Editor’s Note: This article was slated for publication last year; however, we were waiting on information that never arrived. We will publish an update to this piece.
When the Global Pandemic’s initial impact became real, the General Conference (GC) and its divisions were caught off-guard. For weeks on end, the GC had an individual expounding on natural remedies and NEWSTART principles instead of using that that valuable time to educate the membership on modern healthcare, vaccines, and statistical data on the growing danger. In that vacuum, anti-vaccination views grew and were promoted in our church. Chief among these proponents was Conrad Vine, President of Adventist Frontier Missions (AFM).
Due to fewer restrictions on large gatherings, ASI in 2021, had its session in a Red State. Pastor Mark Finley, in the Adventist Review, then remarked that Adventists could hold different views on the pandemic, whether vaccinated or not. Perhaps he didn’t foresee that conspiracy theories and fear-mongering aimed at the United States government and its healthcare agencies’ leadership would eventually be directed at Adventist leadership itself.
During Pastor Ted Wilson’s re-election campaign, his continued ambivalence regarding science and modern healthcare was on full display as he chose to attend ASI and preached to a crowd that was neither masked nor practicing social distancing, rather than inaugurate the new Loma Linda University Medical Center, which was being dedicated around the same time.
To believe Vine’s conspiracies, one must reject the data gathered by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the World Health Organization (WHO), and other national and international health agencies, implying that these institutions are either wrong or deliberately manipulating information. One also has to believe that the Covid-19 virus is merely another “flu” and that vaccines are more dangerous than the rare adverse events reported, despite the billions of successful doses administered worldwide. In reality, these organizations have beat back epidemics and helped to erase deadly diseases all over the world. Back in 2020, a majority of Americans trusted the CDC over the Trump Administration. Here is a list of books on pandemics past and present, a book on immunology, on the cell, the history of cancer, on MRNA, a podcast, and articles on MRNA vaccines and possible cancer cures through MRNA and CAR-T.
Vine now asks us to believe that the Seventh-day Adventist Church’s General Conference in Session erred by not addressing the vaccination issue in 2022, despite a formal vote to exclude it from the agenda. It appears that decisions at the highest levels of the Church are only viewed as legitimate when they align with certain personal viewpoints. However, in reality, any decision made at the GC Annual Council or the General Conference Session reflects the will of a small number of representatives, compared to the entire global membership—a natural outcome of a representative system. According to Vine, however, these votes are either erroneous or lack legitimacy. He cites unnamed legal authorities who have reviewed the decision to not include the item on agenda as an error of procedure however in our analysis the Session delegates chose of their own volition to not take up that item and were will within their rights to act in that manner.
Vine’s misinformation has had deadly consequences. His messages, along with those of others, have led many Adventists to forgo vaccination, leaving some unprepared and vulnerable to the virus, with tragic results. Hospitals became overwhelmed with anti-vaxxers, causing delays in critical care for cancer, heart, and other patients, leading to additional preventable deaths. Health misinformation is on the rise. In some cases, anti-vaxxers hound parents whose children died of causes unrelated to the Covid-19 vaccines adding to their grief. To this day, main Adventist anti-vaxxer ‘influencers’ social media pages look like obituary notice boards where they post stories of young people “suddenly” dying.
Vine is also highly critical of the General Conference Statement on Immunization in 2015, due to its reliance on “peer-reviewed scientific literature.” He stated that because science relies on a naturalistic bias, it cannot be relied upon for official statements by the General Conference. Vine, apparently, as others have pointed out, had no qualms about this statement when it was produced in 2015.
In one of his sermons at the Northern Maine camp meeting, Vine shared an anecdote about a young Adventist teacher who was denied a vaccine exemption by his physician and, after receiving the vaccine, suffered a stroke, leaving him disabled and paralyzed. If this account is accurate, it raises concerns that the Australian Conference or education department may have made a mistake in not granting the exemption, and they should compensate him for his loss.
Vine argues that religious exemptions have limits—pointing out that no one is permitted to practice child sacrifice under the guise of religious freedom. However, he fails to clearly define where those limits begin and end. During the pandemic, Vine and others sought the right not only to refuse the vaccine (a right they retained) but also to remain unmasked and attend churches while tens of thousands were dying around them—a request that health departments justifiably denied.
The General Conference, along with most of its divisions, unions, and conferences, opted to lock down and conduct worship remotely during the worst of the pandemic. This decision was made because it neither compromised our theology nor our practice. However, those who primarily identify their faith with physical observance on Sabbaths were dismayed, believing that their rights were infringed upon by the church’s compliance with public health directives.
To illustrate the broader issue: if someone claims a religious exemption from washing their hands after using the restroom, they are within their rights to hold that belief. However, health departments are equally within their rights to deny that person access to or employment in a restaurant where a buffet is served. One person’s rights must be balanced against the rights of others. This is where Vine and others are wrong.
There is a clear connection between conspiracy theories and the previous U.S. Administration. When President Trump downplayed the seriousness of the virus, calling it a “hoax,” conspiracy theorists and opinion hosts on conservative outlets like Fox News followed suit. Even as the virus caused shortages in essential goods—such as toilet paper, masks, and hand soap—Trump pressured for reopening to project normalcy to boost his re-election campaign. His own campaign held a poorly attended rally in Oklahoma, which led to the deaths of several key supporters, including Herman Cain.
During this time, so-called “cures” like garlic and Ivermectin were pushed, only to be abandoned as the virus ravaged countries like Italy, then spread across Asia and the Americas. Anyone reviewing Vine’s sermons can trace the same conspiracies and “cures” back to what was circulating online and on Fox News and other conservative outlets. Ironically, many Fox News opinion hosts practiced social distancing, worked remotely, mandated masks and required vaccination reporting, and some got vaccinated themselves. Even President Trump and the First Lady were vaccinated in his final week in office.
President Trump and his core staff were briefed on January 20, 2017 on a Global Pandemic scenario by the departing Obama administration. This briefing is standard for incoming administrations. He was provided with a ‘Playbook’ on how to deal with a global pandemic, in part because Obama’s administration had fought back five separate epidemics ranging from SARS to Ebola. Obama’s administration had installed a group of scientist-observers at Chinese labs to monitor and report on the outbreak of diseases in China. Trump removed the funding for that program, just three months before the outbreak of Covid-19, and thus was flying blind when the Chinese Government began to hide the viral breakouts.
Trump lost the 2020 election in part because voters viewed his incompetence during the pandemic as a major factor. He then incited an insurrection on January 6, 2021, for which he has been charged and will possibly face trial after the 2024 presidential election. Trump is now a convicted felon and is running again for president. He began his campaign at Waco, Texas, a place familiar to Adventists where he defended the January 6, rioters. Fox News settled an election denial defamation case and has to pay out 787 billion dollars to election processing companies. Yet, these facts seem irrelevant to those clinging to conspiracy theories and Christian Nationalism.
Now that these viewpoints, along with Vine’s suggested starting up of a para-church organization, and the diversion of tithe as a political and financial coercion tool reminiscent of the Beast of Revelation, have come to light, both Finley and the Michigan Conference are expressing alarm. But their concern comes too late.
By leaving Pastor Finley to address this in a YouTube Video in a general way, instead of taking responsibility himself, Pastor Ted Wilson once again evades both the political and moral responsibilities of Adventist leadership. Perhaps this signals his intent to run for another term.
At Intelligent Adventist, we firmly believe in the message, mission, and organizational structure of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. We uphold the authority of the General Conference in Session as the highest governing body, as well as the decisions made at Annual Councils between sessions. We believe that Christ is leading His Church, and that His teachings from our history remain just as relevant today as they were in the past. For example, here is a document detailing Ellen White’s personal decision to be vaccinated and her encouragement for those around her to do the same.
We also believe that the Michigan Conference and the General Conference erred by not addressing Conrad Vine’s conspiracy theories sooner. By failing to directly confront Vine’s blatant COVID-19 misinformation, both the Michigan Conference (in its letter) and the General Conference (in general) have allowed misinformation and mistrust to continue to spread within the Church. When contacted by Intelligent Adventist, Vine declined to comment on the Michigan Conference’s statement.
The Adventist Church will persevere in the end, but not through cowardice at the top, complacency in the pews, or misinformation from the pulpit.
It’s time for courage and new leadership at the highest levels of the Church.
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