When there’s a bifurcation between the people and those who speak on their behalf, this is not sustainable. Church leadership and/or church publications being out of step with the people - not to mention out of step with our theology on liberty of conscience - is not healthy or stable. That’s putting it mildly.

For the sake of our witness, for the sake of how God’s character is maligned by those who speak in the name of Christ in favor of vaccine coercion – for the sake of not losing from the truth souls who feel disillusioned and alienated by the direction of leadership – leaders, please speak up in defense of liberty of conscience during one of the most repressive moments in American history.

All of the following objections and accusations are lacking merit to silence Adventists who feel compelled to address the vaccine coercion.

Being Rebellious?

There are some who would try to derail you by saying that you are being rebellious against the civil order of society when you are compelled by the Spirit of God to be a voice for liberty and justice for the persecuted. One prominent vocal proponent for the vaccines even went as far as to say that, on the COVID-19 vaccines, we are to give to Caesar what is Caesar’s.

Do the choices about our body temple belong to Caesar?

The Bible says that we are to “offer our bodies as a living sacrifice,” which is our ‘reasonable service’ or, as the NIV translation renders it, you offer your body in your ‘spiritual act of worship’ (Rom. 12:1). Your body is a temple. Choices about your body are a form of worship to God.

To suggest that we defer to Caesar on our health choices is more than doctrinal error. If we are to teach that our temple/worship choices and how we choose to glorify God by what we put into, or refrain from putting into, our bodies (1 Cor. 10:31) is now under the jurisdiction of Caesar, this would be granting to Caesar the divine prerogative, and would qualify as the very definition of blasphemy (John 10:33).

It is true that we are not our own (1 Cor. 6:19). But it is not to Caesar that our health choices belong, but to God! “For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s” (1 Cor. 6:20).

The coin bears the image of Caesar. You bear the image of God. Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s. Give Caesar taxes, as well as submission and honor in his proper sphere (Rom. 13). But do not offer your bodies as a living sacrifice to the state, for that would make man a false god.

So, back to the question. Is it rebellious against the authorities to advocate for liberty of conscience on vaccines? Are Adventist attorneys Bruce Cameron, Jonathan Zirkle, Jonathon Cherne, and many others being rebellious when they advise people on how to get vaccine exemptions? This is what religious liberty attorneys do.

And, taking the bigger picture view, was it rebellious when our religious liberty work received the charge to stand vocally, boldly, and courageously, in writing and in the courts, against state intrusion on liberty of conscience on a variety of issues?

Far from undermining the social order, when we, full of grace and truth (John 1:14), defend proper limits on the exercise of the powerful over the individual, we are not undermining, but upholding and defending, the civil order of our free society.

And even if Caesar did have jurisdiction over our health choices, Caesar, himself, has passed the 1964 Civil Rights Act, Title VII of which protects an individual from mandates that run contrary to conscience.

Being Political?

There are some who would try to derail you by saying that you’re ‘being political’ if you defend the rights of the minority.

Many times, this accusation is leveled by somebody who, while accusing you of being political, is simultaneously vocally advocating the other side of the same issue. If that is the case, the charge should not be taken seriously.

While on the topic, isn’t it just a little bit political when the NAD issues another social justice statement, on behalf of us all, which, instead of inviting our young people into the canvassing work or other soul-winning efforts, our young people are commissioned to “confront” and “dismantle” American social structures and institutions? Yeah, that goes beyond political. This language is the same that is used by those who have been given space to destroy at their mostly-peaceful / partly violent ‘protests’ – i.e. civil unrest like we haven’t seen in a generation. Our young people are called by the North American Division of the Seventh-day Adventist Church to “thoughtfully engage” with a literally revolutionary element of society and to help them dismantle… something. (But the statement about racial justice contains no mention of the abortion industry or vaccine segregation disproportionately affecting the black community. So maybe a bit political?) This NAD statement is one of the most political statements ever made in the Adventist church. And who is getting called ‘political’ at this moment? Only those who oppose vaccine mandates. But not those who advocate for the vaccination campaign.

That stark double standard aside, it is true that we’ve been counseled strongly to steer clear of politics. And praise God for that.

We shouldn’t vote straight-ticket for parties not knowing the candidates (called ‘voting for parties’). We should stay out of things like the debate over the monetization of silver that have nothing to do with the principles of our faith. We shouldn’t endorse candidates for elected office. Temperance reform, opposition to the Fugitive Slave Act, and religious liberty advocacy are examples of issues that we should be involved with as a witness to God’s character.

For our legitimate religious liberty publications, advocacy, and legal defense, these counsels to avoid politics were never meant to be applied in a way to silence the church on pressing and current matters of liberty of conscience. We can, still today, safely defend an individual’s freedom to choose what to put into their body and yet refrain from getting into party politics, supporting candidates, or advocating party platforms. Principles not politics.

It's Not the 4th Commandment

There are some who would try to derail you by saying that if we advocate for liberty of conscience on matters not relating to the Fourth Commandment that we will just be ‘complaining about everything’ and have no credibility when it comes to the final crisis.

Again, that has not been the approach of our religious liberty philosophy in the past. Why now? And why only on this issue (see NAD/BLM paragraph above)?

On the contrary, to demonstrate our sincerity and our care for every soul, we address individual and societal issues of many kinds that touch upon the principles of liberty of conscience. We’ve defended the rights of Muslims, the rights of Jehovah’s Witnesses to not have their children say the Pledge of Allegiance in school, the rights of conscripted servicemen to not bear arms, just to name a few.

To quote the NAD ‘dismantle [unstated] dehumanizing policies’ statement, “Therefore, as Jesus did, we must stand with and for those who are marginalized.” Amen! And when in the last half century has there been a more marginalized group in American society than the unvaccinated are becoming right now?

If we fail to apply our principles widely and fairly at this present time, how will we have any credibility to speak in defense of liberty of conscience regarding Sabbath observance? It will be as if we only selfishly defend our particular issue, as if we are unprincipled, and as if we don’t care about the rights of others with whom we disagree. We are, of course, to not be troublemakers, and we should always have a Christian attitude as we care for the vulnerable; but to avoid doing it entirely out of some strategic move to hold our fire until the final request for liberty of conscience on Sabbath observance, is simply unprincipled.

Conspiracy Theories!

There are some who would try to derail you by labeling concern about mandates a “conspiracy theory.”

It’s one of those argument-enders that doesn’t provide any substance. But since nobody wants that label, the person doing the name-calling wins.

I hope we can hold a higher standard of Christian dialogue than that.

And it turns out, the ‘conspiracy theorists’ have been vindicated on vaccine mandates. In June of 2020 there was an editorial in the New York Times that called for vaccine requirements for travel and employment. That sounded insane at the time – ‘it’ll never happen!’ – but some took it seriously and issued warnings about coming coercion. They were called conspiracy theorists for quoting the NYT. And here we are.

A Distraction From the 3rd Angel’s Message?

There are some who would try to derail you by saying that religious liberty advocacy is a distraction from the third angels’ message.

The third angels’ message not only opposes the specifics of the counterfeit sabbath and vindicates the perpetuity of God’s law and authority, but this final warning message also opposes the methods that Satan employs in the great controversy, versus how God’s character is manifest through His methods.

This is a central doctrine of our faith, central to the third angel’s message – methods of coercion are of Satan (Rev. 12:17), but where the spirit of the Lord is there is liberty (2 Cor. 3:17).

Far from being a distraction from our prophetic message, revealing God’s methods and character by advocating for them on practical and pressing matters is a powerful soul-winning witness! Far from being ‘a distraction from pointing people to Jesus,’ when you help somebody in need, it is, “Pure and undefiled religion before God” (James 1:27).

Some have even gone as far as to suggest that the wine of Babylon, the doctrine of evangelical Christianity, is being taught when we weave current pandemic-related events into our prophetic teachings.

The following italicized text is what those who are concerned about mandates are saying. It’ll sound about exactly the same as what is taught in an Adventist evangelistic series, only with some additional information (in bold) provided to give additional context to the coming mark-of-the-beast crisis based upon the unprecedented time in which we are living, bringing additional relevance and credibility to our unchanging and unchanged prophetic message. Does this sound like evangelical eschatology?

The first beast of Revelation 13 is Papal Rome. Revelation 13 tells us about a time in the near future when the observance of the first day of the week, the counterfeit sabbath, will be enforced, and those who have not received the seal of God will, at that time, accept the mark of the beast – acquiescence to the enforced observance of Sunday.

The United States is represented by the second beast of Revelation 13, and as you see in many current developments [preacher often shares a couple carefully chosen examples], we have already begun drifting from the principles of civil and religious liberty established in our founding documents; it is as if this once lamb-like nation is beginning to ‘speak like a dragon.’

The dragon is Satan, and to speak like a dragon means to use the principles of coercion to compel the conscience shown in Revelation 13, which are contrary to the principles of freedom and love that are the foundation of the government of God. As Christians, we call any effort to coerce the conscience what it is – speaking like a dragon. Whatever you think about vaccination aside, does an individual choose their own health choices through informed consent, or does that choice belong to the powerful? That would be an example of conscience over coercion.

The last days are a time of unprecedented calamity and crisis. Much is yet to be seen regarding the exact nature of the natural disasters, wars and rumors of war, pestilences, etc., and how, exactly, they set the stage for the enforcement of the mark of the beast. But we can see in motion already, in response to the pandemic (a ‘pestilence’ Matt. 24:14), an increasing disregard for the sanctity of the individual conscience. When mandates over-rule a free will choice regarding what to put in the body-temple we see a precedent-setting phase that can be used as a spring-board for the devil to inspire the mob in the future to demand that the authorities regulate and mandate the day of worship.

Every principle of the Constitution will be repudiated. The precedent of authoritarian measures that violate constitutional limits on the powerful has been more active than ever. This isn’t meant as a political statement, but we’ve seen things we never thought we’d see – lockdowns, prohibitions of worship, and other measures that have restricted freedom; and whatever you think about the necessity and effectiveness of these measures and the motivation behind them, it doesn’t take a lot of imagination to see that the result of the pandemic response is to set the precedent for, in the near future, declaring people as non-essential to the economy and shutting down churches for other reasons – those that relate specifically to the mark of the beast crisis. So, this current historical moment has massive prophetic implications in the precedents that are being set.

This is not yet the mark of the beast crisis. Nobody has the mark of the beast now. But when society says already now, ‘take away the rights of the minority in exchange for security,’ the precedent is being set for what can develop very quickly into the mark of the beast crisis.

Probably all would agree that this is a purely Adventist eschatology, not evangelical; and most would probably agree that something like the text in bold, though it could use much improvement and refinement, could be highly appropriate in discussing prophecy in terms of relevant and recent events.

An Appeal

When encouraging those with influence to speak up in defense of the persecuted at this important moment in history, we’re hoping for something more than vague or general statements about the doctrine of religious liberty. Those kinds of statements are awesome during normal times, but at this critical moment, when we don’t also address the elephant in the room (vaccine mandates) it’s almost worse to make general statements that avoid and ignore the present crisis than to make no statement at all, since it comes across like the present crisis isn’t a relevant application of the general principles you’re laying out, and that vaccine mandates are no big deal and nothing worth mentioning.

Thousands, including many in our own ranks, are currently losing, or about to lose, their jobs and educational opportunities over their convictions on the vaccine. Silence and neutrality on vaccine coercion may seem like the safe route, but so far, all that approach has accomplished is to frustrate the people, fuel division, and open the gates to fringe and rogue statements in our denominational publications openly advocating for segregation and persecution as “appropriate.”

As we see at the end of the Bible, those who are “fearful” miss out on eternal life (Rev. 21:8). Cowardice is neither safe nor right. And neutrality in a religious crisis is something God abhors.

That is strong language we’ve been given, and only God is each one’s master and judge. Prayerfully ask what He is asking of you in this time of peril to give a clear prophetic message and to defend the defenseless (Is. 1:17, Ps. 82:3-4).

May this quotation inspire us to be on the right side of history – the side of liberty and justice and truth – and to lead by example, through principle, not policy or politics. And above all may we pray for more of Jesus; for discernment, grace, revival, and the fruits of the Spirit, as we navigate these difficult times together, pressing together in unity around the principles of tolerance and liberty that are so central to the greatest doctrine of all – the character of God.

“The greatest want of the world is the want of men - men who will not be bought or sold; men who in their inmost souls are true and honest; men who do not fear to call sin by its right name; men whose conscience is as true to duty as the needle to the pole; men who will stand for the right though the heavens fall.” (Education, p. 57)

Here’s a surprise for you:

Well-Known Seventh-Day Adventist speaker/writer speaks the truth on vaccine mandates!

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Scott Ritsema is the founder and director of Belt of Truth Ministries and Media on the Brain. He lives in Lakeview Michigan with his wife Cami and three amazing children!

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