Beware This Cult!
An insider exposes Seventh-day Adventism
and their false Prophet, Ellen G. White
by Gregory G. P. Hunt, M.D., B.Sc., F.R.C.P. (C)
Copyright 1981
This book is neither a literary work of art nor a deep theological treatise. It is intended for the "average reader" to provide some protection against cults in general and the Seventh Day Adventist cult in particular. Some teachings of other denominations are discussed only to show how these doctrines tend to make one good recruiting material for cults.
Some may notice considerable anger on my part towards the Adventist church. I do not deny these feelings and I have not tried to cover them up to attempt to be somebody that I am not. I believe that it is a healthy feeling to be hostile towards any cult that is responsible for propagating untruths, misrepresenting Christ, and causing misery for so many people. Anger in fact is a normal, healthy emotion which God has given us for a purpose. We can all identify with Jesus' anger when He overturned the moneychangers' tables and cleansed the temple (Mt. 21:2). We also can recognize His feelings when he cured the man with the withered hand, "And He looked around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart..." (Mk. 3:5).
Some feel that I have been a little too harsh on some individuals in my book. One must realize that there is a very large amount of extremely personal material which I could not put in the book. I felt that I could not leave all personal material out as it is necessary to make my points. I have tried to make a compromise; I do realize that some people will be offended. However, this tactic has been used on purpose in an attempt to get certain people to read this book. These people desperately need to be reached but they don't know it.
My chapter arrangements tend to produce a rather disorganized pattern. The first few chapters consist of some generalities which may not be particularly interesting to some people but I feel are quite necessary. The sensational material begins in Chapter 6, "The Meat of the Adventist Health Message". For some readers it would be a good idea to read this chapter first and then go back to the beginning of the book to make the first five chapters more meaningful.
For many readers, this book will be educational, entertaining, and possibly even funny. Too many people these days, particularly the young and disillusioned, are being herded into different cults where they and their loved ones particularly, suffer immeasurably. It is my prayer that this book will serve to prevent a great deal of this misery. The fascinating material presented here is mainly for that purpose. If it happens to be entertaining, so much the better.
Why Bother About Seventh-day Adventism? ñ
Why would I want to write a book like this? It simply boils down to the pain-pleasure principle. I would suffer more pain by not writing it. This is the basic motivation for anything we do if we really analyze it. Before I made the decision to write this book I couldn't sleep. That was very painful.
What do I hope to gain from writing such a book? I hope the strongest motive for this writing is that it will prompt people to read the Bible. Being armed with its truth and the guidance of the Holy Spirit they might ward off any deceptions which come their way.
One of my major hopes is to discredit Ellen G. White as a prophet and to encourage some thinking amongst the members of the Seventh Day Adventist Church. If it be God's will, perhaps it will even lead to a revival or transformation.
Certainly I hope to prevent some pain and give some pleasure and peace to people who might get involved with Seventh Day Adventists. I would not like anyone to go through the pain which my family and I have suffered in our experiences with them. When I see someone being drawn towards their ranks because of some truth they have gleaned from Adventist teaching, it is a source of great sorrow for me. These people who are searching for something greater in life and are reaching out to God, are at great risk for taking on much more than God intended.
No church currently has a monopoly on truth. I will later be pointing out errors in many different churches as they interpret scripture. God has not promised the truth totally to anyone prior to His second coming.
Seventh Day Adventists would have you believe that they are the "true church" in these latter days because they have a 'prophet' in their ranks. They believe they have been set up to deliver a special message from God. This certainly is not a new claim. Catholics have always claimed to be the real church. Their claim to authority is the unscriptural teaching of an unbroken line of popes from the time of Peter who supposedly was the first pope. Pentecostals will indicate they are God's chosen church since they have the gift of tongues to prove the Holy Spirit is in their midst. Jehovah's Witnesses stress God's name and also claim to the the 'true church'. Many other denominations believe they are the chosen few and Adventists certainly are not unique in this false claim.
The Adventist church I feel does teach some truths better than other churches and I continue to hold some of their beliefs. Some of these beliefs may be held by other denominations and at the moment I am not aware of any truth that is unique to the Seventh Day Adventist Church. People from different denominations will be vulnerable on differing points of truth or error. The truth which would not have any effect on a Jehovah's Witness might have very strong appeal to a Catholic asking questions. This would set this individual up for further clarification of questionable points and growing amounts of trust in the teachings. At some point the victim is at risk for believing almost anything that is taught.
I had been a member of the Seventh Day Adventist Church for over three years before the error became painful enough for me to resign. A lot of questioning, praying, Bible study, and plain hurting lead to my final decision. My family and I were recruited into the ranks of the Seventh Day Adventist Church at a vulnerable period in my personal development. They did a god job at satisfying my particular needs at that time. Fortunately I was able to spend enough time with my Bible that the errors became very appalling. This lead to my being freed from the Seventh Day Adventist cult. In the Word of God are many precious promises, one of my favorites being a promise from Jesus: "You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." (Jn 8:23)
In the past as I stumbled along through my Christian experiences with Adventists I would recognize small points of truth seemingly at the appropriate times. As I grew, I expected that others around me should also. Whenever I would try to share my findings with an Adventist I usually ran into a brick wall. Whenever I would ask any disturbing questions. I would either be ignored, attacked, insulted or just simply told to leave my questions on the shelf and they would be answered in due time. When one is growing he tends to be impatient and does not like others to put on a damper. This leads to turmoil and distress and a deep sense of frustration.
When I first joined the Seventh Day Adventist Church I was surrounded by well wishing people who seemed to be very friendly and outgoing. They gave the impression that they were very interested in my welfare. Trusted friends would tell me things which I would believe without hesitation. After all they were my friends or close relatives; why should I be suspicious? Those people were intelligent and had made some changes in their lives. They seemed to be offering happiness to me. Little did I understand the basic motives and I am sure most of them didn't understand them either.
In the beginning many true well-wishers attempted to warn me about Adventism. However nobody ever produced any information or evidence in a concrete fashion. Therefore the warnings served only to propel me along the path I had already chosen, hoping to find happiness. I was of course very angry with these people who warned me about what I might be getting into. How I often wished they had had a bigger influence on me. The pain and sorrow that might have been prevented cannot be measured. On the other hand had I taken another route at that time I certainly would not be nearly as wise as I am today. "We know that in everything God works for good with those who love Him". (Rom. 8:28)
You have this book in your hand. You will not be able to look back and say people warned you but they did not give you any evidence. In this book is fantastic evidence which I hope will prevent you a lot of pain and misery. The evidence which I shall present is overwhelming in proving, yes proving, that Ellen G. White is a false prophet. Several books have been attempted in the past to prove this. They have succeeded to a certain degree and some of that material will be presented in this book. However the quality and quantity of the specific items will certainly be sufficient for anyone to give thumbs down to Ellen White and Seventh-day Adventism.
Adventists are extremely smug and conceited about their self professed mission as the only true church. Many of them have a fantastic sense of comfort and false security in their delusions. As a physician I recognize a duty to 'comfort the afflicted'. As a Christian I also have a duty to 'afflict the comfortable'. Adventists are just too comfortable in their self-deceit. I intend to disturb their false security and comfort with this book and by any other means that presents itself. This is the major purpose of this book.
There is a Bible commandment which speaks to me quite plainly. I have considerable information which I must pass on. "Let no one deceive you with empty words... Therefore do not associate with them for once you were in darkness but now you are light in the Lord... Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them." (Eph. 5:6-11)
Goals of a Seventh Day Adventist ñ
Perhaps you aren't acquainted with any Adventists. Perhaps you have had casual contacts with friends or acquaintances. Maybe you have been approached directly for some donations or have been invited to attend one of their crusades. Perhaps you have a close relative or even a spouse involved in the group and you are bewildered. It makes life more and more intolerable for you. Whatever your case you can be expected to be in contact with a Seventh Day Adventist in the near future. They are a rapidly growing denomination and their influence is becoming stronger daily. You may class them with organizations such as the Salvation Army, the Red Cross, Y.M.C.A. or other such benevolent groups. You may be convinced that they are doing a lot of good. This may in part be true but the amount of harm being done is inestimable.
A Seventh Day Adventist's purported goal is to warn the world of Jesus' second coming and convert everyone to Christianity. This goal is held by many Christians and certainly is a noble cause of which I would like to be a part. However, higher on the priority list is the desire to get you into the Seventh Day Adventist Church. After all, the more members coming into the church, the more an Adventist becomes convinced that he is teaching the truth and serving the purpose for which God has called him. It becomes much easier to live with delusions the more other people there are to share them with. There is great emotional gratification in converting someone to your way of thinking and feeling that you have saved their soul. It gives a feeling of being intoxicated with power.
Of course converting the whole world is going to take a lot of money and resources. If you have joined the Adventist church you will be contributing to the coffers and obviously the more money available the more power can be wielded.
Most converts to Adventism will have suffered a considerable amount of persecution and shunning from other people. Although this is purported to be painful, it is never the less quite welcome. It reinforces the delusion that he is in fact following the correct path. After all, aren't Christians supposed to be persecuted? As one sees more people joining their ranks this sense of persecution becomes more tolerable and there is a sense of bliss at having suffered such atrocities in the name of God. All this tends to reinforce and bolster the basic delusions which at this point have complete control over the individual. This produces a drastic change in behavior and lifestyle. Emotions of course run rampant as one ardent follower embraces another relative or dear friends who has decided to join him in his deluded state.
Some Adventists are serious about their theology and nothing short of a miracle will change their delusions. Many others however are just in the church for social reasons or to keep someone else happy. These lesser crusaders of course would be quite happy for you to join their church family. It relieves their sense of guilt somewhat in going against their own conscience and going along with things they know to be a mockery and an affront to God. If you are an esteemed member of the community you are even more welcome. You have more money to add to the coffers and your personal influence will add to the prestige of their church.
A few, and I would stress mighty few, Adventists are deeply concerned about your well being and your destiny. They are truly hopeful that you will obtain eternal life and the peace and happiness that can be obtained only through Jesus Christ. I commend this rare species of person within the Seventh Day Adventist Church as they are honest people. I do expect that my evidence will have a profound effect on their future.
Something has prompted you to take a peek into this book. Maybe you are an Adventist and want to see what is being said about you so that you can build up a defense for the future. Perhaps you are heartbroken that someone else is trapped and you want to offer him some help. Perhaps you have recently become interested in the Seventh Day Adventist Church as you search for something better in life. You want some happiness, some way out of your turmoil and fretful station in life.
Seventh-day Adventism will offer you a lot of comfort... at least in the beginning. It is possible you will find happiness there. But I do not know any truly happy or peaceful Adventist. I suspect your chances for happiness are small if you plan on staying with them.
Only the gospel of Christ in its purest form available to you can offer you hope, health and happiness. Only in God is there a reason to carry on despite the drudgery and pain of this world. Only through Christ is there any hope for the future - - the Blessed Hope.
The truth of course is available to you in the Bible. It is not a hard book but is certainly not an easy book either. With all the deceptions and falsehoods around you can use all the help you can get. The best Christian book I have read to date is by Billy Graham; "How to Be Born Again". I would highly recommend this to you and feel it is a must for any Christian. The understanding of the gospel presented in this book and its encouragement are well worth the time.
I can inform you that your search for happiness will be a difficult one. However take heart, we have God's promise that He will be with us till the end of the world. Having started your relationship with Jesus Christ, recall Paul's words frequently. "And I am sure that He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ". (Phil. 1:6)
God is not out to get you or punish you. His wish is that none of us be lost. Unfortunately, even God can't have all He desires. Each of us must want it too. It is the risk He runs in allowing us to have a free will.
The Threat of Seventh-day Adventism ñ
As already stated the Adventist's main goal is to get you into his church. Great preparations and plans are laid to accomplish this and are carried out with remarkable success. They tend to take a little too literally the statement from Jesus to two fishermen, Peter and Andrew, whom He had chosen to follow Him. To these two brothers He said "Follow Me and I will make you fishers of men" (Matt 4:19). Adventists take this as a license to do almost anything to hook people and trap them into their ranks.
Somehow you will come into contact with Seventh-day Adventism if you haven't already. You may attend a service out of curiosity or necessity. You may be invited to take part in some Bible studies which I must admit are very impressive. You may be solicited by mail to attend a crusade or you may be asked to donate to their cause. You may have attended one of their Five Day Plans to Quit Smoking which by the way is quite successful or you may have been involved with Meals on Wheels. Classes are offered in vegetarian cooking and in this age of stress, they now offer a course on how to better handle stress. These may well be noble works, but the basic motive is to make a contact with you, get your name, address, and whatever other information that might be available so they can follow you up later and get you interested in one of their crusades. You may have watched one of their television programs such as It Is Written by George Vandeman of Search For the Truth with Laverne Tucker. These productions may have had considerable effect on you and you may be drawn to attend a Seventh Day Adventist function to see what is going on.
Evangelistic crusades are presented with professionalism and power. They generally last for a period of four weeks almost nightly. The Bible is used so forcefully and the material is so well presented that their powers of conviction are overwhelming. Climbing into the baptismal tank means many more commitments and promises than just coming to Christ. Baptismal vows are much more demanding than Bible prerequisites for baptism.
What does the Bible have to say about the necessary conditions for baptism? In Acts 16 we find the story of the jailer who witnessed some of God's miracles and found all of the jail doors wide open. He was so worried about this for his own sake that he was about to commit suicide. Paul prevented him by indicating that no prisoners had left. The jailer responded by asking the question, "What must I do to be saved?" and they said "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household. And they spoke the word of the Lord to him and all that were in his house. And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their wounds and he was baptized at once, with all his family". (Acts 16:30-33)
Apparently this jailer was a Roman and knew very little about the Christian background. Within one hour of making his decision for Christ he was baptized. There was no big long list of things for this jailer to agree to before he was allowed to be baptized.
Looking at the list of prerequisites for baptism in the Seventh Day Adventist Church we note the following. Number 8 indicates that the baptismal candidate believes that "the Spirit of Prophecy is one of the identifying marks of the remnant church". The term used here as Spirit of Prophecy actually means the personage of Ellen G. White, the prophet of the Seventh Day Adventist Church. Here you are asked to give your destiny into the hands of a prophet about whom you to this time have heard very little. What you may have heard at this point seems very impressive. Not until you climb out of the tank are you to be indoctrinated with her teachings. In the case of the jailer, we didn't find Paul asking him to swear that he believed Moses to be a true prophet before he was allowed to be baptized. This baptismal condition is absurd in that it makes one render a judgement and make a promise which can't possibly be responsible.
Number 7 reads in part "I am to honor God by caring for my body in abstaining from such things as alcoholic beverages,... and from unclean foods." I will have much more to say later about these particular subjects but it seems that Seventh Day Adventists are asking a baptismal candidate to follow some rules that cannot be substantiated in the Bible or follow some rules of the old Jewish covenant. No matter what they are asking in this statement, they are going far beyond the simple prerequisite of "Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved".
Number 6 specifically insists on your keeping the Sabbath day holy, that is the seventh day of the week. Again much will be said about this later. Does it seem fair, that should you refuse to follow this belief, that you be prevented from publicly expressing your belief and acceptance of Jesus Christ by baptism?
Many of the other baptismal vows are superfluous and there are many specifications present in this document which in fact makes it very difficult for people to come to Jesus Christ. Biblically it is intended to be a very simple step of faith. At first glance it seems that Seventh Day Adventists are asking you to promise to never, ever, sin again in the future before you are accepted into the house of God. This is certainly asking people for promises that just cannot be kept. It sets one up for a lot of misery and suffering in the near future.
The Adventists seem to have this all backwards. My impression from the Bible is that, first one accepts Jesus and comes under His care. Them he begins to experience victories and be cleansed of his sins and bad habits. Adventists would like you to be totally clean and then approach Jesus to join his family. This untruth is one of the greatest errors that keeps people from coming to Christ. The feeling that I am not clean enough or not worthy to talk to God is prominent among many people. It is the devil's way of keeping them from approaching God. It seems the Seventh Day Adventist Church uses much the same tactic as the devil.
Generally Seventh Day Adventists insist that they are the right church for these last days. They expect that that in itself will impress you. They hope to project a lifestyle or an image of peaceful existence to you so that you will want to have what they have. This is particularly evident in their health message in that they feel they have great revelations to offer the world in this department. Of course most of the health revelations are based on the writings of Ellen White, their prophet. You will shortly see that the advice of Ellen White is undependable and in fact quite ridiculous.
Adventists have an advertisement stating the Mormons have a life span seven years longer than that of the general population. They go on to indicate that Seventh Day Adventists have a slightly longer life expectancy than Mormons; so they are one up on the Mormons. These facts have been well proven in controlled studies in California and no one can deny these findings. However the reasons for living longer are quite self evident. Neither group will touch alcohol. That cuts one of the top killers in our society, cirrhosis of the liver. It also protects them from at least self inflicted car accidents involving drinking and driving. As nonsmokers they are protected against cancer of the lung, another significant cause of death. However they would like you to get the idea that meat eating has a lot to do with their longevity.
About 50% of Adventists are, more or less, vegetarians. This is strictly on the counsel of Ellen White. Often people are coaxed into the church through vegetarian classes as they have many reasons for vegetarianism. However Adventists make it a matter of doctrine and according to Ellen White's writings you cannot be saved unless you give up your meat eating. There is much more to come on this later.
Many Adventists like to play the game, 'Mine is better than yours'. This game, first learned in childhood, is exemplified by the conversation between two small children; 'My daddy can lick your daddy'. This game is carried on through life by most people. It is responsible for the attitude of 'keeping up with the Jones's'. If you know any Seventh Day Adventists you will quickly recognize what I am talking about. These people can radiate an air of self righteousness that would wilt any monk. They are the best church, have the best schools, have the best hospitals, etc. Just ask a Seventh Day Adventist, he will tell you!
What kind of people are at high risk for falling into the trap of the Seventh Day Adventists? Obviously anyone who is searching for further Biblical truth will no doubt run into Adventists and will be very impressed by explanations of some of their theology. One impressive truth leads to another and soon your confidence has been won. You are then set up to believe almost anything they will tell you.
If you are a young person having trouble with your parents, involvement with a cult such as Seventh-day Adventism is one way of getting back at your parents, showing your rebellion and expressing your independence. Anyone going through a painful or stressful period in life will search around for something better. In this state one is at extremely high risk for taking the bait. You may be interested in one of their vegetarian cooking classes, you may be a smoker and want to kick the habit at one of the Five Day Plans. These shows of interest will give Adventists considerable license over you. You may be under great pressure from one parent, spouse or other relatives of friends to join the church. You may just go along to keep the peace without realizing what might lie ahead.
An Adventist crusade is something very powerful indeed. In tables 2 and 3, note the types of topics which are liable to be covered. (Click here to see what topics were covered in 1999. Same information - different titles!) This will give you a complete indoctrination of the church's beliefs. Anyone who spends the four weeks going to this crusade will become quite convinced that all they are saying is true. Questions which may arise will be easily put to rest by indicating to you that you are questioning the Holy Spirit. Once you have learned what the Bible really has to say about such subjects as baptism, the state of the dead, the truth about hell and Jesus' second coming you are very impressed. You will be quite vulnerable for the other topics which will be even more compelling.
Table 2
Table 3
If you are at all searching, you must admit that many of these topics are very conscripting. You may not be able to deny your curiosity. You need to overcome only a few inhibitions and you will then find yourself in the auditorium with the other crusaders. You may now be well on your way to becoming a Seventh Day Adventist.
The crusade which brought me to the Adventist church was very powerful indeed. We knew very little about Ellen White when we were baptized. In fact, my wife was informed about Ellen White the day before her baptism and told that she would have to profess Ellen White a true prophet. Knowing nothing about the woman, there was really no decision to make at that point except to go ahead with baptism. It is much like signing any contract without reading the fine print. There is always something there that the seller has for his benefit and your loss.
Ellen White certainly is a personality not to be taken lightly. Her influence on the people of the Adventist church down through the years and her indirect influence on non Adventists cannot be totally appreciated. Consider the startling fact that she is the most prolific female author of all time. She has more books in circulation than any other female writer. One of her books currently is handed to each new recruit in the armed forces of the United States. This book, called "Steps to Christ", is boasted to be the third most widely distributed book in the world. It is topped only by number one, the Bible, and number two, the propaganda book of the Jehovah's Witnesses, called "The Truth that Leads to Eternal Life", often referred to as the 'blue bombshell'.
Notice that I did not claim that she is the biggest seller of all times. This would be misleading as many of her books are given away as gifts in an attempt to influence people and draw them into the Seventh Day Adventist Church.
As a consequence of the teaching of Ellen White the Seventh Day Adventist Church boasts the world's largest Protestant education system totaling 442,000 students in 1976. Adventist missionaries have penetrated 193 countries. Adventist material is printed by 46 publishing companies and is issued in 266 different tongues. Adventists have two large universities and 460 colleges which encircle the globe. There are 4100 elementary schools and you can bet that a great deal of their studies involve the teachings of Ellen White.
The Adventists church operates at least 138 fully equipped hospitals, many clinics and dispensaries around the world. Loma Linda University in Southern California has respected medical and dental schools.
Ellen White was born in 1827 and died in 1915. She experienced over 2000 'religious visions' during her lifetime. She claimed; "As the Spirit of God has opened to my mind the great truths of His Word and the scenes of the past and future, I have been bidden to make known to others that which has been revealed". (Ellen G. White, Letter III, 1847)
Ellen White had 37 books published before her death and another 32 books were published later. There are more to come, her estate is making a fortune. Her books total 24,375 pages. She also wrote 4,500 articles appearing in various denominational journals consisting of about 20,000 pages in addition. There were also many thousands of pages of manuscript which were not published because of personal character. Her multiple visions and prophetic dreams have resulted in a vast array of pages and publications which have kept many publishing houses in business for decades.
These voluminous writings are really quite remarkable when one realizes that Ellen White never got past the third grade. She had to quit school because of poor health. This resulted from a head injury suffered when she was struck in the face by a rock hurled by an angry school mate. She apparently was knocked unconscious by this blow, recovered long enough to be helped home by her twin sister, and reportedly wavered between life and death for a period of three weeks. The after effects of this serious head injury and a terribly disfigured face resulted in a broken, nervous little girl, who could no longer carry on at school. She remained sickly for sometime but found meaning in life within a few years when her religious visions began to fit in with high flying emotionalism of her day. Suddenly there was now a reason for living and not only that, but a chance for fame and power. It is little wonder she experienced over 2000 'visions'.
It is notable that three important cults arose during the 1800's under the guidance of female prophets. Modern Spiritualism was sparked by two sisters Maggie and Kate Fox. Christian Science arose from the babblings of Mary Baker Eddy. Seventh-day Adventism flourished under the charismatic visions of Ellen White. The influence of these cults on our current day philosophy and lifestyle should not be underestimated.
Consider the professions open to women in mid 1800's. Mrs. White could not teach school as she didn't make it through grade three. She was not the type to become involved in prostitution, and the only other popular profession for a woman of her day was that of a prophet. This was to be the answer to all her problems.
Seventh-day Adventism is one more divisive element threatening Christianity. By faith we know that Christianity will survive, but the devil will wreak havoc and many should will be drawn into his camp. Seventh-day Adventism like the others, misrepresents the word of God, the person of Jesus Christ, and throws up stumbling blocks for those who are honestly seeking the truth.
There is no joy or peace in Adventism or any of these other cults. There is however the emotional 'high' which accompanies the deluded state and the all consuming self-righteousness.
Do Adventists pose much of a threat? I believe their threat is generally underestimated by the rest of Christianity. How many of you know former church members who have been proselytized by the Adventists? If you know some, you will recognize how different and distant they have become and how they seem to be completely different people. I am not suggesting that they seem to be better people; it is that they exude an attitude indicating that they are better than you are. All Christian churches are at risk for losing members to the Seventh Day Adventist cult.
Perhaps the threat of Adventism has been closer to home for you. Maybe someone from your family has been whisked off into their ranks and you have felt the heartache that produces. Seventh Day Adventist theology is probably closer to that of traditional Christian churches than any other cult.
In essence Adventist theology is even more protesting than that of Protestants. In fact they believe they are furthering the Protestant Reformation.
Their doctrines are extremely deceptive and their members are very serious about making converts. This is really their goal in life and the thing that keeps them going. Adventists call this witnessing and their hope is to 'win souls'. However, most of their energies are directed towards people who are already in another Christian Church. Unfortunately people who are going through sever troubles usually end up being their victims. This is extremely frustrating as these poor folks really don't need anymore troubles. Certainly there will be many other troubles if they join the Adventist cult.
Let me give you an example. The Adventist Church in my community was recently involved with sponsoring four 'boatpeople'. They were young Vietnamese Catholics. As I have mentioned elsewhere Adventist love to have Catholics as their target. Unlike other church sponsoring groups, the Adventists made sure that these Vietnamese refugees stayed with an Adventist family. This kept them out of contact with other Christians and the poor refugees felt they had to attend Saturday church with their Adventist hosts so as not to hurt their feelings. After a year of hearing the same old Adventist theology over and over, it is impossible not to become brainwashed. Somewhat to my horror, a couple of these young Vietnamese refugees recently climbed into the baptismal tank of the Seventh Day Adventist Church.
It came out in a meeting one time that some of these young Vietnamese needed transportation. One member spoke up and indicated that they were Catholics and some Catholic neighbors could just pitch in and do their part. This was unthinkable to the lady housing these young chaps. Catholic neighbors had previously dropped around to give them a ride to Mass a few times and this obviously had been quite a blow to her pride. She insisted that no one was going to ask the Catholic neighbors for help in providing transportation as this might damage the overwhelming influence to join the Seventh Day Adventist Church. This is how these people operate.
Let us theorize for a moment what might happen if North America became predominantly Seventh Day Adventist. If they had an important law to put through the legislature, what do you think it would be? In a very short time you would see a Saturday law passed which is exactly the opposite of what Adventists claim to be the Mark of the Beast. I have little doubt that Adventists would insist that all other people within their territory observe the seventh day sabbath and worship God according to their directions. Intolerance towards those who did not follow with great zeal in fact would be unbelievable. A return to such tactics as burning at the stake and hanging of witches would be quite possible.
I am not exaggerating; I have been symbolically burned at the stake several times by members of the Adventist Church. In fact I was physically attacked in the church parking lot by a macho fellow who had not even yet become a member of the church. he could not tolerate my criticism of Ellen White and the resultant commotion this was causing in the church.
When I began asking questions about Ellen White I was barraged with accusations that I was committing the sin against the Holy Spirit in questioning the validity of Ellen White as a prophet. This manipulation by guilt was attempted for quite some time but when my evidence became stronger it became obvious that something more appropriate had to be done. An envoy was sent from the executive board of Ellen White Estates. Let me assure you that this is a strong, rich establishment. This man's function was to assure everyone in the church that Ellen White was in fact a true prophet and that I was just causing trouble. It seemed that a debate was going to be allowed in the church.
However this man very effectively used up all the time by telling stories about Mrs. White having visions of stolen hairnets and other nonsensical anecdotes. I was allowed a couple of minutes to speak publicly but really wasn't given any hearing. What I had to say was felt to be too threatening. The debate was cut very short, as this goodwill ambassador had something more important to do. He herded everyone downstairs to show them some slides he took of a visit to the Middle East. The whole exercise turned out to be a big farce but was quite instrumental in assuring me that my accusations were in fact true, and that I was not going crazy.
Following this episode I produced a short booklet pointing out to members some of the errors of Ellen White. This was read and accepted by a few, immediately thrown in the wastebasket by others, and simply ignored totally by the remainder. I received very few attempts from the members to try to explain away these difficulties. I received some rather bitter letters telling me that I was heading straight for hell since I was attacking Ellen White. By the grace of God I received a couple of letters which lead me to discover a lot of the material you find in this present book. We all know that prayers are often answered in very strange ways.
As my evidence mounted, my presence in the church was becoming intolerable to many of the stalwarts. A meeting of the Board was called, in secret I may add, and the subject of my excommunication was discussed. Despite the deep-seated hatred most members had for me, they could not bring themselves to vote my excommunication. They realized this would be very damaging for them, my being a doctor in the community, and carrying considerable weight, they feared I would cause considerable damage. Needless to say I was excommunicated in the hearts of many of these people but they didn't have the courage to make it official on paper.
Since the church elders had not followed the instructions from the big bosses, another envoy was sent to feel out the situation. He spent some time preaching about love, did an excellent job at that, and had a couple of visits with me just to find out how serious I really was. He was to report back to his bosses his opinion as to whether I should be excommunicated. Whatever the decision was the excommunication never really came. I suspect the local executives did not have the courage to follow the orders anyway.
All of these occurrences which obviously were much more involved than I have related were a tremendous emotional drain for me and my family. Not a few of the church members were convinced by me that Ellen White was a false prophet. Several met a life crisis and had to make some serious decisions. Despite repeated efforts to get at the hard core of the church I realized these people were becoming more deluded by my attempts. As my convictions grew stronger I realized that I could no longer have my presence and what little influence I might carry appear to be supporting their cause. I had fought the difficulties within the church long enough and I reached a point where I felt I could be much more successful outside. I could not take the risk that my influence of remaining in the church might draw someone else into their ranks.
My wife had the overwhelming urge to get out of the cult quite some time before I did and she filed her resignation with the elder of the church. Sometime later I indicated my resignation. Some fancy footwork was done by the pastors to try to reconcile our differences. After all it would not look good for a doctor to resign from their community church. Nor would it look good for three names (my daughter also resigned) to be stricken from the church books. These names in the church books could not be classified as having been transferred to another Adventist Church of having died. They would have to be marked 'apostatized'! Also this would lower the growth rate of the church which is an unbearable statistic for Seventh Day Adventists. In fact, formal ministers are kept few in number so that baptisms per year per minister will be relatively high.
How do Adventists remain so strong? They have several methods devised to protect their church. They usually get rid of Ellen White critics very rapidly. In my few years in the church I saw several come and leave, stirring up a minimum of trouble. Many just could not be bothered and moved on to churches with more reasonable beliefs. Others could not tolerate the rejection and guilt trips laid on them and sorrowfully disappeared. Some left not being quite sure and remain haunted by the thought that they may have done the wrong thing. There are many people with these heavy doubts. It is my hope that they will receive considerable release from this book.
Does Your Religious Affiliation Make You Vulnerable? ñ
Most people would be quite willing to admit there is no church currently on earth that has all the truth. Nowhere does the Bible indicate that we will have all the truth anytime prior to the second coming of Jesus Christ. Seventh Day Adventists strongly preach the second advent of our Savior which should be stressed more by other churches. It is hardly mentioned by some denominations. This is a very emotional subject and one can become very wrapped up in it.
Adventists really take the second advent a little too far. They stress this so much and with such vigor that false doctrines have developed from it. The erroneous idea that one can either hasten or delay Jesus' coming is one example which will be discussed later. The preoccupation with the second advent really makes Adventists a sad and pathetic group of people. The joy and fun of this current life is completely dismissed. This really produces an environment of a living hell for their young children who are not quite so fanatic. Adventists seem to neglect the reality of eternal life. They fail to realize that this life is part of that eternal life, and that they should be happy, joyful people. Instead they sit around with long faces feeling very sad and blaming one another that Jesus has not yet come.
The other item which the Adventist Church stresses is the sabbath day. The get people to believe that the sabbath day must be kept holy as commanded in the Old Testament. If one is not keeping the seventh day sabbath then he has the 'Mark of the Beast' and is slated for everlasting destruction.
The Adventist church teaches some Biblical truth better than other denominations. It is to their credit to do this but some Biblical subjects are severely perverted, particularly by the writings of Ellen White. The whole movement has become very dangerous and is a threat to many Christians. The power of this movement must not be underestimated.
The gospel truth in itself is very strong. When one begins wondering why he is here, what life is all about, etc., it is very comforting to accept the peace and hope offered through Jesus Christ. Many of us share this and pray that we will never lose it. However when people are coming to Christ, the devil is going to throw up stumbling blocks in their pathway. The Adventist Church is especially adept at doing just that.
It is quite obvious that false religion is not going to be handed to us as a bunch of unbelievable lies. Rather the material will contain a lot of truth which is very impressive and the error will be very well hidden. We would not expect the devil to present 100% lies. Anyone can see through a deception like that. We are warned in the Bible that we will be deceived by miracles, not tricks. "The coming of the lawless one by the activity of Satan will be with all power and pretended signs and wonders and with all wicked deception for those who are to perish because they refuse to love the truth and so be saved. Therefore God sends upon us strong delusion to make them believe what is false so that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth". (2Thess 2:9-12) Also notice Rev. 16:14, "For they are the spirits of devils working miracles". It seems quite evident that Satan will be able to work miracles such as healing the sick, producing some natural phenomena and may appear in other forms. He appeared to Eve as a serpent. In these latter days he may be appearing to people who are hurting, disguised as a lost, loved one.
Notice the story of Moses confronting the Pharaoh of Egypt to have the children of Israel released. We see that the magicians of that day had great power which was given to them by Satan. The devil has power to do many things. I do not believe he can new life; I believe this is the realm of God only. I do not believe the devil can read a persons thoughts, as the Bible indicates that God alone knows what is in the heart of man. many people seem to be worried that Satan does know their thoughts. It is true that he may be somewhat of a mind reader depending on the expression on one's face. He is usually aware of what temptation one is facing at the moment. However I stress that he cannot read your thoughts.
In the story of Daniel and Nebuchadnezzar, the great king insisted that his prophets tell not only what he had been dreaming but what the dream meant. None of these false prophets were able to do this, proving the devil could not tell them what was going on in Nebuchadnezzar's mind during his dreams. Only God was able to give this information and He chose Daniel to serve His purpose at that time.
The devil will use all kinds of miracles and deceptions to lead one astray. Paul warns us about the terrible enemy who confronts us. "Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we are not contending against flesh and blood but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world rulers of this present darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places". (Eph 6:11-12) We are fighting a foe who is much smarter than we. The only protection we have is our belief and faith in Jesus Christ and this is to be our armor. The better we know God and the more we have of the truth the better we shall be protected.
We would not expect the devil to be working very hard in a den of sin or among a group of pagans. He has already won there and has nothing in particular to gain. The place he is going to put his real battle is in the church where people are actively seeking a closer relationship with God. It is here that Satan's deceptions can be expected to be overwhelming if we are not well prepared and protected by God.
Some religious denominations are much more
vulnerable to Seventh-day Adventism than others. Adventists particularly like to
work on Catholics. There are several Catholic beliefs that can be attacked quite
nicely. A person of any denomination however can easily fall prey to their advances
as they seem to rely so heavily on the Bible at first and make very good arguments for
their points. They usually come at you with a lot of truth that you have not heard
before and they show it to be true from the Bible. This sets up feelings of
intolerance towards the victims previous beliefs.
Some Tricks Used on Protestants in General
Most Christians are really starving for the Bible and Bible studies. Even in Protestant denominations this need often arises and to fill this void one may turn to an Adventist Bible study group. At first it seems very impressive that Adventists seem to stress the Bible so much. This is a very strong drawing card and is used with expertise by Adventists. This is somewhat of a deception in itself, as many Adventists know very little about the Bible. Having lots of material produced by their own prophet, there is really little need to turn to the Bible. In sixty-nine books she covers the Bible completely. Reading these works keeps one busy enough to stay away from the Bible.
Bible studies given by Adventists are really their standard sales pitch. They have specific chains of Bible passages all related to one subject which support that doctrine in the way they profess. Other relevant Bible passages will be left out if they seem to be in any way contradictory. These Bible chains are based on the Bible principle of "precept upon precept, line upon line, here a little, there a little". (Isa 28:10) This concept itself is new to most Bible students and seems to carry a lot of weight. Adventists however pervert this instruction by leaving out bits here and there which do not support their position. Other than these Bible chains, which are easily marked in his Bible,the average Adventist has very little foundation in the Bible itself. The claim that Adventists are people of the Bible is totally false. They are people of Ellen White who have perverted the Bible miserably.
It is quite paradoxical how these people actually know very little about the Bible in general. At times one wonders whether their ministers have ever read the Bible let alone studied it deeply. One Adventist pastor had misinterpreted a Bible passage so badly that he believed John the Baptist was lost for all eternity. It was very shocking for me to hear this from his lips and realize that he had been leading me for quite some time and having considerable influence on my thinking.
Perhaps the most impressive Bible study presented by Adventists is the topic concerning life after death. This catches many victims. Their belief in life after death is somewhat like that of the Jehovah's Witnesses. It is fairly plain from the Bible that people who are lost will not actually burn in hell forever. There is a much more acceptable explanation than that. This belief tends to make God appear unjust and this particular perverted belief in eternal torment is one reason that some Catholics and Protestants have such a small measure of faith. However, no matter what you believe about future life, it does not really have any bearing on your salvation.
Prophecy in the Bible as described by Seventh Day Adventists is also very exciting. Their interpretations may or may not be true but are somewhat fascinating and set the stage for further indoctrination. I will not touch on any specific prophecies at this time. Suffice it to say they are very powerful tools.
The title 'Reverend' is used by most clergymen and seems to be a traditional title. However, if you really think about it there is no one anymore reverend than you are. By giving someone this title of 'Reverend' you are putting yourself down and giving this particular person a license to exercise power over you. This is not what God intends. The term 'Reverend' should be reserved for God alone. "Holy and reverend is His name". (Ps 111:9)
If you call another person by such a title you are setting yourself up to be victimized or manipulated. You should feel quite comfortable at calling your minister by his first name. If you prefer, use 'Pastor', which denotes one as ministering to another. Likewise you should be able to call your doctor or dentist by his first name without feeling uncomfortable. However if you do prefer to use the term doctor or any other title, just make sure you are using it because you want to; not because you feel compelled to do so.
The sabbath day is a very difficult subject. This may be very impressive to Protestants and may lead them into the trap of Seventh-day Adventism. I will discuss the sabbath at some length in a later chapter.
Adventists efficiently ridicule Catholics in front
of Protestants. That tends to draw Protestants closer to Adventists and makes them
more prone to further indoctrination. Making fun of Catholic practices provides something
in common to break the ice.
Tricks Used on Catholics
Being an ex-Catholic, I am well aware of many shaky beliefs of this denomination. Unfortunately Catholics have left themselves wide open to criticism concerning false doctrines. Their theology has grown very little over the centuries and repeated pronouncements by the pope tend to keep most Catholics disillusioned. This leaves them at great risk for falling into the trap of Seventh Day Adventists.
Adventists literally make fun of Catholics, particularly their bingos and dances, their praying for the dead and praying to saints. The doctrine of indulgences is a very easily attacked item, as is confession to a priest, penance, etc.
Much of what I have said about 'Reverend' above applies to the title 'Father'. Priests seem to demand this title and the flock seems compelled to continue using it. Jesus gave many commandments during his short stay here on earth. He said "And call no man your father on earth for you have one father, who is in heaven". (Matt 23:9) Here Jesus is pointing out how the Pharisees like to be called Rabbi and enjoyed being seen by other men doing their penance; how they enjoyed the places of honor at feasts and in the synagogues. But Jesus warned no one is to be called Rabbi, Father or Master. This seems to be a rather straight forward commandment. Jesus goes on to say "He who is greatest among you shall be your servant". This would tend to indicate that your minister is not someone to be set about you but someone who gladly ministers to you and is on an equal basis with you. You should be quite content to call your priest by his first name. If he cannot tolerate it then that is his problem, not yours.
No Catholic doctrine is quite as easily attacked as the triad of confession, penance and indulgences. The Catholic church has recently indicated that confession to a priest is not completely necessary. However many Catholics continue to confess directly to the priest as it gives them a sense of relief and gives them someone to talk to. Perhaps this is a good thing in itself. The bible is quite adamant in pointing out the fact that there is to be no mediator between God and man except Jesus Christ. "For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all." (1Tim 2:5) The Bible is quite plain in pointing out that one need confess his sins only to God directly. Forgiveness is easily given by the grace of God.
Catholics generally insist that a sinner do penance to pay off his sin. Whether this is five stations of the cross or two Our Fathers and ten Hail Mary's, it seems to me that this is an affront to God. How can it be possible that we pay off our sins by chanting a few memorized verses. If it is so easy for us to pay off our sins, why did Jesus have to bother to come and suffer and die on the cross for you and me?
The doctrine of penance of course leads into the trap of indulgences. These are pretty well hidden by the Catholic church at this time but a few centuries ago forgiveness for sins was granted by the pope or a bishop for a certain sum of money or other service. This really gave a license to sin. This is one of the most prominent doctrines which bothered Martin Luther and lead to the Protestant Reformation. Indulgences are still alive and well in the Catholic church. For example, a mass said for a departed loved one will get so many years off his time in Purgatory.
This leads us into the doctrine of praying for the dead. It also leads to the doctrines of Limbo and Purgatory, neither of these being described in the Bible. It seems that it would take a very unjust God to allow the actions of another person to have an effect on his punishment or reward. Each person will be judged on his confession of faith in Jesus Christ and will be rewarded or punished according to his works on that basis. No amount of rosary saying, masses or prayers can have any effect on the dead. This is a self defeating practice which must be abandoned by the Catholic faith - it perpetuates disbelief in Catholic youth.
Transubstantiation is another point of differing doctrine between Catholics and Protestants in general. Catholics actually insist that the bread and wine of the communion service is changed into the body and blood of Christ. It certainly doesn't look to be changed into anything different and the Bible gives no hint that it actually becomes the body and blood of Christ. The Biblical passage "And when He had given thanks He break it and said 'Take, eat; this is my body, which is broken for you; this do in remembrance of me;". The term "this is my body" in the original actually reads "this my body" with the verb "is" being absent. That verb ahs been put into the English version to make it more readable. A verb such as "represents" or "signifies" could have been used just as well. It would not have given the impression that the bread actually becomes the body of Christ. The same argument goes for the "this is my blood". (1Cor. 11:24-26) This is not a serious point but one which keeps Protestants and Catholics separated to this day - and gives Adventists and other cults another chance to steal away those in doubt.
Catholic views concerning Mary the mother of Jesus are also wide open to attack. Catholics generally hold that Mary was and always remained a virgin. This is easily proved not to be so by some Biblical texts. I have no doubt that Jesus was conceived by the Holy Ghost and the Mary remained a virgin until after His birth. Consider this passage: "When Joseph woke from his sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took his wife, but knew her not until she had borne a son; and he called his name Jesus." (Matt, 1:24,25) This passage specifies that Joseph did not know his wife Mary until she had given birth to Jesus. It seems evident from this passage that Joseph did know his wife after Jesus was born. Mary could not possibly remained a virgin. In another passage we read; "While he was still speaking to the people, behold, his mother and his brothers stood outside asking to speak to him." (Matt. 12:46)
In wondering about Jesus, the people had this to say "Where did this man get his wisdom and these mighty works? Is not this the carpenter's son? Is not hi mother called Mary? And are not his brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? And are not all his sisters with us? (Matt. 13:54-56) "After this he went down to Capernaum, with his mother and his brothers and his disciples." (Jn. 2:12) Joseph and Mary apparently had quite a large family.
Catholics tend to suggest that the word brother was meant here as first cousin. There is no good reason for taking that meaning from the Bible. Elsewhere the Bible speaks about 'His cousin John'.
The Immaculate Conception is a mystery and one which I believe. However I do not feel it is necessary for my faith to believe Mary retained her virginity throughout her life. Having further children by Joseph detracts in no way from her character as far as I am concerned. Many people try to make sex appear dirty and this doctrine about Mary remaining a virgin forever tends to support that attitude.
Praying to Mary and other saints or angels is another easy doctrine to attack. The Bible is quite adamant that no one but God be worshipped. As indicated above there is no mediator between God and man except for Jesus Christ. This makes it completely useless to ask Mary, the saints, or the angels to intervene for us with God. We have a direct line to the Father through Jesus Christ and should use it. Neither Mary, our favorite saints, nor the angels can put in a good word for us. Our salvation rests entirely on our own shoulders and depends on whether we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior.
Many Catholics will flatly deny that they pray to Mary, saints or angels. In the 1977 version of Handbook for Today's Catholics we find the following prayer to your guardian angel. "Angel of God, my guardian dear, to whom his love commits me here, ever this day be at my side, to light and guide, to rule and guide, Amen."
We do not have to ask our guardian angel to look over us. God has already looked after this. The angel is under direct orders from Him. We cannot influence our Guardian angel.
A favorite prayer of Catholics is "Hail, Holy Queen, Mother of Mercy, our life, our sweetness and our hope. To you we cry... Turn then, of most gracious advocate, ...." In this prayer Mary is made out to be our hope and advocate. Again I must stress that our only hope is in Jesus Christ. He alone is our advocate and intercedes for us with the Father. Mary has no part to play in this and the only reason that Mary might be in heaven at this time is the fact that the Catholic Church has declared that she was taken up into heaven. This doctrine is not indicated in the Bible.
Unfortunately a lot of time is wasted by Catholics in saying the rosary. This in most part is praying to Mary - for what?
Prayers for the dead consume considerable energy. Let us get on with the business of praying for one another who remain alive and who need each other's prayers to get through the miseries and trials of this life. Let us have the faith that God will be just in His dealings with our dead loved ones. Let us be realistic enough to admit that we cannot bribe God by saying a few Hail Mary's or a mass for our loved ones who have gone to the grave. These practices are responsible for sending your kids off chasing cults like the Adventists and other degrading clans!
Much is made in the writings of Ellen White to point out the atrocities committed by popes in bygone centuries, particularly against other Christians. This or course is true of dealings between many denominations. We find the pilgrims fled England for religious freedom only to arrive in America where they immediately took up witch hunting to murder so called heretics. Enlighten your children in these realities. Otherwise these monstrosities will be used against you.
Tricks Used on Other Denominations
Those belonging to the Pentecostal faith profess belief in the secret rapture and stress speaking in tongues. These theological points can be attacked Biblically. If these beliefs can be made to look foolish to the new prospect then considerable ground has been gained.
Jehovah's Witnesses are very difficult for Adventists to deal with as their delusions are very firmly entrenched. The bad theological point concerning Jehovah's Witnesses is the fact that they do not recognize Jesus as Almighty God. he is said to be the Son of God and a Mighty God but not one with the Father and the Holy Spirit. Notice the play on words - 'Almighty' versus "Mighty God'. This makes God's plan of redemption somewhat of a hoax. What is the point of Him sending just another Son to die for my sins. He could have sent anyone and called him His Son. The traditional belief that God came down Himself in the form of Jesus Christ and suffered more than we do is the only thing which keeps us from shaking our finger at God and blaming Him for what is happening to us.
Other cult members are very unlikely to be influenced by Seventh Day Adventists. Their beliefs are so deeply ingrained that they are generally unshakable.
Adventists generally want you to believe that you are involved in some form of false worship. They delightfully attack such festivals as Christmas and Easter. They enjoy making fun of Santa Claus, the Easter bunny, Easter eggs, etc. They point out that all of these traditions may have originated in pagan cultures and therefore insist that they have no place in Christian life. This is all very impressive in the beginning but as it is repeated over and over it tends to become a bore. It is quite obvious that some symbols and rituals have crept into Christianity from pagan practices. But in now way does this detract from a Christian's worshipping God.
Tammuz is a false God mentioned in Ezekiel 8:14. His symbol was the cross; one of the most universal symbols of Christianity also happens to be the cross. Adventists have crosses in their churches. They have made no attempt to remove these on the basis that the cross is a symbol of the pagan god Tammuz. However, they are very intolerant of such things as Easter bunnies and Easter eggs used as a symbol in Christianity for new life or fertility. The intolerance of Adventists towards other denominations is their downfall. it really impresses one just how great hypocrites they really are.
Whether you are Protestant, Catholic or whatever, I feel your best defense from any of the cults, including the Seventh Day Adventists, is a good basic knowledge of the Bible. The Bible is generally ignored by Catholics, a little less by Protestants in general and I think it is a fair generalization to say that none of us spend enough time with our Bibles. This is really the method God uses to speak to us individually, to instruct our consciences, and to comfort us.
Paul advises us to "Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil". (Eph 6:11) The armor of God is faith and knowledge which comes only through reading or hearing God's Word. This may be the only protection we have against the fantastic deceptions set up by the devil. Remember that Jesus quoted scripture to Satan when he was confronted and tempted after forty days of fasting in the desert. Jesus used no other weapon than His knowledge of scripture.
The Meat of the Adventist Health Message ñ
Seventh Day Adventists generally believe they have been called and chosen by God in these latter days to spread the gospel to the whole world and bring people to God. One of the greatest tools for achieving this aim is their health message. It is intended to show people how to live more healthy lives and therefore lead them to Jesus Christ.
The Adventist health message is based on the counsels of their prophet Ellen G. White. As we shall shortly see, one would have to be an idiot to follow her counsel. Oh, there is no doubt that Ellen White gave a lot of good counsel. But after reading what is to follow, one must be very careful of anything that she has to say and probably should stay away from anything she wrote.
The 'meat' of the Adventist health message actually is based on meat or flesh food literally. Their whole health message hinges on this one item. Any Adventist today will tell you that most of them are vegetarian; probably 50% are most of the time. They will insist to you that they do not eat meat because meat eating is not in God's plan and the consumption of the flesh of animals can only lead to sickness, particularly cancer. They will tell you that chickens and salmon these days are full of cancer these days; and how could you possibly eat them and not end up with cancer yourself? Adventists do not realize the original reason why Ellen White condemned meat. That is to be the fascinating subject of this chapter.
Before we go into this further, let me point out some good advice given by the writer of the Book of Hebrews. "Do not be led away by diverse and strange teachings; for it is well that the heart be strengthened by grace, not by foods, which have not benefited their adherents." (Heb 13:9) The writer here is indicating to us that the people preaching special diets as doctrine are teaching diverse and strange teachings. Further, diet has not done anything for the salvation of any of these fanatics.
The revelation that was to shape Adventist health reform was given to Ellen White in the famous vision of Oswego, on June the 6th, 1863. During a vision lasting 45 minutes they claim God exposed highly advanced, revolutionary medical principles years that were supposedly years ahead of their time. (Ellen G. White: Prophet of Destiny, Rene Noorbergen, p. 98.) One would think that in 1863, with man's knowledge of healthful living being rather poor, God would several important topics to relate to his prophet. It turns out to be quite a shock when one finds out the particular item which was to take priority in the health message of the Adventist church. As indicated previously most Adventists today have no idea what that priority item was.
In 1864, just months after the famous health vision, Ellen White published a book entitled "An Appeal to Mothers: The Great Cause of the Physical, Mental, and Moral Ruin of Children of Our Time." This was Mrs. White's first book on health reform. Its intent was to warn the world about the evils of solitary vice or MASTURBATION!
It seems that Mrs. White was dissatisfied with the result of this production and therefore six years later in 1870, another publication was produced entitled "A Solemn Appeal" by Ellen G. White. This book was edited by her husband James White and included some articles from other writers to back up Mrs. White's counsel about masturbation and meat.
This fascinating booklet is not widely available currently. One can certainly understand why it is not advertised in the Adventists book catalogues. However, there must have been some questions about this book as it was recently reprinted in small number for those who wanted to look into these original writings more deeply. Between 1976 and 1979 a total of 700 of these books were produced. I suspect they were generally confined to Adventist theology students, who by their very disposition could not be adversely affected by this information.
Fans of Ellen White often point out that her works can stand on their own merit. I would ask that Adventists hold to this saying. After I have pointed out some of the writings of Ellen White, I would ask them to make a careful and honest decision. The word of God says, "Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits." (Matt. 7:15-16) One should have no difficulty categorizing Ellen White as a false prophet when he becomes aware of some of the fruit she has produced.
Let us examine some of the passages in this important health book by Ellen White. "I feel alarmed for those children and you who by solitary vice are ruining themselves ... you listen to numerous complaints of headache, catarrh, dizziness, nervousness, pain in the shoulders and side, loss of appetite, pain in the back and limbs, wakeful feverish nights, of tired feelings in the morning, and great exhaustion after exercising? … and have you not noticed that there was a deficiency in the mental health of our children?" (p. 11) "Secret indulgence (masturbation) is, in many cases, the only real cause of the numerous complaints of the young. This vice is laying waste the vital forces, and debilitating the system." (p. 13) "The state of the world is alarming. Everywhere we look we see imbecility, dwarf forms, crippled limbs, misshapen heads and deformity of every description…. Corrupt habits are wasting their energies, and bringing upon them loathsome and complicated diseases. Unsuspecting parents will try the skill of physicians, one after another, who prescribe drugs, when they generally know the real cause of the failing health, but for fear of offending, and losing their fees, they keep silent, when as faithful physicians they should expose the real cause…. Children who practice self indulgence (masturbation) … must pay the penalty." (p. 14)
It is enlightening to note that Ellen White's original writing of this last quotation has been changed in this later edition. Her husband, James White, the editor of the writing, deleted the evidence which indicated his wife had seen this in a vision from God. Was James embarrassed by the original version? "The state of the world was presented before me, and my attention was especially called to the youth of our time. Everywhere I looked, I saw imbecility, dwarfed forms . . . etc". The force of the later quotation is considerably dulled to, "Everywhere we look… etc". Maybe James White didn't believe in his wife’s so called visions. Let’s study more of the enlightening visions.
"If the practice is continued from the ages of 15 and upward, nature will protest ... and will make them pay the penalty ... by numerous pains in the system and various diseases, such as affection of the liver and lungs, neuralgia, rheumatism, affection of the spine, diseased kidneys and cancerous humours… There is often a sudden breaking down of the constitution; and death is the result." (P. 14 & 15)
"Many are ignorant of the sinfulness of these habits, and their certain results. Such need to be enlightened . . . Females possess less vital force than the other sex, . . . The result of self abuse in them is seen in various diseases, such as catarrh, dropsy, headache, loss of memory and sight, great weakness in the back and loins, affections of the spine, and frequently, inward decay of the head. Cancerous humour … commences its eating destructive work. The mind is often utterly ruined, and insanity, supervenes. . . Such are just as self murderers as though they pointed a pistol to their own breast, and destroyed their life instantly … The practice of secret habits surely destroys the vital forces of the system . . . Among the young the vital capital, and the brain are so severely taxed at an early age, that there is deficiency and great exhaustion, which leave the system exposed to diseases of various kinds. But the most common of these is consumption (tuberculosis). . . They must die. (p. 17)
"There is hardly an end to these diseases caused by solitary vice; dyspepsia, spinal complaint, headache, epilepsy, impaired eye sight, palpitations of the heart, pain in the side, bleeding at the lungs, spasms of the heart and lungs, diabetes, or incontinence of the urine, fluor alblis, whites, inflammation of the urinary organs ... Besides rheumatism, affected perspiration, consumption (tuberculosis), asthma, catarrh, polypus of the heart, affections of the bones, fevers, priapism, strangury, polypus uteri, blood discharges, etc. . .
Then a case history is reviewed. "A full and particular account of a little boy who at two years old was epileptic, from this cause; the vice taught to him by his nurse … Rendered him paralytic. By the most vigilant use of mechanical means for confining the hands, covering the genitals, etc. the child was at length cured; he now enjoys good health, and, with the exception of a remarkable loss of memory, retains no trace of his former indiscretions."
Picture yourself taking your two year old son to see a doctor after he has suffered a convulsion. The doctor tells you that he has been masturbating and this is the cause of his illness. You are going to have to bind his genitals and tie his hands until he is cured of the filthy habit. This is the kind of stuff that Ellen White believed with all her heart, has been commissioned to pass on to us, and we are expected to believe she is a true prophet.
Let us continue with more of these fascinating quotations. "Unchastity, as we have already seen, deranges, debilitates, and ruins the body. Now, out of this startling fact arises another fact, if possible more startling. It is that unchastity deranges, debilitates and ruins the mind ... By unchastity, especially by solitary vice (masturbation), the mind suffers permanent debility ... great debility of the memory, great prostration and foolish imbecility of the mind. Perception is made dull and obtuse, the reasoning powers are blunted ... From debility the mind often sinks into idiocy ... I saw a young woman in a town of Massachusetts who made herself an idiot by masturbation. (p. 2 & 3)
"In the fall of 1844, the writer visited the Massachusetts State Lunatic Hospital … Our attention was suddenly arrested by the peculiarly haggard, frantic, wild, fiendish appearance of a young man, with his eye turned back over his shoulder. Struck with his shocking aspect, we inquired of our attendant, a young physician, what was the cause of his insanity? 'Solitary vice', was the ready reply. Thought we, solitary vice produces solitary insanity! We further asked, have you many here from that cause? 'A large proportion', more than from, intemperance? 'Oh, yes, far more.' … When they (crazy persons) do indulge, this act must be considered as a bad symptom, since it constitutes an insurmountable obstacle to the cure: it destroys the strength and finally produces in the patients, stupidity, phthisis, marasmus, and death . . . Nurses, by manipulating infants to cure their crying, have been known to give them a notion which has resulted in a habit of solitary vice." (p. 4)
"Self abuse opens the door for consumption, dyspepsia, nervous debility, epilepsy, apoplexy, paralysis, insanity, and almost every disease from which humanity suffers. It weakens and deranges the stomach, the liver, the kidneys, the bowels, the muscle, the bones the nerves, the brain, and all the various organs of the body … The loss of semen is very exhausting yet the expenditure of nerve force is quite as great a source of evil . . . it gives a shock to the whole system; and when often repeated, the nervous power is completely drained away. It impoverishes the blood and induces consumption, dyspepsia, nervous diseases, and mental derangements . . . Self abuse is, probably, the most flagrant violation of the sexual law; the grossest abuse of the sexual function … with the most disastrous consequences to the health, happiness and even life of the race. It is an evil more damning than any other to which mankind is subject!" . . . "Although the habit may be abandoned, in 9 cases out of 10 the loss will be continued in the form of involuntary nocturnal emissions" (wet dreams).
"After having indulged in this habit for a time, the child loses its bright and happy looks; it becomes pale with a greenish tint, the eyes are sunken, and surrounded by dark rings; the vermilion of the lips is faded, the limbs are attenuated, the muscles soft and flabby both in form and feature the child has the appearance of being old and worn out."
"Many children are born with this propensity and the habit is commenced in infancy or in early childhood ... without a thought of evil on the part of the little masturbators."
"Self abuse is a sure road to the grave . . . This picture full of horrors as it is, is not overdrawn, in truth the half hath not been told."
"It will not kill you outright ... Ask any medical man conversant with diseases having this origin and he will tell you that no other cause of disease equals this … no cause is more influential in producing insanity. The records of the institutions give an appalling catalogue of cases attributed to it (masturbation).
Well, enough is enough. From the above quotations we can see Ellen White’s preoccupation with masturbation as a direct cause of all these Illnesses. Her visions from God indicated that masturbation causes such diseases as blindness, epilepsy, diabetes, consumption (tuberculosis), asthma, etc… Not only does it cause these physical diseases but leads to imbecility, idiocy, and insanity. We are told that the mental hospitals are filled with people who are insane because they masturbated. The end result of course is death.
When I revealed this information to some staunch Adventist believers they actually tried to defend these writings of Ellen White. Emotion took over completely and rendered their common sense, and logic useless.
Anyone can conclude from common sense alone
that none of these diseases or conditions are caused by masturbation. Consumption or
tuberculosis we know is caused by a germ, a specific bacterium. In fact the germ causing
tuberculosis was discovered shortly after these writings of Ellen White. How can anyone
possibly believe this nonsense written by Ellen White? How could anyone insist she is a
true prophet from God?
The Cause of The Cause
Having been told by Ellen White that masturbation causes all of these illnesses, what are we to do about it? Well, one must know what might lead to masturbation and its horrors so that one can avoid it. "We noticed bad diet as a cause of unchastity. By bad diet we mean the use of food and drinks of bad qualities and unreasonable quantities. (p. 5) A diet chiefly or wholly vegetable, is evidently best adapted to allay passionate excitement. Flesh meat diet is more stimulating than vegetable. Consequently it is plain that all those who suffer from too high venereal excitement, should abandon it (meat) ... When children shall be taught correct habits of diet, much, very much, Will be done toward the removal of secret vice and other species of unchastity from society. (p. 9) Mince pies, cakes, preserves, and highly seasoned meats, with gravies, create a feverish condition in the system, and inflame the animal passions. . . We should encourage in our children a love for nobleness of mind, and a pure, virtuous character. In order to strengthen in them the moral perceptions, . . . we must regulate the manner of our living, dispense with animal foods, and use grains, vegetables and fruits, as articles of diet. (p. 15)
"Sip no more the beverage of China; no more the drinks of java; what shall you drink at your meals? ... I say, nothing is best; yet cocoa, chocolate, or warm water seasoned, or bread coffee, rice coffee . . . will be good substitutes as they do not inflame."
"For a similar reason, meats, mustards, condiments, peppers, spices, rich foods, gravies, everything heating and irritating, will only add to existing inflammation, and increase both desire and disease ... Some kinds of food, as already specified, excite amorous desires; while others, as rice, bread, fruit, vegetables do not; and may therefore be eaten."
"As to suppers, I recommend none at all. A full stomach induces dreams or the exercise, in sleep, of those organs most liable to spontaneous action, which produces libidinous dreams, with accompanying night emissions, which weaken and disease equally with indulgence … A heating, stimulating diet still more prematurely develops this passion. We have already seen that meats, teas, coffee, mustards, spices, etc. stimulate in adults ... A heating diet, after all, is the most prolific cause of excessive and perverted sexuality … eat and drink cooling, calming articles only."
"Sleeping on feather beds and feather pillows, in close, unventilated rooms is another cause of weakness, and therefore aids in inducing this vile practice of solitary vice."
We have just seen several of the stimulants which leads one to masturbate. In fact such things as meat and spices are claimed to be aphrodisiacs. We notice that we should not eat supper as this would cause us to have wet dreams. Also we should recognize that sleeping on feather beds and feather pillows tends to make one masturbate.
Here then, is the real reason that Ellen White counsels against meat eating. Of course as time went on she added other reasons for not eating meat. But the original reason for abstaining from meat, as given to her by God in that first important health vision, is to prevent uncontrollable passions leading to masturbation which in turn leads to disease, insanity, and death. Is this really a prophet from God speaking? Can one trust anything that she says in her writings unless it is in the mainstream of Christian thought?
The Cure For Masturbation
Having pointed out the cause of masturbation and its disastrous results, what is her counsel as to how we could get out of such a dilemma? Mrs. White was greatly impressed with hydrotherapy or water treatments which was really a fad during her time. This type of treatment represented big money and was the basis of most of the Adventist health units of that day. One would expect then that water treatments would be involved in the treatment of those poor souls trapped in the habit of masturbation. Let us look at some of the treatment.
"Here is a brief outline of the course of treatment which should generally be adopted by this class of unfortunates ... thousands who read these pages will readily acknowledge the truthfulness of the picture, and admit that their own cases are faithfully pointed out, but will despairingly exclaim, what shall we do? … The fearful prevalence of sexual disorders, has been rendered painfully prominent to the physicians and managers of the Health Reform Institute at Battle Creek, and a large number of cases have been successfully treated here, while many more have been advised by letter to the health reformer. The advice which follows is therefore the result of experience, observation, and careful study. The greatest difficulty in their management consists in inducing them to adhere with any degree of tenacity to a prescribed course of treatment. Such had better place themselves under the care of a hygienic physician, if this can possibly be done".
Here we have the cure as recommended by Ellen White for one who masturbates. In short he should avoid stimulating food, particularly meat, should not eat supper, avoid feather beds and pillows, and not loiter in bed. He should take prescribed baths (and imagine yourself doing this) consisting of sitting in a cold pail of water, putting your feet in a pail of hot water and wrapping cold bandages around your head. At other times a wet girdle should be worn and the genitals should be bathed with cool water frequently. Not only is supper disallowed but reading or thinking in the evening [or toward night is completely banned as this 'Mental activity may lead to wet dreams.
After reading these wise counsels given by Ellen White and realizing that she is claiming divine inspiration, I would say to you that there is only one class of person that could continue to believe that Ellen White is a true prophet. This type of person can be classed only as an idiot.
Apparently Mrs. White did not take her own counsel too seriously. She continued to eat meat for years after this revealing vision from God and actually went against her own counsel. In later years she added the second reason for not eating meat, the belief that meat directly transmitted diseases, particularly cancer. This of course is the reasoning used by more modern Seventh Day Adventists.
Despite having this vision concerning meat eating and masturbation in 1863, Ellen White continued to eat meat until 1894. For 31 years following her health vision then Ellen White did not follow her own counsel. Ellen White was finally convinced by a Catholic lady of the ultimate reason for not eating meat. Mrs. White had just given a temperance lecture in Australia and was approached by this Catholic lady who inquired if the speaker ate meat. When Mrs. White confessed that she still ate meat the Catholic lady fell on her knees at Mrs. White's feet and tearfully pleaded with her to have compassion on the unfortunate animals.
Mrs. White later wrote to some friends "when the selfishness of taking the lives of animals to gratify a perverted taste was presented to me by a Catholic woman, kneeling at my feet, I felt ashamed and distressed - I saw it in a new light, and I said, I will no longer patronize the butchers. I will not have the flesh of corpses on my table." (Prophetess of Health: Ellen G. White by Ronald L. Numbers, p. 1 72)
It seems that Ellen White herself was not impressed that meat eating would lead her to masturbation and its resultant tragic consequence . It took an emotional appeal concerning the killing of innocent animals to get her to stop eating meat. Much more will be said about meat eating later but at this point let us remember that Jesus was not a vegetarian – He ate meat.
During three years in the Adventist Church I didn't hear one sermon about meat eating and masturbation - lots of rumbling about meat; but nothing about these secret horrors. Why? Isn't it time other Adventists learned the facts? It is possible these revelations about Ellen White may change some lives - honest ones!
Why All This Fuss about a False Prophet? Who Cares? ñ
I care. If you are involved in Seventh Day Adventism or any other cult, let me assure you that your friends and relatives do care. When one considers how God's Word is being perverted and maligned, the shortest verse in the Bible comes to mind, "Jesus wept". (John 11:35) There is no doubt that God cares.
We have recently witnessed a false prophet at work. Jim Jones completely changed the life of a large group of people, convinced them to leave their native United States and retreat to the jungle wilderness of Guyana. The world was shocked at the mass suicide and murders which followed. How in God's name could such an atrocity occur we all asked?
I see the same thing happening in the Seventh Day Adventist Church. Perhaps no one has blatantly committed suicide or homicide but lifestyles have been changed drastically; a wall of prejudice and intolerance is erected against other Christians. The average member of the Seventh Day Adventist Church thrives on self righteousness and hypocrisy.
Ellen White claims to be God's spokesman; a prophet for a lost world during the latter days. Paul entreats us, "Quench not the spirit, despise not prophesyings, prove all things". (I Thes. 5:18-21) We are to take anyone seriously who claims to be a prophet; we are to examine his claims and his fruits, and we are to decide whether the person is a true or false prophet.
Elsewhere in His word, God tells us that he will send false prophets to test us; that these prophets will speak words which will come true. Then they will lead us astray after other gods. He indicates that he is trying to prove us to know whether we love him or not. When we discover that the prophet is false we are commanded to "Stone that prophet to death". (Deut. 13:1-5)
Some of Ellen White's predictions are very impressive, much of her counsel seems to make a lot of sense. Many of her writings hold great power over her readers. She is revered by all classes of people from the simple native of far away mission fields to the sophisticated and highly intelligent modern professional and corporate officer. Like it or not, we must take Mrs. White seriously. Someday we will be asked to answer for our decision.
Perhaps one of the stronger proofs Adventists use to support their prophet is the fact that Adventists live about seven years longer than the general population as a result of following Ellen White's' counsel. However Mormons can claim the same longevity. Obviously Adventists will not admit that the Mormon prophet Joseph Smith might be a true prophet on these grounds.
It is notable that several cults began around the same time in history. The predictions by William Miller, that Christ would come back to this earth in 1844 in the second advent, seemed to spearhead many new cults. During this time period we have appearing on the scene the Seventh Day Adventist Church, the Christian Science movement, Mormonism, and the Jehovah's Witnesses. This time period witnessed the comparable prophets, namely Ellen White, Mary Baker Eddy, Joseph Smith, and others.
All these denominations that arose during this time period, including Adventists, expect you to believe that theirs is the true church. They will quite effectively use the Bible itself to prove that they are the true remnant church. Consider these passages from Revelation which Adventists use to back up their claims. "The remnant of her seed which keeps the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ". (Rev. 12:17) Adventists will attempt to convince you that unless you keep the seventh day, that is Saturday, as the holy Sabbath, then you are not part of the remnant church. They will go further in trying to convince you that this is in fact a sin against the Holy Spirit.
They also use, "For the testimony of Jesus is the Spirit of Prophecy". (Rev. 19:10) They will point out that they have a contemporary prophet in the person of Ellen White. They have perverted the term 'Spirit of Prophecy' from the above Bible passage to be equated with Ellen White. They overlook the fact that the phrase 'Spirit of Prophecy' is intended as another term for the Holy Spirit. This can be deduced quite easily from Rev. 1:2-3. The soil is now quite fertile for you to fall into the ranks of the Seventh Day Adventist Church. Unless you know the word of God you cannot very easily contend against these seemingly good Biblical arguments.
Only after you have decided that Ellen White is in fact a false prophet can these other difficult subjects be seen in their true light. Hence the great importance of recognizing Mrs. Ellen White for what she is; a false prophet.
When I consider Seventh Day Adventists whom I know personally, I realize that none of them is happy. None of them have the peace of Jesus Christ. The perverted lifestyles have served only to alienate and divide members of the family. Of course hard-line Adventists just love to see families divided as this indicates persecution and reinforces their delusions of self-righteousness.
I see a group of very unhappy people pretending endlessly, trying to put up a good front and making a mockery of God and His word. I hear accounts of young children being forced to listen to readings from Ellen White's books daily for periods of 30 to 60 minutes at a time. I see countless examples of one member shaming another for not following Mrs. White's counsel, then turning around breaking some of her rules themselves.
I see Adventists continually badgering and harassing relatives in an attempt to get them into the church and thus save them. I see Ellen White's rules being pushed on people who are reaching out for God, searching for something better and often these poor souls make an about face and leave God in dismay.
I see a ten year old boy being baptized in the Seventh Day Adventist Church despite the objections of a non-Adventist mother. The child who cannot possibly make such a serious decision, goes through with his baptism just to side with Dad against Mom and perpetuate that old game; ’Dad, let's you and Mom fight.’
I accompany a lady to church as she reaches out to God for some peace and comfort from her long mental suffering. I see her leave the church in dismay after hearing a regular Ellen White type sermon damning jewelry and makeup. Will she ever risk approaching God again? How can you or I allow something like this to happen?
There is the example of the young friend of mine who once had a reasonably strong belief and faith in God. Now in his late teens and in college he has finally discovered that his parents had been daily reading to him for long periods from books written by a false prophet. What a rude awakening to realize that he has spent all these years trapped in a lifestyle prescribed by a Victorian era, fanatic old lady. What recourse does this man have but to throw up his hands in disgust and turn his back on God? Will he ever again risk a relationship with God? How tragic are the fruits of a false prophet!
Then there is the example of my own pathetic sister. Basically quite religious all of her life, her emotional needs could not be met by the Catholic Church. She was easy prey for the recruiting forces of the Adventist Church. Being the wife of a doctor, she was even that much more a' preferred candidate. The philosophy of Ellen White has allowed her to nurture her long standing neurosis which at this point has rendered her almost totally antisocial. She has withdrawn into her own little world. She has been professionally brainwashed by suave talking Adventists and her easily converted husband. She no longer thinks for herself about any subject concerning her religious philosophy or eternal life. She is totally unapproachable by other members of her immediate family and is unfortunately trapped for life. I pray somehow by the grace of God she can be reached.
As if this is not heartbreaking enough, there are now six lovable little ones who face the same neurosis, the same lifestyle, the same fate. Here are innocent children who, due to the isolation resulting from this religious lifestyle, are just unavailable to be loved by their grandparents, aunts, and uncles. The examples of heartbreaking situations like this are many indeed.
I realize there are many things to prevent people coming to God. We are warned in the Bible that such things as selfishness, cares of this world, too much ambition etc. will prevent people from finding God. In each church there are false doctrines which tend to make God and His word appear incredulous. Especially, is this so during the searching teenage years. In the Adventist Church there is a false prophet, Ellen White, setting up a code of rules which God never intended.
The situation in the Adventist Church today is much the same as that of the Jewish Church at the time of Jesus. The Jewish leaders had set up so many impossible rules and rituals that the common people could not possibly attain. Jesus described these people as follows; ""The Scribes and Pharisees sit on Moses seat; so practice and observe whatever they tell you, but not what they do; for they preach, but do not practice. They bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men's shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with their finger. They do all their deeds to be seen by men." (Matt. 23:2-5) Jesus was very angered by the legalism which permeated His church at the time of His first advent. I suspect He will be just as angry with the legalism practiced in churches such as the Seventh Day Adventist denomination when He comes the second time.
Yes, there are many warnings about false prophets in the Bible. We would do well to heed these warnings and make our rule of faith the Bible and the Bible only.
There is little doubt that Jesus Christ was in fact the greatest 'heretic' of all time. The revelation of God, in the person of Jesus Christ, was not acceptable to the hierarchy of the Jewish Church at that time. His teachings of the laws of God as they should be practiced were continually rejected by the Scribes and Pharisees. When He preached 'love your enemy and turn the other cheek' as an improvement over the old law of 'an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth', He was misunderstood and harassed. In Luke 4:16-18, Jesus read aloud in the synagogue the prophecy of Isaiah and announced that He was this promised Messiah. The people's reactions were as recorded in verses 28-30. They were filled with indignant wrath when they heard Him say these things. They kicked Him out of the church and out of their city, and lead Him to the brink of a hill where they hoped to push Him over and end it all. However, He somehow escaped. As His teachings became more and more threatening to the Jews and when His 'heresy' could no longer be tolerated it became expedient for the Jewish leaders to have Him crucified.
The history of Christianity is repeatedly marred by examples of so called heretics being martyred by the church. The story of perhaps the first Christian martyr Stephen, is recorded in chapter 7 of the book of Acts. The story of the execution of Joan of Arc by the Catholic Church in France during the Middle Ages is well known to us all. The names of countless thousands of other martyrs down through the centuries have long ago been forgotten.
Another very famous 'heretic' deserves special mention here. Martin Luther, a Catholic priest, became obsessed with the tormenting thought that, despite all of his praying, fasting, and good works, he could not buy his way into heaven. From his study of the Bible and rediscovery of the doctrine of salvation by faith, rather than salvation by works, the Protestant Reformation was launched. But Martin Luther was not to be allowed the privilege of becoming a martyr. Apparently God had other plans for him. Throughout his long and painful mission he was continually tormented by the question "How can I be right and everybody else be wrong?" He was never to be confronted by a flash of light or God's voice comforting him through his difficult task. He had to forge ahead on faith alone. An excellent account of Martin Luther can be read in the book "Here I Stand" by Roland Bainton.
So called heretics are alive and well in the Seventh Day Adventist Church today. Let us be extremely thankful for that. The Adventist Church faces possibly the most difficult period of its history.
Sixty-five years after the death of its so called prophet, the controversy goes on. Courageous voices at this time are difficult to quiet. Witness the example of Desmond Ford, a well known evangelist of the Adventist Church. Recently he has done a voluminous amount of work on one particular subject, the sanctuary.
Ellen White's doctrine holds that, rather than appearing for his second advent in the year 1844, Jesus Christ supposedly entered the heavenly sanctuary to begin the awesome work of the 'investigative judgement'. Pastor Ford has been extremely noisy in pointing out the absurdity of this doctrine to the Adventist community. In Ford's own words "No scholar seriously believes that Jesus Christ is sitting in heaven turning pages to investigate Christian lives". He points out that this notion violates the orthodox Christian belief that Jesus' atonement for sin was completed by his death on the cross. "I am not a disloyal Adventist," Ford says, "I just believe the aberrant gospel should be pruned away". (Newsweek, Jan. 19, 1981)
Ellen White has long been criticized for her plagiarism. Adventists have always excused her stealing of other people's writings by saying that it is not the words that are inspired but the underlying principle. By this pronouncement Adventists hope to give Ellen White a license to copy ad infinitum. The impressive amount of her literary 'borrowings' have never really been assessed until now. An inquisitive Adventist Pastor of the Church in Long Beach, California, spent two long years studying the writings of Mrs. White in relation to known previous religious writings. He has discovered that as much as 80% of Mr. White's writings have been copied almost word for word from other authors.
Perhaps Ellen White's best writing is represented by the book "Desire of Ages", a very readable book on the life of Christ. Douglas Hackleman (in Spectrum; Vol. 10, No. 4) writes; "Walter Rea displayed a colour coded copy of the Desire of Aces showing parallels with six different non Adventist books. The committee did not have time to examine each passage, but they noted the Rea copy was almost entirely coloured. Toward the end of the second afternoon the committee was ready to acknowledge that the extent of borrowing surprised them . . . the evidence was of alarming proportions."
This represents some fairly startling news to the common everyday Seventh Day Adventist. The church leaders feel that the faithful need to be protected from such knowledge. Because of this, both Pastor Walter Rea and Evangelist Desmond Ford were unceremoniously defrocked by the Adventist hierarchy and are no longer allowed to preach in the Adventist Church, nor of course be paid from the tithe money of the Adventist community. It seems the message is loud and clear; 'don't look too hard for the truth and if you find any be sure you don't allow anyone else to hear about it, or else.' These two gentlemen have my deepest respect and admiration. As far as I know they remain loyal Adventists but I suspect there is to be a lot of religious growth for them in the immediate future.
Another casualty of truth in the ranks of Seventh Day Adventism is the interesting story of a brilliant author, Ronald L. Numbers. In 1972 he was teaching history of medicine at the respectable Adventist School of Medicine of Loma Linda University. He became curious and proposed a personal objective study of Ellen White's health reform counsel. The results of Number's labors were contrary to what he had hoped and there is no doubt that the reporting of his actual findings caused him considerable pain and temporary loss.
He was given a grant by the Adventist Institution to carry out this study. But following the production of his fascinating work he promptly lost his job and I am rather disappointed in that I do not know his final fate. His book entitled "Prophetess of Health: Ellen G. White" should be compulsory reading for all Adventists. Unfortunately it does not seem to be available despite just being published in 1976 by Harper and Row. I have inquired directly to the publisher and they indicat
