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On Cults and Christmas MusicSubmitted by matt on Sat, 2004-12-11 21:29.
We went to the annual Handel's Messiah Sing-Along at the Seventh Day Adventist Church in Adna (or is that still Chehalis?). It was neat; Jenny and her dad sang in the choir and the music was pretty good. See our photo gallery here for pictures (it's a beautiful building). Anyway, there is a large stained-glass mural in the front, behind the pipe organ pipes (there's a picture in the gallery). And as I was leaving the sanctuary, I noticed a display on the back wall with info about the architecture of room. One block talked about the stained-glass and said it depicted Jesus' second coming through a hole in the Orion Nebula! (I don't remember learning _that_ in Sunday School!) I thought that was a bit strange, but I had a hunch it had something to do with Ellen G. White. Out of curiosity, I had done some research on the SDA church a while ago and had discovered this "prophetess", whose writings they equate with (or elevate over) Biblical truth. She is the source of their vegetarianism and seventh-day sabbath dogma, among other things. So, I did a Google search and found that, indeed, Ellen G. White proclaimed in 1848 an additional end-times event of the holy city coming through a rift in the Orion nebula. Crazy, huh? Steer clear of SDA! See these links for more info: ( categories: Theology )
If a "church" accepts extra-Biblical "revalation", particularly if said revelation is blatently contradictory to Biblical truth (as is the case with Ellen G. White), that is enough to attain cult status in my book. For other examples of "Bible + something else" heresy, see Mormonism and Catholicism. Whether EGW is the source of particular SDA doctrines is irrelevant. The fact that my local SDA church (for instance) has artwork depicting her teachings indicates she obviously holds a place of regard in that organization. If they believed her teachings to be false, they would not honer her. They wouldn't exhibit Joseph Smith or Mohammad-related materials... Post new comment |
If you're going to reference people to the SDA church--please reference the ACTUAL church--not Sanders' sick, jaded out of context wailings. AS for the vegetarianism--check out TODAY'S MEDICAL suggestions (they FINALLY caught up, after 150 years--mad cow, bird flu, mercury poisoning in fish--(and, NO, I am not vegetarian--but it does make one THINK, doesn't it?!) The Seventh-day Sabbath dogma has NOTHING to do with Ellen White, but strictly scripture--either the Bible IS what it claimes to be---the Word of God, or throw it ALL out--if we keep it, any of it, we have to keep the 7th-day Sabbath. Can't have it both ways. You want SUNDAY SACREDNESS--sorry, you just can't put it in the Bible.
As for Orion and the Second Coming--who cares? He's coming!! And IF He chooses to come through, near, at Orion--well, OOPS! People get hung up over the most trivial stuff and throw out the baby with the bath water.
Rather than steer clear of SDA's or any other belief-system, why not--like the Bereans in the Apostle Paul's day--CHECK it out, compare it with Scripture to SEE, for YOURSELF, if these things are true--QUIT letting people DICTATE their own personal opinions--the Bible says "PROVE all things, hold fast that which is right"--and IF Truth happenes to go against the majority opinion (which it nearly ALWAYS will) then, if you accept or reject it, you have no one but yourself to congratulate or blame!