| Author | Message | ||
| Stevendi Registered user Username: Stevendi Post Number: 54 Registered: 10-2006 |
Susan, Me too - fear was the reason. I had to be absolutely convinced that EGW was not truth, that scripture as I read it was. Studying Christ's words in the four gospels was more than enough to get me out of the sda church. Praise God He answered my prayers for His truth to consume me. He gave me more than two years to search for Him. He never "added" anything to His message of salvation and grace. Finally, I was able to denounce not only the sda religion, but EGW as well. For the record, I don't think she was evil or insincere, but merely a compulsive writer and a deluded one at that. I expect to see her in heaven where we can both muse over how dim our views of God were. God can save anyone He chooses - I don't believe she was any worse sinner than anyone else. For this reason, I'll never hate her - she loved the God she thought she knew. She will be pained enough when she sees the damage her work did to so many. The same will be for many leaders in many churches who let their spiritual pride override their love for God and His sheep. For them, like the rest of us, our rewards will be as big or as little as the level of humble faith and love we have for our Saviour. Steve | ||
| Honestwitness Registered user Username: Honestwitness Post Number: 213 Registered: 7-2005  |
Steve wrote: "For the record, I don't think she was evil or insincere, but merely a compulsive writer and a deluded one at that. I expect to see her in heaven where we can both muse over how dim our views of God were. God can save anyone He chooses - I don't believe she was any worse sinner than anyone else. For this reason, I'll never hate her - she loved the God she thought she knew. She will be pained enough when she sees the damage her work did to so many." My response: Steve, thank you so much for posting these words. Just yesterday, I pondered whether EGW was evil enough to be kept out of heaven. I just couldn't bring myself to believe that she was that bad. That said, I do believe some of her writings are really very bad. But I don't believe she had evil motives. She was just compulsive and deluded, like you said. If any one of us were subjected to the same experiences, traumas, influences that she was, we might just as easily have gone down that same path. However, much as I pity EGW and forgive her for her wrongs, I am even more zealous for Christ's honor. And I believe EGW wrote and propagated ideas that detract from His sufficiency to save us and power to keep us. I know my husband LOVES to read EGW and I pray constantly that the veil will be lifted from his heart and mind to see her failings and false teachings. Yet, I completely understand his reluctance to admit she was not a God-anointed prophet. To do so would shake him to his very foundations, as it has done to so many of you who post on this forum. The Lord has been speaking to my spirit the past few days that I need to be very, very supportive, kind, patient and loving of my husband. Because, when the glue of his adherence to things SDA starts to weaken, it will be very difficult for him. Thanks to so many of you for sharing your hearts on this forum. Your faith in Christ, in spite of deep trauma caused by leaving Adventism, is very inspiring and strenghtening to me. Honestwitness | ||
| River Registered user Username: River Post Number: 406 Registered: 9-2006  |
Steve wrote: "For the record, I don't think she was evil or insincere, but merely a compulsive writer and a deluded one at that. I expect to see her in heaven where we can both muse over how dim our views of God were. God can save anyone He chooses - I don't believe she was any worse sinner than anyone else. For this reason, I'll never hate her - she loved the God she thought she knew. She will be pained enough when she sees the damage her work did to so many." Steve, you just spoke to the heart of my dilemma and I do not quite know the answer, sincere delusion, sincerely deluded, I am reading D.M. Canrights treatise on his exit from Adventism hoping it might provide answers. Youíre right about one thing, we need to keep a clear head lest we end up hating a dead person who cannot clear a mistake nor create one anymore. As to the question of being any more particularly evil, insincere or any worse sinner than anyone else, or that she was the kingpin of Adventism for that matter, in other words any more to blame than those around her, I really canít sit here and place blame and fault on her. In fact I or either one of us is not her judge so why hate her for the delusion? Hate is judgment in itself I would think. The question is not one of judgment with any Adventist for if we judge them we judge ourselves, but the question is do we judge Adventism, do we judge the sincere delusion, the obvious aberrant beliefs, and if so how? I have said before many times that I feel the need to not go placing personal blame on the Adventist with which I am in contact with. If I relent to that temptation I might as well go out and shoot old yeller. So what do we do, run out and take a sincerity check? ìSir, are you sincere about you beliefsî ìWell, yes I am pretty sincere about them!î ìGood, youíre good to go.î Expect to see you in heavenî. Or again do we run out and ask the question ìDo you love God as you know him?î ìOh yes sir.î ìGood, expect to see you in heaven.î What I am trying to say is ìI am here regardless of how I got here.î I didnít wake up one day and say, ìI think I will go out and find me an Adventist and then study him and his beliefs.î My question is what do I do with the knowledge I have come to? My question is, what do we judge and how? What we have is the Bible by which to measure all things. If it is a matter of sincerity then we mightís well get rid of our Bibles and just sit here. I have no doubt in my mind that my Adventist friends are sincere in their beliefs and in their motive to proselyte me into their beliefs I have no doubt they really believe they are doing whatís right and best for my welfare. Jesus said in John 10:27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: If they (Adventist) know his voice then whose voice am I hearing? And am I truly a follower or am I just following myself? To my own simple way of thinking, to know if Iím a sheep or not I need to first find out what a goat looks like, I just might be a goat and if I am I need to find out in a hurry. Now you folks probably donít look at things like I do and you are not here for the same reason as I am but you do bring clarity to me, I suppose one might say that I am a little zealous for sticking with the Bible however hard that might land on me or you, itís all I have to depend on. Itís my currency. That robe of righteousness that I understand that he gave is all I have. Take that out of the equation and it leaves me naked and destitute. Extract Jesus proffered gift and the rest of the Bible will surly bring me to insanity and hopelessness that I could not bear up under. I just do not see how the Adventist copes; it seems to me that their beliefs and their church are their hope. I am just being honest with that. I hope you are right Steve, maybe the delusioned will be there in the end and I worried for nothing. These are just some thoughts I have been pondering so I thought I would toss them out to you folks. In Christ River | ||
| Colleentinker Registered user Username: Colleentinker Post Number: 5295 Registered: 12-2003  |
I do not believe EGW was any worse a sinner than any of us, either. I agree completely. The place where I differ is in doubting her sincerity as her life progressed. I believe she was woefully manipulated and misused as a young woman. James was an entrepreneur, and he knew he had found the proverbial goose that laid the golden egg. Her visions and books made him money. I'm realizing, as I write this, that I really was privileged to read some rather hard-to-get documents about nine or ten years ago. A librarian from the Heritage Room at Loma Linda had collected a box full of letters written by various early Adventists including JH Kellogg, his brother W Kellogg, letters written by EGW to Fanny Bolton over a period of months, some of Fanny's own journaling, etc etc. I was working for Adventist Today at the time, and she gave me the box. ( I subsequently passed the box on to someone else...) Between those and the Dudley Canright books, I saw from other people's words a lot of the not-widely-known events and exchanges that involved Ellen and others. In her later years, she was NOT a weak woman. She was canny, controlling, and had specific agendas she wished to accomplish. Even though quite a few of the "brethren" doubted the veracity of her visions, they were not willing to expose her because the power and financial structure of the church would have fallen apart. She did not end her life as a victim. While I believe that, in many respects, she began her public life as a victim in many ways, she gained her own power and continued manipulating others to accomplish her own ends. She ruined reputations deliberately (Ballanger, for example), she called on the authority of her dreams to control who got moneyóand sometimes those supposed dreams were proven to have either been invented or in error, because she supposdly "saw" building and events that did not exist. But in the meantime she still managed to have her way. So no, I do not believe she was any worse a sinner than any of us. But I'm not convinced that she was really a sincere Christ-follower. As I've said before, I can't say she's NOT saved. God could well have dealt with her in His own way, and she may be in heaven; I cannot see eternity. But no one who preaches and teaches "another gospel" does so without the influence of evil. 1 Timothy 4:1-5 identifies doctrines of demons and says they come through "hypocritical liars". Whatever her final spiritual condition, she did make some decisions along the way that resulted in her own, personal (as opposed to imposed on her from others) demands and self-interested manipulation of people. Praise God we can leave even Ellen at the foot of the cross, knowing that God will deal with her justly and from His grace. And we can be conscious of her deceptive legacyóindeed, we MUST be conscious of itóin order to protect ourselves from further abuse and deception. But we give up our "right" to "get even". Admitting her deep compromise and deception and sinóeven her receptivity to demonic influence as she promulgated doctrines of demonsóis not unChristian or dangerous. The Bible says we are to evaluate and discern. 1 Cor 2:15-16 says, "The spiritual man makes judgments about all things, but he himself is not subject to any man's judgment: 'For who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct him?" But we have the mind of Christ." We MUST know that Ellen's legacy is spiritually dangerous and veils the truth about Jesus and salvation. But we do not need to fear this legacy. We are all born into the domain of darkness. God's gift to us is Jesus who rescues us from Satanóliterally. Ellen is no different from any of us. The only thing I don't know is her eternal position. I do know she left a dark legacyóbut God is bigger than what I can see, and only He knows whether she ever placed saving faith in Him. Colleen | ||
| Susans Registered user Username: Susans Post Number: 383 Registered: 8-2006 |
Colleen, so well stated! I agree completely with your post. Susan | ||
| Dennis Registered user Username: Dennis Post Number: 958 Registered: 4-2000  |
Newsflash!!! False prophets will not inherit eternal bliss. They have made a wholesale mockery of God and misused His holy name (a sin against the Holy Spirit). In Old Testament times, they were stoned to death. These false prophets are totally possessed with another spirit. The legacy of Ellen White's writings continue to destroy people's lives--even literally in some cases to this very day. There is no way of knowing how many people have actually died due to Ellen White's wrong medical advice. The "false prophet" in Rev. 19:20 will precede entrance into the "lake of fire which burns with brimstone" where Satan will later be cast into as well. The Bible nowhere pictures false prophets as being rewarded with eternal life. False prophets are repeatedly portrayed in Scripture as the very worst of sinners--the hard core. Continual blasphemy against God is not a light matter. Jesus explicitly warned us to beware of them. It would be a horrific evil to think that God would richly reward this earth's false prophets with eternal life. This is not a matter of being judgmental, but rather it is a matter of divine justice. False prophets, being shameless liars and deceivers, have no place reserved for them in heaven. To think otherwise would be akin to wondering if Hitler or Stalin will be in heaven. Some things, even in this life, are just too obvious to misunderstand. Dennis Fischer | ||
| Colleentinker Registered user Username: Colleentinker Post Number: 5299 Registered: 12-2003 |
You are right, Dennisó"the Bible NOWHERE pictures false prophets as being rewarded with eternal life." I realize that facing the reality that Ellen was really a false prophet, and that false prophets work with evil spirits, is a very hard thing for many people to realize all at once. It is much easier to blame her head injury than to say she had spirit guides (which she mentionedóremember the handsome young man who always guided her dreams?). I know that the reason the reality of the evil connected to Ellen and her visions and dreams is so hard to admit is that it's extremely difficult to admit that one's self or one's loved ones has/have been influenced by demons. That thought can generate fear or embarrassment or shameóand it certainly implies that we aren't as "smart" or clever as we have fancied ourselves to be. I know how hard this isóremember, I was deeply Adventist! But we are born into evil. Everyone is deceived by something before he/she is born again. And deception comes from evil. It's not spiritually "neutral". Until one can face the depth of Ellen's compromise, it's OK to realize that we don't have to "figure out" her status with God. We can leave her to God. We just have to be faithful to turn to Him, away from the darkness and deception that lures us back into bondage, and pray that He will continue to teach us truth and root us firmly and deeply in reality as revealed in God's word. We can trust Godóand we can trust Him to redeem our own participation in that deception. He is faithfulóand our past is redeemed at the cross when we are in Him. We don't have to feel fear or embarrassment for ourselves or for our families. We had a false prophetóand we were affected by all the spiritual confusion and bondage connected with that as are Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesses and Christian Scientists. Our spiritual confusion just had a unique "flavor" and is more subtle and confusing than the others. Our proper response is to thank God for the life He has given us and to praise Him for rescuing us and revealing Himself to us. Our knowledge of Him is far more intimate than is that of many Christians who have not had to struggle with deception and dig so deeply and persistently in the Bible to discover reality. Praise God from Whom all blessings flow! As the Casting Crowns song, "Praise Him With the Dance" says, "For He has brought me out of the pit!" Yes!! Colleen | ||
| Wolfgang Registered user Username: Wolfgang Post Number: 123 Registered: 10-2005 |
zjason ,as a woman when my husband started to have issues with the church even though I had them too I was scared. We talked about it that helped but then he just got disinterested in everything, Im glad my kids were grown. If you being the head of the household could offer your wife an alternative,maybe looking into churches that offer Saturday night services non denominational.or 7th day baptist,this might be her comfort zone by still going on Saturday. But if your just avoiding the "church thing" your going to feel resentment ,and if you just stop going anywhere your wife will feel resentment,and the devil will have victory cause now nobodys going anywhere. I found my church by doing an internet search of churches in my area,they had a website and have Saturday night services (my somfort zone still)God Bless you zjjason as you continue to search.Dawn | ||
| Stevendi Registered user Username: Stevendi Post Number: 57 Registered: 10-2006 |
Dennis and Colleen, I must disagree with your condemning statements of Ellen White. I must have read Desire of Ages front to back a dozen times. Regardless of who wrote the words, God used this book to build a solid foundation, a love affair with Jesus. It showed me the love in His heart and made it personal. This book also drove me to the four gospels and spelled out the absolute hate that pharisaism and judaism represent. I credit this book with taking me down a road of study and prayer that ultimately drove me out of the adventist church. It should not be stated or implied categorically that Ellen was an agent of the devil. God has used all sorts of agents to produce His good will and of course, all the credit is to His glory. We do not know who Ellen White was as a person. We do know that her work was misguided, manipulated (Colleen's word), in error, and yes, stolen from other sources. Some will say that just because there is some truth involved does not validate the whole package and I agree. I'm just saying that at one period in my life, that book, The Desire of Ages drove me to the cross and I will praise God evermore for it. Steve | ||
| River Registered user Username: River Post Number: 408 Registered: 9-2006 |
Jesus said in John 10:27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: If they (Adventist) know his voice then whose voice am I hearing? And am I truly a follower or am I just following myself? Every time I consider the Adventist dilemma, if dilemma is the right word, I come right back to that text up there, the voice of Jesus. My considerations lead me right back there every single time. I suppose my fooling around with computer logic may influence that but logic tells me if you are not hearing his voice then you are not ìHis sheepî. Would Jesus voice lead even one of his sheep in the way of Adventism, into the thickets of IJ? into darkness? If I am mistaken about the above scripture and it means something else, please correct me and help me to understand. Now one might say ìNone of us are 100% correct all the time and I adhere to that, if we all adhered to the Holy Spirit guidance 100% of the time there would be a lot less trouble, sheep are sheep but one could still expect the herd to go in the same general direction, the four pillars of faith. The only time I can detect Adventist being led by the Spirit on here is when the Spirit is leading someone out. But then heís no longer an Adventist, heís a sheep, he just is too young to know what he is. Now you may say, ìOh but you donít even know me, you have never met me or even seen me.î Oh yes I do ìKnow youî you leave a trail of bread crumbs a mile wide that is unmistakable. Oh sure when we get to batting the old theological ball back and fourth it can even get a little heated up but I still know the sheep. A sheep is a sheep is a sheep. Now the Adventist doesnít look like a sheep, he eats out of the food for the sheep (Bible), he says he is a sheep, he tries to look like a sheep, he even sounds like a sheep but there is something deep down that says he is not a sheep, for one thing he eats garbage, trash, briars, he eats like a goat, but a sheep is particular about what he eats. The Adventist sends me some of his food and says ìHere eat thisî and I go ìArrghî I canít eat that! Ya see, I just canít get away from this sheep thing, all I see on here is a bunch of grazing sheep and every once in a while the Lord throws another sheep into the pen and he says ìAm I a sheep?î heís so young he donít even know what he is and the rest of the sheep gather round, sniffs him and butts him passes him some tender grass and gets that sheep smile on their face. The poor fellow, heís so young his legs are wobbly, he tries to eat goat food but regurgitates the stuff. I tell you folks I got sheep on the brain, sheep, sheep, sheep everywhere. Now when Jesus gets to talking about ìHis sheepî in the four Gospels my ears perk up and I get into a feeding frenzy and when I hear the word ìsheepî itís like ringing the dinner bell. Dennis old sheep, I heard that ìNews flashî loud and clear, thatís what my plumb line says too. River | ||
| Dennis Registered user Username: Dennis Post Number: 959 Registered: 4-2000 |
Steve, I am most delighted to learn that even the plagiarized segments of the writings attributed to Ellen White were a great blessing to you. God knew exactly how to reach you while still in the darkness of Adventism. The fact that Ellen White's books contain many good, inspiring thoughts does not negate her deception. Sadly, this clever subtlety makes it even harder to decipher truth from error. By the way, the Desire of Ages presents many serious theological heresies. Dennis Fischer | ||
| Stevendi Registered user Username: Stevendi Post Number: 58 Registered: 10-2006 |
Dennis, Agreed, many theological heresies. I guess I would give Ellen a break because God used her writings to bring me to him - maybe because it was all He had at the time. God doesn't cause train wrecks, and He didn't put me in adventism either. He used the only agent He had to keep me hanging on until I met Him. God has used some pretty evil and weird agents in history to bring His sheep to Him. They are His sheep too. While study has blessed me with dumping heresies like IJ and legal sabbaterianism, I cannot place too much emphasis on being correct theologically on every point. Some are called to this, thank God, but I must say that one "doctrine" that I've pulled out of the Bible is that it's alright to say "I don't know" while deciphering through religious mumbo jumbo. The simplicity of the apostolic creed, the Gospel is plenty good enough food for me. You seem to be a warrior for truth, out to smash untruth, and I thank God for folks like you holding a light on the straight and narrow. Sometimes, my own cynical rebellion scares the daylights out of me if I sense the wrong spirit behind it. I have been guided by the Holy Spirit my whole life, but the older I get, the better I hear Him, the more I listen, the less I try to interfere with His messages. God's truths are what they are and those who seek the Living Water will find that they can't seem to get enough of it. I suppose that's how we best counter any form of evil - when we hear our name called, head for the front gate and His voice. Whatever we have to walk around or even fall over will eventually be of no consequence. Steve | ||
| Stevendi Registered user Username: Stevendi Post Number: 59 Registered: 10-2006 |
Dennis, One other thought. Part of my "Ellen sentiments" are influenced by my hesitancy to fight the background of anger and deception. I have no particular beef with Joseph Smith or Mary Baker Eddy, other than their message is not truth to me. I guess I would like Ellen to be in the same category - "thanks, but no thanks" and leave it at that. Otherwise, I can't forgive and let go. I don't want to carry the burden of discrediting adventism for the sake of being right. I will fight though, as He places me in the path of sda's. Adventism has been such a mixed bag of some truth and a lot of trash for me and my family. When I think of all the years wasted, it makes me angry. Adventism just saps me of any spiritual energy I have, and I place even more blame on the leaders who used Ellen faults and all to create the big mess called the seventh day adventist church. Steve | ||
| Lynne Registered user Username: Lynne Post Number: 486 Registered: 10-2005 |
Dennis, I do like that newsflash. The bible alone says it all. Luke 18:7 And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? For many of us who have suffered for years, or those who have suffered for months, a day or just a few terrifying hours at the hands of another person. It was a spirit that is not of God that persuaded them, just as we have done wrong at some time in our lives. Nevermind to what extent our wrongs. I don't think I'll care so much in the end who made it and who didn't. I'll just be glad to see Jesus. What else could matter with that! God is mighty and powerful. Don't mess with His Son! | ||
| Flyinglady Registered user Username: Flyinglady Post Number: 3356 Registered: 3-2004  |
Lynne wrote: "I don't think I'll care so much in the end who made it and who didn't. I'll just be glad to see Jesus. What else could matter with that! God is mighty and powerful. Don't mess with His Son!" AMEN!!!! Diana | ||
| Colleentinker Registered user Username: Colleentinker Post Number: 5301 Registered: 12-2003 |
Steve, I really liked this sentence: "I don't want to carry the burden of discrediting adventism for the sake of being right." I share your feelings about that; in fact, I have spent A LOT of time over the years returning to the question: am I over-reacting? Do I have a reason to persist in this kind of ministry? If Adventism is simply heterodox Christianity, I have no business calling people to walk toward Jesus OUT of the church as an act of integrity. I could, instead, call them toward orthodoxy while remaining inside. In fact, as I've mentioned here before, I know that God led my grandmother into Adventism out of Eastern Orthodoxy in the early part of the century in Romania. In the Orthodox church she was not allowed to read the Bible. She and her sister, therefore, clandestinely agreed to attend a home church with one of their friends whose family was Adventist. There they received Bibles and permission to read them. Both my gma and her sis were persecuted to the point of near death by their immediate family. My gma actually emigrated to Canada a few years later to marry, sight unseen, my gpa who was also a converted Adventist. He too was originally from Romania, and he had written to the "homeland" to ask the local pastor for an SDA wife. It was not a wonderful marriageóbut my gma went to save her life. Literally. She used to tell my mom, when she was young and would come home from Sabbath School talking about Ellen White, "I was not converted to Ellen White; I was converted to Jesus Christ." (Ellen was not emphasizesd to her in Romania and at that time was not a big focus there.) I had to ask myself how I could leave a church that God clearly used to bring the Bible to my grandmother. I concluded a couple of things. First, God doesn't leave us where he finds us. My grandmother never really adopted a confidence in Ellen; in fact, she died from Parkinson's disease in her mid-90's, and shortly before she died she said she knew she was going to go to heaven when she died where she would see grandpa again. (Obviously, she never internalized a belief in soul-sleep!) I, however, grew up in true Adventism. My Ellen "filter" was in place from before birth, and when I began reading the Bible, I simply couldn't understand what it really said. I understood what I was taught it said. Eventually, though, I knew God was calling me to follow Him, and I had to leave Adventism. My gma, all those years ago, had not had other options available to her at the time she joined Adventism. She was a girl living at home, without transportation other than her two feet. Adventism was the option God provided to give her a chance to meet Him. But it was not the end-all-be-all. God used what was available to my gma. The Bible was available to her through her Adventist friend, and God wanted my gma to know Him. He allowed her to join that church and orchestrated her life to get her out of Romania through her Adventist contacts and brought about a whole new family in the New World. And then, all those years later, God continued calling my gma's family to himself: both my mom and I leftóindependentlyóin the 90's. But I believe I would have no moral imperative to speak out against Adventism if it merely has doctrinal mistakes. I am convinced, based on my Bible study and also as a result of ongoing prayer for God to teach me Truth by His Spirit through His Word, that Adventism is more sinister than aberrant doctrines. The fact that there is an extra-biblical prophetówhich clearly goes against Hebrews 1:1-2ówho teaches what Colossians 2 and 1 Timothy 4 and Galatians identify as "elemental things" and "doctrines of demons"ómeans that the organization has deception at the core. Steve, I totally believe that God brought you to a knowledge of Jesus through Desire of Ages. This fact is a statement of God's incredible sovereign mercy and grace. He uses WHATEVER He knows will reach us to bring us to Himself. He is 100% faithful!! Just think of all of usóof all the Adventists who have little chance of discovering Biblical truth because of the deception that colors all their understanding. God reaches us through the means at hand...and He continues calling and teaching usóright on into freedom in Jesus!! I understand your feeling, Steve. And all I can say is, I thank God that He calls us and that we can recognize His voice, because He has made us His! Colleen | ||
| Flyinglady Registered user Username: Flyinglady Post Number: 3358 Registered: 3-2004 |
Colleen, I agree that God puts us where He can get to us, whether it is through Desire of Ages or like with me, a 12 step program and with your grandmother, she became SDA and immigrated to Canada. I really like the statement, "He uses WHATEVER He knows will reach us to bring us to Himself. He is 100% faithful." He knows best how to reach each one of us. That is why I have said that God has each of us where He wants us. Then when He knows it is time for us to move one, He leads us where ever He wants us to go. I am so thankful so many of us have heard the Shepherd call our name and we have responded from where ever He had us. Thank you God you are awesome. Diana | ||
| Wolfgang Registered user Username: Wolfgang Post Number: 124 Registered: 10-2005 |
Rev22:18 For I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds to these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book I remember as an adventist I used to look at this verse and apply it to theJoeseph Smith,but I think it may apply to EGW as well. | ||
| River Registered user Username: River Post Number: 414 Registered: 9-2006 |
This sentence: I don't want to carry the burden of discrediting adventism for the sake of being right." And this sentence: Do I have a reason to persist in this kind of ministry? _______________________________________________ Both these sentences directly address my dilemma with this thing. What the heck am I doing here? I am not talking about being on the forum either. Why did I study Adventism all this long in the first place? It is not something an evangelical would normally do for one thing. Why would I do such a thing? What on earth good have I done by doing such a thing? O.K. I have come to a place where I have sufficient understanding of Adventism. Should I leave it, just begin to forget it and move on? Should I just leave it and go back to the same old 4x4 evangelical I was before? Take what personal benefits I have gained and just move on? Am I just a slightly insane person who has gotten off the 4x4 evangelical track? Can any of you good people shed some light on any of my questions? How do you folks see me and it? I wish somebody would throw something out in answer to this even if itís wrong at least it would be something. River | ||
| Raven Registered user Username: Raven Post Number: 709 Registered: 7-2004  |
If you interact regularly with SDA's, as I believe you have indicated, then learning as much as you can about how they think and understand things is very important. For one thing, it increases your level of discernment. Hopefully it also enables you to help one of your SDA friends if and when they have questions. |
