ATTENTION MEMBERS need your assistance :)

[AzA]

A place for Seventh-day Adventist discussion that does not insist on acceptance of all 28 fundamental beliefs. All who wish to discuss are welcome.

Fine with me.

Even if it will not be part of the "statement," I hope it will remain true that our membership will be broadly defined and the baseline tone respectful.

 

[Edial]

Fine with me.

Even if it will not be part of the "statement," I hope it will remain true that our membership will be broadly defined and the baseline tone respectful.

Key word here is "discuss".
The word "debate" usually brings problems.

If someone is rude - report.
CF Rules have plenty of ammo to use in case you report for rudeness.

Thanks,
Ed

 

[AzA]

I understand that facility is there in case someone cannot be reasoned with.

 

[Tishri1]

A slight revision focusing on the topic rather than the people involved in case some prefer that.

A place for Seventh-day Adventist discussion that does not insist on acceptance of all 28 fundamental beliefs. All who wish to discuss are welcome.

As to what I would consider a balanced and caring church, traditional in its beliefs but accepting of a wide variety of peoples, google Forest Lake SDA Church. I like to listen on the internet to Derek Morris' sermons, and he is a good example, in my opinion, of a pastor who is balanced in his views, caring, and seems to have a close walk with God.

we like to add links for more information and would this churches web sight have a nice SOF everyone would agree represents your group?

 

[AzA]

would this churches web sight have a nice SOF everyone would agree represents your group?

No, it doesn't. The website is new but will also be 28-Fundamental dependent.

Again I recommend the page "What Adventists Believe" from the international denomination website, which is a much looser formulation.

 

[Tishri1]

what was that link again. yes i remember and it was a good choice

 

[tall73]

we like to add links for more information and would this churches web sight have a nice SOF everyone would agree represents your group?

Forget SoF.
The reason for SoF is because, believe it or not , we wanted to help you out when we saw a non-SDA debating Sabbath day.
We thought, if you all agree on Sabbath, then we could protect you guys from extreme pressure from some anti-Sabbath folks.

But you are saying that even some of the members here question Sabbath.
Fine. Cool. No problem.
No SoF.

However, we do need an SoP - Statement of Purpose.

The SOF idea was already dismissed as not desirable or necessary for this group.

The SOF was stated more than once to be a protection. Only progressives do not seem to want that protection because they are not threatened by divergent views. And statements of faith have a way of being turned from a shield into a sword when folks forget why they put them there in the first place.

If the progressives want protection it is the protection of their ability to discuss the topics they want to, with the people they want to. They do not want freedom FROM discussion which is what is offered by a statement of faith on Christian Forums.

 

[Edial]

Someone from Admins forum brought this to my attention and they do have a good point.

Since you as a group accept a possibility of not insisting on the 7th day and your name is Progressive Adventists, why does the SoP says 7th day Adventists and not just Adventists?

Should we change it to just Adventists?
The name 7th Day automatically, by default accepts the 7th day.

Good question.

Should we just change it to Adventist?
Otherwise we have no more questions that I am aware of.

Thanks,
In Christ,
Ed

 

[StormyOne]

Someone from Admins forum brought this to my attention and they do have a good point.

Since you as a group accept a possibility of not insisting on the 7th day and your name is Progressive Adventists, why does the SoP says 7th day Adventists and not just Adventists?

Should we change it to just Adventists?
The name 7th Day automatically, by default accepts the 7th day.

Good question.

Should we just change it to Adventist?
Otherwise we have no more questions that I am aware of.

Thanks,
In Christ,
Ed

Probably because most of us still fellowship and/or attend corporate worship on Saturday.... Not to mention some of us are still members in the Seventh day Adventist church.... Just because we do not agree with all 28 fundamentals does not mean we are not sdas..... What we are saying is that we may observe "the sabbath" but it is not a litmus test of being a good christian or even being a "good sda." So as far as I am concerned the name is fine....

 

[Byfaithalone1]

It seems a Moderate/Progressive Adventist would have its roots in congregationalism, a now-defunct denomination shared by Nathaniel Hawthorne and Calvin Coolidge. Core beliefs are:

*Calvinist in tradition
*Universal salvation
*Diversity in beliefs
*Unitarian training
*A belief in theocracy

Congregational church - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Moderate/Progressive Adventist Statement of Faith:

*We believe in congregational independence, meaning that each congregation governs of its own accord.

*We are of the Calvinist tradition, sharing a common theme with Presbyterianism.

*We believe in universal salvation, a principle that asserts that all people are under the consideration and Love of God, and that theological concepts (doctrines) which conform to this concept are in fact more in accord with the divine concepts.

*We are proud of our diversity, with our members varying in belief.

*We believe in Unitarianism, rejecting the concept of the Trinity, that God is only One Person, and not Three.

*We believe that the Government of the United States should be a theocracy.

Sorry I'm a bit late to the game. My understanding of progressive SDA thinking suggests that the above description is way off the mark. It may be very difficult to try and pigeon-hole the basic mindset in this forum. Early on I tried to do so. However, I realized that this forum has more value when I listen to what people have to say rather than trying to put them into a category.

BFA

 

[Byfaithalone1]

Someone from Admins forum brought this to my attention and they do have a good point.

Since you as a group accept a possibility of not insisting on the 7th day and your name is Progressive Adventists, why does the SoP says 7th day Adventists and not just Adventists?

Should we change it to just Adventists?
The name 7th Day automatically, by default accepts the 7th day.

Good question.

Should we just change it to Adventist?
Otherwise we have no more questions that I am aware of.

Thanks,
In Christ,
Ed

Progressive Seventh-day Adventists are still bona fide members of the SDA denomination, many in good standing. It might be a bit insulting to change the name of the denomination of which they are members.

BFA

 

[Byfaithalone1]

How about this for 1 and 3 and ending with 2?

A place for Seventh-day Adventists and those with ties to Adventism who do not insist on acceptance of all 28 fundamental beliefs.

Other voices are also welcome to participate in discussing these beliefs.

Although this works for me, I am not an advocate of wrestling around with a revised statement of faith. We've seen that before and it doesn't seem to contribute to unity or an improved atmosphere. If anything, it seems that past attempts have left people with more bruises to heal from.

Q: Is it possible that bruises are the source of the fire that periodically rises in this forum? Perhaps even bruises among each of the various groups who participate here? If so, how does Jesus Christ call us to respond to those with bruises?

BFA

 

[Byfaithalone1]

GOOD!!!! That is the one main reason we are trying to help you all in here....As a forum run by standard rules we can support most forums from this kind of bullying with our flaming rules ect but in the congregational forums we want the members to be "safe" and free from this kind of mocking and belittling

I am sympathetic to this objective.

If you were to take a brief look at the history of this corner of CF, you will notice that things here were consistently peaceful until a few months ago. However, history suggests that these things come in waves and that this too will pass. History also suggests that a change in the S of F may result in change, but not necessarily the desired change.

BFA

 

[Byfaithalone1]

It would not be accurate.
The Sabbath is a rest day. Worship occurs on any day.

Aza . . . good to see you. Glad you're weighing in.

BFA

 

[Byfaithalone1]

Note: It is not like BFA, a consistent, reliable contributor to this forum, to stay away this long. However, as he has younger children living at home, I am thinking he is on 'vacation', and it may be after the 4th of July before he returns. I hope we can give him some time.

My apologies. I was on vacation. I'm back now. Thanks for thinking of me!

BFA

 

[Byfaithalone1]

Probably because most of us still fellowship and/or attend corporate worship on Saturday.... Not to mention some of us are still members in the Seventh day Adventist church.... Just because we do not agree with all 28 fundamentals does not mean we are not sdas..... What we are saying is that we may observe "the sabbath" but it is not a litmus test of being a good christian or even being a "good sda." So as far as I am concerned the name is fine....

Stormy . . . thanks for your calm responses in this thread. As always, you've modeled the type of behavior to which we should aspire as we dialogue and disagree.

BFA

 

[AzA]

Hey BFA.

Re the whole SOP effort, it is a site-wide thrust that has been going on for several months and will rumble on we like it or not. Since we are going to have one, it makes sense to try to make it work for us.

 

[Edial]

Progressive Seventh-day Adventists are still bona fide members of the SDA denomination, many in good standing. It might be a bit insulting to change the name of the denomination of which they are members.

BFA

How come your name does not reflect SDA but just Adventist?

 

[Edial]

How about this?

A place for Progressive/Moderate Adventist discussion that does not insist on acceptance of all 28 fundamental beliefs. All who wish to discuss are welcome.

 

[Tishri1]

Progressive Seventh-day Adventists are still bona fide members of the SDA denomination, many in good standing. It might be a bit insulting to change the name of the denomination of which they are members.

BFA

how bout of we say "SDA-Progressive and Moderate" switching it around like that seems more inclusive to the onlooker(me)