Stop Feeding On the Husks of Your Bitterness
I was raised in a Seventh-day Adventist home and have by choice remained a supportive member since the age of 12. I have been an English professor.
My personality is that of the “poet”: sensitive, melancholic, and overly thoughtful. This is to say that I don’t take my faith lightly. My faith has been challenged and affected by numerous authors and thinkers, including my intense study of literature of every stripe. I listen to every side.
At Pacific Union College I heard the wonderful sermons of Morris Venden. I went through the Ford experience and the other controversies about Ellen White. Those criticisms were mostly wrong. I carefully considered all claims during that period. Do you really believe that Morris Venden was a legalist?
I have read many books of theology by Adventist and non-Adventist authors. I have carefully studied my Bible for many years.
I say all this because in watching some of your former Adventist lectures, I confess I can’t figure out what you folks are talking about. You make unfounded assertions about what Adventists believe. You call upon non-Adventist teachers to bolster your case. I think one of your experts is Paul Johnson. He is as far as I know a right-wing Christian Nationalist. His ilk would in good conscience condemn those who disagree with him to a concentration camp. You find him a worthy ally?
Especially disturbing is your contention that Adventists preach a false gospel, a gospel of legalism. I don’t know what sources you use to contend this. Adventists are Protestant! Righteousness by faith is at the heart of that movement.
Your characterizations of our theology are nothing new. You repeat the claims of enemies of our church, which are legion. Apparently, you have now embraced all sorts of unbiblical teachings such as the immortality of the soul, eternally burning hell, antinomianism, and the notion of once saved always saved. I find this astounding. You are now solid Southern Baptists. That’s fine if you want to believe what they believe, but how does this affect us?
The gospel cannot be separated from the law. The law shows me my sin and drives me to Jesus. The law can’t save me. But if I have faith in Jesus, I am faithful to Jesus. I obey his commandments by His grace and power. That is His will for His people. Jesus justifies and sanctifies. Salvation is not a human achievement. Is this not the gospel?
I am not judging you for what you believe. Many fine Christians believe the same things. However, I do take issue with your mischaracterizations of Adventist teachings.
You folks need to read the recent two-volume commentary from Andrews University on the Old and New Testaments. It is excellent. Before you assert heresy and call us a cult, you need to inform yourselves of the best in Adventist thought. As it is, you merely set up straw men and call them Adventist.
The cult idea is ludicrous. We have a complex system of multilevel administration with numerous committees. We are incredibly diverse. We have liberals and conservatives. The General Conference President has only the power of persuasion. Conferences ignore him all the time. Cults do not operate that way. Cult is what you call a group you disagree with.
Your Baptist theology represents only a small branch of Christianity. Who’s to say you are the orthodox ones? Anglicans might disagree not to mention Roman Catholics.
Adventists are unusual in the big picture, for sure, but then so are Oneness Pentecostals. We are not part of any branch of Christianity besides Protestant. But we hold our beliefs to be authentically biblical. Is that not allowed? For some reason, you can’t bear the temerity of Adventist independence. If we’re wrong, you need to prove it from the Bible. That’s all we ask. From what I can glean, you haven’t done that.
You folks need to stop feeding on the husks of your intense bitterness, which is clearly visible. I sympathize that you have had bad experiences in the Adventist Church. So have I. But no one has shown me, an open minded person, any reason to reject my faith.
You are my fellow Christians, yet you don’t give me the same courtesy. No, you say we are mindless cultists, Christless heretics, not Christian at all. I hope you can see the danger in your actions. If we are not what you say we are, you face the consequences of calling good evil and evil good.
I do offer this letter in the sincere hope that you seek your salvation sincerely as we all should, but that you allow us to carry out our own work without facing the slander you put forth.
—VIA EMAIL
Response: I confess your letter has puzzled me a bit. The words you use to describe what we/I apparently say and how we apparently support our views leads me to think you may not have read or watched very much of what we say…
You asked if I believe that Morris Venden was a legalist. I do not personally describe Adventism as having a problem with legalism because I believe the Adventist problem is much more serious: it has an unbiblical view of the nature of man, the nature of Christ, the nature of sin, and the nature of salvation. Further, Adventism holds to its loyalty to an extra-biblical prophet, Ellen White. Whatever an individual thinks of her, Adventists all agree that she was at the least a significant spiritual shepherd who provided guidance during a vulnerable time. Even if individuals deny she was a prophet, they still hold her as an important part of their legacy. And officially, Adventism places her in the middle of the Fundamental Beliefs. There is no Adventism without Ellen White.
Cults are not defined by single-minded adherence to a leader or idea. Religious cults are first defined by what they believe about Jesus. Adventism believes that Jesus was fallible: He could have sinned, and He could have failed in His mission…
Moreover, Adventism believes that Jesus does not share Substance with the Father and the Holy Spirit. They say He shares will and purpose, but they deny substance…
One more thing: diversity and organizational structures do not preclude an organization from being a religious cult. Mormonism is, perhaps, one of the largest, well-oiled, politically well-placed cults in the world—one with significant financial and political influence…
Our understanding of Adventism does not come from its “enemies”—whomever they may be. Rather, it comes from our own personal experience, from having lived as happy, devoted Adventists. I loved being an Adventist and did not experience mistreatment. I did not leave with bitterness or anger; Richard and I left because we realized Adventism had actually lied to us about REALITY…
We left Adventism because we met the real Jesus…
As for what denomination we might be—we are not members of a denomination, nor do we take our beliefs from one. We have arrived where we are by literally studying the Bible using normal rules of grammar, vocabulary, and context…
I am including this link comparing the Adventist worldview with a biblical worldview:
Thanks for YouTube Podcasts
I just wanted to say Good Job to both of you for the Cultish podcast series. I was also really glad to see your podcasts show up on my YouTube feed. Keep up the good work!
—VIA EMAIL
Pandemic Brought Freedom
I want to thank you for your podcast ministry. I was third generation Adventist, and I recently began walking in freedom from Adventism. The Lord used this pandemic to free me from this cult. I came across your podcast this year, and it has been amazing. Continue to do the work you are doing.
—VIA EMAIL
- We Got Mail - October 31, 2024
- November 2–8, 2024 - October 31, 2024
- We Got Mail - October 24, 2024
I remember feeling similarly to the sentiments expressed by Adventists defending their ‘faith’. But that academic knowledge did not settle the uneasiness I had in my soul. Then I found the gospel of Jesus Christ (which was not preached a single time from the Adventist pulpit in the 35 years I was a member), and I was overwhelmed with peace and finally understood the LOVE behind ministries like FAF. It means a great deal to have the teaching of a lifetime overturned in a single day when one hears/reads the pure gospel without the taint of extra-biblical sources. I pray that every Adventist will have that opportunity.
Tewest, what a vivid description you wrote of discovering the gospel : ” It means a great deal to have the teaching of a lifetime overturned in a single day when one hears/reads the pure gospel without the taint of extra-biblical sources.”
That complete suddenness—the miraculous creation of a new life in Christ—changes everything about reality. It cannot be explained or described, but those who have experienced it know exactly what you mean.
God is faithful, and He rescues us Himself. Thank you for sharing.