Is Seventh day Adventist a cult or Christian denomination?

[TrailerparkTrash]

Just curious what y?all think.

[racinjason233]

Cult
always asking or demanding more money.

[Garand Hunter]

Not a cult outright, just a different form of Christianity. Stepped in the Old Testament Law structure.

Psalm 1

[leman77]

Bacon

[billvau]

Just curious what y?all think.

If by "cult," you mean not truly a Christian church, then yes. They are not Christian.

I'm discipling a man in our church that just came out of Adventism (that's what they call it), and just finished reading an excellent, full, biblical, analysis of them to help him witness back to family and friends. Their doctrine is not as controlled as the Mormons or Catholics, but like those, it's not biblical. The book is "The Four Major Cults" by Anthony A. Hoekema.

The challenge is that, like the others, they use the Bible, use biblical terms, AND only publicly promote the areas where they agree with Christianity. It's when you look under the hood that you see the major doctrine errors with the gospel.

Blessings,

[MrFancyPants]

The denominations have always confused me. I get that some scripture can be open to interpretation to some degree, regarding very technical aspects of what was written (how accurate is the translation of a word, what is the context and meaning given the time it was written, is the timeline literal, etc), but the overall message should be clear as crystal. That groups have organized actual named churches around those interpretations is not what Christ had in mind for His church. I always just ask people, do you believe in the Jesus as written in the Bible, that He is our savior and the only way to the Father, as he himself stated in no uncertain terms? If so, you belong to the "church of Christ." Beyond that, I don't understand the need to claim some specific denomination and preach that your church is "more" right than another denomination.

That said, I don't know enough about the seventh day adventist church in particular to directly answer the question.

[BigStiCK]

I like Pastor Bills explanation except the part about Catholicism. Ive been -under the hood- my entire life and The Church is absolutely Biblical. But Im quite used to all flavors of protestants hating on us. Every protestant has their own opinion and thats why you have 50 million little prot churches battling it out to say theyre the one. Sigh.

[Garand Hunter]

The founder of seven day adventism was a mixed up woman during the 1800s and most of them have moved away from her false doctrines. I knew some many years ago, good family. But others likely were quite different.

Psalm 1

[Sailormilan2]

The founder of seven day adventism was a mixed up woman during the 1800s and most of them have moved away from her false doctrines. I knew some many years ago, good family. But others likely were quite different.

Psalm 1

Actually, Ellen G White(Harmon) was a known "spirit medium" from the Portland, ME area. A fact I found out about within the past year. This is from the book, HISTORY OF THE SECOND ADVENT MESSAGE AND MISSION, DOCTRINE AND PEOPLE. By Isaac Cummings Welcome, 1874.
The area she grew in was part of the hotbed of spiritualistic activity. Think the "Fox Sisters". I actually read one source that claimed there were "knockings/rappings", and furnitures moving, during some of her early "visions". I've read so much about the past couple of years that I'll never be able to find that again.

James White was a baptized member of the Christian Connection Church, which was/is an anti trinitarian organization. He was one of the main leaders of the Adventist Church, and he wrote, or helped write, several articles against the Trinity Doctrine. He died in 1881, several years before the Adventist Church officially adopted the Trinity Doctrine. Even after officially adopting the "Trinity Doctrine", Adventist Publications have quoted from Jehovah's Witness publications.

She was a known plagiarist, which got her, and the Adventist Church, in trouble at least once. Cost them some big bucks. She also had rules for "thee, but not for me" ideas.

The Adventist Church has their own "Bible", call "The Clear Word", which they try to claim is a "paraphrase". Early editions actually included the word "Bible" in the title. But in essence, it is the Bible rewritten so that it says what the Adventist Church wants it to say. It even includes passages, and explanations, from Ellen White's writings in The Clear Word.

Adventist publications have several times made the statement that they "do not, and in fact, cannot, teach the Gospel as taught by the Apostles, Paul, or the Reformers". They have their own version of the Gospel they teach, but the elements cannot be found in the Bible.

FWIW, I was raised SDA. 14 of my 17 years of schooling was in SDA schools.

[Garand Hunter]

I was thinking it was Ellen G White but its been too long since I read up on her.

Thanks

Psalm 1

[Kokopelli]

Romans 10:9-10 "...because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved."

[jarhead714]

I like Pastor Bills explanation except the part about Catholicism. Ive been -under the hood- my entire life and The Church is absolutely Biblical. But Im quite used to all flavors of protestants hating on us. Every protestant has their own opinion and thats why you have 50 million little prot churches battling it out to say theyre the one. Sigh.

Let him have it!

[Barang]

i watch john bradshaw and doug batchelor weekly and their sermons are biblical. God the Father, Jesus and the Holy Spirit are the core of their teachings... salvation by grace not of works ... Jesus is the only way to heaven ...

[TrappedinCalifornia]

SDA's are in no way, shape, or form a 'cult.' They are often accused of being such. But, that is not the case. They are most decidedly a Christian denomination.

That Church came out of and evolved from the Great Disappointment of 1844. In a sense, many SDA's now say that what became known as Seventh-Day Adventism was a 'response' or 'reaction' to what led to the Great Disappointment. SDA's don't believe that Jesus was set to return in 1844. They believe 1844 was the beginning of the end, so to speak; i.e., that according to Biblical prophesy, the timing coincided with the beginning of what would become known as the End Times and the events associated with it.

What eventually came to fruition was a fundamentalist denomination which touted dependence on God and the Bible; thus, the 'literalist' bent. They touted that "God's timing" is unknown except to God the Father, but the 2nd Coming was right around the corner, potentially. I believe the expression they used was similar to... Act as if today is your last day on Earth, but plan as if you're gonna be here awhile. Some of the things the Church is known for are...

• The Old Testament was not defunct; i.e., the Crucifixion didn't obviate, but fulfilled what was foretold and what was being led to in the Old Testament.
• They have a 'mix' of literalism and prophetic understandings of Biblical passages. Overall, they believe that the Bible means what it says, with very little, but some, of it open for interpretation. They claim that the difference is clear.
• Ellen White has had a 'mixed' understanding and following among Church members. (More on that in a minute.) But, she clearly indicates in her writings that what she wrote was NOT intended as a Bible substitute. Her writings were there to explain and/or reinforce what the Bible was saying.
• SDA's became known for their 'health' message. Loma Linda being a prime example where articles regularly pop up touting the longevity of the predominantly SDA population.
• SDA's believe in the Second Coming. They don't believe in the Rapture. Again, a 'literalist' understanding.
• SDA's believe (and I've seen their 'evidence') that man, not God, altered the day of worship referred to in the 10 Commandments and, thus, Saturday was and remains the 7th Day referenced as the Sabbath Day.

Like every other religious denomination, the SDA Church splintered into factions. About 40 or 50 years ago, they went through a period where a schism split the Church in terms of the emphasis placed on Ellen White, her writings, and what her role was vis a vis the Church. It boiled down to some pastors would share 19 Ellen White quotes for every Biblical verse, while others pointed to where she said in her writings NOT to do that and used references to her works more sparingly. For some of their institutions, a professed belief in her 'Divine Inspiration' was not only a form of shibboleth, but mandatory for admittance/acceptance.

Eventually, however, that's not where the Church came down. In fact, today, the Church is, once again, going through a phase where many are questioning what is and isn't 'allowed.' For instance, it is my understanding that 10 or 15 years ago, the Church itself was 'investing' in Anheuser-Busch. Such was not in keeping with their religious beliefs, but was a 'fair' move in terms of their fiduciary responsibilities. At one time the Church was very much against 'ostentatious display' (no jewelry, makeup, expensive cars/homes, etc.). But, now, you can see such things among the membership; which, coincidentally, I think came about when the Church began encouraging leaving your estate to the Church... ahem.

Thus, there was a time when Ellen White was in danger of becoming the figure of, the 2nd Coming was a movement (and still is) which was to be venerated, and the Church itself has some 'unique' doctrines not necessarily common among other, Christian denominations. All of that is required, by definition, of a cult. But, they are, in reality, no more a 'cult' than most other Christian denominations.

As with every religion and religious denomination, there is an ebb and flow from zealotry to liberalism in terms of what is emphasized as 'proper belief.' It creates schisms and generational differences. It causes regional disparities and different perceptions by those who were in the Church, outside of the Church, were in the Church, but left it, etc. What you typically see as Seventh-Day Adventists today are not what was typical 60, 70, or even 100 years ago and the 'social tenets' aren't as restrictive. (That last also created some hilarity and some tension over the years.) But, many of their religious tenets remain the same; though the degree of emphasis greatly depends on the timing and the individual(s) involved.

How do I know all this? Certain family members were Seventh-Day Adventist and we would get into long discussions, not to mention knock down-drag out arguments over the years. In one case, it created tension in that 'she' wanted to leave everything to the Church and 'he' was more in favor of leaving it to the family. Both felt they were being dutifully responsible and it was 'interesting' to see how things played out. What was even more interesting was to watch how the son and daughter adopted similar viewpoints to the parents and how that played out when they passed.

I have never been an SDA. I agree with many of the things they teach. But, I also disagree with a number of things they (perhaps USED to) adamantly push. In that sense, it created some 'interesting' discussions with 3 or 4 of their pastors and one or two of their 'religion' school teachers. (Let's just say we were 'introduced' so I could be shown the errors of my ways and it didn't go the way my family members envisioned. Ahem.) I really have no idea where the Church 'currently' sits, officially, in terms of what is emphasized. However, I do know that many, many, many of their members are not only good, professional people, but they do good work around the World in terms of not only 'witnessing,' but in terms of helping others medically and in terms of construction (what they reference as "Maranatha"). In fact, at one time, if you were raised SDA, you became a teacher, a missionary, an individual who worked in some 'service' profession, or someone in the medical profession; i.e., you weren't in it to become 'rich.' Well, at least that was the stereotype.

[ZapThyCat]

They started out believing there was only One God, but since then have lost their way and gone back to trinitarianism. I would consider them Christian for the most part, though they do seem to be stuck in the OT and missing the entire point of Jesus' coming. They can't be further off the track than lutherans or catholics, though.