The Berrien Springs Village Church hosted a Religious Liberty Sabbath yesterday. The main speakers were Conrad Vine, President of Adventist Frontier Mission, and John Markovic, professor of Church History at the Andrews Seminary.
With surgical precision, Vine traces the timeline of totalitarianism as viewed in Marxist history, and exposes forces that are rapidly bringing this ideology into the United States. There are strong implications for religious liberty on the immediate horizon. He sums up his warning with a biblical response to this cultural totalitarianism, both collectively and individually.
Here is Vine’s first presentation, beginning at 1:03:40
Conclusions
Solzhenitsyn wrote about the compelling power of ideology. “Ideology—that is what gives evildoing its long-sought justification and gives the evildoer the necessary steadfastness and determination…. Thanks to ideology, the twentieth century was fated to experience evildoing on a scale calculated in the millions. This cannot be denied, nor passed over, and not suppressed.”
We are witnessing across America today the rising of the same Christ-hating socialist ideology that led to the murder of over 100 million persons in the 20th Century. Today this ideology imposes itself via cancel culture, but sooner or later, the soft totalitarianism will give way to hard totalitarianism. In an era when we are being forced to live with lies, we are fast approaching a moment of truth.
Will we bow to the lies or stand for the truth? What path will you choose? You can live with the lies, chant the slogans and flaunt your virtue on social media, all while living in fear and becoming profoundly demoralized.
Or you can live for truth, with freedom of the soul. “If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8.31-32). Seek truth, your conscience, your thoughts and your words will be free, and you can proclaim the Coming King.
Born into a pastoral family, Elder Vine grew up with his twin brother and two sisters in homes across the UK. After graduating with a business management degree (1995), he served in the UK public healthcare system before God led him to ADRA (1996). Initially serving in Azerbaijan, Elder Vine served with ADRA through 2002 in a variety of roles worldwide. Following seminary training at Newbold College (2002-2004), he and Luda began their pastoral ministry in London, UK. After a stint in the Middle East Union, they served in pastoral ministry in Minnesota for four years before Elder Vine answered the call to serve as President of Adventist Frontier Missions.
Conrad and his wife live in Berrien Springs, MI and have two children.