Sabbatismos Ministries

 

Q:  Why are you attacking the Seventh-day Adventist Church?  Isn’t it unchristian to criticize the beliefs of others?

A:  We are not against the Adventist people, but when a denomination distorts the gospel, we feel a responsibility to point that out.  It is our heartfelt desire to present the truth in love. Is there any way we can strongly warn people about the dangers of EGWs perfectionism without offending? It is of interest to note that Christ's teachings were so offensive in His day that they said He had a devil, but the poor in spirit drank deeply of the water of life.

While we were under the influence of Ellen White, we couldn't understand the gospel, and we believe the same is true of many SDAs. As our Website says, we aren't geared toward Adventists who are happy and full of faith--we seek to minister to those who don't feel confident in their salvation. Our target audience is people who lack assurance because of following Ellen White's teachings, and for such people, hearing that she was not a prophet can be a freeing experience.

It is interesting that SDAs react so negatively to former SDAs speaking plainly about their reasons for leaving. In so many cases, SDAs attack the manner in which formers communicate rather than addressing the issues. They denigrate issue-oriented writings as bitter, hateful attacks instead of taking them seriously and providing clear answers.  In addition, it is interesting that SDA evangelists continue to attack the Catholic Church as the harlot of Revelation 17 and identify Protestant churches as the licentious daughters of the harlot.  Must Christians be silent in the face of such accusations?

If Adventism is correct, it can withstand any criticism; if it is not correct, it richly deserves to be challenged.  We have tried to do this politely but firmly. We feel that Adventism does not teach the clear, biblical gospel. That's why the gospel is our top menu item—it is central to this ministry. Unfortunately, we are forced to expose Ellen White as a false prophet in order to try to convince SDAs of the true gospel. We don't hate EGW--we love the gospel of Jesus Christ. We aren't trying to offend, but we recognize the inherent offensiveness of a disagreement on a subject as fundamental as how one is saved.

 

"I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel—which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned! As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned! Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ" (Galatians 1:6-10, NIV).


 

Q:  Why don’t we all just focus on the gospel and forget about our sectarian differences?

A:  Adventism has a different gospel than evangelical Christianity. Conservative SDAs are happy with the idea of the substitutionary atonement, but they insist on personal attainment of perfection (and on an ongoing atonement rather than a completed atonement). Liberal SDAs don't care about perfection, but they don't like to emphasize Christ as our substitute. So there is a fundamental gospel disagreement both within the SDA Church and between the SDA factions and evangelicals.



Q:  Why don’t you just focus on the character of God in your Website and let people draw their own conclusions about Ellen White?


A:  A discussion of Ellen White is a discussion of the character of God because God stakes His reputation on the integrity of His prophets. For instance, Job was a representative of God, and Job's words and actions enabled God to reveal His character to the universe. Thus, a discussion of Job really comes back to God's character, just as a discussion of the teachings of Ellen White must show God's grace, justice, and truthfulness in accordance with the clear teachings of God's word IF Ellen White is to be considered a true prophetess.

When Jesus warned against following the scribes and pharisees, one could argue that He wasn't talking about God; when Paul warned against following the legalists, one could argue that he wasn't talking about God; when the OT prophets warned of coming judgments, and when John warned against the dragon and the beast and the false prophets, one could say that they were not talking about God at those points. But, of course, Jesus and Paul and the rest were talking about God. In a similar (though uninspired) manner, we are talking about God by warning people against following Ellen White and building their spiritual houses on her teachings.

 


Q:  Why do you hate Ellen White?


A:  We don’t hate Ellen White.  In fact, we hope Ellen White is saved by the grace of God. We believe she was a woman of great faith even though she was highly misguided. She is a remarkable, fascinating woman, and we deeply respect her determination and her accomplishments.  She was a person of great intelligence who, we believe, suffered a brain injury that led to her visionary proclivities. We don’t blame Ellen White for believing that God was sending her vivid representations, but we do blame some of the early SDAs who appear to have discovered the truth about her and hid it under a bushel, so to speak.

Unfortunately, we believe many people will be lost because of their belief in Ellen White's errors, and that's why we have to warn as many people as possible.