Pantheistic and Spiritualistic Theories
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is written” is the test that must be brought home to everyone.—
The
Review and Herald, January 21, 1904
.
False Theory—God Is an Essence—Already there are coming
in among our people spiritualistic teachings that will undermine the
faith of those who give heed to them. The theory that God is an
essence pervading all nature, is one of Satan’s most subtle devices. It
misrepresents God, and is a dishonor to His greatness and majesty.
Pantheistic theories are not sustained by the Word of God. The light
of His truth shows that these theories are soul-destroying agencies.
Darkness is their element, sensuality their sphere. They gratify the
natural heart, and give license to inclination. Separation from God is
the result of accepting them....
There is but one power that can break the hold of evil from the
hearts of men, and that is the power of God in Jesus Christ. Only
through the blood of the Crucified One is there cleansing from sin.
His grace alone can enable us to resist and subdue the tendencies of
our fallen nature. This power the spiritualistic theories concerning
God make of no effect. If God is an essence pervading all nature, then
He dwells in all men; and in order to attain holiness, man has only to
develop the power that is within him.
These theories, followed to their logical conclusion, sweep away
the whole Christian economy. They do away with the necessity for the
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atonement, and make man his own savior. These theories regarding
God make His Word of no effect, and those who accept them are in
great danger of being led finally to look upon the whole Bible as a
fiction. They may regard virtue as better than vice; but God being
removed from His position of sovereignty, they place their dependence
upon human power, which, without God, is worthless. The unaided
human will has no real power to resist and overcome evil. The defenses
of the soul are broken down. Man has no barrier against sin. When
once the restraints of God’s Word and His Spirit are rejected, we know
not to what depths one may sink.
Those who continue to hold these spiritualistic theories will surely
spoil their Christian experience, sever their connection with God, and
lose eternal life.
The sophistries regarding God and nature that are flooding the
world with skepticism are the inspiration of the fallen foe, who is
himself a Bible student, who knows the truth that it is essential for the