In recent times, our church leadership has spoken to the tensions and hurt experienced by many members during the global pandemic. These efforts to foster unity are a welcome step. However, for healing to be complete, we must respectfully address the core principles of conscience that remain at the heart of the distress for a significant portion of God's people. The issue is not merely one of disagreement over a health recommendation, but a profound concern about the church’s role in defending, or diminishing, the sacred space of individual conscience.
The Heart of the Matter: When Religious Liberty Was Deemed 'Inappropriate'
While it is maintained that the church’s stance on immunization was a recommendation and not a mandate, the practical experience of many members tells a different story. The difficulty lies not just in how the statement was applied, but in its very wording.
The 2021 Annual Council reaffirmation contained a phrase that became a significant barrier for those seeking to follow their conscience. It stated that "claims of religious liberty are not used appropriately in objecting to government mandates" for vaccination. This was a critical turning point. For many members, this was not a simple health guideline; it was an official declaration from their church that their deeply held, prayerfully considered convictions did not qualify as a valid basis for a religious exemption.
Consequently, when faithful Seventh-day Adventists, from teachers in our schools to members in our pews, sought religious accommodation, they were met with resistance not just from secular authorities, but from within their own church institutions, which pointed to the General Conference’s own words. The very body they expected to defend their right of conscience had, in effect, provided the rationale to deny it. A respectful and honest dialogue about reconciliation must begin by acknowledging the real-world impact of this specific language and the spiritual crisis it created for those caught between their conscience and their church’s official position.
A Higher Calling: "Helpers of Your Joy, Not Rulers of Your Faith"
The apostle Paul provided a beautiful and humble framework for spiritual leadership. He told the Corinthian believers, "Not for that we have dominion over your faith, but are helpers of your joy: for by faith ye stand" (2 Corinthians 1:24, KJV).
This timeless principle defines the role of the church not as a body that legislates belief or dictates personal conviction, but as one that supports and encourages each person in their individual walk with God. True leadership protects the sacred ground of conscience where the soul stands directly before its Creator. The perception that the church exercised dominion in this matter is what caused such deep pain. Is it not the church’s primary duty to be the foremost champion of religious liberty for its members, rather than to define the limits of its application?
A Consistent Principle: Aligning Our Practice with Our Profession
A core issue threatening our unity is the growing gap between what our church professes in theory and what it practices. We profess that “the Bible is our only creed.” Yet in practice, official statements are sometimes used as functional creeds—to pressure conscience and serve as tests of employment or fellowship.
The immunization controversy is a painful symptom of this very pattern. The church professes to champion religious liberty, yet an official statement was used to practically undermine that liberty for its own members. Constructive proposals, such as the Sola Scriptura initiative, seek to remedy this dangerous disconnect. Their aim is simple and vital: to add clear, protective language to our official statements to ensure they cannot be misused as instruments of coercion. This is not an attack on our beliefs, but an effort to safeguard them and to ensure integrity between our words and our actions.
If we are to preserve the Spirit-led unity of the church, we must close the gap between our profession and our practice. The principle is indivisible. Whether the issue is doctrinal fidelity or personal health convictions, our institutional actions and language must consistently uphold the sacred supremacy of a conscience submitted to God.
A Path Forward
For genuine unity to be restored, we must move beyond characterizing these principled disagreements as "misinformation." We must, with humility and love, address the substantive issues. The path toward healing requires an open acknowledgment of the harm caused, a willingness to review the specific language that was used to deny conscientious objection, and a clear, unwavering reaffirmation that the Seventh-day Adventist Church stands to defend the liberty of conscience for all its members, in all circumstances, without reservation. By doing so, we can truly become "helpers of your joy," strengthening the faith that allows each of us to stand before God.
