| Author | Message | ||
| Pw Registered user Username: Pw Post Number: 48 Registered: 6-2004 |
Boy, what a flood of memories return when I hear about those Revelation Seminars. Not the best of the times. I really find it odd how SDA's even feel that most of their own "breed" won't be saved at the resurrection, yet they still strive for perefction by Sabbath keeping. No wonder there is no joy in their services. | ||
| Susan_2 Registered user Username: Susan_2 Post Number: 756 Registered: 11-2002 |
Doug, You entry just above Pw's is very interesting. Thanks. | ||
| Doug_s Registered user Username: Doug_s Post Number: 37 Registered: 7-2004 |
A comment I read in another thread (Recovering from emotional abuse) that Busymom said made me think of something and I thought it best to post here in this thread. Busymom, I am glad that your husband has agreed to attend the "fundamentals of christianity" class at your church. Praise God! This reminded me of when our SDA church decided to introduce classes on "fundamentals of christianity" 101, 201, and 301. Of course it was really fundamentals of adventism with ever increasing SDA doctrine. What's funny is what happened with the elder they chose to teach the 101 class. He's a friend of mine and was a self described "adventist's adventist", extremely conservative. He has an MDiv from Andrews and taught adult SS classes quite often. Anyway, after he was asked to teach this upcoming class he decided to research all the scriptural evidence for what SDA's believe. Well, you can guess what happened. SDA doctrine hit the fan and next thing you know he was calling a meeting of all elders, pastors and anyone who was in a leadership role to discuss his findings. Of course he was refused and soon found himself no longer an elder or teacher. He and his family currently are out of the denomination, although he did leave peaceably. His turning point was when the church itself asked him to teach a class on fundamentals of christianity. That'll do it every time. At least it should. | ||
| Doug_s Registered user Username: Doug_s Post Number: 38 Registered: 7-2004 |
You're welcome Susan. In the words of Mark Lowry, "just trying to be a blessing".  | ||
| Flyinglady Registered user Username: Flyinglady Post Number: 308 Registered: 3-2004 |
Doug_s, I am seeing that when one reads and studies the Bible, without the filter of EGW and with a sincere desire to know what the Bible really teaches, that God teaches the person and it is not about the Sabbath and all the other doctrine the SDAs teach. It is the pure and simple gospel of Jesus. That is awesome. Diana | ||
| Doug_s Registered user Username: Doug_s Post Number: 39 Registered: 7-2004 |
Amen sister! Diana, The veil is officially removed from your eyes. The Holy Spirit is enabling you/us to see things you/we could not see before. I guess that's why it's called light. The one ever common thread interwoven throughout all the testimonies I have come across from former SDA's is the testimony of the sincere desire to know truth. There is no better teacher than the Holy Spirit. How else can people from all parts of the world come to the same conclusions when they each seek the Lord in prayer and ask for the light of His Spirit to guide them in their study. I never cease to be amazed when I see it happen. God truly is awesome. Doug | ||
| Colleentinker Registered user Username: Colleentinker Post Number: 472 Registered: 12-2003 |
Doug, really great thoughts about Cain and Abel above. You're right about the persistent theme in the OT especially that human firstborns were subject to the younger brothers who received God's chosen blessing--and I liked your suggestion that Christianity being the recipient of the fullness of God's blessing over Judaism is another "younger brother" example. God's blessings and God's will just never follow the "logical" patterns we humans think of as fair. Bb, I suspect that the topic of that Revelation seminar announcing that people will go to hell will probably deal with the mark of the beast--which we KNOW is Sunday-keeping. Generally Adventists feel safe in saying that the Mark of the Beast will yield hell. Just my guess-- Colleen | ||
| Flyinglady Registered user Username: Flyinglady Post Number: 309 Registered: 3-2004 |
Though I know I cannot do a thing, I keep on wondering how we can lift the veil off our SDA relatives and friends minds and open their eyes and ears. Then I stop and think, they think/know they have the truth and with that thinking nothing will get through. Only God can get through. So, I have to be patient and let God do his work and I will admit, I am not the most patient person. God is working on that in me. I feel so sad for our SDA relatives and friends. I have said before that even though my family have not practiced Adventism for years, my 3 older sisters still believe it to some degree. My oldest sister does not and my 3 younger brothers are no longer SDA. Then there are the friends who are SDA. I just need to keep praying for all of them, that God will chip away at them as he did with me. I am so thankful for that. God truly is awesome. Diana | ||
| Pw Registered user Username: Pw Post Number: 60 Registered: 6-2004 |
One thing I recall was the amount of people who showed up for the Revelation Seminar in my area when I joined. It was held at a local lodge (so you wouldn't know what church was behind it) and ran for about 2 months. When it was finally over that was when people were filtering out once they were approached to joing the SDA church. Some were already members of other churches but were smart enough not to be manipulated into joining. Little did I know what I was about to get into. It was out of fear rather than establishing a real relationship with God that I joined. | ||
| Flyinglady Registered user Username: Flyinglady Post Number: 317 Registered: 3-2004 |
Pw, If you had known it was the SDA church behind the Revelation Seminars, would you have joined the SDA church?? Just curious. Diana | ||
| Pw Registered user Username: Pw Post Number: 61 Registered: 6-2004 |
Probably. I never heard of SDA's until after the fact. It's amazing that I ended up being brainwashed into this group. Of course, I didn't know the Bible at all, so I didn't know they were manipulating it. It was a real learning experience to say the least. | ||
| Belvalew Registered user Username: Belvalew Post Number: 17 Registered: 7-2004 |
Dear Pw, I'm praising God that you had the presence of mind to pray and study scripture, and find the truth that is sheltered there. I second the statement made above that whenever someone sincerely searches the scripture, no matter what their former indoctrination, or lack thereof, the Holy Spirit will teach them what is right straight from the gems of scriptural truth. I was a full-blown SDA trying to teach the "truth" about IJ to a friend who sincerely wanted to know what I was talking about. Thank God that she was just well enough informed not to swallow my folly and to call me on the mistake. We are both better off knowing the truth of the Gospel and the goodness of our Savior. Freeing ones self of the folly of SDAism is like peeling away the layers of an onion. Once you have found that there is questionable doctrine in one place it gets easier to question some of the other doctrines that are so uniquely SDA. It happened for me, and for several others I know. Some are still trying to hold onto the Sabbath issue, others have been willing to study deeper after they acqknowledged that good Christians in other denominations have reconciled the issue. There is really power in prayer. I have to remind myself that I tripped across the issues that turned me around, so I pray that those I love will "trip" over the real truth, and soon. Belva | ||
| Praisegod Registered user Username: Praisegod Post Number: 93 Registered: 3-2004 |
Wow. Iím gone for a few weeks and come back to find new people and lots of activity. So great to see the forum becoming more and more active. Iíve been trying to get caught up on everything Iíve missed. Iíll hop back in on this discussion about turning points. All I can say is that I was a really sssllllooooowwww learner. As a child I had a dad who wasnít a Christian and a mom who bent SDA rules to fit her current mood. I remember as a child thinking, ěWell, if Iím going to be a Christian, I should be a ěrealî Christian. Otherwise, why bother?î(To me at that young age, Christian = SDA.) I could see the fallacy of people being hypocritical but I was totally blind to SDA doctrinal issues. It took a two-step process to remove me from Adventism. First I started really hearing from the Lord and experiencing a closer relationship with him than ever before. While I had a lot more of the gospel than most Adventists, I really didnít have a complete understanding, but I did truly love the Lord. Anyway, for about a year the Holy Spirit was directing me in a verse by verse study of Acts and teaching me who he really was. Part of that involved using no EGW material, which I figured was because I needed to know how to win other Christians to the ětruth.î The Bible really started opening up to me and I started to see inconsistencies but was into denial about the seriousness of them. God has a tremendous sense of humor because what really moved me out was an Adventist pastor. He was on his own journey and sensed the Holy Spirit telling him that ěthe missing pieces we need are in the New Covenant.î Well, the rest is history. I could NEVER have guessed how that study would dump my entire life upside down. I really am in agreement that it doesnít matter how wholeheartedly SDA that you are because sincere seekers will be brought out sooner or later. It seems that there is not a day that goes by that Iím not praising God for all the things heís been teaching me. And praising him that the demonic hold over me is now broken. You will never convince me that Adventism doesnít have a strong demonic component because there is no way so many otherwise intelligent people can be so deceived. Itís the ěveilî that Paul talks about. One other thing that helped put in the coffin nails is that when I e-mailed the EGW estate twice about some questions, they were not honest with me either time. And when I asked about coming and examining some material, the deception became quite obvious. (I really didnít plan to visit, but suspected they would deny the request.) Iíve always wondered how many people are lurking on this site who never post but are seriously searching. I just want to end by saying that once you leave Adventism for real Christianity, you will be so filled with joy and so excited about the new things youíre learning that others will notice a change without you even telling them. Praise GodÖ | ||
| Susan_2 Registered user Username: Susan_2 Post Number: 762 Registered: 11-2002 |
Even though I am a member of a local Lutheran congreation I have noticed that the further I distance myself from the SDA the less I see a need to belong to an organization, a denomiation. I actually was very content being a "Friend of St John's" rather than an actual church member except that to vote in the church elections and have a vote on how the church money is spent one has to be an actual member. Also, to get the magazine, The Lutheran in the mail each month we need to be members. So, I asked for membership. It just seems to me that people who place a great emphasis on belonging to God's one true end-time organization, well, that says it all. | ||
| Pw Registered user Username: Pw Post Number: 65 Registered: 6-2004 |
That's one major warning sign about any organization is when you find a particular belief statement questionable and told just to accept it. Paul acknowledged the Bereans for diligently searching the scriptures to see if what he was teaching was true instead of just taking his word for it. I did swallow the whole teaching from the Revelation Seminar but it was about half a year later I was being called out of the SDA's, the rules and regulations aside from their corrupted ideas of the Bible were really starting to surface. It's been a long process trying to erase all their ideas out of my head but well worth it. | ||
| Flyinglady Registered user Username: Flyinglady Post Number: 328 Registered: 3-2004 |
I have been reading what everyone has written here, again, and got to thinking how God pulled me out of the SDA church. I came from a very dysfunctional family who did not live what they, my parents, said they believed. I used to ask my Dad why he would read the newspapers on Sabbath when it was not a religious paper. I never got a straight answer. Neither of my parents ever apologized to any of us children for anything they did that hurt us. I did not understand that. My Mom wanted us to think she was perfect(Mom was converted from Catholicism to SDA-from one cult to another). When I married I told myself I did not want to make the mistakes my parents did. But God was showing me what to look for, like I cannot be perfect and I need to apologize when I hurt some one. It was not until I got into a 12 step program that I learned that when I apologize it involves change on my part. Although I believed, to a degree, the SDA doctrines, I must not have fully believed because I loved to dance ( I did not start dancing again until after my divorce) and eventually learned to like going to the theatre. I wondered in and out of vegetarianism because that is what I learned at home growing up. God had to show me how much he loves me in my 12 step program before I could give up anything SDA. He put within me a dislike for EGW sometime during the years after I had my son. And as I said earlier, when I found out about the plagiarism of EGW, the rest just tumbled like the dominoes. When I found out about EGW, I started studying the Bible with a concordance and discovered Jesus Christ. I also discovered the covenants and a host of other things. The SDAs were incorrect on all accounts. I also had the help of all the websites on the computer. I have discovered that I have forgotten all the things about the IJ and a lot of the false teachings I learned in SDA schools. The things I remember well are the ones that are Biblically correct. God has been working on me for a long, long, long time. Thank God for chipping away at me to bring me to you. You are AWESOME. Diana | ||
| Colleentinker Registered user Username: Colleentinker Post Number: 483 Registered: 12-2003 |
Praisegod, how was your trip to Haiti? You've been in my prayers. I want to second your appeal to those who are still Adventist: you have no idea how much joy and meaning and peace and gratitude waits for you when you accept Jesus and allow all other attachments and loyalties to go. The veil Paul talks about is a demonic power, and when we surrender our futures and identities to Christ, He removes that veil and shows us reality and truth in such deep an amazing ways. Praise God! Colleen | ||
| Pw Registered user Username: Pw Post Number: 67 Registered: 6-2004 |
I'm not sure what was worse, growing up in an SDA home or an unbeliever's home (as I did). It seems that there was so much abuse from what I've read throughout this website that it's downright depressing. The SDA makes it sound like a family spending a sabbath day together is like heaven on earth where everyone is getting along so well like the Flanders family in The Simpsons. It's really all a mask. I was really surprised at reading about how people didn't follow the EGW format to the exact code when they would do the "forbidden" things like eating meat, drinking caffiene, reading a paper or watching tv. I used to feel guilty for doing any of these things for fear I would get "caught". I really can't believe how I made such a stupid decision to join this sect. Now it's so obvious I can't help getting mad at myself for being so foolish. Thank God I was able to break free. | ||
| Praisegod Registered user Username: Praisegod Post Number: 97 Registered: 3-2004 |
Colleen, my trip to Haiti was absolutely fantastic. It was a situation where God truly blessed above and beyond what I could ever have expected in the way he was able to use our small team. I've written a long update and anyone who is interested can contact me at formersdadventist@yahoo.com if you would like me to e-mail it to you. Pw, on this forum, was a great blessing to us. Another interesting thing about Haiti is that there are lots of SDAs. You can see why once you've visited there. Sad, but God is in control. Praise God... | ||
| Susan_2 Registered user Username: Susan_2 Post Number: 766 Registered: 11-2002 |
Yes, I have numerous SDA kin who go to Haiti at least once per year with the SDA Maranartha group. They build chuches and do SDA outreach. Knowing how much the island peoples like to dance and sway to music I was wondering how this aspect of their culture is handled by the SDA missionaries/workers. Several months ago a tribal man from somewhere in lower Africa was on the front cover of the Review. The man as well as pictures in the article had so much jewlery on that it was almost unbealiveable that one person can even wear that much. I can only assume the SDA missionaries trun the other cheek to these cultural things. Yet, for sure jewlery is against the SDA belief. I wrote a postcard to the Review telling them, "Since when did the SDA church change its policy of jewlery being forbidden? Last time I looked in the 27 fundamentals jewlery was still against the SDA church. Are the doctrines of the SDA only regional? My understanding is Bible truth is universal." blah, blah, blah. I put my name and return address on the front but I never heard back. I'm sure my card got chucked. |
