Some Understanding Please?

[Kazamataz]

Hey so over in an other thread I asked what the difference between Mormans, Jehovah witness and SDA's were.

One person in particular has answered alot of my questions but now i have all these questions about SDA.

Here we go:

1> SDA is it a cult?

2> Who is Ellen G White and Why is she special?

3> Do SDA's worship Ellen G White?

4> Whats the deal with Sundays? Do SDA's go to church on Saturdays? Why is Sunday a hot topic?

thanks

 

[TrustAndObey]

edit...my font got messed up. See post below.

 

[TrustAndObey]

Hey so over in an other thread I asked what the difference between Mormans, Jehovah witness and SDA's were.

One person in particular has answered alot of my questions but now i have all these questions about SDA.

Here we go:

1> SDA is it a cult?

2> Who is Ellen G White and Why is she special?

3> Do SDA's worship Ellen G White?

4> Whats the deal with Sundays? Do SDA's go to church on Saturdays? Why is Sunday a hot topic?

thanks

Hi Kazamataz, welcome to the SDA forum.

Before I answer your questions, I'll just let you know in advance that there are people from different sects of the Adventist church on this board. We have some that consider themselves Traditional, Progressive, or Evangelical. We don't always agree.

My answers will come from the Traditional perspective and they'll probably be oversimplified for the sake of time if that's okay.

Actually, it really bothers me when people use generalizations and group all members to one definite answer, so my answers will be from my perspective only, as a Tradtional.

1> SDA is it a cult?

Diffi-cult maybe. HA!

Here's the official definition of a cult (www.m-w.com):

1 : formal religious veneration : [SIZE=-1]WORSHIP[/SIZE]
2 : a system of religious beliefs and ritual; also : its body of adherents
3 : a religion regarded as unorthodox or spurious; also : its body of adherents
4 : a system for the cure of disease based on dogma set forth by its promulgator <health cults>
5 a : great devotion to a person, idea, object, movement, or work (as a film or book); especially : such devotion regarded as a literary or intellectual fad b : the object of such devotion c : a usually small group of people characterized by such devotion

I think every Christ-based church would fall into "cult" status (1, 2 & 3 on the list for sure) since we all worship our Creator and His Son.

Are we unorthodox? You betcha. We don't adhere to the set doctrine of the Catholic church, or most Protestant churches for that matter.

Do we believe in anything freaky that isn't supported by scripture? No, we don't.

2> Who is Ellen G White and Why is she so special?

I'll just give you a statement I found when I first started reading about Ellen G White:

In brief, she was a woman of remarkable spiritual gifts who lived most of her life during the nineteenth century (1827-1915), yet through her writings she is still making a revolutionary impact on millions of people around the world. During her lifetime she wrote more than 5,000 periodical articles and 40 books; but today, including compilations from her 50,000 pages of manuscript, more than 100 titles are available in English. She is the most translated woman writer in the entire history of literature, and the most translated American author of either gender. Her writings cover a broad range of subjects, including religion, education, social relationships, evangelism, prophecy, publishing, nutrition, and management. Her life-changing masterpiece on successful Christian living, Steps to Christ, has been published in more than 140 languages. Seventh-day Adventists believe that Mrs. White was more than a gifted writer; they believe she was appointed by God as a special messenger to draw the world's attention to the Holy Scriptures and help prepare people for Christ's second advent. From the time she was 17 years old until she died 70 years later, God gave her approximately 2,000 visions and dreams. The visions varied in length from less than a minute to nearly four hours. The knowledge and counsel received through these revelations she wrote out to be shared with others. Thus her special writings are accepted by Seventh-day Adventists as inspired, and their exceptional quality is recognized even by casual readers. As stated in Seventh-day Adventists Believe . . . , “The writings of Ellen White are not a substitute for Scripture. They cannot be placed on the same level. The Holy Scriptures stand alone, the unique standard by which her and all other writings must be judged and to which they must be subject” (Seventh-day Adventists Believe . . . , Ministerial Association, General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, Washington D.C., 1988, p. 227). Yet, as Ellen White herself noted, “The fact that God has revealed His will to men through His Word, has not rendered needless the continued presence and guiding of the Holy Spirit. On the contrary, the Spirit was promised by our Saviour to open the Word to His servants, to illuminate and apply its teachings” (The Great Controversy, p. vii).

3> Do SDA's worship Ellen G White?

NO! There are some extremists that quote her a lot more than they do scripture, though, unfortunately. But as far as worshipping her? No way. She is dead, and Adventists are very clear on our understanding of the dead.

Personally, I didn't read a single thing written by EGW before I joined the Adventist church. I still haven't finished a book, and don't plan to now until I have a real grasp on scripture. You have to know scripture in order to test a spirit, and most people aren't able to profess knowing scripture THAT well (at least in my opinion).

I'll answer the last question in a different post, since this one is getting so long.

 

[TrustAndObey]

4> Whats the deal with Sundays? Do SDA's go to church on Saturdays? Why is Sunday a hot topic?

The irony is that Sundays aren't a hot topic for Adventists. We know that what we call Saturday is the seventh day of the week, and the seventh day is the only day God told us to keep holy. It was the only day blessed and sanctified at creation.

It only becomes a hot topic for other people, so Adventists are asked this question a lot. In other words, it may look like we talk about it a lot, but it's only because we're asked about it a lot. We're very comfortable knowing that "Saturday" is the seventh day Sabbath.

Sunday was never deemed holy by anyone (except one church), and most people follow that lead, even though they claim to be Protestant and have no idea why they do not follow God's commandment about His holy day.

That's the short answer. If you want more detail, myself and others will gladly answer specific questions. We're not allowed to debate in here with non-Adventists, but we do welcome Christ-centered discussions.

God bless,
~Lainie

 

[capnator]

4> Whats the deal with Sundays? Do SDA's go to church on Saturdays? Why is Sunday a hot topic?

thanks

We believe that we are saved from our sin by Grace through faith. (Eph 2:8)

Sin is - 1Jo 3:4Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law

Breaking God's law is sin, we have been saved from it, so we don't then turn around and live in it!

Rom 6:15What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid.


and again the law points out sin.

Rom 7:7What shall we say then? [Is] the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet.

We love what God has done for us, so we respect his ways, obey Him and do what he says.

John 2:3 Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments.


1 John 5:3 For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome.

We keep the Ten commandments

James 2:10 For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all.

Hence we also keep the Fourth one, to Remember the sabbath day to keep it holy. This is the Seventh day of the week which is Saturday.

 

[JonMiller]

"1> SDA is it a cult?

2> Who is Ellen G White and Why is she special?

3> Do SDA's worship Ellen G White?

4> Whats the deal with Sundays? Do SDA's go to church on Saturdays? Why is Sunday a hot topic?"

1. A cult follows a charismatic leader(s). Early Christianity was definitely a cult (following Christ (or the apostles)), as have been some denominations since. I don't think we were a cult in the 19th century, and I know we aren't a cult now.

2. Ellen G White was an early leader of the adventist church. We believe that she was inspired from God, and she is partially responsible for the 'unusual' doctrines the SDA church holds. She also wrote a lot, and her writings form a basis of Christian literature (and doctrine) for the SDA church. Others have written about how wide spread her writings are (I have personally read at least 6 of her books, and they were very spiritually uplifting). Currently, she is a source of conflict within the SDA church as there is debate about the level of inspiration (how much of it was as a good Christian woman, and how much of it was as a prophet).

3. No. I have never even heard of someone who does, although it is true that there has been issues with using her writings more then the word of God (Bible). Although, thankfully, the whole church has made strong moves away from this in the past 50 years.

4. Yeah, we go to church on the Sabbath (Saturday). It is one of the clearer, and more obvious, of our 'unique' doctrines (we actually got it from Seventh Day Baptists, if I remember the church history I studied in third grade). A lot of Christian scholarship agrees with us (even those who are in churchs who worship on Sunday), and I haven't heard one argument against worshiping on Saturday (I have heard a reasonable argument that it doesn't matter which day we worship on, but I don't agree with it).

JM

 

[Mankin]

Thanks trust and obey. You answered the question more throughly than I did on the her previous thread.

 

[Kazamataz]

Ok guys thanks heaps for answering my questions now i have an other question. Again correct me if i'm wrong until the other day i only just figured out that SDA's, Mormons and Jehovah's witness's were all totally different religions.
So some of my questions may just be me getting confused between the three.

But are SDA's the people who don't belive in Birthdays, Christmas's or giving and receiving presents?

 

[smooze]

that's jehovahs witness;s alot of religions dont follow pagan "worldly" holidays. I was raised a JEhovahs Witness so believe me im an authority on the subject.

 

[Kazamataz]

that's jehovahs witness;s alot of religions dont follow pagan "worldly" holidays. I was raised a JEhovahs Witness so believe me im an authority on the subject.

ok so what's the difference between Jehovah's witness and christians?

 

[Kazamataz]

That's the short answer. If you want more detail, myself and others will gladly answer specific questions. We're not allowed to debate in here with non-Adventists, but we do welcome Christ-centered discussions.

God bless,
~Lainie

Thanks trust and obey, just so you know i'm not looking to debate i'm generally interested in the differences between SDA's and me as a pentecostal.

 

[JonMiller]

Ok guys thanks heaps for answering my questions now i have an other question. Again correct me if i'm wrong until the other day i only just figured out that SDA's, Mormons and Jehovah's witness's were all totally different religions.
So some of my questions may just be me getting confused between the three.

But are SDA's the people who don't belive in Birthdays, Christmas's or giving and receiving presents?

Some traditional SDAs don't take part in pagan holiday's or celebrations of materialism. In my youth Christmas was very minimal (and I think we had it at all on my mother's urging). We never did the whole santa thing, and would read the story of Christ's birth and the like instead.

I have never taken part in halloween, I think in the last few years I have went to a few halloween parties, but that is it. Note that I have known SDAs much older then myself who did take part in halloween. Easter isn't the big deal it is in other denominations either, it is a rare church that has a special Easter service.

I know SDAs who don't do birthdays.

JM

 

[JonMiller]

ok so what's the difference between Jehovah's witness and christians?

The biggest difference between Jehovah's Witnesses and more traditional Christians is that they are Arrians. That is that they don't accept the doctrine of the trinity, beleiving instead that Christ was God the Father's first creation. Note that some early adventists (and ones since) have held a similar position, although that SDA church has officially been opposed to it for more then 50 years.

It would be better to ask them that, I think we share a similar progenitor (the Great Awakening), but we have had a different history since the 1850s.

JM

 

[TrustAndObey]

Thanks trust and obey, just so you know i'm not looking to debate i'm generally interested in the differences between SDA's and me as a pentecostal.

I knew you weren't, I just wanted to keep you and US out of trouble.

When I met my online best friend (I still haven't met her in person), I was telling her about my faith and she thought we were Mormons too. She told me later that she confused "LDS" with "SDA".

I didn't realize she had that confusion until she said something like "I just don't think we can become Gods" or something like that and I said "huh?" HA!

We also had someone come to this forum asking why we have to come to his door so EARLY in the morning (he thought we were Jehovah's Witnesses).

So it's a common mistake, no worries.

Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesses do not keep the Sabbath commandment.

Like Mjona mentioned, we do share views on the state of the dead with JWs. We also have similar views on Michael the Archangel. Aside from that, I don't think we have very much in common at all.

Same with the Mormons. There just aren't many things that are similar at all.

We all worship Christ, so there's our common denominator.

I don't celebrate Christmas because Christ wasn't born on December 25th. Easter was a pagan celebration, etc. Some Adventists do celebrate both.

Scripture says that baptism is the true celebration of Christ's birth, death, and resurrection.

I do celebrate my children's birthdays. Maybe not as materialistically as THEY'D like, , but I do let them know that they are the two most important people to me on THIS earth.

I DON'T celebrate my birthday anymore. HA! It's a fire hazard to have a cake with candles now that I'm "getting up there" (as my husband puts it).

Feel free to ask more questions!

God bless,
~Lainie

 

[Sophia7]

Like Mjona mentioned, we do share views on the state of the dead with JWs. We also have similar views on Michael the Archangel.

Actually, the view that some Adventists hold about Michael the Archangel is not at all the same as the JW view. JWs believe that Jesus was created and not co-eternal with the Father. Adventists do not believe that Jesus was an angel or a created being but God incarnate. Those Adventists who believe that Michael the Archangel is another name for Jesus believe that this is a title used for His role as the commander of the angels when they fight against Satan and his evil angels, not that He is an angel Himself. This distinction is important because this is why some other Christians believe that we should be called a cult. They think that we deny the deity of Christ.

 

[TrustAndObey]

Actually, the view that some Adventists hold about Michael the Archangel is not at all the same as the JW view. JWs believe that Jesus was created and not co-eternal with the Father. Adventists do not believe that Jesus was an angel or a created being but God incarnate. Those Adventists who believe that Michael the Archangel is another name for Jesus believe that this is a title used for His role as the commander of the angels when they fight against Satan and his evil angels, not that He is an angel Himself. This distinction is important because this is why some other Christians believe that we should be called a cult. They think that we deny the deity of Christ.

I've always heard "go straight to the source" when talking about other people's faith, so I spent a good two hours speaking with a Jehovah's Witness in Yahoo chat one night. He never said a word about Jesus being a created being.

However, I said "similar" because I did already know that they had a different view about Michael than we do. I knew there was something he wasn't telling me, and it's probably because of what you've stated, that people call them a cult for it.

I wish he hadn't felt embarrassed to tell me that though. I wouldn't have agreed but I don't think anyone should try to hide part of their belief system.

Nice guy overall, but some of his beliefs were too "out there" for me to consider really studying the faith.

 

[smooze]

like SDA's doctrine >Jehovahs witness's have come along way changing some views on lifestyle. Growing up in a Jehovahs witness household I seen porn addiction, drinking and lax discipline. Discipline thats the thing we need most to make our faith work. Going to church ,hall , and or synagoge doesn't make us better people. Of course we never stood for national anthem, umm yes we had communion with the body of christ. Alot of people think Jehovahs witness's dont acknoeldge JESUS being the son of God. Well growing up all the bible stories were the same as any other religion. Extremists you could call JW''s they dont celebrate anything (well we did exchange presents on our parent anniversary) . The reason we dont stand for the flag or singing as JW view this as worship. We had toys and stuff ,love, food,,,but with out the JESUS filling our pie was empty trust me. Keeping the LIGHT of JESUS is important to remember NOT who or where he came from but HIS message and parables were amazing. SAcrificing things is hard but in reality we dont need half the stuff we own , and are always finding ways to give it away or sell things( well giving away is easier!) So basically this boils down to material possesiion which in itself is something we ALL struggle with. ALL in all Jehovahs witness's are jsut people wanting a better existence. Criticizing anything to do with GOD just gives SATAN another foothold in a persons heart. WE must guard our hearts in JESUS.AMEN

 

[Jimlarmore]

I have a question for the ex-jehovah witnesses on this board. Why aren't there any windows in any of the churches I've seen? Just curious,

God Bless
Jim Larmore

 

[TrustAndObey]

Jonathan, I never even thought to ask you to step in here, and you've mentioned before that you were raised JW.

Sorry about that!

So do JWs believe that Jesus was a created Being?

 

[smooze]

the story goes in the new world translations about the virgin mary being inceminated by the hand of GOD. They made their way to bethlehem the 3 kings came with gifts and I could sum up that yes they believe in mary and joseph and the sheep hearders story. I don't think any JW"S will or cant dispute the fact that Jesus was a created being.