November 15, 2015
Ask a Seventh-day Adventist...
May 22, 2012
By Rachel Held Evans
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Rachel Held Evans is a New York Times best-selling author whose books include Faith Unraveled(2010), A Year of Biblical Womanhood (2012), and Searching for Sunday (2015). Hailing from Dayton, Tennessee—home of the famous Scopes Monkey Trial of 1925— she writes about faith, doubt and life in the Bible Belt. Here is another instance of Pastoral shift in beliefs. Perhaps another prophetic statement is in order? A new order of things has come into the ministry. There is a desire to pattern after other churches, and simplicity and humility are almost unknown. The young ministers seek to be original, and to introduce new ideas and new plans for labor. Some open revival meetings, and by this means call large numbers into the church. But when the excitement is over, where are the converted ones? Repentance and confession of sin are not seen. The sinner is entreated to believe in Christ and accept Him, without regard to one’s past life of sin and rebellion. The heart is not broken. There is no contrition of soul. The supposed converted ones have not fallen upon the Rock, Christ Jesus. . . . {ST, December 27, 1899 par. 2} Below is a Rachel Evans interview with Pastor David Newman: |
Well today, we’re speaking with a pastor in the Seventh-day Adventist church.
David Newman describes himself as an evangelical Adventist. He has pastored New Hope Adventist Church for the past ten years, and is retiring at the end of June 2012, after which he will enter a PhD program in London, England. He is the editor of Adventist Today , a progressive, lay-owned journal, and has served in various administrative posts for the Adventist denomination as well as an adjunct professor at Andrews University . For many years, he was the editor of Ministry Magazine, an international Adventist journal for pastors.
From Geraldine: Do you see [Sunday worship] as a sin, and if so why? Are all other Christians sinners because their sacred day is Sunday and not Saturday?
Pastor David Newman : This is a great question. The challenge is to explain in a few words what sin is. Sin exists on two levels: relational and behavioral.
When Jesus was asked which was the greatest of the commandments (behavior), he replied to love God first and your neighbor as yourself (relational). SIN spelled in capital letters is our break in our relationship with God. It is rebellion against God; sin spelled in lower-case letters are all the behaviors that are not in harmony with God’s will. Since no one will ever be sinless (1 John 1:9) sins do not keep us out of heaven. If we have placed our trust in God, we are saved. Now comes the growing part. The Bible says we are born again, and just like a baby is very immature and grows into maturing during its whole life, so we must grow.
Pastor David Newman : So “Sunday worship” is not a sin. We are all sinners. Some are lost sinners. Some of us are saved sinners. Whether we worship on Saturday or Sunday is never a condition of our salvation. What counts is whether we have placed our trust in God.
From Rachel: Do Adventists believe that the Catholic Church is (or will become) the anti-Christ? I've heard this, but never actually asked an Adventist about it.
Pastor David Newman : That is a most intriguing question. It is hard to answer because our whole belief structure has been evolving (in the best sense) over the years.
For example, when I was editor of Ministry magazine, the denominational magazine for pastors, I published an article by Dr. George Knight, our leading church historian, which began with these words: “Most of the founders of Seventh-day Adventism would not be able to join the church today if they had to subscribe to the denomination’s Fundamental Beliefs. More specifically, most would not be able to agree to belief number 2, which deals with the doctrine of the Trinity. For Joseph Bates, the Trinity was an unscriptural doctrine; for James White it was that ‘old Trinitarian absurdity’; and for M. E. Cornell it was a fruit of the great apostasy, along with such false doctrines as Sunday keeping and the immortality of the soul...” And Knight continues with several other examples of how Adventist beliefs have evolved through the years.
Pastor David Newman :Yes, some Adventists have considered the Pope the anti-Christ but this is nothing new. Martin Luther also considered the Pope the anti-Christ. However, we have no official doctrine on this point. It does not appear in our statement of Fundamental Beliefs. We certainly do not believe that the pope is the anti-Christ now, and I personally have questions about what the pope’s role might be in the future .
Click on Link:
http://rachelheldevans.com/blog/ask-a-seventh-day-adventist-response
