| Author | Message | ||
| Princesslondon (Princesslondon) |
Ahhhhhhh I am sooo lost LOL.. Sorry for posting on this thread but I forgot how to start a new thread.. Ahhhhh could someone please helpppppp! Hugs, Sara | ||
| Freeatlast (Freeatlast) |
Click on "Topics" from this page, then on "Discussion", then scroll all the way to the bottom. Easy as sugar-free, butter-free,lard-free, salt-free, non-picked-on-the-Sabbath-day, Apple Pie! | ||
| Speakeasy (Speakeasy) |
I would love to have that question answered to. All of my JW friends do not trust the writtings of Paul and most everybody that wants people to live under the fear of the Law also do not trust ALL of Pauls writtngs. I got on a website I think it was Pebblesoftheheart or something like that and he had page after page that just ripped the writtngs of Paul calling him a trouble maker of Christians. All of these people think that the catholic church have corrupted the letters of Paul. To twist it to keep people from keeping the commandments. Any good web sites again post them. Paul to me and probably most all on the forum his writtings are the cornerstone of the Gospel. He to me is a must to trust what he says. Speakeasy | ||
| Doc (Doc) |
Just to say thanks to whoever prayed for my meeting on Friday. Several things went wrong in the week. I am not in to seeing demons under every bush, but I certainly did feel under attack. I even got lost finding the meeting place, and nearly did not get there. Anyway, it was a meeting at someone's home, in a village called Szabadbattyán. There were about 25 present - we were out on the veranda. This is a house group belonging to a fairly traditional Pentecostal church in the nearby large town of Székesfehérvár. In Hungary this generally means very legalistic and religious. I think most people in this particular group are probably saved, but they have not been well taught - a very general problem in Central and Eastern Europe. It turns out, that besides going to their own church, some of them have been attending meetings at the Reformed church (well, that would be OK) but also meeting with SDAs and even JWs, because they are all such nice people! Anyway, I started off giving a rundown on a few identifying marks of cults, i.e. false source of authority, false way of salvation, false picture of Jesus and being the One True Church. I then briefly mentioned JWs, as that was also an issue, and went through some distinctive SDA teachings while applying these criteria - EGW, remnant church, IJ, and the Sabbath/Sunday as seal/mark of beast. That was about all there was time for. I think some people understood well, and others did not have a clue what I was talking about - the pastor (who has only recently taken the church over)said it was very useful and timely, though his wife said some of them only want to hear that Jesus loves them and wants to bless them, and cannot cope with anything else! Anyway it went OK on the whole. It is the first time I have done this, and as far as I know, almost no-one else in this country is doing it either. I met a guy a few months ago, who is working full time in cult apologetics, but he says there are very few speakers and even books available, and he should know, as he has far more contacts in the field than I have. Anyway, I guess one has to start somewhere! I would appreciate prayer, that if God really wants me to carry on with teaching this, then he will show me, and open the doors. Thanks again, Doc Incidentally, does anyone happen to know any former SDAs in my area: Hungary, or surroundings, like Romania, Slovakia, Austria? I have not come across any yet, though I would appreciate the contacts. doc | ||
| Terryk (Terryk) |
Thank you for the great work you are doing. That is wonderful that you are doing that. I will keep you inprayer. Terry | ||
| Speakeasy (Speakeasy) |
I second what Terryk said. You are doing what the Lord has called you to do. I to will pray for you. Speakeasy | ||
| Colleentinker (Colleentinker) |
Doc, I just caught up with this thread this evening. How wonderful that you were asked to give such a talk! I will certainly join others here in praying re: your doing more of this kind of teaching. As to former SDAs in Central Europe--no, I don't know any. I certainly have relatives in Romania and possibly even Hungary, but they're not Adventists! (My maternal grandparents emigrated from those countries during the teen years of the 20th century. My grandpa came first, and a few years later my grandmother left to join him as a mail-order bride. When he met her in New York my grandad knew her by a picture she had sent. My grandpa had become an Adventist after emigrating to Canada, and my grandmother scandalized her Eastern Orthodox family and brought persecution upon herself from them by becoming an Adventist in Europe. Their "meeting" was facilitated by her Adventist pastor in Romania.) Keep us posted, Doc. Colleen | ||
| Doc (Doc) |
Thanks for the encouragement folks. Colleen, That's really great, that you have Hungarian and Romanian in your ancestry! Actually, I don't, I just live here :-) There are huge numbers of Adventists in Romania, I believe. There are also a lot of Baptists, Pentecostals and Brethren, but they are all even more legalistic than in Hungary. All I seem to hear about is lists of rules and more rules. I have visited Pentecostal churches in Romania. The men and women sit on opposite sides of the church, the women wear headscarves and no make-up or jewelery, the service lasted about 4 hours, and there were about 3 sermons and some rather dreary singing. Adventists probably don't look too much different in those surroundings. Some Welsh friends of mine who are missionaries in Romania had an Adventist cook. They had no idea what Adventists were (maybe there really are only a few in Britain, I had never come across them there either). She cooked vegetarian, but otherwise seemed to accept us all as fellow believers, and was happy to talk about how great it is to know Jesus. Anyway, I'm rambling. Bye for now, Doc | ||
| Terryk (Terryk) |
Doc have you alwys lived there? Were you SDA? I may have missed if you wrote this before. Terry | ||
| Doc (Doc) |
Hi Terry, I have been living in Hungary since 1995, though I also worked here for a while in the early 80s. I am from England. I have never been SDA, and never really came across any until I came to Hungary. It's a bit of a long story really, but I'll try to cut it down. I found it very difficult to find a good church here when I came, and found it hard to settle. I ended up working with a new church plant which became very elitist and the leader was controlling, though it was difficult to spot. I ended up leaving, though I went through some confusion over it, so I can identify with some of the feelings about, "what happens if we leave the best church there is?" I became friendly with a guy who was an elder in a Pentecostal church in a nearby village. He wanted to attend Bible college so as to be more effective in ministry, but works full time, so could only do a correspondence course. His only opportunity was an Adventist college in Budapest, which is very popular, and lots of non-Adventists attend. This is an offshoot group which split fron the SDAs in the 70s. They are called Christian Advent Fellowship, and they are basically historical Adventists, who think the SDAs here are too liberal, not "Adventist" enough. There are only 1,500 of them but they have huge influence because of this popular Bible college (called Sola Scriptura - that's a laugh for a start!). They also have a popular weekly TV programme. My friend asked me to come and help him with the church, so that is when I left the other one. I really thought things were finally coming right, I was going to be able to work with someone I got on really well with. By the time he finished college, he was pretty convinced Adventism was correct, but did not tell anyone. The subject finally came up, so I said I would check up on it (not knowing a thing about it) and see if I agreed. Well, when I started to read up on what Adventists believe (mainly through the Web),l was pretty horrified! Remember this was all completely new to me, who has been an evangelical Christian for around 15 years, and had attended Baptist church pretty well all my life even before I got saved, so I did know something about what the Bible teaches! Well, this led to a big crisis with lots of stress, nearly broke up the church, he got hysterical and suicidal, I dug my heels in, his wife told him there was no way she would ever be an Adventist... Anyway, God told me to cool it, just be his friend and leave things alone for a while. Meanwhile, I realised there is absolutely no literature criticising Adventist theology available in Hungarian, though there are about 10,000 of them, and they are influential (SDA, KERAK - the one I mentioned, and Adventist reform movement). So I ended up doing lots of research, lots of praying (got really close to God through it!), and writing a series of articles in Hungarian myself. When he was ready to start asking questions (about 6 months later), I gave him the articles. It took a little while after that, but he has dropped Adventism completely now, and we are stil working together. Well, all this having happened, I became concerned about the amount of influence Adventists have here, and there is no-one who seems to be dealing with this from an Evangelical point of view. Since that time, I have been asked by quite a few people for my writings, and now for the first time I have been asked to speak on the subject. Well, that is the story, hope it was not too long and boring. My name is Adrian, by the way. By for now, and God bless, Doc | ||
| Colleentinker (Colleentinker) |
Thanks for introducing yourself, Adrian! What an amazing story! Isn't it amazing how God plans in advance the work he wants us to do, and when it's time to do it, he places it before us in a way that makes it completely clear it is his will?! One of the things that has amazed me over the past couple or three years is the way God places evangelical Christians in situations where they have to learn about Adventism when they never intended to have to learn about it. But then God uses that knowledge, and he provides venues and situations through which those Chirstians can speak authoritatively about the truth. Even on this forum we have some of those: Jerry, Joel, Carol 2, Melissa, Madelia, you... I praise God that he is sovereign over truth and error, and He provides his mouthpieces wherever they are needed! Colleen | ||
| Doc (Doc) |
I guess you must be right, Colleen. It certainly is pretty amazing how God has led me into stuff here in Hungary, that I never would have dreamt of. I have often said to people that being a Christian may be difficult and painful sometimes, but it is definitely not boring :-) Adrian | ||
| Terryk (Terryk) |
Adrian what a great story. You gave me goose bumps. There is such a need others on the outside to know what the SDA church teaches. If you ever need anything I have a friend who has presented this in a church the beliefs etc. Well keep in touch and let us know how it is going. May God Bless you in your efforts | ||
| Doc (Doc) |
Thanks Terry, Actually, it might be useful to know how he approaches the task. I felt a bit concerned I was bombarding people with too much information all at once. I would be grateful for any help. Adrian | ||
| Terryk (Terryk) |
Doc e-mail me and I will get you in touch with him. tbawgus@hotmail.com | ||
| Melissa (Melissa) |
When I first started realizing B was not brought to my life to help solve the challenges I was facing, I started looking at why maybe I was brought into his. I can honestly say that I donít know if I would have ever done the intensive Bible study to find out where ěmyî beliefs came from had I not been ědefendingî them from an Adventist. And I didnít start out defensive. Remember, I thought it was like the Baptist church, so I was expecting to find similarities. I have since come across several who have encountered Adventism/Adventists in one form or another and I have been able to educate them. They did one of their prophecy seminars here, without their name on the fliers of course, and I was able to tell people who was putting them on. They did them in a vacant storefront in a strip mall ... not even in a church. I keep searching to find out what the real reason was, and maybe it was just to get me serious about the faith I had kindof lost faitn in. I started putting together a power point presentation because so many of my friends were interested in what I was learning and I thought I could go through it quickly. Wrong. It was a good organizational tool, but it grew incredibly large....too many details probably. Adventism doesnít fit in a single presentation. So, I have learned to just try to answer the questions as they come. I am not afraid to say I donít know, and frame it up as how one person has expressed it, if B was my only source of information. I donít want to unfairly label the whole what may only belong to an individual. Anyway, I still have the slides, but quit trying to put it together when it just got too cumbersome. Maybe someday, God will lead me down that path and Iíll have the beginning, who knows. Whatever the reason, I hope that God uses me to all his glory. I hate to think Iíve learned these painful lessons just for myself. And my faith is now MY faith. It is stronger than it has ever been and on a level Iím not sure how else it would have gotten there. That doesnít mean I havenít stumbled and crawled along the path. But when it came time to ědoî something, I knew what I had to do. Itís been a whirlwind since I have given up trying to ěfixî B. It was hard to accept, though, that he may have just been a tool in my life to guide me down the right path. Itís such an incredible peace. And it's fascinating to see God doing a similar thing with someone across the world. | ||
| Terryk (Terryk) |
Melissa you know that is something that I wonder about I was raised Baptist til teenage years then became SDA. I was there for about 27 years who knows. I have come to a greater understanding about things of the Bible. I tell anyone sho will listen about the SDA church. I met the man who sort of had me search to find truth about twenty years ago in Mexico at a youth congress. We ended up in the same town and at the same church years later. Now I live in Grace. Who would have known. I am thankful my Father has a plan for my life I may not understand I may have made some wrong turns but he knows the plan. Praise God for his love. | ||
| Doc (Doc) |
Melissa, I agree, it is great to see how God is leading people in the same direction in different parts of the world. I love reading the stuff on this forum, how the Lord has revealed the true gospel to people from His word. I also love the atmosphere, how everyone seems in great fellowship and unity. I have also read some stuff from an ex-Mormon site, but most people seem just to have left the church but not found the Lord. They have a lot of anger and bitterness about being lied to, but not much positive. Keep up the good work. Adrian | ||
| Another_Carol (Another_Carol) |
Mellisa, I could have written the same post as you as I too am very thankful for my son-in-law bringing this to me so that I would get into my Bible (something God had been telling me to do long ago but I needed a reason to make sure I knew what I believed and I found it in the Bible, His Name is Jesus Christ). And because of it I claim Romans 8:28 All things work together for good to them that love the Lord and are called according to His purpose. Because of what s-n-l brought I now am sure of what my daughter believes and we have a wonderful time sharing how the Lord works in our lives, something I only dreamed of happening, now has become a reality. Love and Prayers to you and your son,Carol | ||
| Colleentinker (Colleentinker) |
Even having grown up Adventist I completely identify with you who have found depth in your faith by studying Adventism. I actually thank God that I was raised Adventist now. Studying the to discover the truth has led me more deeply into knowing Jesus than I believe I would have been able to know him otherwise. Praise God for revealing himself and for teaching us truth! Colleen |
