If you are a Mac user using the beta release of the EGW CRE 2008 software (Ellen G. White Writings, Comprehensive Research Edition 2008), you may be interested in this little app I wrote. What it does is allow you to launch multiple instances of the EGW CRE 2008 app simultaneously. This was requested in the comment thread for “EGW CD-ROM via Darwine on OS X“.

Being able to have multiple windows at once is possibly handy for heavy users of the app, but not officially supported (the main concern is that if you save settings from more than one open window, the settings from one could overwrite the other, meaning some of your settings won’t be saved). [Update: One user reported that changing settings in one instance, locked the settings in other instances so they could not be saved. Another user reported that all settings were saved in each instance, but that the instances had to be quit and relaunched to get the settings to sync. YMMV. Since I have not personally used things like notes, highlighter, etc., this has not been a problem for me. If you use those things, you just need to use them in a single instance at a time, or else do some testing to be sure your changes will be saved.]

This is version 1.5 of my “New Instance” app. This one is a little smarter: it tries to find the EGW app if you moved it from the Applications folder, it should report errors to Console, and finally it has a new fancy-pants icon (the icon is based on the official icon created by the EGW Estate). It requires that you already have the beta version (or later) installed. It requires Leopard (10.5) or Snow Leopard (10.6). You can download from here:

Download EGW-CRE-2008-New-Instance-1.5.zip

Usage:

1. You must have the EGW CRE 2008 software already installed (beta version is OK)
2. Download and unzip EGW-CRE-2008-New-Instance-1.5.zip; place it in your Applications folder or wherever you like
3. Run EGW CRE 2008 New Instance; each time you run it, it will start a new instance (a new window) of the EGW software
4. To quit a single window, click File > Exit (if you want to save settings), or the keystroke Cmd-W (won’t save settings) … if you want to quit all windows without saving, Cmd-Q

Hope you like it!

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For the technically-inclined: This program is pretty simple, but it is also my most complex app written as a shell script for Bash to date. I learned quite a bit from the process. The script uses Spotlight for some of its work, which I think is pretty cool.

The base app, PocketBible, is developed by a company called Laridian. This app is FREE. However, PocketBible is mainly just a shell for library modules that you download. Some of these are free or included, but others — such as the Ellen White writings — cost money. (Most of their libraries are Bible translations and such.)

You cannot, apparently, buy the Ellen White library from Laridian. I got mine directly from the White Estate booth at GYC. However, I could not find any information about the Ellen White library for this app on the Ellen White Estate website. They definitely carry the product, because I am using it now on my iPod touch. My guess is that you just need to contact them for information about how to buy a serial number. Once you register the serial number on the Laridian website, you then enter your customer identification in the PocketBible app, and the whole collection downloads automatically. It’s best to do this with a wifi connection, because it’s quite a large download.

Personally I found the interface a little confusing. It’s not as elegant as the Conflict of the Ages app, but it’s functional. Personally I found the method of turning pages awkward. But some people might prefer it. It’s mainly a matter of taste.

The app is fully searchable. However, it only searches one library at a time. In some ways this is good, because you usually don’t want a search to be pulling words from all the different Bibles and commentaries. However, when I first started using the app, it appeared that you could only search White’s writings book by book. In other words, you might open Sons and Daughters of God and search that. Obviously that would be very limiting. However, I learned that the key is to open the library called “EGW-BKS” (in the Other Books section of the app), and searching in this library searches all the books simultaneously.

Here is a screen shot showing a search results listing:

And this shot shows what the content looks like. Note that the Bible verse references are clickable, which is quite cool:

If you have an iPhone or iPod touch, it’s definitely the best thing out there for accessing Ellen White’s writings.

Current features include:

• Bookmarking
• Notes
• Boolean searching
• Chapter jumping
• History (see what you’ve read lately)
• Cut, copy, paste

It currently sells for 99¢, and the developers claim the contents are officially licensed from the Ellen G. White Estate.

Of course, using Apple’s Boot Camp, it is possible to install Windows on a Mac, and run the EGW software that way. But this involves tedious rebooting each time you want to switch to Windows. Or it is possible to run the EGW software under a virtual environment such as VMware Fusion or Parallels. And that is what I had been doing; it works, but it’s slow (open VMware, wait for Windows to awake, start the EGW software, which then runs a bit slow in the virtual environment).

Recently, a friend, Nathan Tyler, tipped me off to the fact that the EGW software works great under Wine, a software environment for running Windows apps under UNIX-based operating systems (such as Linux or OS X). There is a special build of Wine for OS X, called Darwine. He claimed that the search software ran faster under Wine than it does on his Windows machine. (Edit: I guess he just claimed it was fast!) And guess what? I found that to be true for me as well.

It is not trivial to set up the EGW software to work this way, at least not yet. First I downloaded Darwine, and configured it. (The main thing to configure was mapping the folder where I would put my Windows apps to a drive letter.) Then I copied all the EGW software files from my Dell over to my Mac. Then came a tedious process of finding all the related Windows registry entries on my Dell, exporting them to files, copying those files to the Mac, editing them so the paths to the files are correct, and importing them into the Windows registry running in Darwine. (This is necessary because those registry entries contain the license information needed to run the software. The installer writes the license information to the registry, but I have not learned a way to run the installer from the CD-ROM under Darwine. Thus I had to do it myself.) Then I had to copy a file, “egwhite.lcf,” from the main EGW software folder to the subfolder “Books,” because for some reason I got an error saying the file had to be there instead. After that I could run the EGW software, but it was a bit tedious to launch. So then I created a shell script to open the EGW software using Wine, and then used the freeware application Platypus to create an OS X application that can be opened from Finder. And for a finishing touch, I copied the EGW icon to that OS X application.

Now I have a cool little OS X application that I can open with a simple click, and the EGW software is blazing fast. Faster at opening than on my Dell, and much faster than going through VMware Fusion.

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Prophets and Prospects 1:  The Curse of Meroz
April 9, 2003

“Curse ye Meroz, said the angel of the Lord, curse ye bitterly the inhabitants thereof;  because they came not to the help of the Lord, to the help of the Lord against the mighty.” Judges 5:23.

The Curse of Meroz

1.  The Sin of Doing Nothing

What had Meroz done? Nothing. This was their sin. The curse of God came upon them for what they had not done. The man with a selfish, narrow mind is responsible for his niggardliness [stinginess], but those who have kindly affections, generous impulses, and a love for souls are laid under weighty responsibilities; for if they allow these talents to remain unemployed and to waste they are classed with unfaithful servants. The mere possession of these gifts is not enough. Those who have them should realize that their obligations and responsibilities are increased.  {2T 284}

Your wife might be a blessing if she would only take upon her the responsibility that it is her duty to take. But she has shunned responsibility all her life, and now is in danger of being influenced, instead of influencing you. Instead of having a softening, elevating influence upon you, there is danger of her thinking as you think, and acting as you act, without reaching down deep to be guided by principle in all her actions. You sympathize with each other, and, unfortunately, help each other to view matters incorrectly. She can exert an influence for good, but she possesses a spirit which savors of spiritual indolence and sloth. She is reluctant to engage in any good work if it is not pleasant and agreeable. What was the sin of Meroz? Doing nothing. It was not because of great crimes that they were condemned, but because they did not come up to the help of the Lord.  {2T 427}

2.  No Spirit of Mission

There is a class that are represented by Meroz. The missionary spirit has never taken hold of their souls. The calls of foreign missions have not stirred them to action. What account will those render to God, who are doing nothing in His cause,—nothing to win souls to Christ? Such will receive the denunciation, “Thou wicked and slothful servant.” {HS 290}

To every man is given his work—not merely work in his fields of corn and wheat, but earnest, persevering work for the salvation of souls. Every stone in God’s temple must be a living stone, a stone that shines, reflecting light to the world. Let the laymen do all that they can; and as they use the talents they already have, God will give them more grace and increased ability. Many of our missionary enterprises are crippled because there are so many who refuse to enter the doors of usefulness that are opened before them. Let all who believe the truth begin to work. Do the work that lies nearest you; do anything, however humble, rather than be, like the men of Meroz, do-nothings.  {8T 246}

3.  Efforts in the Wrong Places

…[L]ike Meroz, the curse of God rested upon them for what they had not done. They had loved that work which would bring the greatest profit in this life; and opposite their names in the ledger devoted to good works there was a mournful blank. {4T 386}

You are very much like Meroz. You are quite diligent when that which you do will bring some advantage to yourself, but there is no motive for special diligence unless you are to be benefited. You are decidedly a lazy man. You can eat your rations regularly, but you have no special love for physical labor. No man can fill his position as a minister unless he is industrious, diligent in business, and faithful in the performance of all the social and public duties of life. God has chosen us, as His servants, to His work, which requires persevering energy. We are not to become pets and shun toil, hardship, and conflicts.  {2T 550}

4.  Indifference and Failure to Help the Lord

I am alarmed at the indifference of our churches. Like Meroz, they have failed to come up to the help of the Lord. The laymen have been at ease. They have folded their hands, feeling that the responsibility rested upon the ministers. But to every man God has appointed his work; not work in his fields of corn and wheat, but earnest, persevering work for the salvation of souls. {5T 381}

Many times our efforts for others may be disregarded and apparently lost. But this should be no excuse for us to become weary in well-doing. How often has Jesus come to find fruit upon the plants of His care and found nothing but leaves! We may be disappointed as to the result of our best efforts, but this should not lead us to be indifferent to others’ woes and to do nothing. “Curse ye Meroz, said the angel of the Lord, curse ye bitterly the inhabitants thereof; because they came not to the help of the Lord, to the help of the Lord against the mighty.” How often is Christ disappointed in those who profess to be His children! He has given them unmistakable evidences of His love. He became poor, that through His poverty we might be made rich. He died for us, that we might not perish, but have eternal life. What if Christ had refused to bear our iniquity because He was rejected by many and because so few appreciated His love and the infinite blessings He came to bring them? We need to encourage patient, painstaking efforts. Courage is now wanted, not lazy despondency and fretful murmuring. We are in this world to do work for the Master and not to study our inclination and pleasure, to serve and glorify ourselves. Why, then, should we be inactive and discouraged because we do not see the immediate results we desire?  {3T 525-526}

5.  Hold Truth to be Inconvenient

You have not felt the necessity of heeding the light which God has given you, and arousing yourself to save your family, acquitting yourself as a father and priest of your household. You did not deny the light given, you did not rise up against it; but you neglected to carry it out because it was not convenient and agreeable to your feelings to do this. Therefore you were like Meroz. You came not up to the help of the Lord, although the matter was of so vital consequence as to affect the eternal interests of your children. You neglected your duty. In this respect you were a slothful servant. You have but little sense of how God regards the neglect of parents to discipline their children. Had you reformed here, you would have seen the necessity of the same effort to maintain discipline and order in the church. Your slackness in your family has been seen also in your labors in the church. You cannot build up the church until you are a transformed man.  {2T 626-627}

6.  Lukewarm Laodicea

Many of our people are lukewarm. They occupy the position of Meroz, neither for nor against, neither cold nor hot. They hear the words of Christ, but do them not. If they remain in this state, He will reject them with abhorrence. Many of those who have had great light, great opportunities, and every spiritual advantage praise Christ and the world with the same breath. They bow themselves before God and mammon. They make merry with the children of the world, and yet claim to be blessed with the children of God. They wish to have Christ as their Saviour, but will not bear the cross and wear His yoke. May the Lord have mercy upon you; for if you go on in this way, nothing but evil can be prophesied concerning you.  {5T 76-77}

They have committed no grievous, outbreaking sins, and they must, after all, be on the true foundation, and God will accept their works. They see no special sins to repent of, no sins which call for special humiliation, humble confession, and rending of heart. The delusion upon such is strong indeed when they mistake the form of godliness for the power thereof, and flatter themselves that they are rich and have need of nothing. The curse of Meroz rests upon them…. {2T 395-6}

It is important that all now come up to the work and act as though they were living men, laboring for the salvation of souls who are perishing. If all in the church would come up to the help of the Lord, we would see such a revival of His work as we have not hitherto witnessed. God requires this of you and of each member of the church. It is not left with you to decide whether it is best for you to obey the call of God. Obedience is required; and unless you obey you will stand on worse than neutral ground. Unless you are favored with the blessing of God you have His curse. He requires you to be willing and obedient, and says that you shall eat the good of the land. A bitter curse is pronounced on those who come not to the help of the Lord. “Curse ye Meroz, said the angel of the Lord, curse ye bitterly the inhabitants thereof; because they came not to the help of the Lord, to the help of the Lord against the mighty.” Satan and his angels are in the field to oppose every advance step that God’s people take, therefore the help of everyone is required. {2T 165}

“What?” you may be asking. “The book is only one volume!”

What Remnant Publications has done is divide the 42-chapter book into four volumes that are each about 10 chapters long, more or less. The intent is to make the hefty volume more digestible. It’s an intriguing idea — one that I quite like, actually.

But I do have some concerns with their implementation. First, they are selling each book for $9.95. So you can get one-quarter of The Great Controversy for about what one might expect to pay for the entire volume. The whole series would set you back $40, what you might expect to pay for a really nice heirloom-quality hardcover edition. (They offer volume discounts, however. The cost goes down to less than $1 each if you buy enough of them. The volume pricing, and how it relates to the single unit price, is quite extreme in my opinion.)

Second, the cover designs of volumes three and four, and volume three especially, suggest that the book will cover certain recent developments in detail (such as the World Trade Center attack), which of course it does not, having been last edited nearly 100 years ago. 

Third, the cover designs seem to be from the “ransom note” school of typography. There are just too many fonts, and the fonts from one volume totally clash with the ones in the next volume. The font for “Out of Control” on the final volume is just ugly (besides the fact that the letter O’s are conspicuously identical, undermining the hand-scrawled look). Granted, most regular folk probably won’t notice or care about this, but anyone with more astute aesthetic taste will find this appalling.

Having said all that, I do like the overall color scheme of the series. Volume one is the most attractive of the set, in my opinion. If they had stuck with the classic look of that volume, the cover design would do more justice to the flavor of the book, and give a more honest representation of the contents.

All things considered, the split volumes are an interesting and well-thought marketing approach. And I applaud the effort to get this book before more people. For those making volume purchases, this could be an effective way to share the book with people who might not otherwise touch it.

At the time of my invite, there were only 8 or 10 members of the group. I had been reading The Great Controversy as part of my research for a series of articles I’ve been writing for 3ABN World, called “Our Heritage.” I thought joining Sandra’s group would be a great way to study the book more deeply, since I had not read it straight through since college. Being able to dialog with other readers would help me gain fresh insights, and would also provide a place to share what I’ve been learning. I thought maybe the group might grow as large as 20 or 30 participants, and we’d all have a great time sharing with each other.

Things have happened so quickly, it is hard for me to keep it all straight. But shortly after I joined, I decided to invite a bunch of my Facebook friends. Sandra and her friends were also continuing to invite people. The numbers were really growing fast. Sensing the momentum, Sandra suggested we invite church friends, and start making local announcements. (She’s such a go-getter!)

Sandra and I both felt impressed that this could grow far beyond Facebook. So I suggested starting a website to allow non-Facebook users to participate. Thus the website www.gcreadathon.com was created.

Sandra was calling conferences everywhere, in her home country of Australia, as well as here in the United States, trying to get announcements in church bulletins, etc. I posted a notice to the popular FIG list. Meanwhile, Facebook was working its own magic, as people continued joining, prompting their friends to join.

In one week we had more than 1000 Facebook members in our group, which is totally amazing. In fact, as of today the first full week of the Readathon has not ended yet (here in the USA), and now there are nearly 1700 members. Considering that the largest SDA group on Facebook, Seventh-day Adventists, has just over 10,000 members, our growth is quite impressive.

We’d love to have you join us! It’s not too late. In fact, we begin chapter 2 tomorrow. All you really need to do to participate is commit to read one chapter each week. If you’d like the additional blessing of interacting with others online, visit www.gcreadathon.com. You can sign up for e-mail notifications to help you stay on track.

Providentially, my friend Diana was leading a group of Bible workers at Battle Creek, and she invited me to come. The timing was perfect, since if I had waited any longer, their evangelism series would have been over, and I would have lost my “inside connection.” Thanks, Diana!

The drive there would have been about 7.5 hours, except for a little mishap. Near Effingham, Illinois, a police car came up behind me, and flashed its lights. I was driving exactly the speed limit, so I couldn’t guess what would be the problem. He pegged me for two things: not having a front license plate (my saving grace was that I had the missing plate in the car, having intended to put it on as soon as I could visit a dealership), and my back plate was half off! I could hardly believe it. We walked around to the back of the car, and as I was fiddling with the plate to see if I could reconnect it, the other screw popped out, and the whole thing fell to the ground! (The screws were the ones that came with the car, but they were definitely non-standard.) The officer was friendly, though, and didn’t fine me for anything. He told me where to go to get it fixed, which I promptly did. The whole episode cost me maybe 30 minutes.

When I arrived in Battle Creek, the night’s evangelism series was in progress at the local SDA academy, so I went directly there. The evangelist was Ted Struntz, someone who I’d never met, but indirectly knew: He was the father of a girl I knew in academy and whom I had done LE work with one summer (Julia). Also, it just so happened that I sat down, without realizing it, next to David and Marie Tenold, who had been staff at Oklahoma Academy when I was a student there. Also, Marie had been my work supervisor for two years. The night’s message was good, and it was encouraging to hear that quite a few non-SDAs were attending and interested in baptism. Besides Diana, I also bumped into someone else I knew that night: Phil Mills.

The Bible workers were staying right at the Historic Adventist Village, and they let me stay with them. I had a nice, comfortable room to myself, on the second floor. The room had eight windows, four each on two adjacent walls—really nice.

Sabbath morning I went to the Dime Tabernacle, the main SDA church in the area. There was a large painting behind the pulpit, Heinrich Hoffman’s “Christ and the Rich Young Ruler”—one of my favorites—which I thought was cool. I joined a Sabbath school class taught by Jerry Finneman, which was really good. The sermon was by the evangelist, and was part of the series. Later, at lunch, I met a couple more people I know: Doug Carlson, an associate pastor who previously was the pastor at my grandma’s church in Edenville, and Ranger Jim from Kids’ Time on 3ABN! He was showing off a hummingbird and a chipmunk, both of which were in large glass jars.

Sabbath afternoon I took the official tour of the village.

William Miller’s prophetic chart, on display in the visitor center:

The pulpit in a church where Ellen White spoke:

Garth Stoltz, Village Director:

The Whites’ home:

An early edition of Early Writings, published in Battle Creek:

The dining room in their home:

Where Ellen would write jounal entries, manuscripts, and letters (these are not the original items of furniture, but are similar to what she would have used):

Copies of her writings (pretty good penmanship!):

A carriage similar to what the Whites would have used:

That evening we returned for more of the evangelism meetings. Later back at the village, we had a long discussion about women’s ordination; it lasted past midnight! Although the five or so of us most involved in the discussion had deep-seated opinions on this subject, the entire exchange was very civil, and I came away with greater perspective on the subject.

The Bible workers:

In front of David Hewitt’s home:

On Sunday we all went out to eat at a pancake place. This was mainly in honor of the Bible workers for all their hard work, and was paid for by Pastor Russell from Andrews who had oversight of them. But they invited me along. It was a good meal! But my stay was over all too soon!

I left soon after we got back from the restaurant, but on the way home I stopped at this cemetary in Battle Creek where many SDA pioneers are buried:

The tombstones of James and Ellen White:

On the way home I passed these vehicles. I took this while driving, so it’s a bit blurry. But if you look closely, you can see the car on the left is one of those models that can be driven in water. You can see two propellers under the bumper, and it has a high exhaust pipe to keep the water out. The other truck is towing a log cabin!

Ellen White, Signs of the Times, January 1, 1885

Because my own answers would have been similar to these, I was nothing short of stunned when, about 10-12 years ago in college, I ran across a rather hefty, thick volume entitled, The Evils of Infant Baptism. I never read the book, but I wondered that someone could put so much thought into what might seem such an esoteric topic. Infant baptism may be unbiblical—but evil? Evil enough to write a whole book about it?

I never thought about it much after that, until yesterday when I was doing research for a series of articles entitled “Our Heritage” that I am writing for 3ABN.

In this series I am describing various movements and events, mostly since the 1700s, that helped shape Adventist thought and belief. As part of my research I’ve been reading the parallel chapters in The Great Controversy, picking up at chapter 16, “The Pilgrim Fathers.” If you have read that chapter, you know Ellen White has great things to say about the Puritans/Separatists/Pilgrims, as well as Roger Williams, a Baptist, who began the Rhode Island colony.

Adventists can trace spiritual ties to both the Puritans and the Baptists (the Baptists themselves are linked to the Puritan/Separatist movement). The name “Baptist” is derived historically from another group, the Anabaptists (“Rebaptizers”). This is because a central tenet of the Baptist faith is believer’s baptism, which was also a controversial teaching that the Anabaptists were persecuted for teaching.

Quoting form Wikipedia:

“Believer’s baptism and its variants … [were] anathema to the religious beliefs of most all other sects and deemed one of the worst sorts of heresy, for if infant baptism was in error, then all those practising other faiths were damned in the black-white world view and mindset of the age, for it was also strongly held that a second baptism was invalid and an offense against God—meaning the two beliefs were irreconcilably different and opposed without common ground. As one consequence, the Officials of the Holy Inquisition sought out and persecuted Anabaptists with the same vigor that they persecuted Jews, witches, in direct contrast to treatment given most other protestants.”

It is a fact that even Protestant leaders such as Zwingli persecuted (even to death) the Anabaptist faith. In a world where there were still many traces of sacramental theology, where grace and salvation comes through the rote act itself, it is not hard to imagine the outrage over the Anabaptists’ teaching that would nullify the supposedly essential infant baptism that had been practiced by an overwhelming majority on the European continent.

All of this reminded me of that book I had seen in that college library so long ago, so I did a quick Google search to see what I might find.

I don’t know if either of these men wrote the book I remembered, but they both give good summaries of the reasons why infant baptism is “evil.”

The Evils of Infant Baptism, by A. N. Arnold (you can get the general idea by reading the boldface section headings)

The Evils of Infant Baptism, by Robert Boyt C. Howell (a much fuller treatment of the subject)

When you realize people were killed for preaching against infant baptism, you can begin to understand how contentious this idea was.

I read a little of Arnold’s comments, and I must admit that he really has a solid case. It is clear from his presentation how the sacramental theology of infant baptism could destroy the spiritual significance of baptism and erode the meaning of Christianity altogether. There’s no exaggeration in that.

Moreover, many of his points apply equally well to all forms of modern “social club Christianity,” and it does not take much imagination to see how a “cheap grace” gospel message (as German theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer called that type) can have the same effect. You sweep people in, pin a “Christian” label on them, and soon you’re left with nothing but a hollow shell of what Christianity is meant to be.

Furthermore, the opening paragraphs of the chapter in The Great Controversy that I was reading apply equally well, not only to infant baptism, but also to many trends gaining ground in Protestant Christianity today:

“The English Reformers, while renouncing the doctrines of Romanism, had retained many of its forms. Thus though the authority and the creed of Rome were rejected, not a few of her customs and ceremonies were incorporated into the worship of the Church of England. It was claimed that these things were not matters of conscience; that though they were not commanded in Scripture, and hence were nonessential, yet not being forbidden, they were not intrinsically evil. Their observance tended to narrow the gulf which separated the reformed churches from Rome, and it was urged that they would promote the acceptance of the Protestant faith by Romanists.

“To the conservative and compromising, these arguments seemed conclusive. But there was another class that did not so judge. The fact that these customs “tended to bridge over the chasm between Rome and the Reformation” (Martyn, volume 5, page 22), was in their view a conclusive argument against retaining them. They looked upon them as badges of the slavery from which they had been delivered and to which they had no disposition to return.They reasoned that God has in His word established the regulations governing His worship, and that men are not at liberty to add to these or to detract from them. The very beginning of the great apostasy was in seeking to supplement the authority of God by that of the church. Rome began by enjoining what God had not forbidden, and she ended by forbidding what He had explicitly enjoined.”

Ellen White, The Great Controversy, 289

So the next time someone suggests an apparently harmless change to your church’s service, ask: Does its form draw the mind back to fallen religion? Is it adding something to worship that God has not requested?

When confronted with changes in standards, membership criteria, or theology, ask: Will this tend to convert unbelievers, or subvert the church? Will this draw people closer to God, or are we simply drawing a bigger circle to take more worldly people in?

And remember the evils of infant baptism.