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AN ADVENTER

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Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Michigan · May 5, 1885

FromThe Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, Vol. 62, No. 18

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“AN ADVENTER.”

By E. M. Dunlap

BY E. M. DUNLAP.
Not long since, upon entering a shop for the purpose of having some repairing done, I met an aged and esteemed member of the Baptist church (a minister), who was also having some work done. Seeing that he was idle, I took from my pocket a Signs and handed it to him, asking him to read while he was waiting, when the following conversation took place. Looking at the paper, he said, “Why, are you an Adventer?”
D.—“Well, yes, sir; I’m an Adventist.”
M.—“Well, you Adventers are very funny people. You’ve got your tracts and your papers everywhere—in every town and village, in every depot; and a man can’t even sit down on a stool to rest a minute but he gets a paper poked at him.”
D.—“Yes, we are considered rather industrious, and a vigilant missionary people. I think if all the other churches would put forth the same effort, and use of their means as freely as we do, the cause of God would make more rapid progress.”
M.—“But there’s one doctrine your folks cling to that I think is getting pretty old-fashioned.”
D.—“What is that?”
M.—“Well, it’s that old Sabbath.”
D.—“True, that is rather old-fashioned; in fact, it is one of the oldest institutions of God’s making. But don’t you think that right there is where the Church of to-day is losing her strength—getting entirely too new-fashioned?”
M.—“Don’t know but it is to a certain extent; but I want to ask you one question; that is, with all your missionary work, with all your printing presses, powerful minds, and preaching and church work done, can you give me a reasonable explanation of the terrible fact that infidelity is so rampant? Why is it making such strides—making such rapid progress in our land?”
D.—“Indeed, Mr. ——, I do not know whether I can give an answer which would be a ‘reasonable’ solution of the problem to you or not. I have, however, an answer which seems reasonable, that I will give you. Last night I heard your minister in the Baptist church make the assertion that ‘the Bible informs men, upon every page from beginning to end, that they have an immortal soul to save; and it tells me that I have an everlasting soul to save and fit for the skies.’ He not only made this assertion, but others equally absurd, which we hear from the pulpit every Sunday. He, no doubt, had all classes of hearers: humble, devout Christians; ignorant, honest people who believed every word he uttered; a class under conviction; a class seeking for the truth; a class laboring under doubts and perplexities—perhaps a little skeptical; and doubtless some really infidel. Leaving out two of the classes of hearers named in the list (ignorant persons and infidels), nothing else could be expected of the remaining classes but that they are, at least, occasional Bible readers; and it must be presumed that the majority of these are more than occasional Bible readers. Take, for instance, those under conviction, those seeking for the truth, and those inclined to skepticism. They return from meeting, take their Bibles, turn them leaf by leaf, but fail to find that a single line (much less ‘every page’) says anything of the kind. Neither do they find a line which says anything from which such a conclusion can be drawn. With teaching of this kind, and with such assertions pressed upon the people from day to day, is it any wonder that infidelity is making such rapid progress in our land? It is a wonder to me why people should wonder.”