James Aitken Wylie (1808–1890) likewise believed the Waldensians preserved the apostolic faith and its practices during the Middle Ages. Still later, Seventh-day Adventist Ellen G. White taught that the Waldenses were preservers of biblical truth during the Great Apostasy of the Catholic Church. She showed how the Waldenses kept the seventh-day Sabbath, engaged in widespread missionary activity, and "planted the seeds of the Reformation" in Europe. Scholar Michael W. Homer links the belief in an ancient origin of the Waldensians to three 17th century pastors, Jean-Paul Perrin of the Reformed Church of France and the Waldensian pastors Pierre Gilles and Jean Léger, who posited that the Waldensians were descendants of Primitive Christianity. Some authors try to date a Reformation-era Waldensian confession of faith back into the Middle Ages in 1120 to assert their claim of doctrinal antiquity. However, in the current historiography from the Waldensians themselves it is asserted that this confession was drafted in 1531. Protestant theology in Germany was interested in the doctrinal antiquity and apostolic continuity being expressed by the Waldensian faith. The high independence of the communities, lay preaching, voluntary poverty, and strict adherence to the Bible and its early translation through Peter Waldo have been credited to prove an ancient origin of Protestantism as the true interpretation of the faith. Mere anti-Catholic sentiments and controversies, for example in the Kulturkampf, played a role. Heinrich Gottlieb Kreussler (1830) "History of the Reformation" contains a ballade about the fate of the Waldensians and quotes 's "History of the Waldenians" (1750) (authored with Siegmund Jakob Baumgarten, published by Johann Jacob Korn) as proof of an early origin of the Waldensians. The strong German Protestant support for the Waldensian diaspora community in Italy—leading staff of the Gustavus Adolphus Union (GAW) praised them as one of the most interesting churches of all—was not confined to a theological fascination. It led to extensive financial support, loans, exchange of priesters and communities, aid missions and political interventions for the Italian Waldensians and their charitable efforts, starting from the 17th century. After World WarII, the Evangelical Church in Germany actively contributed to reconciliation efforts with Italy and France based on its relationship with the Waldensian community.