Dr. Crawford and Brother's and Sister's of the TRO. I don't imagine any of your "long time Seventh-Day-Adventist's" may ever have considered that perhaps, like the Children of Israel of long ago, there is creeping into this church [and by design of the master lier himself, that old serpent, the devil] 'strange doctrine' which is 'of devils'...And, that the real problem is not the fact that these 'doctrines' are here, but in how you, or me, as a church address them in our Sabbath Schools, Churches, and sorted meetings with our brother's and sister's...
>What is going on in the Seventh-day >Adventist Church? Why is it that a number of >Adventist authors in recent years have begun >to challenge distinctive church doctrines >that have withstood the test of time? Why >does it appear that some in the church are >facing an identity crisis? Why does there >seem to be an ongoing "theological battle >between the liberal "leftwing" and the >conservative "rightwing" of the church that >seems to be dividing our church right down >the middle into two camps of thought?
What are the facts? [1] We are told both in the Bible and in the Testamonies to the Church that these times would come; would creep in as a thief as-it-were; [2] satan does not us doing the 'work' we must be 'doing' in the 'present'; [3] if he [satan] can, he will keep our minds of all of the 'stuff' and 'graven images' around us; including our personal attitudes; agendas; perspectives; etc. That, if possible we will be ever and more further and further from the Cross and Jesus Christ in our personal lives that all but mere 'shadows' of faith will remain...
Wait! Did not Mrs. White also say in a number of places that not NEW TRUTH but NEW LIGHT ON OLD TRUTH would come! I almost hesitate to suggest that for some of the ol' timer's, this would be a direct hieracy...But wait...Let's give an example here. In Daniel's time, he and his three Hebrew friends refused to eat meat not only from the king's table; but also anything offered to the god's as offering...Now in the NT, Paul say's to the Corinthians, that by 'eating what has been used as an offering' without fear, they were in effect minimizing the god to whom such offering had been made...Two different times in the Bible which FOR THE SAME EXPRESSED PURPOSE proclaimed that it was the IDOL WORSHIP which was to be ignored, minimized, hated...A good argument for situational ethics or pluralizm...
Additionally, are we not to expect a 'shaking' which 'divides' this church? The 'wheat' from the 'tares'? Of course we are!
So, why the split? Why the war?
In my opinion (IMO), there are several reasons which may be given, and if time allows, I hope I will be able to hit them all even if only to make their suggestion.
[1] We should all agree that it has always been God who initiates intimate contact; communion; reconciliation with those He loves...Even before we knew or acknowledged Him?
[2] That God's government, nature, and purposes are based on FREEDOM. That without freedom there may only be resentment and anger toward one. That freedom means the right to say YES or NO.
[3a] That it is our job first and formost to 'cleanse OURSELVES' in the hour of the Final Atonement; [3b] That our 'commission' is to [a] sow seeds of truth, kindness, and love; teach by 'exibit' in our own lives 'what is truth'; [c] and as I have said a number of times throughout these forums, we are to 'catch' the fish'; it is God's work to 'clean' the fish'. [3c] That we must constantly be mindfull of our duties both at home and abroad -- meaning that there will be those within our own congregations who will need nurturing, and the presentation of 'truth' in such a way as to be attractive and yet demand obedience. And that there will (IMO) those who will be especially 'called' to do this work. And abroad, the reaching of the Gospel to ALL OF THE WORLD! And consequentially, as we 'bring them in' we nurture so that they will grow in all Godliness...Unfortunately, and again in my opinion, we fail most on the third item almost in it's entireity...Why! I honestly believe that it is the result of [and pardon the directness of my comment] third, fourth, and further generations of Seventh-Day-Adventist's who, unwittingly 'stack-up' all the doctrin's in front of the Cross, and the poor in spirit, the needys, the suffering, can only see the 'stuff' and not JESUS...
I have no intention of 'downing' the church. On the contrary...I believe that it is the 'vehicle' which will carry us [the remnant] through. But who's WAR is it...Isn't it really the great controversey which has ragged long before this planet was created or went into rebellion? It is not OUR WAR -- although we certainly are player's in the war. No, this is a war which, praise God, has already been decided, and in which we merely play a part, showing both the unfallen universe and angels of heaven that God did not LIE...It is satan who has deceived both heaven and earth, and his time is short!
Why the war? Because as in the day of Job, God said, "Job is a perfect man, and will say of Me what is True!" Oh! May that also be said of each of us in that Great Day...So today, God has said, "I will raise up a people, from the 'dregs' of humanity. These will be a people who not only have the 'image of God' nearly stricken from their appearence; but, who cannot, in any way, shape, or form, come into repentence lest I reach down and 'pluck them out'...'brands from the burning'!
Why the war? Satan doesn't like it! He will not, if possible, let God pull-off this last profession of His saving power to save. He [satan] cannot lest he be seen as he truely is; or, as he has stated before the universe, God's people cannot live the 'life' which Christ lived. IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO OBEY THE LAW! But my friend's, don't be decieved...God is not to be taken lightly nor His word sluffed-off as ineffective or void.
It occurs to me that the real question is 'what should we be doing about all of this'?
To which I will re-state my previous view. We must be preparing our OWN HEARTS for His soon return lest our house be lost. If we do this, HE WILL ATTRACT others to the beauty of HIMSELF IN us...That is, by the way, His promise!
Here is another not so likeable thought...Are we really getting any where with our programs of witnessing? Are our church's, our ministerial staff, lay persons, or our bible classes really 'making a difference'? I recently asked a small group of would be witnesses whether or not their witnessing program had any success? The answer was no. I then asked whether or not they had tried new methods to see if something else might work...Like focusing on who would best suit certain types of witnessing...Again the answer was no...Well I asked, who gave you the idea for you program in the first place. Do you know what the answer was? Well, we don't know. I just the way every one has been doing it for as long as we can remember. Our parents, even our grandparents did it this way. Why shouldn't it work?
And so in closing, I will commit to you the definition which I gave to this young group:
Insanity: Doing the same thing, the same way, over and over again expecting different results.
May God bless all of us on our journey. And may each of us make the burden of someone we meet today a little lighter.
Sincerely your brother in Christ.
WE ARE AT WAR! It is not a war of guns and tanks, but a battle for control of the human
mind and of one's way of thinking. On the one hand are those who believe that the
church needs to be "rehabilitated" and its fundamental doctrines "liberated" from, they
claim, the nineteenth century way of thinking upon which the foundational pillars of the
church are based. On the other are those who are opposed to tampering with any of the
basic doctrines or beliefs of this church. But are the former individuals correct? Are
church doctrines based mainly upon thinking that was characteristic of a little over 150
years ago, or are they based upon principles from the Word of God that are timeless?