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The Hopeful is a 90-minute film that tells of the origin of the SDA Church in the Millerite Movement. The following URL takes you to an article that informs you about this film. https://www.outlookmag.org/the-hopeful-a-riveting-tale-of-faith-and-perseverance/ NOTE: The Real Issues sections contains a link to a 47-minute video discussing this film.

Sabbath Seminar: On April 6, 2024, at 1:30 PM, Eastern Time, Adventist Today will moderate a discussion seminar, led by Matthew Korpman. All are invited to participate. For information on this seminar, including information on how to join, see the following article: https://atoday.org/atss-did-ellen-white-read-apocryphal-gospels/

April 12. 2024 I hope to be able later today to post additional material in response to issues that Gustave has raised. Until I am able to do that, I am locking this thread. I will remove any comments that are placed in this thread by the few people who can post in a locked thread. After I have placed additional material in this thread, I will allow for posts to be made in this thread. In further study of the responses made to me, I believe that I have permission to post them in this forum. So, I will do so, with some explanatory remarks. I am still uncertain as to whether or not I have permission to publish either his name, or position in the SDA denomination. At this time I will simply call him Dr. Paul, (not his real name) and state that he is an SDA Scholar.

The universe and God are so vast that human language can only attempt to explain it let alone define it, much like trying to define the boundaries of the universe or what lies beyond it. We get glimpse of it thought out the Bible, and yet people get so hostile if others do not accept their findings.

Police attempted to detain two suspects in a retail theft. They caught one person. The second person ran away. He was wearing a ankle monitor. Police knew at all times exactly where he was. With thanks to the Placer Herald, April 12, 2024 edition.,

AI Goes to War: The U. S. Marine Corps is developing a combat aircraft, the MQ58B, which once launched would be able to fly a 3,000-mile round trip, engage in combat operations while in flight, and return without any human operator control at any time. It would be totally under the control of AI after launch. If needed it could land, re-fuel, and return to combat operational flight. https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/an-ai-powered-attack-drone-could-crush-china-there-s-just-one-problem/ar-BB1lw1Kc?ocid=msedgdhp&pc=DCTS&cvid=28cd7413177f4e26936140ce7692c75f&ei=6

We can define God only in terms of what we experience in our human life. God is not limited by our human experience. As to the boundaries of the Universe, Science teaches that there is a finite boundary to what we can explain about the Universe and beyond that we can only speculate, in part by mathematical formulas.

This topic is now open. I am reserving my right to respond at a later time, in this space. Others may now post comments related to the above posts.

Sumerian Code finding supports the Biblical record. See: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/sumerian-sacred-code-reveals-building-instructions-echoed-in-the-bible/ar-AA1kciLz?ocid=msedgdhp&pc=DCTS&cvid=c48ec20e166d417ca8f0fa06f6a0b7eb&ei=14

[The following are the responses that Dr. Paul gave to two Issues that Gustave had raised. The first is a response to the comments that Gustave had made in regard to whether or not Christ, who was God, could sin in his incarnate state--Gregory Matthews] Question 1: The Bible certainly teaches that God "cannot be tempted by evil" (James 1:13). But concerning the incarnate Christ, it says that "he was tempted every way that we are, but he did not sin” (Heb 4:16). In the gospels there are multiple examples for the temptations that assailed Him. The most obvious ones are the temptations by Satan in the wilderness. Interestingly, it appears that the strongest temptations tempted Him to employ His divine power for His own sake, which would have been a selfish act. The incarnate Christ was both God and man. It appears to me that the New Testament teaches that as a man, Christ did not utilize His divine power for His own sake but only to help others. In that sense, His actions were unselfish and other-centered, not selfish. He did not make it easier for Himself. Thus, His divinity was actually a liability because the temptations were stronger. To avoid being misunderstood, the New Testament is also clear that Jesus withstood those temptations through His close connection with the Father and by receiving divine power from Him. Thus, He never sinned. [The second is a response from Dr. Paul to the comments that Gustave had made in regard to God having a digestive system--Gregory Matthews.] Question 2: It is certainly true that the early Seventh-day Adventists had a more materialistic view of God (body and form, though invisible to human sight) than is reflected in classical Theism. That they claimed that God had a digestive system appears to me more an attribution than an actual belief held by them. That is, some modern-day scholars have concluded that from their materialistic descriptions of God based on passages that refer to Him as the Ancient of Days, His arm, sitting on a throne, His feet, etc. I doubt that they would have ventured out to claim that God had a digestive system since that would have been quite speculative and they generally shied away from speculation.

While the identification of Michael as Jesus Christ finds support in certain passages, many scholars and theologians maintain that Michael is solely an angelic being, distinct from Jesus Christ. This is often done to protect the divine nature of Christ and the Christian understanding of the Trinity. Identifying Jesus with the angelic figure Michael, to […] The post Counterarguments Against Michael Being Christ appeared first on Jon Paulien's Blog. View the full article

Adventist Today Magazine is available on the Internet, and may be accessed at: https://atoday.org/magazine-archives/

So, let us look at this case on a bit deeper level: * The company is a private business that reports to its owners, whom I believe are probably stockholders. * As such, the company has the right to take a position on any public issue of it's choice, as long as the owners (stockholders) do not object to that position. * It is the owners (Stockholders) who are in the position of authority to object to any such position taken by the company and to remove from leadership position any person who takes a position that the owners disagree with. * No person has the right to remain employed by the company who is in opposition to the direction that the company is taking. * If I object to the consumption of alcoholic I do not have the right to be employed by a company that produces such. I would not want to be employed by such. * I wonder why this employee wants to be employed by a company that supports something to which the employee strongly objects. NOTE: I am not suggesting that the employee has no legal rights in this case. What I am saying is that I believe that the company also has some rights.

Spectrum Magazine: As an experiment, the current issue of Spectrum has been placed on the web, for viewing by the public at large. It may be accessed from the following link. I have been given permission to share this. https://media.spectrummagazine.org/app/uploads/2024/04/spectrum-52-1.pdf Some back issues of Spectrum may be accessed from the following link. Additional back issues will be added over a period of time. https://centerforadventistresearch.org/spectrum/ It should be noted that the above link will provide you with access to additional material about Adventism, well beyond this magazine, if you take the time to learn to use that website.

Advice From a Baptist: In the following article, a Baptist Pastor comments on SDA belief and practice. https://atoday.org/advice-for-my-adventist-friends/

Maud Sisley Boyd is a little-known, female Adventist pioneer. To learn of her life and history, see: https://adventistreview.org/magazine-article/the-legacy-of-maud-sisley-boyd/

Spectrum: I have just received the current issue of Spectrum in the mail. It contains several articles of interest to Adventists today. Included in those is an article by Ronald Graybill on the visions that EGW had and an article by Warren Trenchard on a comparison of the writings of Richard Rice with those of John Peckham on the subject of the Trinity and on the Sabbath.

Please note: If you wish to comment on the Trinity, do it in that forum.

At an earlier time, we had the rule that all discussions of the Trinity should be posted in the Trinity Topics forum. In more recent times, we relaxed that rule and I am one who posted here on the Trinity. I have decided to reinstate that rule. So, I have moved any Trinity topics posted here to the Trinity section. I will move in the future any posted here to that forum.

The United States Commission on Religious Freedom is an agency of the U.S. government that maintains a website dedicated to reporting on issues of religious freedom. The following URL takes you to that website. If interested, it contains a plethora of information on this subject. You will just need to search a bit for what you are looking for. https://www.uscirf.gov/

The Hopeful is a 90-minute film, about the beginning of the SDA Church, that will be released shortly. The following is a 47-minute discussion about the film.

The following is an interesting judgment in a religious liberty case. https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/other/nyc-to-pay-17-5m-after-police-forced-women-to-remove-hijab-for-mug-shots/ar-BB1laYIp

10 Hopes For the Church Of Tomorrow is an article well worth reading. See: https://spectrummagazine.org/views/10-hopes-for-the-church-of-tomorrow/

SDA Files Lawsuit: To put it mildly, the involvement of a SDA prisoner in the following religious liberety litigation is strange. https://www.10tv.com/article/news/world/solar-eclipse/new-york-inmates-suing-to-watch-the-solar-eclipse/507-2179058b-a750-4bd1-9823-6a8b77ceee50

Santeria (which I think is basically voodoo ) became a thing in the early 1800's and I think they are big into stuff like this. Never heard of it being a item of religious devotion for Baptists or SDA's before. Probably just Con's trying to see the event and using religion as a means to get their way.

NOTE: I am in contact with a SDA scholar who is willing to assist us.

For those who want to dig deep into the SDA thinking on the Trinity, the Andrews University Seminary maintains a collection of more than 1,000 SDA publications on the Trinity. Those are available to the publlic at large by clicking on the follwing URL. https://digitalcommons.andrews.edu/do/search/?q=Trinity&start=0&context=6860132&facet=

Refletions is a publication of the SDA Biblical Research Institute. It typically publishes articles of current doctrinal interest. You may access the current issue by clicking on the URL below. https://www.adventistbiblicalresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/Reflections-85-January-March-2024.pdf You may sign-up to receive a digital copy at the following address: https://www.adventistbiblicalresearch.org/

Identifying Michael as Jesus Christ is widely supported by reference to 1 Thessalonians 4:16. Paul there associates the Second Coming of Jesus with the voice of the archangel. The word archangel (Greek: archangelos, archangelou) appears only two times in the New Testament. In Jude 9 the archangel is named Michael, in 1 Thessalonians, the archangel […] The post Identifying Michael as Jesus Christ appeared first on Jon Paulien's Blog. View the full article