BLIND GUIDES by G. V. Kilgore

Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Nov 28, 1878

BLIND GUIDES.

By G. V. Kilgore

Jesus says, “He that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth;” also, “If the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch.” Christ here tells us that false teachers are like blind guides. They and their followers walk in darkness, and fall into delusions. But Christ says they know not whither they go. This was most strikingly verified not long ago in two sermons that were preached against the Sabbath. The Methodist and Baptist ministers of a certain town in Iowa, each made a charge against God’s Sabbath, and tried to daub up the old “wall” of the popes with untempered mortar, as is usually done. But they had been to hear us enough to know that their mortar was untempered and would not hold together; so each, in his own way, tried to frame an excuse for this defect. They both admitted that there was no command for first-day observance; but this made no difference, they said, because there are other things which are true, and very necessary, that are not commanded.

The Methodist elder said, “There is no command for women to partake of the communion, or to be baptized.”

In reviewing him, I referred him to the following scriptures on communion: Matt. 26:26–28; Gal. 3:28; and on baptism, to Matt. 28:19; Acts 2:38; 8:12. These scriptures positively command women as well as men to partake of the communion and to be baptized. And when Philip fulfilled the command for baptism, he baptized “both men and women.” Paul says, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female; for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.” So under the gospel whatever is demanded of men is demanded of women also.

I showed the elder that if what he said was true, his church should never censure a sister for not coming to the communion; for “where there is no law, there is no transgression.” They should also take women into their church without baptizing them, if any desire to join them in that way; but they will not, unless they have received what they call baptism. So they require of women what God never required of them. God failed to command what they say is necessary, and the Methodist church had to make up a deficiency that they found in God’s word!

This man was evidently walking in darkness, and knew not whither he was going when he made such assertions.

The Baptist minister, seeing the failure of the Methodist, tried a new rule as follows: There is no mention that circumcision, or sacrifices, or the passover is done away. But these assertions melted to nothing under the light of the following scriptures: 1 Cor. 7:19; Acts 15:24; 21:25; Dan. 9:27; Heb. 10:1–9; 1 Cor. 5:7, 8. Isaiah says in a prophecy of the last days (chap. 56:10) that “His watchmen are blind;” and this is evident from the above statements.

Spirit of Prophecy, Vol. 1, page 78, was referred to and ridiculed by the Baptist minister. He said that what Sister White said about amalgamation of man and beast was utterly impossible. I referred him to Johnson’s New Cyclopedia, pp. 1040, 1042, that he might learn for the first time, if he never knew it before, that “Allied species are capable, as a rule, of pairing and producing offspring;” and that, “under the influence of man, mongrel races readily arise and are indefinitely sustained,”—just exactly what Sister White says. The elder said her teachings were worse than Darwinism. But I showed that her teachings were correct (Lev. 18:23, 24), and that his were worse than nonsense. It is not likely that he will be profited by what I referred him to; for he did not come to hear his discourse reviewed, although before the public I invited him to do so.

The saddest feature of the case is, that people are led by these men. Isaiah says, “O my people, they which lead thee cause thee to err, and destroy the way of thy paths.” But, thank the Lord, some good souls are obeying the command, “Cease ye from man.” G. V. KILGORE.