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If it were sinful God would never use illustrations such as the following.
Eze 16,11
Then washed I thee with water; yea, I throughly washed away thy blood from thee, and I anointed thee with oil. I clothed thee also with broidered work, and shod thee with badgers' skin, and I girded thee about with fine linen, and I covered thee with silk. I decked thee also with ornaments, and I put bracelets upon thy hands, and a chain on thy neck. And I put a jewel on thy forehead, and earrings in thine ears, and a beautiful crown upon thine head.
Luke 15,22 ( Jesus saying this in Parable )
But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet:
Some people "twist the Scriptures" to further an agenda - no doubt money saved from rings and earrings...
...Would be all the more shekels to put toward the prophetic ministry of Ellen White.
I would say the Bible certainly frowns upon overloading on Jewls as much as it frowns on overloading on wine or food....
....A Christian should be moderate to be sure but claiming God does not want a woman to have a necklace, ring or earrings.
...Is simply a fable created out of a fleshy mind.
I used to be an SDA in my teenage years but I left after a few years -- I felt like I was being suffocated -- suffocated by so many prohibitions like no dancing, no drinking coffee, eating chocolate, no drinking Coke, no jewelry, no make-up, no pants, no going to the movies, no wine. What is the reasoning behind all these prohibitions? Personally for me it isolated me from my family and friends. I also feel that these prohibitions foster a spirit of hyprocricy among your members -- since I know of many SDA that do all these things behind the purview of the church. Anyway I think these things should not be prohibited but need guidelines. Ellen G. White preached temperance not total prohibition. Also some of these things are permitted in the Bible by God. Don't get offended, I am saying all these things out of love.
I used to be an SDA in my teenage years but I left after a few years -- I felt like I was being suffocated -- suffocated by so many prohibitions like no dancing, no drinking coffee, eating chocolate, no drinking Coke, no jewelry, no make-up, no pants, no going to the movies, no wine. What is the reasoning behind all these prohibitions? Personally for me it isolated me from my family and friends. I also feel that these prohibitions foster a spirit of hyprocricy among your members -- since I know of many SDA that do all these things behind the purview of the church. Anyway I think these things should not be prohibited but need guidelines. Ellen G. White preached temperance not total prohibition. Also some of these things are permitted in the Bible by God. Don't get offended, I am saying all these things out of love.
The Lord through Ezekiel rebuked the nation of Israel in Eze 16. They are symbolic of the material and spiritual wealth He blessed Israel with.
In the parable of the prodigal son, the son was given a ring. That was a symbol of approval or authority.
In neither incidents, the bible supports the believers wearing jewelries.
Before Jacob and his children crossing into the promised land, God told to be clean and put away the strange gods that were in their Jewelries.
Genesis 35
1 And God said unto Jacob, Arise, go up to Bethel, and dwell there: and make there an altar unto God, that appeared unto thee when thou fleddest from the face of Esau thy brother. 2 Then Jacob said unto his household, and to all that were with him, Put away the strange gods that are among you, and be clean, and change your garments:
3 And let us arise, and go up to Bethel; and I will make there an altar unto God, who answered me in the day of my distress, and was with me in the way which I went.
4 And they gave unto Jacob all the strange gods which were in their hand, and all their earrings which were in their ears; and Jacob hid them under the oak which was by Shechem.
In the following passage, Paul did not tell the NT Christians to be modest with Jewelry. He told me not to wear gold, peals or costly array.
1 Timothy 2:9 In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; not with broided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array;
OntheDL said:The problem with jewelry is that they have pagan roots. The ring symbolizes an eternal serpent with the tail in its mouth. The precious stones are connected to astrology.
I used to be an SDA in my teenage years but I left after a few years -- I felt like I was being suffocated -- suffocated by so many prohibitions like no dancing, no drinking coffee, eating chocolate, no drinking Coke, no jewelry, no make-up, no pants, no going to the movies, no wine. What is the reasoning behind all these prohibitions? Personally for me it isolated me from my family and friends. I also feel that these prohibitions foster a spirit of hyprocricy among your members -- since I know of many SDA that do all these things behind the purview of the church. Anyway I think these things should not be prohibited but need guidelines. Ellen G. White preached temperance not total prohibition. Also some of these things are permitted in the Bible by God. Don't get offended, I am saying all these things out of love.
Thanks for all your replies. I really don't want to be super critical of the SDA church but it wasn't a nice experience for me. Not only because I felt isolated from family and friends but also because the church itself really didn't take the place of my family. I agree that God is more concerned with your heart than with external things like jewelry, make-up etc. God impressed in my heart that if I make Him the center, origin, and source of my life than I am free indeed and everything else will fall in their proper place. Now I listen to preachers like Joyce Meyers, Joel Olsteen, and others but I don't know if I'll ever go back to the SDA church. I hope God will help me make the right decision someday.
Thanks for all your replies. I really don't want to be super critical of the SDA church but it wasn't a nice experience for me. Not only because I felt isolated from family and friends but also because the church itself really didn't take the place of my family. I agree that God is more concerned with your heart than with external things like jewelry, make-up etc. God impressed in my heart that if I make Him the center, origin, and source of my life than I am free indeed and everything else will fall in their proper place. Now I listen to preachers like Joyce Meyers, Joel Olsteen, and others but I don't know if I'll ever go back to the SDA church. I hope God will help me make the right decision someday.
A religious system which obsesses over what a person eats or if a person wears a ring, necklace, etc....
...Is simply a system which imposes those restrictions in an effort to separate the members of that system with members of another.
...It's a given if you can't eat with someone the chances of fellowship are not very good.
It's simply a tactic employed by all cults who's purpose it is to curtail associations it's members have...
...With other denominations who affirm a faith in Christ.
...It simply lessens the chance the individual will be educated.
Thanks for all your replies. I really don't want to be super critical of the SDA church but it wasn't a nice experience for me. Not only because I felt isolated from family and friends but also because the church itself really didn't take the place of my family. I agree that God is more concerned with your heart than with external things like jewelry, make-up etc. God impressed in my heart that if I make Him the center, origin, and source of my life than I am free indeed and everything else will fall in their proper place. Now I listen to preachers like Joyce Meyers, Joel Olsteen, and others but I don't know if I'll ever go back to the SDA church. I hope God will help me make the right decision someday.
So we're a cult now? Really? Shame on you Pythons.
And don't get it twisted, it's not the system which obsesses about these things, but the people. I'm sure you can concur about that in your own organization right? I doubt any examples are needed.
So we're a cult now? Really? Shame on you Pythons.
And don't get it twisted, it's not the system which obsesses about these things, but the people. I'm sure you can concur about that in your own organization right? I doubt any examples are needed.
All SDA material is not good SDA, or even christian, material. God continue to richly bless you!
Please, spare me. Do you tell people you are a member of the Catholic Cult, or Catholic Church?Every religion is a 'cult' - some prefer that their members not associate with the members of another.....
...Adventism absolutely fits into that category.
The premise if not new, neither did Pythons make that up, Stryder. SDA books/materials are often found in the "cult" section of many bookstores.
What people think and what we are, are two different matters altogether. Pythons insinuated that we were a cult, not a Christian denomination. People aren't ignorant. They don't go looking for the nearest "Cult" when they think about finding a church. Calling us a cult is against the rules, and it undermines our validity in the minds of the casual reader.
And I've seen my fair share of books about saints right in the occult section of many book stores, but if I went into a Catholic thread and called their church a cult, my post would be deleted with all expediency, and a warning would be issued my way.