| Author | Message | ||
| Pradez2 Registered user Username: Pradez2 Post Number: 4 Registered: 12-2003 |
This title is quite a mouthful. For over four years, I have been reading this forumís posts without opining much at allóor posting my own thoughts. That is, until now. I discovered the errors of the SDA church and Mrs. White about 5 years ago. As I look backóand up to my bookcaseó I can picture myself buying a new book, reading a new pamphletÖ From Rea to Ford to Ronald Numbers, all these authors tore my blinders offÖ I even when so far as to get me old republished books from Ellen White to see her nonsense first hand. I also bought Conybeare and Howsonís ìThe Life and Epistles of St. Paul.î I read Miltonís ìParadise Lost.î And got a hold of the apocryphal books not accepted in the biblical cannon so that I could see FOR MYSELF where Ellen had borrowed. I have gone to the Library of Congress to further prove all these borrowings for myself. After all, if Luther read the bible on his own, I could read the plagiarism for myself. And it was all true. I even have the old ìQuestions on Doctrineî so that I could see the double face of the GC. A double face that as a fourth generation Adventist Iím not longer beholden to. It has taken me this long to get over the anger, the hurt and the desire to inflict serious damageóno crimes here, please! ó To get retribution for all the cover-ups, all the nonsense that I endured. As I looked around me with my eyes open for the first time, I learned the myriad reasons why folks left the church. Still, few knew about the plagiarist ways of Mrs. White. You see I was raised in Puerto Rico. And though the island is a U.S. territory with many American ways, it still has some of its former third-world mentality. SDAís are still going through the ìCelebrationî phase. So Iím so alone in this awakening. The freedom I sense and savor nowÖ Itís feels like, like the movie of the same titleÖ Awake within, immobilized from without. Until jolted to freedom! ----0---- My anger was driven to bilious heights by talking with a couple of SDA world leaders at the general conference. Their unwillingness to come to grips and even consider what would be like to reveal this information to SDAís around the world was staggering. I went through a period where the mere thought of SDA would cause me mental reflux disease. But no more. As I was driving to a Xmas Eve party, a good friend told me, during a heated exchange on the well-treaded terrain of Ellenís tomfoolery, to let go. Just let go. I have to seek my happiness. And that from now own, I should assiduously avoid become so wrapped up in doctrine as to make it a straitjacket on my soul. I felt the fog risingÖ Later that evening, the fog cleared some more. A former high school classmate told me he rebelled and would not go back. Not worth it. He was happier that way. The host, raised Catholic, agreed with him and my friend, my wife, telling me, he didnít even believe in any papal infallibility whatsoever. Talk about been buffeted from both sides of the aisle! By the way, you should have seen my wife when I told her about ALL this for the first time. The week after, she pierced her ear lobes and bought her first set of earrings. By the way, how could you deny such a central aspect of womenís femininity? I canít understand it for the life of meó especially when we all know Elena White, as we knew her back in Puerto Rico, used jewelry herself. I can breathe again. Without that mental anguish that held me captive for so long. I still feel that I must unburden myself with likeminded folks such as you, so bear with me someÖ | ||
| Colleentinker Registered user Username: Colleentinker Post Number: 1146 Registered: 12-2003 |
Oh, Pradez, I'm so glad you've finally joined us personally on this forum! Wow, what a work God has been doing in you! You are so welcome, and we all understand your feelings of anger and betrayal and frustration at the smugness of the church in its refusal to deal with what IT KNOWS! I'll repeat what I've posted here before: the best definition of forgiveness I've heard came from a remarkable Christian counselor many years ago: Forgiveness does not mean "forgive and forget", because we must remember in order to protect ourselves from further damage. But it does mean to give to God our "right" to get even. Only God can carry that burden, and He has promised He will do it, and He will ultimately take care of evil. If we carry the burden of revenge, it will kill us. As you let go of your anger and resentment, remember that the joy that is your inheritance is in Jesus. The more you seek Him and immerse yourself in His word with prayers for His Spirit to teach you, the more profound your joy and freedom will become. He is faithful. Praise God for bringing you to this place! (And praise God that your wife is enjoying earrings, too!!) We look forward to hearing more from you. Colleen | ||
| Pradez2 Registered user Username: Pradez2 Post Number: 5 Registered: 12-2003 |
Colleen, thank you for your kind words. I honestly didn't know what response to expect from my posting. You and Dennis offer the most cogent commentary. It just took me a long time to shed my anger. By the way, I recall you making a commentary about Angel Rodriguez. It's interesting how he "approaches" Hispanic and American congregations regarding EGW. My mom went to school with him and she holds him in high regard on a personal level. 'Course now I can better forgive him for what he's done, since he knows what side his bread is butter on... Who knows how this whole EGW thing will unravel in the coming years. You know, I have tried to see the Pastor from Damascus church in MD, but I was afraid that I would show too much anger. He seems like a swell fellow. Do you know him well? | ||
| Susan_2 Registered user Username: Susan_2 Post Number: 1263 Registered: 11-2002 |
Dear Pradez, It is wonderful hearing from you. Yes, it is good to let the schackles of Adventism fall. The only thing that ties me still in any way to the SDA is my elderly mother. Also, my granddaughter attendes a local SDA school and I attend the programs and functions at her school. Someone on here has said there are only two kinds of Adventists-the decived and the decivers. I think that pretty much sums up Adventism. Sadly though it is the decved who are bankrolling the decivers. Pradez, My d-i-l is Puerto Rican. My oldest grandchild was born in PR and raisd there until her mother met my son and married him. All my grandcildren are Spanish as a first language. they seem to always e going back and forth between Ca. and PR. The in-laws want me to come out so they can take me salsa dancing. Sounds like just too much of a good time for this SDA raised old lady! | ||
| Dennis Registered user Username: Dennis Post Number: 263 Registered: 4-2000 |
Pradez, A hearty FAF welcome! Someone aptly stated that "evangelism is one beggar telling another beggar where he found food." Praise God, this forum was "spiritual" food for your soul as you were lurking for several years. Truly, the Gospel PLUS ANYTHING ELSE is no longer the Gospel. We look forward to your participation in this conversation cafe. Dennis J. Fischer | ||
| Pradez2 Registered user Username: Pradez2 Post Number: 6 Registered: 12-2003 |
°Gracias! You know, it took me a while to realize after my blinders were off that the 500+ rules from the Torah and the 10 commandments were impossible to be kept, too. The despair at my inability to keep them, coupled with living under a lie with EGW, was extremely unbearable. Nowadays, the only thing I believe is the bible, Jesus and His Grace, and the NEW commandment he gave in the Gospel of John. The golden rule has been around for a long time, but I call his golden rule the 'Optimum.' Oh, and only by faith... "Love one another, AS I HAVE LOVED YOU..." He is the example. I aim to imitate him as best I can, in my imperfect way. No worries anymore about perfection, mate. and That's all she wrote. p.s. Oh, and no more following the one who was once called "Imitation of Christ," for was the value of imitating an imitator, a copy of a copy?! | ||
| Flyinglady Registered user Username: Flyinglady Post Number: 871 Registered: 3-2004 |
Welcom Pradez, I am so glad you are posting on here. God brought you here and is healing all your wounds and hurts and disappointments. This is a safe place to sound off/vent when necessary. We all need that, especially when it comes to things that affect our salvation. Oh, I like that "imitating an imitator, a Copy of a copy!!!! Thank God we do not have to do that any longer. We can go to the original and not copy him, but let his blood cover us as a mantle, from head to toe. Thank you God for your awesomeness. Diana | ||
| Pradez2 Registered user Username: Pradez2 Post Number: 9 Registered: 12-2003 |
Oh, that feels so good, to feel validated as I was once within the SDA fold, if only by blindly following without questioning. Thanx Flyinglady. And thanks Colleen and Dennis. If I may say so, You Two are the ones who best reach me, though you never knew I was checking your posts. No dilly-dally, obtuseness, tortured reasoning or prooftexting. Just straight talk. If I may add some more, I learned little things from both of you like reading things in context, a part of inductive study of the scriptures. Interesting how speaking clearly, and transparently lends you that credence to your authority as learned folks. I simply believe. Yeah I still check you out on the Bible. But I don't feel the need to mistrust you... | ||
| Flyinglady Registered user Username: Flyinglady Post Number: 881 Registered: 3-2004 |
Hey Susan_2, You should go to Puerto Rico and go salsa dancing. It is loads of fun and good aerobic exercise. Now that my knee is almost healed and the immobilizer is off, I will sign up for some kind of dance lessons at our community centers. I am also going to BSF classes starting Monday evening, Jan 3 '05. I am looking forward to that. Diana | ||
| Dd Registered user Username: Dd Post Number: 293 Registered: 7-2004 |
Hey Diana, after you have started BSF...let's start a "BSF thread" to have our own "former" discussion group! I would love that! | ||
| Flyinglady Registered user Username: Flyinglady Post Number: 884 Registered: 3-2004 |
Dd, That sounds like a good idea. I will seriously consider it. Diana | ||
| Pradez2 Registered user Username: Pradez2 Post Number: 13 Registered: 12-2003 |
Flyinglady, It's so refreshing to hear you mention salsa dancing. To this day, I still feel TREPIDATION when my wife asks me to dance salsa or merengue. Because I was taught it was a sin. African rhythms from pagan traditions. Heretical! I would guiltily listen, but not dance. My mom is from the Dominican Republic, where merengue music is from. My father is from Colombia, cradle to other hot latin rhythms. The tug of war with music I dearly love and what I was taught rent me for quite a while. But little by little, I'm coming around to it. Can you believe that? Anyways, it is great fun! | ||
| Jeannette Registered user Username: Jeannette Post Number: 78 Registered: 3-2003 |
Salsa, merengue, so much fun. I was lucky I already knew how to dance latin music before my family became SDA. Last year we went to a cousin's wedding, the wedding was on Sat and my mom went very reluctanly. Everyone was dancing and having so much fun I couldn't resist so after sundown I danced a couple of dances with my cousins. You should have seen my mom'm face, she was not a happy camper. Pradez, did your dad attend Icolven, did you attend the college in PR. I grew up in Vzla and a lot of my friends attended both school. | ||
| Pradez2 Registered user Username: Pradez2 Post Number: 14 Registered: 12-2003 |
Jeanette wrote" "Pradez, did your dad attend Icolven, did you attend the college in PR. OHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That's scary! Yes. My dad went to ICOLVEN and later on to Antillean College in Puerto Rico. BTW, for the rest of the posters, ICOLVEN is an acronym for an Adventist college in Colombia (?) as in: Colombian-Venezuelan Institute... In my senior year in high school, Antillean College was sold hard and fast as a great place to pursue higher education. We knew it as "THE CONVENT." Adventism and clean fun were not to mix there... As a postcript I will add that the FBI investigated the place in the latter part of the Nineties due to the illegal activities such as multilevel marketing. At any rate, it's nice to hear from you Jeanette. I currently reside near SDA Mecca, Montgomery County - Maryland. And yes I like Cumbia and Vallenato and Merengue and Salsa and Jazz and Ballroom Dancing and Gerschwin and Chicago and Michael Buble and Dixie Chicks and Shakira and (...) the list goes on and on and on. | ||
| Flyinglady Registered user Username: Flyinglady Post Number: 886 Registered: 3-2004 |
I grew up SDA, but at family parties and weddings, my Mom danced and permitted us to dance also. So, the only place I was told it was a sin was at church and at school. I never flounted the fact that I danced at those places. I do not remember my Dad saying anything about dancing. So I learned as a kid. My oldest sister used to practice dancing, to Latin music and the Big Bands, while holding on to the door jamb. I have inherited a good sense of rythm and dance well, all kinds of dancing. At least that is what my dance partners have told me. I just like to move to music. Pradez2, I used to live in Manassas, VA until I moved to NV 2 years ago, so all that is familiar territory to me. Remember, dancing is good aerobic exercise!! God is so awesome. Diana |
