Some years ago, in the secular political world, there was talk of “bridges to nowhere.” But perhaps this metaphor applies as much to the spiritual realm as elsewhere.
Today we hear much talk of spiritual “journeys.” Too often, sadly, it sounds as if some of these folks are journeying to nowhere, traveling without chart or compass toward a great unknown. Lest some confuse such uncertainty with the pilgrimage of the patriarch Abraham, who when called from Ur of the Chaldees “went out, not knowing whither he went” (Heb. 11:8), we should remember that Abraham had a direct connection with God, who regularly spoke with him and guided his steps at pivotal points in his life (e.g. Gen. 12:1; 13:14-17; 15:1). Today we have only the written counsel of God as an objective, reliable guide to a faithful walk with God on earth and eternal bliss in the hereafter.
Only last week, a prominent Adventist pastor announced a departure from formal ministry, with sufficient vagueness as to cause general wonderment as to where this individual might be going, spiritually and otherwise. In fairness, reliance on mystical impressions as a guide to God’s will is not unique to persons of a theologically liberal bias. But when one’s ministry has long given evidence of subjective spirituality and a disdain for the written Word, ambiguous talk of one’s “spiritual journey” can legitimately give rise to serious concern, even alarm.
The Wrong Kind of Progress
The term “progressive,” as commonly employed in the world of theology, usually refers not to progress on the upward path of truth and holiness as defined by the written counsel of God (Isa. 8:20; Acts 17:11), but instead—most of the time, at least—describes “progress” beyond the guardrails set by Scripture—and for Adventists, the writings of the Spirit of Prophecy. (Our readers may need reminding that we are not using this label as it is commonly applied in the world of secular politics.)
But the problem with “progress” in the absence of a discernable goal is that chaos, rather than clarity, lurks ever near. The penchant to explore new vistas of thought, conduct, or pleasure, without any transcendent measure of right and wrong to guide one’s steps, will in time leave the one following such a course at the mercy of circumstance, convenience, and popular culture. A tragic illustration of how such thinking can mislead can be found in the experience and thought of German philosopher Martin Heidegger, whose belief in the “deconstruction” of the Biblical text [1] left him vulnerable to the vagrant winds of culture and contemporary politics, leading him to become a strong supporter of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi movement [2]. Not even a postwar meeting with a Jewish poet who had survived the death camps could persuade Heidegger to apologize for his support of the Nazi philosophy and regime [3].
In the absence of objective truth, whatever feels good or seems right at the moment becomes the final authority, at least until times and circumstances change and another set of theoretical or moral ideas become fashionable. This is how so many from what was called the “Now!” generation of the 1960s permitted themselves to become the “Me” generation of the decades to come. It is how youthful energies that a scant few years before had reshaped American politics and policy could permit themselves to be exhausted in self-indulgence, heedless of the quadrennial transfer of power and the unfinished business of reformatory change [4].
Temporary Zeal
Social justice has of late become popular in many notable circles of Western society, including various circles within Adventism. So long as such causes are birthed and guided by the principles of God’s Word, they rightly form a part of the agenda that God’s people are called to pursue. But therein lies the crux of the issue. If subjective, ambiguous “journeying” comes to characterize one’s spiritual life, causes focused on social reform and making life better for the less fortunate will lose their appeal in the face of defeat, setback, and the slow pace of the change one desires. Zeal motivated primarily by fleeting cultural and intellectual trends will prove temporary indeed.
In the wake of his defeat for Vice-President in the 1920 U.S. presidential election cycle, future U.S. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt observed, as the reform-driven era of Woodrow Wilson drew to a close: “People tire quickly of ideals are we are now repeating history” [5]. The late Arthur Schlesinger Jr, in his provocative book on the cycles of American history, writes of how the alternating quests for “public purpose and private interest” dominated the American experience for so much of the twentieth century [6]. Little that has transpired in the decades since Schlesinger penned these observations would constrain thoughtful observers to assume these cycles are likely to cease any time soon.
Only faith in an objective standard of right and wrong—and only the Sacred Scriptures provide such a standard—is likely to lend a cause the perseverance and persistence that will survive the shifting of cultural and societal fashions, the temporary defeat of cherished goals, and the weariness in well-doing which invariably attends the noblest of human passions. Theological liberalism and the erosion of Biblical authority that remains its constant companion cannot provide this perseverance and persistence. Once Biblical faith is perceived to be the product of its environment and the Christian message just another expression of the human spirit, the best of convictions will fall a prey to the slings and arrows that come with the passage of time.
Conclusion: Journeying to Nowhere
In the Sabbath School Lesson for September 23, 2021, the following observation is worth noting:
Most of us cannot remember what we did before GPS-based maps existed on our phones. We may be nervous heading toward a place that we have never been to before, but with Google maps on our phones, we can confidently venture out and find our way in any foreign city. Could this confidence be an illustration of the kind of rest God wants to give us with His prophetic timetable?
Sometimes, however, we may enter the wrong address into our apps, or we may just decide not to follow the directions because we think we know a shortcut. In either case, we may end up somewhere we didn’t want to be—and most definitely not in a restful frame of mind, either [7].
I fear that many in God’s church just now are either entering incorrect addresses into their spiritual apps, or just choosing to find their own way without the direction available through the written Word. Such persons, whatever good they may seek to accomplish on their spiritual pilgrimage, will ultimately find themselves journeying to nowhere.
Thankfully, there is an alternative—journeying across the mountains and valleys, the crags and wastes, the summits and steeps of life, through the trials, tragedies, and triumphs, with eternity and the courts of glory shining brightly ahead as the changeless lodestar of true progress and ultimate victory. As the modern prophet assures us:
Onward and still onward we may advance toward perfection, until at last there will be ministered unto us an abundant entrance into the heavenly kingdom [8].
REFERENCES
1. “Deconstruction,” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deconstruction
2. “Martin Heidegger,” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Heidegger
3. Ibid.
4. “Wish You Were Here,” Newsweek, April 19, 1976, p. 23.
5. Robert Dallek, Franklin D. Roosevelt: A Political Life (New York: Random House, 2017), p. 73.
6. Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr, The Cycles of American History (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co, 1986), p. 31.
7. Rest in Christ (Silver Spring, MD: General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, 2021), p. 109.
8. Ellen G. White, In Heavenly Places, p. 29.
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