“Can a man rob God?”

 The Seventh-day Adventist Church in Saint Lucia is second only to the longer-established Roman Catholic Church. It is second in size (membership), in visible assets, in the size of its buildings, and arguably in the quality of training required of its uppermost leadership, as well as its organizational structure.

Immediately upon browsing the pages of this book, I was led to draw a comparison between the author and the 16th-century German Reformer Martin Luther. Luther’s revolt was pitched against a plethora of edicts, traditions and practices within Roman Catholicism he considered wrong and pernicious and therefore untenable. Wulston Poleon, in his seminal publication, HOW IT ALL BEGAN, is on a collision course with the leadership of his church for failure and refusal to implement a Biblical practice or formula he deems necessary for the survival and viability of his denomination and for denying him a fair hearing.

Typically known for its observance of the Saturday Sabbath and Sabbath worship, as prescribed in the Old Testament—and endorsed by Jesus Christ in the New Testament—Seventh-day Adventists subscribe to a strict adherence to Biblical principles and the letter of the law. Thus the exhortation, Sola Scriptura (The Bible and the Bible only).

Growing up in a Roman Catholic background in his youth—an unavoidable accident of fate due to early schooling—Wulston Poleon transitioned to the Adventist faith at the age of 18 years. Since then he has been a staunch adherent of Adventism, has held several key leadership positions, including Sabbath School teacher, Stewardship Secretary, and ordained elder, and has never veered from the Biblical and denominational tenets that have served him well for over 50 years. According to him, “That is where I have found fulfillment and meaning in life.”

However, in 2009, a significant event occurred that threatened to shake the very foundation of his faith.

According to Poleon, it began after listening to a reading at a worship ceremony that referenced tithing and offerings, in which God accused the Israelites of robbing Him. It piqued his curious mind, and he wondered how could man rob God?

Failing to elicit a satisfactory response from the “brother” at the podium, he sets out on a quest to discover the facts for himself. While rummaging Scriptural texts pertaining to the application of second tithing and offerings, it occurs to him that the church did not teach the doctrine of a second tithe, which he considers a serious flaw in the canon of the church.

Thus, after diligently studying the relevant Scriptures and examining the writings of Ellen G. White (an Adventist prophetess), he becomes increasingly convinced of the need to elucidate the issue among his peers. Meanwhile he begins to teach about second tithing and its benefit to a church we later learned is said to be on the verge of bankruptcy. Instead of support and encouragement, he bumps into a brick wall. Unexpectedly, his teaching is unsanctioned: he is ordered to desist from speaking on the subject in church.

 Undeterred, he presses on with his search for answers to specific questions: What specifically is the second tithing? Is it Biblically “mandated”? Is it relevant in the Christian era? Why does his church not implement it? How can man rob God unless there are clear instructions on the quantum to be offered? And why is he forbidden to speak about it in church?

For the benefit of the uninitiated, tithing is an age-old system of offering among the ancient Israelites, ordained by God, whereby a percentage of the fruits of their labor is extracted and presented to God to support the priests responsible for the upkeep of the temple, to aid the poor and strangers, and to advance other causes. In the Christian era, a first tithe (10%) would provide for the wages of pastors and the needs of the Mission, while a second tithe or offering (amount not specified) would cater for the same causes as in Old Testament times, as well as support church schools, pay for the services of elders and others, and importantly, help advance the preaching of the Gospel message in other areas until the Coming of Christ (pp. 47-50).

According to the narrative, the author’s contention is that a second tithe is Biblically authorized (Chapter 5), though not “mandated,” which his opponents say is necessary for it to be implemented. For Poleon, however, in the context of public admission that the church has no money or is facing bankruptcy (pp. 10, 13), there’s all the more reason to come up with alternative and wholesome ways of raising revenue to finance church administration and programs. So why the resistance to the notion of a second tithe?

For more than ten years, Poleon says that he’s made numerous overtures to church leaders with a view to engaging them so as to clarify theirs and his position. All to no avail.

“Is a branch of the Seventh-day Adventist Church prepared or willing to handle the rise of another Martin Luther within its circle at this time?”

Frustrated but not defeated, the once-vibrant elder is forced to the conclusion that most of the men at the top are not worth their salt. He sees them as uncaring; some he finds guilty of “dereliction of duty” (p. 188); he says they perhaps are not interested in teaching the truth (p. 128); he even believes some to be “false prophets” (p. 132) parading as men of God; some are seemingly not adequately qualified for the positions they occupy and are probably no more than “hirelings” (p. 113)—a view backed by the admission of one, that “The Mission is paying my salary” (p. 114), suggesting that personal interest is foremost in his (and their) evangelical pre-occupation.

If from 2009 to the present, the author is unable to get elders, pastors, presidents, boards—and even the Mission—to arrive at an amicable resolution of the reasonable concerns of a member of the congregation, it is fair to conclude that he stands on his own. He is under orders to refrain from talking about the core issue in church (p. 28). He is resolved not to accept any speaking assignment (p. 176) and not to accept election to any position until the matter is sorted out (pp. 95/6), and by his own account, since 2011 he has surrendered all his leadership responsibilities (p. 96).

If his perception is correct that the current crop of the hierarchy continues to deliberately deny him a fair hearing (p. 167), dodging him, insulting him even; if he is convinced that they bear the stain of “religious sacrilege” (pp. 53 and 85); if elders, pastors and other higher-ups are in conspiracy against him (p. 99) and have proven that their first loyalty is to the Mission and not to God and the Bible, then his options are exceedingly limited.

As one with a vested interest in seeing the advancement of the Christian mission, it appears to be of no benefit to anyone that Elder Poleon’s concerns got so unmanageable that they eventuated in the production of this book—a heightened form of protest. It is also a blot on the integrity of church leadership to have it out in the public that although the church is doing well in recruiting, “the number who leave is outstanding”; or that “the church is perishing for lack of leadership” (p. 170).

To undo the apparent spilling of “bad blood” between a church member of substance and the (rest of the) hierarchy, it is proposed that all past errors, omissions and infelicities be forgiven and a genuine effort be re-ignited to bring amicable closure to the matter. Here, Christ’s exhortation at Luke 15:4, is most relevant.

Every now and then in the course of human history, there emerges either in the secular sphere or in the church someone who shakes the system out of its comfort zone. That may be a healthy thing, depending on the intent and response.

Is a branch of the Seventh-day Adventist Church prepared or willing to handle the rise of another Martin Luther within its circle at this time? Is it even desirable?

About Modeste Downes

Modeste Downes is an award-winning St. Lucian author of three collections of poetry and a political treatise. He has been very active in the social and political life of his country as an educator, trade unionist and political and cultural activist.

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