Questions about Seventh Day Adventists

[kountzer]

Interesting thread. I am seventh day adventist. I hope to post more on this later. Now I am going back to sleep. It is 2:33am right now.

[rstrats]

Meester-Chung,


You have a question directed to you in post #72.

[RomulusXXV]

Originally Posted by Mrs. Skeffington

So, just curious...what is your take on Ellen White? Was she an authentic "prophet", or were her "visions" the product of a seizure disorder (due to being hit in the head with a rock). Also, while bedridden, she earned money for her family making hats...she was exposed to mercury, which was used in manufacturing hats in those days (that's where the term "mad as a hatter" came from by the way) which could have caused insanity and contributed to her delusions. There's also the plagiarism claim, which I am sure you've heard about because it's all over the internet. I learned a lot about the SDA's, because DH's family were/are all in the church and they tried really hard to convert me. It didn't work.

The writings of Ellen White never had any bearing on whatever beliefs I had pertaining to the Bible …for me, it was the Bible alone. And, that’s the truth. I have NEVER read any EGW publications and I have never cared one way or the other whether or not she was a prophet. Also the truth. Yes, there is often an over-emphasis by some within the SDA Church regarding "Ellen White sez" but that just went in one ear and out the other for me.

Originally Posted by Mrs. Skeffington

MS. None of my business, really, but how did you get roped into it?

Your terminology is intentionally provocative, you know that? Of course you do. I was never ‘roped’ into anything. When I realized (following Bible study with SDAs) how accurately prophetical the Bible actually was I immediately took an interest. I began to see the Bible in a new light and not the boring stuff that I'd previously grown up with. I’ve always been interested in the supernatural and the mysterious and the Bible began to stir in me a fascination particularly related to those interests. The real message of Jesus, ‘do unto the least of my brethren, i.e, love your neighbor as yourself’, was a later find.

Originally Posted by Mrs. Skeffington

When you mentioned you studied with the SDA's, did you attend a "bait and switch" prophecy seminar? You know, with the colorful thought provoking brochures that don't identify the church/religion sponsoring the seminar. DH's sisters both roped their husbands into it (both husbands were Catholic) after attending the seminars and they fell for it. One quit soon after being baptized, the other went on to become an SDA minister. DH attended a couple sessions to get his nagging father off his back, and had quite the opposite take ("this bull s**t never changes"). DH isn't a Christian (doubt if he ever really was) and is pretty much an atheist.

Again, or yet, you're being provocative. That doesn't work on me at all. It was “I” who sought out a pastor from the local SDA Church who paid regular visits to a friend of mine. There was NOTHING covert about either the pastor or the Church he represented. Clearly, YOU have an agenda to ridicule the SDA Church that has nothing to do with my SDA experience.

Originally Posted by Mrs. Skeffington

What caused YOU to leave?

I simply lost interest after my lengthy tenure with the Church. Not just the SDA Church but since then a lack of interest with regard to mainstream Christianity in general. I spent many years as music leader, welfare coordinator, bulletin editor and other Church positions and only received recognition from my “Church family” if and when something went wrong. My lack of interest had little to do with “SDA teaching” per se but with the fact that most SDAs (in fact, most Christians in general) amount to little more than pew-warmers. I many times tried to shake up the troops (through my bulletin editorials) to get out there and put their beliefs into practice, i.e. help with community needs as per Jesus, but the ‘dead wood’ remained ‘as is’. I again need to emphasize that it’s not just the SDA Church that I refer to but the bulk membership of mainstream/organized Christianity in general.

Originally Posted by Mrs. Skeffington

DH went along with being baptized, put through SDA boarding school (which he hated), and left the church permanently once he moved out of his parents' house and they couldn't tell him what to believe any more or force him to remain an Adventist, but they didn't give up easily. Then he married me, and it was a lost cause. They thought they could persuade me to join, and thus rope him back in, but I'm very cynical. I have a distrust of any religion, period. Plus, I hate all those rules and especially the food (that vegetarian fake meat sucks). No meat, coffee, chocolate, Pepsi, booze, movies, makeup...and the sundown to sundown sabbath where you spend half the day in church, and the rest avoiding "worldly" (aka fun) activities. We tried not to spend Saturdays with them.

The problem you keep addressing appears to be with your "DH" and his silly family. Why do you blame "the Church" for their idiocy? The truth is that NO ONE ever told me what to believe, what to eat, what to drink, what to watch or when to keep the Sabbath. No one can do that to me. I was a meat-eater when I joined the Church and I remained a meat-eater after I joined the Church …even when we would go to a restaurant for Church Socials. HAD anyone told me ‘what to do’ or 'what to think' I would have basically told them to ‘bite me’ …politely, of course. The Sabbath, for me, was something that I was casual with. At home it was the same as any other day, besides Saturday morning Church, of course, or unless I was attending a full-day Church program. For me, the Sabbath was pretty much ‘a delight’ as per scripture because I preferred to make it such. So did other members in MY local Church anyway. If anything, we actually made it a fun time and every so often we would take the guitars to the local nursing homes on Saturday afternoons and sing songs to the residents. If ANY belief becomes a burden then it needs to be tossed out. As you say, you’re cynical about religion to begin with (and this SO comes through in your posts) so I’m not sure that anyone should take too much of what you say too seriously.

Originally Posted by Mrs. Skeffington

There is a Podcast DH enjoys listening to called Seventh Day Atheist. It's a weekly show to give ex-members an outlet to rant about and discuss experiences in the church and abuses (lots of those) from their upbringing. I like to listen because it helps me understand some of the dynamics of DH's family and the quirks DH still has at age 60 as a result of his upbringing.

Hmmm . . .okay. ????

[RomulusXXV]

Originally Posted by Meester-Chung

nowhere does it say they met on saturday night. that is a cop out and an excuse use by sabbath christians

I don't understand this 'reasoning' at all. Regardless of the day or night that Paul spoke to his friends (since he was leaving the following day and may not see them again) what does this have to do with the abrogation of the Creation Sabbath???? Why would "Sabbath Christians" need to use 'cop outs' when the 4th-command of the Big Ten clearly states "Remember the 7th-day Sabbath" . . .? Do you have a Bible? Can you read? The truth is that it's 'mainstream' Christians that use the 'cop out' line whenever they attempt to defend their bogus "Sunday Sabbath".

AS said previously, I personally don't care if one goes to church on Sunday or if they don't (it's none of my business) but I do get somewhat irritated whenever they ignorantly refer to that day as being the Sabbath. It isn't. Christians also claim to keep the Ten Commandments (the Royal Law) as taught in James 2:8. Most Christians don't. I would guess that most Christians have no idea WHY they attend church on Sunday other than that Sunday is the day the church doors are open.