In Ellen G. White’s Early Writings, she recounts Lucifer as once an honored angel, next to Christ, perfect, noble, and majestic.

As the plans to create the human race did not include his council, he became filled with Envy, Jealousy, and Hatred. Prior to this, heaven was in a state of “order, harmony and perfect subjection to the government of God” (EW 145.1).

It is difficult to contemplate that in a righteous state of perfection, an angelic, sinless being introduced the foundations of sin. Lucifer perceived himself as equally capable to Jesus, and thus struggled to accept God’s chosen hierarchy and order. One may argue that Lucifer attempted to rationalize celestial injustice through his prism of ideology. Though not a deity, he was a superior being. From his perspective, since he had commanded companies of angels and was of exceeding intellect, he was capable of participating in a divine conference on the creation of humanity. He had the mechanics needed to serve at a celestial level. He should have been afforded a role and purpose in alignment with his conscientiousness. In making his intellect and reasoning the barometer of justice and fairness, Lucifer sought to reform the injustice in God’s government.

At the conclusion of the conflict, when Lucifer and his followers were defeated and driven from Heaven, he realized that his purity and glory were lost. Ellen White tells us that, wishing to be reinstated in heaven, Lucifer repented, seeking to “take his proper place, or any position that might be assigned him.” Heaven could ill afford to reinstate the originator of sin, as the seeds of rebellion were planted within him. Thus, “their sin—their hatred, their envy and jealousy—had been so great that God could not blot it out.” (EW 146.1)

Within this Cosmic Conflict is the God of love, justice, and order, whose benevolence is not easily understood even at times at the celestial level. A brilliant being who was entrusted with much originated sin through Envy, Jealousy, and Hatred, because he believed he had been slighted.

We all know the story does not end there. Having sealed his fate, Lucifer, once the covering cherub, reversed his repentant spirit and directed “malice and hatred” towards God’s government and ultimately attacked His creation and their Redeemer. The Spirit of Prophecy (SOP) reveals that it was Envy, Jealousy and Hatred that fueled his rebellion. (EW 145.2). The SOP further tells us that from the origins of humanity, Satan has labored to fill human hearts with these sins.

From these seeds, Satan has successfully implanted human self-actualization; being able to replace God and God’s revealed truth with a humanistic version of order. This was no more self-evident than on the plains of Shinar, where humanity’s recurring infatuation with self-worship and self-aggrandizement showed more confidence in its own reason and enlightenment than the prescribed order of God.

The Tower of Babel

God had instructed man to “be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth. We were to advance upon and occupy the earth. He would preserve humanity in their quest to populate earth, but man instead leaned on humanism and chose safety in numbers. Where God promised to “never again curse the ground because of man” (Gen. 8:21), but to allow human existence through all seasons… man chose to trust in his capacity, strength, and enlightenment. Building a tower demonstrated the advanced technological capacity of that era. Baking bricks would significantly increase the compressive and tensile strength of their building blocks (4,000 psi) over a simple sun-dried alternative (300 psi). The use of bitumen in the mortar introduced structural comprehension and advancements in mitigating the deleterious effects of forces exerted from thermal expansion and contraction. In relying on their intellect, man aspired to secure salvation without obedience to the law of God (EP 73.1).

In recent centuries, the advancement of humanism within Judeo-Christian society has brought about the rejection of God, without immediately incurring the associated desolation. That is, where science and society once advanced to understand and glorify God, it now advances to show that we do not need a God. But the moral decay and chaos that must inevitably follow is delayed because of prior foundational Spiritual fruits. Society is sustained by the solid foundation laid by the strong Christian believers who were our forebears.

If it were possible for created beings to attain to a full understanding of God and His works, then, having reached this point, there would be for them no further discovery of truth, no growth in knowledge, no further development of mind or heart. God would no longer be supreme; and men, having reached the limit of knowledge and attainment, would cease to advance. Let us thank God that it is not so. God is infinite; in Him are “all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” And to all eternity men may be ever searching, ever learning, and yet they can never exhaust the treasures of His wisdom, His goodness, and His power (CCh 88.2).

Atheism and agnosticism have begun an exponential rise. In 1976, 91% of the US population identified as Christian, by 2022 only 64% did. Humanism is replacing Theism, and it undermines nearly every part of society. Enlightenment has ushered in an expanse of knowledge predicated on the arrogance of self-reliance and actualization.

It is within this backdrop of the impending devastation from humanistic enlightenment that the work of preparing a remnant, called forth the Seventh-Day Adventist church. Like the voice of John the Baptist calling in the wilderness, that prepared the way for Jesus Christ’s earthly ministry, Adventists are called to prepare the way for the Return of Christ to earth, the culmination of His redemptive ministry. No greater charge can be given to humans than to have a direct role in awakening a civilization to their Redeemer’s return. Adventists are called to point the way to salvation, by not worshiping the beast, and by giving all glory and honor to God.

In recent decades, growing global cooperation in trade and multinational organizations have prompted Christians to normalize social, political, and religious ecumenism. But with the greater wealth that is spread more evenly throughout the world, human society has grown more self-sufficient, more focused on gain and physical comfort, more cold, more selfish, and self-focused.

When we set ourselves where all is convenience and ease, we do not feel so much the necessity of depending moment by moment upon God. God in His providence brings us into positions where we shall feel our necessity of His help and strength.... . HP 112.5.

Self-reliance, selfism, humanism, and self-aggrandizement, have prevailed most prominently in socio-political, entertainment, and educational arenas. That which leads, captivates, and educates our populace is an ideology at enmity with God’s order. As on the plains of Shinar, Satan’s ability to implant envy, jealousy and hatred within contemporary hearts and minds has created a firm ideological prism that impinges on our daily lives in compounding ways. With the aid of 24/7 360-degree technology, the assault on humanity in general, and Christianity in particular, is more ferocious than ever.

Harvard’s own mission, according to a 1643 pamphlet, was “To advance Learning and perpetuate it to Posterity; dreading to leave an illiterate Ministry to the Churches.” But in the centuries that followed, professors began to see their mandate as seeking secular truth, rather than spreading the Gospel. Today, it may seem that religion has very nearly been banished from the ivory tower. (Faculty Faith, Harvard Magazine July-August 2007)

With only about one third of scientists and science educators believing in God, these mostly agnostic and atheist educators have successfully normalized atheistic evolution as the dominant explanation for the existence of the creation. With the absence of God form the origins and purpose of man, educators have chosen to substitute humanistic ideology and virtues for societal ambitions. Yet, we cannot conform God’s tenets to our ideology. We must recognize our finite minds are not positioned to fully understand supernatural design. Just because one wishes it so, humanistic ideology does not transform false beliefs into truths, any more than the atheistic ideology of the scientific world can make evolution a reality. Truth stands as its own.

The Religion of Humanism

Humanism worships man, his intellect, and his moral ability to determine right from wrong. It is the religion at the intersectionality of the 20th and 21st Centuries. The “enemy of my enemy is my friend” has never been more prominent than today in Western culture. Each secular socio-political movement advances because of, and in concert with, the humanism that binds secular society. The spawn of Communism, Socialism, Totalitarianism, Critical Race Theory, Diversity Equity & Inclusion, LGBTQ+, Gender Interchangeability, Gender Fluidity, Evolution, Environmentalism, are all sub-religions of Humanism.

The elevation of humanism over Biblical truths and and God’s created order has permeated society and ultimately breached the walls of Seventh-day Adventist institutions and organizations. Like a Trojan horse, religious, social, and political ecumenism has been embraced as the gift to unite the world. With hubris, theologians and church leaders are emboldened to culturally condition biblical truths. I am sympathetic to the college students who advocate for humanistic ideological opinions, as the only world they have known is “you are your own god.”

It is, however, difficult to accept humanistic ideology coming from Adventist educators and church leaders who are putting “bits into the mouths of men” and pointing them away from sola scriptura. But Biblical foundational truths have placed our world in order, presented a path to redemption and provided the hope of a God that will personally and individually resolve injustices.

Many turn from the plain teachings of the Bible and build up a creed from human speculations and pleasing fables... but so long as human wisdom is exalted above His holy Word there will be divisions and dissension... EP 73-EP 73.1

Equity

Of the prominent issues that have been embraced in secular society, the concept of equity has arguably caused the most division. The proponents of “equity” have weaponized people’s natural sense of justice, and substituted the pursuit of equality of outcome for the widely agreed upon ideal of equality of opportunity. While equality of opportunity—the absence of discrimination based upon immutable and irrelevant characteristics like race—is worth striving for, equality of outcome can never be achieved in our sinful, fallen humanity, where there are large differences between individuals and families with regard to ability, intellect, strength, motivation, will power, self-discipline, virtue, etc. The vigorous societal pursuit of equality of outcome is utterly inconsistent with, and mutually exclusive to, any modicum of human freedom, and quickly becomes astonishingly destructive and deadly.

The first danger within the pursuit of equal outcomes is that it is predicated on humanistic principals, not Biblical ones. God says, “thou shalt not covet” and thou shalt not steal,” but “equity” attempts to build a whole society around coveting and ultimately stealing what belongs to one’s neighbor. With hearts filled with Envy, Jealousy, and Hatred, is man fit to adjudicate social justice?

Humans were never created to rule over mankind. Even at the onset of creation in its state of perfection, humans were not expected to rule over humans, but over the lower orders of creation. The story of creation tells us that God empowered humans to rule over every living creature that moved along the ground (Gen. 1:28). The role of ruling over humans was reserved for God, and man was to lead his family in a God glorifying direction.

As the prophet Samuel grew old and the Israelites’ leaders sought a king to rule them. God’s capitulation to establishing a human king came with a warning, man as a leader in his sinful, self-serving, self-preserving state, would abuse and enslave his own people. The history of civilization is one of depravity and injustice. Every group of people has experienced the demonic hatred that results from the hand of leadership by humans. Injustice can systemically be propagated by every sect, gender, racial, cultural, and ethnic group. No one is immune.

The pursuit of equal outcomes is not spiritual. The Spirit of Prophecy clearly dispels the concept of celestial equity, in the past, present or future.

If you have not laid aside your envy, your jealousies, your hatred one against another, you cannot enter into the kingdom of God. You would only carry the same disposition with you; but there will be nothing of this character in the world to come. Nothing will exist there but love and joy and harmony. Some will have brighter crowns than others [emphasis added], but there will be no jealous thoughts in any heart among the redeemed. Each one will be perfectly satisfied, for all will be rewarded according to their work [emphasis added].—The Signs of the Times, February 10, 1888. (3SM 155.4)

History has taught us that humanism advances at the cost of humanity. Communism, Socialism, Fascism and Totalitarianism have all failed, with a catastrophic death toll. Their false promise of equality continues to play out today in parts of the world. Mankind is powerless to elevate man. It achieves equality by tearing down, not building up. The fruits of Humanism are pain, chaos, and toxicity.

It was Humanism that captivated society in the days of Noah. As in the days of Noah, humanism has engulfed society outside and inside our SDA walls. With Diversity and Inclusion at the core their existence, in defining their values, what world are Adventist institutions preparing for? Are they focused on transforming the social fabric of society or the membership in heaven?

Most SDA entities, institutions, churches, conferences, and divisions that embrace or even placate humanistic values are in decline and struggling for existence, purpose, and religious significance. The fruits of the Spirit are strong and visible where God has been exalted and service to our fellow man has replaced service to ourselves. Satan’s attack on the remnant is by attacking the navigators; its leaders and educators.

It has ever been the design of Satan to draw the minds of the people from Jesus to man, and to destroy individual accountability. Satan failed in his design when he tempted the Son of God; but he succeeded better when he came to fallen man. Christianity became corrupted (EW 213.2).

Where the Greatest Generation recognized their blessings in a tumult of strife, today’s privileged society is hypnotized by their misfortune of insufficient materiality, affirmation, and asexual opportunities. As equality of opportunity grows nearer, the shift has been to vilify ancestry and pursue equity of outcomes. In time, all humanistic pursuits of ideology succumb to their false reality. Scientists working feverishly to prove that life can emerge from matter have found it impossible to explain the complex genetic code and mathematical order that is required to operate a single cell, let alone to create one. Intelligent Design, though still resisted, is becoming an insurmountable reality for even the most ardent atheist scientist.

Where in history has Humanism been subdued by concessions? Humanism can never be satiated. It will forever find its place in a society that focuses on affirming and elevating individuality. In order to sustain itself and advance, it must suppress liberty of consciousness, of discourse, of religion, of assembly and of privacy, plus employ totalitarian measures to force alignment of behavior.

There are some … who have developed a spirit of secularism, a spirit which would lead to the abolition of Christianity. When individuals possessing this spirit begin to exert a molding influence on other minds, it is better to separate them from the institution. There is sure to be a low standard maintained by those who have no respect for the Lord Jesus Christ. They beguile the unwary, and they make an easy conquest of those who are not deeply religious. (21LtMs. Lt 224. 1906 par. 9)

All is certainly not lost, quite the opposite. God promises where sin abounds, even so grace abounds more exceedingly (Rom. 5:20). In faith and religion, I have witnessed spiritual leaders, who decades ago, argued for interchangeability of roles versus the Biblically prescribed order, regretfully admit that opening Pandora’s Box has brought us here. I am buoyed by recent sermons and public addressments from church leaders and those that once advanced religious humanism, calling for a return to SDA canonical truths and purpose.

There comes a time in every organization when it must stop, self-reflect, reevaluate itself and reaffirm its identity. Humanism pervades society and unfortunately exists within SDA organizations. The path forward cannot be in fear of the detractors. This opportunity is given to each congregant of our church. We must each choose this day, and every day forward, whom we will serve, the gods… (of humanity) … or our Lord (Josh. 24:15).

The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few (Mat. 9:37). Could it be because they are preoccupied with pursuing social justice?

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