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Woful Ignorance

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California Conference of Seventh-day Adventists · Oakland, Cal. · Feb 25, 1875

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 1, No. 16.

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Woful Ignorance.

By William C. Gage

It is not so much a matter of surprise that the people betray ignorance of the doctrines of the Scriptures when they have so little knowledge of Bible facts. If we tell a congregation of people, who are hearing for the first time on the doctrine of immortality alone through Christ, that the phrase "immortal soul" is not to be found in all the Bible, the chances are that some one will openly dispute the statement, while all will receive it with great surprise.
The prevailing ignorance on this and kindred subjects is not so much to be wondered at when we consider that their spiritual guides are in many cases no better off. I once knew a minister, the pastor of a flourishing city church, who boldly declared that the New Testament asserts that we must "keep God's holy Sunday!" And that man, so ignorant of the plainest facts in the Bible, was a teacher in Israel.
A recent illustration of the clerical ignorance concerning Scripture facts has just come to my notice, the occasion being the funeral of an influential citizen of this town. The minister cited the case of Moses and Elias, and their appearing at the transfiguration, as an evidence that the man, whose funeral they were attending, was still conscious. Said he, in substance, Here we have the case of two men who died and were buried by their friends, with the funeral ceremonies incident to such occasions, just as we to-day are about to bury our brother who lies before us; and yet these two men, who were thus buried, came and talked, and were seen by the disciples, &c.
Now, every Sabbath-school scholar ought to know that Elias (the New Testament name for Elijah) went to Heaven without tasting death, and hence he was not buried with "funeral ceremonies incident to such occasions," while even the most casual reader of the Scriptures might be supposed to know that Moses had no such ceremonies, for the Bible distinctly declares that God buried him, and even the place of his sepulcher was unknown.
In view of these facts, what shall be said of a professed minister of the gospel who can make such declarations in a public congregation? Verily, the "people perish for lack of knowledge." Wm. C. Gage.