One of the Seventh day Adventist Local Church Pastor problems is this:
No one talks about the EARLY Pioneers. The Pre- and Post-Civil War Pioneers.
Some of them were Very RADICAL.
The Under Ground Railroad. Many of them were part of that program.
Some of them knew Sojourner Truth.
They indirectly helped Harriet Tubman.
They were involved with the evils of the day â Alcoholism. Unfortunately it took 2 non-SDAs to begin Alcoholics Anonymous, both of them alcoholics, and a catholic nun friend to begin AA, and then later
someone else to begin NA - narcotics anonymous.
[It IS VERY STRANGE that Seventh day Adventist churches, big on Temperance will not be foremost in sponsoring AA and NA groups in their facilities. All groups here in GA that I know have to use Sunday keeping churches.]
It is TRUE SDAs had to be careful with Black Evangelism. Part of Black Evangelism was a LITERACY program. Reading the Bible and the Hymn Book. But that allowed them to read and learn from other sources and 'became to smart" for a lot of White Men. That is WHY Edson White developed his steam boat ministry along the Mississippi River and the Cumberland River.
That was another reason for developing a Black Training School in Huntsville, ALA â Oakwood College.
Individual SDAs knew many of the famous Black persons back then.
By the 50s and 60s we had lost that Pioneer Spirit. And never became involved with Civil Rights except on a one at a time basis. A very few SDAs became involved, but nothing reported in the âReviewâ. SDAs were somewhat friends of Marion Anderson, the black singer.
SDAs were segregationists at the GC and with our medical institutions. In the GC building, the Black department men were NOT allowed to eat with the White department men in the cafeteria.
Does anyone recall when a black SDA woman, very sick, was brought to the Adventist Hospital in DC, was refused treatment. Forced to go to the âBlack hospitalâ. And because of the delay in treatment she died???
The Seventh day Adventist church in the last 60 years has become VERY reclusive and VERY seclusive. And all of this reclusiveness, seclusive-ness came about right after Ellen White died in 1915.
SDAs SHOULD have been front row promoters of Race Relations â [White, Black, Brown, etc]. SDAs should have been front row promoters of AA and NA groups.
Does anyone have First Hand Knowledge of âthe March on Washingtonâ by SDAs yesterday? Not just hearsay???
EDIT: The Gospel of God [romans 1] upsets the societal status-quo. 1. It makes Jews and Samaritans brothers, family. 2. It makes Free men and Slave men brothers, family. 3. It makes rich and poor, family.
4. It makes strangers to each other, family. 5. It makes persons of other religion, language, culture, borders, family. 5. It makes persons of all colors, races that one meets on the street, coffee shops, grocery, family. 6. It makes men and women equal [SDA preachers dont like to hear this one].
And so the Church should be a moving power to lift up Society. Not in a Church-State relationship, but in a supportive role in meeting people and promoting Literacy, promoting Stability of Family, promoting Role Models â Male and Female â for children and Teens.
In lower income brackets kids are allowed to not learn, to drop out of school, to have no life goals. There is lack of family structure so kids âhave no familyâ. In Pre-Teen and in Teens they find FAMILY on the streets in gangs. Learn THUG behavior. Enjoy the THRILL of THUG behavior. Get into drugs and alcohol. To support them, learn the risky behavior of stealing and fencing. Girls learn and enjoy inappropriate behavior with teens and grown men.
Few groups are available to intervene at these important times in life. Just providing government housing, food stamps, a monthly check is not the needed intervention to prevent Anti-Social behavior of black or whites, or browns.
This is WHY Ellen White was concerned about the Gospel to New York. It is ONLY the Gospel that can prevent or change Anti-Social behavior, to develop stability in a family, to provide incentive to learn, to provide consideration of Life Goals.
Since Ellen Whiteâs death 101 years ago, Seventh day Adventists have missed the opportunity to help change Society in the United States. Being reclusive, being seclusive we have not allowed God to do the work he would liked to have done through our church organization.
Frank â If the Jews could have EMBRACED the Roman soldiers as Children of God there would have been friendship, pleasantries between them one-on-one, instead of violent insurrection which resulted in the destruction of Jerusalem by Titusâ 10th Legion.
Tony â It is becoming, Through this Black Lives Matter organization, and through Rappers, to be The WAR on Cops. Actually there is a new book out, The War On Cops.
In it she explains that we are having a whole generation of youth growing up who are becoming Lawless, terrorizing neighborhoods, and doing so in groups, [some places called gangs]. Into drugs, and stealing and fencing to support their lifestyle. In my town I know where some crack houses are, convenience stores where merchandise is traded. Streets you wouldnt want to go at night, and a couple eerie in the day time. One person told me about a known place by the police where drugs are sold. He asked the police person why they dont break it up. He was told the people have guns. Even too dangerous for them.
I have a number of black and white persons I know, several of them I eat with at at âfood for homelessâ at noon place mon thruâ friday that buy and use drugs. All their drug [cocaine, marijuana, meth] dealers are black. There are probably white ones around, but dont know of any. The couple of drug dealers I have seen through them drive nice SUVs.
We had a local 'freeâ paper [comes out every 2 weeks with a few stories, mostly for the advertising of businesses and cultural activities] recently with the front page picture asking, Is Heroine in Central Georgia? And YES!!. The distributorship is in Atlanta. And has been showing up in small amounts right now here in Macon, Augusta, Savannah.
I have long time AA and NA friends. Have one I met 10 years ago and met others through him, took him to meetings. Went to AA and NA week-end events through the years with several. Have another person lately without transportation and take him when needed. Quite a few of them have been both on alcohol and drugs. You would, maybe, be surprised how many were using drugs to moderate their Bi-Polar, ADD symptoms. This was before they were aware they had these problems. Taking proper medication now.
