Mainstream news is by no means infallible, as anyone inhabiting that world will freely admit. But what these information outlets possess that non-mainstream ones often don’t are checks and balances, such as the vetting of sources and the application of generally accepted standards for the screening and publication of stories. Many who indulge broad-brush criticism of the mainstream media, and who often obtain their news from non-mainstream sources, fail to consider this fundamental difference.
As in the larger world, news about the Seventh-day Adventist Church today is originating more and more from unvetted outlets. Reports, even photographs, of allegedly nefarious activities by church leaders, the mistreatment of members, and scandalous circumstances flow freely through the near-unobstructed channels of today’s networked world. In the not-so-distant past, unmonitored reports of a negative nature also circulated regarding the church, but primarily through cheaply-printed newsletters and magazines, mimeograph machines, and similar publications.
The Internet, social media, and YouTube channels of our present time make such information far more accessible to the average church member, just as they make similar information about the broader world similarly accessible. The scandal sheets of yesteryear, like the adult bookstores and pornographic video marts of the past, pale by comparison to the impact of today’s information age, in which both good and bad content is available in seconds with the click of a computer mouse or the swipe of a finger.
Unvetted News
Within the past several weeks I have watched two YouTube videos alleging horrific suffering by Seventh-day Adventists who have either refused to take the COVID vaccine or who have experienced egregious medical injuries because they were pressured to take it. In the course of both these presentations, unproved allegations of collusion between the General Conference and the United Nations, the World Health Organization, and the World Council of Churches were voiced.
More recently an online article has alleged collaboration between the General Conference (through the Adventist Development and Relief Agency) and the United Nations in facilitating the influx of illegal immigrants into the United States, along with an alleged agreement by the General Conference with the UN not to “proselytize” (seek converts) among members of other religious communities [1].
During the 1980s one independent Adventist newsletter frequently promoted similar claims, in particular regarding the General Conference supposedly joining—in secret—the National and World Councils of Churches, quietly making deals with these bodies which allegedly constrained Adventists to suppress the proclamation of unpopular prophetic and doctrinal teachings, agreeing to abstain from so-called “sheep-stealing” (converting members of other Christian denominations to Adventism), and similar compromises. Like the recurrent claim of Jesuit infiltration into the church, these suggestions of ecumenical collusion supposedly instigated by Adventist leadership constitute a popular conspiracy theory among those members who find themselves—up to a point at least—legitimately troubled by doctrinal and moral declension in various segments of contemporary Adventism.
Fact-Checking
The biggest problem with these claims of ecumenical collaboration on the part of Seventh-day Adventists is the simple fact that Adventists throughout the world have continued to preach the unpopular features of our faith (e.g. the papacy as the Antichrist) in their evangelistic efforts, without any counter directives by church leaders forbidding them to do so. The noteworthy NET crusades of the 1990s by prominent denominational soul winners witnessed no retreat from our classic prophetic teachings, nor have similar evangelistic endeavors that have received full endorsement from church administrators and promotion in denominational communication channels.
We aren’t denying, most assuredly, that the diluting of our distinctive message has occurred in various segments of modern and postmodern Adventism. This diluting has been a particular problem in those segments of the church where evangelical and liberal theology have been most pervasive, mostly (though not exclusively) in First World countries. But the fact remains that at the highest levels of the denomination, the classic Adventist evangelistic emphasis on Daniel and Revelation, the identity of the papal Antichrist, the change of the Sabbath by the papacy, and all the rest have been consistently promoted by church administrators and prominent evangelistic figures, together with others throughout the world field who continue to adhere to our fundamental doctrines, our classic eschatology, and our historic views on Bible prophecy.
One truly can’t understand how anyone could take seriously this notion of General Conference collusion with ecumenical bodies, with the supposed agreement to play down teachings offensive to other religions, when the current General Conference president continues to vigorously advocate the circulation of books like The Great Controversy. It hardly makes sense to allege the world church’s involvement with some ecumenical conspiracy when our world church president persists in promoting what is likely the most anti-ecumenical Adventist missionary book available.
The Problem of Isolation
Those who isolate themselves in a preferred silo of information (or rather, misinformation) leave themselves dangerously vulnerable to a fabricated narrative. While in college I became acquainted with a man who boasted of not having television or radio, of not reading mainstream newspapers or magazines, and a whole lot more. I once asked him how he kept up with what went on in the world, and he answered, “I don’t.”
For some, that kind of isolation can be mistaken for piety. The problem is that such an attitude can leave people ignorant of the dynamics that typically govern world events. Those, for example, who see the United Nations as an all-powerful, dictatorial conglomerate in today’s world, obviously aren’t aware that the only real power possessed by the UN is that which the United States allows it to exercise. Similarly, those who view aggregates like the National and World Councils of Churches as powerful and sinister forces in today’s environment, obviously aren’t aware of the fact that these bodies consist almost exclusively of theologically liberal denominations whose membership has fallen precipitously during the last half century [2]. (Some of our readers may recall a past article by the present writer on the continued growth of conservative religious bodies and the simultaneous decline of liberal ones [3], and a follow-up article several years later documenting the continuance of this trend at the time of the 2019 Notre Dame fire in Paris [4].)
Some appear quite unaware of the fact that the ecumenical movement of today is not found in delicate compromises crafted by ecclesiastical elites, gradually whittling away at traditional pillars of faith, but rather, in such modern alliances as the charismatic renewal and the American Religious Right, where doctrinal differences are transcended not through negotiated agreements but by being simply ignored in the pursuit of common goals like spiritual oneness or secular political clout.
But if you don’t inform yourself regarding history and current events, these facts can simply pass you by, and as a result render you vulnerable to unhinged conspiracy theories in which a fictive reality takes on a life of its own. The man I mentioned above, who bragged about having no television or radio and not reading mainstream news sources, didn’t hesitate to tell me of how he knew certain political leaders in the United States were members of the supposedly sinister Council on Foreign Relations, a group held by right-wing conspiracists to be involved in global rule [5]. Thus, while this man carefully avoided mainstream news publications, he gave evidence of being intimately familiar with publications saturated with a right-wing conspiracist worldview. (How familiarity with the latter supposedly facilitates piety, while familiarity with the former doesn’t, he never explained.)
Very simply, when people isolate themselves they become increasingly unfamiliar with the dynamics of events in both the world and the church, and thus become easily vulnerable to theories regarding such events that don’t reflect reality. One recent manifestation of such ignorance has been seen in the attitude of certain church members regarding the application of disciplinary measures toward the pastor of a particular church known for its opposition to vaccine mandates and promotion of right-wing politics, while voicing protest and wonderment as to why other church employees who support homosexual practice and other heresies within the denomination haven’t been similarly disciplined. These folks seem quite unaware of the fact that Seventh-day Adventist church authority is mostly exercised in local settings by different governing bodies, and that no centralized control of such actions exists within the denomination.
People who perceive themselves to be out of power, whether in the world or the church, tend to view those in authority as close to omnipotent, always getting their way so far as governing policies and circumstances are concerned. But those in fact familiar with governing situations realize how different the reality of things actually is, that human institutions and human executives are nearly never so efficient or well-disciplined. However, those who isolate themselves from what goes on can easily be duped as to dynamics involved. Such isolation makes one less credible with thoughtful people either inside or outside the church, and thus less likely to make a positive impact for revival and reformation within the faith community, or for mission to the world beyond.
Careful Vetting Needed
I remember, several years ago, hearing a prominent anti-gay Adventist speaker claim that a certain pastor (not an Adventist) had been thrown in jail for refusing to perform a gay wedding. He even mentioned the state where the pastor supposedly lived, and the town where the church in question was allegedly located. I proceeded to do a little fact-checking of my own. I soon learned that neither the pastor, the congregation, nor the gay couple in question even existed! Someone had obviously made up the story and passed it around online, in which context it took on a life of its own. One thinks of the old saying of how “a lie can travel around the world before truth can get its boots on.”
No genuine Christian of any kind, certainly not a Seventh-day Adventist, needs falsehoods to bolster the teachings of Scripture which condemn without qualification any sexual behavior outside of heterosexual monogamy. God’s truth no more needs an alliance with lies to further its agenda than godly Christians need corrupt political leaders to restore what they believe to be their rightful place in society. The same God who forbade His ancient people to make alliances with the heathen admonishes His contemporary followers, in the words of the apostle Paul, to avoid any unequal yoke with unbelievers and to eschew any union between the temple of God and idolatry (II Cor. 6:14-16).
It’s wise to make a habit of not blindly believing what we read or hear, whether online or elsewhere. Careful fact-checking is imperative. Lies have a way of being found out. Falsehoods can’t survive in the glare of inquisitive scrutiny.
Conclusion
Those who proclaim God’s last message for mankind, who seek first and foremost to be among that company who “keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus” (Rev. 14:12), need to be especially careful in vetting what they hear about both the church and the outside world. Bending facts to fit a preferred narrative is lying, pure and simple, and Revelation 21:8 is still in the Bible: “All liars shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”
REFERENCES
1. “The SDA Church Named on TV for Helping Facilitate Mass Illegal Immigration Into the US,” Fulcrum7, January 25, 2025 https://www.fulcrum7.com/news/2025/1/25/the-sda-church-named-on-tv-for-helping-facilitate-mass-immigration-into-the-us
2. John Dart, "Mainline Church Strength Shrinks," Los Angeles Times, April 6, 1985, Part 1-A, pp. 1-8; Kenneth L. Woodward, "From Mainline to Sideline," Newsweek, Dec. 22, 1986, pp. 54-56; Richard N. Ostling, “The Church Search,” Time, April 5, 1993, pp. 46-47; Woodward, "Dead End for the Mainline?" Newsweek, Aug. 9, 1993, pp. 46-48.
3. Kevin Paulson, “Why Conservative Denominations Are Still Growing,” ADvindicate, Feb. 2, 2017 https://advindicate.com/articles/2017/2/2/why-conservative-denominations-are-still-growing
4. ----“The Trend Continues,” ADvindicate, July 26, 2019 https://advindicate.com/articles/2019/7/17/paulson-draft-1-atack-kn4n4-n82ly
5. “New world order conspiracy theory” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_World_Order_conspiracy_theory
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