Seventh-day Adventist

[BarneyFife]

Something I've noticed is the adversarial nature of some here against other denominational Christians.

Ours is an eclectic forum. We could have Catholics, SD, Mormons, Calvinists, etc... on board and there they are reading about a new thread that shreds their belief. And invites scorn, ridicule, sundry pejoratives against their belief and person by association.

Anti-denominationalism does seem to be all the rage these days—almost like a badge of honor.

 

[BarneyFife]

Something I've noticed is the adversarial nature of some here against other denominational Christians.

Ours is an eclectic forum. We could have Catholics, SD, Mormons, Calvinists, etc... on board and there they are reading about a new thread that shreds their belief. And invites scorn, ridicule, sundry pejoratives against their belief and person by association.

Another thing that is rampant here (and sad, since it comes from secular society) is the genetic fallacy:

"Oh, well, there you go; it comes from ________, so it must be awful."

If something is in any way related to a stigmatized person or group, it is automatically assumed to be suspect.

 

[ButterflyJones]

Another thing that is rampant here (and sad, since it comes from secular society) is the genetic fallacy:

"Oh, well, there you go; it comes from ________, so it must be awful."

If something is in any way related to a stigmatized person or group, it is automatically assumed to be suspect.

It's not a good look.
Though we both know Christianity can never be accused of being about tolerance. Though bigotry in the ranks is something else entirely.

The, "They're not true Christians because...." fallacy.

 

[ButterflyJones]

Anti-denominationalism does seem to be all the rage these days—almost like a badge of honor.

Agreed.

 

[BarneyFife]

It's not a good look.
Though we both know Christianity can never be accused of being about tolerance. Though bigotry in the ranks is something else entirely.

The, "They're not true Christians because...." fallacy.

This is one of the great burdens of my heart. If only people knew how often they cross the line into coercing the consciences of others by their, as you so aptly put it, adversarial tones.

We should be encouraging one another to give as much attention to cultivation of Spiritual fruit, which the Great Apostle equates, by contrast, with the positive outworking of the law of God from the heart.

We're not going to preach the Gospel in all the world for a witness unto all nations until we begin to care about our neighbors freedom to love God willingly without our cyber/virtual imposition of duress.

 

[Phoneman777]

Good question. I don't rightly know the details, who does? But I suspect fear. A great global disaster, or a series of them, bringing fear and perplexity to all.

People don't realize the leaders of the world already recognize the Pope as leader.

 

[Phoneman777]

Anti-denominationalism does seem to be all the rage these days—almost like a badge of honor.

I don't mind criticism if people are willing to try and back it up - but that's rare seeing that most Christians think consensus determines truth, no matter how much it contradicts Scripture.

 

[BarneyFife]

I don't mind criticism if people are willing to try and back it up - but that's rare seeing that most Christians think consensus determines truth, no matter how much it contradicts Scripture.

I'm finding that I'm caring less and less about what I mind or don't mind. I don't have any personal skin in the game in that regard. I just want people to be able to see clearly the unutterably loving character of our great God. His glory as the only begotten of the Father. The One altogether lovely. The Rose of Sharon. If our doctrines don't paint a picture of Calvary that compels people to find rest for their souls in Him, I don't want any part of them.

I just hate watching what a critical spirit does to a soul. There's a friend of mine, a retired military officer (that's how we connected—we were "in some of the same trenches") who's been making the rounds on YouTube over the last year. He used to hold high-level positions at both Amazing Facts and Weimar U. Before or during the pandemic he got sick and because he had pretty much always cherished a spirit of elitism and judgmentalism, he spiraled out of control and it's like watching one of those CGI renditions of a mega cruise liner going down. He doesn't even know how flawed his logic has become.

It's hard to imagine him rubbing elbows with folks like Dr. Nedley and Dr. Ramirez and getting so terribly off-track. The guy was trying to live on nothing but fruit, and he talks about binging on peanut butter as if that would be considered part of "the health message."

His complexion is markedly degenerating, and he's only about 60 years old. He's gone keto which will very often give some temporary relief to the Metabolic Syndrome he had when he was sick.

Barring a miracle, he'll have diabetes and/or atherosclerosis within 5 years. The oxidized cholesterol from the dairy, the arachidonic acid from the meat and eggs, and the heavy metals from the fish will see to that.

And I can tell from the time markers of his videos that he's up all hours of the night so I know he's not making enough melatonin to restore all the damage he's doing to his tissues.

I had to stop watching because it was getting too depressing (I still look in on him once in a while and say hi—it's hard to detach yourself from people you pray for). He kept mentioning the "true Gospel," and I was waiting for some mention of the actual Person of Jesus and it just never came. (The saddest part was that if you watch just a little of what media exposure he had over the last ten years or so and play it against the backdrop of his current testimony, you can clearly see that he was bound to end up where he now has come to be.) Amongst other things, he had doubted the deity of Christ for quite a few years and, unfortunately, it tripped him up pretty badly.

Trying to do Christianity without Christ being truly at the center is a brand of cognitive dissonance that eventually wears out one's ability to keep performing proper mental processes. It's so important that we present the physical, mental, and spiritual components of life as being interdependent, especially within the context of the Everlasting Covenant/Gospel.

I've had to learn so many hard lessons about this over the years. I suspect I'm just getting started.

Aren't you glad that Jesus loves us enough personally not to let us go unrebuked and unchastened by Him? I sure am.

 

[Phoneman777]

I see a lot of people scoffing at the idea of world political and religious leaders bowing down to a papal Antichrist in control of the world via a satanic network of Jesuit-controlled secret societies, but I ain't mad.

Even the disciples were still confused about what Jesus had repeatedly told them for 3 1/2 years, even after He'd appeared to them alive and on time resurrection morning...

 

[Phoneman777]

I'm finding that I'm caring less and less about what I mind or don't mind. I don't have any personal skin in the game in that regard. I just want people to be able to see clearly the unutterably loving character of our great God. His glory as the only begotten of the Father. The One altogether lovely. The Rose of Sharon. If our doctrines don't paint a picture of Calvary that compels people to find rest for their souls in Him, I don't want any part of them.

I just hate watching what a critical spirit does to a soul. There's a friend of mine, a retired military officer (that's how we connected—we were "in some of the same trenches") who's been making the rounds on YouTube over the last year. He used to hold high-level positions at both Amazing Facts and Weimar U. Before or during the pandemic he got sick and because he had pretty much always cherished a spirit of elitism and judgmentalism, he spiraled out of control and it's like watching one of those CGI renditions of a mega cruise liner going down. He doesn't even know how flawed his logic has become.

It's hard to imagine him rubbing elbows with folks like Dr. Nedley and Dr. Ramirez and getting so terribly off-track. The guy was trying to live on nothing but fruit, and he talks about binging on peanut butter as if that would be considered part of "the health message."

His complexion is markedly degenerating, and he's only about 60 years old. He's gone keto which will very often give some temporary relief to the Metabolic Syndrome he had when he was sick.

Barring a miracle, he'll have diabetes and/or atherosclerosis within 5 years. The oxidized cholesterol from the dairy, the arachidonic acid from the meat and eggs, and the heavy metals from the fish will see to that.

And I can tell from the time markers of his videos that he's up all hours of the night so I know he's not making enough melatonin to restore all the damage he's doing to his tissues.

I had to stop watching because it was getting too depressing (I still look in on him once in a while and say hi—it's hard to detach yourself from people you pray for). He kept mentioning the "true Gospel," and I was waiting for some mention of the actual Person of Jesus and it just never came. (The saddest part was that if you watch just a little of what media exposure he had over the last ten years or so and play it against the backdrop of his current testimony, you can clearly see that he was bound to end up where he now has come to be.) Amongst other things, he had doubted the deity of Christ for quite a few years and, unfortunately, it tripped him up pretty badly.

Trying to do Christianity without Christ being truly at the center is a brand of cognitive dissonance that eventually wears out one's ability to keep performing proper mental processes. It's so important that we present the physical, mental, and spiritual components of life as being interdependent, especially within the context of the Everlasting Covenant/Gospel.

I've had to learn so many hard lessons about this over the years. I suspect I'm just getting started.

Aren't you glad that Jesus loves us enough personally not to let us go unrebuked and unchastened by Him? I sure am.

Sad to hear...that's why the old negro spiritual went, "don't ya let nobody turn you around".

 

[The Learner]

It's not a good look.
Though we both know Christianity can never be accused of being about tolerance. Though bigotry in the ranks is something else entirely.

The, "They're not true Christians because...." fallacy.

If the because.... is because they have a false view of Christ then it is not a fallacy, just fact friend.

 

[The Learner]

This is one of the great burdens of my heart. If only people knew how often they cross the line into coercing the consciences of others by their, as you so aptly put it, adversarial tones.

We should be encouraging one another to give as much attention to cultivation of Spiritual fruit, which the Great Apostle equates, by contrast, with the positive outworking of the law of God from the heart.

We're not going to preach the Gospel in all the world for a witness unto all nations until we begin to care about our neighbors freedom to love God willingly without our cyber/virtual imposition of duress.

2 Peter 1
Easy-to-Read Version
1 Greetings from Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ.

To all of you who share in the same valuable faith that we have. This faith was given to us because our God and Savior Jesus Christ always does what is good and right.

2 Grace and peace be given to you more and more, because now you know God and Jesus our Lord.

God Has Given Us Everything We Need
3 Jesus has the power of God. And his power has given us everything we need to live a life devoted to God. We have these things because we know him. Jesus chose us by his glory and goodness, 4 through which he also gave us the very great and rich gifts that he promised us. With these gifts you can share in being like God. And so you will escape the ruin that comes to people in the world because of the evil things they want.

5 Because you have these blessings, do all you can to add to your life these things: to your faith add goodness; to your goodness add knowledge; 6 to your knowledge add self-control; to your self-control add patience; to your patience add devotion to God; 7 to your devotion add kindness toward your brothers and sisters in Christ, and to this kindness add love. 8 If all these things are in you and growing, you will never fail to be useful to God. You will produce the kind of fruit that should come from your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 But those who don’t grow in these blessings are blind. They cannot see clearly what they have. They have forgotten that they were cleansed from their past sins.

10 My brothers and sisters, God called you and chose you to be his. Do your best to live in a way that shows you really are God’s called and chosen people. If you do all this, you will never fall. 11 And you will be given a very great welcome into the kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, a kingdom that never ends.

12 You already know these things. You are very strong in the truth you have. But I am always going to help you remember them. 13 While I am still living here on earth, I think it is right for me to remind you of them. 14 I know that I must soon leave this body. Our Lord Jesus Christ has shown me that. 15 I will try my best to make sure you remember these things even after I am gone.

We Saw Christ’s Glory
16 We told you about the power of our Lord Jesus Christ. We told you about his coming. The things we told you were not just clever stories that people invented. No, we saw the greatness of Jesus with our own eyes. 17 Jesus heard the voice of the great and glorious God. That was when he received honor and glory from God the Father. The voice said, “This is my Son, the one I love. I am very pleased with him.” 18 And we heard that voice. It came from heaven while we were with Jesus on the holy mountain.[a]

19 This makes us more sure about what the prophets said. And it is good for you to follow closely what they said, which is like a light shining in a dark place. You have that light until the day begins and the morning star brings new light to your minds. 20 Most important of all, you must understand this: No prophecy in the Scriptures comes from the prophet’s own understanding. 21 No prophecy ever came from what some person wanted to say. But people were led by the Holy Spirit and spoke words from God.

Footnotes
2 Peter 1:18 This event is described in the Gospels. See Mt. 17:1-8; Mk. 9:2-8; Lk. 9:28-36.

 

[Brakelite]

Another thing that is rampant here (and sad, since it comes from secular society) is the genetic fallacy:

"Oh, well, there you go; it comes from ________, so it must be awful."

If something is in any way related to a stigmatized person or group, it is automatically assumed to be suspect.

Hence my thread focusing on quotes from Ellen White. She utterly rejected any suggestion that anyone look to her or her husband for answers to doctrinal issues. She never laid out a doctrine for the church anywhere that wasn't previously studied, discussed, prayed about, and appealed to the holy Spirit for guidance first, and then, after all that rigorous process, agreed to by the elders. Oh that all denominations went through the same processes as the pioneers of the Advent movement.

 

[ButterflyJones]

I use to watch an SDA ministry broadcast. I enjoyed their teachings.

One thing I did notice is they don't appear to be keen on the RCC.

 

[BarneyFife]

I use to watch an SDA ministry broadcast. I enjoyed their teachings.

One thing I did notice is they don't appear to be keen on the RCC.

When you get right down to it, the problem that many of us have in this regard is that we often are tempted to be offended by association.

I'm a Seventh-day Adventist, but when someone lashes out at Adventism, it would be faulty thinking for me to assume that the lasher is attacking me personally, especially if they know little, if anything, else about me.

Thinking this through a little further, even if I am offended, I don't have to search very far to find teaching in the Bible, especially the New Testament, that if Christ was attacked, am I better than He that I should expect to be treated better?

People in developed nations seem to be quick to cry "persecution," but do we even know what real persecution is? I have a -close- button on my browser and even a power button on my device. If things get too rough for me, I could hardly be excused for letting it go on very long. We tend to feel that we're in traps that don't really exist today.

I remember when Myspace was becoming wildly popular about 20 years ago. One young fellow would come to work so upset that he could barely keep his mind on his work. I tried to reassure him that his life would go along fine even if his computer melted down but was having none of it. He finally came around, but he really had me worried for a while.

The Adventist church teaches that the church of Rome is the "kingdom" spoken of in Daniel and Revelation that "wears out the saints of the Most High" and so on, but the equally true fact is that some of the finest people I've known have gone down to Catholic graves and I expect to see them resurrected in glory someday.

To a certain extent, folks have to be seen as individuals, often in spite of the collectives to which they belong. That doesn't mean we shouldn't be trying to make sure we're cooperating with groups that have the values that most closely resemble our own.

I had to make a decision to change my denominational affiliation 33 years ago. It was one of the most difficult decisions I've ever had to make. I would never urge anyone to do such a thing without considerable study and prayer. I would include counsel in this but that's too often hit-or-miss considering there always seems to be a tendency to maintain the status quo and do nothing when a change is necessary.

I may have gotten a little off track here, but my point is that organizations aren't individual souls.

"For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly..."

 

[The Learner]

When I was at Lowery AFB in Denver, I worked with SDA Missionaries by sharing information. From time to time, they would discover LDS Missionary homes, myself and sometimes others who knew how to witness to them will go to their homes together. I often went alone with the Holy Spirit. Secret: pray for wisdom and ask both Jesus and the Holy Spirit to pray with you (Romans 8).

 

[rockytopva]

Where do the Seven Day Adventist fit in...

"The seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches." - Revelations 1:20

The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches: and the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches. Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write; These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks; - Revelation 1:20 - Revelation 2:1

Ephesus - Messianic - Beginning with the Apostle to the Circumcision, Peter
Smyrna - Martyr - Beginning with the Apostle to the Un-Circumcision, Paul
Pergamos - Orthodoxy formed in this time... Pergos is a tower... Needed in the dark ages
Thyatira - Catholicism formed in this time - The spirit of Jezebel is to control and to dominate.
Sardis - Protestantism formed in this time- A sardius is a gem - elegant yet hard and rigid
Philadelphia - Wesleyism formed in this time - To be sanctioned is to acquire it with love.
Laodicea - Charismatic movement formed in this time - Beginning with DL Moody, the first to make money off of ministry

Candlesticks - Seven church congregations
Stars - Individuals within the congregations, all held in the right hand of Christ
Seals - The seven seals sealed each congregation within the lambs book of life
Angels - The current preacher to the congregation.

And I wept much, because no man was found worthy to open and to read the book, neither to look thereon. - Revelation 5:4

The Seven Day Adventist is a Sardisean type congregation who think they arrived because of some point of doctrinal supremacy. But... Like the other Sardisean denominations they are just as bad as the rest.

 

[rockytopva]

But... Because the SDA are part of the church they are allowed here on the ChristianityBoard... Although I would caution against the implied doctrinal supremacy.

 

[rockytopva]

And... The likes of Ellen White I personally find frightening. Ellen G. White's Crazy Quotes

 

[BarneyFife]

Atheists hold up carefully selected portions of Scripture that are hard to be understood, then paint them in the worst possible light, and Christians stand around with their mouths gaping open because they have not taken the time to search the Bible and use their own logical, analytical thought processes to find answers for the hope that is in them.

Then Christians do the same thing to other Christians who claim they have discovered inspired counsel from modern authors, in which the same kind of difficulties are found, but are somehow held to a higher standard of apparent consistency than even the Bible makes for Itself.

Those who cannot understand the Bible due to their unbelief are acknowledged within its pages.

"Despise not prophesyings..."

"And it came to pass, when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said unto him, Art thou he that troubleth Israel?

And he answered, I have not troubled Israel; but thou, and thy father's house, in that ye have forsaken the commandments of the LORD, and thou hast followed Baalim."