What does EGW write about...
Adventistische Schriften über: "Character of Rome, unchanging"
Answer
Rome boasts that it never changes and continues to cling to the principles of past centuries. Should the Church obtain the power to control the state and enforce religious regulations through secular laws, it would apply these principles again with full rigor. Moreover, Rome seeks to underpin its claim of unchangeability by denying the historical antiquity of other faith groups.
The Unchanging Character of Rome
»And let one remember: It is Rome's pride that it never changes. The principles of Gregory VII and Innocent III are still the principles of the Roman Church. And if it only had the power, it would now put them into practice with as much vigor as in past centuries. Once in the United States the principle is established that the Church may use or control the power of the state, that religious customs can be enforced by secular laws – in short, that the authority of Church and State shall dominate conscience – then Rome's triumph in this land is assured.«
»In its attempt to maintain the claim of unchangeability and antiquity, Rome has resorted to the assertion that the Waldensians are late reformers. In doing so it denies the Vaudois claim that they are the spiritual link that unites evangelical Protestantism with the teachings of the early church, just as it claims that Protestantism has no credentials or antiquity – as if it were only yesterday's creation and had left the mother church through a revolution mistakenly called the Reformation.«
- Rome never changes
- Church and state power
- Threat to freedom of conscience
Original Sources (English)
