Podcast Starter Pack
You have a lot of great information out there. To keep it from being too overwhelming or too much information all at once, do you have a favorite podcast series (starter pack) you would recommend which would be the entry level for someone questioning Adventism? What I mean by this is, in conversations with friends and family, they know that I am out, but they also are not necessarily seeking to be out themselves. I’m kind of looking for the “gateway drug” that introduces them to the idea that there is something better.
I guess what I’m saying is I am in a community who are very comfortable with where they are and are resistant—or would be resistant—to change from the status quo. There is so much good stuff out there that I want to share it all at once, but I worry about scaring them away by challenging all of their beliefs at once. There is so much to learn from true Grace: the pure gospel, the false fundamental teaching of the Adventist church, the great controversy lens, the reliance on a false prophet. I have to tread lightly because some of those are sacred cows; not everything can be addressed all at once.
Anyway, I’m just curious what you recommend as a resource that you offer for Adventists from Former Adventist. For me it was Mike Kaplers’s book Clash of the Covenants which made me realize Adventists do not understand the new covenant. It was easy for me to go from there, but I would love to have some other tools in my arsenal.
Thank you for your time and good work.
—VIA EMAIL
Response: I would recommend the Former Adventist Podcast. They are on both YouTube and on any podcast server.
On YouTube they are grouped by subject; here is a link to the series on “The Covenants”. This series is followed by a series through the book of Hebrews. These begin to explain how Jesus fulfilled the law, how the law was given as the framework of the Mosaic covenant, and how the Mosaic covenant was fulfilled in Jesus. This framework is missing from Adventism.
I also suggest our series on the 28 Fundamental Beliefs. You can find these in a playlist on our YouTube channel, and they are also collected here on our website:
I Need Help for my Friend
I have a Seventh-day Adventist buddy I know, and I am trying to explain to him that there is no need for our keeping the 10 Commandments to stay saved because we are secured in Christ Jesus, and that we are not obligated to observe the Sabbath, and that Sabbath is not the seal of God, but the Holy Spirit is the seal( Ephesians 1:13-14).
So can you please help me with some verses to explain to him that we are not to keep the 10 commandment or the Sabbath, please?
—VIA EMAIL
Response:It is hard to give you some texts that will, on their own, convince him. Adventists have a worldview that is completely different from Christians, but they use the same words, so conversations with them are confusing.
First, I suggest that you sit with him and literally read through Galatians together, even if you can only read one chapter at a time. Adventist do not learn to read contextually, and they are armored with their proof-texts taken out of context. Importantly, Adventists believe that the Decalogue is “moral” while all other laws are ceremonial, and they believe that since the cross, the ceremonial laws are “done” but the moral law is eternal. It was contextual Bible reading, slowly and systematically, that opened my husband’s and my eyes.
Meanwhile, I will attach some links that may help you.
Here is a link to a page on our website, ProclamationMagazine.com, that is organized by the topic “Sabbath”:
I also recommend our Former Adventist Podcast series on the Adventist 28 Fundamental Beliefs:
And finally, our current set of video commentaries on this quarter’s Sabbath School Lessons covering the Adventist Great Controversy worldview might be very helpful:
- May 18–24, 2024 - May 16, 2024
- We Got Mail - May 16, 2024
- Should We Leave the “Isms”? - May 9, 2024