Liberty of Conscience Threatened

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Liberty of Conscience Threatened

Romanism is now regarded by Protestants with far greater favor than in
former years. In those countries where Catholicism is not in the
ascendancy, and the papists are taking a conciliatory course in order
to gain influence, there is an increasing indifference concerning the
doctrines that separate the reformed churches from the papal
hierarchy; the opinion is gaining ground that, after all, we do not
differ so widely upon vital points as has been supposed, and that a
little concession on our part will bring us into a better
understanding with Rome. The time was when Protestants placed a high
value upon the liberty of conscience which had been so dearly
purchased. They taught their children to abhor popery and held that to
seek harmony with Rome would be disloyalty to God. But how widely
different are the sentiments now expressed!

The defenders of the papacy declare that the church has been maligned,
and the Protestant world are inclined to accept the statement. Many
urge that it is unjust to judge the church of today by the
abominations and absurdities that marked her reign during the
centuries of ignorance and darkness. They excuse her horrible cruelty
as the result of the barbarism of the times and plead that the
influence of modern civilization has changed her sentiments.

Have these persons forgotten the claim of infallibility put forth for
eight hundred years by this haughty power? So far from being
relinquished, this claim was affirmed in the nineteenth century with
greater positiveness than ever before. As Rome asserts that the
"church never erred; nor will it, according to the Scriptures, ever
err" (John L. von Mosheim, Institutes of Ecclesiastical History, book
3, century II, part 2, chapter 2, section 9, note 17), how can she
renounce the principles which governed her course in past ages?

The papal church will never relinquish her claim to infallibility. All
that she has done in her persecution of those who reject her dogmas
she holds to be right; and would she not repeat the same acts, should
the opportunity be presented? Let the restraints now imposed by
secular governments be removed and Rome be reinstated in her former
power, and there would speedily be a revival of her tyranny and
persecution.

A well-known writer speaks thus of the attitude of the papal hierarchy
as regards freedom of conscience, and of the perils which especially
threaten the United States from the success of her policy:

"There are many who are disposed to attribute any fear of Roman
Catholicism in the United States to bigotry or childishness. Such see
nothing in the character and attitude of Romanism that is hostile to
our free institutions, or find nothing portentous in its growth. Let
us, then, first compare some of the fundamental principles of our
government with those of the Catholic Church.

"The Constitution of the United States guarantees liberty of
conscience. Nothing is dearer or more fundamental. Pope Pius IX, in
his Encyclical Letter of August 15, 1854, said: `The absurd and
erroneous doctrines or ravings in defense of liberty of conscience are
a most pestilential error--a pest, of all others, most to be dreaded
in a state.' The same pope, in his Encyclical Letter of December 8,
1864, anathematized `those who assert the liberty of conscience and of
religious worship,' also 'all such as maintain that the church may not
employ force.'

"The pacific tone of Rome in the United States does not imply a change
of heart. She is tolerant where she is helpless. Says Bishop O'Connor:
'Religious liberty is merely endured until the opposite can be carried
into effect without peril to the Catholic world.'. . . The archbishop
of St. Louis once said: 'Heresy and unbelief are crimes; and in
Christian countries, as in Italy and Spain, for instance, where all
the people are Catholics, and where the Catholic religion is an
essential part of the law of the land, they are punished as other
crimes.'. . .

"Every cardinal, archbishop, and bishop in the Catholic Church takes
an oath of allegiance to the pope, in which occur the following words:
'Heretics, schismatics, and rebels to our said lord (the pope), or his
aforesaid successors, I will to my utmost persecute and
oppose.'"--Josiah Strong, Our Country, ch. 5, pars. 2-4. [SEE APPENDIX
FOR CORRECTED REFERENCES.]

It is true that there are real Christians in the Roman Catholic
communion. Thousands in that church are serving God according to the
best light they have. They are not allowed access to His word, and
therefore they do not discern the truth. [PUBLISHED IN 1888 AND 1911.
SEE APPENDIX.] They have never seen the contrast between a living
heart service and a round of mere forms and ceremonies. God looks with
pitying tenderness upon these souls, educated as they are in a faith
that is delusive and unsatisfying. He will cause rays of light to
penetrate the dense darkness that surrounds them. He will reveal to
them the truth as it is in Jesus, and many will yet take their
position with His people.

But Romanism as a system is no more in harmony with the gospel of
Christ now than at any former period in her history. The Protestant
churches are in great darkness, or they would discern the signs of the
times. The Roman Church is far-reaching in her plans and modes of
operation. She is employing every device to extend her influence and
increase her power in preparation for a fierce and determined conflict
to regain control of the world, to re-establish persecution, and to
undo all that Protestantism has done. Catholicism is gaining ground
upon every side. See the increasing number of her churches and chapels
in Protestant countries. Look at the popularity of her colleges and
seminaries in America, so widely patronized by Protestants. Look at
the growth of ritualism in England and the frequent defections to the
ranks of the Catholics. These things should awaken the anxiety of all
who prize the pure principles of the gospel.

Protestants have tampered with and patronized popery; they have made
compromises and concessions which papists themselves are surprised to
see and fail to understand. Men are closing their eyes to the real
character of Romanism and the dangers to be apprehended from her
supremacy. The people need to be aroused to resist the advances of
this most dangerous foe to civil and religious liberty.

Many Protestants suppose that the Catholic religion is unattractive
and that its worship is a dull, meaningless round of ceremony. Here
they mistake. While Romanism is based upon deception, it is not a
coarse and clumsy imposture. The religious service of the Roman Church
is a most impressive ceremonial. Its gorgeous display and solemn rites
fascinate the senses of the people and silence the voice of reason and
of conscience. The eye is charmed. Magnificent churches, imposing
processions, golden altars, jeweled shrines, choice paintings, and
exquisite sculpture appeal to the love of beauty. The ear also is
captivated. The music is unsurpassed. The rich notes of the deep-toned
organ, blending with the melody of many voices as it swells through
the lofty domes and pillared aisles of her grand cathedrals, cannot
fail to impress the mind with awe and reverence.

Is this something that should concern Baptist?

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This outward splendor, pomp, and ceremony, that only mocks the
longings of the sin-sick soul, is an evidence of inward corruption.
The religion of Christ needs not such attractions to recommend it. In
the light shining from the cross, true Christianity appears so pure
and lovely that no external decorations can enhance its true worth. It
is the beauty of holiness, a meek and quiet spirit, which is of value
with God.

Brilliancy of style is not necessarily an index of pure, elevated
thought. High conceptions of art, delicate refinement of taste, often
exist in minds that are earthly and sensual. They are often employed
by Satan to lead men to forget the necessities of the soul, to lose
sight of the future, immortal life, to turn away from their infinite
Helper, and to live for this world alone.

A religion of externals is attractive to the unrenewed heart. The pomp
and ceremony of the Catholic worship has a seductive, bewitching
power, by which many are deceived; and they come to look upon the
Roman Church as the very gate of heaven. None but those who have
planted their feet firmly upon the foundation of truth, and whose
hearts are renewed by the Spirit of God, are proof against her
influence. Thousands who have not an experimental knowledge of Christ
will be led to accept the forms of godliness without the power. Such a
religion is just what the multitudes desire.

The church's claim to the right to pardon leads the Romanist to feel
at liberty to sin; and the ordinance of confession, without which her
pardon is not granted, tends also to give license to evil. He who
kneels before fallen man, and opens in confession the secret thoughts
and imaginations of his heart, is debasing his manhood and degrading
every noble instinct of his soul. In unfolding the sins of his life to
a priest,--an erring, sinful mortal, and too often corrupted with wine
and licentiousness, --his standard of character is lowered, and he is
defiled in consequence. His thought of God is degraded to the likeness
of fallen humanity, for the priest stands as a representative of God.
This degrading confession of man to man is the secret spring from
which has flowed much of the evil that is defiling the world and
fitting it for the final destruction. Yet to him who loves
self-indulgence, it is more pleasing to confess to a fellow mortal
than to open the soul to God. It is more palatable to human nature to
do penance than to renounce sin; it is easier to mortify the flesh by
sackcloth and nettles and galling chains than to crucify fleshly
lusts. Heavy is the yoke which the carnal heart is willing to bear
rather than bow to the yoke of Christ.

There is a striking similarity between the Church of Rome and the
Jewish Church at the time of Christ's first advent. While the Jews
secretly trampled upon every principle of the law of God, they were
outwardly rigorous in the observance of its precepts, loading it down
with exactions and traditions that made obedience painful and
burdensome. As the Jews professed to revere the law, so do Romanists
claim to reverence the cross. They exalt the symbol of Christ's
sufferings, while in their lives they deny Him whom it represents.

Papists place crosses upon their churches, upon their altars, and upon
their garments. Everywhere is seen the insignia of the cross.
Everywhere it is outwardly honored and exalted. But the teachings of
Christ are buried beneath a mass of senseless traditions, false
interpretations, and rigorous exactions. The Saviour's words
concerning the bigoted Jews, apply with still greater force to the
leaders of the Roman Catholic Church: "They bind heavy burdens and
grievous to be borne, and lay them on men's shoulders; but they
themselves will not move them with one of their fingers." Matthew
23:4. Conscientious souls are kept in constant terror fearing the
wrath of an offended God, while many of the dignitaries of the church
are living in luxury and sensual pleasure.

The worship of images and relics, the invocation of saints, and the
exaltation of the pope are devices of Satan to attract the minds of
the people from God and from His Son. To accomplish their ruin, he
endeavors to turn their attention from Him through whom alone they can
find salvation. He will direct them to any object that can be
substituted for the One who has said: "Come unto Me, all ye that labor
and are heavy-laden, and I will give you rest." Matthew 11:28.

It is Satan's constant effort to misrepresent the character of God,
the nature of sin, and the real issues at stake in the great
controversy. His sophistry lessens the obligation of the divine law
and gives men license to sin. At the same time he causes them to
cherish false conceptions of God so that they regard Him with fear and
hate rather than with love. The cruelty inherent in his own character
is attributed to the Creator; it is embodied in systems of religion
and expressed in modes of worship. Thus the minds of men are blinded,
and Satan secures them as his agents to war against God. By perverted
conceptions of the divine attributes, heathen nations were led to
believe human sacrifices necessary to secure the favor of Deity; and
horrible cruelties have been perpetrated under the various forms of
idolatry.

The Roman Catholic Church, uniting the forms of paganism and
Christianity, and, like paganism, misrepresenting the character of
God, has resorted to practices no less cruel and revolting. In the
days of Rome's supremacy there were instruments of torture to compel
assent to her doctrines. There was the stake for those who would not
concede to her claims. There were massacres on a scale that will never
be known until revealed in the judgment. Dignitaries of the church
studied, under Satan their master, to invent means to cause the
greatest possible torture and not end the life of the victim. In many
cases the infernal process was repeated to the utmost limit of human
endurance, until nature gave up the struggle, and the sufferer hailed
death as a sweet release.

Such was the fate of Rome's opponents. For her adherents she had the
discipline of the scourge, of famishing hunger, of bodily austerities
in every conceivable, heart-sickening form. To secure the favor of
Heaven, penitents violated the laws of God by violating the laws of
nature. They were taught to sunder the ties which He has formed to
bless and gladden man's earthly sojourn. The churchyard contains
millions of victims who spent their lives in vain endeavors to subdue
their natural affections, to repress, as offensive to God, every
thought and feeling of sympathy with their fellow creatures.

If we desire to understand the determined cruelty of Satan, manifested
for hundreds of years, not among those who never heard of God, but in
the very heart and throughout the extent of Christendom, we have only
to look at the history of Romanism. Through this mammoth system of
deception the prince of evil achieves his purpose of bringing dishonor
to God and wretchedness to man. And as we see how he succeeds in
disguising himself and accomplishing his work through the leaders of
the church, we may better understand why he has so great antipathy to
the Bible. If that Book is read, the mercy and love of God will be
revealed; it will be seen that He lays upon men none of these heavy
burdens. All that He asks is a broken and contrite heart, a humble,
obedient spirit.

Christ gives no example in His life for men and women to shut
themselves in monasteries in order to become fitted for heaven. He has
never taught that love and sympathy must be repressed. The Saviour's
heart overflowed with love. The nearer man approaches to moral
perfection, the keener are his sensibilities, the more acute is his
perception of sin, and the deeper his sympathy for the afflicted. The
pope claims to be the vicar of Christ; but how does his character bear
comparison with that of our Saviour? Was Christ ever known to consign
men to the prison or the rack because they did not pay Him homage as
the King of heaven? Was His voice heard condemning to death those who
did not accept Him? When He was slighted by the people of a Samaritan
village, the apostle John was filled with indignation, and inquired:
"Lord, wilt Thou that we command fire to come down from heaven, and
consume them, even as Elias did?" Jesus looked with pity upon His
disciple, and rebuked his harsh spirit, saying: "The Son of man is not
come to destroy men's lives, but to save them." Luke 9:54, 56. How
different from the spirit manifested by Christ is that of His
professed vicar.

The Roman Church now presents a fair front to the world, covering with
apologies her record of horrible cruelties. She has clothed herself in
Christlike garments; but she is unchanged. Every principle of the
papacy that existed in past ages exists today. The doctrines devised
in the darkest ages are still held. Let none deceive themselves. The
papacy that Protestants are now so ready to honor is the same that
ruled the world in the days of the Reformation, when men of God stood
up, at the peril of their lives, to expose her iniquity. She possesses
the same pride and arrogant assumption that lorded it over kings and
princes, and claimed the prerogatives of God. Her spirit is no less
cruel and despotic now than when she crushed out human liberty and
slew the saints of the Most High.

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[Palatka51]

The papacy is just what prophecy declared that she would be, the
apostasy of the latter times. 2 Thessalonians 2:3, 4. It is a part of
her policy to assume the character which will best accomplish her
purpose; but beneath the variable appearance of the chameleon she
conceals the invariable venom of the serpent. "Faith ought not to be
kept with heretics, nor persons suspected of heresy" (Lenfant, volume
1, page 516), she declares. Shall this power, whose record for a
thousand years is written in the blood of the saints, be now
acknowledged as a part of the church of Christ?

It is not without reason that the claim has been put forth in
Protestant countries that Catholicism differs less widely from
Protestantism than in former times. There has been a change; but the
change is not in the papacy. Catholicism indeed resembles much of the
Protestantism that now exists, because Protestantism has so greatly
degenerated since the days of the Reformers.

As the Protestant churches have been seeking the favor of the world,
false charity has blinded their eyes. They do not see but that it is
right to believe good of all evil, and as the inevitable result they
will finally believe evil of all good. Instead of standing in defense
of the faith once delivered to the saints, they are now, as it were,
apologizing to Rome for their uncharitable opinion of her, begging
pardon for their bigotry.

A large class, even of those who look upon Romanism with no favor,
apprehend little danger from her power and influence. Many urge that
the intellectual and moral darkness prevailing during the Middle Ages
favored the spread of her dogmas, superstitions, and oppression, and
that the greater intelligence of modern times, the general diffusion
of knowledge, and the increasing liberality in matters of religion
forbid a revival of intolerance and tyranny. The very thought that
such a state of things will exist in this enlightened age is
ridiculed. It is true that great light, intellectual, moral, and
religious, is shining upon this generation. In the open pages of God's
Holy Word, light from heaven has been shed upon the world. But it
should be remembered that the greater the light bestowed, the greater
the darkness of those who pervert and reject it.

A prayerful study of the Bible would show Protestants the real
character of the papacy and would cause them to abhor and to shun it;
but many are so wise in their own conceit that they feel no need of
humbly seeking God that they may be led into the truth. Although
priding themselves on their enlightenment, they are ignorant both of
the Scriptures and of the power of God. They must have some means of
quieting their consciences, and they seek that which is least
spiritual and humiliating. What they desire is a method of forgetting
God which shall pass as a method of remembering Him. The papacy is
well adapted to meet the wants of all these. It is prepared for two
classes of mankind, embracing nearly the whole world--those who would
be saved by their merits, and those who would be saved in their sins.
Here is the secret of its power.

A day of great intellectual darkness has been shown to be favorable to
the success of the papacy. It will yet be demonstrated that a day of
great intellectual light is equally favorable for its success. In past
ages, when men were without God's word and without the knowledge of
the truth, their eyes were blindfolded, and thousands were ensnared,
not seeing the net spread for their feet. In this generation there are
many whose eyes become dazzled by the glare of human speculations,
"science falsely so called;" they discern not the net, and walk into
it as readily as if blindfolded. God designed that man's intellectual
powers should be held as a gift from his Maker and should be employed
in the service of truth and righteousness; but when pride and ambition
are cherished, and men exalt their own theories above the word of God,
then intelligence can accomplish greater harm than ignorance. Thus the
false science of the present day, which undermines faith in the Bible,
will prove as successful in preparing the way for the acceptance of
the papacy, with its pleasing forms, as did the withholding of
knowledge in opening the way for its aggrandizement in the Dark Ages.

In the movements now in progress in the United States to secure for
the institutions and usages of the church the support of the state,
Protestants are following in the steps of papists. Nay, more, they are
opening the door for the papacy to regain in Protestant America the
supremacy which she has lost in the Old World. And that which gives
greater significance to this movement is the fact that the principal
object contemplated is the enforcement of Sunday observance-- a custom
which originated with Rome, and which she claims as the sign of her
authority. It is the spirit of the papacy--the spirit of conformity to
worldly customs, the veneration for human traditions above the
commandments of God--that is permeating the Protestant churches and
leading them on to do the same work of Sunday exaltation which the
papacy has done before them.

If the reader would understand the agencies to be employed in the
soon-coming contest, he has but to trace the record of the means which
Rome employed for the same object in ages past. If he would know how
papists and Protestants united will deal with those who reject their
dogmas, let him see the spirit which Rome manifested toward the
Sabbath and its defenders.

Royal edicts, general councils, and church ordinances sustained by
secular power were the steps by which the pagan festival attained its
position of honor in the Christian world. The first public measure
enforcing Sunday observance was the law enacted by Constantine. (A.D.
321; see Appendix note for page 53.) This edict required townspeople
to rest on "the venerable day of the sun," but permitted countrymen to
continue their agricultural pursuits. Though virtually a heathen
statute, it was enforced by the emperor after his nominal acceptance
of Christianity.

The royal mandate not proving a sufficient substitute for divine
authority, Eusebius, a bishop who sought the favor of princes, and who
was the special friend and flatterer of Constantine, advanced the
claim that Christ had transferred the Sabbath to Sunday. Not a single
testimony of the Scriptures was produced in proof of the new doctrine.
Eusebius himself unwittingly acknowledges its falsity and points to
the real authors of the change. "All things," he says, "whatever that
it was duty to do on the Sabbath, these we have transferred to the
Lord's Day."--Robert Cox, Sabbath Laws and Sabbath Duties, page 538.
But the Sunday argument, groundless as it was, served to embolden men
in trampling upon the Sabbath of the Lord. All who desired to be
honored by the world accepted the popular festival.

As the papacy became firmly established, the work of Sunday exaltation
was continued. For a time the people engaged in agricultural labor
when not attending church, and the seventh day was still regarded as
the Sabbath. But steadily a change was effected. Those in holy office
were forbidden to pass judgment in any civil controversy on the
Sunday. Soon after, all persons, of whatever rank, were commanded to
refrain from common labor on pain of a fine for freemen and stripes in
the case of servants. Later it was decreed that rich men should be
punished with the loss of half of their estates; and finally, that if
still obstinate they should be made slaves. The lower classes were to
suffer perpetual banishment.

Miracles also were called into requisition. Among other wonders it was
reported that as a husbandman who was about to plow his field on
Sunday cleaned his plow with an iron, the iron stuck fast in his hand,
and for two years he carried it about with him, "to his exceeding
great pain and shame."--Francis West, Historical and Practical
Discourse on the Lord's Day, page 174.

Later the pope gave directions that the parish priest should admonish
the violators of Sunday and wish them to go to church and say their
prayers, lest they bring some great calamity on themselves and
neighbors. An ecclesiastical council brought forward the argument,
since so widely employed, even by Protestants, that because persons
had been struck by lightning while laboring on Sunday, it must be the
Sabbath. "It is apparent," said the prelates, "how high the
displeasure of God was upon their neglect of this day." An appeal was
then made that priests and ministers, kings and princes, and all
faithful people "use their utmost endeavors and care that the day be
restored to its honor, and, for the credit of Christianity, more
devoutly observed for the time to come."--Thomas Morer, Discourse in
Six Dialogues on the Name, Notion, and Observation of the Lord's Day,
page 271.

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The roll forbade labor from the ninth hour, three o'clock, on Saturday
afternoon, till sunrise on Monday; and its authority was declared to
be confirmed by many miracles. It was reported that persons laboring
beyond the appointed hour were stricken with paralysis. A miller who
attempted to grind his corn, saw, instead of flour, a torrent of blood
come forth, and the mill wheel stood still, notwithstanding the strong
rush of water. A woman who placed dough in the oven found it raw when
taken out, though the oven was very hot. Another who had dough
prepared for baking at the ninth hour, but determined to set it aside
till Monday, found, the next day, that it had been made into loaves
and baked by divine power. A man who baked bread after the ninth hour
on Saturday found, when he broke it the next morning, that blood
started therefrom. By such absurd and superstitious fabrications did
the advocates of Sunday endeavor to establish its sacredness. (See
Roger de Hoveden, Annals, vol. 2, pp. 526-530.)

In Scotland, as in England, a greater regard for Sunday was secured by
uniting with it a portion of the ancient Sabbath. But the time
required to be kept holy varied. An edict from the king of Scotland
declared that "Saturday from twelve at noon ought to be accounted
holy," and that no man, from that time till Monday morning, should
engage in worldly business.--Morer, pages 290, 291.

But notwithstanding all the efforts to establish Sunday sacredness,
papists themselves publicly confessed the divine authority of the
Sabbath and the human origin of the institution by which it had been
supplanted. In the sixteenth century a papal council plainly declared:
"Let all Christians remember that the seventh day was consecrated by
God, and hath been received and observed, not only by the Jews, but by
all others who pretend to worship God; though we Christians have
changed their Sabbath into the Lord's Day."-- Ibid., pages 281, 282.
Those who were tampering with the divine law were not ignorant of the
character of their work. They were deliberately setting themselves
above God.

A striking illustration of Rome's policy toward those who disagree
with her was given in the long and bloody persecution of the
Waldenses, some of whom were observers of the Sabbath. Others suffered
in a similar manner for their fidelity to the fourth commandment. The
history of the churches of Ethiopia and Abyssinia is especially
significant. Amid the gloom of the Dark Ages, the Christians of
Central Africa were lost sight of and forgotten by the world, and for
many centuries they enjoyed freedom in the exercise of their faith.
But at last Rome learned of their existence, and the emperor of
Abyssinia was soon beguiled into an acknowledgment of the pope as the
vicar of Christ. Other concessions followed.

An edict was issued forbidding the observance of the Sabbath under the
severest penalties. (See Michael Geddes, Church History of Ethiopia,
pages 311, 312.) But papal tyranny soon became a yoke so galling that
the Abyssinians determined to break it from their necks. After a
terrible struggle the Romanists were banished from their dominions,
and the ancient faith was restored. The churches rejoiced in their
freedom, and they never forgot the lesson they had learned concerning
the deception, the fanaticism, and the despotic power of Rome. Within
their solitary realm they were content to remain, unknown to the rest
of Christendom.

The churches of Africa held the Sabbath as it was held by the papal
church before her complete apostasy. While they kept the seventh day
in obedience to the commandment of God, they abstained from labor on
the Sunday in conformity to the custom of the church. Upon obtaining
supreme power, Rome had trampled upon the Sabbath of God to exalt her
own; but the churches of Africa, hidden for nearly a thousand years,
did not share in this apostasy. When brought under the sway of Rome,
they were forced to set aside the true and exalt the false sabbath;
but no sooner had they regained their independence than they returned
to obedience to the fourth commandment. (See Appendix.)

These records of the past clearly reveal the enmity of Rome toward the
true Sabbath and its defenders, and the means which she employs to
honor the institution of her creating. The word of God teaches that
these scenes are to be repeated as Roman Catholics and Protestants
shall unite for the exaltation of the Sunday.

The prophecy of Revelation 13 declares that the power represented by
the beast with lamblike horns shall cause "the earth and them which
dwell therein" to worship the papacy --there symbolized by the beast
"like unto a leopard." The beast with two horns is also to say "to
them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the
beast;" and, furthermore, it is to command all, "both small and great,
rich and poor, free and bond," to receive the mark of the beast.
Revelation 13:11-16. It has been shown that the United States is the
power represented by the beast with lamblike horns, and that this
prophecy will be fulfilled when the United States shall enforce Sunday
observance, which Rome claims as the special acknowledgment of her
supremacy. But in this homage to the papacy the United States will not
be alone. The influence of Rome in the countries that once
acknowledged her dominion is still far from being destroyed. And
prophecy foretells a restoration of her power. "I saw one of his heads
as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all
the world wondered after the beast." Verse 3. The infliction of the
deadly wound points to the downfall of the papacy in 1798. After this,
says the prophet, "his deadly wound was healed: and all the world
wondered after the beast." Paul states plainly that the "man of sin"
will continue until the second advent. 2 Thessalonians 2:3-8. To the
very close of time he will carry forward the work of deception. And
the revelator declares, also referring to the papacy: "All that dwell
upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the
book of life." Revelation 13:8. In both the Old and the New World, the
papacy will receive homage in the honor paid to the Sunday
institution, that rests solely upon the authority of the Roman Church.

Since the middle of the nineteenth century, students of prophecy in
the United States have presented this testimony to the world. In the
events now taking place is seen a rapid advance toward the fulfillment
of the prediction. With Protestant teachers there is the same claim of
divine authority for Sundaykeeping, and the same lack of Scriptural
evidence, as with the papal leaders who fabricated miracles to supply
the place of a command from God. The assertion that God's judgments
are visited upon men for their violation of the Sunday-sabbath, will
be repeated; already it is beginning to be urged. And a movement to
enforce Sunday observance is fast gaining ground.

Marvelous in her shrewdness and cunning is the Roman Church. She can
read what is to be. She bides her time, seeing that the Protestant
churches are paying her homage in their acceptance of the false
sabbath and that they are preparing to enforce it by the very means
which she herself employed in bygone days. Those who reject the light
of truth will yet seek the aid of this self-styled infallible power to
exalt an institution that originated with her. How readily she will
come to the help of Protestants in this work it is not difficult to
conjecture. Who understands better than the papal leaders how to deal
with those who are disobedient to the church?

More....................

 

[Palatka51]

The Roman Catholic Church, with all its ramifications throughout the
world, forms one vast organization under the control, and designed to
serve the interests, of the papal see. Its millions of communicants,
in every country on the globe, are instructed to hold themselves as
bound in allegiance to the pope. Whatever their nationality or their
government, they are to regard the authority of the church as above
all other. Though they may take the oath pledging their loyalty to the
state, yet back of this lies the vow of obedience to Rome, absolving
them from every pledge inimical to her interests.

History testifies of her artful and persistent efforts to insinuate
herself into the affairs of nations; and having gained a foothold, to
further her own aims, even at the ruin of princes and people. In the
year 1204, Pope Innocent III extracted from Peter II, king of Arragon,
the following extraordinary oath: "I, Peter, king of Arragonians,
profess and promise to be ever faithful and obedient to my lord, Pope
Innocent, to his Catholic successors, and the Roman Church, and
faithfully to preserve my kingdom in his obedience, defending the
Catholic faith, and persecuting heretical pravity." --John Dowling,
The History of Romanism, b. 5, ch. 6, sec 55. This is in harmony with
the claims regarding the power of the Roman pontiff "that it is lawful
for him to depose emperors" and "that he can absolve subjects from
their allegiance to unrighteous rulers."--Mosheim, b. 3, cent. 11, pt.
2, ch. 2, sec. 9, note 17. (See also Appendix note for page 447.)

And let it be remembered, it is the boast of Rome that she never
changes. The principles of Gregory VII and Innocent III are still the
principles of the Roman Catholic Church. And had she but the power,
she would put them in practice with as much vigor now as in past
centuries. Protestants little know what they are doing when they
propose to accept the aid of Rome in the work of Sunday exaltation.
While they are bent upon the accomplishment of their purpose, Rome is
aiming to re-establish her power, to recover her lost supremacy. Let
the principle once be established in the United States that the church
may employ or control the power of the state; that religious
observances may be enforced by secular laws; in short, that the
authority of church and state is to dominate the conscience, and the
triumph of Rome in this country is assured.

God's word has given warning of the impending danger; let this be
unheeded, and the Protestant world will learn what the purposes of
Rome really are, only when it is too late to escape the snare. She is
silently growing into power. Her doctrines are exerting their
influence in legislative halls, in the churches, and in the hearts of
men. She is piling up her lofty and massive structures in the secret
recesses of which her former persecutions will be repeated. Stealthily
and unsuspectedly she is strengthening her forces to further her own
ends when the time shall come for her to strike. All that she desires
is vantage ground, and this is already being given her. We shall soon
see and shall feel what the purpose of the Roman element is. Whoever
shall believe and obey the word of God will thereby incur reproach and
persecution.
from EGW.

Again your thoughts are welcomed.

 

[Zenas]

Looks like the mindless ranting of a Seventh Day Adventist with a lot time on his hands (not to say that all SDA's are mindless). This quote from the above shows just how far off the mark this person is:

It is not without reason that the claim has been put forth in
Protestant countries that Catholicism differs less widely from
Protestantism than in former times. There has been a change; but the
change is not in the papacy. Catholicism indeed resembles much of the
Protestantism that now exists, because Protestantism has so greatly
degenerated since the days of the Reformers.

Quite true, Protestantism, i.e. churches coming out of the Reformation, has degenerated greatly but the degenaration has been on matters of morals and cultural relevancy, the very arena where the RCC has stood firm.

 

[Darron Steele]

I noticed how much of the quoted work seemed to assume antiquated sources.

 

[Thinkingstuff]

Looks like the mindless ranting of a Seventh Day Adventist with a lot time on his hands (not to say that all SDA's are mindless). This quote from the above shows just how far off the mark this person is: Quite true, Protestantism, i.e. churches coming out of the Reformation, has degenerated greatly but the degenaration has been on matters of morals and cultural relevancy, the very arena where the RCC has stood firm.

This is a true statement.

 

[Palatka51]

Thanks for your input. And I am in agreement with all those who have posted thus far.