The recent publication of an important volume by the Seventh-day Adventist leaders gives the discussion added significance Seventh-day Adventists Answer Questions on Doctrine , a commentary on questions addressed to the movement. For many years SDA has been labeled a cult. Conservative Christians, particularly, have said hard things about the group and its doctrines. But this situation is changing.
Some voices now lifted in defense of SDA are from theologically conservative ranks. Walter Martin, in several recent magazine articles expected soon to be expanded into book form comes to the defense of SDA, declassifying it from the list of false religions, and approving it, for the most part, as evangelical.
While an exhaustive examination of SDA teachings must now take cognizance of contemporary literature as well as that of the past, certain preliminary observations should be made in approaching the question whether SDA is entitled to evangelical approval or acceptance. They remain anonymous. A second fact must be stated. Opponents of SDA have not only written harshly about the group in the past, but they have accused SDA of deliberate falsehood and intentional deception.
This writer assumes that the men who have prepared the new SDA materials are sincere and honest in the provision of answers to questions about their beliefs. During correspondence with some leaders in this movement, the writer was asked a significant question.
I confess I cannot fathom or follow such reasoning. The answer to this question is twofold. There is a great gulf which separates the former from the latter. They deny the true deity of Christ, his atoning work on Calvary, the virgin birth, and so forth. Their errors are gross and obvious. Secondly, we observe that the question now at stake is not whether modernists can be called Christians that is worthy of discussion in itself but whether SDA can be labeled evangelical or orthodox.
And the last question can be determined only by a careful examination of the announced doctrines of the group. SDA admits that it espouses certain teachings that evangelicals normally reject. For example, SDA teaches conditional immortality, annihilation of the wicked dead, soul sleep and foot washing. A man can be a genuine believer who believes in soul sleep, providing at the same time he accepts the truths essential to salvation.
However, there are some SDA teachings with which evangelicals must disagree strongly. Thus, Mrs. Ellen G. Now, it is one thing to reject the doctrine of eternal torment and to conclude that those who embrace it do so in error. It is quite another matter to claim that Satan is author of the doctrine, which leaves evangelicals who find a biblical basis for belief in eternal torment with the impression that Mrs. White is blaspheming the voice of the Holy Spirit in Scripture.
The problem of semantics complicates any evaluation. As the index to her writings confirms, Mrs. If it was not the intention of Mrs. This attitude differs from that of scholars who highly regard the writings of Augustine, Calvin, Luther, and so forth. To the best of my knowledge no one has ever written a book aiming to show that Calvin or Luther was always correct doctrinally and in personal life and ethics.
White and Her Critics , to demonstrate the immaculate nature of Mrs. I know of no SDA literature that hints that Mrs. White was ever wrong. This has led, and can only lead, to the notion that there is an intrinsic affinity between her writings and those of the Bible.
This attitude toward the writings of Mrs. White corresponds in some measure to the regard with which other movements hold the writings of Mary Baker Eddy and Joseph Smith. White was inerrant. Evangelicals normally reserve inerrancy for the Word of God alone, and extend this neither to Calvin nor Mrs. Contemporary evangelicals who interrogated SDA could profitably have phrased their inquiries about Mrs.
White err at any point theologically or in ethical and personal life, or was she inerrant in all of her teachings, pronouncements and ethics? No one will say this about Calvin, Luther, or any other Protestant leaders. SDA claims its teachings are based upon the Bible. In each instance the biblical passages are listed at the end of each statement showing the grounds on which their convictions are founded. Without biblical backing, however, are statements 13, 14 and These deal with one of the touchiest segments of SDA teaching—the 70 weeks and years and the cleansing of the sanctuary.
The date , which involves the years, and the cleansing of the sanctuary are pivotal to SDA faith. Destroy these and certain conclusions are self-evident. There would then be no adequate basis for the existence of SDA. But there are no definite statements in the Bible which support the views of SDA at this point. Seventh-day Adventists are extremely devout by traditional measures of religious observance. Carson has compared abortion to slavery and called for it to be banned in all circumstances , but Adventists are actually somewhat divided over abortion.
Seventh-day Adventists are more united in their opposition to homosexuality and same-sex marriage. Say "Alexa, enable the Pew Research Center flash briefing". It organizes the public into nine distinct groups, based on an analysis of their attitudes and values. Even in a polarized era, the survey reveals deep divisions in both partisan coalitions. Pew Research Center now uses as the last birth year for Millennials in our work.
President Michael Dimock explains why. The vast majority of U. Use this tool to compare the groups on some key topics and their demographics. About Pew Research Center Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan fact tank that informs the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping the world.
It conducts public opinion polling, demographic research, media content analysis and other empirical social science research. Pew Research Center does not take policy positions. It is a subsidiary of The Pew Charitable Trusts. Newsletters Donate My Account. Research Topics.
0コメント