening the people, that their earnest and loud preaching was all affected and disposed to make the people cry out, and make a noise; and that they preached only because they would not work.”

“I felt enough of persecution to have had all such preachers whipped out of town; though I should not liked to have been seen in it myself I should have been willing to have seen others do it.”

“Believing there are many others of the same disposition, I mention this with grief and shame, that if any such should ever read it, they may take warning, and cry to God to change their hearts, and give themselves no rest, till they feel the disposition removed. Oh! how dreadful to a profession of religion, a form of godliness, yet denying the power, to belong to a church, eat and drink in Christ’s name, yet hate his spiritual appearing. * O, persecuting Pharisees, Christian professors, take warning, I pray you before it be too late.”

We feel that if Randall were living now, he might, without much trouble, find many to whom this appeal could with propriety be made. Free-will Baptists, I ask you, was the founder of your society wrong in regard to his spirit of persecution? So he confessed. Well, will you, who may feel something of this persecuting spirit, receive this good man’s earnest counsel? “Take warning before it be too late.”

Are there any “new lights” within your ken? Do you see them to your mind, “turning the world up-side down?” “breaking up churches?” “frightening the people?” Remember the words, How dreadful to belong to a church, eat and drink in Christ’s name, yet hate his personal appearing. (Excuse me for changing one word.) And here you may with propriety question if the writer of this article styles your society the church having a “form of godliness,” &c. We would hope that it is not; yet from further extracts from the same source, we infer that Eld. Randall feared it might become so, and in all kindness we urge you candidly to consider his words below quoted. Are they prophetic? Will they become so? In his farewell to the New Durham quarterly meeting, with a fatherly love and gentle admonition, Randall writes:

“There is in some branches and in some members in this connection, I think, a great inclination to mingle with the world; and this I fear will cause a great deal of trouble. Oh! beware of it, I pray you; for we are called out from among the world and from every people under heaven; and our prosperity wholly depends on our following our heavenly leader; and if we do not, God will raise him up another people, and we shall sink as others have done before us.” We give the italics.

We conclude from the history of the past, and the evidences of the present time, that if God calls out a people from the world and the different denominations, they will exhibit a marked dissimilarity to those from whom they have been called out. Therefore if Methodists or Baptists who have evidently been called out, present a favorable contrast in their spirituality, their dress, and their labor for souls, to senior denominations, it is very good evidence that they are still the people of God. But if there is a striking similarity between orthodox, Baptist, Methodist, &c., aside from form and ceremony, two things are very evident; either they have not continued in favor with Him who called them out, or, they were called out to be a “peculiar” people for a season only, to relapse again into the old ruts.

Do you, Baptists, or Methodists, desire to know whether you are the “peculiar people,” “zealous of good works”? Do not decide the matter yourself; you are in danger of being prejudiced. Ask the world’s people, the sinner, the scoffer, and skeptic, if they see your good works. If there is a contrast they will know it.

“Prove all things, hold fast that which is good, and despise not prophesyings.”

And let us who think we, as Seventh-day Adventists, are called out, take to ourselves the warning of a Randall—to beware how we “mingle with the world” lest we lose our crown. F. A. BUZZELL.