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unelie

Active member
Nov 28, 2021
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Sorry if this was asked already. Why are SDA's vegetarian when Jesus wasn't?
Well... This is a big topic.

TDLR : Jesus explained that we may not have exactly his lifestyle, and that it is best to come back to the lifestyle he had given Adam and Eve, which was plants. Therefore, SDA promote plant based diet, but do not enforce it on believers.


Longer version :

But I will try to make things simple (there is MUCH more to say, but I'm just scratching the surface, here).

1) Jesus did NOT preach that we should only do what he did. Jesus was single, Jesus was circumcised, etc. Jesus is our exemple because of his heart and spirit, not for every detail of his life.
The following text is quite meaningful ;

Luc 5:33-35
33 And they said to Him, Why do John's disciples fast often and make prayers, and also [the disciples] of the Pharisees, but yours eat and drink? 34 But He said to them, Can you make the sons of the bridechamber fast while the bridegroom is with them? 35 But the days will come when the bridegroom shall be taken away from them, and then they shall fast in those days.

This is interesting, since Jesus is not literally the bridegroom, but only in a symbolic and prophetic way.
Therefore, we can say that Jesus taught that the believers' lifestyle is dependant on symbols and prophecies, and that it may not be the same that the one he had.

2) why are Adventists vegetarian?

Well, not all Adventists are vegetarian, it is not mandatory in our Church. We officially promote a plant based diet because of health and because we believe that the original diet that God gave is the best. We believe that, in his mercy for everyone, God allowed to eat meat, but that the ideal he gave us in the beginning is the best diet to promote.

The original diet is described in Genesis 1.29

Gen 1:29
And God said, Behold! I have given you every herb seeding seed which [is] upon the face of all the earth, and every tree in which [is the] fruit of a tree seeding seed; to you it shall be for food.


I believe it is certain that meat was not allowed, even after the fall, since God makes a special authorization to eat meat in Genesis 9 only after the flood.

Gen 9:1-3
1 And God blessed Noah and his sons. And He said to them, Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth. 2 And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon the animals of the earth, and upon every bird of the air, upon all that moves on the earth, and upon all the fish of the sea. Into your hand they are delivered. 3 Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. I have given you all things, even as the green herb.


Jesus taught that it is best to come back to what God has given in the beginning, to Adam and Eve (while speaking about marriage) :

Mat 19:4-8
And He answered and said to them, Have you not read that He who made [them] at the beginning made them male and female,
5 and said, For this cause a man shall leave father and mother and shall cling to his wife, and the two of them shall be one flesh? 6 Therefore they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate.
7 They said to Him, Why did Moses then command to give a bill of divorce and to put her away?
8 He said to them, Because of your hard-heartedness Moses allowed you to put away your wives; but from the beginning it was not so.
 

unelie

Active member
Nov 28, 2021
113
26
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If you do not understand the point, then there should not be a response. God bless you and all SDA members.
I think I see the point, but I'm not here to defend my opinion, I just want to answer questions :) I don't want to tell you "I think you are wrong because such and such" but just to help you understand my view if you are interested :)
 

Nehemiah6

Senior Member
Jul 18, 2017
24,347
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I would say that no you do not sin by not going to church on Saturday, but going on Sunday.
So you are either (a) repudiating Ellen G. White (and other SDA teachers) or (b) you do not hold firmly to SDA beliefs. Here is what has been said about Sunday worship and the Mark of the Beast (which to me is total nonsense):

Only those who keep the Sabbath will be saved in the last days.” (Medical Ministry, p.123)

Sunday-keeping must be the mark of the beast. (The Marvel of Nations, Elder U. Smith pages 170, 183)

E.G White taught that no person who did not keep the Sabbath in the last days would be saved.1 She stated that those "Through the two great errors, the immortality of the soul and Sunday sacredness, Satan will bring the people under his deceptions. While the former lays the foundation of spiritualism, the latter creates a bond of sympathy with Rome. The Protestants of the United States will be foremost in stretching their hands across the gulf to grasp the hand of spiritualism; they will reach over the abyss to clasp hands with the Roman power; and under the influence of this threefold union, this country will follow in the steps of Rome in trampling on the rights of conscience." (Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, p. 588. also Spirit of Prophecy, Vol. 4, p. 405.)

http://www.letusreason.org/7thDay28c.htm

E.G. White even rejected the Bible doctrine of the imperishability of the soul (mortality applies only the body) as we see above. Then she invented the doctrine of the "Investigative Judgment" out of thin air.
 

unelie

Active member
Nov 28, 2021
113
26
28
I will answer to the other questions later, you guys have great questions, keep it up, thank you 👍
 

unelie

Active member
Nov 28, 2021
113
26
28
So you are either (a) repudiating Ellen G. White (and other SDA teachers) or (b) you do not hold firmly to SDA beliefs. Here is what has been said about Sunday worship and the Mark of the Beast (which to me is total nonsense):

Only those who keep the Sabbath will be saved in the last days.” (Medical Ministry, p.123)

Sunday-keeping must be the mark of the beast. (The Marvel of Nations, Elder U. Smith pages 170, 183)

E.G White taught that no person who did not keep the Sabbath in the last days would be saved.1 She stated that those "Through the two great errors, the immortality of the soul and Sunday sacredness, Satan will bring the people under his deceptions. While the former lays the foundation of spiritualism, the latter creates a bond of sympathy with Rome. The Protestants of the United States will be foremost in stretching their hands across the gulf to grasp the hand of spiritualism; they will reach over the abyss to clasp hands with the Roman power; and under the influence of this threefold union, this country will follow in the steps of Rome in trampling on the rights of conscience." (Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, p. 588. also Spirit of Prophecy, Vol. 4, p. 405.)
http://www.letusreason.org/7thDay28c.htm

E.G. White even rejected the Bible doctrine of the imperishability of the soul (mortality applies only the body) as we see above. Then she invented the doctrine of the "Investigative Judgment" out of thin air.
Do you actually have any question? If you already know our teachings, then you can open your own thread about "what Adventists believe according to me" but here we can talk for ourselves.

I disagree with your message, since my answer is totally in line with Ellen White teachings and the official positions of the Church :)
 

unelie

Active member
Nov 28, 2021
113
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Do you believe eternal hell?
Hum...
We believe that the condamnation of God at the judgment day, sometimes referred as "hell", is eternal, you don't get out of it, but you die, and you die there forever.
Therefore, we do not believe that people will live to suffer forever in hell. This is why we usually answer "no" to your question. Indeed, eternal life is only for the saved. The wicked get to die in hell, they die there and never wake up ever again.
A verse about this :
Apo 20:14 And death and hell were cast into the Lake of Fire. This is the second death.

So this is death, not eternal life of sufferings. Of course there are many other texts on the topic, I just like this one. I can tell more if you have more questions on this topic :)
 

Dymes

Junior Member
Dec 11, 2016
80
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Deep question, though quite simple.
Put your faith in Jesus, and you shall be saved, you and your family.

Act 16:31
31- And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved, and your household.
Hello,
Are you saying that as the head of my family, my belief in Christ saves my household?
 

unelie

Active member
Nov 28, 2021
113
26
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Hello,
Are you saying that as the head of my family, my belief in Christ saves my household?
Eh, no, sorry, there is no mention of the head of the family in the text, so I am not saying that.
The teaching given here, I believe, is in reference to the influence you may have on your family, bringing them to put their faith also in Jesus and this allow them to be saved. You could be a child in the family or the mother, you would have influence and this may save them. You don't need to be the head.
Some verse about this :

1Co 7:14 KJV For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband: else were your children unclean; but now are they holy.

There is more, to these texts, but to keep it simple we can say that.
 

CS1

Well-known member
May 23, 2012
12,297
4,041
113
Hum... I will admit that you mean "if there is an appropriate church closeby and if I am a Christian". This does not apply to non-Christians, non church-goers, etc.

Then, I also have to admit that you are referring to guilt. Guiltless sins, that I personnally like to call "technical sins", I guess, are not relevant here. I mean, sins that we commit because we do not know they are sins. I do some every day ! They are not relevant, I believe, to your question since it is taught in Acts 17:30 the times of this ignorance God winked at. (which means that God dismiss, overlook such times).

Finally, I assume that you do not, yourself, believe in the Sabbath.

Then in this context, with these 3 assumptions, I would say that no you do not sin by not going to church on Saturday, but going on Sunday. Which is why most Christians around the world are not guilty of sin by going to church on Sunday and not on Saturday : they just do their best with what God told them! They should keep doing that, and not change unless they have a clear "Thus says the Lord" to change their behavior.
SDA go to church or have their meeting on Saturday as they believe that to be the sabbath day correct.?


"I will admit that you mean "if there is an appropriate church closeby and if I am a Christian". This does not apply to non-Christians, non church-goers, etc."


No, that is not what I mean nor did I ask that so please don't assume I ASKED:

If I go to church on Sunday is that sin and if I don't go to church on Saturday is that a sin?
Please answer my question if you do not want to, fine. don't.
 

unelie

Active member
Nov 28, 2021
113
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I am interested in alot of What Walter Veith has to say . But not so much about the dietary restrictions of the old covenant extended in the new covenant . When the Bible says , 1 Tim 4: 3,4 . I am curious though about the Sabbath being changed to Sunday by an ancient pope and being adopted by the the Protestants . Seems like the Sabbath is Saturday and 7th day adventists are spot on about that. However when it comes down to obeying the ordinances of the 7th day Adventists to switch from Sunday I get a feeling that we are drifting toward a "works" mentality. Do you do no labor on Saturday ? curious
Hi! Nice to see that you are open to listen to preachers from a denomination you are not a part of :) this kind of mentality is very important to grow in brotherly love I believe :)

Adventists do not perform any secular labor on Sabbath (Saturday).

However, being a physician, I may have to help to rescue someone, or give medical advice to people that are in need of support or help. I could also be on duty on sabbath (I usually manage to avoid that). The general practice is to avoid any labor on Sabbath, except sacred labor like saving lives, feeding the needy, or pastoring.

You mentioned "a feeling that we are drifting toward a "works" mentality". If you have any question on that I would be happy to answer them :)

Some verses :

Exo 20:8-11 KJV
8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
9 Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:
10 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:
11 For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.

Mat 12:8,11-12 KJV
8 For the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day.
11 And he said unto them, What man shall there be among you, that shall have one sheep, and if it fall into a pit on the sabbath day, will he not lay hold on it, and lift it out?
12 How much then is a man better than a sheep? Wherefore it is lawful to do well on the sabbath days.
 

Jackson123

Senior Member
Feb 6, 2014
11,769
1,370
113
Hum...
We believe that the condamnation of God at the judgment day, sometimes referred as "hell", is eternal, you don't get out of it, but you die, and you die there forever.
Therefore, we do not believe that people will live to suffer forever in hell. This is why we usually answer "no" to your question. Indeed, eternal life is only for the saved. The wicked get to die in hell, they die there and never wake up ever again.
A verse about this :
Apo 20:14 And death and hell were cast into the Lake of Fire. This is the second death.

So this is death, not eternal life of sufferings. Of course there are many other texts on the topic, I just like this one. I can tell more if you have more questions on this topic :)
What is this verse mean

Mat 25
46 And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.
 

unelie

Active member
Nov 28, 2021
113
26
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SDA go to church or have their meeting on Saturday as they believe that to be the sabbath day correct.?


"I will admit that you mean "if there is an appropriate church closeby and if I am a Christian". This does not apply to non-Christians, non church-goers, etc."


No, that is not what I mean nor did I ask that so please don't assume I ASKED:

If I go to church on Sunday is that sin and if I don't go to church on Saturday is that a sin?
Please answer my question if you do not want to, fine. don't.
Yes we go to church on Saturday because we believe this is the sabbath day.

Oh sorry for making so many assumptions. To answer quickly, I would say no to both questions.

In itself, there is no sin in going to church on Sunday, there is no Bible basis or Adventist belief that opposes that.
In itself, there is no sin in not going to church on Saturday.

However, if you have the conviction that you should do otherwise, the Bible calls this a sin :
Romans 14.23 for whatsoever is not of faith is sin.
 

CS1

Well-known member
May 23, 2012
12,297
4,041
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Yes we go to church on Saturday because we believe this is the sabbath day.

Oh sorry for making so many assumptions. To answer quickly, I would say no to both questions.

In itself, there is no sin in going to church on Sunday, there is no Bible basis or Adventist belief that opposes that.
In itself, there is no sin in not going to church on Saturday.

However, if you have the conviction that you should do otherwise, the Bible calls this a sin :
Romans 14.23 for whatsoever is not of faith is sin.
Thank you.
 
Nov 23, 2021
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Hi! Nice to see that you are open to listen to preachers from a denomination you are not a part of :) this kind of mentality is very important to grow in brotherly love I believe :)

Adventists do not perform any secular labor on Sabbath (Saturday).

However, being a physician, I may have to help to rescue someone, or give medical advice to people that are in need of support or help. I could also be on duty on sabbath (I usually manage to avoid that). The general practice is to avoid any labor on Sabbath, except sacred labor like saving lives, feeding the needy, or pastoring.

You mentioned "a feeling that we are drifting toward a "works" mentality". If you have any question on that I would be happy to answer them :)

Some verses :

Exo 20:8-11 KJV
8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
9 Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:
10 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:
11 For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.

Mat 12:8,11-12 KJV
8 For the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day.
11 And he said unto them, What man shall there be among you, that shall have one sheep, and if it fall into a pit on the sabbath day, will he not lay hold on it, and lift it out?
12 How much then is a man better than a sheep? Wherefore it is lawful to do well on the sabbath days.
J
I have a conviction that the Sabbath is Saturday . But in respect to a holy day observence there is no merit in it. Those ordinances of observing days and feasts were abolished in the flesh of our Lord. The only merit we have is our righteousness with God by faith. Not works. Not eating or drinking or respect to a Holy day. That's my story and I'm sticking to it . I am non-denominational these days I stand apart as one of the remnant a disciple indeed because I continue in His Word. My only access to God is by the merit of the Blood alone and not my performance. I like Walter Veith but like I learned in the old Jesus people days of the seventies gleen what you can from The Spirit but It's kind of like Eat Chicken and Spit out the Bones.
 

CS1

Well-known member
May 23, 2012
12,297
4,041
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J

I have a conviction that the Sabbath is Saturday . But in respect to a holy day observence there is no merit in it. Those ordinances of observing days and feasts were abolished in the flesh of our Lord. The only merit we have is our righteousness with God by faith. Not works. Not eating or drinking or respect to a Holy day. That's my story and I'm sticking to it . I am non-denominational these days I stand apart as one of the remnant a disciple indeed because I continue in His Word. My only access to God is by the merit of the Blood alone and not my performance. I like Walter Veith but like I learned in the old Jesus people days of the seventies gleen what you can from The Spirit but It's kind of like Eat Chicken and Spit out the Bones.
The Sabbath day I am in agreement as it is Saturday However I go to church on Sunday because it is the first day of the week Jesus Jesus rose on.
 

unelie

Active member
Nov 28, 2021
113
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On October 2, 2014 I prayed that God would marry my husband and myself. We were going to be living together and the wedding was set for November 27, 2014 formal paperwork and minister. We both were there for the prayer and I did not feel guilty afterward were we wrong? Just wondering what your thoughts are on this. We just celebrated our 7th anniversary legally.
Happy anniversary! 😀 Praise for Lord for love and family 🙌 thank you for sharing.

The simple answer would be :
If this is lawful and customary in your country to get married like that, there is no problem in doing so.
If this is not customary neither lawful, then it is not an actual marriage, therefore it may be wrong to consider yourself married before the actual ceremony.

Longer answer :
As far as I can tell, the Bible does not order a specific ceremony of marriage. However, the Bible clearly supports the sacrality of marriage. For exemple, the commandments forbidding to commit adultery or fornication clearly protect marriage, even while no precepts are given about how to get married.

Mat 19:3-9
3 And the Pharisees came to Him, tempting Him and saying to Him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause? 4 And He answered and said to them, Have you not read that He who made [them] at the beginning made them male and female, 5 and said, For this cause a man shall leave father and mother and shall cling to his wife, and the two of them shall be one flesh? 6 Therefore they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate. 7 They said to Him, Why did Moses then command to give a bill of divorce and to put her away? 8 He said to them, Because of your hard-heartedness Moses allowed you to put away your wives; but from the beginning it was not so. 9 And I say to you, Whoever shall put away his wife, except for fornication, and shall marry another, commits adultery; and whoever marries her [who is] put away commits adultery.

Also, God request you to follow the laws of the land in which you live :
Rom 13:1-2
1 Let every soul be subject to the higher authorities. For there is no authority but of God; the authorities that exist are ordained by God. 2 So that the one resisting the authority resists the ordinance of God; and the ones who resist will receive judgment to themselves.

(Well, as long as it does not oppose to the law of God : Act 5:29 And Peter and the apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men.)

In most western countries, as far as I know, you must have a witness and/or a state-sanctioned officer for your marriage to be lawful / binding. However, there may be some particularities here and there that I am not aware of. In France (where I am from), it is forbidden to get married religiously before to be married in front of a state officer. So in France it would be wrong to do as you did.

But even if what you did were technically wrong or not, God blessed your union, and this is what matters the most, now ☺️
 

unelie

Active member
Nov 28, 2021
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Hum, the specific answers to these questions have been given back in 2011, and I think I mostly agree with everything said back then :)
 
Nov 23, 2021
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"There can be no access to God , no fellowship with Him by faith , no enjoyment of His favor apart from The Blood." Andrew Murray
 
Nov 23, 2021
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The Sabbath day I am in agreement as it is Saturday However I go to church on Sunday because it is the first day of the week Jesus Jesus rose on.
I went on Sunday because that's when church was .