Back in the 1980s, I was the Church Ministries Director of the Quebec
Conference. I was alone at the office when the phone rang. I was
instantly startled by the tone of the voice at the other end. An angry
man went on the attack: “Is this the headquarters of the Seventh-day
Adventist Church?”
I asked who he was.
“I am the police commissioner of Montreal.”
Somewhat frazzled, I asked him the reason of his call and obvious unhappiness.
“We have received numerous complaints about a book entitled The Great Controversy
that is being placed in letter boxes in a “wealthy section” of the
city. After some research we have identified your Church as the
publisher and distributor. A quick perusal has clearly shown that the
book is very anti the Catholic Church and thus falls in the category of
‘Hate Literature’ because its content can easily create hatred between
communities”.
Then he quoted from an article of law that prohibited such an action
and mentioned the heavy fine that went along for distributing material
attacking another church.
My mind went numb for a moment, then I explained that our church did
not usually do mass distribution of books, only short brochures that
summarised who we were and what we believed. I added, that it was very
possible that some individuals might be acting on their own and that we
would certainly find out who and try to stop the action. He relented
and agreed not to proceed with the threat.
Later I reported the incident to the conference president who quickly
found out that a church member from another conference had donated
$20,000 to some local members for the purpose of purchasing and then
distributing the book. They selected the wealthy part of the Montreal.
The action infuriated the residents who also had a long history of
complaining to the police about Adventist church members who on Saturday
mornings caused quite a bit of inconvenience by parking anywhere they
could due to a lack of car lots. Of course, the two incidents were not
related but together they had exacerbated the hostility of the
community.
The saddest part was the reaction of those who had initiated the
“evangelistic” dispersal of the book. Upset when the conference asked
them to stop, they accused the leadership of cowardice, apostasy, and
bowing to the pressure exerted by the “agents of Catholicism that
infiltrated the church.” The incident taught me how difficult it was to
explain to determined believers that not every action was Biblically
timely or wise. Instead they found comfort in their understanding that
good people were always going to be persecuted, even by their own church
at times. I believe that the action of the conference was instrumental
in protecting the Adventist church from what might have been a very
nasty court action (we all know the frenzied appetite of the press for
such occurrences).
Therefore it was with apprehension that I heard of the General Conference plan to freely distribute The Great Controversy on
a large scale. I believe that the book was inspired and I know that
Ellen White wrote that it should be placed in all homes, but I find
myself wondering if doing so at this time in history is wise.
Did not the Apostle Paul write that we should not treat the
prophecies with contempt but test everything and hold on to what is
good. Doing so will enable us to avoid every kind of evil (1
Thessalonians 5:21). Not treating the writing of the prophets with contempt is about testing them as to their timeliness and relevance, which will help us to avoid using them in ways that are not good.
Written in the United States of the nineteenth century, The Great Controversy
had quite an impact because America was a Protestant country and any
writing that depicted in dark overtones the doings of the Catholic
Church was bound to be highly popular. Some of the words that Ellen
White used to describe the Pope and the prelates of Rome are very harsh
but the political, social, and religious contexts made it understandable
and facilitated the spread of the book. Today, any publication that
dares to use a similar approach is quickly vilified as hate literature.
We condemn similar anti-Catholic language used by white supremacists in
their rallies, should we be careful not to be perceived as doing the
same?
In 1988, I became the pastor of the Ottawa church. After my first
sermon I was standing in the foyer greeting the members on their way
out. A distinguished looking lady introduced herself, then told me that
after being a Charismatic Catholic for years she had recently been
baptised into our church. She informed that she had been severely
criticised by family and friends but had maintained her relationships.
She then invited me to meet with them, which I readily accepted for the
following week. When I arrived, the lady greeted me but the ten other
people in the room remained withdrawn. I had hardly had time to take my
seat when to my great surprise the hostess asked me to justify the
publication of The Great Controversy, which she said had almost
prevented her from joining our church. Some well meaning Adventists had
given it to her. She explained how harsh she had found the author’s
statements against her church which, she added, had always been there
for her whenever she had gone through some difficult and painful
experience. I noticed the nods of the others. Then the dam burst,
accusations and feelings of resentment surfaced. They had all read the
book and were quoting those passages that referred to the Pope as a
monster and also described Satan and the priests conniving to destroy
the Truth. The remarkable thing was that they did not question the
historical facts but the interpretation of the facts as well as the
overall tone and the ‘vitriolic’ words. I must admit that defending the
book against these accusations was not easy. I most certainly do not
wish to repeat the experience.
Mass distribution, I’m afraid, will cause a similar reaction. I do
not believe that having to face irate people and the press and maybe the
court, charged with distributing hate literature, is necessarily what
Christ had in mind when he said that those who would be persecuted for
his namesake should consider themselves as blessed.
Beyond my personal experiences, I have listed below some reasons why I am not sure of the wisdom in mass distribution of The Great Controversy.
The length of the book:
It is well established that reading is no longer the favourite
pastime of our contemporaries. Furthermore, reading religious works has
been out of fashion for quite a while (even for believers who prefer to
watch religious programs on TV). Today, communication must be fast if
only to retain the attention. Few people have or take the time to read
anything unless it is “texted”, emailed, on Facebook or Twitter.
Newspapers are folding because of the decline in readership. I believe
that it is much to expect that people would take the time to open a
six-hundred-plus-page book, which moreover requires at least a passing
interest in European history.
Postmodernism:
The West at best shows a very limited interest in religion and
secular Australia and New Zealand show almost no interest at all. Add to
this the fact that postmodernism rejects any idea that pretends to
gather together clusters of events that have no natural link with one
another and interpret them in terms of a common theme and ascribes
meaning to them. The Postmodern mind finds it problematic to accept what
it calls a meta-narrative defined as the overarching explanation of a
state of affairs. The author of The Great Controversy does just
that when she gathers historical events covering almost two thousand
years and incorporates them into a vast panoramic concept that she
identifies as the war between God and Satan. As acceptable as this seems
to us as believers, this approach is highly suspicious to most
contemporary readers.
Does it contain error?:
Adventist scholars spend quite a bit of time researching our beliefs
and practises. Most of the time the research will confirm the doctrine
under scrutiny, but sometimes the scholars are lead to acknowledge that
added insights shed new light that calls for a re-evaluation of some
beliefs. Over time the new understanding becomes part of our system of
beliefs. Thus, many scholars and well-informed church members consider
somewhat outmoded some prophetic interpretations and beliefs that are
presented in the book. Three cases in point are (1) the signs in the
sun, moon, and stars dating back some two hundred years are not
considered to be indicative of the nearness of the Parousia; (2) the
understanding of the investigative judgment; (3) That it is Satan and
not God that pours the seven bowls (Revelation 18) over the wicked. The
people who might choose to read the book will probably be the kind of
readers that will question some of the theological material and, finding
it wanting, reject the book altogether.
As a result of all the above, I’m afraid that the rubbish bins of our countries will be filled with discarded copies of The Great Controversy. That would be a tragedy indeed and certainly not what Ellen White intended when it was first published.
—Pastor Eddy Johnson is the director of ADRA Blacktown and pastors two churches in the suburbs of Sydney, Australia.
Commentary:
I agree that we share the truth "in love", yet to
now abandon the idea of distributing The Great Controversy is like
saying the "great controversy" between Christ and Satan is now finished.
Of course the book is extremely controversial, that's why it's called
the great controversy. Can we be thankful that Martin Luther did not
back down to extreme persecution by influential people. I am from a
secular home, then after the service attended Sunday churches, was tired
of my life of wondering and lostness, I "found" a copy of The Great
Controversy and readily accepted it. Why? Because I finally found out
what the story and meaning of the Universe was all about. JESUS! Do we
think that the last days will get smoother? Let's not abandon the
"Spirit of Prophecy" like Israel of old. Do you see the trend? Does
"community consensus" prevail in this world now? Or do we share the
truth in love. Do we simply allow the 4th kingdom of Daniel and
Revelation to "scare us" through influential rich people?
My Dad was rich, which I rejected because of his tyranny of control. I
have an idea of how the rich operate, and its always with soft angry
rhetoric, and sophistry of the most clever appeal. Let us love the rich
and appeal to them with love, yet let's not let them manipulate us with
"group meetings" of displeasure for truth. All the wonderful
philosophical arguments to abandon the distribution of The Great
Controversy for "community consensus" is amazingly short sited. Of
course the masses will be against it. blessings in Christ. John S.
Spectrum
