| Author | Message | ||
| Susan_2 Registered user Username: Susan_2 Post Number: 2057 Registered: 11-2002 |
I ended up in a SDA church today, the first time in several years. I was completely shocked by what heard. I did not stay for the formal service. What I sat threw was the Sabbath School portion of the service. First some fellow started off with prayer. The prayer kind-of irritated me because it went something like this, "Our Father, thank0-you for the Sabbath, a special time that You have set aside for us to gather together to pursue Your word., etc. Then the prayer ended "In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen." The only mention of anyone Holy as the prayer was a praise of a period of time, the seventh day. Then we got into the depth of the SS lesson. Please, someone out there in FAF land let me figure this out. The SS teacher went on and on about a group of people in Kenya (?) who call themselves by the name Al Haneef (sp?) which means, The Pios Ones. This group claims to be 100% Moslem as well as 100% SDA, which is the 100% true combination of beliefs. Have any of you heard about this group? The SS teacher then talked about how twice in the Koran Mohammad says to his followers that Jesus is the Christ and should be followed. He (the SS teacher) then shared similarities between the Moslem religion and trhe SDA religion. Then he jumped to Eph. 3 and told the group that the walls of religious division need to be knocked down, that Jesus came to save all of humanity and it doesn't matter if one is SDA, Catholic, Moslem, Jew, Hindu (yes, he actually named all these groups), touest, Buddhist or Bahai, Jesus came to save everyone and the Bible makes it clear "that His will will be done". It sounded very similiar to what I have heard in the few Unitarian services I have attended. He said that no group will be saved because that group has the right doctrines but everyone will be saved because of Jesus. I mean, his words were twisted. He even said that everyone, weather they know it or not, they are saved IN CHRIST.He said because of Christ there is no seperation of unity among people because of their religious pursuasion. He said even if the Hundus don't know it, the blood of Christ has saved them, too. This was in a Southeran California SDA church today. He even difined grace. We learned that grace is God saving for eternal life even those who reject His Son. That's how far God's grace reaches. I kept wanting to walk out but then I kept thinking the SS teacher would start making sense so I stayed and was spellbound. Have any of you heard such a teaching? Is this type of belief prevlant among SDA's? It just didn't seem very Christian. Frankly, it was totally weird. Then on the flipside of all this was stacks of EGW books being given away on the table in the narthax and EGW quote inserts in the bulletin. I want to tell you all right now, what I heard did not sound in line with Christian teachings at all. | ||
| Colleentinker Registered user Username: Colleentinker Post Number: 2870 Registered: 12-2003  |
Susan, I have heard the same twistedness. First, the SDA outreach to Moslems is based on the idea that the SDA missionary will go and live in the Moslem culture and make connections by their similarities: their unclean-meat food laws, their honoring of Abraham, the similarities between the OT and the Koran. Eventually they teach about Jesus, and their philosophy is that the Moslems can accept Jesus and remain Moslem because they worship the same God. Second. the idea that everyone is saved because of Jesus is universalism. I've heard it in So Cal Adventism before. It really bothers me to hear they are refering to Ephesians 3 to say the walls of religious division need to be knocked down because Jesusa came to save EVERYONE. The thing that so wrong with that argument is that Ephesians (as well as the rest of the NT) is repetitively clear that people only have unity IN CHRIST. A person is not IN CHRIST unless he/she accepts Jesus with the surrender of the heart and is born from above by the indwelling Holy Spirit. People are not indwelt by the Holy Spirit unless they surrender to Jesus. Only then are they IN CHRIST, and only in Him are people unified. Jesus didn't just automatically unify people. If he had done that, there would be no animosity and war today. Only when people are in Christ are they part of the body of Christ. The body of Christ is the only place where people of all ethnic backgrounds can come and find true unity and brotherhood. Universalism is heresy. Christianity actually sounds pretty "exclusive" when it is taught Biblically, but ironically, only Christ's exclusive body is able to love even those who are not unified with them in Christ with disinterested love. Colleen | ||
| Lynne Registered user Username: Lynne Post Number: 66 Registered: 10-2005 |
Well, to me, I think they are really open for anything. The SDA Church is a secular group since they do not teach salvation in Christ alone. They teach that the spirit and the flesh are not separate, which denies the holy spirit and really just makes you natural, secular person. The cultish way of the church shows that it controls the minds of followers to believe anything. Probably if you visited different SS classes around the country it would conform itself into that environment. I was surprised having lived in Southern California myself with the differences some of the churches there. I've seen open homosexuals in some churches which is against what the church teaches. They want to recruit and they will bend any way necessary. I've been told by leadership in the church that people can go to heaven that are not in Christ. I believe that the SS teacher might have been saying in my understanding of the church teachings, is that yes, Catholics, Jews anyone will go to heaven if they haven't been taught the "truth". The truth about the Sabbath, the Remnant church that is. Perhaps if asked, that is probably what he would have said. But if these people are not taught this message, yes, you might see them in heaven. No matter what they say, they will almost always come up with something that leads to, or is consistant with the core of the church beliefs. | ||
| Riverfonz Registered user Username: Riverfonz Post Number: 983 Registered: 3-2005 |
Susan, that is interesting. Can you say what SoCal church you heard this in. When heresy such as blatant as this is spouted, I think the whole world should know who is saying it, and they need to be accountable. This illustrates that all false religions are out of the same cloth. SDA, Catholicism, Hinduism, Islam are all false. The late Pope said exactly the same things as this teacher you are mentioning, and it is documented. We are seeing prophecy fulfilled with Catholicism uniting with apostate Protestantism, and syncretistically with Hinduism, Islam, and Buddhism. You heard it today, and the late pope said the exact same things. Stan | ||
| Susan_2 Registered user Username: Susan_2 Post Number: 2058 Registered: 11-2002 |
I attended the main SDA church in Ventura. This was the SS class held in the chapel. From reading the bulletin there were three adult SS classes going on and I ended up in the one in the youth chapel. I took notes. I have my notes. Lynne, the teacher never uttered a word about having to know the Christian truth or even know the SDA "truth". He mentioned numerous non-Christian religions as well as several Christians denominations other than SDA while mostly focusing on the Moslem religion and its similarities to Adventism and talking about how Moslem and SDA can be merged quite well into one unifing faith with neither faith having to give up anything but only gaining from the merger. He plainly said that even those who don't know it are covered by God's grace because it is His will that none should perish and all shall have eternal life. Now, to be honest with all of you, I have pondered such things and I have come to the simple-minded conclusion that this question to me is too great for me to get a belief on. So, for me I have reconcilled that I believe in a fair and a just God and I just plain don't need to understand or know everything or have an answer about everything. I am fine with that. At the same time though this SS teacher just seemed to come across as having the answer to every possible question that could ever come up about who will and who will not be saved. I just kept wondering if those folks really believe that rubbish that was coming from the podium then how come do they bother with trying to abide by all the SDA rules? It just doesn't make sense. They also at that church are having community meetings called, "Seventh-day Adventism Made Simple". I am courious what they say in those meetings so if any of you out there attend any of those please report on here about them. I picked up a brochure put out by the ABC advertising books for children on the 0-7 age group. One book especially caught my eye. It's called, "I Miss Grandpa" and the ad says it is especially written with the Adventist parent in mind to help them teach their children the Adventrist good news about those who are asleep in Jesus. It's $12.99 in case you're wondering.There's also a new book out for the children called, "Ellen, The Girl With Two Angels". It's $6.99. This one is advertised as an early-reader book which I assume is written so the young children can read it themselves. That's sure to be a best seller among the SDA's! WOW! What I've been missing out on all these years of not attending SDA services! | ||
| Susan_2 Registered user Username: Susan_2 Post Number: 2060 Registered: 11-2002 |
Colleen, The SS teacher did go through the texts in Eph. and read the texts that contain the words, IN CHRIST to prove his point. He said the texts in Eph. prove that all are saved IN CHRIST and nowhere do those texts exclude anyone because of religious belief. He used the very same texts that Christians use only he used them to mean a totally differwent understanding of them than Christianity. I know a lot of JW's and it's the same thing with them. They use the same words but get a completely different meawning from those words. | ||
| Belvalew Registered user Username: Belvalew Post Number: 726 Registered: 7-2004 |
I had a similar experience yesterday with a group of "questioning" Adventists. I have a friend who has been a faithful member of the SDA church her entire life and is, in fact, still a member at a local congregation where she frequently serves as a greeter. She and I had lunch on Friday and in the course of the conversation it came up that her "special" SS class was beginning a study of Hebrews. I told her I had recently completed a 6-month study of Hebrews and she practically begged me to come and be a part of their group. She even called me up Saturday morning to remind me and get me up in time to be there. If you look in the "Prayer Requests" section you will find my prep as I dashed off to be there yesterday. Anyway, when I arrived I found a group of about eight individuals ready to study. There were several handouts to prepare the participants; to give them background on when the book was written, and to whom. They assume it was written to a group of Jewish Christians who were under pressure to return to Judism, may have been written after the Gospel of Mark was written, but before any of the others had been completed. Perhaps some of the epistles exhisited at that time, but there doesn't seem to be any mention of them in the book. The quotes from scripture found in Hebrews appear to all come from the Septuigent, and none from the Masaretic text. There are several quotes from the Psalms which were originally written in the Masaretic. That is the set-up -- so far, so good. One of the participants seemed to be Isreali in appearance and accent, and he had the scriptures in Greek and Hebrew, so of course, whenever there was a question, the group deferred to him for clarification. The material covered that first day was only the first chapter, and they were doing their best to follow good hermaneutics and only read the book itself, in context. The first chapter is about how Jesus is higher than the angels, so of course we were side-tracked about whether or not the first-century believing Jews worshipped angels. The end result, in accordance with Mr. "I-Can-Read-All-Bible-Languages" was that whenever the word "Lord" was used in OT it was referring to Yahweh, the one God. In NT "Lord" is a term used to refer to Christ, or The Christ. There is no (according to Mr. ICRABL) OT prophecy about God becoming a man and redeeming mankind. There are Messiah references, but no indication that Messiah will be God or a God. Then we fell into a tangle of discussion based on that assertion vis-a-vis the Godhead. There followed from that a discussion of the fact that early Adventists didn't believe in the Trinity and that they had viewed Jesus as subordinate to The Father. The final assertion by Mr. ICRABL was that, from the first chapter of Hebrews, God the Father is the main God, Jesus is a subordinate God, and the Holy Spirit hasn't even been alluded to yet, but that the HS just might be Jesus in spirit form. He then gathered up his tomes and exited the building. There were others who seemed all right with that assessment, or at least everyone was being open-minded about the whole thing and no one should be denied their opinions. With the exit of one of the participants the signal was that the discussion of scripture was over. There was one couple who wanted to discuss the difficulties of Biblical archeology and whether or not one should purchase items found by non-archeologists, so the ethics of purchasing items from tomb raiders was discussed. I found the whole experience non-satisfying. There was no sense of reverence when the scriptures were being approached and I seemed to get the feeling that with some of these people at least, since their St. Ellen had lost her sheen, they were having problems with believing in any sacred writings. I could be wrong, but I really don't have any desire to continue to delve into the scriptures with these people. | ||
| Belvalew Registered user Username: Belvalew Post Number: 727 Registered: 7-2004 |
I forgot one point that the person with all the books made, and it was the one I had the most difficulty with. He seemed to jump through the first couple of chapters of Hebrews and proof-text style picked out statements made about Jesus being our brother and giving to us the right to be Sons of God, and since we are going to be Sons of God, we will be gods ourselves. | ||
| Seekr777 Registered user Username: Seekr777 Post Number: 350 Registered: 1-2003  |
Maybe what God is calling you to do is share your passion and reverence for Scripture and open up for them your feeling of It's inspiration. I know I feel the place God puts me in with others is to quietly share what God has and is doing in my life. I'm NOT a theologian like some are here on this discussion but I do know how God is changing and working in my life and that i can share with others. Please keep an open mind to how God is calling you to share with others.  Richard rtruitt@mac.com | ||
| Belvalew Registered user Username: Belvalew Post Number: 728 Registered: 7-2004 |
Dear Richard, I truly wish to be available to do the work God has placed me here to do. Yesterday I made it clear that I view every word of scripture as being "God breathed." I remember the pitying looks I received from some in the room. It appears they are still caught up in the "thought inspiration" thing they were taught while fully practicing Adventists. Over lunch one of the ladies even admitted that it is often a problem dividing the scriptures from St. Ellen's utterances and that she has to stop and question where she got some of her ideas about scripture. It is clear that a number of these people are existing in the shadowlands that seem to engulf people after they have encountered SDA's falsehoods and they are trying to sort everything out right now. Perhaps my problem with the approach was that it was approached in a purely scholarly manner and didn't seem to embrace the sacred respect that I have chosen to use when reading scripture. Maybe I am being narrow-minded. The odd thing is that I learned my respect for the scriptures in an SDA setting. Is it because I didn't finish college that I retain this "less educated" approach? Am I being gullible? I don't think so. As Susan well knows, I enjoy watching Gene Scott (Thank you to whomever it is that keeps his programming on the air) take scripture, return it to the original languages, then pull apart and put back together these same scriptures so that we can drill down into the Word for the meaning that God put there for us. In essense, that is what these individuals seemed to be trying to do yesterday, but my sense is that what Gene Scott did was genuinely search for God's meaning, and what I witnessed yesterday was a poor imitation. I will pray for God's will with regard to my continuing participation in the study of Hebrews. This is an amazing and important book, especially for SDA's, because they take the stand they do with regard to the Law, and have scrambled things up with regard to Law and Ceremony. We need to continue to pray for these people, that is all I know. They are precious to Jesus, and I know that he died for their sins as much as he did for mine. I fear for people who have gotten so much education that they think they are above it all, and therefore look at the rest of us as though we are unenlightened and superstitious. Belva | ||
| Seekr777 Registered user Username: Seekr777 Post Number: 351 Registered: 1-2003 |
Belva, I don't believe you are narrow-minded nor gullible. I pray that they are seeking the truth of who God is and what His will is in their lives. For many SDAs it is quite a step to even express the wish to delve deeply into Scripture. I believe the best way for you to be effective, if you feel God is calling you to go further, is to simply share what you have learned in your own walk with God. Even if no one immediately sees the "light" the seeds are planted and the Holy Spirit can continue to nuture them. Richard rtruitt@mac.com | ||
| Susan_2 Registered user Username: Susan_2 Post Number: 2061 Registered: 11-2002 |
Belva, Richard, Several years ago I was with an elderly SDA relative. The car in front of us had a bumper sticker that said, "The Bible says it. I believe it. That settles it." I commented that the bumper sticker on the car in front of us is how I believe. I honestly felt sad for this person. She read it. Thought it over and then sheeplishly said, "Oh, I just don't think a person can't trust their own understanding when it comes to something that important." We both knew what she ment and I didn't push the issue any further and the discussion about the bumper sticker stopped right there. It is sad, too because Martin Luther went to such great lenghts so everyone could read and learn the Word of God themselves. I so often think the SDA has pulled such a fast one over on its members by convincing them that the church has the right understanding on everything. Have you ever read through the SS lesson books? They leave no stone unturned in letting the faithful know all the "right" answers. I can immagine your frustration, Belva. | ||
| Colleentinker Registered user Username: Colleentinker Post Number: 2876 Registered: 12-2003 |
Belva, thank you for telling us more of the details. Mr ICRABL (I love your acronym!) is explicating the Scriptures in true Jewish-scholar fashion. There is a pastor at the LLU Church (his title is "Scholar In Residence") who is the only SDA to have graduated from Hebrew Union College in New York. Several years ago he told Richard and me that when he "learned" the "truth" about the book of Isaiah--that it was not all written by Isaiahóand that the last part of it with its incredible Messinaic prophecies was written AFTER Jesus was born by some Jewish Christians who wanted to validate Jesus' claim to be the Messiahóhe nearly lost his faith. His faith, apparently, was rescued, but not in a Biblical belief about Jesus. He believes the Jewish assertion that there is no OT prophecy that forshadowed Jesus' claims. This pastor teaches his views informally to a few who admire him. Richard has regular conversations with one such disciple. Just last week this "disciple" was telling Richard that the idea of a divine Messiah was an idea that grew out of Greek culture--that it had been present in Greek mythology and thought for a long time, and Jesus' followers borrowed this Greek notion and applied it to Jesus. (He doesn't say HOW this notion entered Greek culture--perhaps the same way it entered the consciousness of the Gentile Magi that followed the star?) At any rate, Mr. ICRABL is not a Christian in the true sense of the word. He is sharing his Jewish-secular indoctrination. (The Jews pretty much have to develop arguments that debunk Jesus as the divine Messiah because they do not believe Him.) It is true that the book of Isaiah seems to have been written in two installments. The historical background notes in the NIV Study Bible, however, discuss this fact and also discuss the arugments intrinsic in the text that support the idea that the sole author was Isaiah. I'm just telling you this so you have a better idea where Mr. ICRABL is coming from. He is basing his take on the Bible from secular textual criticism with a Jewish bias. His mode of thinking WILL lead to denigrating Jesus and denying (or diminishing) his deity. It would not be a stretch to arrive at a "we will become gods" philosophy if one reads the NT the way he is reading it. He assumes that Jesus could not have been the One True God. Therefore, his eventual "deity" must pre-figure our own eventual deity. I will pray re: your going back to that class. People without a firm beleif in Bible incerrancy and without relationships with Jesus that confirm Biblical truth will be vulnerable to Mr. ICRABL. If any of them have a deep desire for truth, his assertions will jar them into their own study. If, on the other hand, they are looking for reasons to substantiate their doubt, he will confirm their doubt. When I was still working for Adventist Today, I was invited to teach one week in a very "intellectual" SS class in Loma Linda. These people were much like Mr. ICRABL although without the steeping in Judaism. I had them read Bible texts and discuss them, and many of those people didn't have Bibles with them. Richard still comments on the fact that when I was done, those people left as fast as they could, and almost no one made even a comment to me. I was, not surprisingly, never asked to teach again! God will guide you. The class is not discussing the Bible with integrity--but God knows what His plans are for you re: attending. With prayers for you, Colleen | ||
| Flyinglady Registered user Username: Flyinglady Post Number: 1979 Registered: 3-2004  |
Praying for you also, Belva. We know that Jesus is all we need and that He is so very awesome. Diana | ||
| Belvalew Registered user Username: Belvalew Post Number: 729 Registered: 7-2004 |
Please let me add that I found some of these people (the quiet ones, mostly) were sincere in their search for Christ as presented in scripture. My friend and her husband fall into that category, and I pray for them both. I wish I could invite them into my bible study group rather than have to go with them to theirs. I might try that. They were curious about the church where I worship, and have heard good things about it from other people. The trouble is that they are traveling a long distance to worship where they do now, and if they were to come to my part of the Peninsula they would be adding even more miles to their travel time. I guess the thing that was most glaring for me is that it has been years since I've participated in a bible study with SDA's, and I had forgotten how cerebral and sterile the whole process can be with them. They also seem to love arguing things out. It is years since I've done it that way, and I realized yesterday how much I DO NOT MISS THAT! I just wanted to make it clear that I know God is at work with them, but I have a sincere doubt that I'm equal to the challenge. | ||
| Helovesme2 Registered user Username: Helovesme2 Post Number: 331 Registered: 8-2004  |
Belvalew wrote: "I just wanted to make it clear that I know God is at work with them, but I have a sincere doubt that I'm equal to the challenge." Which means, so long as you lean on Him, you're right where God can use you! Mary | ||
| Leigh Registered user Username: Leigh Post Number: 46 Registered: 2-2003 |
Hi Belva, I have been reading 2 books by Josh McDowell (Campus Crusade for Christ) "Evidence that Demands a Verdict" and "The Best of Josh McDowell - A Ready Defense." He addresses the issue of pagan mythology supposedly influencing early Christian writers and many, many other subjects including the Dead Sea Scrolls and the book of Isaiah. I was able to find these books at our county library. These may be helpful to you. Leigh | ||
| Pheeki Registered user Username: Pheeki Post Number: 697 Registered: 1-2003 |
My husband's brother is moving back here from So. Cali. and he has recently re-embraced SDAism. Last night at dinner, he and his wife were talking about how blessed they were because they started tithing their 10% to the GC. She said it was a covenant with God. I couldn't stop myself and said, "Yea, old Covenant." OOPS. So then they looked at me perplexed like they hadn't ever heard of the New Covenant. So I told them that under the NC, we have the Holy Spirit dwelling in us and He tells us how to give (often much more than 10%), when to give, and to whom. It isn't always a church...but often a person in the Body who is in need. Then they quote, "The bible says bring meat into the store house..." and I said, "That's just it, it often was meat and for the Levites cause they couldn't own land or farm...I don't see any Levites around here." After that, you could hear a pin drop. They didn't look too happy with me. I couldn't sleep last night because I drank tea too late in the eveing and so I tossed and turned because I felt that perhaps I should have kept my mouth shut...or I was too harsh. Sometimes I come across angry because I believe too strongly...and because I am so used to coming up against a brick wall with the SDA. I felt sad because I am afraid my husband's brother will pull him back into the SDA fold...and he has come so far. Then the other thing that happened yesterday that made me sad...my new sister-in-law is not SDA. I have posted before on how she attended the Arlington, Tx. SDA church, where they film Faith for Today, etc...which is touted as a "progressive" SDA church, jewelry, etc. Anyway, she went there many times with my brother and hated it. She took her ring off in the bathroom to wash her hands and forgot it and someone stole it...and they announced it was missing and no one returned it...she said, "What kind of church is this...people steal?" I said, "It's because they are like the Catholics, they are there because they think affiliation saves them, a lot of them aren't even saved." Anyway, no one greeted her...the pastor didn't give her the time of day. She said it felt cold and the people felt arrogant and she didn't feel the HS there. So she comes to my church and LOVED it. The music, the people, the preacher...loved it. So she gets my brother to come and afterward, he said he didn't like it because the music minister looked "phony". So he doesn't come back. Since my s-i-l won't attend SDA, they have been "church hopping" to find somewhere they can attend as a family. They went to some church last Sunday but my brother thought too many people greeted him and it made him uncomfortable. So this Sunday, he told her to pick where she wanted to go...he included my church. So they came.... About the 3rd song into praise time (we are moving from an elementary school to a real church this week...so one of the praise songs was..."Blessed coming in, blessed goin' out...and then the choir (chorus) is a bunch of "thank-you's"...they were rockin'!)...anyway, he turns to my s-i-l and says, "I'm leavin', these people are phony." And he leaves her standing there. I don't understand. It made me soooo sad. And the sermon was on Leveticus 23-the feasts of the Lord, of which the Sabbath is the first listed...and the pastor went through what each feast signified...all foreshadows of Christ and His finished work. If there was ever a sermon my brother needed to hear...this was it. My s-i-l said the devil knew this and that is why he left. So anyway, I am sad. The burden I feel for them is sometimes so heavy, I feel I can't bear it. Is my brother even saved...if he can't tell the difference in a place where the HS is and isn't??? Please pray for my husband, mother and brother. | ||
| Colleentinker Registered user Username: Colleentinker Post Number: 2882 Registered: 12-2003 |
Dear Pheeki, I will pray. Dear Father, please comfort Pheeki's heart with your peace and reassurance. Please help her to to experience the confidence of knowing she can leave her husband and mother and brother in Your hands and trust You to soften their hearts and reveal Yourself to them. Help her to rejoice in You and to know Your sovereign grace protecting her and her family. Thank you for opening her eyes and for the great progress she has witnessed in her children and husband. Thank you that You are faithful to complete what You begin in us. I prase You for what You are already doing in her husband, mother, and brother, and I thank You for Your plans for them. Thank You also for blessing Pheeki with living faith, and thank You for being close to her today and protecting her heart from fear and doubt. You are our all-in-all. Thank you. In Jesus name, Amen. | ||
| Belvalew Registered user Username: Belvalew Post Number: 732 Registered: 7-2004 |
Dear FAFers, A few minutes ago I finished reading the latest controversy being debated at R/S. Here is the Link http://www.revivalsermons.org/forums/viewforum.php?f=20 and read what is being said in the thread titled: Beware of False Doctrines. It appears that our old friend Walks-In-The-Light is debating the truth of the Trinity. Perhaps he is just resisting the term "Trinity." He has always been put off by anything sounding remotely like a term that is used by Catholicism, and since he thinks they coined the doctrine, he is determined to prove it wrong. The upsetting thing for me was that there seemed to be people arguing for the idea that Jesus is a created being, based once again on the word "begat." Another poster named Dedication is arguing for the eternal God aspect of Jesus, and doing a rather good job of it. How did Adventism fall again into this sub-god theory about Jesus? Have I missed something? When I was in academy I was taught (at least that is how I remember it) that Jesus is fully God, and that he is the instrument of creation because without him was not anything made that was made. What's going on? I somehow feel as though everything has gone haywire in the SDA church since I stopped attending (not that I could have prevented error just by being there). SDAism has always had error and has always been dangerous, perhaps even more dangerous then than it is now, because these types of errors are glaring. There was a time when SDAism was just slightly out of focus and it was hard to tell that they weren't Christian. They had the Sabbath, State-of-the-dead, and Investigative Judgment to create confusion, but otherwise appeared to be mainstream Protestant in their underpinnings. After my experience on Saturday, and now to go read all that hogwash by Walks-In-The-Light -- I'm so glad I am no longer affiliated in any way with that misinformation! How mainstream SDA are Walk's opinions? Can anyone tell me? Belva |
