Darkness That Is Adventism
I just wanted to write and thank you for the impact that your ministry has had on my journey. I just attended a Sunday morning service at a reformed Christian church for the first time in my life, and it was truly amazing. It was so different from anything I’ve seen or experienced in 20+ years attending Adventist churches. There were so many emotions I felt—sadness that I’ve lived this long without ever experiencing a church like this, grief for the family I know is going to be disappointed in me—and relief that I’ve finally found a place to worship with faithful, Biblical Christians. (Also, the tears thing you all have mentioned is real—I’ve never come close to crying at an Adventist church, ever, but I was fighting tears for a good part of the service today). I’d also like to note that your podcast was a huge help in helping me to determine what to look for in a new church. I still don‘t know how my parents or extended family are going to react to this, but I know can never go back to where I came from.
Thank you again for everything that you all do to help us in leaving the darkness that is Adventism behind.
—VIA EMAIL
Response: Thank you so much for writing. What an encouragement your email is!
I resonate with all the emotions you describe. Knowing Jesus brings such a division between one’s past and the reality of being part of the body of Christ! Yet the grief and losses are worth everything. Indeed, once we see, we cannot un-see. We cannot go back.
I pray the Lord will plant you in a place where you can grow in Him and find true Christian fellowship. He is faithful!
Are Souls Immortal?
Since leaving Adventism after 65 years (I was a turn around pastor and church planter) I have discounted ALL Adventist doctrines and am re-studying them with a different pair of eyes.
I read, with great interest, the article on The Immortality of the Soul in this month’s issue of Proclamation. In sorting and gleaning through my Dad’s library (Eld. JJ Millet 1917-2011) I found DM Canright’s book, “History of the Soul”. Knowing how thorough he is and what great faith I have placed in his writings, I am anxious to get into the book. All indications are that he did not subscribe to the immortality of the soul.
—VIA EMAIL
Response: Without knowing what he has said, I can say this: I believe that the phrase “the immortal soul” is a man-made phrase, not a biblical one. I would also say this: the soul and the spirit are different biblically, but they are not described. Hebrews 4:12, for example, identifies God’s word as a two-edged sword able to penetrate between “soul and spirit, joint and marrow…” It reveals us to ourselves.
1 Timothy 6 also says that only God is immortal. The fact that He gives us eternal life, that we cross from life to death when we believe (Jn. 5:24), does not make us intrinsically immortal. We are born with literal immaterial parts of ourselves that are dead in sin (Eph. 2:1–3), and these parts of ourselves pass from death to life when we believe and we move out of God’s condemnation (Jn. 3:18, 36).
All to say, our immaterial identities do survive the deaths of our bodies and go into God’s hands when we die (2 For 5:1–9), but the fact that our spirits exist does not equal the meaning of “immortal”.
So, since Scripture never defines the differences between soul and spirit but we know that “we” will be absent from the body and present with the Lord when we die, it’s safe to say that we have material and immaterial parts, that they separate at death, and that they are reunited when we are resurrected.
I’m not arguing with Canright because I do not know what he said, but I know that Paul was not leading us astray, either! Ha! I do, however, have a bit of trouble with people who try to identify the definitions of “soul” and “spirit” without clear texts to define them. Paul merely talks about “we” being able to be present or absent from our bodies.
Our eternal life is God’s own life when we believe, and that is real. Not even death can separate us from Him! (See Rom. 8.) †
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