Trinity—The primary group of people who founded Adventism did not believe that Jesus was divine. Thus, Adventism’s primary doctrines were established during this Arianist period. In the early twentieth century this belief shifted to acknowledge the co-divinity of Christ. Adventism states that it believes in the Trinity; however, their idea of the Trinity is that three distinct beings are united (one) in purpose and will. The Adventist definition of Trinity does not include the idea of One Being nor the teaching of the Nicene Creed’s description of “one substance”.
While the Nicene Creed is not authoritative, it is important to understand its historical role as the early churches’ response to Arianism. The Nicene Creed has stood the test of time as an accurate synopsis of biblical teaching regarding the Trinity. Because Adventist theology rejects this core aspect that defines the term Trinity, Adventism can’t be considered a Trinitarian religion. Instead, it is a clear example of what has been referred to as the new anti-Trinitarians: “(The new anti-Trinitarians) teach that there is not just one eternal divine essence of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. They teach that, just as there are three distinct persons (God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit), so each person has also its essence distinct and separate from the other persons.”
Original Sin—Adventism rejects the notion of original sin. Instead, they teach that we “are born with weaknesses and tendencies to evil.” The key statements missing from their published belief statement are: we are born in sin (Isa 51:5), that we are dead in our sin (Eph 2:1), and that we are fully condemned as a result of Adam’s sin (Rom 5:18). Sin, for Adventism, is only willful disobedience of God’s Law (particularly the 10 Commandments). We are sinners only because of our own willful acts. The Adventist denial of original sin also leads to an ongoing doctrinal debate within the Adventist membership regarding whether Jesus’ incarnation included our sinful nature or the nature of Adam before the fall.
Forgiveness of Sin—Adventists believe that only confessed sin is forgiven. However, Adventism theology takes this considerably further than other churches, such as the Roman Catholics. Within Adventist theology, a confessed sin is only conditionally forgiven. Jesus reviews the acts through the rest of one’s life to determine if one deserves to have that sin forgiven ( Adventists call this the Investigative Judgment). If you didn’t live like you truly repented of the sin, it is placed back upon you. The result of this Investigative Judgment doctrine is that an Adventist can never truly have confidence that they are a saved child of God. They can never be certain that they have been good enough to be fully forgiven.
The Sins of Believers are Placed on Satan—The Adventist Sanctuary Doctrine teaches that the confessed sins of the faithful are transferred to the scapegoat from the Day of Atonement typology. Adventists identify the scapegoat as Satan. Adventism explains this as the sins that Satan is responsible for are ultimately placed back on him. Satan, rather than Christ, becomes the being who bears the sins of the God’s people.
Atonement—Adventism doesn’t have a clear definition of how atonement happens. The most prevalent teaching is that Christ’s death on the cross revealed God’s love for us and the evil intentions of Satan. According to this prominent Adventist teaching, the goal of Christ’s death was to show the world the difference between good and evil (what is often referred to as Moral Influence Theory of Atonement), thereby encouraging people to choose to follow God.
Great Controversy—Adventism can’t be understood without examining its core doctrine of the Great Controversy that occurs between God (the Father) and Satan. Everything about sin, salvation, the incarnation, and heaven is intermingled within this doctrine. The short version is that Satan accused the Father of demanding obedience to a Law (the 10 Commandments) that could not be kept. The rest of the universe is watching earth to see whether Satan’s accusation is true. If the Father can’t prove that His Law can be kept, the Father’s rule will be overthrown, and Satan will assume control of the universe. Jesus came to earth as an example of how humans can follow God’s Law. But that isn’t enough; people need to demonstrate that it is possible to follow God’s Law in order for the universe to remain in the Father’s control. The legalism of Adventism takes on a whole new level when one understands that people have to prove that the 10 Commandments can be kept in order to preserve the Father’s rulership of the world.
The Great Harlot and Her Daughters —Adventism believes that they are the only true church (literally the Remnant Church). The great harlot of Revelation is the Roman Catholic Church and all other churches that follow her by worshiping on Sunday are daughters of the harlot. Adventists believe that their God-given mission is to call people out of all other churches into their church. They believe that the day is coming soon when the only true believers in God will be in the Adventism church.
Humans Don’t Have a Soul or Spirit—Adventist belief is grounded in the teaching that humans don’t have a distinct soul or spirit that is separate from the body. Adventists reject the idea that believers go to heaven when they die; instead they teach that these believers cease to exist until the second coming and the resurrection of the dead.
The Seventh-day Sabbath is the Determining Line Between True Believers and False—Adventists believe that the day is very near when only those who worship (and rest) on Saturday will be saved. The teachings of their prophet, Ellen White, state that God doesn’t hear the prayers of people who worship on Sunday.
Inspiration—In order to maintain belief in their prophet, Adventists have lowered the meaning of inspiration. Adventists believe that God inspires the thoughts of Biblical authors, but not the words that they choose. They believe that the verbal expressions of these thoughts contain errors (because humans are imperfect). Adventists embrace an idea they call Present Truth where any new teachings (specifically their prophet’s teaching) can contradict earlier teachings of Scripture because these new teachings are the Present Truth for our times.
The Plan of Salvation (Christ’s Death on the Cross) Wasn’t Planned from The Beginning of the World—The Adventist prophet had a vision in which Jesus repeatedly went to the Father pleading to save the human race after Adam sinned. The Father turned Jesus away several times before listening to Jesus’ plan and accepting Jesus’ suggestion to live as a human and die on the cross. This one vision from Ellen White should be all that is necessary for an honest person to reject her claim of being a prophet of God. This vision denies God’s ability to know the future (omniscience) and the Oneness of God. Interestingly this vision even denies the limited oneness of will and purpose that Adventist theology claims to believe, yet still Adventism refuses to repent from following this false prophet.
The Hidden Reason That so Many Adventists are Vegetarian (or Vegan)—To be fair, the Adventist church doesn’t actively promote this information, nor do most Adventists study the writings of their prophet sufficiently to understand these reasons. Most Adventists simply believe that vegetarianism is better for the health (because their prophet said it was). The underlying reason for this belief, however, is quite interesting: it was revealed to the Adventism prophet that consuming animal products (as well as caffeine and some ordinary spices) increased the animal passions leading to the grievous, and health endangering, sins of masturbation and marital excess (too much sex within marriage).
While Adventists appear to be well-educated, healthy members of society with a reputation for good works, under the hood they are shaped by the interpretations of an extra-biblical prophet, and they do not believe the simple gospel of the new covenant. They believe salvation is Jesus plus the law, and Sabbath-keeping is the mark of those who will be saved. †
- Our Journey Out of Adventism - July 27, 2023
- 30. Adventism’s New Earth - July 27, 2023
- 29. The Adventist Millennium - July 20, 2023
The Best short summery I have seen. s
Hi Rick,
Great article.
What resources would you recommend, regarding the Trinity and Adventism?
Thanks
The most important thing to look at when reading any Adventist writings on the Trinity is to pay attention to what is missing. I don’t recall ever seeing a publication from the General Conference, the Ellen White Estate, an SDA publishing company, or an SDA University press that describes the Trinity using any of these descriptions: One Being, one substance, or consubstantial. I have seen the statement (although I don’t think it was any of the “official” church sources that I listed above) that Jesus and the Father are made from the”same substance” (and even that didn’t have a clear indication the Holy Spirit was also made from this same substance). I would content that SDA public statements on their “Trinity” belief (and others) are carefully crafted to affirm as many orthodox aspects as possible and to sound like the orthodox beliefs when not possible. This is why it becomes necessary to look for what they don’t affirm. To understand how SDAs themselves describe what they mean by Trinity, I think Jerry Moon’s writings are the most complete and detailed source.
Thanks, Rick.
I also have a longer article on the subject from about a decade ago. https://blog.lifeassuranceministries.org/2012/07/08/going-deeper-into-the-sda-trinity-doctrine/
that was an expansion of my article reviewing this fundamental belief
https://www.lifeassuranceministries.org/proclamation/2012/2/examined.html
Brilliant, Rick.
Got most of the links, also…the ones that are still active. 🙂