In an appeal to the emperor and nobility of Germany in behalf of the reformation of Christianity, Luther wrote concerning the pope: “It is a horrible thing to behold the man who styles himself Christ’s vicegerent, displaying a magnificence that no emperor can equal. Is this being like the poor Jesus, or the humble Peter? He is, say they, the lord of the world! But Christ, whose vicar he boasts of being, has said, ‘My kingdom is not of this world.’ Can the dominions of a vicar extend beyond those of his superior?”—D’Aubigne, b. 6, ch. 3.
He wrote thus of the universities: “I am much afraid that the universities will prove to be the great gates of hell,  unless they diligently labor in explaining the Holy Scriptures, and engraving them in the hearts of youth. I advise no one to place his child where the Scriptures do not reign paramount. Every institution in which men are not unceasingly occupied with the word of God must become corrupt.”— Ibid.,  b. 6, ch. 3. GC 140.4 – GC 140.5

Satan well knew that the Holy Scriptures would enable men to discern his deceptions and withstand his power. It was by the word that even the Saviour of the world had resisted his attacks. At every assault, Christ presented the shield of eternal truth, saying, “It is written.” To every suggestion of the adversary, He opposed the wisdom and power of the word. In order for Satan to maintain his sway over men, and establish the authority of the papal usurper, he must keep them in ignorance of the Scriptures. The Bible would exalt God and place finite men in their true position; therefore its sacred truths must be concealed and suppressed. This logic was adopted by the Roman Church. For hundreds of years the circulation of the Bible was prohibited. The people were forbidden to read it or to have it in their houses, and unprincipled priests and prelates interpreted its teachings to sustain their pretensions. Thus the pope came to be almost universally acknowledged as the vicegerent of God on earth, endowed with authority over church and state. GC 51.3

The archdeceiver had not completed his work. He was resolved to gather the Christian world under his banner and to exercise his power through his vicegerent, the proud pontiff who claimed to be the representative of Christ. Through half-converted pagans, ambitious prelates, and world-loving churchmen he accomplished his purpose. Vast councils were held from time to time, in which the dignitaries of the church were convened from all the world. In nearly every council the Sabbath which God had instituted was pressed down a little lower, while the Sunday was correspondingly exalted. Thus the pagan festival came finally to be honored as a divine institution, while the Bible Sabbath was pronounced a relic of Judaism, and its observers were declared to be accursed. GC 53.2

Satan’s policy in this final conflict with God’s people is the same that he employed in the opening of the great controversy in heaven. He professed to be seeking to promote the stability of the divine government, while secretly bending every effort to secure its overthrow. And the very work which he was thus endeavoring to accomplish he charged upon the loyal angels. The same policy of deception has marked the history of the Roman Church. It has professed to act as the vicegerent of Heaven, while seeking to exalt itself above God and to change His law. Under the rule of Rome, those who suffered death for their fidelity to the gospel were denounced as evildoers; they were declared to be in league with Satan; and every possible means was employed to cover them with reproach, to cause them to appear in the eyes of the people and even to themselves as the vilest of criminals. So it will be now. While Satan seeks to destroy those who honor God’s law, he will cause them to be accused as lawbreakers, as men who are dishonoring God and bringing judgments upon the world. GC 591.1

Behold, I have told you before. Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not.
Matthew:24:25-26

While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage.
2 Peter:2:19

John in the Revelation writes of the unity of those living on the earth to make void the law of God. Revelation 17:13, 14; 16:13, quoted.
All who will exalt and worship the idol sabbath, a day that God has not blessed, help the devil and his angels with all the power of their God-given ability, which they have perverted to a wrong use. Inspired by another spirit which blinds their discernment, they cannot see that the exaltation of Sunday observance is entirely the institution of the Catholic church.

A corrupt union has been formed to tear down God’s memorial of creation—the seventh day, which He hallowed and blessed and gave to man to be a sign between God and His people, to be observed throughout their generations forever. A period is coming when everyone will take sides between the Sabbath of the fourth commandment, which the Lord has sanctified and blessed, and the spurious sabbath instituted by the man of sin.

An idol sabbath has been set up, as the golden image was set up in the plains of Dura. And as Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, issued a decree that all who would not bow down and worship this image should be killed, so a proclamation will be made that all who will not reverence the Sunday institution will be punished with imprisonment and death. Thus the Sabbath of the Lord is trampled underfoot. But the Lord has declared, “Woe unto them that decree unrighteous decrees, and write grievousness which they have prescribed” Isaiah 10:1. Zephaniah 1:14-18; 2:1-3, quoted.

The Lord of heaven permits the world to choose whom they will have as ruler. Let all read carefully the thirteenth chapter of Revelation, for it concerns every human agent, great and small. Every human being must take  sides, either for the true and living God, who has given to the world the memorial of creation in the Seventh-day Sabbath, or for a false sabbath, instituted by men who have exalted themselves above all that is called God or that is worshiped, who have taken upon themselves the attributes of Satan in oppressing the loyal and true who keep the commandments of God. This persecuting power will compel the worship of the beast by insisting on the observance of the sabbath he has instituted. Thus he blasphemes God, “sitting in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God” 2 Thessalonians 2:4.

This worship of a false sabbath is a wedge that split the Protestant churches from God, and left them naked. They had not a text of Scripture to sustain their false god, but yet a deception, hoary with age but still a deception, was commended to reverence, and exalted, while the Sabbath of the fourth commandment was trampled upon and God dishonored. The Bible was before them with a plain “Thus saith the Lord” and the penalty that is the part of the transgressor; but as Adam and Eve in Eden listened to the falsehoods of Satan, so the righteous world are following their example.

Satan, who was expelled from heaven, is leading the world, blindfolded by his sophistry, in the same way that he led the angels who accepted his theology before a “Thus saith the Lord.” Already the churches are naked and without a covering. Like the archdeceiver they are without excuse, for they have the Word of God, plain and clear and pointed. While they would rein up the faithful and loyal subjects of the kingdom of God, depriving them of their liberty of conscience, bringing them before magistrates and  judges, and pronouncing sentence against them, delivering them into prison, putting them into the chain gang and even condemning them to death, they themselves before the universe are showing determined and obstinate contempt of the laws of the eternal Jehovah. Revelation 14:1-4, quoted. 14MR 90.3 – 14MR 92.2
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In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the LORD thy Redeemer. For this is as the waters of Noah unto me: for as I have sworn that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth; so have I sworn that I would not be wroth with thee, nor rebuke thee. O thou afflicted, tossed with tempest, and not comforted, behold, I will lay thy stones with fair colours, and lay thy foundations with sapphires.
Isaiah:54:8-9,11

We need to stay our faith upon God, for there is just before us a time that will try men’s souls. Christ, upon the Mount of Olives, rehearsed the fearful judgments that were to precede His second coming: “Ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars.” “Nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows.” While these prophecies received a partial fulfillment at the destruction of Jerusalem, they have a more direct application to the last days.
We are standing on the threshold of great and solemn events. Prophecy is fast fulfilling. The Lord is at the door. There is soon to open before us a period of overwhelming interest to all living. The controversies of the past are to be revived; new controversies will arise. The scenes to be enacted in our world are not yet even dreamed of. Satan is at work through human agencies. Those who are making an effort to change the Constitution and secure a law enforcing Sunday observance little realize what will be the result. A crisis is just upon us.
But God’s servants are not to trust to themselves in this great emergency.  5T 753.1 – 5T 753.3

Could men see with heavenly vision, they would behold companies of angels that excel in strength stationed about those who have kept the word of Christ’s patience. With sympathizing tenderness, angels have witnessed their distress and have heard their prayers. They are waiting the word of their Commander to snatch them from their peril. But they must wait yet a little longer. The people of God must drink  of the cup and be baptized with the baptism. The very delay, so painful to them, is the best answer to their petitions. As they endeavor to wait trustingly for the Lord to work they are led to exercise faith, hope, and patience, which have been too little exercised during their religious experience. Yet for the elect’s sake the time of trouble will be shortened. “Shall not God avenge His own elect, which cry day and night unto Him? … I tell you that He will avenge them speedily.” Luke 18:7, 8. The end will come more quickly than men expect. The wheat will be gathered and bound in sheaves for the garner of God; the tares will be bound as fagots for the fires of destruction. GC 630.2

As the Sabbath has become the special point of controversy throughout Christendom, and religious and secular authorities have combined to enforce the observance of the Sunday, the persistent refusal of a small minority to yield to the popular demand will make them objects of universal execration. It will be urged that the few who stand in opposition to an institution of the church and a law of the state ought not to be tolerated; that it is better for them to suffer than for whole nations to be thrown into confusion and lawlessness. The same argument many centuries ago was brought against Christ by the “rulers of the people.” “It is expedient for us,” said the wily Caiaphas, “that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation perish not.” John 11:50. This argument will appear conclusive; and a decree will finally be issued against those who hallow the Sabbath of the fourth commandment, denouncing them as deserving of the severest punishment and giving  the people liberty, after a certain time, to put them to death. Romanism in the Old World and apostate Protestantism in the New will pursue a similar course toward those who honor all the divine precepts.
The people of God will then be plunged into those scenes of affliction and distress described by the prophet as the time of Jacob’s trouble. “Thus saith the Lord: We have heard a voice of trembling, of fear, and not of peace…. All faces are turned into paleness. Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob’s trouble; but he shall be saved out of it.” Jeremiah 30:5-7. GC 615.2 – GC 616.1

The assertion that God’s judgments are visited upon men for their violation of the Sunday-sabbath, will be repeated; already it is beginning to be urged. And a movement to enforce Sunday observance is fast gaining ground GC 579.1

By Liz Lee

September 6, 20235:06 AM GMT+3Updated an hour ago

[1/3]An aerial view shows flooded streets on the outskirts of Fuzhou, after heavy rains brought by typhoon Haikui in Fujian province, China September 5, 2023. cnsphoto via REUTERS Acquire Licensing Rights

BEIJING, Sept 6 (Reuters) – Intense rain from the remnants of Typhoon Haikui lashed southeastern China early on Wednesday, causing flooding and forcing cities in Fujian province to halt subways, shut schools and evacuate residents.

The rainfall overnight broke 12-year-old records in Fuzhou city, meteorologists said, triggering official warnings that 49 reservoirs had exceeded the flood limit levels.

𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙢𝙖𝙙𝙚 𝙄 𝙖 𝙙𝙚𝙘𝙧𝙚𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙗𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙞𝙣 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙞𝙨𝙚 𝙢𝙚𝙣 𝙤𝙛 𝘽𝙖𝙗𝙮𝙡𝙤𝙣 𝙗𝙚𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙢𝙚, 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙢𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙢𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬𝙣 𝙪𝙣𝙩𝙤 𝙢𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙩𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙙𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙢.𝘿𝙖𝙣𝙞𝙚𝙡:4:6

The precipitation was heavier than the impact of Typhoon Doksuri, which ripped through Fujian in late July causing floods and $2 billion in direct economic losses, state media reported.

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Fuzhou closed subway lines and suspended trains while schools were shut for a second day. More than 36,000 people were evacuated from their homes.

Elsewhere in Fujian, six other cities including Putian and Quanzhou were flagged at risk of flash floods and landslides. The provincial government ordered local authorities to be ready to evacuate people from areas likely to be hardest hit.

The rains are expected to continue in the central and southern parts of Fujian until Friday.

The restraining Spirit of God is even now being withdrawn from the world. Hurricanes, storms, tempests, fire and flood, disasters by sea and land, follow each other in quick succession. Science seeks to explain all these. The signs thickening around us, telling of the near approach of the Son of God, are attributed to any other than the true cause. Men cannot discern the sentinel angels restraining the four winds that they shall not blow until the servants of God are sealed; but when God shall bid His angels loose the winds, there shall be such a scene of strife as no pen can picture.—Testimonies for the Church 6:408. ChS 52.1

Typhoon Haikui lost strength after making landfall in Fujian early on Tuesday and was downgraded to a tropical storm.

Reporting by Liz Lee and Shanghai newsroom; Editing by Stephen Coates

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

HOSANNA TO THE SON OF PERDITION

And my hand hath found as a nest the riches of the people: and as one gathereth eggs that are left, have I gathered all the earth; and there was none that moved the wing, or opened the mouth, or peeped. The remnant shall return, even the remnant of Jacob, unto the mighty God. For yet a very little while, and the indignation shall cease, and mine anger in their DESTRUCTION. Isaiah:10:14,21,25

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🚨These records of the past clearly reveal the enmity of Rome toward the true Sabbath and its defenders, and the means which she employs to honor the institution of her creating. The word of God teaches that these scenes are to be repeated as Roman Catholics and Protestants shall unite for the exaltation of the Sunday.

🚨 The prophecy of Revelation 13 declares that the power represented by the beast with lamblike horns shall cause “the earth and them which dwell therein” to worship the papacy—there symbolized by the beast “like unto a leopard.” The beast with two horns is also to say “to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast;” and, furthermore, it is to command all, “both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond,” to receive the mark of the beast. Revelation 13:11-16.

It has been shown that the United States is the power represented by the beast with lamblike horns, and that this prophecy will be fulfilled when the United States shall enforce Sunday observance, which Rome claims as the special acknowledgment of her supremacy. But in this homage to the papacy the United States will not be ALONE.

🚨 The influence of Rome in the countries that once acknowledged her dominion is still far from being destroyed. And prophecy foretells a restoration of her power. “I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast.” Verse 3. The infliction of the deadly wound points to the downfall of the papacy in 1798. After this, says the prophet, “his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast.” Paul states plainly that the “man of sin” will continue until the second advent. 2 Thessalonians 2:3-8.

🚨 To the very close of time he will carry forward the work of deception. And the revelator declares, also referring to the papacy: “All that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life.” Revelation 13:8. In both the Old and the New World, the papacy will receive homage in the honor paid to the Sunday institution, that rests solely upon the authority of the Roman Church.

🚨 Since the middle of the nineteenth century, students of prophecy in the United States have presented this testimony to the world. In the events now taking place is seen a rapid advance toward the fulfillment of the prediction. With Protestant teachers there is the same claim of divine authority for Sundaykeeping, and the same lack of Scriptural evidence, as with the papal leaders who fabricated miracles to supply the place of a command from God. The assertion that God’s judgments are visited upon men for their violation of the Sunday-sabbath, will be repeated; already it is beginning to be urged. And a movement to enforce Sunday observance is fast gaining ground.

🚨 Marvelous in her shrewdness and cunning is the Roman Church. She can read what is to be. She bides her time, seeing that the Protestant churches are paying her homage in their acceptance of the false sabbath and that they are preparing to enforce it by the very means which she herself employed in bygone days. Those who reject the light of truth will yet seek the aid of this self-styled infallible power to exalt an institution that originated with her. How readily she will come to the help of Protestants in this work it is not difficult to conjecture. Who understands better than the papal leaders how to deal with those who are disobedient to the church?

🚨The Roman Catholic Church, with all its ramifications throughout the world, forms one vast organization under the control, and designed to serve the interests, of the papal see. Its millions of communicants, in every country on the globe, are instructed to hold themselves as bound in allegiance to the pope. Whatever their nationality or their government, they are to regard the authority of the church as above all other. Though they may take the oath pledging their loyalty to the state, yet back of this lies the vow of obedience to Rome, absolving them from every pledge inimical to her interests. GC 578.2 – GC 580.2

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God’s word has given warning of the impending danger; let this be unheeded, and the Protestant world will learn what the purposes of Rome really are, only when it is too late to escape the snare. She is silently growing into power. Her doctrines are exerting their influence in legislative halls, in the churches, and in the hearts of men. She is piling up her lofty and massive structures in the secret recesses of which her former persecutions will be repeated. Stealthily and unsuspectedly she is strengthening her forces to further her own ends when the time shall come for her to strike. All that she desires is vantage ground, and this is already being given her. We shall soon see and shall feel what the purpose of the Roman element is. Whoever shall believe and obey the word of God will thereby incur reproach and persecution. GC 581.2

Public Engagement

Aug. 28, 2023

BY MANDY COOK

Some young participants at the bug identification event at the Botanical Garden this summer.

 PHOTO: SUBMITTED

Humans tend to do one of two things when they see a bug.

Squish it or save it.

A Faculty of Science-based research project, with Memorial’s Botanical Garden and local organization Nature N.L. as partners, aims to encourage everyone in this province to make the latter choice.

Insects and other arthropods (like spiders and millipedes) are important parts of all terrestrial ecosystems, says Dr. Catherine Scott, an honorary post-doctoral scholar in the Department of Biology.

“They play a variety of critical ecological roles: decomposers contribute to nutrient recycling and soil aeration, nectar-feeders provide pollination services, predators help to control insect pests, and many birds and other animals depend on insects for food,” she said.

Climate change and human activities are contributing to insect declines worldwide. A handful of insect species in Newfoundland and Labrador are known to be threatened, but for most insects, scientists don’t have enough information to even assess their conservation status.Dr. Catherine Scott

Climate change means fewer fish

 PHOTO: SUBMITTED

Conserving insects is important for food security and ecosystem function.

“We cannot protect species if we don’t know which ones are present, and where,” said Dr. Scott.

That’s where the Insect Apocalypse? Citizen Science Insect Monitoring and Outreach project comes in. Dr. Scott is the project’s co-ordinator; Dr. Tom Chapman, Faculty of Science, is the project lead.

Insect Apocalypse’s focus is on engaging community members in a multi-year citizen science project to provide baseline information about the diversity of insects present in Newfoundland and Labrador, while providing high-quality environmental education to interested members of the public.A critter captured by a participant’s camera at the bug photography event at the Botanical Garden.

 PHOTO: SUBMITTED

The project is also creating momentum around establishing a Newfoundland and Labrador Master Naturalist Program, a training program that Nature N.L. would offer so that people can improve their natural history knowledge and skills around identifying plants and animals.

This summer, there’s been an, ahem, up-tick in activities and events that Dr. Scott and Marie Louise, executive director of Nature N.L., partnered on to plan and obtain funding for.

One hands-on learning opportunity was a bug photography event, led by Dr. Sean McCann, an insect and photography expert, at Memorial’s Botanical Garden.Insect photographers at work at the Botanical Garden. The woman on the left has attached a macro lens to her cellphone to improve her photos.

 PHOTO: SUBMITTED

Rebecca Fanning, a bug photography participant and Faculty of Science graduate, decided to attend.

She says she was delighted to learn that purchasing an inexpensive macro lens that attaches to her cellphone would vastly improve photos she’s been taking of moths.

“That person discovering something new can be you.”— Rebecca Fanning

She says insect populations and diversity in Newfoundland and Labrador is “tragically” understudied, and new exotic invasives arrive every day.

“And now with photographic evidence becoming increasingly acceptable in the scientific community, compared to the gold standard of physically collecting the specimen, all it takes is a phone and a steady hand to make a significant contribution to the study of insects in the province,” said Ms. Fanning, who is from the Annapolis Valley, N.S. “That person discovering something new can be you, with only a little bit of searching.”A dragonfly uses a bug identification event participant’s head for a rest stop.

 PHOTO: SUBMITTED

Dr. McCann will next host a moth night, where he will set up a “moth sheet” with a special mercury vapour lamp to attract moths and other insects in order to photograph and identify them.

You can find details of all upcoming events on the Nature N.L. Facebook page. Events are scheduled to run until mid-November.

For all insect-related activities, participants are encouraged to add their photos to iNaturalist, a non-profit social network of naturalists, scientists and citizen scientists.

These kinds of observations made by community members can be valuable in detecting invasive species and documenting rare or undescribed species in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Volunteers can also assist in the research by learning how to identify insects in processing the samples Dr. Scott and her colleagues collect as part of the project in two main locations: the Botanical Garden and the Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada farm on Brookfield Road in St. John’s.Dr. Sean McCann, at right, with young participants at the bug identification event at the Botanical Garden. More than 125 people attended.

 PHOTO: SUBMITTED

Using tent-like traps (called Malaise traps) they intercept flying insects that are then funneled into a container. This allows them to passively sample all the insects flying through the area.

The timing of the trapping events coincides with the local breeding season of tree swallows to standardize with their collaborators of the North American Insect Abundance Network.

In addition, they are doing monthly sampling events across the active season for insects in the province. If you are interested in participating, please contact Dr. Scott.

“Insects are extremely diverse, beautiful and fascinating,” said Dr. Scott. “Everyone can find them in their yard, the local park or Memorial’s Botanical Garden or pretty much anywhere they go, so they are an extremely accessible gateway to nature appreciation.”One of the photos captured by a participant in the bug photography event this summer.

 PHOTO: SUBMITTED

Ultimately, the group hopes to share the importance and fascinating biology of insects with the public, while collecting data that will help them to better understand what insects are present in Newfoundland and Labrador and inform their management and conservation.

The Insect Apocalypse? project was funded by the Office of Public Engagement.

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Mandy Cook is the news editor with Marketing & Communications. She can be reached at mandyc@mun.ca.

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God’s word has given warning of the impending danger; let this be unheeded, and the Protestant world will learn what the purposes of Rome really are, only when it is too late to escape the snare. She is silently growing into power. Her doctrines are exerting their influence in legislative halls, in the churches, and in the hearts of men. She is piling up her lofty and massive structures in the secret recesses of which her former persecutions will be repeated. Stealthily and unsuspectedly she is strengthening her forces to further her own ends when the time shall come for her to strike. All GC 581.2

NEWS

Bishop Joseph Strickland of Tyler, Texas, and other U.S. bishops from Arkansas, Oklahoma and Texas concelebrate Mass Jan. 21, 2020, at the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls in Rome. The bishops were making their “ad limina” visits to the Vatican to report on the status of their dioceses to the pope and Vatican officials. (CNS/Paul Haring)

BY BRIAN FRAGA

Staff Reporter

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August 23, 2023

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In a new public letter that echoes the Catholic Church’s anti-modernist statements from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the controversial Bishop of Tyler, Texas, predicts that many of “the basic truths” of the Catholic faith will be challenged during the upcoming October meeting in Rome of the Synod of Bishops on synodality.

Having previously accused Pope Francis of “undermining the Deposit of Faith,” Bishop Joseph Strickland warns in his Aug. 22 letter of “the evil and false message” that he said has “invaded” the church. 

Strickland also urges his readers to be wary of any “attempts to present an alternative to the Gospel of Jesus Christ,” and declares that anyone who resists such changes is not seeking to leave the church.

The agencies which will unite against truth and righteousness in this contest are now actively at work. God’s holy word, which has been handed down to us at such a cost of suffering and blood, is but little valued. The Bible is within the reach of all, but there are few who really accept it as the guide of life. Infidelity prevails to an alarming extent, not in the world merely, but in the church. Many have come to deny doctrines which are the very pillars of the Christian faith. The great facts of creation as presented by the inspired writers, the fall of man, the atonement, and the perpetuity of the law of God, are practically rejected, either wholly or in part, by a large share of the professedly Christian world. Thousands who pride themselves upon their wisdom and independence regard it as an evidence of weakness to place implicit confidence in the Bible; they think it a proof of superior talent and learning to cavil at the Scriptures and to spiritualize and explain away their most important truths. Many ministers are teaching their people, and many professors and teachers are instructing their students, that the law of God has been changed or abrogated; and those who regard its requirements as still valid, to be literally obeyed, are thought to be deserving only of ridicule or contempt.
In rejecting the truth, men reject its Author. In trampling upon the law of God, they deny the authority of the Law-giver. It is as easy to make an idol of false doctrines and theories as to fashion an idol of wood or stone. By misrepresenting the attributes of God, Satan leads men to conceive of Him in a false character. With many, a philosophical idol is enthroned in the place of Jehovah; while the living God, as He is revealed in His word, in Christ, and in the works of creation, is worshiped by but few. Thousands deify nature while they deny the God of nature. Though in a different form, idolatry exists in the Christian world today as verily as it existed among ancient Israel in the days of Elijah. The god of many professedly wise men, of philosophers, poets, politicians, journalists—the god of polished fashionable circles, of many colleges and universities, even of some theological institutions—is little better than Baal, the sun-god of Phoenicia GC 582.3 – GC 583.1

The Great Controversy Between Christ and Satan by Ellen G White

“Instead, those who would propose changes to that which cannot be changed seek to commandeer Christ’s church, and they are indeed the true schismatics,” Strickland wrote in his provocative three-page letter, addressed to the Catholics in his diocese.

Appointed by Pope Benedict XVI in 2012 to become the Tyler Diocese’s fourth bishop, Strickland in recent years has cultivated the public persona of an outspoken firebrand who does not hesitate to challenge the current pope’s leadership or criticize his fellow bishops in public. His leadership of the East Texas diocese is currently the subject of a Vatican investigation, known formally as an apostolic visitation.

Protestants little know what they are doing when they propose to accept the aid of Rome in the work of Sunday exaltation. While they are bent upon the accomplishment of their purpose, Rome is aiming to re-establish her power, to recover her lost supremacy. Let the principle once be established in the United States that the church may employ or control the power of the state; that religious observances may be enforced by secular laws; in short, that the authority of church and state is to dominate the conscience, and the triumph of Rome in this country is assured.
God’s word has given warning of the impending danger; let this be unheeded, and the Protestant world will learn what the purposes of Rome really are, only when it is too late to escape the snare. She is silently growing into power. Her doctrines are exerting their influence in legislative halls, in the churches, and in the hearts of men. She is piling up her lofty and massive structures in the secret recesses of which her former persecutions will be repeated. Stealthily and unsuspectedly she is strengthening her forces to further her own ends when the time shall come for her to strike. All that she desires is vantage ground, and this is already being given her. We shall soon see and shall feel what the purpose of the Roman element is. Whoever shall believe and obey the word of God will thereby incur reproach and persecution. GC 581.1 – GC 581.2

The Great Controversy Between Christ and Satan by Ellen G White

In addition to his social media posts questioning Francis’ fidelity to the Catholic faith and endorsing videos attacking the current pontiff as a “diabolically disoriented clown,” Strickland has questioned the concept of synodality, a historical practice where bishops consult the faithful in communion with the universal church.

Francis has sought to revive synodality. In 2020, the pope announced the Synod of Bishops on synodality, a three-year process of consulting the world’s Catholics in advance of gatherings in 2023 and 2024 in Rome of bishops and voting delegates, including lay men and women.

Many of the consultations highlighted issues such as how the church can be a more welcoming space to marginalized people, including LGBTQ Catholics, and can better integrate women into leadership positions, including the possibility of ordained ministry.

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While Francis has described synodality as “what God expects of the church in the third millennium,” Strickland struck a different note during a radio interview in 2020: “All this synodality is garbage as far as I’m concerned. It just is not living the truth.”

And the Midianites and the Amalekites and all the children of the east lay along in the valley like grasshoppers for multitude; and their camels were without number, as the sand by the sea side for multitude. And when Gideon was come, behold, there was a man that told a dream unto his fellow, and said, Behold, I dreamed a dream, and, lo, a cake of barley bread tumbled into the host of Midian, and came unto a tent, and smote it that it fell, and overturned it, that the tent lay along. And his fellow answered and said, This is nothing else save the sword of Gideon the son of Joash, a man of Israel: for into his hand hath God delivered Midian, and all the host. And it was so, when Gideon heard the telling of the dream, and the interpretation thereof, that he worshipped, and returned into the host of Israel, and said, Arise; for the LORD hath delivered into your hand the host of Midian.
Judges:7:12-15

In his new letter, Strickland lists seven “basic truths” that encompass official Catholic teachings on sexual morality, the sacraments, redemptive suffering, and the theological claim that only the Catholic Church provides the authentic path to salvation. 

“We must hold fast to these truths and be wary of any attempts to present an alternative to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, or to push for a faith that speaks of dialogue and brotherhood, while attempting to remove the fatherhood of God,” Strickland wrote.

In seeking to cast contempt upon the divine statutes, Satan has perverted the doctrines of the Bible, and errors have thus become incorporated into the faith of thousands who profess to believe the Scriptures. The last great conflict between truth and error is but the final struggle of the long-standing controversy concerning the law of God. Upon this battle we are now entering—a battle between the laws of men and the precepts of Jehovah, between the religion of the Bible and the religion of fable and tradition. GC 582.2

The Great Controversy Between Christ and Satan by Ellen G White

On the possibility that conservative Catholics will be labeled “schismatics” for disagreeing with proposed changes that could emerge from the synod, Strickland added that “no one who remains firmly upon the plumb line of our Catholic faith is a schismatic.”

Strickland outlined his seven “basic truths,” and his defenses of them, in a manner consistent with two early 20th-century papal documents that he quoted and posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, the day before the letter’s release. 

In those documents — “Syllabus Condemning the Errors of the Modernists” and “The Oath Against Modernism” — Pope St. Pius X reiterated traditional Catholic doctrines and sought to defend them against what he saw as errors in some then-emerging philosophical trends and historical-critical approaches to biblical scholarship.

Thousands deify nature while they deny the God of nature. Though in a different form, idolatry exists in the Christian world today as verily as it existed among ancient Israel in the days of Elijah. The god of many professedly wise men, of philosophers, poets, politicians, journalists—the god of polished fashionable circles, of many colleges and universities, even of some theological institutions—is little better than Baal, the sun-god of Phoenicia GC 583.1

The Great Controversy Between Christ and Satan by Ellen G White

Several other conservative prelates have raised concerns about the synod of synodality. Reflecting longrunning conservative criticisms during Francis’ pontificate, Cardinal Raymond Burke claims in the preface of a new book that the pope is risking confusion and even schism in leading the synod.

This story appears in the Synod on Synodality feature series. View the full series.

By Rochelle Beighton, CNN

Published 5:40 AM EDT, Wed August 23, 2023

Hydra, a gorgeous Greek island, has banned motorized vehicles.Freeartist/iStockphoto/Getty Images

Editor’s Note: Monthly Ticket is a CNN Travel series that spotlights some of the most fascinating topics in the travel world. In August, we’re making the most of the last month of summer by highlighting some of the coolest ways to enjoy the season.CNN — 

Hydra is at first glance no different from its neighbors. Like other islands in the Aegean Sea, it has white-washed streets, fragrant jasmine-filled air and breathtaking vistas of the shimmering blue waters around it.

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And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.
2 Peter:3:4

What sets Hydra apart is its favored mode of transportation. Locals have resisted the clamor of honking horns, instead embracing the rhythmic sound of horse hooves.

Here, cars are not just absent; they’re intentionally kept away. A ban on motorized vehicles (except fire and refuse trucks and ambulances) is enshrined in local legislation.

If the reader would understand the agencies to be employed in the soon-coming contest, he has but to trace the record of the means which Rome employed for the same object in ages past. If he would know how papists and Protestants united will deal with those who reject their dogmas, let him see the spirit which Rome manifested toward the Sabbath and its defenders.
Royal edicts, general councils, and church ordinances sustained by secular power were the steps by which the pagan festival attained its position of honor in the Christian world. The first public measure enforcing Sunday observance was the law enacted by Constantine. (A.D. 321; see Appendix note for page 53.) This edict required townspeople to rest on “the venerable day of the sun,” but permitted countrymen to continue their agricultural pursuits. Though virtually a heathen statute, it was enforced by the emperor after his nominal acceptance of Christianity.
The royal mandate not proving a sufficient substitute for divine authority, Eusebius, a bishop who sought the favor of princes, and who was the special friend and flatterer of Constantine, advanced the claim that Christ had transferred the Sabbath to Sunday. Not a single testimony of the Scriptures was produced in proof of the new doctrine. Eusebius himself unwittingly acknowledges its falsity and points to the real authors of the change. “All things,” he says, “whatever that it was duty to do on the Sabbath, these we have transferred to the Lord’s Day.”—Robert Cox, Sabbath Laws and Sabbath Duties, page 538. But the Sunday argument, groundless as it was, served to embolden men in trampling upon the Sabbath of the Lord. All who desired to be honored by the world accepted the popular festival.
As the papacy became firmly established, the work of Sunday exaltation was continued. For a time the people engaged in agricultural labor when not attending church, and the seventh day was still regarded as the Sabbath. But steadily a change was effected. Those in holy office were forbidden to pass judgment in any civil controversy on the Sunday. Soon after, all persons, of whatever rank, were commanded to refrain from common labor on pain of a fine for freemen and stripes in the case of servants. Later it was decreed that rich men should be punished with the loss of half of their estates; and finally, that if still obstinate they should be made slaves. The lower classes were to suffer perpetual banishment. GC 573.2 – GC 574.3

The Great Controversy Between Christ and Satan by Ellen G White

The Greek island’s population of about 2,500 locals get around using mules, donkeys and small horses.

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Stepping off the ferry and onto Hydra Port, the heart of the island, visitors are met by small horses gracefully weaving their way through the cobblestone streets and giving them a taste of the island’s unhurried pace.

As you wander through Hydra’s quaint pathways, it’s common to witness locals going about their daily business, accompanied by their four-legged companions.

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From Kaminia, a tranquil village on the southern coastline adorned with traditional stone houses, to Mandraki on the island’s western shores, renowned for its pristine waters and laid-back aura, the island is intertwined with their presence.

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“Hydra is an island that really takes you back in time,” says Harriet Jarman, owner of horse trekking company, Harriet’s Hydra Horses.

“All the transportation on this island is done by horses or mules. Because there are no cars, everyone’s lives are a little bit calmer.”

No cars? No problem

“Hydra is an island that really takes you back in time,” says local resident Harriet Jarman.Courtesy Harriet Jarman

Jarman’s connection with Hydra began 24 years ago when her mother brought her to the island on vacation, leading to a life-changing decision to make Hydra their permanent home.

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It was a decade later, during Greece’s economic crisis, when Jarman faced pressure to sell her cherished horse, Chloe.

Determined to keep her beloved companion, she decided to establish her horse trekking business, a venture that not only supported Chloe but also allowed her to share her love for the island’s landscapes.

“I got fed up with everyone telling me to sell her (Chloe) because it’s expensive to keep a horse,” she recalls. “I thought, okay, I’m going to show people the reasons why I want to stay on the island myself.”

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The company now has a team of 12 horses, with guided tours across the island’s trails led by experienced equestrians.

These journeys take in Hydra’s many quaint monasteries and picturesque beaches. Riders can even take a refreshing swim alongside the horses.

A heritage carved in hoofprints

Donkeys are a common form of transport on Hydra.Anton Petrus/Moment RF/Getty Images

The decision to embrace traditional horse-drawn transportation, known as “cáiques,” pays homage to the island’s rich heritage and commitment to sustainable living.

And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places: thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in. If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the LORD, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words: Then shalt thou delight thyself in the LORD; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.
Isaiah:58:12-14

During the 18th and 19th centuries, Hydra flourished as a bustling maritime hub. But as the 20th century arrived, bringing motorized transport to the rest of Greece, the island’s narrow and steep streets, coupled with rocky terrain, made cars impractical to get around in.

A striking illustration of Rome’s policy toward those who disagree with her was given in the long and bloody persecution of the Waldenses, some of whom were observers of the Sabbath. Others suffered in a similar manner for their fidelity to the fourth commandment. The history of the churches of Ethiopia and Abyssinia is especially significant. Amid the gloom of the Dark Ages, the Christians of Central Africa were lost sight of and forgotten by the world, and for many centuries they enjoyed freedom in the exercise of their faith. But at last Rome learned of their existence, and the emperor of Abyssinia was soon beguiled into an acknowledgment of the pope as the vicar of Christ. Other concessions followed. An edict was issued forbidding the observance of the Sabbath under the severest penalties. (See Michael Geddes, Church History of Ethiopia, pages 311, 312.) But papal tyranny soon became a yoke so galling that the Abyssinians determined to break it from their necks. After a terrible struggle the Romanists were banished from their dominions, and the ancient faith was restored. The churches rejoiced in their freedom, and they never forgot the lesson they had learned concerning the deception, the fanaticism, and the despotic power of Rome. Within their solitary realm they were content to remain, unknown to the rest of Christendom.
The churches of Africa held the Sabbath as it was held by the papal church before her complete apostasy. While they kept the seventh day in obedience to the commandment of God, they abstained from labor on the Sunday in conformity to the custom of the church. Upon obtaining supreme power, Rome had trampled upon the Sabbath of God to exalt her own; but the churches of Africa, hidden for nearly a thousand years, did not share in this apostasy. When brought under the sway of Rome, they were forced to set aside the true and exalt the false sabbath; but no sooner had they regained their independence than they returned to obedience to the fourth commandment. (See Appendix.)
These records of the past clearly reveal the enmity of Rome toward the true Sabbath and its defenders, and the means which she employs to honor the institution of her creating. The word of God teaches that these scenes are to be repeated as Roman Catholics and Protestants shall unite for the exaltation of the Sunday. GC 577.3 – GC 578.2

The Great Controversy Between Christ and Satan by Ellen G White

And so residents clung to equine transportation, which could traverse the rugged landscape more efficiently.

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Over time, this reliance on hooves became ingrained in Hydra’s culture and way of life.

Donkeys and mules became an integral part of the island’s identity and were used to transport goods, building materials and even people around the island – a tradition that persists to this day.

“Everyone around here lives off their backs,” Jarman says. “They are our cars and hands, carrying everything from building materials and furniture to luggage and shopping.”

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An artistic paradise

Jewelry designer and Hydra native, Elena Votsi, draws inspiration from the area’s natural beauty.Nikolaos-Panagiotis Kiafas

The absence of cars has contributed to the island’s undeniable tranquility, drawing in creatives from all over, including renowned Italian actress Sofia Loren, who fell in love with Hydra while filming “Boy on a Dolphin” in 1957.

The decrees of councils proving insufficient, the secular authorities were besought to issue an edict that would strike terror to the hearts of the people and force them to refrain from labor on the Sunday. At a synod held in Rome, all previous decisions were reaffirmed with greater force and solemnity. They were also incorporated into the ecclesiastical law and enforced by the civil authorities throughout nearly all Christendom. (See Heylyn, History of the Sabbath, pt. 2, ch. 5, sec. 7.) GC 575.3

The Great Controversy Between Christ and Satan by Ellen G White

“Hyrda offers wonderful colors, beautiful light and a unique atmosphere that has inspired many people,” says jewelry designer and Hydra native, Elena Votsi.

Known for her work that blends traditional craftsmanship with modern aesthetics, Votsi draws inspiration from her Greek heritage as well as nature and geometry.

Although born in Athens, Votsi says she spent summers and holidays on Hydra, visiting her father. She says the absence of cars makes it a magical place to work and has inspired her designs since the beginning of her career.

“The sun, rocks and patterns of the waves inspired me. The island’s natural beauty and uniqueness have had a significant influence on my creative process,” Votsi said.

In 2003, she was invited to partake in a competition to redesign the Summer Olympic Games medal for the International Olympic Committee.

Upon receiving the invitation to compete, Votsi headed to her home in Hydra. The island, with its ineffable charm, played muse, instigating a creative journey that would lead to Votsi winning the contest and adding her name in the records of the world’s most celebrated sporting events .

Many famous artists have visited or lived on Hydra. The island’s magnetic charm has drawn painters Brice Marden, Alexis Veroucas, Panagiotis Tetsis, Nikos Hadjikyriakos-Ghikas and John Craxton, as well as author Henry Miller to its shores, each finding inspiration amid its tranquil landscapes.

Canadian singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen discovered Hydra in the 1960s and made it his home for several years. His time on Hydra is immortalized in his song “Bird on the Wire,” which he partially wrote while living there.

“Hydra is a paradise. It’s a magical place to work and a blessing that I can come here as an artist, as so many others have done before me and will continue to do,” Votsi said.