This blog, 1GSDA — that’s “First-Generation Seventh-day Adventist” — marks my tenth year as an SDA. (Holy cow!)
That's quite extraordinary to me since, in the past, my viewpoints have tended to change frequently as new information, always abundant, whether true or false, pours in and messes with my overall worldview.
Indeed, my mind, given time, has repeatedly shown that it will eventually change no matter how hard I try to hold on to a certain set of beliefs — whether political, religious (or antireligious), social ... whatever.
"So what’s with this decade-old belief stuff, man?"
In this case, I would say that the SDA church has held my loyalty because it is the best available expression of Bible Christianity that I've come across. This isn't to say that I believe it is a perfect church, which it logically cannot be ... or even just the “right” church. Even further, I'll be bold and say that I have yet to give its extra-biblical doctrines my uttermost assent.
My loyalty to this or any church can only go so far; it will only last as I continue to believe it has truth. I will jump ship. I’ve taken the plunge before. I can try to swim to shore or another boat — or just drown. Whatever, dude!
But if I learned that the Seventh-day Adventist Church is a false expression of the faith, it would be hard for me to accept that any other form of Christianity could be called the true expression of the faith. Why? Because no other Christian belief system can refute it. There isn’t even a close second … (I’m not so dogmatic actually, but this idea serves my purpose.)
So here’s the point:
Even as I totter on with that dogmatic position, all these ten years in this church, I still consider myself an outsider looking in. Whenever I think of my relationship to the church, I never think “my church.” It is always “that church.” I would think that after a decade of tithing, I would be all right with saying that the SDA church is “my church.” But I am apparently not okay with saying that.
This isn't because I am some sort of individualist or part-time anarchist who balks at the idea of joining groups. Rather, my reluctance primarily stems from an enormous amount of skepticism about everything under the sun. I’ll write more about this primary cause in another post.
For now, I want to consider a secondary cause: the cause that inspired the name of this infant blog.
As to my reluctance of going all in with the church, perhaps the most significant secondary cause is the existence of SDA “fundies” and “generationalists.” It didn’t take long for this noob to see that Seventh-day Adventism can lead to Pharisaical ideology and a special brand of religious arrogance. I might have thrown myself into the church a little deeper had I not heard that there were such things as “third-generation Adventists" and that these folks refer to Ellen White with the archaic “Sister White.”
Who are these people? Why do they chart the lineage of their faith as if they were supplementing the Gospel of Matthew? What kind of person calls Ellen White “Sister White” in this day? I admit it; it was a little frightening. It’s as if they actually say with some pride, “I AM a Seventh-day Adventist!”
Now the first time I heard the phrase “Seventh-day Adventist,” it came with, “Don’t listen to these people. It’s a cult.” These fundy generationalists don’t help assuage that kind of tension in a skeptic. Not one bit. Thus, I’m only willing to go as deep into this church as these people are willing to go into open water on the Sabbath — that is to say, only about up to my ankles.
Yet don’t be tricked. I’m a die-hard Adventist. Don’t take me to task about the Sabbath, the state of the dead, the millennium, the health message, or the truth about hell-fire. As weird as “you people” can be, “your beliefs” make the most biblical sense. And most important, these truths helped to transform my understanding of who God is, which in turn allowed me to open my heart to Jesus Christ. I was given this access to God by walking through the door of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.
Why SDA? Because “that church” deserves my respect, and I gladly stand by it.
So why 1G? Because I don’t want to be a part of the cult of arrogance and the Pharisaical spirit abundantly found and matured in the Seventh-day Adventist Church.
Fo'reelz, I believe we are all 1GSDAs. We are all first-generation Christians. No matter who our parents are … where we come from … or how we find ourselves in this church … we are each in the first generation of believers. I’m happy with that. If there is any group that I might dive into, that's the one.
And that’s what I hope this blog represents. If you are of the same mind, maybe this blog can be your voice just as it is my voice. I hope you will join me, discuss with me, point out what you like and don’t like about what I write … and at times just have some fun with each other.
Ultimately, I hope that we can help each other transform into the next generation of believers, whatever that might be.
4 comments:
I think Paul states in Eph. 4:22-23 that the church is Christ's body. What is that "church?" Obviously, it is that "group of people" (the Greek "ekklesia") who have been "born again," having made Jesus Christ their Lord, and having willingly accepted their adoption into the family of the Father God of heaven. I believe the SDA church, then, is simply a subgroup of that larger ekklesia, and that not everybody in the SDA church is part of that ekklesia.
I do believe that the SDA church is the repository of God's end-time truth. The topics you named- state of the dead, hell-fire, the Sabbath, etc.- are crucial in bringing others to God, each in their own way. For example, the doctrine of eternal suffering in hellfire has probably turned many away from rebirth, simply because it is gross to think a "just" and "merciful" God would torture somebody so unjustly and unmercifully... especially a "child!" But the SDA church has the truth: hellfire is not eternal. It is accomplished swiftly and for a purpose: to destroy sin once and for all, so that all that remain can live forever without fear in harmony with peace and joy in their lives.
I heard a sermon once that asked, "Why the SDA church?" I cannot do it justice here. It was a great and eye-opening sermon. The jist was, the SDA church is to help prevent the "elect from being deceived."
Adam and Eve were deceived into sinning by Satan, despite having the Word (Eve by ignorance, Adam by presumption) and they lost their paradise home. Christians in the end times also risk being deceived and losing their paradise home if they don't have the Word:
Those who profane the Sabbath will be deceived and lose their eternal life.
Those who believe the dead are really alive will be deceived by spirits and will lose their eternal life.
The millennium and tribulation will deceive many Christians who will lose their eternal life.
The doctrine of hellfire, as I've already mentioned, has deceived many into losing their eternal life.
All of these false doctrines are combated solely by the truths held by the SDA church. Sure, some denominations believe one or more of these things, but the entire repository of God's end-time truths rests solely in the SDA church body. Whether or not there is futher truth to be revealed remains to be seen, but you can almost guarantee its final confirmation will be through the SDA church.
Just as Israel of the Old Testament was God's repository of truth, so too, today, is the Adventist church.
Yes, we are a body composed of rotting members, just as was that Israel of old. But, just as that Israel of old, God entrusted to us- individually and corporately- a library of truth that can help him save men and mankind, and if we listen to him and follow his ways, this message will get out effectively, despite our weaknesses or the attacks of the enemy.
Because of the SDA church, we are walking in the light. (Okay, maybe stumbling or crawling...) It is not out of pride I call her "my church," but out of a humble gratefulness and a pride in my God and his ways.
I guess you never have to say the SDA church is "my church," so long as you say Jesus Christ is "my Lord." ;-)
P.S. Love the "open water on the Sabbath" note. Clever! :-)
Update: PRAISE THE LORD I found it online!!!
http://www.revivalsermons.org/sermons/adventists_true_christians.shtml
I'll quote one paragraph:
"So where do Adventists come in? It's right here. At this time in earth's history, here is where having all our doctrinal ducks in a row not only is essential for our salvation, but for the salvation of the whole Christian world. Do you have to be an Adventist to receive salvation? No. But if you are a Baptist or Methodist or Catholic, you had better listen to what Adventists are saying or you could lose your salvation, because the deception that is played out by the Devil on the last generation deceives, if possible, the very elect."
Now go read all of it! :-)
I love this blog post. I cringe when people say that the Lord our God so narrow as to only save our little group no matter the group. Yet dactrinal differences are what made me choose the church I attend.
I am trying to remember that God's point is to try to save as many as possible, not keep them out of heaven. It seems to be helping as a filter for my natural "human" tendency for pride in exclusivity.
I can totally see how SDA lingo would frighten and "put off" outsiders. To tell the truth, it puts off insiders too. But just as you can't count on the media to be an accurate portrayal of the views of the people, you can't trust the voice of a few Adventists to exemplify the views of the majority of Adventists.
Unfortunately, we often form our opinion of a restaurant based on the success or failure of the first meal we taste. We don’t tend to voluntarily go back if the dish we experienced left a bad taste in our mouths—despite the plethora of other dishes available to try on the menu. But this is not a unique problem. Every church has its share of “nuts.” And nuts tend to attract fellow nuts. So you get cluster of them here and there, making it seem like the nuttiness is more prominent than it probably is.
I’ve been an SDA my whole life. Generationalism has not permeated my particular experience (I don’t know what “generation” I am). But, yes, I have heard people proudly proclaim their generation number before, though I could probably count on one hand the number of times I heard it. But that could also be because I was raised in an area that was fairly devoid of that particular flavor of “nut.” (Don’t get me wrong; I’m not saying you’re crazy if you’ve referred to your religious legacy in the generational sense. I’m merely enjoying the use of this particular analogy.)
If you ask me, the deeper your history goes into the SDA church, the more humble you should be. Because of he who is given much, much will be required (Luke 12:48). To proudly proclaim your “impressive” generational number is to basically proclaim your own perceived knowledge of your religion. Because, after all, you go way back.
Now, as far as “Sister” White goes… Yes, I have heard this term as well. Though, again, I was not raised around it. I still find it disconcerting and strange. Sounds like she’s a nun or something. Or that we’re trying to make her sound like family, which conjures up cultishness. But maybe it was originally intended to keep her from sounding like a prophet SDAs put on a pedestal to be worshipped. Calling her “sister” brings her down to an equal. Albeit an equal who the Lord spoke to… but an equal nonetheless. Or maybe it’s just residual lingo from her own heyday.
Regardless, outsiders can find it slightly disturbing. Along with other “Adventisms,” such as “spirit of prophecy” or “traveling mercies.” (Is that an Adventism?) And for this reason I think that the church should revisit its lingo every once in a while to see if it still “jives” in the vernacular. A group isolated from society too long will develop its own language. Adventists tend to be isolationists in the practical sense (we all like to claim we reach out to the world). But I’d venture to say most of our churches are better at maintaining members than they are bringing in new believers. I once heard it put that our church is indeed the salt of the world. We all cram ourselves into a salt shaker and mingle amongst each other, and when one of us dares to venture out to evangelize the world, the rest of us press our faces up against the glass and shout “You GO, boy!”
I don't mind people saying "Sister White." I haven't heard it much, and those who did say it that way tend to be of the older generations. I think it was just a common thing back then. Even Sister White writes of "Brother Him" and "Sister So-in-So." But, as that generation goes to sleep, so does its particular brand of Adventism. What should remain is our steadfast focus on the kingdom of heaven and the Lord of our lives! Yay!
I think it's heart-breakingly sad that our church is not pursuing our brothers and sisters as we should be. Imagine if each one of us was responsible for bringing just one new person into the church each year. Do you realize we would double our size? Do that the next year and God might have to stop waiting and start returning to earth. :-D
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