Jaffacake or anyone else with Seventh Day Adventist experience

by kazar 3 Replies latest jw friends

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  kazar

  
  
  
  
  

  My best friend is a Seventh Day Adventist. She has witnessed my exit from the JW's She is very curious how I found out the truth about "the truth". She knows it is from this forum. She does not have a computer. Anyway, I never say anything detrimental about the Adventists. I don't know if she could handle not having that belief so I must be very careful in what I say. Although our conversations seldom consist of theology, she has asked me to ask someone on the board questions about her religion. Depending on what your answers are and how it may affect her, I may candycoat it and tell her I couldn't contact anyone who had previous experience as an Adventist. Her son is also an Adventist. Much more active and zealous than she is. She may want me to respond to you with scriptures from him. She is aware that I do not believe the bible, but her son is not aware of this. If it appears to be too sticky to get into, let me know.

  1.How long were you an Adventist?

  2. Why did you leave?

  3.What is the state of the dead?

  4. Is Christ in the most holy place with the father judging the world?

  These questions sound very JW to me and I am aware that JW's began as a study group with the Millerites.

  So, if you have time to respond, I would appreciate it. If not, that's OK.

  I have to leave for a while, but when I come back I will check the responses.
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  jaffacake

  Kazaar

  Yes, I was an SDA but that was a long time ago. There is an active SDA on this forum (Barry). He is a great guy, although I've not seen him post for two or three months. He is better qualified to help.

  I was about 11 when some of my Roman Catholic family were visited by SDAs during one of their evangelising campaigns in my neighbourhood. We became SDAs and I was baptised in 1972 aged 15 years. I may have been about 17 when I started to fade for several reasons.

  I always had supressed doubts, but some of the main reasons I left were my resistance to pressure to go to the SDA college to become a full time pastor (SDA UK version of Gilead?) The other reason was to lead a more normal lifestyle.

  Despite no longer attending Central Hall, and attending several other Protestent denominations, I still believed the SDAs had more right than any other religion - ie the closest to the truth. I only discovered where they were wrong in the past year through studying JWs. In 1972, we were certain that we would not grow old, the end was so near....

  I'm glad you are kind about adventists - I have so much love and respect for them, even though I believe they are misguided about many of their doctrines. They are however Christian, unlike JWs. After I left and later married, I gradually all but lost my belief and sat somewhere between agnostic and athiest. That was because I knew the SDAs could not be right, but I believed they were more right than anyone else - so where else could I go? Sound familiar?

  It is ironic that I was trying to prove to a JW that he was wrong, and that he should become an SDA if he wanted to be a faithful Christian, led me to understand why both are wrong, for similar reasons.

  Not sure why she asks questions about her religion? She can get all the answers from SDAs. In my view one of the problems with both religions is the whole concept of trading proof texts. This is not the way to find truth. Does she want to convert me back to SDA?

  I have answered your 1st two questions.

  Q3. The SDA teaching is the dead are as if asleep, no consciousness, nothing, until Jesus imminent second coming....

  My own belief is that no one knows, and the Bible's teaching on this is not completely clear, some texts appear to support JW & SDA views. Others strongly indicate there is some other state prior to Christ's second coming.

  Q4. SDA's believe in the trinity and I believe they teach that Christ is in heaven. Not sure they teach he is judging the world yet, don't think so. I have my own views on these things but it would take a few pages...

  I would love to respond further but unsure what your friend wants me to say. Give her my good wishes please.

  http://www.adventist.org/sitemap.html.en

  http://www.religioustolerance.org/sda.htm
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  kazar

  Jaffacake,

  Thanks so much for responding. I apologize for being late in my response to you as I just returned home.

  I have decided to tell her only what you posted that I feel she can handle. I believe she is one who also feels if the Adventists are wrong, where can she go? She is not much of an independent thinker, so I will have to play it by ear.

  As for why she wants to know, I think she wants proof, which of course is impossible. I remember feeling that way when I had doubts and began to fade JW's. She would probably want to quote scripture to you to defend her faith. It's funny! When I was a Witness, she and I never allowed the differences in our beliefs (not much at that) to come between our friendship. We witnessed to each other frequently. I could never see her point of view and vice versa. But, I respect her and like her very much and would not attempt to take her belief from her unless she was ready to let it go. She is a tolerant, kind individual which of course most JW's are not. Several times as recently as last year she attended Jehovah's Witnesses weekly book studies with me and never once said to me that they were wrong. She never criticized. Needless to say the same courtesy was not shown to her by the Witnesses.

  Her son attends the regular Sabbath meeting on Saturday and he is well versed in scripture. They do invite me to their church when they attend.The most they preach to me is how soon the end of this world is coming. I just say, uh huh. She does have doubts, but believes that in time God will clear matters up for her. I remember believing the same thing when I was a Witness.

  I do know that some people cannot go on living very well without a belief system and I don't know if she is one of them or not.

  In fact, while I was gone today, she and I watched a video called Sin City. What a crazy movie. Done in comic book style. Too violent for me, but it was cleverly put together. So my friend is a lot of fun, too. We have known each other since we were kids. I moved away, was gone for 15 years, converted to JW's, she converted to Adventism. We met again five years ago, living in the same neighborhood and renewed our friendship even stronger than ever.

  By the way, were you ever one of Jehovah's Witnesses?

  Sorry this post is so verbose. I seem to have forgotten how to be concise.

  Again, thank you so much for your consideration and time.
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  jaffacake

  Kazar

  I was never a JW. My best friend since I was 13 (I'm now 47) was an athiest, whilst I was a SDA. He may have been one of the 'worldly' influences when I faded from the SDA religion. I think my biggest doubt was about Ellen G White being God's messenger with the gift of prophecy. I may have been proved right when it was discovered later (1980s) that some of her writings were not originally hers!

  Anyway, I was not very religious the last 25 years or so, but I remained quite a moral and Christian-like person. My friend and his wife (and two youngest kids) became JWs gradually over past 3 years. We had been so close - each others best man etc...He didn't take the JW thing seriously until the past year. I thought it quite harmless & similar to SDA. I thought it would do him some good because he had been into psychics spiritualism fortune tellers etc. Suddenly I researched and realised what he was getting into - I was too late.

  I have discovered wonderful people of many denominations 'well versed in scripture' but all with different understandings, all sincere but could they all be right? I had just about given up on arguing about what the Bible means, what with all its contradictions, then I read this wonderful book. For me it was an important breakthrough and may have saved my faith, but it might be too big a leap for a practising SDA. Let me know if the link doesn't work.

  http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0281056803/ref=pd_rhf_p_1/202-9176795-3064604