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Lessons in Misinformation
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Ron Corson
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May 26, 2005 22:16 PDT
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Just found out that the following article was rejected by the
alternative SDA media. So I will make it public. For some reason either
the dogma demands that they can't don't care how they arrive at the
conclusion the Roman Catholic church is antichrist or they fear to say
anything against the Golden boy Cliff Goldstein. Because the facts are
correct in the article and I am pretty sure the logic is correct too.
Lessons in Misinformation
By Ron Corson
Where do we stand as a church when we have lost the ability to stand for
simple pure truth? It seems many in our church, aided with the zeal of
religious certainty, have embraced the tactics popularized in today's
politics where facts are manipulated and distorted; where the end
justifies the means when trying to persuade but truth and our own
integrity are victims. I suspect it is a tradition that has a long
history within our denomination, but it is not too late to work for a
change in this practice.
The lesson quarterly for the fourth quarter of 2004, covering the
subject of the book of Daniel is an excellent example of manipulation
and false logic. The Friday lesson for November 26 says:
"To understand better the issues of this week, here are quotes, all
taken from the new Catechism of the Catholic Church. In each place where
the word Church is used, replace it with God or with Christ. This should
give us a better understanding of what's happening in Daniel 8. As you
read these quotes, think of 2 Thessalonians 2:4.
"It is in the Church that 'the fullness of the means of salvation' has
been deposited."-Catechism of the Catholic Church, no. 824, emphasis
supplied.
"Basing itself on Scripture and Tradition, the Council teaches that the
Church, a pilgrim now on earth, is necessary for salvation."-No. 846,
emphasis supplied. "
"The sacrifice of Christ and the sacrifice of the Eucharist [Mass] are
one single sacrifice. . . .'In this divine sacrifice which is celebrated
in the Mass, the same Christ who offered himself once in a bloody manner
on the altar of the cross is contained and is offered in an unbloody
manner.' "-Catechism of the Catholic Church (New York: Doubleday, 1994),
no. 1367, p. 381.
"It is in the Church that 'the fullness of the means of salvation' has
been deposited."-Catechism of the Catholic Church, no. 824, emphasis
supplied.
:"Basing itself on Scripture and Tradition, the Council teaches that the
Church, a pilgrim now on earth, is necessary for salvation."-No. 846,
emphasis supplied.
"Were there no forgiveness of sins in the Church, there would be no hope
of life to come or eternal liberation."-No. 983, emphasis supplied. "
It is pretty clear to those with experience in the Seventh-day Adventist
church that the Lesson Study Guide (LSG) and its editor have come upon
these Catechism texts with a previous set of beliefs regarding the Roman
Catholic Church. The assumption in the first paragraph of the lesson is
that it is legitimate to replace certain words in the text with other
words that the lesson provides. By doing this, the reader is then able
to see how the Roman Catholic Church replaces God. This they mistakenly
reason, being done with the actual words taken from the official Roman
Catholic Catechism. The first question we should ask; is it logical to
perform word replacement techniques or is that simply a manipulation of
the reader based upon the editor's prejudice, the reader's prejudice or
both? For instance what if I thought the Church, pick any denomination,
was actually of Satan. Would it be acceptable to replace their wording
in documents with Satan instead of Church? Would it be acceptable to
insert Apostate in front of every reference to Church in some
denominations official documents? No reasonable person would accept this
type of manipulation, yet here it is in our own church sponsored LSG.
The editor of the LSG continues his assault upon logic by his attempt at
removing the quotes from their context. It is true in most all forms of
the written word as it is true for those who manipulate the Bible that;
"A text taken out of context is a pretext". While this is often done by
fundamentalist Christians it is still a logical fallacy. The following
quote from the Roman Catholic Catechism demonstrates just how the lesson
has ripped the context away from the sentence that they ask the reader
to substitute "Church" for "God or Christ", the underlined section
indicates that section of the quote that was used in the LSG.
824 United with Christ, the Church is sanctified by him; through him and
with him she becomes sanctifying. "All the activities of the Church are
directed, as toward their end, to the sanctification of men in Christ
and the glorification of God."[292] It is in the Church that "the
fullness of the means of salvation"[293] has been deposited. It is in
her that "by the grace of God we acquire holiness."[294]
The LSG editor has removed from this fairly short paragraph seven
references to God or Christ. Of those four sentences the only one that
does not include a reference to God or Christ is the one that the editor
Clifford Goldstein selected to use in the LSG. It is ironic that in this
selected sentence the editor suggests that we substitute "God or Christ"
for "Church" when in the surrounding sentences it is clear that the
church mentioned in the statement is united with God in her activities,
at least in the Roman Catholic view. Now we can always debate whether
what the Roman Catholic Church claims is true or not. Since the time of
the Reformation, Protestants have asserted that the Roman Catholic
Church to some degree or other is the Antichrist. But we should seek a
more truthful understanding, not out of context quotes.
Clifford Goldstein follows the same manipulation in the five other
Catechism quotes, using the same butchered, out of context method and
the same faulty word replacement logic. Due to space considerations we
cannot examine each Catechism text. They are easily available in a
searchable format at the following web address:
http://www.christusrex.org/www1/CDHN/ccc.html
Via E-mail I asked Clifford Goldstein to explain why in the recent
Sabbath School quarterly there were greatly abbreviated quotes taken
from the Catholic Catechism which misrepresent their actual teachings.
His answer was as follows:
"All I can say is that if you look at the basic point we were making,
that Rome as a church, as an institution, has usurped the role of what
Jesus does for us, then the quotes are fine. That comes through loud
and clear in the Catechism. I believe the points we made by using those
quotes were accurate".
As Mr. Goldstein's answer shows, he begins with the assumption that Rome
as a church has usurped the role of Jesus. Since not one of the quotes
in context supports that assumption the quotes were cut and then
manipulated by word substitution. Thus to Mr. Goldstein his assumption
now, comes through loud and clear in the catechism and to him, his
quotes are accurate. But in truth he has merely manipulated words to
seem to support his previously held assumption. The Catechism quotes
actually contradict Mr. Goldstein's view, yet it seems Mr. Goldstein's
view is held so firmly that facts cannot dissuade him.
Mr. Goldstein's distortion of the Roman Catholic Churches teachings will
not embarrass the Catholic Church because they can simply refer anyone
interested to the Catechism quotes in context. This is only an
embarrassment to those of us involved in the SDA church. It is our
church's publication that lacks the critical thinking ability to
separate prejudice from fact.
According to Clifford Goldstein these Catechism quotes were not part of
the original author's manuscript but were added by Mr. Goldstein and at
some point reviewed and approved by the Lesson Study Committee. Clifford
Goldstein's answer and the approval by the above committee indicate that
there is a problem systemic in the SDA church. If the committee had
reviewed the quotes in context how could they have approved their
insertion into the LSG? If they did not review the quotes in context,
then just what kind of review is actually performed? Either way it
seems we are being indoctrinated in an institutional prejudice.
It is difficult to believe that Clifford Goldstein does not understand
his dishonest use of the Catechism quotes. The same week that I received
Mr. Goldstein's response mentioned above he wrote in his Adventist
Review column the following: "Everyone knows perfectly well what the
church means by "a literal, recent six-day creation," and to exploit the
weaknesses of language in order to read into the statement what it is
purposely not saying is sheer intellectual dishonesty." (Painting a
storm December 23, 2004) Clearly he understands the concept of
intellectual dishonesty by reading something into a statement that is
not meant by the statement at all. Yet for some reason he is blinded to
the fact that he has done it and even denies that he did anything wrong.
In Religion anyone can believe whatever they want to believe. But in the
Christian religion belief is based on historical evidence. It is based
upon the accounts given in the Bible, it is based upon the life, death
and resurrection of Jesus. That evidence changed Christ’s followers and
their changed lives changed the world. Evidence and the logic that is
necessary to understand the written word is the thread that instructs
us, encourages us and makes our belief believable and attractive. So as
we present Christ to the world we need to pay attention to the evidence.
Not glossing over information or ignoring meaning, or rewriting what
does not fit the tradition we have grown up with.
Jesus who said of Himself that He was the way, the truth and the life is
not well represented by those who distort and manipulate. The lesson
study guide may not be viewed as an authority on what our church thinks
or believes, but it should strive to use valid logic and actually in
context quotations. It is still a study guide and if it fails to use
legitimate methods of interpretation how will the people in the church
learn to grow in their understanding and application of the evidence
around us. As Ellen White has said there are many things we must learn
and many things we must unlearn. If we fail to practice reason, if we
fail to be honest with others and ourselves, we will remain stagnant. A
religion based upon tradition, never moving past what we thought we knew
and tragically never even questioning what we hold as truth.
There certainly must be steps we can take to end blind intellectual
dishonesty. As Christians we must always pursue truth for that is what
God Himself is. If we have something important to say then we must say
it in open truthful ways, not through manipulation and trickery. To be
wrong is troubling but honest mistakes are easily forgiven, to be
purposefully wrong is tragic, to remain intransigent in error is fatal.
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