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| One's claim to a true manhood must be determined by the use of the powers which God has given him. Lord Byron had rare intellectual gifts; but he was not a man, according to God's standard. He was an agent of Satan. His passions were fierce and uncontrollable. He was sowing seed through his life which ripened into a harvest of corruption. His life-work lowered the standard of virtue. This man was one of the world's distinguished men; still the Lord acknowledged him only as one who had abused his God-given talents. Many others whom God endowed with giant minds, and whom the world called great men, rallied under the banner of Satan, and used the gifts of God for the perversion of truth and the destruction of the souls of men. Nero was acknowledged by the world as a great man; but did God regard him as such? No! he was not connected by living faith to the great heart of humanity. He and others like him in the world ate, and drank, and slept, as men of the world; but they were Satanic in their cruelty. Wherever went these monsters in human form, bloodshed and destruction marked their pathway. They were lauded while living, but when they were buried, the world rejoiced. In contrast with the lives of such men, is that of Martin Luther. He was not born a prince. He wore no royal crown. From a cloistered cell his voice was heard, and his influence felt. He had a noble, generous heart, as well as a vigorous intellect, and all his powers were exercised for the good of humanity. He stood bravely for truth and right, and breasted the world's opposition to benefit his fellow-men. {ST, June 17, 1886 par. 4} |
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| One's claim to a true manhood must be determined by the use of the powers which God has given him. Lord Byron had rare intellectual gifts; but he was not a man, according to God's standard. . . . This man was one of the world's distinguished men; still the Lord acknowledged him only as one who had abused his God-given talents. Many others whom God endowed with giant minds, and whom the world called great men, rallied under the banner of Satan, and used the gifts of God for the perversion of truth and of destruction of the souls of men. . . . {RC 157.4} |
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| Our Sabbath-schools give the youth instruction in regard to the truth, and then as they go to the dayschool, books are placed before them which confuse the mind, and lessons containing falsehoods are given them to learn. These things need close criticism; for if the young are educated from books which contain a perversion of truth, how will the influence of this education be counteracted? The mind will be of the same character as the food upon which it feeds; the harvest of the same nature as the seed sown. . . . {Advocate, July 1, 1899 par. 2} |
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| In his sermon on the mount, Christ stripped away the mass of rubbish that had been wrapped about the law of God, and gave no honor to their human traditions. He proclaimed the true character of the law, revealing it as he had given it in Eden and from Mount Sinai. He presented it in its elevated character as binding upon all ages and conditions of men, as a law that will never lose its force in time or eternity. Christ lived the law, and his life of purity and holiness was a constant rebuke to the religious teachers of the day. His example condemned their godless lives. Addressing his disciples, he said: "Except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven." Not only did the scribes and Pharisees violate the law of God themselves, but they led men to accept their words, to practise their human inventions, and follow their precept and example. They taught for doctrines the commandments of men. They desired to define to the smallest details the requirements of the law, and this led them to accumulate a mass of human sayings. These maxims they taught to the people as principles of the law, and thus they confused the faith and corrupted the morals of those whom they led into idolatry by their perversion of truth. {RH, May 23, 1899 par. 3} |
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| February 2, 1904 Lessons from the Life of Daniel -- XVIII - - A Perversion of Truth
The dream of the great image, by which were opened future events reaching to the end of time, was given to Nebuchadnezzar that he might understand the part he was to act in the world's history, and also the relation that his kingdom sustained to the kingdom of heaven. This wonderful dream caused a marked change in his ideas and opinions, and for a little time he was influenced by the fear of God; but his heart was not yet cleansed from its pride, its worldly ambition, its desire for self-exaltation. {YI, February 2, 1904 par. 1}
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| Pervert the truth |
| Do not the same evils still exist that lay at the foundation of Korah's ruin? Pride and ambition are widespread; and when these are cherished, they open the door to envy, and a striving for supremacy; the soul is alienated from God, and unconsciously drawn into the ranks of Satan. Like Korah and his companions, many, even of the professed followers of Christ, are thinking, planning, and working so eagerly for self-exaltation that in order to gain the sympathy and support of the people they are ready to pervert the truth, falsifying and misrepresenting the Lord's servants, and even charging them with the base and selfish motives that inspire their own hearts. By persistently reiterating falsehood, and that against all evidence, they at last come to believe it to be truth. While endeavoring to destroy the confidence of the people in the men of God's appointment, they really believe that they are engaged in a good work, verily doing God service. {PP 403.4} |
