The Jesuits Made Us Do It
Without question, the most popular conspiracy theory in the Seventh-day Adventist Church today is the belief that members of the Roman Catholic Jesuit order have secretly infiltrated our denomination, and that this explains so many of the doctrinal and spiritual problems the church has suffered during the past few decades.
In the first article of this series we cited the words of the late Arthur Schlesinger Jr. that “grief nourishes myth” [1]. We noted how the sense of betrayal, the sense that so much we used to take for granted has been compromised, can leave people vulnerable to the deep-rooted suspicion of established authority that makes conspiracy speculation believable. The feeling in many Adventist circles that the loss of doctrinal integrity and the decline of standards witnessed in recent years could perhaps be attributed to a malevolent incursion from outside infiltrating our ranks, most definitely has a certain appeal.
And frankly, I believe this is perhaps the most dangerous conspiracy theory of all. Not because its assumptions are impossible, but because of the impact these assumptions can exert on our sense of responsibility for the problems of our beloved church. This is truly the most important issue we are considering in this series.
Which is why this third article on conspiracism is titled, “The Jesuits Made Us Do It.”
We all know the old saying, “The devil made me do it.” And just as that particular excuse holds no credibility when it comes to ascribing responsibility for the sins we commit, it is fair enough to maintain—when all is said and done—that any effort to blame outside forces for problems inside the Seventh-day Adventist denomination holds no credibility either. Ellen White declares, “However great the pressure brought to bear upon the soul, transgression is our own act” [2]. It is not unjustifiable, in my view, to apply this principle as much to the church’s corporate experience as to that of the individual struggling with temptation.
Negative Outside Influence
Certainly there have been times in sacred history when people from the outside have negatively influenced, even infiltrated, the ranks of God’s professed people. We think of the mixed multitude who came along with Israel from Egypt (Ex. 12:38; Num. 11:4), along with the heathen women sent by the king of Moab—at the suggestion of Balaam—to seduce the children of Israel into sexual immorality and idolatry. We can read of this experience in Numbers chapter 25, described in greater detail by Ellen White:
At first there was little intercourse between the Israelites and their heathen neighbors, but after a time Midianitish women became to steal into the camp. Their appearance excited no alarm, and so quietly were their plans conducted that the attention of Moses was not called to the matter. It was the object of these women, in their association with the Hebrews, to seduce them into transgression of the law of God, to draw their attention to heathen rites and customs, and to lead them into idolatry. Their motives were studiously concealed under the garb of friendship, so that they were not suspected, even by the guardians of the people [3].
So without question there have been times when God’s people have been infiltrated by those intent on their destruction. But interestingly enough, most of the time when unconverted heathen found their way into the Israelite community, it was because they had been deliberately invited, not because they had secretly sneaked in. The case of Solomon and his idol-worshiping wives comes to mind in this regard (I Kings 11:1-9), as well as the alliances with the heathen—marital and otherwise—made by other Israelite monarchs (e.g. I Kings 16:31) as well as some of the Jewish leaders during the days of Ezra and Nehemiah (Ezra 9:1-2; Neh. 13).
God’s People Their Own Worst Enemies
But in by far the vast majority of incidents in which the covenant community has gone astray, it is God’s professed people themselves who have been their own worst enemies. For every case of the mixed multitude and the women of Moab and Midian, there have been many more of Achan, Jeroboam, Manasseh, Jehoiakim, Pashur, Zedekiah, Annas, Caiaphas—members and leaders from within the covenant fold itself whose choice to turn from God seems to have had much more to do with personal rebellion than outside influence. In light of the historical record, our grief and indignation at problems we see in the church today must not crowd from our awareness the vulnerability of our own self-indulgent, ease-loving hearts to falsehood and deception, with or without encouragement by Jesuits or anyone else.
The biggest problem of all with this speculation about Jesuits possibly infiltrating the church is that regardless of how fascinating such a possibility might be, from a spiritual standpoint it is absolutely pointless. Ask yourself this question: What different course would you choose, as a soldier of Christ defending His church against error, if the one introducing such error to the church were proved to be a Jesuit infiltrator, as distinct from simply a fellow Adventist grown weary with the pursuit of doctrinal or moral faithfulness?
Whether the one teaching error in the church is an infiltrating Jesuit or just a self-indulgent, Laodicean Adventist trying to find excuses for favorite sins, all the faithful believer needs in either case is the simple, unadulterated, written counsel of God to refute the error being taught (Isa. 8:20; Acts 17:11).
Pointless Paranoia
Unfortunately, this Jesuit talk serves to frighten people to no purpose. Many who imbibe this explanation for the church’s problems develop the notion that if the pastor, professor, or whoever it may be, standing before them in the pulpit or classroom, might be schooled in the spiritual exercises of Saint Ignatius or some other intricate methodology of taking listeners captive, that what hope is there for “little me” in standing up to such a person?
This is one reason some among the church’s striving faithful, who permit themselves to dwell on this kind of speculation, often nurture a tendency to stop worshiping in their local congregations if error is being taught, or if some other problems are taking place. Often such decisions on the part of those troubled by negative trends can mean absolute disaster for a local church or institution. Often such persons don’t realize that when those conducting a holding action against the negative trends choose to walk away, no one is left to keep the problems from fully taking over.
Equally dangerous is the notion many of these folks acquire that the church organization is presumably so controlled by Jesuit infiltrators that there is no way the denomination can ever experience the purifying process called the shaking, which the writings of the Spirit of Prophecy predict so clearly. This mindset isn’t much different from the people who think it’s impossible to overcome sin in their lives, even through God’s power, because of their inherited fallen natures.
People obsessed with this Jesuit-infiltration theory frequently throw up their hands in despair when they confront spiritual challenges in a local Conference, congregation, or institution. Why even bother, they ask, to go to a church business meeting or Conference constituency meeting, when these scoundrels who allegedly hold such power over the church have the outcome of such sessions either pre-determined through superbly manipulative tactics, or simply rigged in advance?
No one can deny, to be sure, that governing bodies within the church have at times been subjected to abuse of the sort described above. But having observed—and participated in—the deliberations of such groups for most of my life, I can attest to the fact that “rigging” the outcome of such gatherings is usually quite difficult if not impossible. Most of the time it simply takes perseverance and persistent faith on the part of godly church members who seek to reverse negative conditions in the church. Not all situations are the same, of course, but much of the despair I have encountered through the years among faithful church members relative to challenges in denominational governance is, more often than not, the result of simply giving up too soon.
Taking Responsibility
This introduces what is perhaps the greatest problem with this theory of Jesuit infiltration—the fact that it tends to relieve us of responsibility for the problems we see in God’s church today.
It is much easier to believe a group of incredibly brilliant, powerful, evil men are the ones responsible for the spiritual declension we see in the church, than to recognize that the true culprit is our own unwillingness to get involved and get our hands dirty in the often messy, unglamorous work of setting things right within Christ’s body. The fact is that one of the most pivotal challenges that has confronted the church in recent decades has been the need to convince faithful, godly Seventh-day Adventists to be more proactive in holding the denomination and its institutions accountable for doctrinal and moral integrity.
Contrary to a popular stereotype—and I speak as a fifth-generation Adventist who has been immersed in the life of the church since infancy—theologically conservative Adventists are not, as a rule, the kind of folks who would “rather fight than eat.” In reality, most people in the church who are troubled by the various departures from doctrinal and moral faithfulness in recent times, are in fact very peace-loving, mind-your-own-business types who are not accustomed to fighting with fellow church members—or anyone else, for that matter—over controversial issues. When all of a sudden they find their beloved church—board meetings, nominating committee meetings, etc.—transformed into a war zone, they become quite unnerved. And when someone comes along and claims this is all the result of some sinister plot by outside forces to take over the church, with awesome power to manipulate and persuade—too many of these dear saints get spooked!
And it’s very difficult, when this happens, to help such people understand that no matter who is up there preaching, no matter what education he or she might have received, no matter how brilliant or charismatic such a person might be, that by the grace of God and our own diligent effort any destructive influence in the church can be counterworked and defeated.
The Ultimate Enemy
We must ever remind ourselves that regardless of who is teaching error in the church, or in any of our schools, the ultimate enemy is Satan himself. Which brings us back to one of the texts we considered in the first article of this series:
For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places (Eph. 6:12).
And the apostle goes on in the above context to describe the armor and weaponry by which Satan and his forces of darkness can be put to flight (verses 13-17). Sadly, when we focus so much time on analyzing which flesh-and-blood element we might be arrayed against—be they Jesuits or whoever—we miss the ultimate reality that Satan is our true foe, and that the power of our Lord, in concert with our own diligent striving, is fully able to vanquish him.
This doesn’t mean we shouldn’t seek to understand and diligently counter the methods used by Satan and his human allies. The apostle Paul makes it clear that the true Christian is “not ignorant of [Satan’s] devices” (II Cor. 2:11). Ellen White goes even further when she writes that “there is nothing that the great deceiver fears so much as that we shall become acquainted with his devices” [4]. But when our focus on the enemy’s devices becomes so absorbing that we lose sight of God’s promises of the church’s final triumph and of the divine power available to achieve that triumph, we defeat God’s purpose and cause the enemy of our souls to rejoice.
Conclusion: The Mystery That Matters
Finally, I want to conclude this series with a look at the mystery that really matters. Conspiracy speculation thrives on a love of mystery and intrigue, as we noted two articles ago. But the fact is that God isn’t waiting on mysterious, secret combinations of unnamed persons to bring on the final events. According to the Bible, He is waiting on another mystery. The book of Revelation speaks of it:
But in the days of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as He hath declared to His servants the prophets (Rev. 10:7).
And what in fact is this mystery? The apostle Paul identifies it:
Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to His saints.
To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory,
Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom: that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus.
Whereunto I also labor, striving according to His working, which worketh in me mightily (Col. 1:26-29).
This, at the bottom line, is the mystery that matters most. This is the mystery God is waiting on.
Not the Illuminati. Not the Trilateral Commission. Not the Bildebergers or the Council on Foreign Relations. Not the United Nations. Not the Jesuits.
God isn’t waiting on any of these. God is waiting on Seventh-day Adventists.
The Bible predicts this demonstration of practical and perfect godliness in a number of passages, but perhaps the following is the one best suited to close this series of articles:
Arise, shine, for thy light is come: and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee.
For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people, but the Lord shall arise upon thee, and His glory shall be seen upon thee (Isa. 60:1-2).
REFERENCES
1. Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr, The Cycles of American History (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co, 1986, p. 405.
2. Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 421.
3. Ibid, p. 454.
4. ----The Great Controversy, p. 516.
Pastor Kevin Paulson holds a Bachelor’s degree in theology from Pacific Union College, a Master of Arts in systematic theology from Loma Linda University, and a Master of Divinity from the SDA Theological Seminary at Andrews University. He served the Greater New York Conference of Seventh-day Adventists for ten years as a Bible instructor, evangelist, and local pastor. He writes regularly for Liberty magazine and does script writing for various evangelistic ministries within the denomination. He continues to hold evangelistic and revival meetings throughout the North American Division and beyond, and is a sought-after seminar speaker relative to current issues in the Seventh-day Adventist Church. He presently resides in Berrien Springs, Michigan