It is 4:30 in the morning on April 12, 1861, in Charleston, South Carolina. The sun has yet to rise, nor probably have very many people. Major Robert Anderson, commander of the U.S. Army garrison at Fort Sumter, is worried. The fort is running low on supplies, and attempts to resupply them have been stymied by the South Carolina government, who have demanded that the fort be vacated.

Suddenly, the sound of artillery shatters the peace of the pre-dawn hours. Federal troops are being fired on. The United States of America is at war with itself [1].

Knowing he lacks ammunition, Major Anderson waits till 7:00 am before answering the bombardment. For nearly 36 hours the Fort Sumter garrison defies the forces of rebellion. Buildings within the fort catch fire. The flagpole is shattered by an enemy shell, and the colors fall to the ground. Hastily, Federal troops repair the pole and hoist the colors again. But they cannot hold out forever. At 2:30 pm on April 13, Major Anderson strikes the Union colors and surrenders the fort to the Confederates.

Miraculously, no casualties were sustained during the bombardment itself, but a premature discharge during the final 100-gun salute kills Private Daniel Hough and mortally wounds another soldier [2]. They would be the first of many.

A Nation Divided

What had precipitated this outbreak of violence? The state of South Carolina had declared their intention to secede from the Union in direct response to the victory of Abraham Lincoln in the 1860 presidential election cycle [3]. Lincoln, the candidate for the new anti-slavery Republican Party, had prevailed without carrying a single Southern state [4]. In its declaration of secession, South Carolina supplied the following justification for its actions:

A geographical line has been drawn across the Union, and all the States north of that line have united in the election of a man to the high office of President of the United States, whose opinions and purposes are hostile to slavery. He is to be entrusted with the administration of the common Government, because he has declared that that “Government cannot endure permanently half slave, half free,” and that the public mind must rest in the belief that slavery is in the course of ultimate extinction [5].

In addition to South Carolina, ten other states—all Southern, all slave states—would secede from the Union, forming a Confederacy whose explicit aim and purpose was to preserve in perpetuity the institution of slavery [6]. The war that divided the nation also divided a state when citizens of several western counties in Virginia, which had seceded after the attack on Fort Sumter, decided to separate from the rest of the state and rejoin the Union. By proclamation of President Lincoln, they were admitted to the Union as the new state of West Virginia on June 20, 1863 [7]. Families were divided; even churches were not immune. In the decades leading up to the war, the Baptist, Presbyterian, and Methodist churches all experienced schisms over the issue of slavery [8].

A Church United

But if the United States had never been more divided, there was one organization that stood firmly united. On August 12, 1862, an article was published in a periodical published by a young religious denomination born in New England from the Millerite movement. The author, a prominent denominational leader, had this to say about the attitudes of the denomination’s members toward the crisis which then threatened to rip the country apart:

[T]he anti-slavery teachings of several of our publications based upon certain prophecies have been such that their circulation has been positively forbidden in the slave States. Those of our people who voted at all at the last Presidential election, to a man voted for Abraham Lincoln. We know of not one man among Seventh-day Adventists who has the least sympathy for secession [9].

Elder James White had good reason to be confident in the general unanimity of his church’s position on slavery and secession. After all, the Seventh-day Adventist Church was a definitively Northern religious movement that, as White himself observed, had been all but prevented from expanding into the South by systematic suppression of their publications specifically because they took an anti-slavery stance. However, while the vast majority of Seventh-day Adventists stood against slavery and for the Union, the movement was not without those who would sow division if they could.

Writing under divine inspiration, Ellen White condemned the “few in the ranks of Sabbathkeepers [sic] who sympathize with the slaveholder,” and especially those who had been “so indiscreet as to talk out their pro-slavery principles—principles which are not heaven-born, but proceed from the dominion of Satan” [10]. In a personal letter to one such individual, later reprinted in Volume 1 of the Testimonies, she spoke plainly and forcefully:

I saw that you, Brother A, have permitted your political principles to destroy your judgment and your love for the truth. They are eating out true godliness from your heart. You have never looked upon slavery in the right light, and your views of this matter have thrown you on the side of the Rebellion, which was stirred up by Satan and his host. Your views of slavery cannot harmonize with the sacred, important truths for this time. You must yield your views or the truth. Both cannot be cherished in the same heart, for they are at war with each other [11].

Even after the war, Mrs. White saw that disunity on political issues of moral importance threatened the church—and indeed, the spiritual well-being and even the salvation of those who cherished incorrect sentiments! “Sufficient light has been given to correct all who wish to be corrected,” she said. “All who still retain political sentiments which are not in accordance with the spirit of truth are living in violation of the principles of heaven. Therefore as long as they thus remain they cannot possess the spirit of freedom and holiness” [12].

Solemnly, Sister White warned that those who persisted in unsanctified politics would ultimately find themselves separated from God’s people:

These are a constant snare to them and a reproach to our faith, and those who retain these principles will eventually be brought just where the enemy would be glad to have them, where they will be finally separated from Sabbathkeeping [sic] Christians. These brethren cannot receive the approval of God while they lack sympathy for the oppressed colored [sic] race and are at variance with the pure, republican principles of our Government. God has no more sympathy with rebellion upon earth than with the rebellion in heaven, when the great rebel questioned the foundation of God’s government and was thrust out with all who sympathized with him in his rebellion [13].

Political Division in Contemporary Adventism

Today, as in James and Ellen White’s day, political sentiments threaten to divide the church just as they threaten to divide the nation. We stand on the brink of a crisis, the likes of which we have not seen in over 160 years.

As a historian, it is very concerning to see a growing number of people refusing to accept the results of democratic elections if they don’t go the way they want them to [14]. It is concerning to see a rise in anti-government militias, including some headed by members of our nation’s own military in clear violation of their oaths to support and defend the Constitution and policies against participation by service members in extremist activity [15]. And as Christians, it is far more concerning to see many of our brothers and sisters embracing—dare I say, unsanctified politics—completely “at variance with the pure, republican [small r] principles of our Government.” To condemn these things ought not to be a partisan position, though there are many—even within our own church—who tragically see it as such.

It is not God’s will to see His church divided by the issues which threaten once more to divide the nation. Christ Himself, in the final moments before His arrest and crucifixion, pleaded with the Father thusly:

I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me (John 17:20-23, ESV).

Abraham Lincoln, in the famous speech quoted in the South Carolina declaration of secession, roughly quoted the words of Jesus in Matthew 12:25 and Mark 3:25, saying “[a] house divided against itself cannot stand” [16]. Paul enjoined the Philippian believers to “complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind” (Phil. 2:2, ESV). He admonished the Galatians that “[t]here is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Gal. 3:28, ESV). The prophet Amos asked, “Can two walk together, except they be agreed?” (Amos 3:3). The Psalmist likewise wrote: “How good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity!” (Psalm 122:1, ESV).

While Ellen White had much to say to those whose political views ran contrary to divine precepts, she had just as much to say to those who allowed petty squabbles over political questions to divide the church:

The Lord would have His people bury political questions. On these themes silence is eloquence. Christ calls upon His followers to come into unity on the pure gospel principles which are plainly revealed in the Word of God. We cannot with safety vote for political parties, for we do not know who we are voting for. We cannot with safety take part in any political schemes. . . . What are we to do then? Let political questions alone [17].

Though some have taken this and similar statements by Sister White to prohibit all political involvement, this is clearly not the case. On issues where politics and morals intersect (most notably during her own lifetime the issues of slavery, civil rights for Blacks, and temperance), she was emphatic that it is not only right but necessary to take a moral as well as political stand for the “pure gospel principles.” However, she cautioned against allowing partisan loyalties to compromise the mission of the church by driving wedges between members. She saw that such division could only hinder the work of the church to bring the gospel and the three angels’ messages to the world.

The Vaccine Controversy

Sadly, this is the situation in which we find ourselves today. Within the church are many who have elevated petty political issues in which no doctrinal or moral issue is at stake to a level of supreme importance. A prime example is one Conrad Vine, currently president of Adventist Frontier Missions, who has recently begun advocating for the redirection of tithes and offerings (a subject on which Ellen White had some rather pointed words [18].) for the purpose of withholding funds from Conferences he characterizes as “woke” (which, as Elder Vine uses it, is an explicitly political epithet that functions essentially as a pejorative catchall for anything perceived as politically “liberal” [19].)

Moreover, in response to statements by the General Conference (correctly) affirming that there is no basis in Scripture or Seventh-day Adventist doctrine for members to refuse to comply with COVID-19 guidelines and directives (particularly vaccination requirements), Elder Vine has suggested that, should the church be faced with a similar situation in the future and continue to refuse support for individuals who resist cooperating with public health guidelines, an independent “parachurch” organization should be formed [20].

Vine’s objection to the COVID-19 vaccine appears to be rooted in baseless conspiracy theories, concerning supposedly harmful effects of the vaccine for which there is little to no evidence [21]. Indeed, he has campaigned for the establishment of a fund to assist Adventists who have allegedly been injured by the vaccine [22]. While no Adventist should object to helping church members in need, the use of such individuals as pawns in an attempt to push a conspiratorial and blatantly partisan narrative is inexcusable. It is quite telling that Vine seems completely uninterested in establishing a fund for church members that have suffered injury or death due to COVID-19 itself, who represent a far larger group.

Despite these clear undertones of anti-vaccine conspiracism, Vine and his supporters attempt to deny that he is pushing such theories by framing the issue as fundamentally one of religious liberty While he and his followers claim what they refer to as vaccine mandates violate liberty of conscience [23], and are thus an example of a situation in which “[w]e must obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29, ESV), they are unable to point to any command of God which they are being compelled to violate if, for example, their employer requires them to be vaccinated.

In the absence of any legitimate religious objection to the vaccine itself, the next attempt to justify Vine’s anti-vaccine position is to argue that due to the allegedly coercive nature of so-called vaccine mandates and other public health measures, a moral obligation exists to resist them, or at least to support those who choose to do so [24]. Setting aside the fact that the public health measures implemented to combat COVID-19 are far from unprecedented [25], Vine seems to be forgetting that Christ described exactly how we are to respond to coercion when matters of obedience to God are not at stake: “And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles” (Matt. 5:40-41, ESV).

In short, Vine’s agitation against the COVID-19 vaccine is nothing more than overt partisanship rooted in untenable conspiracism. In it is manifested a spirit of rebellion against legitimate government authority, and increasingly, it is also being manifested in rebellion against legitimate church authority. Unless authority of any kind seeks to compel us to do something God forbids, or to prevent us from doing something which He commands, Scripture is clear: “Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment” (Rom. 13:1-2, ESV).

Conclusion

The Seventh-day Adventist Church has experienced its fair share of division, from the Kellogg controversy to Desmond Ford, from the Celebration worship debate to women’s ordination. Though Conrad Vine has not yet overtly called for his followers to separate themselves from the official Seventh-day Adventist Church organization, it should be clear to all where talk of tithe redirection and parachurches must logically lead if left unchecked.

To those whose sympathies lie with rebellion and its originator, I plead with you: Do not allow yourselves to be pruned away from the true Vine over such pettiness. Put aside partisan politics and repent. To continue in such a course can only bring destruction upon those who are led astray, damage to the cause of the gospel, and dishonor to the name of Christ and His remnant church.

REFERENCES

1. “Fort Sumter,” American Battlefield Trust, accessed 06 September 2024, https://www.battlefields.org/learn/civil-war/battles/fort-sumter.

2. Ibid.

3. “Confederate States of America – Declaration of the Immediate Causes Which Induce and Justify the Secession of South Carolina from the Federal Union,” The Avalon Project, Yale Law School Lillian Goldman Law Library, accessed 06 September 2024, https://avalon.law.yale.edu/19th_century/csa_scarsec.asp.

4. “United States Presidential Election of 1860,” Britannica, last modified 29 July 2024, https://www.britannica.com/event/United-States-presidential-election-of-1860.

5. Yale Law School Lillian Goldman Law Library, “Confederate States of America – Declaration of the Immediate Causes Which Induce and Justify the Secession of South Carolina from the Federal Union.”

6. “Secession,” Britannica, last modified 29 August 2024, https://www.britannica.com/topic/secession.

7. Abraham Lincoln, “Proclamation 100—Admitting West Virginia Into the Union,” The American Presidency Project, accessed 06 September 2024, https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/proclamation-100-admitting-west-virginia-into-the-union.

8. “Broken Churches, Broken Nation,” Christian History Institute, accessed 06 September 2024, https://christianhistoryinstitute.org/magazine/article/broken-churches-broken-nation#:~:text=Key%20stands:%20Refusal%20to%20appoint,later%20full%20North%E2%80%94South%20division.

9. James White, “The Nation,” The Review and Herald (Battle Creek, MI), 12 August 1862, https://adventisthistory.wordpress.com/2008/06/14/the-nation-1862-by-james-white/.

10. Ellen G. White, Testimonies, vol. 1, p. 358.

11. Ibid, p. 359.

12. Ibid, p. 533.

13. Ibid, p. 534.

14. Charles Homans, “How ‘Stop the Steal’ Captured the American Right,” New York Times, last modified 28 July 2022, https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/19/magazine/stop-the-steal.html?smid=nytcore-android-share.

15. Steve Beynon, “2 Virginia Guardsmen Are Running a Rural Anti-Government Militia,” Military.com, last modified 05 September 2024, https://www.military.com/daily-news/2024/09/05/2-virginia-guardsmen-are-running-rural-anti-government-militia.html.

16. Abraham Lincoln, “House Divided Speech,” Lincoln Home, National Park Service, accessed 06 September 2024, https://www.nps.gov/liho/learn/historyculture/housedivided.htm.

17. Ellen G. White, Gospel Workers, pp. 391-392.

18. ----Testimonies, vol. 9, p. 249.

19. Adam Serwer, “’Woke’ is Just Another Word for Liberal,” The Atlantic, March 21, 2023 https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2023/03/bethany-mandel-woke-interview-definition/673454/

20. “Adventist Frontier Mission president calls for parachurch organization for tithe diversion,” Adventist Today, Aug. 19, 2024 https://atoday.org/adventist-frontier-mission-president-calls-for-parachurch-organization-for-tithe-diversion/#:~:text=At%20a%20camp%20meeting%20this,in%20matters%20of%20vaccinations%20and

21. “Reported Adverse Effects,” COVID-19, CDC, last modified 12 September 2023, https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/safety/adverse-events.html.

22. “Adventist Frontier Mission president calls for parachurch organization for tithe diversion,” Adventist Today, Aug. 19, 2024 https://atoday.org/adventist-frontier-mission-president-calls-for-parachurch-organization-for-tithe-diversion/#:~:text=At%20a%20camp%20meeting%20this,in%20matters%20of%20vaccinations%20and

23. Gerry Wagoner, “Michigan Conference Bans Conrad Vine From Speaking in Their Pulpits,” Fulcrum7, last modified 03 September 2024, https://www.fulcrum7.com/news/2024/9/3/michigan-conference-bans-conrad-vine-from-speaking-in-their-pulpits.

24. Ibid.

25. Sampada Tambolkar et al., “Comparison of public health measures taken during Spanish flu and COVID-19 pandemics: A Narrative Review,” Journal of Family Medicine and Primary Care, 14 May 2022, https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35800503/.

A third-generation Seventh-day Adventist, Nathan Ruedinger-Quispe lives in Berrien Springs, Michigan, with his wife Yerling, two children, a dog, and a guinea pig. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in history from Andrews University.

Bibliography

AdventistToday.org. “Adventist Frontier Mission president calls for parachurch organization for tithe diversion.” Last modified 19 August 2024, https://atoday.org/adventist-frontier-mission-president-calls-for-parachurch-organization-for-tithe-diversion/.

American Battlefield Trust. “Fort Sumter.” Accessed 06 September 2024. https://www.battlefields.org/learn/civil-war/battles/fort-sumter.

Beynon, Steve. “2 Virginia Guardsmen Are Running a Rural Anti-Government Militia.” Military.com, last modified 05 September 2024. https://www.military.com/daily-news/2024/09/05/2-virginia-guardsmen-are-running-rural-anti-government-militia.html.

Britannica. “Secession.” Last modified 29 August 2024. https://www.britannica.com/topic/secession.

Britannica. “United States Presidential Election of 1860.” Last modified 29 July 2024. https://www.britannica.com/event/United-States-presidential-election-of-1860.

CDC. “Reported Adverse Effects,” COVID-19. Last modified 12 September 2023, https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/safety/adverse-events.html.

Christian History Institute. “Broken Churches, Broken Nation.” Accessed 06 September 2024, https://christianhistoryinstitute.org/magazine/article/broken-churches-broken-nation#:~:text=Key%20stands:%20Refusal%20to%20appoint,later%20full%20North%E2%80%94South%20division.

Homans, Charles. “How ‘Stop the Steal’ Captured the American Right.” New York Times, last modified 28 July 2022. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/19/magazine/stop-the-steal.html?smid=nytcore-android-share.

Lincoln, Abraham. “House Divided Speech.” National Park Service. Accessed 06 September 2024, https://www.nps.gov/liho/learn/historyculture/housedivided.htm.

Lincoln, Abraham. “Proclamation 100—Admitting West Virginia Into the Union.” The American Presidency Project. Accessed 06 September 2024. https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/proclamation-100-admitting-west-virginia-into-the-union.

Serwer, Adam. “Woke Is Just Another Word for Liberal.” The Atlantic, 21 March 2023. https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2023/03/bethany-mandel-woke-interview-definition/673454/.

Tambolkar, Sampada, Manas Pustake, Purushottam Giri, and Isha Tambolkar. “Comparison of public health measures taken during Spanish flu and COVID-19 pandemics: A Narrative Review.” Journal of Family Medicine and Primary Care, 14 May 2022. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35800503/.

Wagoner, Gerry. “Michigan Conference Bans Conrad Vine From Speaking in Their Pulpits.” Fulcrum7, last modified 03 September 2024. https://www.fulcrum7.com/news/2024/9/3/michigan-conference-bans-conrad-vine-from-speaking-in-their-pulpits.

White, Ellen G. “Letter 95, 1899.” Accessed 06 September 2024, https://m.egwwritings.org/en/book/6239.1#8.

White, Ellen G. Testimonies for the Church vol. 1. Mountain View, CA: Pacific Press Publishing Association, 1885.

White, Ellen G. Testimonies for the Church vol. 9. Mountain View, CA: Pacific Press Publishing Association, 1909.

White, James. “The Nation.” The Review and Herald (Battle Creek, MI), 12 August 1862. https://adventisthistory.wordpress.com/2008/06/14/the-nation-1862-by-james-white/.

Yale Law School Lillian Goldman Law Library. “Confederate States of America – Declaration of the Immediate Causes Which Induce and Justify the Secession of South Carolina from the Federal Union.” The Avalon Project. Accessed 06 September 2024. https://avalon.law.yale.edu/19th_century/csa_scarsec.asp.