By Lisa Winn
In my recent conversations with Adventists, I have been surprised by their general lack of interest in Ellen G. White and the official teachings of the Seventh-day Adventist church. Inspired in part by the wave of relativism that has swept through Western Civilization over the past few decades, “progressive” Adventists today choose to live in blissful, though perhaps willful, ignorance of Adventism’s heritage. “Believing in Jesus is everything,” they proclaim; “It doesn’t matter what denomination you belong to.” While there is some truth in this declaration, one must pause and wonder why, if they truly believe that all Christian roads lead to God, they remain in a denomination that proclaims itself to be the one true remnant with the “identifying mark” of prophecy? Why do they stay in an organization which teaches that in the last days, Christians from “Sunday-keeping” denominations will hunt them down and kill them? Why not leave Adventism entirely, and find a denomination a little bit less… exclusive?
Most likely, claiming “Jesus is all that matters!” is not exactly something progressive Adventists truly believe. This statement simply gets them off the hook from having to examine the more… uncomfortable teachings of Adventism for themselves. It is much easier to sweep these somewhat hidden, albeit official, teachings under the proverbial rug, and remain in said willful ignorance for the sake and comfort of their family, friends, and culture.
For all of us who have ever dumped a truckload of anti-Ellen facts in a progressive Adventist’s face to no avail, here is a slightly new approach. If we desire to rescue our progressive friends from the clutches of Adventism, we must pose questions which they will not be able to ignore—questions that don’t demand immediate answers, but that might linger in their minds, confronting them on sleepless nights—questions which will hopefully help them see that even progressive Adventism hasn’t escaped its roots—and furthermore, might not be teaching them the true gospel. Here is my proposed list.
- Is it wise to pledge allegiance to Adventism, which claims Ellen White has “prophetic authority,” without examining whether she passes the biblical tests of a true prophet?
- If Ellen White passes the test of a true prophet, wouldn’t it be important for an Adventist to dutifully study her writing, not ignore it?
- If Ellen White fails the test of a true prophet, is it not alarming that the Adventist church claims she speaks with “prophetic authority?” Shouldn’t one leave such a church, considering how much the apostles railed against false teachers and prophets?
- If “the Bible is the standard by which all teaching and experience must be tested,” as Fundamental Belief #18 claims, why has the Adventist church not officially admitted that some of Ellen White’s teachings contradict Scripture, and crossed out these teachings in her books? (Instead, the White Estate goes to great lengths to defend even her most bizarre statements.)
- Is a denomination really Christian if it defines who Jesus is, and his mission, differently from what the Bible says? Can one divorce Jesus from the context of the Scriptures which reveal him to us? Ellen White taught that Jesus was the Archangel Michael, and that ultimately his mission on earth was to defend God’s Law.
- If the Investigative Judgment—a foundational pillar of Adventism—is not true, do you think God, who cannot lie, endorses or condones Adventism? Would you want to live in a house with a faulty foundation? This doctrine completely distorts the gospel.
- If believing in Jesus is all that matters, are you okay being a member of a church whose primary methods of “evangelism” are through “the health message,” and “Revelation Seminars” which talk mainly about end time prophecies, beasts, and the utmost importance of the day on which someone worships?
- Are you fine with your tithes and offerings being used in other countries to fully indoctrinate people into the teachings of Ellen White and traditional Adventism—teachings you’ve long since discarded?
- If one passionately desired to be the best Adventist he could be, and hence, immersed himself into the writings of Ellen White (which the church claims provide “comfort, guidance, instruction, and correction”), what might one be like after taking to heart and putting into practice all of her forty books and five-thousand periodical articles?
- The Great Controversy worldview, which exalts “the Law” over Christ, is woven into the fabric of Adventist culture and thought. Most Adventists don’t even know they have this worldview. How can you be certain that your understanding and studying of Scripture is not being filtered through this paradigmatic lens? After all, Paul says in 2 Corinthians 3:15–18:
But their minds were hardened. For to this day, when they read the old covenant, that same veil remains unlifted, because only through Christ is it taken away. Yes, to this day whenever Moses is read a veil lies over their hearts. But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.
- Can loyalty to one’s culture go against loyalty to Christ?
Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a person’s enemies will be those of his own household. Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it (Matthew 10:34–39).
Protestant denominations admittedly disagree on smaller doctrinal points, and perhaps no single one has all the right answers, as cultural Adventists love to point out. We must remind them, however, that only cults claim to be the one true church of the latter days. I may be unhappy with a certain ministry at my church, disagree with one of its doctrines, or be bothered once in a blue moon by a sermon, but I can happily remain with peace of mind, because the focus of the church is not these things—it’s the gospel—and my identity lies solely in Jesus Christ.
Adventist doctrines keep Adventists blinded from biblical truth. No matter how polished and modern the facade above it has become, one should not smugly rely on the faulty foundation of a false prophet, supposing one is safe. On the contrary, he is risking eternal destruction. Ultimately, one must be willing to investigate his beliefs and to answer the hard questions. Facing the truth is a matter of life and death. †
- Dear Adventist, Do You Keep the Sabbath? - June 2, 2022
- Dear Adventist, Have You Disciplined Your Diet? - October 29, 2020
- DOCTRINES OF DEMONS: A RESPONSE TO SEIBOLD - August 3, 2018
“Jesus is all that matters” is a phrase that extends beyond the pale of Adventism. Mainstream Christians use this to justify not attending church, adopting worldly practices, or any other resistance to conform to the image of Christ. I think this qualifies as a violation of the 2nd commandment: to not use the Lord’s name in vain. I believe that this commandment is applicable primarily to professing Christians to guard themselves from using the Lord’s name under the guise of His authority (without Scriptural support). In your world, EGW would be an egregious violator of the 2nd commandment by claiming her prophecies and writings were from God (when in fact they contradicted His word). Good job, Lisa.
All the Sectarians left Europe and settled down in “The New World”. The sectarian “Paradise”.
Thousand of sectarian families. The families were not perfect. But they were families. A little scared brown girl got stoned by white boys and immidiatly regained her respect by becoming a Prophetess!
She made a family of her own, the “Adventists”.
All sects are families. They are not perfect but they are “My family”. They function in everyday life. And that is what is important. You who write these questions. What is your sect!;-) Is it a good family?
Go on living!
Lyrik, people naturally attach themselves to people whose experiences are similar to theirs. This phenomenon, though, is not what we are talking about when we talk about Adventism vs. Christianity.
According to Scripture, we are ALL born dead, spiritually dead, in our sins (Eph. 2:1-3). We are unable to please God or to seek Him in our natural state (Rom. 3:9–15). We are citizens of the domain of darkness into which we are born because of Adam’s sin. When we hear the gospel of our salvation, though, and place our faith and trust in the Lord Jesus and His finished atonement accomplished through His death, burial, and resurrection (see 1 Cor. 15:3-4), we pass at that moment from death to life (Jn. 5:24). God transfers us OUT of the domain of darkness into the kingdom of His Beloved Son (Col 1:13)!
We are not taking pot shots at a sect because we don’t like it or no longer belong to it. We have been Adventists, and we have seen that Adventism teaches what Paul calls “another gospel which is no gospel at all” (Gal. 1). Adventism teaches an unbiblical Jesus who could have failed and could have sinned.
When we see the glory of God in the face of Christ, we have no option but to warn our Adventist family and friends that the religion we have shared in common does not offer eternal life. There is one way to have eternal life: believe in the Lord Jesus. In fact, Jesus Himself said that the “work of God is to believe in Him whom He sent” (Jn. 6:29).
We are not criticizing a sect which we just don’t like anymore. No, we are warning our Adventist loved ones that “the bridge is out!” It looks on the surface as if Adventism is a Christian-ish religion that offers fellowship and belonging to its members, but in fact it is a deception.
There are only two places in the universe: we are either in the domain of darkness and dead in sin, or we have been transferred into the kingdom of the Beloved Son and are born again, spiritually alive! Jesus is enough. He alone is our Substitute, our Savior, and our Lord.