"The Adventists" - Program on Public TV right now....

by ziddina 37 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  ziddina

  Gayle, this might answer your question about the Adventists' beliefs regarding "Armageddon"...

  Check out this Wikipedia link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seventh-day_Adventist_eschatology

  Here's the opening paragraphs on that link:

  "The Seventh-day Adventist Church holds a unique system of eschatological (or end-times) beliefs. Adventist eschatology, which is based on a historicist interpretation of prophecy, is characterised principally by the premillennial Second Coming of Christ. Traditionally, the church has taught that the Second Coming will be preceded by a global crisis with the Sabbath as a central issue. At Jesus' return, the righteous will be taken to heaven for one thousand years. After the millennium the unsaved will be punished by annihilation while the saved will live on a recreated Earth for eternity.

  The foremost sources are the biblical books of Daniel and Revelation. Jesus' statements in Matthew 24 for instance, as well as many other Bible verses are also used. The classic Adventist commentary on the end-times was Uriah Smith's Daniel and the Revelation. The writings of Ellen G. White have also been highly influential, particularly the last part of her book The Great Controversy. "Prophecy seminars", developed since the mid-20th century, have been a key popular source. ..."

  In skimming the rest of the article, it does sound as if the 7th-Day Adventists have similar beliefs to the Jehovah's Witnesses - regarding "Armageddon", at least.....

  One must wonder at the huge differences in the way the two groups have reacted to such beliefs, though...
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  ziddina

  Well, the program has ended...

  It was interesting, but ran rather like an Adventist PR piece...

  Now I'm wondering about the DARK SIDE of 7th-Day Adventism...
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  designs

  The family joke was 'you'll eat eggs but not chicken'
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  ziddina

  Hah hah hah!!!

  Good one, Designs!!
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  barry

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UPbkm_Q8RaA This video is a different perspective Adventists have of Apostates than the Watchtower.

  Barry
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  ziddina

  Barry, thank you very much for posting that video!!!

  SUCH a difference - as you stated - from the way the Watchtower Corporation views questioners, dissenters and "apostates"...!!

  Zid
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  steve2

  SDA churches are very prone to schisms. Locally, the original SDA church has split on at least three occasions in the last thirty years. Anyone who wants an insider's perpsective on this "softly softly" church could read "The White Lie" which spells out the shenanagins sorrounding Ms bossy-britches White and her early dogmatic influence on the group. There appear to be two factions within the SDA church: THose who want to be seen as Christians like all other Christians and those who insist on correct interpretation of Scripture. Expect ot be pummeled from here to kingdom come if you try to have a conversation with a doctrinally-committed SDA.

  Sure, SDAs might engage in more civilized discourse about their teachings, but the old-timers within the church are fiercely dogmatic about the "correct" interpretation of scripture as seen through the eyes of Ms White.
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  steve2

  I listened to the rightfully well-regarded Professor. In a nutshell, what the SDA church now struggles with is a "symptom" of the Advent of Christ not occurring (i.e., the end has not come and they're still waiting and waiting...). He's a little bit this, a little bit that, using instructive parables the way wineries use grapes. Enough already!

  The longer a group of people have to wait for an event, the more opportunity for a "settling down" effect in which variation comes into the teachings. The fact that SDAs as a rule are more tolerant of the variations within their midst does not disguise the fact that they talk to death their apologetics the same way the Watchtower talks to death its own apologetics. The professor has an undeniable gift of the gab and one hoped that he would ease up a bit and simply acknowledge that all the vast number of Christian groups - his included - are simply best guesses and not embodiments of "the truth". Alas, in his bland, garrulous way he personifies organized religion: The more you talk, the more you talk, the more you convince yourself..... and the more the lsitener realizes its all smoke and mirrors .....
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  barry

  G'day Steve,

  You are right about the historic Adventists and their reliance on the teachings of Ellen White but I would like to propose tha there are in fact four main groups within the church not including the sub- groups.

  The Historic Adventists beleive much of what the church taught from its beginning in the 1860s to the the 1950s. This group teaches that Christ had a sinful human nature and a very perfectionistic interpretation of the investigative judgement from 1844. In this group santification in the life of the beleiver is heavily stressed. Some Sub-groups beleive in the Arian herecy and many of these groups and sub -groups can be found in independent ministries and the internet.

  The book "Questions on doctrine" was published in 1957. The book was printed as an answer to questions raised by the evangelicals Barnhouse and Martin and their studies of Adventism v the theologians of the Adventist Church and their understanding at that time. Many of the so called pillars of Adventism were watered down or changed 180% as seen by the Historic Adventists. The doctrine of the Trinity was more formally established and the doctrine of the sinful nature of christ was dropped. Other sectarian doctrines such as calling the other churches Babylon and the doctrine of the Remnant Church was also changed. There was also more openess to the protestant Gospel of "Righteousness by Faith".

  These events became the catalyst in forming two groups within the church with those to some degree holding to remnants of reformed and developed Historic Adventists and those rejecting altogether and becoming evengelical christians. The evangelicals are supported by " Good News Unlimited", Spectrum Magazine and "Atoday'.

  The fourth group are "the liberals"although they are a small group are separate from the others because of their teachings. They may hold to evolution and not beleive in the virgin birth. Some of the clergy belong to this group but run into problems in their ministries.

  So there is quite a spectrum of beleifs within the church my grandmother wouldn' t attend the church for ten years because she beleived it was all to confusing for her. She told me in the old days the church would confront apostacy from the pulpit but now she said to me "You don't know what the person sitting next to you beleives.

  Barry
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  ziddina

  Interesting comments, Steve2 - I'm listening to that video clip again...

  I did wonder about that "...private sins must be rebuked in private; public sins must be rebuked in public..." comment.

  I also wonder what their practical interpretation of "rebuking" amounts to - do they practice shunning, or some form of that type of discipline?