Statements, 1880-1889

Scientists Are at Sea When They Try to Separate Nature From the Power of God
    When scientists seek to separate the works of nature from the immediate and constant manifestation of Divine power, they are at sea without a compass. . . . Skeptics may multiply doubts, scoffers may rail; but the true Christian calmly reposes in God, being assured that He is, and that He is a rewarder of all who diligently seek Him. — ST Nov. 11, 1880.

Problems of Infinity Not Solvable Apart from Revelation
    The finite mind, strong in its desire to satisfy curiosity, and solve the problems of infinity, neglects to follow the plain course indicated by the revealed will of God, and pries into the secrets hidden since the foundation of the world. Man builds his theories, loses the simplicity of true faith, becomes too self-important to believe the declarations of the Lord, and hedges himself in with his own conceit. — ST 7:170, April 14, 1881.

The Danger of Extolling Human Reason Over Revelation
    Another sin of the mind is that of extolling and deifying human reason to the neglect of divine revelation. Here, too, we must "gird up the loins of the mind." We are living in an age when the minds of men are ever on the stretch for something new. Rightly directed, and kept within proper limits, this desire is commendable. God has given us in His created works enough to excite thought and stimulate investigation. He does not desire men to be less acute, less inquiring, or less intelligent. But with all our aspirations, and in all our researches, we should remember that arrogance is not greatness, nor is conceit knowledge. Human pride is an evidence, not of strength, but of weakness. It reveals not wisdom, but folly. To exalt reason unduly is to abase it. To place the human in rivalry with the Divine, is to make it contemptible. — ST April 13, 1882.

Unenlightened by Revelation the Most Profound Mind Becomes Bewildered in Its Investigation of the Creator's Works
    Those who have no vital connection with God are swayed this way and that, ever grasping the opinions of learned men who sit in judgment upon God and His works and ways. Weak, finite minds weigh God's Word with men's balances. The wisdom of these so-called great men is foolishness with God. They are blinded by the god of this world. Those only who are willing to be accounted fools in the eyes of these very worldly-wise men, will have the wisdom which is divine. God will not dwell with those who reject His truth, for all who disregard truth, disregard its Author. . . .
    How can those who are destitute of divine enlightenment have correct ideas of God's plans and ways? They either deny Him altogether and ignore His existence, or they circumscribe His power by their own finite, world-wise views and opinions.
    That which I have seen of eternal things, and that which I have seen of the weakness of men, as God has presented the matter before me, has deeply impressed my mind and influenced my life and character. I see nothing wherein man should be exalted or praised or glorified. I see no reason why the opinions of learned men and the so-called great men should be trusted in and exalted. Those who are connected with the infinite God are the only ones who make a proper use of their knowledge or of the talent entrusted to them by the omniscient Creator. No man can ever truly excel in knowledge and influence unless he is connected with the God of wisdom and power.
    The real evidence of a living God is not merely in theory; it is in the conviction which God has written in our hearts, illuminated and explained by His words. It is the living power in His created works seen by a sanctified eye. The precious faith inspired of God gives strength and nobility of character.
    The natural powers are enlarged because of holy obedience. All the philosophies of human nature have led to confusion and shame when God has not been recognized as all in all. . . .
    The most profound intellects of the world, when not enlightened by God's Word, become bewildered and lost while trying to investigate the matters of science and revelation. The Creator and His works are beyond finite comprehension, and men conclude that because they cannot explain the works and ways of God from natural causes, the Bible history is not reliable. Many are so intent upon excluding God from the exercise of [His] sovereign will and power in the established order of the universe that they demean man, the noblest of His creatures. The theories and speculations of philosophy would make us believe that man has come by slow degrees, not merely from a savage state, but from the very lowest form of the brute creation. They destroy man's dignity because they will not admit God's miraculous power.
    God has illuminated human intellects and poured a flood of light on the world through discoveries in art and science. But those who view these from a merely human standpoint will most assuredly come to wrong conclusions. The thorns of error, skepticism, and infidelity are disguised by being covered with the garments of philosophy and science. Satan has devised this ingenious manner of winning souls away from the living God, away from the truth and religion. He exalts nature above nature's Creator.
    The only safety for the people now is to feel the importance of combining religious culture with general education, that we may escape the curse of unsanctified knowledge. Every effort should be made in the education of youth to impress their minds with the loveliness and power of the truth as it is in Jesus. When the veil shall be removed which separates time from eternity, then will come to many minds the clear perception of the policy of human wisdom in comparison with the sure word of prophecy. All true education leads to harmony with, and obedience to, God. When that which has seemed incomprehensible is seen in the light shining from the throne of God, it will fill the soul with the greatest astonishment that it has never before seen and comprehended.
    Christ and the Father are continually working through the laws of nature. Those who dwell on the laws of matter and the laws of nature, in following their own limited, finite understanding, lose sight of (if they do not deny) the continual and direct agency of God. Many express themselves in a manner which would convey the idea that nature is distinct from the God of nature, having in and of itself its own limits and its own powers wherewith to work. There is with many a marked distinction between natural and supernatural. The natural is ascribed to ordinary causes, unconnected with the interference of God. Vital power is attributed to matter, and nature is made a deity. Matter is supposed to be placed in certain relations and left to act from fixed laws with which God Himself cannot interfere; that nature is endowed with certain properties and placed subject to laws, and left to itself to obey these laws and perform the work originally commanded. This is false science; there is nothing in the Word of God to sustain it. God does not annul His laws, but He is continually working through them, using them as His instruments. They are not self-working.
    God is perpetually at work in nature. She is His servant, directed as He pleases. Nature in her work testifies of the intelligent presence and active agency of a Being who moves in all His works according to His will. It is not by an original power inherent in nature that year by year the earth produces its bounties and the world keeps up its continual march around the sun. The hand of infinite power is perpetually at work guiding this planet. It is God's power momentarily exercised that keeps it in position in its rotations. The God of heaven is constantly at work. It is by His power that vegetation is caused to flourish, that every leaf appears and every flower blooms. It is not as the result of a mechanism, that, once set in motion, continues its work, that the pulse beats and breath follows breath — in God we live and move and have our being. Every breath, every throb of the heart, is the continual evidence of the power of an ever-present God.
    It is God that maketh the sun to rise in the heavens. He openeth the windows of heaven and giveth rain. He maketh the grass to grow upon the mountains. "He giveth snow like wool: He scattereth the hoarfrost like ashes" (Psalm 147:16). "When He uttereth His voice, there is a multitude of waters in the heavens; He maketh lightnings with rain, and bringeth forth the wind out of His treasures" (Jeremiah 10:13). Although the Lord has ceased His work in creating, He is constantly employed in upholding and using as His servants the things which He has made. Said Christ, "My Father worketh hitherto, and I work" (John 5:17).
    Men of the greatest intellect cannot understand the mysteries of Jehovah as revealed in nature. Divine inspiration asks many questions which the most profound scholar cannot answer. These questions were not asked, supposing that we could answer them, but to call our attention to the deep mysteries of God, and to make men know that their wisdom is limited; that in the common things of daily life there are mysteries past the comprehension of finite minds; that the judgment and purposes of God are past finding out, His wisdom unsearchable. If He reveals Himself to man, it is by shrouding Himself in the thick cloud of mystery. God's purpose is to conceal more of Himself than He makes known to man. Could men fully understand the ways and works of God, they would not then believe Him to be the infinite One. He is not to be comprehended by man in His wisdom, and reasons, and purposes. "His ways [are] past finding out" (Romans 11:33). His love can never be explained upon natural principles. If this could be done, we would not feel that we could trust Him with the interests of our souls.
    Skeptics refuse to believe, because with their finite minds they cannot comprehend the infinite power by which God reveals Himself to men. Even the mechanism of the human body cannot be fully understood; it presents mysteries that baffle the most intelligent. Yet, because human science cannot in its research explain the ways and works of the Creator, men will doubt the existence of God and ascribe infinite power to nature. God's existence, His character, His law, are facts that all the reasoning of men of the highest attainments cannot controvert. They deny the claims of God, and neglect the interest of their souls because they cannot understand His ways and works. Yet God is ever seeking to instruct finite men that they may exercise faith in Him and trust themselves wholly in His hands. Every drop of rain or flake of snow, every spire of grass, every leaf and flower and shrub, testifies of God. These little things, so common around us, teach the lesson that nothing is beneath the notice of the infinite God, nothing too small for His attention.
    God is to be acknowledged more from what He does not reveal of Himself than from that which is open to our limited comprehension. If men could comprehend the unsearchable wisdom of God, and could explain that which He has done or can do, they would no longer give Him reverence, or fear His power. In divine revelation God has given to men mysteries that are incomprehensible, to command their faith. This must be so. If the ways and works of God could be explained by finite minds, He would not stand as supreme. Men may be ever searching, ever inquiring, ever learning, and yet there is an infinity beyond. The light is shining, ever shining with increasing brightness upon our pathway, if we but walk in its divine rays. But there is no darkness so dense, so impenetrable, as that which follows the rejection of heaven's light, through whatever source it may come.
    Can men comprehend God? No. They may speculate in regard to His way and works, but only as finite beings can. The question is asked by the Lord through His prophet: [Isaiah 40:12-18, 21-31 quoted.] — Ms. 4, 1882.

Finite Minds Not to Test the Bible by Their Standard
    To many, scientific research has become a curse; their finite minds are so weak that they lose their balance. They cannot harmonize their views of science with Scripture statements and they think that the Bible is to be tested by their standard of "science falsely so called." Thus they err from the faith and are seduced by the devil. Men have endeavored to be wiser than their Creator; human philosophy has attempted to search out and explain mysteries which will never be revealed through eternal ages. If men would but search and understand what God has made known of Himself and His purposes, they would obtain such a view of the glory, majesty, and power of Jehovah, that they would realize their own littleness, and would be content with that which has been revealed for themselves and their children. — ST April 2, 1885.

Where Human Annals Cast No Light
    There is history of inestimable value and absorbing interest [in the Word of God]. The light of revelation shines undimmed into the distant past where human annals cast not a ray of light. — RH Sept. 22, 1885.

God Will Never Remove All Occasion for Doubt
    None need be left in uncertainty and doubt. There is always sufficient evidence upon which to base an intelligent faith. But God will never remove from any man all occasion for doubts. Those who love to dwell in the atmosphere of doubt and questioning unbelief can have the unenviable privilege. He who turns from the weight of evidence because there are a few things that he cannot make plain to his finite understanding, will be left to the cold, chilling atmosphere of unbelief and skepticism, and will make shipwreck of faith. — ST Dec. 30, 1886.

Mysteries That the Deepest Philosophy Cannot Explain
    There are men who proudly boast that they believe only what they can understand. But the folly of their vaunted wisdom is apparent to every thoughtful mind. There are mysteries in human life, and in the manifestations of God's power in the works of nature — mysteries which the deepest philosophy, the most extensive research, is powerless to explain. — ST Nov. 23, 1888.

Statements, 1890-1899

No Harmony Exists Between Scientists, Falsely So-Called, and the Bible
    Men take the writings of scientists, falsely so-called, and seek to make their deductions harmonize with the statements of the Bible. But where there is no agreement, there can be no harmony. — RH Nov. 24, 1891.

Satan Seeks to Exalt Science Above the Bible
    Science, so-called, human reasoning and poetry, cannot be passed on as of equal authority with revelation; but it is Satan's studied purpose to exalt the maxims, traditions, and inventions of men to an equal authority with the Word of God; and, having accomplished this, to exalt the words of man to the place of supremacy. — RH Nov. 20, 1894.

How Heaven Views the Speculations of the Greatest Minds
    Association with learned men is esteemed by some more highly than communion with the God of heaven. The statements of learned men are thought of more value than the highest wisdom revealed in the Word of God. But while infidelity is proudly lifting its head, Heaven looks down upon the vanity and nothingness of human reasoning; for man in and of himself is vanity. . . . What, then, are the speculations of the greatest minds of the greatest men that have ever lived? Yet men place their human reasonings before the revealed will of God, and present to the world that which they claim is higher wisdom than the wisdom of the Eternal. — YI Feb. 7, 1895.

Without the Bible We Would be Left to Conjecture About the Creation of the World
    The Bible is a history that tells us of the creation of the world, and opens to us past centuries. Without it we should have been left to conjecture and fable in regard to the occurrences of the remote past. — CT 421. (1896)

All True Science is From the God of Science
    A skeptical world, talking and writing of higher education, is prating of things which they do not understand. They do not see that true higher education comprehends a more perfect knowledge of God and of Jesus Christ, whom He has sent. There are few who understand that all true human science is from the God of science, and that God demonstrates to the world that He is king over all. — Ms. 36, 1896.

Talented but Unregenerate Men Place Science Above the God of Science
    They [talented men who resist the drawing of Christ] make their boast of science and philosophy, and place these above Christ, the God of science and true philosophy. — ST Jan. 28, 1897.

In Language Man Can Comprehend
    The sophistry in regard to the world being created in an indefinite period of time is one of Satan's falsehoods. God speaks to the human family in language they can comprehend. He does not leave the matter so indefinite that human beings can handle it according to their theories. — Letter 31, 1898.

The Need to be on Guard with Respect to Geology and Other Branches of Science Falsely So-Called
    This is where the weakness of thousands lies today. They place finite man where God should ever be, and thereby lose a great wealth of experience. They catch the spirit of the world; they act as the world acts, and talk as the world talks. Its notions and traditions and infidel sentiments they receive as truth; and when something new is introduced, they grasp it with eagerness. That which is but chaff they look upon as manna from heaven. They are leavened by the human ideas and sentiments of professed Christians who are far from being doers of the Word. . . .
    We need to guard continually against the sophistry in regard to geology and other branches of science falsely so-called, which have not one semblance of truth. The theories of great men need to be carefully sifted of the slightest trace of infidel suggestion. One tiny seed sown by teachers in our schools, if received by the students, will raise a harvest of unbelief. — RH March 1, 1898.

Statements, 1900-1912

Nature Can Only Truly Be Understood as God by His Spirit Sanctifies the Observation
    He who created the world and made the lofty mountains, who opened the fountains of the great deep, who formed the mighty rocks and the lofty trees, has given man power to appreciate these wonders of earth and heaven, power to understand the lessons drawn from them by Christ. But human intelligence could never have originated these lessons, and neither can man understand them only as God by His Holy Spirit sanctifies the observation. . . . Little confidence can be placed in human reasoning. Were Christ in the world today, the veriest stripling in the schools would prate to him of so-called science. But Christ would answer: "No man can serve two masters."
    The mountains, the rivers, the stones, are full of truth. They are our teachers. The instant the Lord bids nature speak, she utters her voice in lessons of heavenly wisdom and eternal truth.
    But the fallen race will not understand. The laws of nature are supposed to control the God of nature. Correct lessons cannot impress the minds of those who know not the truth or the Word of God. — RH July 3, 1900.

Because God's Works Cannot be Explained by Finite Minds, Many Doubt
    Today there are many who have taken their position on the side of unbelief, as if it were a virtue, the sign of a great mind, to doubt. Because the works of God cannot be explained by finite minds, Satan brings his sophistry to bear upon them, and entangles them in the meshes of unbelief. If these doubting ones would come in close connection with God, He would make His purposes clear to their understanding. — YI March 21, 1901.

Confusion Results When Man Sets Up His Judgment Against the Creator
    He who gave being to the world has not lost His power or sovereignty. He still presides over the world. It is His prerogative to speak out His purposes. By His Son, the Mediator between God and man, these purposes are executed, and the Holy Spirit gives them effect. The awful confusion in the world has been brought about because the way of the Lord has not been followed, because man has set up his human judgment against the law of Him who created the world. Men have undertaken to please and glorify themselves, to set themselves above truth and above God. — Letter 141, 1902.

Nature But Imperfectly Reveals the Greatness and Majesty of God
    The existence of a personal God, the unity of Christ with His Father, lies at the foundation of all true science. From nature we can gain only an imperfect idea of the greatness and majesty of God. We see the working of His power and His wisdom, but He Himself is beyond our comprehension. The ocean, the cataract, the lofty, rugged mountains reveal but imperfectly His handiwork. Satan has introduced confusion and deformity into the creation of God. Something more than nature is needed to reveal the character of the Father. — Ms. 30, 1904.

Cornelius Did Not Forget God in His Investigation of True Science
    There are many men in our world who are like Cornelius. They are not fully informed in regard to the truth for this time; and yet, as did Cornelius, they fear God, and follow principles of righteousness. In every sphere of action they work on the principles that God accepts. All through the ages there have been devout men whose lives were an example that others might well follow. They have borne a clear, pure, undefiled testimony for truth and righteousness. In their high position of responsibility, even among accomplished worldly men, they were bright and shining lights. Not all men forget God in their investigation of true science.
    As God worked for Cornelius, so He works for these true standard-bearers. He prepares the way for them to take the place of those who have been given a knowledge of Bible truth, but who have disappointed the Lord our Saviour. These men will be true to pure, holy principles in their investigation of the laws which rule our world. They will obtain a knowledge of God as Cornelius did — through the visitation of angels from heaven. That they may obtain advanced light, God places them in connection with men of superior knowledge regarding His Word.
    There are men of nobility and influence whom the Lord will call into His work and use as His witnesses, if unconsecrated men will not spoil them by flattery and exalt them as gods. — Letter 197, 1904.

Nature an Imperfect Lesson Book of God
    While the true God could . . . be discerned in nature [before the fall], this does not favor the assertion that after the fall a perfect knowledge of God was revealed in the natural world to Adam and his posterity. Nature could convey her lessons to man in his innocence; but transgression brought a blight upon nature, and intervened between nature and nature's God Had Adam and Eve never disobeyed their Creator, had they remained in the path of perfect rectitude, they could have known and understood God. But when they listened to the voice of the tempter, and sinned against God, the light of the garment of heavenly innocence departed from them; and in parting with the garments of innocence, they drew about them the dark robe of ignorance of God. The clear and perfect light that had hitherto surrounded them had lighted everything they approached; but deprived of that heavenly light, the posterity of Adam could no longer trace the character of God in His created works.
    The things of nature upon which we look today give us but a faint conception of Eden's beauty and glory; yet the natural world, with unmistakable voice, proclaims the glory of God. . . .
    Nature is filled with spiritual lessons for mankind. . . . But nature cannot teach the lesson of the great and marvelous love of God. Therefore, after the fall, nature was not the only teacher of man. . . .
    The most difficult and humiliating lesson that man has to learn is his own inefficiency in depending upon human wisdom, and the sure failure of his own efforts to read nature correctly. Sin has obscured his vision, and of himself he cannot interpret nature without placing it above God. He cannot discern in it God, or Jesus Christ, whom He has sent. . . .
    Those who have a true knowledge of God will not become so infatuated with the laws of matter and the operations of nature, as to overlook or refuse to acknowledge, the continual working of God in nature. Nature is not God, nor was it ever God. The voice of nature testifies of God, but nature is not God. As His created work, it simply bears a testimony of God's power. Deity is the author of nature. The natural world has, in itself, no power but that which God supplies. — RH March 17, 1904.

Without the Bible We Would Not Have an Authentic History of Our World
    We are dependent on the Bible for a knowledge of the early history of our world, of the creation of man, and of his fall. Remove the Word of God, and what can we expect but to be left to fables and conjecture, and to that enfeebling of the intellect which is the sure result of entertaining error. We need the authentic history of the origin of the earth, of the fall of Lucifer, and of the introduction of sin into the world. Without the Bible, we should be bewildered by false theories. The mind would be subjected to the tyranny of superstition and falsehood. But, having in our possession an authentic history of the beginning of the world, we need not hamper ourselves with human conjecture and unreliable theories. — RH Nov. 10, 1904.

Jesus Christ is Creator of All Things
    Those who read and listen to the sophistries that prevail in this age do not know God as He is. They contradict the Word of God, and extol and worship nature in the place of the Creator. While we may discern the workings of God in the things He has created, these things are not God. Nature's voice is heard in its influence upon the senses. Her voice, the Word declares, is heard to the end of the world. The physical creation testifies of God and Jesus Christ as the great Creator of all things. "All things were made by Him; and without Him was not anything made that was made. In Him was life; and the life was the light of men" (John 1:3,4). The psalmist bears witness, "The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth His handywork. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night showeth knowledge. There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard" (Psalm 19:1-3).
    The uneducated heathen learns his lessons through nature and through his own necessities, and dissatisfied with darkness, he is reaching out for light, searching for God in the First Great Cause. There is recorded in Genesis various ways in which God speaks to the heathen. But the contrast between the revelation of God in Genesis and the ideas of the heathen, is striking. Many of the pagan philosophers had a knowledge of God which was pure, but degeneracy, the worship of created things, began to obscure this knowledge. The handiwork of God in the natural world — the sun, the moon, the stars — were worshiped.
    Men today declare that Christ's teachings concerning God cannot be substantiated by the things of the natural world, that nature is not in harmony with the Old and New Testament Scriptures. This supposed lack of harmony between nature and science does not exist. The Word of the God of heaven is not in harmony with human science, but it is in perfect accord with His own created science.
    This living God is worthy of our thought, our praise, our adoration, as the Creator of the world, as the Creator of man. We are to praise God, for we are fearfully and wonderfully made. Our substance was not hid from Him when we were made in secret. — Ms 117, 1908.

Human Ideas Often Contradict God's Word Because Men View Things From Human Point of View
    Apart from Christ we are still incapable of interpreting rightly the language of nature. The most difficult and humiliating lesson that man has to learn is his own inefficiency in depending upon human wisdom, and the sure failure of his efforts to read nature correctly. . . .
    God has permitted a flood of light to be poured upon the world in the discoveries of science and art; but when professedly scientific men reason upon these subjects from a merely human point of view, they are sure to err. The greatest minds, if not guided by the Word of God, become bewildered in their attempts to investigate the relations of science and revelation. The Creator and His works are beyond their comprehension; and because these cannot be explained by natural laws, Bible history is pronounced unreliable.
    Those who question the reliability of the Scripture records, have let go their anchor, and are left to beat about upon the rocks of infidelity. When they find themselves incapable of measuring the Creator and His works by their own imperfect knowledge of science, they question the existence of God, and attribute infinite power to nature.
    In true science there can be nothing contrary to the teaching of the Word of God; for both have the same Author. A correct understanding of both will always prove them to be in harmony. Truth, whether in nature or in revelation, is harmonious with itself in all its manifestations. But the mind not enlightened by God's Spirit will ever be in darkness in regard to His power. This is why human ideas in regard to science too often contradict the teaching of God's Word.
    The work of creation can never be explained by science. What science can explain the mystery of life?
    The theory that God did not create matter when He brought the world into existence, is without foundation. In the formation of our world, God was not indebted to pre-existing matter. On the contrary, all things, material or spiritual, stood up before the Lord Jehovah at His voice, and were created for His own purpose. The heaven and all the host of them, the earth and all things therein, are not only the work of His hand: they came into existence by the breath of His mouth. — ST May 12, 1909.

Scientific Knowledge Not to Interpose Between the Soul and the Bible
    Anything like pride in learning, any dependence upon scientific knowledge, which you place between your soul and the word of the Bible, will most effectually close the door of your heart to the sweet, humble religion of the meek and lowly Jesus. — RH Aug. 3, 1911.

In Many Schools the Impression is Left That if Learned Men are Correct, the Bible Cannot Be
    In many of the schools and colleges of today, the conclusions which learned men have reached as the result of their scientific investigations are carefully taught and fully explained; while the impression is distinctly made that if these learned men are correct, the Bible cannot be. The thorns of skepticism are disguised; they are concealed by the bloom and verdure of science and philosophy. Skepticism is attractive to the human mind. The young see in it an independence that captivates the imagination, and they are deceived. . . .
    The Word of God should have a place — first place — in every system of education. As an educating power, it is of more value than the writings of all the philosophers of all the ages. . . . The light of revelation shines undimmed into the distant past where human annals cast not a ray of light. — RH Aug. 22, 1912.