ENDTIME ISSUES NEWSLETTER No. 160

“Bacchiocchi Responds to False Allegations - Part 2”

Samuele Bacchiocchi, Ph. D.

Retired Professor of Church History and Theology

Andrews University

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The unusual volume of messages of encouragement received from readers of the last newsletter No. 159, made me forcefully aware of the valuable support structure a community of faith can provide in trying times. Surprisingly, even some of my detractors reassured me that they are praying for us at this time, when we are facing the challenge to refute the false allegations made by officers of the Pontifical Gregorian University regarding my academic awards and the publication of my abridged and unabridged dissertation by the Gregorian Press.

Since my wife was eager to read your messages of encouragements, I pasted them together and printed them for her to enjoy. It is reassuring for us to know that many fellow believers in different parts of the world are praying for us. Thank you for your encouraging messages which mean a lot to us. They give us confidence to trust in God for protection, wisdom, and guidance.

In responding to false accusations, it is easy to allow feelings of anger manifest themselves in a vindictive writing style. Thus, I am praying for divine wisdom and grace in preparing this response in a forgiving spirit. My goal is not to prove the absolute accuracy of my claims in order to seek financial compensation for the academic and moral defamation I have suffered, but simply to put to rest all the false accusations.

The easiest way to stop the ongoing defamation campaign against my academic achievements and moral integrity, is for officers of the Pontifical Gregorian University to issue a retraction and an apology. Legal action will only be considered as a last resort. It is with this in mind, that I submit the second part of my response to the false allegations. I warn you that sections of this response are tedious, because I have to deal with technical questions. Please bear with me this time. A detailed response is needed to silence the gossip and the countless allegations floating in cyberspace. Eventually this two parts response will be edited and made into a formal document that will be sent to both the Pontifical Gregorian University and Bishop James Murray of Kalamazoo.

THE ORIGIN OF THE “GREGORIAN CONTROVERSY”

Several readers have expressed surprise that the Pontifical Gregorian University waited so long to attack my moral integrity and academic credibility. The fact is that this defamatory campaign began in subtle ways about 25 years ago. Briefly stated, this is the story.

As my dissertation From Sabbath to Sunday began circulating in different parts of the world, a few Catholic Church leaders found it difficult to accept the fact that I, a non-Catholic, would be allowed to enter, study, and write a dissertation published with the Catholic imprimatur. They were particularly distressed over my thesis that Sundaykeeping is a post-apostolic phenomenon, influenced by political, social, pagan-religious factors.

In the early 1980’s I started receiving inquiring letters from Catholic leaders in such dominant Catholic countries like Argentina, Brazil, Puerto Rico, Mexico, asking me who directed my dissertation, how did I receive the imprimatur—approval, who published the dissertation, etc. It became evident to me that an investigation was in progress. Some Catholic newspapers even posted the page of the imprimatur, raising questions about my credibility. See, for example, the picture of El Piloto, published in Puerto Rico. Click here http://www.biblicalperspectives.com/parttwo/elpiloto.html

Eventually the complaints must have been brought to the attention of Pedro Arrupe, S. J., The Superior General of the Jesuit order. Since Prof. Vincenzo Monachino, S. J., was responsible for supervising my dissertation, approving it, and arranging for the issuing of the imprimatur, he must have been called by Arrupe to explain what he did. I do not have any proof of such meeting, but I have reasons to believe that such meeting took place.

My reasons are based on the sudden change of attitude of Prof. Monachino toward me. From 1975 to about 1980 we had enjoyed a most cordial relationships. I visited him regularly every time I went to Rome. I always brought him a small gift from America as a token expression of gratitude for his helpfulness to me. I even try to arrange for the English translation and publication of his doctoral dissertation on St. Ambrose in the USA. I still have in my possessions several of his letters regarding this project.

The situation changed suddenly in the early 1980’s. One day I called the receptionist of the Gregoriana, asking to connect me to Prof. Monachino. He tried but Prof. Monachino told him that he could not talk with me anymore. I asked the receptionist to find out the reason or if we could arrange for a meeting to discuss the problem, but again the answer was that no reason could be given and no meeting could take place. It became evident to me that Prof. Monachino had been instructed by his superior, Pedro Arrupe, S. J., to have no more contacts with me.

At the same time, Catholic bookstores, including the bookshop of the Gregoriana, asked me to arrange for taking back all the unsold copies of From Sabbath to Sunday. Until then, several Catholic bookstores in Rome were constantly ordering copies of the book that my godly mother would deliver to them in person. Then suddenly, all the orders stopped and I was asked to take back the unsold copies.

Catholic Institutions that attempted to order From Sabbath to Sunday from the Gregorian University bookshop, were told that the book was sold out and no longer available. Eventually, some of these institutions like Notre Dame University, found my website and ordered copies directly from me for their classes.

These earlier attempts to diminish and restrict the impact of my investigation on the change from Sabbath to Sunday, were a prelude to the false allegations against me made a little over two years ago by Dr. Barbara Bergami, the General Secretary of the Pontifical Gregorian University and by a priest who helped in the investigation of my academic records. I hope that this brief background of the “Gregorian Controversy,” helps to place the new allegations in perspective.

A BRIEF REPORT ON THE AUSTRALIAN LECTURE TOUR

Sydney: November 17 to 20, 2006

From November 17 to December 4, 2006 I was privileged to share my ministry in Australia for the sixth time. This time I spoke at two rallies and two workers’ meeting. The first rally was held in Sydney at the Parramatta SDA Church, which is one of the largest church in Sydney. The senior pastor, Rein Muhlberg, is a well-read man who keeps abreast with Adventist scholarship. It was a real pleasure to dialogue with him because he is fully cognisant of the doctrinal issues our church faces today.

On Sabbath, November 18, the Parramatta SDA church was full and a close circuit was set up in the youth auditorium to accommodate the overflow. When Pastor Rein Muhlberg asked for a show of hands to identify visitors from the various churches, we learned that members had come from a dozen of churches. Some told me that they had travelled 3 to 4 hours to attend the meetings. The reception and the response was truly marvellous.

Australians have the reputation for being more theological oriented. They appreciate listening to a Bible teacher who opens their mind to the deeper meaning and experience of biblical teachings. Their keen interest was manifested in the perceptive questions they asked on Sabbath afternoon after my lecture “The Sabbath Under Crossfire,” where I deal with the latest Sabbath/Sunday developments. An even clearer gage of the interest was the eagerness of many to purchase my publications and recordings after the close of the Sabbath.

On Monday morning, November 20, I spoke for three hours at the Workers’ Meeting of the Greater Sydney Conference, held at the same Parramatta SDA Church. About 80 pastors and local elders attended the meeting. I delivered two powerpoint lectures. The first entitled “From Sabbath to Sunday: How It Came About?” and the second on “The Mark and Number of the Beast.” I anticipated some debate, especially after the second lecture, but it never materialized. In fact, most of the pastors told me that they had long accepted the change proposed by our Adventist Church from the numeric to the symbolic interpretation of the number 666. The world church was informed about the proposed change in the Sabbath School Lesson of June 1-7, 2002.

Australian Adventist pastors are open to changes that ultimately strengthen our prophetic and doctrinal interpretations. An indication of this openness is the new REVELATION SEMINAR, which is being sponsored by the South Pacific Division. The Seminar is currently being prepared by Prof. Jon Paulien from Andrews University Theological Seminary and Prof. Graeme Bradford, retired professor from Avondale College. This coming year a selected number of pastors will test the seminar, before being made available sometime later to the church at large.

Brisbane: November 24-27, 2006

From Sydney I flew to Brisbane to speak first at the three days SABBATH CONFERENCE (November 24-26), and then on Monday, November 27, at the Workers’ Meeting. I flew to Brisbane greatly distressed over the loss of both my Italian and American passports. The loss occurred at the Sydney domestic airport while walking to the counter of the Virginia Blue airlines. When I looked inside the external pocket of my garment bag for the small billfold with my two passports, I was shocked to discover that my billfold was no longer there. Somebody may have snatched the billfold since I had left the pocket of my garment bag unzipped and the billfold looked like a wallet.

For the next 5 hours it was a nightmare experience for me. I retraced my steps, checked with the police and security people, went twice to the lost and found office, visited the immigration office and travelled even the corporate office of United Airline to find out if they would allow me to fly back to the USA without passport. Regretfully, they informed me that the new security measures do not allow any passenger to fly to the USA without a passport. My search for my passports proved to be in vain. No one had seen them. Common sense told me to leave my email address in all offices I visited, in case the passports would show up. This proved to be a blessing a few hours later, as you will soon learn.

I flew to Brisbane 5 hours later emotionally drained. I prayed that the Lord would help me not only to find my passports, but also to clear my mind and renew within me a positive spirit to minister to the people. At 10:00 p. m. that night when I checked my email for the last time before going to bed, my heart skipped a beat when I opened the message of Katharyna Kobzan, a police officer at Marrickville Police Station in Sydney. She nformed me that a Sydney airport police officer was handed in my two passports which had been placed in the safe of the police station for me to pick up. What a relief! I said aloud: THANK YOU GOD! Now I was ready for a good night of rest to regain my strength for the SABBATH CONFERENCE scheduled to begin the next evening.

The conference was held at the Brisbane Adventist College auditorium, which is modern, spacious, but without air-conditioning. When on Sabbath and Sunday the temperature reached over 90 degrees fahrenheit, I experience one of the most “sweating” event of my life. Though I was speaking without jacket and a tie, my short sleeves shirt was thoroughly wet. Surprisingly, it almost seemed that I was the only one who was sweating so much. Perhaps I am too passionate in my speaking. The other pastors seem to be dry and so the over 500 members attending the conference. They did not seem to complain. In fact, in spite of the oppressive heat, hardly a person left during the meetings. Apparently Australians seem to be able to cope with the heat better than we Americans do, possible because air-conditioning is not readily available everywhere as in the USA.

The SABBATH CONFERENCE was a success in several ways. First, in terms of participation. About half of the over 500 persons attending were non-SDA Sabbathkeepers belonging to dozen of different churches and groups. Several of their pastors participated in a panel discussion. On Sunday morning Pastor Bill Bradford of the United Church of God, delivered an informative final lecture on the struggles his church has faced in holding fast to the Sabbath, when their mother church abandoned it.

Second, the conference was a success in term of fellowship. This was the first time that so many different seventh-day Sabbathkeeping churches and groups worshipped and fellowshipped together. In my farewell comments I urged to plan for similar events that encourage a greater interaction among the various seventh-day Sabbathkeeping churches and groups.

Third, the conference was a success in terms of learning and inspiration. Though I was asked to speak most of the time, we learned a lot about how the Sabbath is understood and experience by fellow Sabbatarians. The panel led by five Sabbatarian pastors, discussed some of the challenges their members face today. We were inspired by the testimony of those who chose to stand for the Sabbath at the time when their mother church, the Worldwide Church of God, gave up the Sabbath.

On my part I wish to thank both the various Sabbatarian churches for inviting me in the first place, (especially Mr. Craig White who coordinated the conference in a masterful way), as well as the South Queensland Conference for co-sponsoring the event and providing the venue for the conference. I firmly believe that our Adventist Church should be a rallying place for all people, especially for those who share the same commitment to honor the Savior on His Holy Sabbath Day.

On Monday, November 27, I spoke at the Workers’ Meeting of the South Queensland Conference. Since some of the pastors live several hundreds of miles from the Conference office, only about 20 of them could attend the meeting. To allow more time for questions, this time I decided to deliver only the powerpoint lecture on “The Mark and Number of the Beast.”

Like in Sydney, the response was very positive. Several pastors expressed their appreciation for the new insights into this central prophecy of Revelation, which is so relevant to our times. Practically all the pastors ordered the complete set of my 18 books and 7 DVD/CD albums. I will fondly remember the warm reception and response I received in Australia from our Adventist pastors, members, and friends of other faiths. I look forward to a another opportunity to share my ministry “down under.” It is a long trip requiring 20 hours of flying from Andrews University, but it is worthwhile. It is a real blessing to minister to our Australian fellow believers and Christian friends.

SABBATH CONFERENCE IN KNOXVILLE, TENNESSEE

The Sabbath Conference held in Brisbane reminds me of a similar invitation I just received from Bruce Horne, Ph. D., a Professor of English Literature in Knoxville, Tennessee. On behalf of his church board, he invited me to speak at his Seventh Day Christian Assembly one weekend in 2007. In a phone conversation I asked him if his members would consider rallying together with our Adventist congregation of the Knoxville First SDA Church. After consulting with his board, he reassured me that the proposal was warmly received.

I discussed the proposal with Pastor Dale Wolfe of our Knoxville First SDA Church. He was and is very supportive of the idea. His sanctuary can seat about 500 persons and we expect it to be packed for the Sabbath Conference scheduled for April 20-21, 2007.

Prof. Horne wrote to me: “Our church wants to invite Sabbatarian groups as far away as Cincinnati, Lexington, Kingsport, and Nashville. The truth is, we may have a crowd far too large for Knoxville First SDA Church. I pray we may have a crowd of 1,000 or more for your visit!”

What a privilege to fellowship and worship with fellow sabbatarians who may never have been in an Adventist church before! May our Adventist churches become a rallying place, not only for sabbatarians, but for all people who seek to worship God according to His revealed will.

UPDATE REPORT ON CRACKING THE DA VINCI CODE

The release of the DVD Album Cracking the Da Vinci Code, is generating considerable interest and enthusiastic responses from viewers in different parts of the world. At the last two weekend seminars, I have shown part of the DVD lecture Cracking the Da Vinci Code, before my afternoon presentation. The response was most encouraging. Many members queued up to purchase the album after the close of the Sabbath.

Three things you will appreciate about the newly released DVD album on Cracking the Da Vinci Code:

1) You will appreciate the clarity of the lecture which is delivered with the help of 140 appealing slides in the setting of an impressive virtual studio. The slides are professionally designed to vividly illustrate the concepts discussed.

2) You will appreciate the compelling refutation of Dan Brown’s blatant attacks against the fundamental beliefs of the Christian faith. To avoid confusing the viewer with technical scholarly arguments, I have focused on the major false claims of The Da Vinci Code, showing how they are totally devoid of biblical and historical support.

3) You will appreciate most of all the insights into the prophetic significance of Dan Brown’s neo-pagan false worship of the “sacred feminine” with ritual sex. You will see how this false worship is part of the endtime showdown between the true and false worship of God, portrayed dramatically especially in the book of Revelation.

To facilitate the sharing of the Cracking the Da Vinci Code to friends and neighbors, many have requested for a special discount on quantity orders of 10 albums or more. In response to these requests, we decided to offer until November 30, 2006, the DVD album Cracking the Da Vinci Code at an unprecedented introductory offer:

ONE DVD ALBUM for $35.00 instead of regular price of $100.00.

This represents 65% discount.

THREE DVD ALBUMS for $50.00 instead of $300.00.

This represents about 80% discount.

TEN DVD ALBUMS for $100.00 instead of $1000.00.

This represents 90% discount.

The quoted prices include the AIRMAIL expenses to any overseas destination. You can order the DVD albums on CRACKING THE DA VINCI CODE  in four different ways:

(1)  Online: By clicking here: http://www.biblicalperspectives.com/DaVinci/

(2)  Phone:  By calling us at (269) 471-2915 to give us your credit card number and postal address.

(3)  Email: By emailing your order to <sbacchiocchi@biblicalperspectives.com>. Be sure to provide your  postal address, credit card number, and expiration date.  

(4) Regular Mail: By mailing your check to BIBLICAL PERSPECTIVES, 4990 Appian Way, Berrien Springs, Michigan 4990, USA. We guarantee to process your order immediately.

FREE CD/DVD ALBUM OF PROF. GRAEME BRADFORD

Several pastors have reported to me that after showing to their congregation Prof. Bradford’s live DVD lecture on Ellen White, most members were very eager to purchase a copy of the book MORE THAN A PROPHET at the special offer of $5.00 per copy, instead of the regular price of $25.00.

To make it possible for every Adventist family to benefit from Prof. Bradford’s timely book MORE THAN A PROPHET, I decided to offer until December 31, 2006, one FREE CD/DVD album of Prof. Bradford, with any order of 2 or more copies of the book MORE THAN A PROPHET. The regular price of the CD/DVD album is $100.00, but you will receive this album free with your order of 2 or more copies of the book. The reason for this offer is the conviction that when your church members and friends view Prof. Bradford’s DVD lecture, they will be eager to purchase a copy of his book. For more details and order information, click here: http://www.biblicalperspectives.com/BradfordOffer/offer.htm If you have problems to order the book on line, feel free to call us at (269) 471-2915.

More than a Prophet is the fruit of twenty years of Prof. Bradford’s painstaking research on the prophetic ministry of Ellen White. It is a long-overdue book that clears the air of prevailing misconceptions about Ellen White which have caused thousands of Adventists to leave church. It has been encouraging to receive messages from former Adventists who after reading More than a Prophet, express the desire to come back to the church.

A dozen of Conferences have already donated a copy of More than a Prophet to each of their workers. For example, the Texas Conference ordered 200 copies. Other conferences have ordered fewer copies because of their smaller number of workers. Overseas conferences like the South African Union, ordered 300 copies. Your personal effort to promote this timely book in your church is greatly appreciated.

ANNOUNCEMENTS AT THE END OF THE NEWSLETTERS

A detailed description of the special offers on goods and services is provided at the end of this newsletter. Here is a brief listing of the announcements that are expanded at the end of this newsletter.

1. CALENDAR OF FORTHCOMING WEEKEND SEMINARS for the month of December 2006. See the details at the end of this newsletter.

2. DR. BACCHIOCCHI’S DVD ALBUM ON THE MARK AND NUMBER OF THE BEAST. See the details at the end of this newsletter.

3. DR. BACCHIOCCHI’S HOLIDAY PACKAGE OF ALL HIS RECORDINGS. The package consists of 6 albums (including the latest on Cracking the Da Vinci Code), which are offered for only $150.00, instead of the regular price of $700.00. See the details at the end of this newsletter.

4. DR. BACCHIOCCHI’S HOLIDAY PACKAGE OF ALL HIS BOOKS. The package consists of 18 books (including the latest on More than a Prophet), which are offered for only $150.00, instead of the regular price of $455.00. Several books in the package make a perfect Holiday Gift. See the details at the end of this newsletter.

5. PROF. JON PAULIEN PUBLICATIONS IN ONE CD ALBUM.  The album contains more than a dozen of books and scores of articles written during the past 20 years of research. See the details at the end of this newsletter.

6. TAGNET SPECIAL NEW WEB HOSTING OFFER for Adventist churches and members. TAGnet provides an incredible number of webhosting services to our churches and members. This newsletter comes to you through their gracious and efficient service. For detail information, visit their website at http://www.netadventist.org or http://home.tagnet.org/ You may also call their office 800 - 9TAGNET. They are ready and eager to help you.

7. SPECIAL OFFER ON HITACHI PROJECTORS: HITACHI has offered an additional discount to help especially our churches and schools in developing countries. For examples, the special offer for the new 2500 LUMENS PROJECTOR CP-X260 IS ONLY $1195.00, instead of the previous SDA price of $2595.00. See the details at the end of this newsletter or call me at 269-471-2915

8. SPECIAL OFFER ON NEWLY RELEASED TOSHIBA LAPTOP TECRA A8 with dual processor and finger-print security. See details at the end.

9. REMOTE PRESENTER: Special offer on the smallest and most powerful REMOTE powerpoint presenter by Honeywell. See the details at the end of this newsletter.

10. BED & BREAKFAST FACILITIES IN LONDON, ENGLAND

If your travel plans call for a stop in London, you will be pleased to learn about a most gracious Adventist couple that offer the best accommodation and breakfast I have ever enjoyed. It has become my home away from home when in London. See details at: http://www.biblicalperspectives.com/Promotions/BED&BREAKFAST.htm

“Bacchiocchi Responds to False Allegations - Part 2”

Samuele Bacchiocchi, Ph. D.

Retired Professor of Church History and Theology

Andrews University

In the last newsletter No. 159, I submitted a lengthy response to two major false allegations made against me by Dr. Barbara Bergami, the General Secretary of the Pontifical Gregorian University and by a priest who helped in the investigation of my academic records. As you recall, the first allegation denies the validity of my claim that I earned the summa cum laude distinction at the Gregoriana. The second false accusation denies the truthfulness of my claim that I received a gold medal donated by Pope Paul VI for earning the academic distinction of summa cum laude.

To refute these two false allegations I submitted ample and compelling documentation in my last newsletter. The documentation includes pictures of the Licentia diploma with the wording of summa cum laude, the gold medal donated by Pope Paul VI for earning summa cum laude, the Grade Booklet that shows my grades and the academic distinction of summa cum laude, and the annual Academic Report published by the Pontifical Gregorian University, which lists the students who earned academic distinction. An asterisk identifies the few who received the papal medals. The pictures of these documents, posted and discussed at my website http://biblicalperspectives.com/Gregoriana/, show beyond the shadow of doubt that my claims about earning the summa cum laude and receiving the papal gold medal are totally correct and the denial of such claims by officers of the Gregoriana is completely false.

In this newsletter I am responding to the remaining two false allegations, namely, that I was allowed to publish only one chapter of my dissertation “due to extensive problems with the text,” and that no imprimatur –approval was ever granted for my abridged or unabridged dissertation, because the Catholic Church does not give an imprimatur to non-Catholics.

The sequential order of the four false allegations reveal a certain logic. The first two allegations attempt to discredit my academic performance at the Gregoriana. This paves the way for the last two allegations which attempt to discredit the scholarship of my dissertation by denying that it was ever published in whole by the Gregorian Press and that no imprimatur was ever granted for its publications.