What
the SDA Church is Doing to Our Youth by Dr.'s Russell and Colin Standish –
Part III
Isa 3:12 [As
for] my people, children [are] their oppressors,
and women rule over them. O my
people, they which lead thee cause [thee] to err, and destroy the way of thy paths.
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Dear Reader, Note: The authors are from Australia, so the
spelling of some words are different. Chapter 75 Revolting
Youth Evangelism OMEGA Teen-agers clad in jeans
and T-shirts – girls with long hair bouncing in the air and boys with
partially shaved heads – jumped up and down to the beat of the rock music
cannonading off the walls of the South Bay Junior Academy gymnasium in
Torrance [California]. They waved their arms, stomped their feet and cheered.
At one point, they spilled out into the aisles in search of fellow worshipers
who could “belch the alphabet,” who had never seen snow, were shorter than 5
feet tall or who would eat a worm for $20. This definitely wasn’t
your mother’s church. The fact that The Rock got
off the ground at all, even with glitches –
the sound system had to be tweaked repeatedly, the “mini” rock concert
ran 20 minutes over schedule and the slides for the praise songs got jumbled
– still seems like a miracle to Steve Moran, a tall, lanky 42 year-old lay
pastor with a bald dome, salt-and-pepper beard and compassionate blue-gray
eyes. (South Bay [California] Extra, 20 November, 1997). All this abominable and totally misguided effort to attract youth would be objectionable in a fallen church of Babylon. But this occurred in the Church God has called out to proclaim worldwide the need to “worship Him that made heaven and earth, the sea and the fountains of waters.” It is unconscionable to offer such blasphemous worship to youth. Again, we reiterate God’s command: Give unto the LORD the
glory due unto his name; worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness. (Psalm
29:2). “Teenagers are bored in
churches for adults,” admits John Jenson, senior pastor at South Bay
[Seventh-day] Adventist Church, Moran’s home congregation. “It’s a struggle
to keep them focused and interested. You need a church just for them and run
by them to nurture spiritual growth and development in a way that’s palatable
and meaningful to them.” (South Bay
[California] Extra, 20 November,
1997). That a secular newspaper reported this rank abomination and blasphemous apostasy illustrates the depth to which some local Church congregations have fallen. [Note by Ron: The Standish brothers seemed clueless regarding corporate responsibility on the part of all members who KNOW of this abomination. End note.] [EGW] Angels are hovering
around yonder dwelling. The young are there assembled; there is the sound of
vocal and instrumental music. Christians are gathered there, but what is that
you hear? It is a song, a frivolous ditty, fit for the dance hall. Behold,
the pure angels gather their light closer around them, and darkness envelops
those in that dwelling. The angels are moving from the scene. Sadness is upon
their countenances. Behold, they are weeping. This I saw repeated a number of
times all through the ranks of Sabbath keepers, and especially in
________. Music has occupied the hours
which should have been devoted to prayer. Music is the idol which many
professed Sabbath-keeping Christians worship. Satan has no objection to
music, if he can make that a channel through which to gain access to the
minds of the youth. Anything will suit his purpose that will divert the mind
from God, and engage the time which should be devoted to His service. He
works through the means which will exert the strongest influence to hold the
largest numbers in a pleasing infatuation, while they are paralyzed by his
power. When turned to good account, music is a blessing, but it is often made
one of Satan’s most attractive agencies to ensnare souls. When abused, it
leads the unconsecrated to pride, vanity, and folly. When allowed to take the
place of devotion and prayer, it is a terrible curse. Young persons assemble
to sing and, although professed Christians, frequently dishonour God and
their faith by their frivolous conversation and their choice of music. Sacred
music is not congenial to their taste. I was directed to the plain teachings
of God’s word, which had been passed by unnoticed. In the judgment all these
words of inspiration will condemn those who have not heeded them. (Messages to Young People, pp. 295,
296). That the senior pastor of the South Bay Seventh-day Adventist Church would condone, and even countenance, such meetings for youth illustrates the fact that the Holy Spirit has been repulsed and denied an entry to his heart. What Baal-worship is this – Belching the alphabet, eating worms? How utterly disgusting and degrading is Satan’s worship. Surely worm ingestion is strictly forbidden under God health laws. Whatsoever goeth upon the belly ... them ye shall not eat; for they are an abomination. (Leviticus 11:42). Chapter 76 The Edge OMEGA The Youth monthly of the South Pacific Division, The Edge, typifies the vile material which the South Pacific Division serves up to our youth each month. Division leadership is culpable for no effort to sanctify the material has been undertaken over numbers of years. We cite one issue, 12 may, 2001, for example of the destructive material fed to our youth. Surely there can be only a single aim – to lead our youth from heaven. No individual of sound mind could ever reason that the following leads young people heavenward: Welcome to kaleidoscope of
hard music. “Well Adjusted” stretches and flexes, from “bends” –era Radiohead
through to Rage Against the Machine and Soundgarden and back again. Guitars
switch from a cavernous echo to a madly revving motorcycle. Singer Hunz
stretches, too, sounding mournful and deliberate alongside his usual rap and
holler hybrid. It’s restless, twitchy music. The ground shifts constantly – a
groove is established for a few bars, then it’s
blown apart. Note by Ron: This
establishment of a “groove” and then blowing it apart, is a Satanic device
for the purpose of totally shattering the senses and to keep them disoriented
so as to prepare the “victim” for uninhibited acts of debauchery. End note. A cover of Bjork’s “Army
of Me,” while lyrically a strange choice, is a perfect fit musically.
Beanbag’s version simply enhances the relentless industrial feel of the
original. “Well Adjusted” is also
moody, on “These Stains” and “Slipstream” in particular, like the soundtrack
to exploring some murky, subterranean world. The fractured sound
mirrors a fractured society. While much of hardcore music tries to profit
from frustration and alienation, Beanbag are trying to fill the void. They
offer Jesus as an alternative to anarchy while taking a wild ride through
post-modern society. “Well Adjusted” sees
Beanbag growing, trying new things and building on their sound without losing
their intensity. All the right moves, really. Then another three-quarters of a page is devoted to a book review of the novel, A Painted House, written by best-selling novelist, John Grisham. In the review we are told that the novel contains “descriptions of two brutal murders,” and presents a “biting picture of legalistic, ‘sin-for-every-occasion’ Christianity, set in a church community filled with petty hypocrisy, gossip and judgmental attitudes.” Is it God’s will that we defy Him and encourage the reading of fiction, displacing time for Bible and Spirit of Prophecy study? Another page is devoted to sitcom T.V. programme: “Ally McBeal.” We are told
by The Edge that: McBeal is
entertaining. The characters are interesting, and the acting as sharp as the
dialogue. Topical issues are addressed through multi-layered plots. Sometimes
these issues are resolved with a nod toward what has been misnamed
‘traditional values’ while at other times they are left to hang unresolved
due to impulsive, value-free or selfish actions of the characters. The final paragraph of this review of the sitcom contains a most dangerous philosophy, blurring the gender roles God has given us. As “ally McBeal” shows, it’s OK to be: ‘a work in progress’ and
to not quite know how to fit gender roles into neat packages. We better get used
to it, because it’s likely the life we will inherit in heaven will not be
characterised by gender roles – we’ll know what it is to be one perfect
gender, with all the masculinity and femininity, in Christ. TRUTH The ungodly are those who do
not love and obey the commandments of God, but go contrary to them. This is
the class of counselors you are warned to shun, -- the class which Satan uses
to lead youth astray. Their counsel, their suggestions, are of a character to
make light of sin, to ridicule righteousness.... They are represented as
standing in the way of sinners, always leading them out of the straight path
of duty and obedience to God’s commandments into paths of disobedience. If it
were not for those persons who do wrong and tempt others to do wrong, many
sinners might have chosen the path of duty, the life of purity and godliness.
(Sons and Daughters of God, p.
211). Surely God registers the names and deeds of those who prepare and publish these polluted materials, in His Book of Iniquity. All involved in the production of such Youth Magazines, designed, under Satan, to take our precious youth away from the Lord, surely need to be dismissed from their responsibilities. The eternal destinies of our youth require no less an action. Why parents do not rise up in righteousness against these fearful assaults on the characters of our young people is a question they will have to answer in the Day of Judgment; so, too, will the members of Church congregations who dare to distribute such trash to the youth within their Churches. Chapter 77 Singing
Pagan Rock Songs on Sabbath OMEGA The Wollongong Mercury News, 1 November, 2004, reported that: Close to 7000 people
packed the WIN Entertainment Centre on Friday for a prayer meeting and Christian
Rock concert designed to instil hope. The two Rise Up events,
which attracted representatives from every church denomination in the
Illawarra [District] were dubbed ‘The church of the future’ by organisers. The music was aptly
described: Executive producer Maree
Szalla said the youth event looked and sounded like a regular rock concert,
with two bands performing cutting-edge music and a hugh mosh pit. What is a mosh pit? The Oxford English Reference Dictionary defines a mosh pit as: An area where moshing
occurs in front of the stage at a rock concert. )p. 942 of the 1996 edition). What is moshing? [to] dance to rock music
in a violent manner involving colliding with others and headbanging. (ibid). Note by Ron: The latest
progression of “moshing” includes bumping and grinding against one another
(front and rear), as well as girls on their hands and knees (or lying on
their backs) while guy’s straddle them and simulate the sex act. There is little doubt that the “simulating”
is replaced by the “real thing” in certain venues around the world. End note. This was extreme pagan worship led by Peter Ingham, Roman Catholic Bishop of Wollongong, and Reginald Piper, Anglican Bishop of Wollongong. Wollongong is Australia’s ninth-largest city situated less than one hundred kilometres south of Sydney. Surely the Mercury News report was in error when it reported that EVERY church denomination in the Illawarra District, which includes the city of Wollongong (curiously, Woll is pronounced Wool), was represented at this vile defiance of the God of heaven. The wicked prophets of Baal could not have more defiantly blasphemed God’s holy name. The top third of page 15 of the Mercury News, which devoted the whole page to its report, was occupied by a large group of professing leaders of the various “Christian” denominations, including the two bishops holding lighted candles on stage. Three nuns were included. Surely the Wollongong Seventh-day Adventist Church would not defile itself on the holy Sabbath night of Friday, 29 October, 2004, by attending such a studied affront to the God of heaven? With deep sorrow, we read the advertisement in the Wollongong Seventh-day Adventist Church Bulletin, dated 9 October 2004, the following: Friday evening 29 October
at 7:30 pm join with your pastoral team at the Wollongong Entertainment
Centre for a night of celebration with a focus on prayer and praise with
churches of all denominations. If you wish to be a part of the Rise Up
250-voice choir you will need to attend the last 4 practice sessions this
coming week plus a rehearsal on the eve of the Rise Up event. See the notice
board for times and venues for practices. The Wollongong Seventh-day Adventist Church is in the Greater Sydney Conference. The Church pastor, Pastor Kerry Hortop, a former student of Colin’s at Avondale College, and the Senior Elder, Brother Jeff Threlfo, led the Seventh-day Adventist Church in this act of blasphemy. TRUTH Our work is to call God’s people OUT of Babylon. It is not to throw them INTO Babylon. Who would have believed that the Omega of Apostasy would have taken God’s precious Church to this point of open decay? 18And he said, It is not the voice of them that shout
for mastery, neither is it the voice of them that cry for being overcome: but the noise of them that sing do I
hear. 19And it came to pass, as soon as he came high unto the
camp, that he saw the calf, and the dancing; and Moses’ anger waxed hot, and
he cast the gables out of his hands, and brake them beneath the mount.
(Exodus 32:18, 19). The participation of the Wollongong Seventh-day Adventist church in this pagan festival was no less disgraceful than that of Israel of old at the foot of Mt. Sinai. It is little wonder that Sister White declared that, The omega will be of a
most startling nature. (Selected
Messages, Book 1, p. 197). |
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