Elder Grant’s Injustice toward S. D. Adventists.
Our Lord, during his public ministry among men, met with no more ungenerous and unreasonable enemies, to use no harsher epithets, than those who accused him of casting out devils through Beelzebub, the prince of devils. And he forewarned his disciples that the same opposition would fall to their lot; for said he, “If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more shall they call them of his household.” Matt. 9: 34; 10: 25; 12: 24. Satan, the prince of devils, the chief of the fallen angels, still works, as he did in the days of Christ, among the children of men; but his footsteps are unseen, and the manifestations especially attributable to his power are those which occur out of the ordinary course of nature, and beyond the reach of human agency. Wicked men, it is true, do evil deeds, and utter blasphemous words, which are inspired by Satan; but we speak now of the more direct exhibitions of his power. Why did the ungodly Pharisees accuse Christ of working by the agency of the devil? Because a work had been done which was above their philosophy and beyond their power. Had our Saviour performed those works only which lie within the range of human capabilities, the Pharisees would have had no occasion to attribute them to the interposition of the devil. If a person should perform an ordinary act, and claim that it was done by the Spirit of God, an objector, endeavoring to disprove that claim, would be under no necessity of saying, No, it was done by the power of the devil; for he could say, You could do the work any time, and so could I, without the special interference of either of the agencies in question. So, then, when they of Christ’s household, his disciples in all ages, are called Beelzebub, or are accused of working through satanic power, why are they so accused? But one answer can be given; it is because they have among them exhibitions of more than human power; and those who are determined not to admit these exhibitions to be of divine origin, take the other alternative, and attribute them to the power of the devil. This language of Christ to his disciples is therefore proof that they would have among them these evidences of the presence of the Holy Spirit, and that their opposers would endeavor to destroy the force of them, or turn them against the cause of truth, by calling them the work of the devil and his angels. We think every one must admit the correctness of this reasoning. Let us apply it to the visions as held among S. D. Adventists. In the World’s Crisis, of July 5, 1871, Eld. M. Grant, editor, in an article on “The Shakers,” goes far out of his way to visit upon the visions terms of the severest denunciation. After noticing many of the false theories and foolish positions of the Shakers, and the silly pretenses, blasphemous claims, and disgusting exercises, of Ann Lee, whom they styled their “spiritual mother,” Eld. G. says:— “It will be seen from the foregoing testimony that her ‘revelations,’ ‘visions,’ ‘tongues,’ and ‘prophesyings,’ evidently proceeded from the same source as those given to Swedenborg, the spiritualists, the Mormons, and Ellen White, the oracle of the Seventh-day Adventists. If one is from demons, they all are. To our mind, this is a clear case.” He then goes on to speak of “seducing51spirits,” and their dark and diabolical character, after which he says:— “In order to get an influence over the professed children of the Lord, they will pretend to great sanctity, and require their followers to practice much self-denial,” &c. Whether this refers to the “Shaker mother,” to the “oracle of the Seventh-day Adventists,” or to the “seducing spirits,” the ambiguity of the language renders it impossible to determine. But a few lines further on, he speaks in a manner clearly to be understood. He says:— “It is a sad fact that these seducers very often get the confidence of some of the most sincere men and women; just as a counterfeiter or a seducer has best success among honest and virtuous people, who are unsuspecting. This is true in relation to the systems we have previously named in this article.” Here Seventh-day Adventism is placed on a level with Shakerism and spiritualism, and compared to a counterfeiter and a seducer. Verily Seventh-day Adventism must have some very damnable features to stir Eld. G.’s spirit to the depth here exhibited. If its character is such as that of spiritualism, Eld. G.’s zeal in this matter may pass as righteous indignation; but if it is not, such bitterness of spirit can be excused by no system less lax than that which advocates the abolition of the moral law of God. How then does Seventh-day Adventism differ from that particular type of Adventism with which Eld. G. is identified? It differs chiefly in two particulars: 1. It advocates the observance of the Sabbath of the fourth commandment, on the ground of the perpetuity of the moral law, while Eld. G. refuses to keep it because he holds that the commandments have been abolished; and, 2. It has that which it claims to be the promised spirit of prophecy in the church. Heartily as Eld. G. may dislike the Sabbath, we do not apprehend that it is this feature which has called forth his present invective; for we have never known him thus to speak of the Seventh-day Baptists, whose Sabbath theory and practice is identical with ours, nor to compare their system to a counterfeiter and a seducer. The chief trouble then is with the visions of sister White. Let us see, therefore, if they can be justly placed in the same category with the views and claims of Ann Lee, and the unhallowed teachings of spiritualism. Ann Lee claimed that Jesus appeared to her in person and baptized her into and with the Christ Spirit as John had baptized him. Does sister White put forth any such foolish claim? Eld. G. knows that she does not. Ann Lee claimed to be a “spiritual mother” to the Shakers. Does sister White make any such claim in reference to S. D. Adventists? He knows that she does not. Ann Lee claimed that God is dual, male and female, that Christ is in like manner dual, and that the second appearing of Christ was manifested through her; that she was baptized with what they call the “Christ Spirit,” and became the female counterpart of Christ. Does sister White put forth any such disgusting and blasphemous claims? He knows that she does not. Does she countenance the immorality, the licentiousness, the atheism, the infidelity, or any of the other corruptions and follies of spiritualism? Eld. G., if he has had the candor before thus passing judgment upon her, to acquaint himself with her writings, knows that with all her energy she labors to expose and condemn these evils from first to last, from the greatest to the least. Is it then just to rank her writings and her work with Shakerism and with spiritualism? If it is just to rank a person with drunkards who never partakes of intoxicating liquor, if it is just to assign a place among libertines to a person who maintains the strictest chastity of character, if it is just to confound with thieves a person who sacredly regards the rights and property of others, in short, if it is just to put no distinction between the innocent and the guilty in any practice of immorality and wrong, then it is just to class the works of sister White with Shakerism and spiritualism, and the course Eld. G. has taken in this matter can be justified, but not otherwise. To the visions as given and used among S. D. Adventists, Eld. G. cannot object on the score of their leading to fanaticism, immorality, or any evil; for their tendency is just the reverse. They aim invariably and persistently to lead to a higher type of morality, to a greater nearness to God, and to a preparation in heart and life, full and complete, for the soon coming of our Lord and Saviour. Yet Eld. G. compares them to a counterfeiter and a seducer, cold-blooded and heartless villains, the first of whom goes deliberately to work to rob honest people of their property, the second laboring to compass the ruin of innocent victims, both for time and for eternity, by robbing them of their virtue. To accuse the visions of thus seeking, designedly and maliciously, under a garb of piety, and a cloak of religion, to lead souls to utter and irretrievable ruin, is a terrible charge; and a man should have the very clearest evidence to sustain their diabolical character, before blistering his lips with curses thus hissing hot against them. And on what score does he object to them? He says they are contradictory. This is the only ground on which he condemns them. But on what reasons does he conclude that they are contradictory? Is it from a candid examination of the works themselves? or does he take the misrepresentations of partisan opponents? On this ground infidels condemn the Bible. And the conduct of Eld. G. suggests the query whether he is not pursuing the same course toward the visions. The prophet declared that in the last days the Spirit should be poured out, and there should be visions and prophesyings. Eld. G. believes that we are in the last days, yet he finds no place for these manifestations. But suppose that God in his providence should undertake to fulfill this part of the prediction, we ask how it could be done, and on what ground Eld. G. could accept it. To some person, either man or woman, for the promise includes both, a vision is given. Something is revealed for the instruction or comfort of the church. Could such person do less than to make that known to the church by all available means? seeking thereby no self-aggrandizement, and arrogating no position as ruler or leader on account thereof, but simply declaring in as plain terms as possible what had been shown? Does not the prophecy warrant as much as this? Could a person in fulfillment thereof do less? Sister White does no more. Yet to Eld. G. it is very clearly all of the devil. But what she sees, it is objected, does not agree with the Bible. With their views of the Bible, very likely it does not; but this is a very different thing. And such an objection can be admitted only from those who can show that they have outdone Pius IX., and possess in reality what he claims to have, infallibility in interpreting the word of God. Says Eld. G., “We have known these ‘seducing spirits’ to secure the confidence of their victims for weeks, months, and even years, before they were detected in the deception.” But was the devil ever known to continue the inculcation of all good principles and warnings against all evil for twenty-six years, as in the case of these visions, among those he had in his snare? Hundreds have already died in the belief of these visions, who, so far as they were influenced by them, were led to godliness and purity of life, and no effort was made from first to last by this means to instil evil into their minds and lead them away from holiness and God. Is this the way the devil treats people? If so, his kingdom is divided against itself. About twenty-three years spiritualism has been in the land. It began at first in a very pious manner, but it could not retain the mask for any length of time; and, behold, what a monster of iniquity it appears to-day! But here is a work dating back three years previous to the rise of spiritualism, and going forward at the same time, of an exactly opposite character, denouncing spiritualism at every step, exposing its evils, and warning people against its corruptions. And these apply not to the present only, but to the future, when it is predicted that spiritualism will manifest greatly increased power, and we are warned now to prepare to be able to stand against its influence then. Both these works, says Eld. G., are alike the work of the devil. Does the devil thus work against his own interests? If so, his kingdom is divided, and according to Christ’s own declaration, cannot stand. So all those who are interested to see the overthrow of Satan’s kingdom, ought on this ground alone to favor the visions rather than fight them; for they are in direct opposition to what every right-minded person has palpable evidence is the devil’s own work. Eld. G. concludes his article with these words: “By means of the counterfeit gifts practiced by the demons, through their mediums, they are able to seduce many into their artful snares. They call it a ‘display’ of the work and power of God.” It may be by an inadvertence, but Eld. G. here calls the work of the demons “counterfeit gifts.” By this he admits that there must be genuine gifts. Then we inquire where they are, and how he will test them. We also hold that the work of spiritualism with all its wonders, is a counterfeit of the work of the Spirit of God; but a counterfeit never exists where there is no genuine. We also believe that if we are not now having the genuine, according to the prophecy of Joel, as quoted by Peter in Acts, we are to have it; for this is to be in the last days. And when this fulfillment comes, how will Eld. G. regard it? Judging from his present position, this is not difficult to answer. That it is all the work of demons will be to his discerning and discriminating mind, a very “clear case.”