{"id":9078,"date":"2026-04-20T10:12:40","date_gmt":"2026-04-20T08:12:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/advent-ug.org\/answers\/nasha-nuzhda-v-sviatom-dukhe-o-pochemu-chleny-nashykh-tserkvei-prenebrehaiut-tem\/"},"modified":"2026-05-09T23:38:10","modified_gmt":"2026-05-09T21:38:10","slug":"pochemu-tserkov-nuzhdaetsia-v-sviatom-dukhe-y-chem-opasna-formalnaia-relyhyia","status":"publish","type":"answers","link":"https:\/\/advent-ug.org\/en\/answers\/pochemu-tserkov-nuzhdaetsia-v-sviatom-dukhe-y-chem-opasna-formalnaia-relyhyia\/","title":{"rendered":"Why does the church need the Holy Spirit, and why is formal religion dangerous?"},"content":{"rendered":"

The most dangerous disease of the church is not open rebellion against God, but the slow loss of the living presence of the Holy Spirit while preserving all outward forms.<\/b> It was precisely of this danger that Ellen White warned with particular urgency.<\/p>\n

An image that does not let go: Mary at the tomb<\/h2>\n

\u201cWoman, why are you weeping?\u201d John 20:13<\/a><\/cite><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Mary came to the tomb with love and faithfulness. But she is looking for a dead body where the living Lord has already risen. She weeps before an empty tomb \u2014 while the risen Christ is standing nearby, and she does not recognize Him.<\/p>\n

White sees in this image a symbol of a church in danger<\/b>: a congregation that has preserved all outward forms \u2014 doctrine, worship, tradition \u2014 but has gradually lost the living dependence on the Holy Spirit, who makes Christ real in the heart.<\/p>\n

The main problem: insufficient awareness of the need for the Spirit<\/h2>\n

White wrote: the church\u2019s main problem is not a lack of correct teaching, but an insufficient awareness of the deep need for the Holy Spirit.<\/b> People are satisfied with knowledge about the Spirit instead of living dependence on Him.<\/p>\n

The result is formalism:<\/p>\n