The condition is known as "wishful thinking". There may be a technical term for it but that describes it pretty well. Self-deceit would be another way of describing it.

So if the Gleaner, Signs, or Review posts a story about something that happens your first reaction is "I don't believe that"?

I don't agree with some of the theology being spread these days in SDA papers but I still have a presumption of honesty in the relating of facts when they present a news story related to SDAism.

As to the everyday news there are many resources that give different pictures on current events. After you find that some places have consistently lied about the facts and/or distorted the implications of the facts badly the trust a person has in them vanishes.

I read widely. I get my news from a lot of sources. I decide whether some .org is being truthful or not by the slant they consistently give. The media moaning about how terrible things are that people don't trust them just makes me laugh. People don't trust them because they have become so dishonest.

That said, when there is a news story about a tornado and I see the pictures of the destruction and the interviews of people who had their homes destroyed I believe it. There is no reason to lie about that kind of stuff. The stuff I really doubt is when it gets into politics and government, and the MSM mainly covers those things from an ideological slant. Then it takes a lot of research to find out who is lying and who is being honest.

Politicians like Pelosi, Schumer, Ryan, Obama, McConnell, McCain etc... I meet with a large dose of skepticism. The longer they have been in Washington the more skeptical I am of them. They have been lying to the public for so long they have a sense of entitlement about it. They think we are supposed to turn our minds off and just accept whatever they spout. I look at results, not what they say. And the results of what all of them have "accomplished" is worth than nothing. It's all negative.

It would be nice if all were as simple as you say it is with the media. let me give a brief example. There are posts I think in this thread, (or atleast somewhere on the forum) where there is talk about how Trump is fighting against pedophiles, and human trafficking, and supporting links to prove same. I believe the idea was to partially show how a certain globalism is taking place, and this article seemed like it was used to show why certain politicians, cops etc are being arrested, and a whole array of related facts to globalism/new economy or whatever it was. It is wrong for us to take such articles as truth and rely on them as indicators of whats really going on. In this case; I did my homework, and found other news links that accused Trump of being friends with a pedophile, and doing questionable activities with said friend. There simply isnt a way to reliably use "news" to indicate where we stand in Bible Prophecy. There is no way for the average person to delve into all the headlines we see, and to decide based on "the news" where we stand in Bible prophecy. I swear, there are more people watching the evening news and giving more energy to that, than they do with reading and studying their Bibles; and that is sad. because the One Source we have to know where we stand has now been almost fully over-shadowed with news. To ignore the fact that "the news" is largely propoganda or activism is to ignore where we really stand in prophecy's timeline because we choose the news over the Bible in many cases.

Wow. You mean you could actually find a negative story about Trump? Most of what is in the news about him is false, and I've seen you buying into stuff that is outright fake news. Trump is no more guilty of obstruction of justice than I am. He is also no more guilty of colluding with the Russians than I am. The Russia investigation has gone on for 7 months and what has anyone found? Nothing. Nada. Zilch.

You need to stop believing what you read in left-wing media. It is utterly biased and will not tell the truth unless forced to by other news sources who prove they are lying.

I was once friends--in high school--with a guy who became a famous mass murderer. He killed a bunch of women in the Portland, Or. area. I've known drug dealers, people who have killed people, thieves, liars, scam artists, etc.... So what if Trump knows someone who may be, or is, a pedophile? It doesn't mean he is. Most likely all of us have known someone who is a pedophile. They are pretty common. I had a friend in high school whose own father molested him. I knew a Bible teacher who molested a young girl. I know someone else who was molested by his own brother when he was a kid. Does that mean I am tainted by the sins of those molesters, thieves, killers, drug dealers, and scam artists?

As to Jeffrey Epstein, of course Trump knows him. He's a financier and Trump is a real estate developer. Is it any wonder that they know each other and have one another's phone numbers? Who knows how many business deals they have worked on together as their paths almost certainly cross in the small world of high finance.

Here's another guy who knows Epstein and has toured the world with him on Epstein's private jet. He even evaded his own security people to do it.

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2016/05/13/fli...usly-known.html

You apparently need to read my posts a little slower and see what it is that I am actually saying. I will not "defend" myself against such things as your assumptions and accusations.

"For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints." 1Corinthians 14:33

I wonder, what (who) is the source of so many harsh feelings and misunderstandings on these forums? "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood..." Ephesians 6:12

Daily, it becomes clearer that we are in the very last days, a blind man could see it.
The swelling current of animosity we all feel within reflects the rising tide of sin without. We have been told repeatedly that the end would be a treacherous time,
that fear would set brother against brother.

For most of my life, I have fought a losing battle with fear. I know the anger and distrust, the confusion that fear engenders. My friends, by now we all must realize that we are teetering on the brink of the most terrifying epoch of earth's history: "Men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth".
Luke 21:26


The voices of Babel grow,
As restless giants wander to and fro.
The seeds of violence flood our land,
Still, less and less, the Wicked understand.

With all my heart, I beseech you friends,
Be not defeated as I have been.
Raise your brother's trembling hands,
Together, shine all the Light you've seen!

I believe Mark began this thread with a quote from Sister White:

"I am now of the opinion that the Testimonies will not live among God’s people. They will be removed. I have some light on this point but cannot now give it. Said Christ, “I have many things to say unto you but ye cannot bear them now.” {Lt16-1875}"

She must have seen how terrible our days would be...

Any further information on that quote?

Testimonies not live among God's people.

God's people not have the testimonies, not live the testimonies, not have access to them?

They will be removed.
The testimonies, God's people?

Since it is "God's people", they won't have the testimonies for the last days, exempt from them, sanctified they live them without needing to read them?

Here are a few passages that deal with the topic at hand:

1/ When finite, erring human beings give evidence that they
regard themselves as of greater importance than God, when they think themselves righteous, yet do not manifest the tenderness
of spirit that characterized the life of our Lord Jesus, we may know that unless they repent, the candlestick will quickly be removed out of its place.—Manuscript 7, 1895 (Testimonies to Ministers, pp. 354-356). {CTr 152.5}

2/ The atmosphere of the church is so frigid, its spirit is of
such an order, that men and women cannot sustain or endure the
example of primitive and heaven-born piety. The warmth oftheir first love is frozen up, and unless they are watered over by the baptism of the Holy Spirit, their candlestick will be removed out of its place, except they repent and do their first works. The first works of the church were seen when the believers sought out friends, relatives, and acquaintances,and with hearts overflowing with love, told the story of what Jesus was to them and what they were to Jesus.--Testimonies to Ministers, pp. 167, 168. {WM 99.3}

3/ The word of the Lord comes to us all who have not resisted
His Spirit by determining not to hear and obey. This voice is
heard in warnings, in counsels, in reproof. It is the Lord's
message of light to His people. If we wait for louder calls,
or better opportunities, the light may be withdrawn, and we left in darkness."-- Testimonies for the Church, Volume 5, pp. 68,69. {9MR 205.1}

4/ If God's people were all connected with Him, they would
discern the limited capacities of these men, their prejudices,
envy, jealousy, and self-confidence. The objections which their wicked hearts may raise against the Testimonies of the Spirit of God, will not, in the providence of God, be removed They may stumble and fall upon questions of their own originating. But God's people should see that their proud
hearts have never been humbled, and their high looks have never been brought low. The Bible is clear upon all points
which relate to Christian duty. All who do the will of God shall know of the doctrine. But these persons are seeking
light from their own tapers and not from the Sun of
Righteousness. {4T 335.2}

This is one of the best posts I've seen in the sixteen years I've been on here. An honest confession, a poignant appeal, and a few lines of inspired poetry. Thanks, I was blessed.