“Christ knew that after His heavenly ascension His disciples would live in a changing world, by nature hostile to the Kingdom of God. For this reason He fervently prayed to His Father to keep them from the evil one (John 17:15). Jesus also clearly warned against the danger that human culture poses to the Christian life. The cares of this world and the riches therein can form invisible but permanent grooves in our lives, separating us from Christ and the power of His word (Mark 4:17-18. Have the ‘cares of this world’ affected Seventh-day Adventists’ understanding of salvation and pastoral ministry? Is Adventism looking progressively more like the prevailing secular culture all around us? Is the difference between the church and the world growing fainter and fainter?”
(Fernando Canale, Secular Adventism, p.13)