Leaderboard

A bit of distraction from the chaos around me in some very remote, lonely places on the planet - oh, and curiosity and nostalgia... First post - but I've had a profile for 3 years. There are some of us (I suspect) who regularly visit this forum (for me, it is in the weekends when I travel - which is about 6-months in any given year). Ex-SDA (35 years now) - but found this forum online when I was out on a humanitarian mission in Ethiopia (that's the nostalgia and distraction reason covered) Curiosity to see if anything has changed since I got up and left my home town and church all those years ago. Seems like an eclectic group of people here, with debates ranging across a spectrum of beliefs and viewpoints. All the best Excaliba

I came to discuss the Bible for these last days. Many do not like the things I present but I don't do it for malice or of any evil intent. I do it for us to look at what is happening today. I ask the questions have SDA become just another denomination or church. Are we really ready for YAHSHUA to come. Have we push the Time of Trouble and the end events far off in to the future. What do we believe and why do we believe it. Why do we think we are the remnant, why have we accept things today like the other Protestant churches, where is our faith. Why do we shy away from dealing with Biblical issues that we have held on to, are they truth or myths. These are things that truly concern me. I want to be saved, I have question my faith and my church and see a lot of errors we are holding on too. Now is the time to take a stand! I pray for all and hope you all will pray for me. Blessings and Happy Sabbath!

Guess I'd have to have that one as mine and to put it into words of explanation, to do as much as possible to make it clear to reveal from the Word why Jesus is my best Friend. largely a result of innumerable incidents that made it clear I wouldn't be alive today if He hadn't stepped in numerous times to preserve my life, when my own choices led in a different direction. …14"You are My friends if you do what I command you. 15"No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you. 16"You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain, so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name He may give to you.… John 15 God is Love!~Jesus saves!

In the meantime, while we are waiting for Christ's return, hopefully we are experiencing God's imparted righteousness. Therefore a mature Christian should be experiencing a life where sin is not practice. Now, I did not say a life where there is no sin, but rather a life where sin in not justified and therefore practiced. As to homosexuality there is no doubt that this perversion is related to our fallen human natures. If one is predisposed to homosexuality the only remedy is to "walk in the Spirit" and not fulfill the lust of the flesh. That means that a mature believer should not be endorsing homosexual marriage and sex. To endorse such is to justify sin or imperfection. If we justify sin as a lifestyle then we are rejecting God's appraisal of sin through His law. To reject the law's condemnation of these sins is to reject one's need of Christ righteousness, both imputed and imparted.

He is almost here!

I like hearing others peoples experience or the way they think about different issues and ways of life. I don't care for preaching or the 'it has to be this way'. Finding a world outside of 'being scared conservatism' was awesome, so I enjoy outside the box thinking. Have always been a bit of a question type of person...a way to learn.

@Kevin(wrx) I was, I believe in China when this was posted and only had an iPhone to use, am only now responding as I dwell in my Canadian Abode. Trust me here, if all the posters had to agree with me, there would be only 1-2 other posters, I found the whole homosexual event repugnant, including gay marriage. Therefor I will never be involved in that act, nor would I ever marry a male. When I get myself 100% pure then I will begin working on others. I know this, we all have struggles, I wouldn't trade mine for that of a gay person. I believe in christian fellowship, as well as a powerful God who can convict and transform by his mighty power. I do not believe that I am to replace the Holy Spirit, and God has not asked me to so far, and I do not see a change in the immediate future. I do believe we need to open our circle of friends, and support and pray for one another. Bringing up the gay issue to me, is just as annoying as "that" person bringing up the fact that I am over weight, and he has had totally victory over that. It is very ok to differ, it is not very ok to condemn or slam people, over victories we have had and they have not. Just my opinion, others will differ, and I am ok with that,

There's no assumption. Everything outside of perfection is sin. Hence Christ's pronouncement: "You must be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect." Does God have homosexual tendencies? No. Is God predisposed to anything sinful? No Then again outside perfection is sin and cannot enter heaven. That's why we must be changed at the coming of Christ.

I was a robot-walking spiritual zombie when I came across CA in 2005 or so, even though I regularly attended SDA church. It was that Desire of Ages study that nailed it and resuscitated my poor, dead heart. I still miss that study. I'm not a heavy user here, but I do read and/or post weekly. I get these ideas about various topics when I'm falling asleep or waking up, and I have to write them down on scratch paper so that I can remember the ideas later. I frequently incorporate those ideas in my posts thinking that I might get a hit on a lurker. I've said some things here that I now regret, but those mistakes are part of growing up. I like everyone who posts here, now. The hardliners and SDA**biters don't seem to be around much anymore, thanks to the moderators, I presume. It is good to have our ideas challenged so we can see our positions from others' points of view.

The answers shall be interesting.......such as verse 34.....

I know it's true!

I originally joined because I was just about ready to dump the church, and return to witchcraft. C/A literally pulled me back.

C/A means different things to different people. What's your reason for becoming a member of ClubAdventist? Friendship? Comfort? Acceptance? Assistance or request for prayer? Needing an answer or opinion to a troubling question? Proffering a new theological idea? Debate? Share a laugh? Confrontation? Other? (most of us would probably list more than one reason. But there are a few whose reason really eludes me. Why would anyone come on a friendly forum and immediately proceed to be obnoxious, bully, and generally behave as if they had never before had any training in the social graces?)

I stumbled upon CA and then didn't come back for a long time... i have no idea why at the time. I finally stepped in venturing to experience community... i found incredible diversity which i am very at home with... I have been enjoying participating in and reading if not posting. It really has helped my communication of my faith everywhere i go. God is wherever you find Him.

Hi Marri, and a I tried this tiny URL and it worked for me. Maybe it will for you. http://tinyurl.com/zpjj65h If not, here is the web page for the group that carries that selection and maybe you can isolate it by your own choosing. The speaker's name is Allan Lindsay, and the title to the sermon is "The King is Coming, Soon" . I use FireFox, don't know if that will makes any difference. Oops didn't mean to begin to yell but that happens to me lots when I cut and paste. LoL http://www.sealingtime.com/ God is Love!~Jesus saves!

Richard, That's not a dog, it's a giant dog. That soccer ball in his mouth looks like a little toy.....

If this is true, then why bother excusing or minimizing our sins? Why not just get it over with, go for the forgiveness and carry on with life?

I'm very enthusiastic about the miracle which is Sister White. Maybe I don't seem like it given my different (!) approach to her published works, but I am. For me, she is what Adventism is really all about. No more, no less. Even if she didn't think so herself. I'm in a conversation, so far mainly with myself, about her. I'm here to develop this further. Maybe others can share. I don't like being alone. I've never been welcome in any Adventist gathering. I have been called names, terrible things, too many times. Treated violently. Received death threats. Online and offline. This place seems mostly different in that respect. (Maybe I'm just learning to get along better with people.) So, I'm here still. Adventism has a purpose. A now much thwarted purpose in my opinion. It has not succeeded, I think. Perhaps it never will, but I hope for more.

I found this on http://www.learnhebrew.org.il/print/2006/march3.htm Neshimah Aruka Literally: A long breath Idiomatically: A deep breath It is pretty common knowledge that when you are tense, the best thing to do is to take a deep breath. Evidently, when under stress, we tend to hold our breath, causing our heart to work harder which raises our blood pressure. The word "Neshima" comes from the verb, "nasham," meaning to take air in and out (Isaiah 44:12). Interestingly enough, there is also a connection with "Neshamah" or soul. One way of stating that someone dies is "Yatzah Nishmato," which can be translated as "one's last breath" or "one's soul left." Neshimah is similar to "nashav" to blow (Isaiah 40:7) though "nashav" is only blowing and not taking anything in which can lead to "kotzer neshima" or breathlessness. In any case, just remember Friday afternoon an hour before Shabbat when your son shows up with two friends which he forgot to warn you about - take a deep breath! My comments: Without God's "spirit" (breath), our physical bodies have no life. The penalty for sin was "dying you will die". Which to me means that we loose the "spirit" of God, without which we cannot continue to live - certainly not forever. Romans 8:10 "However, if the Messiah is in you, then, on the one hand, the body is dead because of sin; but, on the other hand, the Spirit is giving life because God considers you righteous" (CJB). There's a big "IF" in there - "If Messiah is in you". Which means Christ does NOT dwell in every human being. He "knocks" - yes, but most do not "open the door" (Rev 3:20). John 3:16 "God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten on, that whosoever believes in Him, might not perish, but have eternal life." Eternal LIFE is contrasted with PERISH. Perish means to be completely destroyed. "perish" : 622 avpo,llumi apollumi {ap-ol'-loo-mee} Meaning: 1) to destroy 1a) to put out of the way entirely, abolish, put an end to ruin 1b) render useless 1c) to kill 1d) to declare that one must be put to death 1e) metaph. to devote or give over to eternal misery in hell 1f) to perish, to be lost, ruined, destroyed 2) to destroy 2a) to lose Some use "perish" as a METAPHORE for "eternal misery in hell". That doesn't make it concretely so.

I have a problem with your quotation above. 1) You do not give the reference from EGW. It actually comes from Gospel workers, page 126. 2) You do not clearly differentiate between your words and what EGW wrote. 3) You have changed her wording. Where EGW wrote "God" you have replaced it with "Elohim." That is very inappropriate. Further it suggests that you think that your version of what EGW should have written is better than what she actually wrote. 4) You have printed some of her words in bold, when they are not so printed in GW. If you quote form EGW, or any other person, please be accurate. The following is what she actually wrote.

FYI, Heidi Cruz isn't an adventist, she is a baptist. "While Heidi Cruz was raised in a Seventh-day Adventist household, she now identifies with the Baptist faith of her husband Ted Cruz. An earlier version of this article misidentified Heidi Cruz as an Adventist." source: http://spectrummagazine.org/article/2016/01/20/viewpoint-could-ted-cruz-have-gotten-far-without-his-wife-heidi * * * Interesting and scary article about dominionism, thanks for posting!

You do not cut your hair or shave your beard at all? And you are 100% never wearing clothes of blended fibres? I am not stating that any are non-binding. The actions of all Christians, including you, demonstrate that you believe some are non-binding.

So, David, if God says it's wrong, is it wrong? or is it an assumption to think so? It appears to boil down to that fundamental question with some here.

Show this in the Bible, because she clearly said take the Bible first. Just show it please! Blessings and happy Sabbath!

Would you like to suggest which part is not binding and why?

I've asked that we leave Sodom aside entirely for the moment, but others seem unwilling. Back to Leviticus. Is everything in Chapters 18-20 binding on Christians today? Is so, why are many of them not done? If not, which and why and how do we distinguish in a theologically sound way?

For us to be saved by grace there are multiple conditions. 1. Repentance of, and for, sin. 2. Acknowledgment of our helplessness. 3. A life of continual connection to Christ. Just because something is free doesn't mean there aren't conditions attached to it. Salvation costs us everything we are when we accept Christ.

On Carson's endorsement of Trump.... I have lost all faith in Carson's rationality. Trump is someone who will enthusiastically shred the Constitution, and Ben said over and over again that our first job is to protect it. My support for him was based upon his stated views on the Constitution alone. He has now, in all practicality, reversed his position on the Constitution.

My source for SDA inter-campus basketball is my own two granddaughters. They played basketball on various campuses both in academy and in college. They're both great athletes [and also accomplished violinists and pianists]. The challenge has been good for them, physically and spiritually. They acknowledge God in their lives faithfully, daily. And I think their coaches do too.

ALIENSANCTUARY congratulations dgrimm60

It's a speculative thing, not something I'm advancing as an argument. Apart from Earth-centrism, there's no good prima facie reason to assume they are gendered. The Bible doesn't seem to say they aren't but doesn't say they are. Others have demonstrated that the Bible does say they presented as men in this story. I still maintain that the story is about condemning rape and - in context but bizarrely for us - inhospitability, not homosexuality.

As I ponder why I first came here, I am not sure I can pin down a specific reason or perhaps a single reason. The one word that keeps coming to mind is "curiosity". But I think more significant is what keeps me here and compels me to keep coming back. That is a combination of friendship, appreciating and needing intellectual stimulation and challenge. I do love a good discussion and especially exploring new ideas and new ways of seeing old familiar ideas with fellow curious and open minded people.

You are not the only one for whom this site is their home church. There are members who nearly wrote off Christians in general save for knowing someone they encountered here. I praise God for THEM. The regulars are, like the older brother of the prodigal, here always. But the ones that come back are like having come back from the dead. The hard lesson the younger son learned was humbling that he was changed, but some have not gotten to that point yet. Some are curious, lookieloos. The argument FOR Christ will be not only what you have learned in Scripture, but how your understanding of that has changed your life for better or worse. People will be drawn to Jesus, and if you reflect Him in your dealings with others you will have the attractive appeal that He does.

I joined at the invitation of one of the moderators, who read my posts on another forum. I too was about to jump ship because of the hypocrisy I perceived at all levels of the church; and the problems I had with some of the "cultural" interpretations of the 28 Fundies. A very kind and concerned member of this forum took the time to go through each of the Fundies with me as posted on the official church website. I couldn't find any fault in the way they were actually stated, so I postponed leaving. As I started posting more, I found some wonderful, smart, open-minded people here; as well as those who believe differently than I do. The ones that have mastered the art of disagreeing without being disagreeable have inspired me to study more. I still have issues with the way some of the more traditional folks see things; but I'm sure there are those that have issues with my viewpoint. As long as the differences of opinion inspire spirited conversation and deeper study, that's a good thing IMHO. This actually has sorta become my home church. I spend more time with CA than I do my local congregation. I am blessed to be here.

This is fair enough. What has been happening too often is that people are assuming here that Gay is currently practising homosexual behaviour and addressing him based on their assumption AND accusing him of promoting the lifestyle. I would like to see: 1) That the threads that are engaged at the moment stay on topic and not delve into whether Gay is practising or not. Feel free to PM Gay to discuss that privately with him. 2) Address the issues he raises in this forum regarding the church and relating to GBLTs. This minority group will not go away and they are a big mission field on their own. We as Christians are called to love even our enemy; we need to be informed as to their personal struggles in order to bring them in. There is much that Jesus can do for them if church members would stop forming doors and walls to keep them out.

Congratulations! What a sweet, peaceful-looking little sweetheart!

Beautiful baby and momma!

While this may be a passing thought easily dismissed by most here apparently, I think it does deserve at least a closer look. It does illustrate yet another set of assumptions that are made, including by translators of the original Hebrew. We easily assume only a male gender specific meaning of the English word "men" by itself and assume the point of the sentence in context is to identify the gender of the three visitors that appear to Abraham and then the two later to Lot. However, both the English word "men" or the singular "man" and the Hebrew words so translated can be and are frequently used in a gender inclusive sense and to mean "mankind" "human" "people". A key underlying point of the narrative in Genesis 18, is that at their initial appearance to both Abraham and later to Lot was that they did not appear in angelic form, but rather they appeared in human form and were greeted and treated as such. The reaction to them would very likely have been quite different had they not appeared as humans. That was a point of the story, treatment of strangers and visitors in our midst, contrasting the immediate welcome and offer of kindness and hospitality by Abraham and Lot with the extreme opposite reaction of the already condemned mob of people of Sodom. It is also worth noting that the attacking hostile Sodom mob is described as a mixed multitude of not just men, but as all the people of Sodom, young and old, male and female. They were not just men. I am not posting this to start an argument or to even support the side point David makes, but rather to demonstrate the role our assumptions and preconceived ideas play in reading and understanding, and indeed in general observations of life. Life and language are most definitely fraught with ambiguity, uncertainty, nuance and require far more interpretation of what we think we perceive. We cannot assume absolute accuracy and precision, nor that there is ever only one possible absolute truth of very much of any of it.

I've been a denizen since fairly early on, and am coming up on 15,000 posts now. I come here to think with friends, and have learned a heap and (I hope) grown over the years. 'Iron sharpens iron', as the Book says, and we learn... perhaps most from those with whom we disagree. There are ways to disagree without being disagreeable, and I always try to and aspire to, but sometimes fall short. I hope I apologise and withdraw the comments when I fail, but even better not to have made it in the first place. Like all of us, I'm still growing up.

I think it is the fear of condemnation or punishment or God's anger that causes us not to face our guilt. But... God is the One offering forgiveness and cleansing! Why should we hang on to shame when He makes it better?

That posts makes this whole event worthwhile. Thank you Pam

Perhaps the two-party system needs to be overhauled if politicians are unable to work together to keep govt. functioning. I don't care much for Obama, but I, too, would get very frustrated by the impasses and paralysis that lawmakers create by their unwillingness to compromise, that is, the give-and-take that most of us have had to do from time to time. Maybe the best way to fix the USA govt. would to be to fire all of the politicians and bureaucrats and start over with a new, streamlined process with the flexibility needed to respond quickly to the needs of the citizens who pay their salaries. A footnote: Any politician or bureaucrat wanting to increase their, or someone else's pay would have to have that request put to a vote of the people. Same story for any tax or fee increase. As citizens, we have become the victims of govt. instead of controlling the govt.

One of my fulfilling experiences as a hospital chaplain occurred when people would tell me that they had been given 6 - 12 months to live. Early on I would say: You have been given a blessing that many people have not received. [No, it might not be my first response.] Then I would talk to them about planning their life, future and how they might have it end with no unfinished business: 1) If they wanted to re-establish a relationship prior to their death, they had time. 2) If they wanted to see their grandchildren, children, etc., once more, they had time. 3) IF they had some place they had always wanted to visit, they had time to do so. 4) IOW, they had time to do whatever they want to do/accomplish in their lives, they had time to work on it.

"For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Rom. 6:23) "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God" (Eph. 2:8-9) Both eternal life and salvation are gifts - undeserved. You can't have one without the other.

To, perhaps clarify a bit as to where I am: People are interested in both Danny Shelton, 3-ABN and Linda. I Do not consider it inappropriate to post something about any of them. That is why I posted a link to the REVIEW article about Danny becoming the President of 3-ABN and his planned mission to London. I intend to do the same about Linda, when I have something that I think would fit. I believe that shortly there will be a book available that some may want to read. If so, I will post a notice of its availability. But, I will not allow this thread to be used to open old wounds on either side. And, there is much that I will not post that I may be aware of. Danny, Linda, 3-ABN are part of the past history and present family of Adventism. To the extent that it is appropriate, it is fine to post news related to current events.

Whbae: I understand. For all: This thread is not going to turn into a bash 3-ABN and Danney forum. Many people know exactly where I personally am on this issue. but, I see no need to extensively relive the past. The intent of my posts in this thread has simply been to provide current information. On that subject, I am being very limited.

Click on the following. Scroll down past the end of the article and start reading the posted comments. Also read the one by Reindeer, a retired major SDA Administrator, who posted just after me. My comment is the 3rd down, today. http://www.adventistreview.org/church-news/story3102-newly-elected-3abn-president-danny-shelton-prepares-london-campaign