| Author | Message | ||
| Flyinglady Registered user Username: Flyinglady Post Number: 1673 Registered: 3-2004  |
Today I spent the day with friends from work. We went to one lady's house. She has a swimming pool and a spa. It was wonderful. She fixed food-fresh corn roasted over the grill, pork, potatoes. She is one fantastic cook. I do not know if she is Christian. One of the other people there is Catholic and the other one is a Christian, at least nominally. As I was leaving I was thanking God for the good time I had today, with water fights and all. I got to thinking on the way home, how different God has made me. I can enjoy people where they are. I no longer worry about the alcohol served there or the food and what will I eat. They all know I am a former SDA and why, as they have asked, so I told them. I am amazed by my change in attitude and what God has done for me. I can enjoy other people whether they are Christian or not. I was really surprised at what God has done for me. Do any of you ever have this feeling of acceptance of others like I did this afternoon? Praise God for changing me. Diana | ||
| Riverfonz Registered user Username: Riverfonz Post Number: 487 Registered: 3-2005 |
Diana, Thanks for sharing that experience. You are absolutely right. When we were Adventists, we were always worrying about if at some gathering we were attending, whether there was going to be unclean foods served, or even alcohol. We were made to feel guilty about these things. It is so wonderful to be free from all that baggage, and just go out and enjoy life and enjoy people. I have some audio tapes of Robert Brinsmead talking about this cultural aspect of Adventism. He says it so well in his Australian accent, "Now we are free to join the human race. HUMAN RACE--MOVE OVER. HERE I COME! He points out that Jesus came as the eating and drinking man unlike John the Baptist. You can be a witness for Christ even at a cocktail party! Martin Luther went to the pubs, and over a pint of ale talked about the doctrine of justification by faith. He was doing this even the day before he went on trial for heresy. Oh, to be free from the Adventist ghetto. Diana, I agree, it is truly a life changing experience. We can all praise God for that. Stan | ||
| Flyinglady Registered user Username: Flyinglady Post Number: 1676 Registered: 3-2004 |
Stan, Thanks for the quote from R. Brinsmead, "Now we are free to join the human race. HUMAN RACE -- MOVE OVER, HERE I COME." I really like that as I feel like I am truly human. Thank you God. Diana | ||
| Belvalew Registered user Username: Belvalew Post Number: 551 Registered: 7-2004 |
A few nights ago I was IMing with a lady who had been a student at ***SDA Academy*** when I was there. We were reminiscing about how we had been way back over 40 years ago. She is in the process of processing out of SDA, s-l-o-w-l-y, and I have to move slowly when talking to her, but in a moment of pure frivolity I asked her if she ever regretted being as shy as she and I both were when she was in academy. She agreed, that she sometimes felt that way. She was a lovely girl with no confidence, and back then I wasn't so hard on they eye either, but I was painfully shy. What I told her was that if we'd had half as much confidence then as we had legs, we could have really torn things up. It set us both to giggling. That would have meant that we would have joined the Human Race. That's all I have to say. I just found it interesting that you were talking about normal activities that, as an Adventist, would have been viewed as threatening. | ||
| Faith2 Registered user Username: Faith2 Post Number: 50 Registered: 3-2005 |
Hi Flyinglady, Riverfonz and Belvalew Normal and human are beautiful ways of describing how I view myself as well. Since leaving Adventism, I laugh more and am developing beautiful and meaningful friendships with people from all walks of life. Since leaving, life is so much richer and Jesus is sooooooooooooo much sweeter. Question, did any of you go through a period where you shunned Adventist? I am. Maybe itís due to fact that I have not been out long enough. I am not bitter or angry. I just feel that I have to protect my freedom. Huntsville is Adventist city; you can't go anywhere without bumping into one. Nevertheless, we are NORMAL. Who the son has set free... | ||
| Jwd Registered user Username: Jwd Post Number: 46 Registered: 4-2005 |
Dear Diana, How wonderful your experience and your sweet expression of your joy. It brought immediately to mind a sad memory in my life, when we had moved into a new neighborhood and the next door neighbors invited us to a barbecue to get acquainted. I turned them down because I knew they would barbecue meat and I did not want to face the looks of dismay on their faces when I explained that I "COULD NOT" eat meat! Oh the division that sectarian beliefs cause; the destructions and maring of relationships! How wonderful to be FREE, truely FREE in the Beloved. Celebrating Independence Day will hold a double whammy blessing for all of us who now dance the dance of freedom in the meadow of His peace and love. Enjoy. I lift my glass in a joyous toast with you and yours. Jess | ||
| Flyinglady Registered user Username: Flyinglady Post Number: 1677 Registered: 3-2004 |
Faith2, Since I live near Las Vegas, NV there are not very many SDAs around me. An SDA friend and I tried to meet for lunch after I decided not to rejoin the church, but neither she nor I could find the time to do it. Now that there is an SDA congregation gathering just down the street from me, at the local community church, "I" want to go to the SS and start asking questions. Questions like "What about Jesus and where he stands in your life and why", "What about the Clear Word", "Have you heard about the plagiarism of EGW" and others depending on the subject. That is not what God wants for me at this time. I put I in quotation marks because that is what I want to do and is not what God is telling me to do. I have been leaving SDAs to themselves as I develop a firmer hold/belief in Jesus. So far God has not indicated He wants me to do anything else. Jess, I really like your use of words when you say "How wonderful to be FREE, truely FREE in the Beloved. Celebrating Independence Day will hold a double whammy blessing for all of us who now dance the dance of freedom in the meadow of His peace and love." I, too, lift my glass in a Joyous toast to this freedom in Christ and for our Independence Day. Diana | ||
| Patriar Registered user Username: Patriar Post Number: 97 Registered: 3-2005 |
Yes, I have found that I'm much friendlier, because I have a newfound confidence that is grounded in Christ. I, too smile more and feel happier. I have always battled depression and amazingly, this journey out, though incredibly sad at times, has only lightened my depression and shown me the Power of the Holy Spirit in my life. The bonds of legalism were undoubtedly serving to deepen the depression of my melancholy spirit. Patria | ||
| Belvalew Registered user Username: Belvalew Post Number: 552 Registered: 7-2004 |
Since becoming a former I have found that the few times I've attended services (weddings and funerals, mostly) at SDA churches have tended to creep me out a bit. Perhaps it is my attitude about what the religion represents, or perhaps for me there is a pall over the place because of what is being taught there (they are all being taught that Jesus is not enough, that they have to help him save them). I've come to a point of hero worship where Jesus is concerned--there is no one sweeter, no one stronger, no one who knows more about how to love, no one mightier, no better healer... It feels particularly unwholesome to me when I enter an institution where the self is agrandized. Belva | ||
| Riverfonz Registered user Username: Riverfonz Post Number: 490 Registered: 3-2005 |
Diana, Since you liked that Brinsmead quote about freedom to join the human race, I will post a few more quotes from him. For those who may be asking who Brinsmead is, he, along with Des Ford were two Australians with the most significant impact on Adventism in the early 80's. Brinsmead also influenced the WWCG move away from Sabbatarianism. He gave a presentation in Monterrey, Calif. exactly 25 years ago on a 4th of July weekend. After making those comments about joining the human race, he then said. "I am reminded that July 4 is a great date in American history. It was a great day of independence for America. Let's declare our independence from Adventism by taking a big dump truck, loading in the truck all EGW books and the entire system, let's back it up to a cliff, and dump it all overboard! I am reminded of Moses when he went to Pharaoh, and I will say it now,'Let my people go!'" That was the way he ended his presentation and he got a huge applause from the audience. He related another experience earlier in the presentation that is also worth mentioning. "A man came down to my Fallbrook office one day quite distressed. He said 'First you take away 1844, then you take away Ellen White, and then you take away the Sabbath.'(He was in tears and wailing at this point). Then he said, 'There is nothing left but Jesus!'" What a great note to celebrate this 4th of July rejoicing in our salvation through Jesus Christ alone plus nothing else! We can all raise our glasses and toast to the marvelous freedom and joy we have today in Jesus. Happy 4th of July everone! Stan | ||
| Belvalew Registered user Username: Belvalew Post Number: 556 Registered: 7-2004 |
There IS nothing left but Jesus! He is, wonderfully, enough! | ||
| Flyinglady Registered user Username: Flyinglady Post Number: 1680 Registered: 3-2004 |
AMEN to dumping the EGW books and I would start a bonfire with them. The man who lost everything but Jesus, I hope, soon found out that Jesus is all he needs. Jesus is the answer to all my needs and He has never disappointed me. He is wonderful, beautiful, awesome. Diana | ||
| Jeremy Registered user Username: Jeremy Post Number: 822 Registered: 10-2004  |
I've been thinking about it, and it seems like as SDAs we had the attitude that "other people" were almost somehow "less-than-human" and that we were in a different class. It was "oh those poor non-SDAs." And non-SDA social situations were always very uncomfortable. Also, there is usually no distinction at all between Christians and non-Christians--they're all just "non-SDAs" or "the world." It's very disgusting to think about, and very cultic. Jeremy | ||
| Leigh Registered user Username: Leigh Post Number: 13 Registered: 2-2003 |
Diana, I really enjoyed reading your post about your wonderful day with your friend. It reminded me of a weekend trip my husband and I made a few months after we stopped attending our sda church. We spent the weekend with a friend and cooworker of my husband and his extended family in the mountains. We still don't know what kind of meat we ate, and we graciously accepted the wine offered at dinner. I doubt I would have been able to to that 6 months before hand. Our Blue Bible story books went in the trash yesterday. | ||
| Belvalew Registered user Username: Belvalew Post Number: 557 Registered: 7-2004 |
Jeremy, It sounds like you have had experiences similar to the ones I've had, where a group of SDA's are talking about someone "worldly" that they know i common, and everybody is speaking in a manner that is almost perplexed, because they experienced that person as being a good Christian, perhaps more brotherly than they were. I've memories of my parents making that sort of statement, that this or that person is a good Christian, "if only they would accept the truth." Leigh, congratulations on taking what must have been a final step. I remember holding onto those books because they had so many beautiful illustrations. They also contained a contorted gospel and as such are as dangerous as the SOP. Good going, Girl. | ||
| Riverfonz Registered user Username: Riverfonz Post Number: 493 Registered: 3-2005 |
Jeremy, I agree with you about how SDAs classify other groups, even Christian groups, as being "worldly". Where did this expression "worldly" come from? This topic fits Diana's original post starting this thread. And that is that SDAs in their exclusivist ghetto have definitions of what is "worldly", and it is always defined as something external. This is completely foreign to what Paul described as "worldly". In Col. 2:16-19, Paul does a good job of describing works-righteousness as a worldly system. He clearly ridicules the idea that by subscribing to esthetic rules such as in Col. 2:21, "Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!...v.23 "Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self imposed worship, their false humility, and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence." This flies right in the face of Adventism with all of their artificial rules and regulations that have no value at all. There is an exciting discussion on the topic of "worldliness" that gets right to the heart of this topic and completely refutes everything Adventism says about this on a radio program called the White Horse Inn which can be listened to at any time at www.whitehorseinn.org. Stan | ||
| Flyinglady Registered user Username: Flyinglady Post Number: 1689 Registered: 3-2004 |
I have been so busy reading the Bible in the last year and 1/2 that I have not given much attention to other Christian writers. So today I went to the whitehorse inn and have earmarked it for further reading and listening. Thanks Stan for this web site. And I hope your schedule lets you go to the FAF meeting August 5 so my sister and I can meet you with all the others. God is so good and so awesome. Diana | ||
| Riverfonz Registered user Username: Riverfonz Post Number: 495 Registered: 3-2005 |
Diana, You are a lot better off sticking to the Bible than to other authors. By becoming grounded in scripture, you can then judge what other authors say. But many Christians just read other books instead of scripture, and that is why there is so much Biblical illiteracy today among Christians. Yes, hope to see you Aug.5. Stan |
