The Trinity and Catholicism in the SDA Hymnal

Catholicism In The SDA Hymnal

The singing of praises to God through the use of Hymns is a long held tradition amongst Adventists. Hymns are a reminder of the way God has led in the past, and a source of encouragement to all in times of trouble. But it was with the release of “The Church Hymnal” in 1941 that an imperceptible change came into Adventist Hymns. Doctrinal deviation from accepted Adventist teaching had never been sanctioned in a Church hymnal before. More Catholic and Anglican hymns appeared, and a shift in theology was reflected in the words of some hymns. Only a few years before the hymnal was published, the first Church Manual had been released and a new Adventist “Fundamental Beliefs” had been authored. This shift in theology found in the Fundamental Beliefs and the Hymnal was the introduction of Trinitarianism into the Church. Although not “officially” ratified into the 27 Fundamentals until 1980, the move was hardly noticed by the majority of Adventists, and only a few of the older members questioned the shift in theology.

It was with the publishing of the present volume, “The Seventh-day Adventist Hymnal,” in 1985, that we again saw the hymnal being used seriously as an instrument for change. In this latest release there are more changes that, when noticed, should have raised more than the eyebrows of God's people. But, as in the story of the frog slowly boiled in the cooking pot, the change in Adventist doctrine had crept in slowly and quietly, and only a few realized the implications of the words they were singing.

We are told in the “Introduction” to the hymnal that the Church Hymnal committee has “sought hymns well suited for congregational singing and examined each one for scriptural and doctrinal soundness.” – p.6. Further we read that the committee “sought hymns that affirm the distinctive beliefs of Seventh-day Adventists as well as those that express points of faith we hold in common with other Christian bodies.” – ibid. Let us take a look and see if the committee fulfilled its purpose.

Besides some obvious new additions, such as Hymn No. 467, “Life is Great! So Sing About it”, or the “Shops and buses” song as it could be called, there are many hymns which have either been added from non-Adventist sources, or have had their words changed from the previous editions so that outside doctrine was then being taught through the words. These subtle changes in the wording of hymns are probably acceptable to the vast majority of newer Adventists as many today have come out of other Churches whether Protestant or Catholic. But let us first look at these changes, so that we might better understand the direction being taken by those involved in preparing this current Hymnal.

Additions and Changes

Firstly, in “The Seventh-day Adventist Hymnal”, 1985 edition, there is a section entitled “Trinity” which had never existed before in any SDA Hymnal. But oddly enough, hymns with Trinitarian concepts are not confined to this section as we shall see. Another interesting addition was the inclusion of a corporate reading section at the rear of the Hymnal, (larger than the 1941 edition's “responsive readings”) giving it more of a familiar feel for Roman Catholics and Anglicans as they come into the Adventist Church.

Before the 1985 General Conference Session in New Orleans, much had been said about the development of the new Seventh-day Adventist Hymnal. It was introduced at that Session with much interest and huge sales. But this new hymnal introduces into the Seventh-day Adventist worship service hymns and Scripture readings containing Roman Catholic teachings not found in any earlier Adventist hymnal.

The old Church Hymnal quoted exclusively from the Protestant King James Version of the Bible. But the new hymnal uses a plethora of versions, the majority of which are greatly faulted versions, the translators of which have ignored the Divine anathemas:

There are 225 passages of Scripture in the Seventh-day Adventist Hymnal consisting of 135 response readings, 14 Canticles and Prayers, 36 calls to worship, 13 words of assurance, 14 offertory sentences and 13 benedictions. The use of the various Scripture versions is as follows:

New International Version (NIV) 69 (31%)
Jerusalem Bible (a Roman Catholic Translation) 38 (17%)
New King James Version (NKJV) 33 (14%)
Revised Standard Version (RSV) 28 (12%)
New English Bible (NEB) 22 (10%)
The Good News Bible (TEV, Today's English Version) 15 (7%)
King James Version (KJV) 15 (7%)
New American Standard Bible (NASB) 4 (2%)

It is shocking that in our official Church hymnal, the Roman Catholic Jerusalem Bible is used more than 2.5 times more than from the Protestant King James Version! The relegation of the King James Version to less than 7% of the passages utilized demonstrates a decided move away from the Bible of the Reformation and the Bible which established the Seventh-day Adventist Church. To cite the Roman Catholic Jerusalem Bible well over twice as many times as the Protestant and the much more accurate King James Version, demonstrates a thinking that does Seventh-day Adventists no credit. The fearfully faulted and inaccurate New International Version (not a Protestant version) is used almost five times the frequency of the best Bible version in the English Language being the King James Version. This choice of Bible versions is a serious indictment against the new Adventist hymnal.

Scripture Reading, No. 756 (From Psalm 51 NIV) Teaches the Catholic doctrine of Original Sin! That this hymnal would prefer the NIV translation of Psalms 51:5, with its blatant distortion of Scripture, in order to uphold the disgraceful concept of original sin is unconscionable. It reads, “Surely I have been a sinner from birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.” Psalm 51:5 NIV. The Seventh-day Adventist Hymnal Committee has included apostate doctrines of the fallen Churches of Babylon. It is difficult to believe that there was not a determined element on the Committee deviously implanting Roman Catholic concepts into this hymnal and fully aware of that what they were achieving. A like number of passages from the Jerusalem Bible and the use of modern versions palatable to Roman Catholics is but one evidence of this.

Roman Liturgy

The Roman Catholic unity is based upon conformity to their liturgy. Thus it is alarming that the Roman Catholic liturgical terms have been introduced into the Seventh-day Adventist Hymnal. This serves to desensitize Adventists to the inroads of Roman Catholic thinking. Even the use of the term “Canticles” in the subheading “Canticles and Prayers,” prior to No. 831 achieves this purpose. And the term is used by Roman Catholics for all the Scripture passages in the back of their hymnbooks. Yet much more serious is the use of Roman Catholic liturgical terms for some of these canticles.

Canticles and Prayers No. 833 shows this fact by its Latin designation the Sanctus.

No. 835 is termed the Magnificat,
No. 836 the Benedictus,
No. 837 the Nunc Dimittis, and
No. 832 the De Profundis.

Seventh-day Adventists have never heard of these Latin terms before! Listen to this quotation from the Catholic Encyclopedia. p. 93: “Canticles have been incorporated into the Divine Office of the Church [the best known are] the Magnificat (Lk. 1:46-55), the Benedictus (Lk. 1:68-79), and the Nunc Dimittis (Lk. 2:29-32).” Why were these Catholic names for Scripture printed in the Adventist Hymnal?

Hymns Carefully Selected & Changed

The hymns below have all had been added or had their wording changed to teach Catholic doctrine. Was this accidental? No. How do we know? The new Adventist Church Hymnal tells us:

“The committee has sought hymns well suited for congregational singing and examined each one for scriptural and doctrinal soundness. They sought hymns that affirm the distinctive beliefs of Seventh-day Adventists as well as those that express points of faith we hold in common with other Christian bodies. Hymnals old and new provided texts and tunes of enduring value from other churches. Sometimes it was necessary to alter the text of these hymns to eliminate theological aberrations or awkward, jarring expressions.

“With great caution, the text committee replaced archaic and exclusive language whenever this could be done without disturbing familiar phrases, straining fond attachments, or doing violence to historical appropriateness.” SDA Hymnal, 6-7.

New Catholic Hymns Added

Hymn No. 3 (God Himself Is With Us): Verse two of this hymn also elevates the Roman Catholic concept of Mary,

Come, abide within me; Let my soul, like Mary, Be Thine earthly sanctuary. This again assumes Mary is still alive. Gerhardt Tersteegen wrote the words of this hymn in German. A literal translation of the German words which he originally penned possesses no reference to Mary whatsoever. The original words were, Lord, come dwell in me, Let my heart and my spirit, Be another temple for Thee.

Why did the Adventist Church hymnal committee accept a Catholic change to an originally Protestant hymn?

Hymn No. 91 (Ye Watchers and Ye Holy Ones) is a traditional Anglican Hymn. It had only two verses as No. 77 in the 1941 Hymnal while there are three verses in the current. The third verse contains the words, To God the Father, God the Son, and God the Spirit, Three in One. And of course the phrases God the Son, and God the Spirit are Catholic phrases that occur nowhere in Scripture and have a totally different meaning to match the Catholic trinity doctrine. And hence the words Three in One. Not only that but verse two sings praises to Mary, the mother of Jesus. O higher than the cherubim, More glorious then the seraphim, Lead their praises, Alleluia! Thou bearer of the eternal Word, Most gracious, magnify the Lord. The bearer of the eternal Word in this verse refers to Mary.

Hymn No. 142 (Angels We Have Heard on High): In this hymn, verse four uplifts the Catholic notion that the dead are heavenly saints who can assist us: Mary, Joseph, lend your aid, while we raise our hearts in love. This verse has no place in a true Seventh-day Adventist Hymnal. In fact, this song was never found in earlier Adventist hymnals. We should not be invoking the aid of Mary.

Hymn No. 403 (Let Us Break Bread Together): In this hymn abject sun worship is promoted. It is probably the best known of the aberrant hymns. When I fall on my knees, With my face to the rising sun, O Lord, have mercy on me.

This comes straight out of Babylonian paganism. Such sun worship was condemned by God in the days of the prophet Ezekiel. “And he brought me into the inner court of the LORD'S house, and, behold, at the door of the temple of the LORD, between the porch and the altar, were about five and twenty men, with their backs toward the temple of the LORD, and their faces toward the east; and they worshipped the sun toward the east. Then he said unto me, Hast thou seen this, O son of man? Is it a light thing to the house of Judah that they commit the abominations which they commit here? For they have filled the land with violence, and have returned to provoke me to anger: and, lo, they put the branch to their nose. Therefore will I also deal in fury: mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity: and though they cry in mine ears with a loud voice, yet will I not hear them.” Ezekiel 8:16-18.

With the above hymn, you could use Call To Worship No. 864. This Call to Worship is based on Psalm 118:24-26. But instead of reading, This is the day which the Lord hath made. We will rejoice and be glad in it, as it does in the KJV, the SDA hymnal committee chose to use The Good News Bible which says, This is the day of the Lord's victory; let us be happy, let us celebrate! These words point the minds of many worshippers to Sunday, the day that Christ rose from the grave.

Hymn No. 471 (Grant Us Your Peace) All the verses of this hymn are virtually identical to the hymn sheet handed out in the Vatican Square when the Pope lectures the assembled crowd. The four verses are identical in four languages, Latin, English, French, and Spanish. The English states: Father, grant us, grant us Your peace; Oh, loving Father, grant us Your peace. Grant us, grant us peace; Grant us, grant us, grant us Your peace. Grant us, grant us peace; Loving Father, grant us Your peace. In four different languages, thousands of faithful Catholics, with their eyes fixed on their holy father standing in the distant window, intone their worshipful prayer to him. Consider the Latin version of what they tell him, as it is written in our new Adventist Hymnal. Dona nobis pacem, pacem; Dona nobis pacem. Dona nobis pacem. Dona nobis pacem. Dona nobis pacem. Dona nobis pacem. This same Latin phrase is in a Catholic mass. (Did not Jesus say not to use vain repetitions?)

Seventh-day Adventists are to sing all four stanzas. Latin is the official language in only one country of the world–the Roman Catholic Church (a.k.a. the Vatican). Why are Adventists given a stanza in Latin to sing?

The Twelve Trinity Hymns

Never before in any Adventist Hymnal was there an entire section of hymns dedicated to “the Trinity.” This hymnal has at least twelve such hymns, which designates it as acceptable to Babylon (the Roman Catholic Church and the World Council of Churches). All twelve will be mentioned, but we will mention nine of them here:

Hymn No. 73 (Holy, Holy, Holy) This hymn was originally written in 1826 by Reginald Heber. In its original form it was a Trinitarian song, which read at the end of the first and fourth stanzas as follows, “God in three persons, blessed Trinity!”

This song was put into the 1909 and 1941 Seventh-day Adventist Hymnals, but the trinity part was changed to: “God over all who rules eternity!” and “Perfect in power, in love and purity.” This song was purposely changed into a non-Trinitarian song by Seventh-day Adventists, reflecting their views on the Trinity at the time of the change.

In the new 1985 Adventist Hymnal this song was changed back to its original, reflecting the new views of the Adventist Church at this time. Unless there is a public repentance, we can only conclude that once it was Non-Trinitarian but now has changed into a Trinitarian Church.

Hymn No. 47 (God, Who Made the Earth and Heaven) In this hymn, Adventists sing, “Blest Three in One.”

Hymn No. 71 (Come, Thou Almighty King) Again, the wording of this hymn was changed in the new hymnal! In this hymn, Adventist worshippers are led to worship the Catholic Trinity concept of God, “To Thee, great One in Three, eternal praises be.” Old Adventist hymnals did not have this wording.

Hymn No. 72 (Creator of the Stars of Night) This hymn written in the 800's in Latin probably by a Catholic during the Dark Ages. Adventists are again led to sing to a false God with these words, “To God the Father, God the Son, and God the Spirit, Three in one.”

Hymn No. 27 (Rejoice, Ye Pure in Heart!) Verse 5 was taken out of the old hymnal and replaced with, “Praise Him who reigns on high, The Lord whom we adore, The Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, One God forevermore.”

Hymn No. 30 (Holy God, We Praise Your Name) “Three we name You; While in essence only one.” In the “trinity” concept all three “manifestations” of God are of one substance.

Hymn No. 116 (Of The Father's Love Begotten) This new hymn teaches Adventists that Christ was begotten “Ere the worlds began to be.” That Jesus is begotten from all eternity and through all eternity is a Trinity concept.

Hymn No. 234 (Christ Is the World's Light) This hymn teaches Adventists to pray to the Catholic Trinity. Three Persons are the same god, “Give God the glory, God and none other. Give God the glory, Spirit, Son, and Father; Give God the glory.”

Hymn No. 235 (Christ is Made the Sure Foundation) This was a “Latin hymn” of the 7th century. It was in the old Adventist hymnal, but the hymnal committee decided to replace the old fourth stanza with a new one that now leads Seventh-day Adventists to worship the Catholic Trinity concept of God, “Praise and honor to the Father, Praise and honor to the Son, Praise and honor to the Spirit, Ever three and ever one.” The oneness meant is a physical oneness, for in the Trinity, all are composed of the same identical substance.

Scripture Reading No. 709 (“Trinity”, from Ephesians 1,2 and 4, RSV) This Scripture teaches about the Godhead, but the title teaches Adventists to call God by the Catholic term “Trinity.”

The inclusion of these Trinitarian songs makes every hymn to God in the book directed to the trinity. Seventh-day Adventist believe in the Godhead (God family) composed of 3 distinct eternal Beings, not a “three in one” concept. Spirit of Prophecy calls the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit “The Heavenly Trio,” not “The Heavenly Trinity.”

Hymns By John M. Neale (1818-1866)

When the Second Advent movement was preaching the coming of Christ in 1843-44, John M. Neale was part of the Oxford Movement, a movement originating from Oxford University in England to encourage the Romanization of the Anglican Church and England. John M. Neale helped in this movement by translating old Catholic hymns into English. Those who made the new Adventist hymnal saw their value selecting 13 of them. They are Hymn No. 42, 72, 115, 116, 136, 169, 170, 230, 235, 424, 429, 629, 646. Three of these (italicized) are in the list of the ten new Trinity hymns.

Clement Of Alexandria (c. 200)

Clement, the founder of the Alexandrian school of theology, which mixed pagan philosophy with truth and corrupted the Bible manuscripts, gives us Hymn No. 555.

The Venerable Bede (673-735)

This Benedictine monk in Northumbria, England, wrote Hymn No. 228 in the Adventist hymnal, where Adventists can sing about Jesus, who is “with Father and with Spirit, one” — another hymn devoted to the Trinity that Bede believed in.

John Of Damascus (676-749)

John was a monk in Syria, who composed hymns which are still in everyday use in Eastern Christian monasteries throughout the world. Two are in the Adventist hymnal! Hymn Nos. 169 and 170 (two versions of the same hymn) call the Catholic faithful to celebrate Easter — “the royal feast of feasts.”

Bernard Of Clairvaux (1090-1153)

In the early 1100's AD, a great hero of the persecuted Church of the Wilderness, Henry of Lausanne, rose up in southern France preaching the true Word of God, that baptism avails nothing without faith, that Christ is only spiritually present in the sacrament, that prayers and alms profit not dead men, that purgatory is a mere invention, and the Church is not made up of cemented stones but of believing men. Thousands flocked to hear his sermons. Rome's Churches were emptying, the priests were without flocks, and pilgrimages, fasts, invocation of saints and oblations for the dead were all neglected.

Bernard of Clairvaux, the most commanding figure in the Papal world, was sent to oppose Henry. Bernard was the only man in Europe, who could and did (at the Papacy's behest), persuade the leaders of Europe to engage in the Second Crusade. It was he, who had determined who would be the next Pope, and in fact, his power was greater than the Pope. He elevated the worship of Mary in the Catholic Church. He helped to start the order of the Knights Templar. He helped to direct the Romanizing of the Celtic Church in the British isles.

Against Henry, Bernard had the civil arm to cooperate with his eloquence. Henry was seized, carried before Pope Eugenius III, who presided at a Council that condemned and imprisoned him. From that time we hear no more of him, and his fate can only be guessed at.

Bernard of Clairvaux has three hymns respectfully placed in the middle of our “Protestant” Adventist hymnal by his admirers. Hymns No. 156, 241 and 242. Today, in the last hymn, he teaches Adventists to sing these words that Catholics can sing concerning the Eucharist, “We taste Thee, O thou living Bread, and long to feast upon thee still; We drink of Thee, the Fountainhead, and thirst our souls from thee to fill.”

Bernard Of Cluny (Early 1100's)

A Benedictine monk of the first half of the twelfth century, Bernard has two hymns in the Adventist Church hymnal. Hymns No. 424 and 429 which together teach Adventists that the righteous dead are not resting in the grave awaiting their resurrection, but are now in heaven praising the Trinity God that he believed in.

Francis Of Assisi (1181-1226)

Hymn No. 2 (All Creatures of Our God and King) is written by one of the most famous and popular of Catholic “saints,” the founder of the “Franciscan” order. In this Catholic hymn, not found in any previous Adventist hymnal, Adventists worship the Catholic concept of God with these words: “Oh, Praise the Father, praise the Son, and Praise the Spirit, Three in One.” (Interestingly, Francis is a favorite among ecumenicals. His “Song of Brother Sun” was chosen at one major interfaith gathering as the single song that everyone present , Christian and non-Christian could sing together.)

Thomas A Kempis (1380-1471)

This Roman Catholic monk has given the Adventist hymnal yet another Hymn No. 148 devoted to “the Trinity whom we adore forever and forevermore.”

Christina Rossetti (1830-1894)

Christina was an English poet. She, her mother and her sister became seriously interested in the Anglo-Catholic movement that was part of the Church of England. Her Hymn No. 126 teaches Adventists that there are many archangels.

Altered Hymns

Altered Hymns Nos. 27, 71, 73 and 235 are already mentioned.

Hymn No. 402 (By Christ Redeemed): There is a major Catholic error in this hymn as verse two upholds the blasphemous doctrine of transubstantiation in the Eucharist:

“His broken body in our stead Is here, in this memorial bread.” This is the false Catholic doctrine that the substance of the bread and wine are changed into the actual flesh and blood of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist, even though the external appearance remains the same. We, as Protestants believe that the communion bread and unfermented grape juice are symbols of Christ flesh and blood.

George Rawson, the author of this hymn, did NOT write “Is here”, but “is shown.” Who changed the words? Unless there is a public repentance, we can only conclude that the changes reflect current Adventist theology.

Hymn No. 300 (Rock of Ages): Investigative Judgment Down-graded. In verse three the message of God's judgment is taken from the hymn. Augustus Toplady had written, “When I soar to worlds unknown, see Thee on Thy judgment throne.”

But in the new hymnal the words were changed to, “When I soar to worlds unknown, And behold Thee on Thy throne.”

Why was the word “judgment” left out, especially at a time when the judgment hour message is so essential to be shared with the inhabitants of the world? The previous Church Hymnal, Hymn No. 474 made no such deletion in the fourth verse. Surely this was a deliberate decision to eliminate the judgment message from this hymn. There is a judgment before the Second Advent! New theology teaches that the judgment occurred at the cross when Jesus died.

Again every hymn was carefully examined and we must conclude this was not an accident. Unless we hear a public apology made, and of course, a reprinting of the hymnal.

Hymn No. 125 (Joy to The World): Second Advent Downgraded. The words of verse one in this well-known hymn in the new Adventist Hymnal state: “Joy to the world, the Lord is come!”

Isaac Watts' original words were: “Joy to the world, the Lord will come!” Surely the original words of this hymn would have been far more appropriate for Seventh-day Adventists looking for the second advent of our Lord.

Hymn No. 518 (Standing on the Promises): The fourth verse that teaches how to gain victory over sin, “Standing on the promises I cannot fall, listening every moment to the Spirit's call, Resting in my Savior as my all in all,” was deleted.

Two Strange Hymns

Hymn No. 194 (Sing We of the Modern City) This hymn has this strange wording, “Christ is present, and among us; In the crowd we see Him stand. In the bustle of the city Jesus Christ is every man.”

Hymn No. 648 (I Vow to Thee, My Country) This is a strange hymn exhorting the worshipper to vow a nationalistic vow to give one's life to his earthly country: “I vow to thee, my country, all earthly things above, Entire and whole and perfect, the service of my love: The love that asks the reason, the love that stands the test, That lays upon the altar the dearest and the best; The love that never falters, the love that pays the price.” What is this doing in a Church hymnal?

Changing Times

Change can be good for any movement or Church and can lead to a deeper understanding of spiritual things. But it is a fundamental spiritual law that new truths do not contradict old and existing truths. Truth is a fascinating phenomena. Truth or Light for the final generation is a continuation of the light from Christ which He gave to the Apostolic Church, and was in turn handed down to the Church in the Wilderness. Adventism has an inheritance which cannot be found in any other religious movement today, and when change occurs it is needful that all study and understand the change and test its truthfulness and integrity. As the Bible is our source of authority, we can compare any new doctrine that comes into the Church with it, and know whether they are right or wrong.

We also need to ask ourselves if the Adventist Movement has progressed forward in the last one hundred years. How do we gauge its progress? Do we look at the number of institutions, the number of Churches and the number of believers or do we look at the truths we now hold and compare them to the original?

The Pioneers of early Adventism stood up against doctrinal error and spoke out against falsehood. But as the Pioneers died off, changes gradually began to occur, and as time went on, less and less members knew what the original Fundamentals were of the Great Second Advent Movement. Someone once said that to “search for the truth is the noblest occupation of man; its publication is a duty.” When we see error entering the Church, we need to question and ascertain what it is and where it comes from. Comparing Scripture with Scripture and studying out the truth for ourselves and led by the Spirit is our only safeguard.

Conclusion

We would be very naïve if we did not believe that there are those within our Church, obviously in positions of influence, who are working deceptively to change the very foundations of our faith. Since 1985, the Adventist Church officially has a hymnal that Catholics would approve of and from which Adventists worship the god of the beast system. We can only call on the General Conference to repent of and discard the current Seventh-day Adventist hymnal and replace it with a new, clean and pure Seventh-day Adventist Church hymnal. Let the Church decide to use another clean hymnal. How can an individual repent of the errors in the new Adventist Church Hymnal? Simply by refusing to sing from it. One may want to worship in a place where a clean hymnal is used to worship the true God. The early Christians met in homes. Jesus said, “Where two or three are gathered together in My name, there am I in the midst of them.” Matthew 18:20.