Beware the Counterfeits
47
be how they can adorn their profession and bear fruit to the glory of
God. [
Testimonies for the Church 1:413
.]
Satan’s Slaves
On every side, Satan seeks to entice the youth into the path of
perdition; and if he can once get their feet set in the way, he hurries
them on in their downward course, leading them from one dissipation
to another, until his victims lose their tenderness of conscience, and
have no more the fear of God before their eyes. They exercise less
and less self-restraint. They become addicted to the use of wine
and alcohol, tobacco and opium, [
Note: The source of morphine is
opium. A fast-working derivative of morphine is heroin.
] and go
from one stage of debasement to another. They are slaves to appetite.
Counsel which they once respected, they learn to despise. They put
on swaggering airs, and boast of liberty when they are the slaves to
selfishness, debased appetite, and licentiousness. [
Temperance, 274
.]
“Inspired” by Drugs
For some time he [a patient at the Battle Creek Sanitarium] had
thought he was obtaining new light. He was very ill, and must soon
die.... Those to whom he presented his views listened to him eagerly,
and some thought him inspired.... To many his reasoning seemed to be
[53]
without a flaw. They told of his powerful exhortations in his sickroom.
Most wonderful views passed before him. But what was the source of
his inspiration? It was the morphine [
Note: The source of morphine is
opium. A fast-working derivative of morphine is heroin.
] given him to
relieve his pain. [
Selected Messages 2:113
.]
Pantheism, Spiritualism, and Free Love
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.... They gratify the natural heart and give license to
inclination. [
Testimonies for the Church 8:291
.]
The theory that God is an essence pervading all nature is received
by many who profess to believe the Scriptures; but, however beauti-