[open] Open Threads

[Sophia7]

You may have noticed that I have placed [open] tags in the titles of a few threads. This is to allow non-Trinitarian Adventists and other members who cannot usually post in the Christians-Only sections of CF to post in these threads for fellowship purposes or to ask questions. The threads that I have opened are primarily fellowship threads.

We as staff thought that it would be helpful to allow those who identify themselves as Seventh-day Adventists but who don't believe in the Trinity and/or the Nicene Creed (the CF standards for determining who can post in CO areas) to participate in the SDA forum, at least in a limited fashion.

If you would like to open any of your threads for this purpose, you are welcome to do so as well.

 

[Dathen]

Cool, that's a good idea,

 

[Jimlarmore]

How could anyone not believe in the trinity when the Bible makes it very clear that the God-head ( even though it is one in nature and scope ) has three individuals in it? Matt 28:10 says " Go ye therefore and teach all nations baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost." Clearly, this indicates that there are three individual entities in the God head.

 

[Sophia7]

How could anyone not believe in the trinity when the Bible makes it very clear that the God-head ( even though it is one in nature and scope ) has three individuals in it? Matt 28:10 says " Go ye therefore and teach all nations baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost." Clearly, this indicates that there are three individual entities in the God head.

Some Adventists don't believe that the Holy Spirit is an individual member of a triune Godhead but rather some kind of force or spiritual power that emanates from the Father and the Son. Some also have issues with the divine nature of Christ and whether He was co-eternal with the Father or whether He at some point had a beginning. To me, the biblical evidence is clear, but others don't see it that way.

The early Adventist pioneers struggled with these issues, and non-Trinitarianism was actually the dominant view in the earliest years of Adventism. Some of the first Adventists were Semi-Arian, including James White. There was a gradual shift, though, toward an acceptance of the Trinity doctrine, and it became one of the official beliefs of our church although even today a minority of Adventists doesn't accept it. We have a group of non-Trinitarian Adventists in one of our local churches. (My husband pastors three churches.)

I found an interesting article about the historical progression of Trinitarianism in Adventism and the continuing debate over these issues:
http://www.sdanet.org/atissue/trinity/moon/moon-trinity1.htm

 

[Jimlarmore]

Thanks Sophia, I am just amazed at how all of us can take the same Bible and come up with so many variations of the so called truth. When Jesus said He would send the Holy Spirit or another comforter He was speaking of a totally separate individual than Himself or the Father. When He spoke to the Father it was always very clear who He was referring to and I feel it's clear in this case as well.

I have discussed and debated the Bible at length many times with some former Adventists. Some of them say the ten commandment law is done away and they use the text in Col 2:14 to support it. They say they can't sin now because they are under grace and they don't have to worry about the law. My statement to them was that you can't have grace without the law. They are inextricably tied together. I think they do this to rationalize their actions and sooth their conscious regarding not keeping or celebrating the Sabbath.

Many of these former Adventist who were raised in the church now believe in the immortality of the soul and eternal hellfire. I am certainly not one to point a finger with my background but it's amazing especially when they twist the Bible to support what they say they truely believe. If they truely do believe it I wonder how the Lord will judge them in the end?

 

[Dathen]

how come no thread lately have become open threads???????

 

[Sunrunner]

I opened my most recent thread when I noticed Harlin viewing the forum.

I was hoping she'd want to post here.

 

[Dathen]

Harlin

 

[Sunrunner]

She's a non-Trinitarian Adventist I met in my... lapse.

 

[Dathen]

I've never noticed her on the forums. So you're saying that she is a non- trinatarian and you influenced her to become non-trinatarium. Or am I completely misunderstanding this!!!!

 

[Sunrunner]

No, I meant that I met her in the Unorthodox Theology forum after my icon was changed.

 

[Dathen]

Okay, I understand...

 

[Sophia7]

I've seen Harlin viewing the Adventist forum several times. I don't know if there are any other non-trin Adventists on CF, but if so, I wanted to make them feel welcome to post in at least a few threads here. Non-Christians could also post for fellowship. A few of the stickies are open.

 

[scoutswife]

I believe in the trinity. My question is, what is the difference in a 7th day adventist and a 7th day baptist? I am a baptist by the way. I just am having some difficulty believing that it doesnt matter what day we keep holy. My husband says that I will never find a perfect church. I agree. I am just looking for a truly Bible-based one.

 

[Sophia7]

I believe in the trinity. My question is, what is the difference in a 7th day adventist and a 7th day baptist? I am a baptist by the way. I just am having some difficulty believing that it doesnt matter what day we keep holy. My husband says that I will never find a perfect church. I agree. I am just looking for a truly Bible-based one.

Well, we do believe that we are a Bible-based church, but some of our beliefs are unusual to many other Christians. We differ in several ways from most Baptists. I don't know a lot about Seventh Day Baptists in particular, but I have attended regular Baptist churches and talked to many Baptists about what they believe. I even worked at a Baptist youth camp one summer.

Seventh-day Adventists don't believe in once saved, always saved. Also, we don't believe in a pre-trib rapture or a lot of the other stuff that goes along with Dispensationalism. We believe that Jesus will come from heaven after the tribulation to resurrect the righteous dead and to take them, along with the living who have accepted Him, to heaven. We believe that His coming will be visible to everyone, not secret.

We also have a different view of what happens when people die because we do not believe in an immortal soul that can be separated from the body after death; see this thread in the Traditional Adventist subforum for more details and an overview of the biblical evidence. Along with that, we do not believe that in the final judgment the wicked will burn forever in hell but that they will be completely destroyed (annihilationism); see this thread for more info on our view of hell.

These are probably the major theological differences between us and most Baptists. There are also a few lifestyle issues that would set us apart in our beliefs. You can read a description of our fundamental beliefs here.