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I'd like to put in my 2 cents worth here, in addition to the other posts. There is a movement in liberal churches, who question the inspiration of the Bible and maybe even the belief in God that since the Bible is just of human origins that they have no trouble with both ordaining women and membership/ordination to homosexual and gender issues. Seventh-day Adventists do believe in God and accept the Bible as inspired. For us we need to find Biblical reasons in how to deal with the above issues. What ever stand we make on these must be molded by the Bible. But since there are churches who have made an accepting view of these issues who are not concerned over what the Bible teaches, we have members wo look at our discussion on these issues and jump to a conclusion of "Since there are non-Bible believing churches who have embraced women's ordination and people with gender issues, if Seventh-day Adventists end up ordaining women that means that we have to no longer be a Bible believing church and we would have to join the non-Bible believing churches. " and they oppose these issues in the name of wanting to keep us as a Bible believing church. They do not understand that there are more than two choices here.

Are they the only issues? Certainly not. Independent ministries (those not financially dependent upon the financial support of the denomination) like TOP seem to be an issue. At a grass roots level, the veracity of some of EGW's proclamations is an issue. The traditional SDA view of eschatology is an issue. If one reads this forum, the divinity of the Holy Spirit is an issue. There are lots of issues, depending on your point of view.

Ahh - so you're saying that those who do not interpret the passages the way that you do, are somehow near sighted, or lacking intelligence? God the Father SENT His Son. God the Father has GIVEN all authority to His Son. God the Father gives the spirit "without measure" to His Son. Jesus then SENDS the spirit. Jesus baptizes with the spirit. Jesus SPEAKS to His followers by means of the spirit. This does not make it seem ( to me) that the spirit is another divine being EQUAL to the Father and the Son. LHC, it seems you are basing your interpretation of the passages you quoted, upon the pronoun "He" and "Him". How do you know that the "He" is not God the Father - who IS "spirit" after all? The Son of God came representing His Father. When Jesus returned to heaven, the Father then poured His Spirit through Jesus "without measure" allowing Jesus to pour that spirit upon His own disciples. The disciples EXPERIENCED this "spirit" as His own presence. "I am with you always." "Where two or three are gathered in My name, I am there in the midst." Believers HEAR Christ speaking to them. The words written to the 7 churches ARE THE WORDS OF CHRIST, but the text says "hear what the spirit says to the churches". Jesus is the one who baptizes with the spirit. How could Jesus "baptize" His followers with another divine being? NKJ Mark 1:8 "I indeed baptized you with water, but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit." NKJ Luke 3:16 John answered, saying to all, "I indeed baptize you with water; but One mightier than I is coming, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.

Samie, Are you saying that the day Christ died WAS "the day of atonement" - that Passover and Yom Kippur are the SAME DAY ??

LHC, Are you accusing Joe of having committed the "unpardonable sin" , because he (and I) teach that "the Spirit" is NOT a third divine being???

“Don't try to solve serious matters in the middle of the night.” - Philip K. Dick

“When you face the perils of weariness, carelessness, and confusion, don't pray for an easier life. Pray instead to be a stronger man or woman of God. ” - Luis Palau

Yes, there are lots of issues. With a few exceptions, the SdA church has managed to be rather flexible on theology, soteriology, hymnology and most other "-ologies", mostly because these things are handled at the local congregation level or are matters of private belief over which no church body has any authority. We have the world-wide 28 fundamentals, but the decision to accept a member is local. If my Sabbath school classes veer off official SdA teaching, it's a matter for the local church to remove me as a teacher. Music, liturgy and forms of worship are "issues", but they are also handled locally. But when it comes to ecclesiology, by the nature of the questions, they are handled at higher levels - conference, union or GC. This is what makes it a church "issue". The church can vote Young Earth Creationism as part of the 28 at the GC, and I as a member am free to ignore the vote. The church teaches that the OT tithe carries over from the Levites to the SdA professional clergy; I am free to reject that teaching. The church can teach pope=antichrist and the US federal Sunday law and I can reject that teaching. If the church teaches a male-only clergy, I can reject the teaching, but I, as a private member, cannot go out and hire a woman pastor or appoint her conference president. Unlike issues of private belief, ordination is corporate action which makes it a public issue. And unlike music or liturgy, which is a local congregational matter, ordination is a union matter, which turns it into a matter of debate for unions and the GC.

Are they the only issues? No, they are not. But, there are those who are convinced that the above two issues are symptomatic of foundational issues that affect the fundamental mission given to the SDA denomination. They believe that we cannot get to the central business that God has given us in End Time until we come into some unity in what we do on these points. To put what is believed into a simplified statement there are those who believe: 1) On female clergy/ordination, or however you want to state it: God is in charge of how His message is proclaimed and who proclaims it. Satan always attempts set up an apostate counterfit for what God has established. God's Church in End Time must reject that counterfit as it relates to female clergy/ordination. 2) As to homosexuality: The Church of God in End Time has been established by God to be a refuge for those who have reached a specific level of commitment to God and the plan by which God intends for people to live their lives. To admit people into membership who reject such is to place the SDA denomination in a position where God will have to reject it. NOTE: Please do not misunderstand what I have said above. I believe that the above is a fair statement as to why many people believe that these issues are fundamental to the issues that we face today as a denomination.