Jesus- Direct Our Steps.

"Separated unto the Gospel of God."

These are the words with which Paul described himself in the Epistle to the Romans: "Called to be an apostle, separated unto the Gospel of God." Rom.1:1. So here he says that God "separated me from my mother's womb, and called me by His grace." Gal.1:15. That God chose Saul to be an apostle, before Saul himself had any thought that he should ever be even a Christian, is evident from the sacred narrative. On his way to Damascus, whither, "breathing out threatenings and slaughter," he was proceeding with full authority to seize, bind, and drag to prison all Christians, both men and women, Saul was suddenly arrested, not by human hands, but by the overpowering glory of the Lord. Three days afterward the Lord said to Ananias, when sending him to give Saul his sight, "He is a chosen vessel unto Me, to bear My name before the Gentiles." Acts 9:15. God arrested Saul in his mad career of persecution, 42 because He had chosen him to be an apostle. So we see that the pricks against which Saul had been kicking were the strivings of the Spirit to turn him to the work to which he had been called.  But how long before this had Saul been chosen to be the messenger of the Lord?--He himself tells us that he was "separated,"--"set apart,"--from his birth. He is not the first one of whom we read that from birth he was chosen to his life-work. Recall the case of Samson. Judg.13:2-14.

Jdg 13:2  And there was a certain man of Zorah, of the family of the Danites, whose name was Manoah; and his wife was barren, and bare not. 

Jdg 13:3  And the angel of the LORD appeared unto the woman, and said unto her, Behold now, thou art barren, and bearest not: but thou shalt conceive, and bear a son. 

Jdg 13:4  Now therefore beware, I pray thee, and drink not wine nor strong drink, and eat not any unclean thing: 

Jdg 13:5  For, lo, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and no razor shall come on his head: for the child shall be a Nazarite unto God from the womb: and he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines. 

Jdg 13:6  Then the woman came and told her husband, saying, A man of God came unto me, and his countenance was like the countenance of an angel of God, very terrible: but I asked him not whence he was, neither told he me his name: 

Jdg 13:7  But he said unto me, Behold, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and now drink no wine nor strong drink, neither eat any unclean thing: for the child shall be a Nazarite to God from the womb to the day of his death. 

Jdg 13:8  Then Manoah intreated the LORD, and said, O my Lord, let the man of God which thou didst send come again unto us, and teach us what we shall do unto the child that shall be born. 

Jdg 13:9  And God hearkened to the voice of Manoah; and the angel of God came again unto the woman as she sat in the field: but Manoah her husband was not with her. 

Jdg 13:10  And the woman made haste, and ran, and shewed her husband, and said unto him, Behold, the man hath appeared unto me, that came unto me the other day. 

Jdg 13:11  And Manoah arose, and went after his wife, and came to the man, and said unto him, Art thou the man that spakest unto the woman? And he said, I am. 

Jdg 13:12  And Manoah said, Now let thy words come to pass. How shall we order the child, and how shall we do unto him? 

Jdg 13:13  And the angel of the LORD said unto Manoah, Of all that I said unto the woman let her beware. 

Jdg 13:14  She may not eat of any thing that cometh of the vine, neither let her drink wine or strong drink, nor eat any unclean thing: all that I commanded her let her observe. 

 John the Baptist was named, and his character and life-work were described, months before he was born. The Lord said to Jeremiah: "Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations." Jer.1:5. The heathen king Cyrus was named more than a hundred years before he was born, and his part in the work of God was laid out for him. Is.44:28; 45:1-4

Isa 44:28  That saith of Cyrus, He is my shepherd, and shall perform all my pleasure: even saying to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be built; and to the temple, Thy foundation shall be laid. 

Isa 45:1  Thus saith the LORD to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have holden, to subdue nations before him; and I will loose the loins of kings, to open before him the two leaved gates; and the gates shall not be shut; 

Isa 45:2  I will go before thee, and make the crooked places straight: I will break in pieces the gates of brass, and cut in sunder the bars of iron: 

Isa 45:3  And I will give thee the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places, that thou mayest know that I, the LORD, which call thee by thy name, am the God of Israel. 

Isa 45:4  For Jacob my servant's sake, and Israel mine elect, I have even called thee by thy name: I have surnamed thee, though thou hast not known me. 

  These are not isolated cases, but are recorded for the purpose of showing us that God rules in the world. It is as true of all men as it was of the Thessalonians, that "God hath from the beginning chosen" them "to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth." 2Thess.2:13. It rests with every one to make that calling and election sure. And he who "willeth that all men should be saved, and come to the knowledge of the truth" (1Tim. 2:3,4, R.V.), has also appointed "to every man his work" (Mark 13:34). He who leaves not Himself without witness even in the inanimate creation (Acts 14:17; Rom.1:20),

Act 14:17  Nevertheless he left not himself without witness, in that he did good, and gave us rain from heaven, and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness. 

Rom 1:20  For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse

 would fain have man, His highest 43 earthly creation, willingly give such witness to Him as can be given only by human intelligence. All men are chosen to be witnesses for God, and to each is his labor appointed. All through life the Spirit is striving with every man, to induce him to allow himself to be used for the work to which God has called him. Only the Judgment Day will reveal what wonderful opportunities men have recklessly flung away. Saul, the violent persecutor, became the mighty apostle. Who can imagine how much good might have been done by the men whose great power over their fellows has been exerted only for evil, if they had yielded to the influence of the Spirit? Not every one can be a Paul; but the thought that each one, according to the ability that God has given him, is chosen and called of God to witness for Him, will, when once grasped, give to life a new meaning.  The knowledge of this truth will not only make life more real for us, leading us to seek to know the will of God for us individually, and to submit wholly to Him, that He may use us to do the work for which He has designed us, but it will tend to make us more considerate of others, and not to despise the least. What a wonderful, a joyous, and yet a solemn thought, as we see men moving about, that to each one of them God has given a work of his own to do. They are all servants of the Most High God, each one assigned to special service. It is a wondrous privilege, and a wondrous responsibility. How few are doing the work God would have them do! We should be extremely careful not to hinder any person in the slightest degree from doing his heaven-appointed task.  44 Another thing that we should remember is that it is God who gives to every man his work. Each one is to receive his orders from God, and not from men. Therefore, we should beware of dictating to men concerning their duty. God can make it plain to them, as well as to us; and if they will not hear Him, they will not be likely to hear us, even if we could direct them in the right way. "It is not in man that walketh to direct his steps" (Jer.10:23), much less to direct the steps of some other man. 

Jer 10:23  O LORD, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps. 

*******

The Glad Tidings

By E. J. WAGGONER

(Excerpt-  To be continued)

*******

(WWN)

"ROOTS" OF THE ECUMENICAL MOVEMENT -- For source material, otherwise than as documented, I am indebted to an article by Dr. Earle Hilgert in the Review, October 12, 1967, pp. 4-5. Dr. Hilgert, then Vice-president for Academic Administration at Andrews University, was the first Seventh-day Adventist to serve on the Faith and Order Commission of the World Council of Churches.

In 1870, William Reed Huntington, an American Episcopalian, published a book entitled -The Church Idea. In this book, the author set forth four points as a basis for Christian unity. These points were:

1) The Scriptures as the Word of God.

2) The creeds of the early church as the rule of faith.

3) The sacraments of baptism and the Lord's Supper.

4) The historic episcopate as the basis of organizational unity.  (1)

In 1888, these four points, substantially as Huntington had proposed them, were adopted by the bishops of the Anglican Church at the Lambeth Conference of that year, and thereafter were known as the Lambeth Quadrilateral.  (2)   One must keep in mind that the Anglican Church is considered the "bridge" church between Protestantism and Roman Catholicism. In 1910 at the Edinburgh Missionary Conference, an Episcopal (Anglican) missionary to the Philippines, Bishop Charles H. Brent, called for an international, interdenominational conference on questions of doctrine and organization. Herein is the idea of the Faith and Order Movement.

In 1920, the Lambeth Conference of Anglican bishops based on the Quadrilateral issued "An Appeal to All Christian People" urging the Christian world to strive for an united church. The same year representatives from 70 denominations, and 40 countries convened in Geneva, Switzerland. Bishop Charles H. Brent presided at this meeting which marked the "official" beginning of the Faith and Order Movement. The call was based on only one doctrinal confession - that "our Lord Jesus Christ [is] God and Saviour." This is also the same doctrinal criterion for fellowship in the World Council of Churches.

This meeting in 1920 prepared the way for the First World Conference on Faith and Order, which was held in Lausanne, Switzerland in 1927. The Lausanne Conference adopted a methodology for the purpose of studying the differences between the various communions in the hope that such a study would lead to a better understanding of one another's position with the ultimate objective of bridging the separating gulfs. Herein is the concept of "dialogue." However in the years following,

p 2 -- an "irreconcilable"  impasse developed between those who considered the church as "catholic" and those who considered the church as "protestant." This was faced up to in the Third World Conference on Faith and Order in 1952 held in Lund, Sweden. Here a new methodology was adopted which sought to bridge the divisions between the "catholic" and "Protestant" concepts of the church. Joint studies on theological and organizational problems common to all were arranged with the conviction that in seeking cooperatively a truly Christ-centered answer to the problems previously faced, they might draw closer to one another.

In the meantime, in 1948,  (3)   the World Council of Churches was organized by a merger of the Faith and Order Movement, and a parallel ecumenical group, the Christian Life and Work Movement. Following the merger, the Faith and Order Movement became a Commission of the World Council of Churches, and under the World Council became a well organized structure holding working sessions every three years in preparation for further World Conferences on Faith and Order.

Near the close of the first decade of the last half of the 20th Century, events within the Catholic Church were to play a part in the ecumenical movement. On October 9, 1958, Pius XII died and was succeeded by Angelo Roncalli as Pope John XXIII. One of the announced objectives of John's Papal reign was "to bring the Church up to date." With this in mind he called for a council of bishops. The idea was his own, "a heavenly inspiration, he said when he made the announcement soon after his coronation in 1959." ( Britannica, Book of the Year 1964, p. 717) Prior to the convening of Vatican Council II, October 11, 1962, Pope John "established the Secretariat for Promoting Christian Unity, headed, by the ecumenical minded Augustin Cardinal Bea, which in a very short time has proved to be an effective instrument of Christian renewal and interfaith amity."(Ibid., p. 718) In preparation for this Council, the Vatican asked several branches of what they called "separated brethren" to appoint official observers. "The World Council of Churches, several Protestant communions, the Anglicans and at least one of the Eastern Churches responded favorably."(Ibid 1963, p. 690)

In 1963, several events occurred in the ecumenical movement. Pope John died to be followed by Paul VI who announced his intention to pursue the policies of his predecessor. He convened the second session of Vatican II with overtures toward more friendly relations with other Christian bodies. By invitation an increased number of Protestant and Orthodox observers were present at the Council. Also during this year, the Faith and Order Commission called a consultation in Montreal, Quebec, with Roman Catholic observers present.

The Third Session of Vatican II was convened in September, 1964. Prior to this session in his Good Friday message, Pope Paul VI referred to the Anglican and Eastern bodies as "churches" and the Protestant bodies as "communities" instead of "separated brethren," thus according to them a status not previously recognized. The Seventh-day Adventist Church had "observers" at this Third Session. It was through contact between "observers" from the Church, and the World Council of Churches at the Third Session of Vatican II, that the events began which led eventually to B. B. Beach's audience with Pope Paul on May 18, 1977, as an official representative of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. He documents this beginning contact in these words:

p 3 -- Strange as it may seem, these yearly Consultations [between the World Council of Churches and Seventh-day Adventists] are an indirect byproduct of Vatican II. In fact, while in Rome in connection with the Vatican Council a WCC staff member and an Adventist representative came to the conclusion that an informal meeting of a small group of Seventh-day Adventists with an equal number of representatives from the World Council of Churches would fulfil a useful purpose - Adventists being insufficiently informed regarding the World Council of Churches, and the WCC staff and church leaders being equally in need of additional and more comprehensive knowledge regarding the Seventh-day Adventist Church. 

The first meeting was held in 1965, the participants being selected by the two organizers.(So Much in Common, p. 98)

Out of these Consultations came a series of rapid-fire events which led to a representative of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, Dr. Earle Hilgert, sitting at the Bristol, England, triennial meeting of the Faith and Order Commission of the World Council of Churches from July 30 to August 8, 1967.   (4)   First in the January, 1967, issue of the Ecumenical Review (Journal of the World Council of Churches) a paper prepared by the Faith and Order Commission on the Seventh-day Adventist Church was published. An editor of the Review responded, expressing regret that the SDA Church could not "as an organization, be more closely associated with others who profess the name of Christ." (Review, April 6, 1967, p. 13) But he suggested that "if the Secretariat on Faith and Order, for instance, were to~ invite SDA's to appoint someone competent in that area to meet with their group from time to time and represent the SDA point of view, we could accept such an invitation with a clear conscious." (Ibid.) The action moved so rapidly that the Central Committee of the World Council of Churches appointed Dr. Hilgert, and the General Conference approved the selection, so that Dr. Hilgert could be in Bristol, England representing our "point of view" by the end of July of the same year. When Dr. Hilgert left the Seventh-day Adventist Church, becoming a professor at McCormick Theological Seminary in Chicago, his place on the Faith and Order Commission was filled by Dr. R. Dederen, also of Andrews University.

Thus from 1888 to 1967 two Movements were in parallel - the Faith and Order Movement for Christian unity, and the Advent Movement for a completed work on the earth. In 1967, the Seventh-day Adventist Church - a trustee under God of the Three Angel's Messages - broke the parallel and became identified with the Faith and Order Commission of the World Council of Churches.

(1)	Parallel events during the history of the ecumenical movement are most interesting and should be considered carefully. In 1870, Vatican Council I, promulgated the doctrine of Papal infallibility so that when the Pope speaks "ex cathedra" (from the Chair) his utterances are as the utterances of God. It should be observed that point #4 of Huntington's suggestion is that the "historic episcopate" be the basis for organizational unity. The historic episcopate placed the Bishop of Rome as the first among equals. The final outcome of the Papal doctrine formulated at Vatican I on the ecumenical process has yet to be written. ---PAGE 4 ---
(2)	In 1888, "the Lord in His great mercy sent a most precious message to His people through Elders Waggoner and Jones." (Testimonies to Ministers, p. 91). This message was to produce unity in truth under the Holy Spirit, and to prepare a people to reveal to the world the matchless love of God in a revelation of the image of Jesus perfectly reproduced in them. The people of God were to experience the results of the "final atonement" when in the mighty outpouring of the latter rain, "the moral image of God is to be perfected in the character. [They] are to be wholly transformed into the likeness of Christ." (Ibid, p. 506) Through understanding the justification of God in behalf of sinners, they are to develop the trust "that divine grace alone can complete the work." (Ibid., p. 508)
(3)	1n 1948, Israel once again became a recognized nation. Coming events were casting their shadows before. In the Church, the year following, the book - Bible Readings for the Home Circle - a standard doctrinal presentation of the truths held by the Church - was revised and the historic teaching of Seventh-day Adventists in regard to the Incarnation was altered. (See our manuscript - An Interpretive History of the Doctrine of the Incarnation as Taught by the Seventh-day Adventist Church, pp. 64-66.) Events were moving swiftly. In 1950, Elders Wieland and Short wrote 1888 Re-Examined which warned the leadership of the course they were pursuing and where continued apostasy would lead. The warning was unheeded, and the conferences with the Evangelicals culminated in the publication of the heretical book - Questions on Doctrine. (See April, 1978, Watchman, What of the Night?, article -"Now It Is Being Told in Part")
(4)	1n 1967, the nation of Israel in the Seven Day War recaptured the Old City of Jerusalem bringing it once more under the Jewish flag after 1900 years of foreign rule. This event fulfilled Jesus' own prophecy as recorded in Luke 21:24. See the monograph - The Times of the Gentiles Fulfilled.

WHAT IS YOUR I. D.? -- The evening following the resurrection, two disciples were walking toward home. Jesus drew near and joined company with them. "But their eyes were holden that they should not know Him." He had listened to their conversation as He approached, and asked them about the things they were talking about. They replied that they had been conversing about "Jesus of Nazareth" and "how the chief priests and our rulers delivered Him to be condemned to death, and have crucified Him." (Luke 24:13-20) In the minds of these disciples, there was no question - their rulers and chief priests had done the deed!

On the day of Pentecost, there were gathered at Jerusalem for the celebration of the feast, Jews from all parts of the diaspora, besides God-fearers, and proselytes. Few, if any of these, had been present at "the Hall of Judgment" and cried out to Pilate along with the chief priests and officers - "Crucify Him! Crucify Him!" (John 18:28; 19:6; Mark 15:11-13) Yet, Peter filled with the Holy Spirit

p 5 -- stated to these assembled Jews, proselytes, and God-fearers in direct accusation - "ye have taken [Jesus], and by wicked hands have crucified and slain." He then concluded - "Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ." (Acts 2:23, 26) These assembled people, because of their identification with the "house of Israel" were guilty equally with the leadership in their acts which they committed as representatives of the people. We cannot escape personal responsibility when we are identified with a corporate entity. The actions of the officers of any such entity act in behalf of the whole, and thus we become guilty before God with them in their actions. This was the judgment of the Holy Spirit in the crucifixion of Christ. This Spirit of truth does not vary with the times and seasons, but speaks in truth through all ages and times.

In the consultation of the Sanhedrin which plotted the death of Jesus, Caiaphas reasoned with his peers - "It is expedient for us, that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation perish not." (John 11:50) These chief men of the nation were acting in behalf of the "house of Israel." The entity must be preserved at all costs. Jesus had to be eliminated. But in this decision of the Jewish hierarchy, the whole of the nation was held accountable before God. Every one who's I. D. was with the earthly house of Israel stood judged as guilty of the blood of the Son of God.

This principle clearly outlined in Scripture is well known and understood by the Papacy. They base their catholicity on the assumption that they can be historically identified with the apostolic church; that their church - the Roman Catholic - is the continuing corporate identity of the early church. Pope Paul VI in speaking to the Secretaries of the World Confessional Families in private audience stated - "In you we greet representatives of a considerable portion of Christian people and through you we send our greetings of grace and peace in the Lord to your confessional families." (Religious News Service, May 19, 1977, p. 9) Thus through our representative, Dr. B. B. Beach, the Pope conferred greetings and blessings upon each member of the Seventh-day Adventist Church family! Further, when Dr. Beach gave to the Pope the gold medallion as a "symbol of the Seventh-day Adventist Church" (Review, Aug. 11, 1977, P. 23), every member of the corporate body participated in that gift through their "chief priests and rulers." I am well aware that such truth is not palatable to those who wish to continue to sit comfortably in the pew, but it is truth that needs to be spoken so that the modern "house of Israel" might know that they have made obeisance to the antichrist of Scripture, and in so doing have denied Him, whom the Father raised up to be both Lord and Christ. I simply ask - Where is your I. D.?

"Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all." - Gal. 4:26

"But ye are come unto mount Zion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, ..." Heb. 12:22-23

"I saw a little company traveling a narrow pathway. All seemed to be firmly united bound together by the truth, in bundles, or companies." Early Writings, p. 88, 89 

p 6 --

DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNICATION -- GENERAL CONFERENCE OF SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTISTS (Letterhead)

Letter to WWN:

January 11, 1978

I'm afraid I can't answer the questions which you propound in your brief letter of January 4. 1 believe that at the time we purchased the gold-finished medallions the price was around $45, although of course now this has doubtless increased considerably.

I'm passing your letter along to Elder Eva. No doubt he would have information you asked for that I don't.

I hope, ... that you do not feel that because the Pope was contacted this way it is any indication that the Adventist church is reaching out its hand to papal authority as prophecy has indicated apostate Protestantism will do. This can never be. Both you and I know that, as does also the administration of this church.

Thank you for your interest and concern and your prayers.

Sincerely yours,

M. Carol Hetzell, Director

Department of Communication

MCH: kt

cc: W. D. Eva

OUR REPLY TO THIS LETTER IS TO BE FOUND ON THE NEXT TWO PAGES. WE RECEIVED NO REPLY TO OUR LETTER TO DATE. HOW DO WE HARMONIZE THE PROPHECIES OF THE WORD OF GOD WITH OUR PRACTICE?

January 17, 1978

M. Carol Hetzell, Director

Department of Communication

Gen. Conf., S D A

Washington, D. C. 20012

Dear Sister Hetzell;

In your letter of the 11th, you indicated that the price of the medallion overlaid with pure gold was only $45.00. Perhaps you got your figures mixed as the price of the pure silver medallion more closely approximated the $45.00 quotes.

You stated that you hoped that I would not feel that because Pope Paul VI was given this "symbol" of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in an audience by an official representative of the hierarchy that this was an "indication that the Adventist Church is reaching out its hand to papal authority." What other conclusion can one draw from the evidence now available for all to see and read.

We state in a legal brief:       Although it is true that there was a period in the life of the Seventh-day Adventist Church when the denomination took a distinctly anti-Roman Catholic viewpoint, and the term "hierarchy" was used in a pejorative sense to refer to the papal form of church governance, that attitude on the Church's part was nothing more than a manifestation of widespread anti-popery among conservative protestant denominations in the early part of this century and the latter part of the last, and which has now been consigned to the historical trash heap so far as the Seventh-day Adventist Church is concerned. (p. 4, footnote #2, Docket Entry #84 EEOC vs PPPA C-74-2025 CBR)

Further in the same legal brief:       While, however, Adventist doctrine continues to teach that church government by one man is contrary to the Word of God, it is not good Seventh-day Adventism to express ... an aversion to Roman Catholicism as such. (Ibid., p. 30, emphasis mine.)

In the light of this, what other interpretation can be given to an audience by an official representative of the Church who in that audience gives the Pope a medallion overlaid with pure gold; and this act is noted by a vice-president of the General Conference as giving in "symbol" the Church? It is my understanding that Dr. B. B. Beach in an interview over Vatican radio used the term "Holy Father" in referring to the Pope.

p 8 -- Hetzell - 2

Our spiritual fathers in harmony with prophecy considered the Pope, the "man of sin." See Signs of the Times, June 4, 1874, article, "Fundamental Principles," by James White, Principle #13. How do you relate - "man of sin" with "holy father" and the giving of a medallion overlaid with pure gold?

Our teaching has indicated that the mystery of iniquity as described by Paul in II Thess. 2:7-10 was and is fulfilled in the Papacy headed by the Pope. Paul uses the expression - (Greek word for "that wicked") - in referring to "that Wicked" one whose coming is "after the working Satan." Thayer tells us that this expression means - "he in whom all iniquity has as it were fixed its abode." (p. 48, Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament) Yet we have an official representative of the Church present a medallion overlaid with pure gold to this one in whom as it were all iniquity has fixed its abode, and then you write that you hope we will not conclude that this is reaching across the gulf to clasp hands with this Roman power.

The prophetess to the Church questioned - "Shall this power, whose record for a thousand years is written in the blood of saints, be now acknowledged as a part of the church of Christ?" (Great Controversy, p. 571) Yet, through an official representative of the Church, the Church has been placed in "symbol" in the hands of this man whose coming is after the working of Satan with all signs and lying wonders. How self-deceived has the hierarchy become?

Let us hear how you harmonize the prophecies of the Word of God, and the actions of the leadership of the Church in permitting this medallion overlaid with pure gold to be given as a "symbol" of the Church to the Pope?

Sincerely yours for truth,

(Signed, WWN)

RE: Cost of medallion. -- If the medallion presented to the Pope was from the group of medallions purchased from the Presidential Art Medals, Inc. in 1973, then the price was approximately $45.00; but if it were purchased near the time that the Northern Europe-West Africa Division Committee authorized B. B. Beach's trip to Rome, then the price would be approximately $95.00, and the silver issue at that time carried an approximate $35.00 tag. When all the facts were in, and could be brought together in our "Special Report" issue of Watchman, What of the Night? - we stated: "Thus the price was nominal, and the issue is simply that this gold medallion was presented by Beach to the Pope as a 'symbol of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.'" (p. 14)

p 9 -- WHY HAVE WE PUBLISHED THE LETTERS ON THE PRECEDING PAGES? -- When the RNS report came to my desk late in 1977 - a number of months after its release - and I found the news item in the Review, also a considerable time after its publication, I believed it was necessary to correspond with the leadership in Washington to obtain, if possible, all the facts involved regarding the private audience B. B. Beach had with the Pope along with other Secretaries of the World Confessional Families. My first letter was to Elder Duncan Eva, whose name was attached to the news item in the Review. He turned my letter over to Miss M. Carol Hetzell, and an exchange of letters followed, as to the medallion itself, its nature and price. But when Miss Hetzell suggested that we could not conclude this act was reaching across the gulf to clasp the hand of Rome, I wondered how the hierarchy could harmonize our historic concepts on prophecy with some of their written statements and acts. Hence the letter which we wrote to Miss Hetzell. Further, we want our readers to know that what we write in the Thought Paper, we write and say direct to the leadership of the Church prior to our saying it in the paper. This is the rule we have sought to follow from the inception of the Thought Paper, and will continue to do so. Sometimes, they choose to communicate, and sometimes they choose not to do so. This we cannot control.

p 10 -- SIGNS OF THE TRENDS -- Anita Bryant -- Whatever may be one's personal opinion of this singer, certain things happening to her should be carefully noted. Due to her stand on homosexuality, RNS (Feb. 21, 1978) reported that where she used to sing "at secular concerts for $8,500 or more a night, [she] now appears as the featured attraction at patriotic-religious revivals and shares the donations given at the rallies." According to the same report a recent article in the Gay Community News published in Boston advised - "We should not rest until Anita Bryant is utterly destroyed." The Evangelical Newsletter (Jan. 27, 1978) stated that Miss Bryant "is increasingly becoming the butt of many jokes as television shows mock her, talk shows depict her as a fanatical Bible-thumper. Her life has been threatened by more extreme homosexuals to the point where she needs police protection at public appearances." Jesus said, "As it was in the days of Lot; ... even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed." (Luke 17:28, 30) Reread the thinking and objectives of the Sodomites. Gen. 19:4-10.

Then there is another aspect to this trend - In the not too distant future, when no police protection will be afforded to those who stand stiffly for the truth, what will you do? When counted as "dross", and when "those who are supposed to be genuine will give heed to seducing spirits, and will turn traitors and betray sacred trusts" thus proving to be your "very worst" enemies, what will you do? (See Review & Herald, June 8, 1897, p. 354)

New Look at Mary -- "Interest in the Blessed Virgin Mary is undergoing a resurgence by Catholic, Protestant, and Orthodox scholars," so reports RNS (Jan. 26, 1978) For two years, a group called the Ecumenical Society of the Blessed Virgin Mary have gathered occasionally in Washington, sharing papers, and discussing Mary. Recently this group held its first interreligious Marian prayer service in the First Baptist Church, the church of President Jimmy Carter. Among the members of this society is Dr. Arthur Crabtree, a Baptist theologian, who teaches at the Catholic-operated Villanova (PA) University, and who has studied under the controversial Swiss Catholic theologian, Hans Kueng. Another member, Dr. Donald Dawe, a United Presbyterian minister who teaches at Union Theological Seminary, Richmond, VA., said that in an age when the ecumenical movement has "slowed considerably" perhaps the best way to approach ecumenical understanding is through "an understanding of the hard issues, like Marian theology." One of the obstacles in the Marian dialogue has been the Catholic cults to Mary. However, "since Vatican II, cults to Mary have been downplayed and in some extreme cases condemned, leaving Catholics and Protestants open to a new view of Mary as first among all the saints." ---(1978 May)

"Watchman, What of the Night? " Thought Paper.  Adventist Laymen's Foundation.  (Excerpt) May 1978