We Got Mail

Need Help With the Language Barrier

Thank you for your ministry. I am a Bible believing Christian and started researching Adventists because my friends are Adventists. I thought they were Christian, but I never understood the difference because (as far as I knew).for years we only talked about God, the Bible, and Christianity (as far as I knew). 

My friends said Jesus was was the Archangel Michael,  but when I explained his true identity, they replied that yes, Jesus is God. I was confused. 

I understand if this isn’t a high priority, but it would be helpful to explain in one video what Adventist’s mean or how they define words and terms from pre-creation to the final atonement. As well as, define words, terminology, and phrases to Adventists from Christians. 

You both do a great job on Former Adventist Podcast of talking about it as you go, but this would have been helpful when I was trying to explain the identity of the true Jesus, but they wouldn’t understand if they don’t think they have s spirit, or Commandments mean the 10. It’s a very tricky and deceitful approach on the part of the Adventist organization. 

Basically, I would love to have a vocabulary lesson for Christians and for Adventists. It’s a language barrier. I was wondering why there was so much confusion when we we having these discussions. 

Thank you both and everyone involved in this amazing ministry. Love!!! Love!! Love!

—VIA EMAIL

Response: Thank you for writing. 

I will give you a couple of links that do address some of Adventism’s vocabulary issues. In general, though, it’s hard to do a side-by-side comparison because the ways Adventists use their normal words depends upon their great controversy worldview. It’s almost like learning that the blue sky is actually called “green”, so they believe that the color which is objectively “blue” is called “green”. 

I will give you a link to an article that addresses the great controversy worldview including a side-by-side chart of four essential concepts that are different between Adventism and Christianity.

I will include a link to an article that directly addresses some of the vocabulary words and their different definitions, and finally I will give you a link to a video in which Richard Tinker and Carel Stevenson discuss the definition differences. Finally, there’s a link to a talk by me that explains the Adventist worldview.

The article beginning on page six of this PDF is called “Understanding Adventist Terms”:

At the beginning of this video, Richard Tinker and Carel Stevenson discuss the definition differences:

This talk may be helpful as well:

I hope this helps. Please feel free to email anytime. 

Gems In This Podcast

There are so many gems in this podcast (Former Adventist Podcast, “End of the Law: Romans 10:1–4”); sometimes I wonder why a ministry like this was not around long ago when I was suffering in adventism, but God has His timing. May He bless your efforts to share the truth of Christ to those in fear and doubt.

—VIA YOUTUBE

Response: I understand your wonderings! Yes ,the timing is God’s. Praise the Lord that He brought us out of that darkness in His time, for our good and for His glory!

Adventists Are Right!

I believe the Adventists are very very correct; their doctrines are all Biblical. [Response to Former Adventist Fact Check, “Do Adventists Vindicate God?”]

—VIA YOUTUBE

Response from Jim Liley, online moderator: Seventh-day Adventists who are baptized believers in Adventist doctrine (28 Beliefs) are not Christian. Adventism teaches doctrines which are cursed in the Bible. For example, the Adventist gospel message of the Three Angels’ Messages is not found in the Bible and according to Galatians 1:6-9 this gospel is cursed. A church which preaches a gospel which is cursed is not Christian. Adventism is not Christian and not part of the larger Protestant Christian community.  (Copied From AcademyApologia YouTube) (emphasis mine).

For those interested in learning more about the SDA counterfeit pseudo-Christian organization’s 28 Fundamental Beliefs and where they deviate from the Scriptures, here are some links to help with that.

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Colleen Tinker

Colleen Tinker, the editor of Proclamation! magazine, and her husband Richard left Adventism in 1998 with their two sons, Roy and Nathanael, who were in grades six and ten. They have co-led the Former Adventist Fellowship since 1999. Colleen, a graduate of Walla Walla University, is a former high school English teacher and also the former managing editor of Adventist Today magazine. Colleen became the stepmother of Roy and Nathanael in 1989, and in 2008 she adopted them. Romans 8:15-17 has assumed new depth and significance for her and Richard since she and her sons chose to claim each other legally and permanently. She and Richard share an office and a commitment to sharing the gospel of the true Jesus with all of those seeking a way out of the bondage of the false gospel of Adventism.

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