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Yes, someone did not bathe for Sabbath services.

Is it just me or is this thread beginnin to smell?

Sometimes Attitude causes the response from others, not the suit.

There isnt any shortage of people that do "not dress right but that doesnt mean more respect" as well. Far more important than the clothing is the attitude. No matter what the issue there is always a but what if..No one has suggested that a check for appropriate clothing be done at the door or to shunn or take somebody to task for their clothing. For some, the attitude is any old thing is good enough while more appropriate choices are available, God should just be glad I came . For those that have more appropriate choices available why the determination to go as many do and mock and ridicule those that do feel attitude is important

only by grace do we rise above personally insulting offenses. i would suggest this pastor needs to present messages on the harm of being judgmental of visitors to the church, and i would inform the pastor of this event. then i would deeply apologize to my spouse and possibly arrange for the pastor to apologize on behalf of the well meaning but insulting member. this is not good when members are hurtful to those coming to church. facetiously my thought is... i would like to see thirty visitors crowd this church Sabbath morning in jeans... give this member a work out then crash his program by letting him see how much God loves them and is so happy they came to visit at His house. We all need to be stretched, God's love is greater than we know.

I have been looking through the Barely Adventist "humor" forum. To me it is all satire, and what is the definition of satire: Satire is used to hold something up to rebuke, a caustic exposure to reprobation, a lampooning, ridicule, and more. Thus I see the entire forum as an attack upon the church.

if God didn't like humor, He wouldn't have given us the gift of Laughter... imho

A true story: My wife and I had just moved to the area as we walked into the church for the first time, a woman pointed to two empty seats beside her and said: "You can sit here, I took a bath this morning."

Taking a bath 120 years ago was quite a chore. No so for many today. Shall we judge those that shower? Luke 6:1-11 1 And it came to pass on the second sabbath after the first, that he went through the corn fields; and his disciples plucked the ears of corn, and did eat, rubbing them in their hands. 2 And certain of the Pharisees said to them, Why do you that which is not lawful to do on the sabbath days? 3 And Jesus answering them said, Have you not read so much as this, what David did, when himself was an hungered, and they which were with him; 4 How he went into the house of God, and did take and eat the show bread, and gave also to them that were with him; which it is not lawful to eat but for the priests alone? 5 And he said to them, That the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath. 6 And it came to pass also on another sabbath, that he entered into the synagogue and taught: and there was a man whose right hand was withered. 7 And the scribes and Pharisees watched him, whether he would heal on the sabbath day; that they might find an accusation against him. 8 But he knew their thoughts, and said to the man which had the withered hand, Rise up, and stand forth in the middle. And he arose and stood forth. 9 Then said Jesus to them, I will ask you one thing; Is it lawful on the sabbath days to do good, or to do evil? to save life, or to destroy it? 10 And looking round about on them all, he said to the man, Stretch forth your hand. And he did so: and his hand was restored whole as the other. 11 And they were filled with madness; and communed one with another what they might do to Jesus.

Sojourner, the incident that seemed to have caused her desire to no longer attend the church was likely only "the straw that broke the camel's back". Take it to the Lord in prayer; take your wife and children with you! Ask her questions about her own spiritual journey and listen to her answers. Walk in harmony with her and find out what it is she needs. Be a leader; not only a defender. Be a provider; but also be her help meet. This was not about church--it was about your relationship with your wife. 10An excellent wife, who can find? For her worth is far above jewels. 11The heart of her husband trusts in her, And he will have no lack of gain. 12She does him good and not evil All the days of her life. 13She looks for wool and flax And works with her hands in delight. 14She is like merchant ships; She brings her food from afar. 15She rises also while it is still night And gives food to her household And portions to her maidens. 16She considers a field and buys it; From her earnings she plants a vineyard. 17She girds herself with strength And makes her arms strong. 18She senses that her gain is good; Her lamp does not go out at night. 19She stretches out her hands to the distaff, And her hands grasp the spindle. 20She extends her hand to the poor, And she stretches out her hands to the needy. 21She is not afraid of the snow for her household, For all her household are clothed with scarlet. 22She makes coverings for herself; Her clothing is fine linen and purple. 23Her husband is known in the gates, When he sits among the elders of the land. 24She makes linen garments and sells them, And supplies belts to the tradesmen. 25Strength and dignity are her clothing, And she smiles at the future. 26She opens her mouth in wisdom, And the teaching of kindness is on her tongue. 27She looks well to the ways of her household, And does not eat the bread of idleness. 28Her children rise up and bless her; Her husband also, and he praises her, saying: 29“Many daughters have done nobly, But you excel them all.” 30Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain, But a woman who fears the LORD, she shall be praised. 31Give her the product of her hands, And let her works praise her in the gates.

I am so sorry you had to read that Gregory Mathews and to all the internet

does God care what a person smells like on the Sabbath... in church? should we care if someone we sit next to in church reeks of B.O.? Nooooo.... We should make it a point to sit next to them. Perhaps we should all omit deodorant for a week to show "solidarity" with those who have B.O. ... because... you know... it's not important to God, is it? Because B.O. isn't a salvational issue....

It looks to me like the context of the above is that shaving and bathing was not done every day of the week: "If any neglect to do such work on a working day. . . let their beards remain unshaven. . .until the Sabbath is over." There was as time when bathing was a lot of work: building a fire, heating water, and everyone using the same water. Shaving a beard: Again, sounds like there was more than one days growth. Does not seem to be like anything like what we do today in bathing and shaving. Frankly, I am told that I need a bath/shower everyday. I do not think that God wants me to stink on the Sabbath day?

Well.....that (a,b,c) keeps us from really being concerned about important matters, a personal relationship with God. We can exam what others are doing to measure ourselves. A ridiculas amount of time is spent examining others, their journey, their beliefs, their culture, etc etc. An abnormal amount of wastful time. For all the talk about 'time is short, end is coming around the corner' we seem to enjoy wandering around in the desert!!

There are 3 topics that go round-and-round in SdA circles. Everyone has an opinion, there is no consensus, and the opinions are heavily influenced by culture. (a) Church dress, and as as a sub-topic, ornamental fashion (i.e. jewellery light, such as ties, tie clips, ornamental buttons, decorative scarves, lapel pins). (b) Church music styles. (c) Sabbath observance. These have been around for my entire life (almost 5 decades). It's the same debates over and over and over again - the same arguments, the same positions - the debates generate much heat, little light. I suspect that women in ministry will be a fourth such topic in decades to come.

The question was, if you had been a perfect angel in heaven, have you ever wondered what you would have done in the heavenly rebellion. At that time, you would have had the state of starting without sin which is unfortunately what we do not have on this earth. Obviously, this is a question no one can really answer, just something to ponder.

wow Just wow!

I do think God created some of the creatures He did as object lessons for us, or in other words, to teach us about ourselves. I hardly see that as Him creating something just to mock it. What you are talking about is something completely different than I am on this. You are saying that the fact that a platypus exists might be used by us for satirizing ourselves. That is in a completely different category than God deliberately creating something just so it could be mocked and ridiculed.

We are agreed.

While I have in the past posted satire here at ClubAdventist, I think a bit different now. Since the church is compared to the bride of Jesus, how do you think Jesus feels when satire is used against His bride? Does it fall into a violation of the 3rd commandment? Hopefully, this is not too simplistic, but could you sit next to Jesus and share the humor with Him? It is said sometimes "gallows" humor helps people to reduce stress. Really? There is no other way to "get over it"? Paul said to forbear (to be patient or self-controlled when subject to annoyance or provocation) one another. Just a thought ...

I knew I liked you, even though I could not remember you. Your honesty is very much appreciated. While we may disagree on many things today, honesty will bring us into agreement and understanding at some point because to honest people truth is paramount.

Satire, by its very definition, is an attack. It is pointing out what it thinks is folly, stupid, unreasonable, and so on. Just because you want to ignore the dictionary definition of satire doesn't make your position credible. I will ask again, if I consistently ridiculed you through satire how long would I last here? My guess is not very long. I know of know of no one who likes to be ridiculed and mocked no matter how it is supposedly disguised as humor. Satire is meanness.