Monday, December 31, 2012

INFAMOUS SDA ABORTIONIST SCHOLARSHIP

https://www.lasierra.edu/index.php?id=8707

Dr. Edward C. Allred is one of the world's most notorious abortionists!
How can the SDA church allow the La Sierra School of Business allow this to happen.
Time for Adventists to protest this!!


Tom and Vi Zapara School of Business


Edward C. Allred Center for Financial Literacy and Entrepreneurship

Edward C. Allred
Welcome to the Edward C. Allred Center for Financial Literacy and Entrepreneurship. This Center, in the La Sierra University School of Business exists to promote free market economics through the education of students, with a focus on Seventh-day Adventist high schools.
Established in 2010, the Center provides high school students with interactive, online materials that teach them the principles and practices of financial literacy and personal finance. It also sponsors a lecture series on free market economics at Adventist high schools. In the summer, the Center offers a boot camp on entrepreneurship for selected high school students and a workshop on free market economics for high school instructors on the University campus. It also conducts annual award programs for high school students who submit essays on free market economics and for high school economics instructors who bring innovation and creativity to the teaching of free market economics.
Explore our webpages to learn more about the Edward C. Allred Center and please contact us if you have any questions or ideas. We would love to hear from you.
Director: Dr. John Thomas
Location: La Sierra University School of Business, Room © Copyright 2012 La Sierra University

Friday, December 28, 2012

Can a God-appointed Leader Change the Sabbath?

Well, according to the second book of Chronicles, God allowed Hezekiah to do some relaxing of the regulations, even changing the day on which it was celebrated to fit the circumstances.

So, here's the story in chapter thirty: Passover had not been celebrated in Israel for a long time due to various reasons, including just plain idolatry and turning from God, but also because of the problems between northern and southern Israel. The northerners couldn't come down and join Judah because there was tension between the two states for some of the time. So the high sabbaths (as well as the weekly) just kinda fell away.


The godly King of Judah, Hezekiah, invited all Israel, even the norther Kingdoms who had been devastated by the Assyrians, to celebrate Passover. But, it wasn't really the correct day to celebrate Passover. Their weren't enough priests who were unclean and therefore couldn't do all the rites. So they chose to celebrate it in the second month.

"The plan seemed right both to the king and to the whole assembly." 
There indeed was a contingency plan for those Israelites who were unable to celebrate the Passover laid out in the Torah.


Numbers 9: 6-14 "When any of you or your descendants are unclean because of a dead body or are away on a journey, they may still celebrate the LORD's Passover. They are to celebrate it on the fourteenth day of the second month at twilight. .... But if a man who is ceremonially clean and not on a journey fails to celebrate the Passover, that person must be cut off from his people because he did not present the LORD's offering at the appointed time. That man will bear the consequences of his sin."
Hezekiah knew that not all the priests and people were unclean or traveling. But, he felt the attempt at keeping the Passover more important than the technicalities/legalities of it. So, by his own authority relaxed the Sabbath regulations and celebrated it. Here's more of the story:
A very large crowd of people assembled in Jerusalem to celebrate the Feast of Unleavened Bread [Passover] in the second month. ... They slaughtered the Passover lamb on the fourteenth day of the second month. ... Since many in the crowd had not consecrated themselves, the Levites had to kill the Passover lambs for all those who were not ceremonially clean and could not consecrate [their lambs] to the LORD. Although most of the many people who came from Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar and Zebulun had not purified themselves, yet they ate the Passover, contrary to what was written. But Hezekiah prayed for them, saying, "May the LORD, who is good, pardon everyone who sets his heart on seeking God--the LORD, the God of his fathers--even if he is not clean according to the rules of the sanctuary." And the LORD heard Hezekiah and healed the people.

Remember the priests offering unholy fire and were publicly consumed? Why is God lax in some cases and so strict in others? (Uzzah reached out to steady the ark and was killed.) Here the king unilaterally disregarded a strict Torah law that punished anyone who intentionally celebrated the Passover on the wrong day by cutting them off from their people! Hezekiah just... changed the Sabbath because of his personal desires.

The whole assembly then agreed to celebrate the festival seven more days; so for another seven days they celebrated joyfully. ... The priests and the Levites stood to bless the people, and God heard them, for their prayer reached heaven, his holy dwelling place.

They decided to continue the festivities another whole week which probably included at least another sabbath! So evidently, when God's appointed authorities decide to observe a Sabbath or Holy day another day or in another way or extend it... The Lord doesn't really look at it as breaking the Sabbath. Sabbath keeping could be changed by the King.

Wednesday, December 26, 2012

Why Christians Worship on Sunday


Well, Patrick doesn't really give a true understanding of "Sabbath" for Christians, especially Catholics.. this is very superficial but it is at least interesting. Most Christians don't understand Adventists' worldview totally, so this is a good try....

I would be interested in where you think his argument is strong as well as weak and why.



Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Adventists and Apostasy


The Greek word apostasia (apo, from, and stasis, station, standing, or position) originally meant desertion of a post or the giving up of a state of life.  But in the early church apostasy meant the voluntary, complete abandonment of Christianity by either going back to Roman paganism, or Judaism, or even giving up religious beliefs altogether. The first few centuries of Christianity believed it to be so grievous a sin that the church would excommunicate the apostate (as if the apostate would care?) and they would leave them to the mercy of God. 
After the Decian persecution of the mid third century, so many Christians committed apostasy and later repented that the church at the Synod of Carthage relaxed the penalties and forgiveness was granted more easily. (1 Theodosian Code XVI title 7, De Apostatis; title 8, De Judaeis, “Corpus juris romani ante-Justinian (Bonne, 1840) 1521-1607; Code of Justinian I, title 7, De apostatis I. c. 60, 61.)
After Christianity became the state religion, the emperor withdrew all civil rights of apostates. To entice anyone into apostasy brought the death penalty.
The word appears only twice in scripture: 
Acts 21:21 This is where Judaisers entreated Christians to be circumcised and return to Judaism under the Old Covenant. This was not a form of Christianity but a refutation of it. 
2 Thess. 2:3 “Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction.”
As an Adventist or former Adventist you will immediately understand that this text was used by Ellen White to teach that the last day apostasy is by the Protestant church following the influence of Catholicism. (See Great Controversy, pp 445-447.)
White’s view was that you could remain a Christian in 9 out of 10 commandments but that it was the breaking of the Sabbath commandment that defined you as apostate. This is a misunderstanding and misapplication of the word as understood during Bible times as well as a millennia and a half after Christ.  

Apostasy is not a serious backsliding or heresy. Apostasy is turning your back on Christianity and defining yourself as an atheist, Buddhist, Moslem, Jew, etc. You openly deny Christ and publicly call yourself something else. You no longer attend a Christian church. 
Here are some EGW texts that show her misapplication of Paul’s pronouncement of “apostasy.”
For many centuries thereafter an apostate form of Christianity held sway. The truth was suppressed and lost sight of, and ignorance prevailed. ...These centuries of apostasy are correctly designated in history the “Dark Ages.” CET 241-242

The apostle Paul, in his second letter to the Thessalonians, foretold the great apostasy which would result in the establishment of the papal power. ... Even at that early date he saw, creeping into the church, errors that would prepare the way for the development of the papacy... GC 49-50 See also GC 443-444

When the leading churches of the United States, uniting upon such points of doctrine as are held by them in common, shall influence the state to enforce their decrees and to sustain their institutions, then Protestant America will have formed an image of the Roman hierarchy, and the infliction of civil penalties upon dissenters will inevitably result. GC 445 

Ellen White’s prediction misunderstood what Paul was saying. Paul foretold that Christians would become unbelievers, atheists or perhaps join another religion altogether. This great apostasy would not be those who claimed to be His Church, call themselves Christians and worship Him and simply not fully understand or even be deceived. According to Ellen, all Christians for a thousand years would be then apostates. This is not logically sound but anachronistic thinking. Ellen misunderstood the word heretic for apostate; heresy for apostasy.

Paul wants us, as Christians, to be looking for a great falling away of Christians who choose to believe evolution or join the Muslims or become Buddhist. Apostates are not bad Christians, they are not Christians at all and publicly denounce their Christianity. There will of course be lots of heretics... those who claim to be Christians and do not follow Christ’s New Covenant Commandments and teach heresies, but this is a different group. Apostasy is the step after being a stubborn, unrepentant heretic, but it doesn’t have to ever go that far.

So Adventist calling other Christians apostate is unsound exegesis of Paul’s words as well as being rather uncharitable to fellow Christians.

My SDA In-laws Christmas Visit

All I can say is, "wow".

Background: My father-in-law is a very traditional SDA. He grew up SDA, went to school in an SDA school, finished his degree at an SDA college. His first wife, who died, was SDA as is his current wife. He worked as a Adventist principal for thirty years and is an ordained SDA minister. He is thoroughly an Adventist.

They just spent the last five days with us. And I have been praying about it and worrying about it for weeks. The family reunion with my liberal SDA family didn't go so well, so I didn't want a repeat of that. Because in fact, Arthur's family is way, way more Seventh-day Adventist then mine ever was--so I assumed it would be difficult at best.

Should we get rid of our Catholic books? Will our crucifixes offend them? Should we have worship together--after all we use a Catholic Bible and have Catholic prayers and always do the sign of the cross? What should we avoid doing and saying in order to not offend them? If we avoid all our Catholicism will they just think we are ashamed of it and hiding something? If they pull open a drawer and find our rosary, will they ask us about it or will they just silently judge us?

I can tell you, I have been panicked. Since it was my husband's parents, I decided to let him make all those decisions. The only one I suggested with my heart was that if they want us to go to church with them, we should go. That was the only suggestion I made and the only bad one made.

This is how utterly distant Adventism is to me now. I totally forgot about Sabbath School. Catholics don't have Sunday School so it just slipped my mind.

(Hugh breath.) The Sabbath School teacher talked all about the Ten Commandments and how we need to keep Sabbath. Well, it wasn't a big deal. I could sit there patiently enduring the heresy spoken so as not to upset my eighty-year-old father-in-law and my mother-in-law who had just the day before driven sixteen hours to see us (as well as a few hours the day before!) I  could so totally shut up for an hour and a half for respect for their gray hair and in the spirit of Christian love and unity.

AHH, so much for good intensions. The teacher was rattling on using the SDA talking points, then he asked point blank to us all if we agreed. Then he paused and looked around. (My heart sank.... and I took a big gulp and recited a heartfelt Hail Mary.) Then he said, "Okay, I am assuming we all agree on this." And I couldn't sit there and lie. I raised my hand up just a tiny bit hoping God would see me but not the teacher. (Then I officially didn't lie.) He spotted my hand.

The teacher asked me what I disagreed on and I just said the least I could in a very shaky voice, "I'm not Adventist... so..." I thought that would say it all. But it just threw the teacher off and me off and the whole Sabbath School was then awkward as I tried to explain something or other... I sincerely don't remember for I was having an out of body experience and wanting to just rewind the moment and go to the bathroom during his question about agreeing.

Okay, told you that hard moment.

We went to Sabbath School and church with them. Arthur told me that he was certain his parents were hoping that we would see the light and return to Adventism. He knows his parents, so I won't argue the point, but that surely would be a ridiculous hope for them. He thinks the fact that we even went to church with them showed them the door was open. That certainly wasn't why I thought we should go with them. I thought it would show them our love even in our theological differences.

Then the unexpected "wow." They went to mass with us that evening. I guess because it was technically on the Sabbath (although it fulfilled our Sunday obligation) that it made the service more palatable. I don't know, I don't want to put thoughts in their heads. But they came with us!!

There is nothing unrealistic in my expectations. I would never expect that their joining us would be saying something like "Hey, maybe I need to rethink this whole Catholicism thing." All I could hope  for is that they were saying to us, "we love you enough to endure this!" And that is one huge, huge sacrifice for them to make for us! And I was so touched. They didn't criticize anything.

Then, the next evening we went out to get a really special meal at the local Asian restaurant that's specialty is gourmet sushi. My daughter and I went early to order the hor d'oeurves and clearly said "vegetarian" sushi--no raw, no shellfish, etc. (Eye roll) When they brought out the three tiers of sushi--it was visually spectacular--but it contained shrimp and raw fish and crab meat. I wanted to crawl under the table. I so did not want them to think I ordered that to provoke them. But my kids, having eaten there, knew how expensive it was and ate up all the "unclean" sushi so that their grandparents could have what they could eat. I was mortified. Even though I knew my kids were being sacrificial as I knew raw fish wasn't something they normally ordered. (And I saw one of my kids steel themselves as they ate the raw fish.)

I cried when we got home for I knew that would be misunderstood by my SDA family. I was sure they would see us as purposefully ordering it and my kids openly, defiantly eating it front of them. When they were truly being polite and unselfish.

My SDA in-laws didn't chastise or question or judge us. Can you believe it? Has the polar north changed? They are not in the habit of publicly denouncing our beliefs, but I thought at the very least they would be horrified. They said they weren't and believed me when I said it was a total miscommunication with the chef.

The five days together, we had worship, we read scripture both from their Bibles and ours.  We talked theology and carefully expressed our opinions so as not to ignite a firestorm.  Dad finally had enough about our discussions of homosexuality and abortion at one time and told us to change the subject. But it was his wife who had started the conversation so it wasn't me he was chastising. (Whew... ) We prayed together. We talked about our relationship with Christ and it was quite surreal. Aslan is on the move!

We truly bonded in the Lord. A Christmas miracle. I saw their beauty and got to openly love them. And they said they really, really enjoyed the visit. I believe them. I think they really respect our relationship with Christ and as I do theirs.

Wow. Hope your Christmas with your SDA friends and family is the miracle ours was. Thank you Lord! We praise you for your grace and mercy upon us!


Monday, December 10, 2012

Are Adventists Christians?

This has been a hard question for me to think about and answer. Former Adventists discuss this often. Are Adventists Christians?

From outside their church, Adventists are looked at in a fairly wide spectrum. The vast majority of people (who have heard of them) don't know anything about them except for some vague idea that they are something like Jehovah's Witness or Mormons. They are casually lumped into the cults label. Most people don't think badly of Adventists, they just don't think about them at all.

When I speak to people who live near an Adventism mecca such as Loma Linda, TX or Keene, TX people have a somewhat more favorable opinion of them, but they still look at them with skepticism. They may believe that some Adventists are Christians even if as a whole they are either placed outside of Christianity or hanging on by a thread. They see them as weird but wholesome.

However, I have yet to find any church that will accept the baptism of an Adventist. I was told by several churches where I attended (even though I was not seeking membership) that I would have to be re-baptized into their denomination in order to join. And the fact that several of these denominations did not allow but for one baptism in one's lifetime, this is a very distinctive rejection of Adventism as Christian. They don't even believe the SDA triune baptismal rite is authentic. The Adventists version of, "In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit" in their opinions does not adequately reflect a genuine understanding of the Trinity. So, you have to be baptized for the first time, according to them.

Also, what I have found is that because of political correctness and Christians wanting to open up evangelistic dialogue to Adventists, often they will find the things Adventists have in common with mainstream Christianity and pursue doctrines we agree on. While at the same time not saying what they really believe about Adventism.

Which is all very weird to me because, having a ministry for former Adventists, I find myself having to defend Adventism all the time to those who don't know anything about Adventists and have a radically wrong opinion of their church.

Okay, maybe a few of their doctrines are cultish. I think we are all in agreement on that, even a lot of Adventists. However, Adventists are slowly shedding the thought that Ellen White is a prophetess or even messenger. Her writings are evolving to a place of general "inspiration" like a Beth Moore book and not of absolute truth. That is good! The SDA church is promoting the kinder, gentler Ellen with a softening of her writings and promoting a more biblically and historically founded version of her writings, while burying the rest.

There is a polarizing of the liberal and traditional Adventists, but the liberal is winning and soon I think the doctrine of the Investigative Judgement will be jettisoned, as well as the radical forms of the "health message" and the end-times scenarios that are so shamefully anti-Catholic and anti-Protestant. Christ is getting the true gospel in through the cracks of Adventist doctrine. And many, many Adventists get it and many SDA pastors preach the true gospel of Christ.

I see God working within Adventism to bring her around when, hopefully someday during my lifetime, she will unify with the rest of the Body of Christ. That is my hope and prayer.

It's a weird battle of condemning unbiblical doctrines to Adventists who are looking to leave and those who have essentially already left and defending Adventists to non-Adventists. I always come out looking like the bad guy!

In the meantime, I will probably not try and figure out if the Adventist Church is a Christian church. I hear both sides and agree... and I agree that you can't agree that both sides can be true. That question, at this time, seems above my pay grade. Let me see.... any more excuses I can come up with? (Smile.)




Tuesday, December 4, 2012

The Collapse of America

History will not record the collapse of America in 2012. America had a moral heart attack in the 1960's and then died sometime after that (probably 1973 with Roe vs. Wade). What we are seeing in America today is the worms crawling in and out of the dead flesh. We are seeing the rot and decay of a dead America.

Politics cannot revive her.
The government cannot revive her.
Patriotism cannot revive her.
Financial stability cannot revive her.
Community organizing cannot revive her.
Jobs cannot revive her.
More freedom cannot revive her.

No amount of money, liberty, pursuit of happiness, independence, self-rule, democracy, nor the right president will be able to help America.

She is dead and we need to understand that so we can rebuild.

Where many evangelicals have it wrong is that they believe we need more spreading the gospel message through zealous preaching. America has heard the gospel and rejected it. Right now speaking falls on numb ears. We have been saying that we are a Christian nation for two hundred years and the fruits have been greed, lies, thievery, disrespect, dishonor, divorce, immorality, pornography, adultery, abortion, throwing our elderly into nursing homes and abandoning them, poverty, isolation, need I go on?

What thinking person would look at America and grasp its gospel?

People are living hell everyday of their lives, they are not moved by being threatened with an eternal damnation in the afterlife. They need a living witness of Christ today that will make a difference today.

America cannot go back and revive the old ways and think they will work. They failed.

What we need are Christians who have the power of God's grace in their lives. People who are holy. America needs to see what sainthood looks like. Everyone is tired of the condemnation of sin, without the proof of the ability to conquer it.

If we want to see America alive again, we cannot go back and revive the corpse. We have to start all over at the beginning and learn what sin is in and learn how the Cross conquered it and gave us the power to go and sin no more. We need to be a testimony in our lives and not just in our mouths. We need to SHOW the power of Christ.

When a generation of people see Christian actions, then they will believe Christian words.

Thursday, October 25, 2012

How Adventists Vote....

http://www.atoday.org/article/1472/news/october-headlines/survey-explores-how-adventists-will-vote-in-the-2012-elections-in-the-united-states


Survey Explores How Adventists Will Vote in the 2012 Elections in the United States
.
Submitted: Oct 24, 2012
By AT News Team

A random sample of faculty and staff at Seventh-day Adventist colleges and universities in the United States reveals that they are about as divided and confused as the general public. Adventists clearly do not have a well-defined political view, at least on the hot issues of this election year.
 
About 28 percent of the respondents identify with the Republican Party, 38 percent with the Democratic Party and a third are independents. Asked how they voted in 2008, 59 percent said they voted for Barack Obama, 36 percent for John McCain and five percent for other candidates. Not much different than the overall voting outcome for the nation.
 
Nine out of ten respondents indicated that they intend to vote in November. Asked about the most important issues that will shape their vote, 71 percent picked health care, 69 percent the economy, 56 percent education, 55 percent jobs, 50 percent the Federal budget deficit and 45 percent taxes. Several other issues were important to smaller numbers.
 
It should not come as a surprise that a sample of Adventists expresses concern about health or that any group of Americans are concerned right now about the economy and jobs, or that a sampling of educators lists education as a priority. Some of the questions probed more specific views which may give a clearer picture of Adventist opinion.
 
A total of 77 percent oppose any law that would allow churches to campaign for political candidates and that view reflects a long-standing Adventist position on separation of church and state. Perhaps more surprising, 72 percent oppose the continuation of the tax cuts for the wealthy introduced by George Bush when he was president. And 69 percent oppose the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
 
A majority (55 percent) oppose government funding for social services provided by faith-based organizations, despite the fact that the institutions that employ them all get significant amounts of education funding under similar arrangements.
 
Of particular interest are attitudes on the historic Adventist positions regarding military service. A slim majority oppose Adventists serving in combatant roles in the military, while 22 percent actually favor it. At the same time nearly two-thirds (64 percent) support significant decreases in military spending by the U.S. government. Ask specifically about the moral justification for war, only eight percent said they think most wars are morally justified, while 68 percent said they are rarely justified and 15 percent said they are never morally justified. It appears that the views of American Adventists have migrated from the peace church (Mennonite) position held at the founding of the denomination, to a position closer to that of the Catholic theology of “just war.”
 
Health has long been an important focus for Adventists, including advocacy by Ellen G. White in books like The Ministry of Healing for health widespread public health measures which leads logically to the strong majority (59 percent) who favor extending health insurance to all Americans. It may also be related to nearly two thirds (63 percent) favoring government funding for medical research using stem cells. Asked specifically about Obamacare, nearly half (48 percent) support it, a little more than a third (38 percent) oppose it and 14 percent have not made up their minds.
 
Asked if it is the responsibility of the Federal government to make sure that all Americans have health coverage, 54 percent answered “Yes” and 38 percent said “No.” In response to a question about the recent Supreme Court decision upholding Obamacare, 56 percent said it was a good thing, 27 percent said it was a bad decision and 17 percent have no opinion.
 
Abortion is a hot issue among Christians in America and Adventist opinion is clearly influenced by some of the debate they overhear around them. A third believe abortion should be entirely up to the woman’s choice, 52 percent believe it is acceptable in cases of rape and incest or when there is a threat to the mother’s life. Another nine percent oppose abortion under any circumstances and five percent are still not sure what to think on this topic.
 
Asked about how to reduce the Federal debt, 45 percent favor tax increases, 43 percent are opposed to any tax increases and 12 percent are not sure. Spending cuts are more popular, favored by 82 percent, opposed by only nine percent, with another nine percent unsure.
 
The respondents to this survey have high levels of civic involvement. In the last year, 60 percent worked on a community project of some kind, 48 percent were members of a service club or other civic organization, and 30 percent contacted a public official about some issue or concern. Three out of four respondents favor Adventists running for office.
 
The survey had a sample of 617 respondents and included all of the Adventist colleges and universities in the United States. It was designed and conducted by a team of professors from Andrews University and Washington Adventist University chaired by John Gavin, who has an academic appointment at both institutions. A complete report is being published in Spectrum, the largest journal for Adventist academics.

Sunday, October 21, 2012

Peeking Out of the Door of Adventism

They seem so strange to you---everyone who is non-Adventist.  To you, they are uncomfortable to be around or perhaps scary, or deceived or downright evil and rebellious against God. You are supposed to go out and tell them about the Sabbath, but you can't really let them past your spiritual force field because they have some type power to deceive you. You pray for them, you might even go door to door slipping Revelation Seminar pamphlets behind their front screen. You see them on a daily basis at work, on the road and in the stores, but there is something inside you that always keeps them at a distance.

They are not safe. They are not Adventists and they twist things to make good bad and bad good.  You listen to everything they say through the skepticism of Adventist ears.

You see every authentic Christian as Adventist or perhaps on the way to being an Adventist when you tell them about the Sabbath and the everlasting gospel.

Bad things happen in the world, not in Adventism--well, and if something happens it is because the Devil targets Adventists because they have the truth. And if a SDA leaves the church or just simply quits attending church and something tragic happen to them--it's because they left their faith.

You subconsciously judge everyone you meet: Are they smoking or drinking? What are they wearing?  If its too stylish or if a woman is wearing too much make up or if she is wearing jewelry.... they are not safe.

Adventism is a safe subculture. You are not the world. The world is Protestants who lived in a semi-knowledge of truth. And Catholics... well they are the ultimate betrayers of Truth and house the great antichrist.

I think one of the greatest barriers between you as an Adventist and me as a former Adventist is that you have been taught to mistrust anyone who isn't in your church. As wonderful as they may be, as kind and as much as they love Jesus, they had one foot in the evil world and one foot in Christianity. And it is all that darn Sunday's fault. (That Constantine! That wayward 4th century church!)

You might be even scared to read this, for you think I might be a great deceiver out there to pollute your mind or confuse you.

This is where I ask you to be strong in the Lord. "Fear NOT!" Jesus says, "for I am with you, be not dismayed for I am your God." Take a very frightening step out in faith and know that God is strong and will not allow you to be swept away into annihilation of you peek out the SDA front door.

God is strong and He goes after His straying sheep. He is a God of love and mercy. He is a good God and will not allow you to be deceived if you consider other interpretations of scripture. This is where your faith must be used. I promise that I will not grab you and jerk you out of Adventism. I just want to "reason together."

People who are not Adventists see scripture in a different way than Adventists. Most know all the scripture Adventist think we ignore. I assure you, we are not ignoring it. We just read it differently. Adventists read scripture through the prophetess Ellen White. But there was a time before Ellen White and Christ gave His truths to all peoples, and all nations and all tongues.

Is it possible that Adventists are wrong and they are not interpreting scripture correctly? Maybe Christians out here didn't actually give up any scripture or truth, but just read scripture with a more ancient and universal interpretation.

Perhaps there is no bad guy here--no bad people out to deceive you, but true Christians who simply understand scripture a different way.

You see, I know what you're thinking. You are immediately thinking that your church was given Ellen White to interpret scripture the right way. Think of the visions? The good people in your church... Adventism has fruits that prove it is the true remnant. They have the Sabbath.

Yet.

Christianity is more than one day. Christianity is about Christ. We have really solid biblical and historical reasons we do not believe the Seventh-day Sabbath will be the test of Christianity. If you believe only Adventists can be trusted, then you will never ever accept anything I say as in any way truthful.

But why are you reading this? I know a whole bunch of Adventists are torn with cognitive dissonance in their belief system. Something isn't right and you know it but you are afraid to find out.

Pray and then read other mainstream Christian interpretations of scripture. God is strong, God is good.

And He will never let ANYONE snatch you from out of His hands.




Thursday, October 18, 2012

Because We VOTED!

Please note: I am talking to Michael Voris about a caller who said on his call-in radio talk show that Mitt Romney was not pro-life enough.  Michael has already said he's voting... so my passion is not that I think Michael is doing anything wrong.... Some people are misunderstand that. I am pleading with those (through Michael) who are pro-life to vote... 



Tuesday, October 16, 2012

An Open Letter to Those I Love....

It began one night when I received a call from South Africa. The woman was weeping and telling me a real-life horror story. I had heard them before, but this was one of the first as on outsider. I had just left the church that I loved and had served for almost thirty years.

As a public outsider now, the phone calls and emails escalated until I got several every single week. Talk about Atlas Shrugging. All of a sudden God was allowing me, without my expressed acceptance, to enter a ministry that I was unprepared for. I was going through my own traumatic transition and all of a sudden I became the poster child for former Adventists.

But the stories I was hearing were rarely like mine. These people were going through severe abuse, they had been or were suicidal. They were in the midst of terrible divorces or they were being shunned by family and friends.

Most of the time, all I could do was listen. I actually couldn't even sympathize to the degree that they were so desperately needing. My SDA experience had been a positive one. Leaving was the traumatic part for me, not the years of being Adventist.

My family was liberal and very grace-oriented. No hidden bitterness, no anger.

But I was overwhelmed with people who had a very different experience within Adventism.

The book my husband and I wrote was never about trying to get Adventists who love Christ to leave. It was to help those people who were leaving or who had already left and felt they were all alone in the world. Who were waking up every single night with cold sweats and nightmares. Those so frightened that if they stopped keeping Sabbath, they would be forever annihilated. Our ministry is to help those traumatized, not a group to criticize Adventists.

In fact, I cannot think of an Adventist I dislike (well except those SDA leaders who have actively promoted abortion....). I do not think badly of Adventists nor do I think they are stupid.

I know Adventists very well. They are good people. They do really nice things. If you are a happy SDA, God bless you, we really would be great friends. I don't really care if you are SDA if you love Jesus. I think many SDAs are kept there by Christ to gently bring the church into mainstream Christianity.

Do not assume because I have a ministry for questioning and former Adventists that my husband and I think poorly of you. In fact we don't.

Our hearts are about rescuing those who ASK for our help. Our hearts are about protecting and defending the innocent and those who feel utterly abused by SDA doctrines. Of course if you are a happy SDA you will disagree. We totally get that. We are not in any way trying to be "in your face" about anything!

When an SDA is lying by the side of the road wounded, we can't just pass them by. There are Adventist who seem to think that we shouldn't get involved because there are other wounded people from other churches. Well, God didn't place those people in our path. Because we have been SDA we are naturally the ones formers will go to for understanding.

Because there are wounded SDAs I don't blame all Adventists for that. All I ask is to please try and understand that I feel I MUST help them. I would LOVE for SDAs to help us. We need you. 

Friday, October 12, 2012

Did Catholics Change the Sabbath


Did the Catholic Church "Change the Sabbath"?

 Thursday, October 11, 2012 9:17 PM Comments (3)

Did the Catholic Church "Change the Sabbath"?
You sometimes encounter the charge that the Catholic Church wrongly "changed the sabbath" from Saturday to Sunday. This claim is often made by Seventh-Day Adventists, for example. But even if one isn't accusing the Church of wrongdoing, the question can still arise: Why do Catholics worship on Sunday rather than Saturday? Here's the story . . .

What Day the Sabbath Is

First, let's clear away a potential source of confusion. While it's true that people sometimes speak of Sunday as "the Christian sabbath," this is a loose way of speaking. Strictly speaking, the sabbath is the day it always was--Saturday--though it should be noted that traditionally Jewish people have celebrated the sabbath from sundown on Friday to sundown on Saturday. Sunday is a distinct day, which follows the sabbath. The Catechism of the Catholic Church explains:
2175 Sunday is expressly distinguished from the sabbath which it follows chronologically every week; for Christians its ceremonial observance replaces that of the sabbath. In Christ's Passover, Sunday fulfills the spiritual truth of the Jewish sabbath and announces man's eternal rest in God. For worship under the Law prepared for the mystery of Christ, and what was done there prefigured some aspects of Christ.

Why We Celebrate Sunday

That same paragraph explains why we celebrate on Sunday. For Christians the ceremonial observance of Sunday replaces that of the sabbath. Properly speaking, we're not celebrating the sabbath on Sunday. We're celebrating something else, but it's something that the sabbath points toward. As the Catechism says, the Jewish sabbath announces man's eternal rest in God and prefigures some aspects of Christ. Sunday thus fulfills what the sabbath pointed toward.

The Lord's Day

What we are celebrating instead of the sabbath is "the Lord's day." That's something Christians have celebrated since the first century. In fact, in the very first chapter of Revelation, we read that John experienced the inaugural vision of the book on "the Lord's day." He writes:
I John, your brother, who share with you in Jesus the tribulation and the kingdom and the patient endurance, was on the island called Patmos on account of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus.
I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet [Revelation 1:9-10].
And he goes on to describe the vision of Jesus Christ he received. For our purposes, the important thing to note is that he speaks of the Lord's day as an already-established thing. He expects his readers to know what it is. So, when is it?

 



Read more: http://www.ncregister.com/blog/jimmy-akin/did-the-catholic-church-change-the-sabbath#ixzz295mwrVDc

Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Catholics Witnessing to Seventh-day Adventists

If you look down this page, you can download a talk by a priest about how to witnesses to a Seventh-day Adventist.

Sorry, could directly link to this so you'll have to cut and paste, but this is the audio:
https://s3.amazonaws.com/ICCArchives/Kingdom_of_Cults_Carnazzos_2_7th_Day_Adventists.mp3

This is the general site:
http://www.instituteofcatholicculture.org/kingdom-of-the-cults-jehovahs-witnesses-mormons-seventh-day-adventists/


Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Saul, Samuel, Soul Sleep and the Witch of Endor


Here is the biblical story of Israel's King Saul and his consulting a medium to conjure up the dead soul of the Prophet Samuel. It's found in I Samuel 28.

The Philistines were encamped, ready to attack Israel....

When Saul saw the army of the Philistines, he was afraid, and his heart trembled greatly. When Saul inquired of the Lord, the Lord did not answer him, not by dreams, or by Urim, or by prophets. Then Saul said to his servants, "Seek out for me a woman who is a medium, so that I may go to her and inquire of her." His servants said to him, "There is a medium at Endor." 
So Saul disguised himself and put on other clothes and went there, he and two men with him. They came to the woman by night. And he said, "Consult a spirit for me, and bring up for me the one whom I name to you." The woman said to him, "Surely you know what Saul has done, how he has cut off the mediums and the wizards from the land. Why then are you laying a snare for my life to bring about my death?" But Saul swore to her by the Lord, "As the Lord lives, no punishment shall come upon you for this thing." Then the woman said, "Whom shall I bring up for you?" 
He answered, "Bring up Samuel for me." When the woman saw Samuel, she cried out with a loud voice; and the woman said to Saul, "Why have you deceived me? You are Saul!" The king said to her, "Have no fear; what do you see?" The woman said to Saul, "I see a divine being coming up out of the ground." He said to her, "What is his appearance?" She said, "An old man is coming up; he is wrapped in a robe." So Saul knew that it was Samuel, and he bowed with his face to the ground, and did obeisance. 
Then Samuel said to Saul, "Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?" Saul answered, "I am in great distress, for the Philistines are warring against me, and God has turned away from me and answers me no more, either by prophets or by dreams; so I have summoned you to tell me what I should do." Samuel said, "Why then do you ask me, since the Lord has turned from you and become your enemy? The Lord has done to you just as he spoke by me; for the Lord has torn the kingdom out of your hand, and given it to your neighbor, David. Because you did not obey the voice of the Lord, and did not carry out his fierce wrath against Amalek, therefore the Lord has done this thing to you today. Moreover the Lord will give Israel along with you into the hands of the Philistines; and tomorrow you and your sons shall be with me; the Lord will also give the army of Israel into the hands of the Philistines." 

And indeed, the next day on Mt. Gilboa, Saul, his sons and his arm bearer were killed. 

So many points and so little space.... (as tempting as it is to point out may things... I will stick to only three)

As an Adventist I was raised to read the inerrant, infallible Word of God in a way that ignored the obvious meaning of the text. I was taught that Samuel was not really raised and that it was some type of demon posing as Samuel. 

But the text is obvious, clear and direct. The witch conjured up the prophet. I know that doesn't fit in with Adventist's idea of soul sleep (which it actually does quite well I would think. Samuel wasn't taken down from heaven? So why the problem with Samuel protesting that he was asleep? As some translations record Samuel as asking why Saul disturbed or troubled his rest.) 

In any case, we need to point out several things in this story that counter what Adventists were taught: 

1. Adventists are taught that the witch cried out when she saw Samuel, because she was a fake and this time some ghost actually showed up! Not so at all! When you look at the context, the woman had just told the disguised Saul that she feared for her life, because the king banned mediums in Israel. 

Note that she didn't cry out, "Oh no! A real ghost!" This is what she said:

"When the woman saw Samuel, she cried out with a loud voice; and the woman said to Saul, "Why have you deceived me? You are Saul!"

She felt terrified of Saul not Samuel.


2. Samuel gave a true prophecy. So either demons can give true prophecies or it was really Samuel. If demons can give true prophecies that should make those who follow Ellen White a little worried! If it really was Samuel, then wouldn't that make Adventists also reconsider their whole non-immortality of the soul stance? 


3. "...tomorrow you and your sons shall be with me,"

Samuel didn't see Saul and his righteous son, Jonathan in hell or in annihilation, but both the righteous son and bad father went to the same place. Hmmm.... ? Where could that be? Heaven? Well, it's either heaven or what the Bible calls Abraham's bosom... a kind of holding place until Christ's judgement or purgatory... For surely SAMUEL wasn't in hell. 

So, even though Samuel was in some resting place, his soul seemed to be alive, in some degree aware and able to be raised. Perhaps we might say this proves some type of pre-Christ immortal soul in the Old Testament. But keep in mind that Christians do not simply believe in an immortal soul (pretty much everyone did in the ancient religions). We believe in the resurrection of the body too! That is rather unique. 


In the New Testament, we see several texts that back up the idea that Christians have an immortal soul and eventually at Christ's coming an immortal body:


"to those who by patiently doing good seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life." Romans 2: 7 
"but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel." II Tim. 1:10 
"For this perishable body must put on imperishability, and this mortal body must put on immortality. When this perishable body puts on imperishability, and this mortal body puts on immortality, then the saying that is written will be fulfilled: "Death has been swallowed up in victory." I Cor. 15: 53, 54.
Granted, searching the scripture to see a direct text about what happened immediately after death for the Christian--can be confusing because the Bible deals with God's immortality and His children's immortality and you're not sure if its the body's immortality or the soul's. But there does seem to be clarity on one point. Christians who accept Christ have been given immortality. And it does seem to be immediate for their souls, while later for their bodies. 

Can ALL scripture that deals with soul's being aware after death be symbolic? The Adventists will tell you that. But at some point, you have to wonder. For Jesus said (as recorded in Matthew 27: 32):
"I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob? He is the God not of the dead, but of the living." 
And then there is the parable of Father Abraham, Lazarus and the rich man having a conversation after death in Luke 16: 20-31. 

Okay, you think every single text so far is symbolic, not really telling us anything about the immortal soul, even when Christ himself tells us that His death brought immortality to light? 

What about this verse? It seems to be paralleling the story of Samuel. 

  • When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slaughtered for the word of God and for the testimony they had given; they cried out with a loud voice, "Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long will it be before you judge and avenge our blood on the inhabitants of the earth?" They were each given a white robe and told to rest a little longer, until the number would be complete both of their fellow servants and of their brothers and sisters, who were soon to be killed as they themselves had been killed. Rev. 6: 9-11

    These "dead" souls sensed something amiss on earth, the were disturbed from their sleep and cried out for justice.  They have some type of awareness. Also in Revelation, three times it talks about the prayers of the saints being offered to God. Are these martyrs under the altar (symbolically covered by Christ's atonement) not saints also praying? Are their prayers not being offered alongside those from the earth? For two thousand years, the church has always said yes to this question. 

    The Bible is clear that the people of God have always had some type of rest after death and with the possibility of being aware of what was going on in this world. This was taught by those early leaders who were anointed and entrusted to take over the church and spread the good news of the gospel to the world when the Apostles died. 

    Think about it.... even Samuel prophesied after his death....

Monday, September 24, 2012

The Two Kingdoms

Welcome to the Eternal Realtor Consultants.

Everyone knows that this life is going to end and where do YOU want to spend eternity?

We are experts in getting you the prime real estate you so desire and deserve. You put in an ENTIRE life of work, work, work and now comes the pay off. When your time on earth is done, don't stay 'boxed in" (just a little insider joke.) Our motto is, "think outside box!"

Were you promised happiness on earth? Freedom? A kingdom of your own where you can rule your own castle? Yes? Did you get it?.... We didn't think so!

So now we are here to give you some eternal choices. Nobody has any power to make that choice but YOU! Our salespeople are trained to give you the best choices without any pressure or deception. We give you the facts and YOU choose which prime real estate will be your kingdom forever and ever and ever and ever AND BEYOND!

Let's get started:

After this life, you will indeed get to be lord. And there are two choices for your eternal real estate. You have the kingdom of heaven and the kingdom of hell. Both kingdoms for sure, but very different. But have no fear, both YOU and only YOU will freely choose and we promise you will rule your kingdom.

Let's take a look at the first and most popular of the post-mortem real estate. This is for the rugged individualist, the self-sufficient and enlightenment thinker. If equality and autonomy are your highest values, you will LOVE this place. And there is an unlimited space, so you never have to worry about this choice being taken from you.

Freedom Palace:
All the acreage is utterly equal, so your kingdom will in no way be inferior to your neighbors. Indeed, your kingdom is SO isolated that you will never even SEE your neighbor or his property. In this, your kingdom, you make the rules and you are responsible for no one--including yourself! There is nothing ever expected of you and you are utterly free to pursue your own personal dream without the slightest interference. To assure your own protection (as well as others who also choose Freedom Palace) and to guarantee each are given independent, equal and absolute power over their kingdom, we make certain that you are king over NO ONE but yourself. No messy situations with other humans or lifeforms and their needs and desires. Your kingdom is your own and no one can come in and touch it and ruin it.

So then, you ask, what exactly am I ruling if there is only me? Have no fear! You will be provided with stuff you spent so much time on earth wanting that you didn't get. On earth, were you proud to be a "material girl" or a mall crawler? If your bumper sticker read, "Who ever has the most toys wins"? Well.... in Freedom Palace--you win!!  This will be your heaven in.... well, for full disclosure we are obligated to let you know it was originally, technically, called "hades" but we prefer the term our the kings have given it.

You will have unlimited money to purchase anything from Amazon.nogov in which all you have to do is want it and it is yours: boats, any non-organic toy, techno gadget that you can dream up. Let's put it this way... you will spend an eternity gorging your self on inanimate stuff! It is consumers paradise always and forever consuming, consuming without end!

It is guaranteed that throughout all eternity your kingdom will stay exactly as you wish it with no one else to answer to or be responsible for.

Sound like heaven to you? Then choose the popular Freedom Palace.


Our second choice, not quite as popular, but just as loved--perhaps even more loved is the Church Victorious.

Church Victorious
This bustling kingdom, although full of kings, is also hierarchal. There is a Supreme Ruler who requires all here to live as loving lords and live in strict, in fact perfect, submission to His will.
And as lord of your new, everlasting kingdom, you will have many under you who you are responsible for. You will have duties of love and charity as YES will always be the answer to the question of "Am I my brother's keeper?" The motto here is, "the first shall be last and the last shall be first." It is an eternity of charity. You will not be restricted to your own kingdom, but will be able to interact with all areas except Freedom Palace.

This kingdom is about giving more than that which you receive and your reward will be seeing the Supreme Being face to face and absorbing Him into you so that you will spend forever becoming more and more like Him. You will find peace and relaxation in a communal atmosphere in which you can take those people skills you have learned and love for all eternity. It is a givers paradise, as you will create and produce forever expending the light and grace you were given from God.

So there are your choices? In both kingdoms you will be an eternal lord. In both you will get your way, in both utter freedom. Sounds good right? Your only choice is whether you want a kingdom of consuming or a kingdom of giving.

While we don't want to pressure you as Eternal Realtor Consultants we cannot, but we must warn you that while your ultimate decision is absolutely your free choice, the kingdom you choose to live in while on earth today will absolutely influence you. Learn to love the kingdom you will ultimately choose now, so you can be preparing yourself to enjoy eternity.