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It's been awhile since I researched this "church", but I can tell you that their theology is way off. It's simply not Biblical. My husband and I are really attracted to the Acts 29 Network of churches, which have a commitment to the Bible and a commitment to living in today's culture. They have a website and churches all over the nation.
Can you give me some examples please.
By the way: I'm a SDA member and I wear make-up, jewelry, I have a tattoo, three piercings, and I like meet ;-). I celebrate B-days and we have a get together at X-mas. Hmmm what else?
I've been 7th day Adventist all my life and I can't stand going to church, I wear make-up and my ears are pierced. Should I find another religion? I feel guilty because my husband also grew up in the church and I feel that I'm influencing him negatively because he won't go to church without me. I just can't seem to change the way I feel.
I didnt know these things were an issue with the 7th Day Ad's. But do know that since it was one of their hospitals that literally would have let my 1 yr old daughter die because they wanted me to pay them up front for her being admitted (she had pnuemonia and they were the closest hospital I could find in a town I had just moved to). They told me if I couldnt pay them at least 1/2 the money to admit her, before they would do anything, I would have to find another hospital. She was running 103 temp and barely breathing when I rushed her in, they found fluid in her lungs, and said it was pneumonia. Just 30 minutes prior to me bringing her in, she was fine, we were playing 'roll the ball' to each other on the back porch. It just hit her suddenly.
Needless, that alone gave me a very negative view.
I grew up with a few SDA's and Jehovah's Witnesses. The SDA's I knew ate meat, wore jewelry and make- up, and celebrated birthdays. The only real difference I knew about was the day they went to church, Saturday.
The JW's I grew up with never celebrated holidays, witnessed on Saturdays, and could not receive blood transfusions. JW's are also not allowed to enter into any church but their own. I know of a woman who stood outside of the baptist church her mother's funeral was held in. She would not go in. It angered all of her siblings.
I believe you are not enjoying church because you are wearing jewellery and the members do not regard you as one of them. SDA don't wear jewellery , you know that, so why do you. If you must don't wear it to SDA church.
I believe you are not enjoying church because you are wearing jewellery and the members do not regard you as one of them. SDA don't wear jewellery , you know that, so why do you. If you must don't wear it to SDA church.
That's wrong. Like I said before, we have enough people in our church wearing jewelry. I guess it really depends on the church.
/The Adventist churches I go to know a visitor by their jewellery. None of the Adventists I know wear jewellery. They must have changed the rules in your town.
I've been 7th day Adventist all my life and I can't stand going to church, I wear make-up and my ears are pierced. Should I find another religion? I feel guilty because my husband also grew up in the church and I feel that I'm influencing him negatively because he won't go to church without me. I just can't seem to change the way I feel.
I'm a former Seventh Day Adventist. Former, meaning I haven't attended SDA church for the last 22 years. I was forced into the religion by my family. Interestingly enough, my family moved here to the U.S. from the former Yugoslavia, and they were actually Adventists there. I didn't think SDA's had such a stronghold overseas but they did as apparently my grandmother's mother was SDA! In any case, as far as my Adventists years and upbringing, all I can say is that they were the most confusing years of my life. I believed that everything that I did was wrong and sinful and that I was going straight to hell for it. I never fit in, I never was allowed to do anything because everything outside the SDA church was "worldly" and you weren't supposed to associate with the rest of the sinful world. Anyways, I ended up marrying a wonderful person who I knew for at least 5 years before we married; there was a big problem with that and that was that he was Catholic. I might as well as have been dating the Anti-Christ and in fact, it was demanded that stop dating him lest I risk being ex-communicated by my family. I chose to leave my family, move out of state and marry my husband and we've been married for almost 25 years now. Fortunately, my family came around, but we never talked about religion nor did my family attend functions with us that were religion-based.
I left the SDA church at age 23 and I am now 45. I feel that the last 22 or so years have been years of healing from that religion and that I'm just now coming into my own.
I'm not saying that all the people from the SDA religion are bad, but the religion as I knew it was too much for me. For one thing, I never really understood anything about the religion. I was pretty much taught that all the other religions were wrong/bad. Now that I look at things as a 45 year-old, I can't believe that a whole religion was formed because of some visions by a woman named "Sister Ellen White". How is this different than all the other religions that were started because of some person's visions? I am very happy and feel blessed to have got away from that religion, which I feel was almost some kind of cult. I run into a few SDA's today, people that I grew up. None of them are SDA's anymore. I'm not sure what religion they are today or if they are even of any religion, but it is apparent by their hair, make-up, dress, and jewelry they they no practice SDA doctrine. To this day, I find it hard to wear jewelry. I do at times, but it's very modest.
That's my experience with SDA. I'm not saying that everyone else feels that way, it's just that it was that way for me. I've also found that the Yugoslav SDA's are even more strict than the one's in the U.S. For example, we were not allowed to have Christmas trees, celebrate Christmas, no presents, no jewelry, no make-up, no crosses, etc.
P.S. - I ended up converting to Catholicism about 8 years after hubby and I got married. I consider myself a Catholic, but I am more of a very moderate to liberal type Christian. I refuse to formal religions control me as much as SDA did the first part of my life. I wish you the best. You have to come to your own conclusions and most of all follow your heart. Your heart will not betray you.
I was raised a Seventh Day Adventist, My father was a minister AND if I were still in the church, i would be the third generation...
Frankly, if your not going by the rules of the church, they themselves will tell you...your not one of them...they don't wear jewelry...its a rule. They even get upset over the wearing of a wedding ring...they have been known to take other churches to court to force them to remove the SDA name because that church didn't reflect the beliefs of the real church.
Check out this link and read what the church things officially...if your not like this says...then according to them...your not an Adventist...its just that simple.
Seventh-day Adventist Church Manual (http://www.adventist.org/beliefs/church_manual/index.html - broken link)
I escaped them long ago and feel all the better for it. I attended SDA schools all my life, I had it hammered into my mind...luckily the brainwashing didn't work with me and I got away.
Thank you, Lisa. As another ex-SDA, I can relate to and understand 100% what you're talking about. "Escaping" and coming to terms that you're not going to hell for it has taken me many, many years to finally come to that realization. People that have not been involved in this religion have no idea how controlling it really is. I had friends who actually ended up in mental institutions as teen-agers because they felt that the devil was always tempting them to sin, they heard voices, etc. These were perfectly normal and happy kids who had incredible pressure put on them as kids and teen-agers. Thankfully, I don't have anything to do with the church now.
Yes, their diet is fine; it is a healthful diet. The problem is that it doesn't end there. Pretty much everything and everyone is sinful and "of the world". It's this type of indoctrination that is wrong.
I don't ever think I could forsake my mother as to not recognize her on her birthday
Would you believe that my MIL's sister married a SDA years ago and her in-laws didn't let her visit her mother and sisters for years because the family was Methodist and not SDA? My husband did not know he had that aunt until he was fully into his adult years. His mother never spoke of her sister who married an SDA. The mother never got to see her daughter for years. I don't think that SDA's are like that today, but yes, for those that can't believe that it's that bad - yes, it is/or WAS that bad. The people on this board would not believe what my husband and I had to go through to be together. We've now been married for almost 25 years. We had to go through a living h*ll for it though. Wild horses could not drag me back to the SDA religion again. My brother and I (I'm 45, my brother is 39) have childhood scars due to this religion, or at least, how the religion was practiced in our house. I don't wish this upon any child. No physical abuse, but much mental abuse and torture. No child should have to live in constant fear and turmoil like we did.
Last edited by Donna7; 01-06-2008 at 05:07 PM..
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