I said this elsewhere but it seems apropos here.
Religion: Man’s attempt to codify God
Spirituality: God’s ability to inhabit a life
3 Likes
If only those were dictionary definitions.
Sorry. That should be, “the genius of successful religions that ensures their longevity.”
1 Like
Cassie,
FWIW, I recently contacted Amazing Facts, a ministry of a well known Adventist pastor/author and asked them to comment on an article I read by another quite well known Adventist pastor/author. The article dealt with our assurance in the end times but I was interested in several Ellen White quotes it contained about the gospel:
‘We cannot have the assurance and perfect confiding trust in Christ as our Saviour until we acknowledge Him as our King and are obedient to His commandments.’ (Faith and Works, p.16).
‘When souls are converted, their salvation is not yet accomplished. They then have the race to run. An arduous struggle is before them.’
(My Life Today, p. 313)
‘We are saved by climbing round after round of the ladder, looking to Christ, clinging to Christ, mounting step by step to the height of Christ, so that He is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption. Faith, virtue, knowledge, temperance, patience, godliness, brotherly-kindness, and charity are the rounds of this ladder’ (Testimonies, vol.6, p.147).
In contrast, here is the Ellen White view of the gospel per AF (with which I agree):
‘It is the righteousness of Christ that makes the penitent sinner acceptable to God and works his justification. However sinful has been his life, if he believes in Jesus as his personal Saviour, he stands before God in the spotless robes of Christ’s imputed righteousness.’ (Faith and Works, p. 106).
Quotes of Ellen White used to support two different gospels, some from the same book.
In the first group she speaks of faith and works being required for salvation, in the second belief or faith in what Christ has done for us and that His perfect righteousness has been credited to us is all that is required (as I understand it, the mainstream Protestant position).
God promises us new life and so the resulting works are a product, not a cause, of salvation.
And every city or house divided against itself will not stand…
2 Likes
Despite the patently religious stance of your friend’s piece, I rather like this snippet:
Here’s an approximation from JFK:
“Too often we hold fast to the clichés of our forebears. We subject all facts to a prefabricated set of interpretations. We enjoy the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought. Mythology distracts us everywhere. For the great enemy of the truth is very often not the lie: deliberate, contrived, and dishonest. But the myth: persistent, persuasive, and unrealistic.”
2 Likes
Absolutely, Dave.
We certainly have our work cut out for us.
I suggest we assume the posture of Elijah, if we want our brains to function properly.
Talk about a house divided against itself:
…
1 Like
Sometimes the cure is worse than the disease.
Sometimes the disease is the cure.
I suppose there must be some scenario where that’s the case. Food for thought. Or are we talking vaccines here? 
1 Like
You have a good sniffer.
1 Like
You’re too kind. And in return for that bit of generosity (one good turn deserves another), here’s a shameless plug for my Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/adventistopen/
2 Likes
The individual who "adjusts" has managed to relegate the two contradictory injunctions of the double bind - to imitate and not to imitate - to two different domains of application..
That is, he divides reality in such a way as to neutralize the double bind.This is precisely the procedure of primitive cultures.
At the origin of any individual or collective “adjustment” lies concealed a certain arbitrary violence.
The well-adjusted person is thus one who conceals his violent impulses and condones the collective’s concealment of them.
The “maladjusted” individual cannot tolerate this concealment.
“Mental illness” and rebellion, like the sacrificial crisis they resemble, commit the individual to falsehoods and to forms of violence that are certainly more damaging to him than the disguised violence channeled through sacrificial rites but that bring him closer to the heart of the enigma.
Many psychic catastrophes misunderstood by the psychoanalyst result from an inchoate, obstinate reaction against the violence and falsehood found in any human society”
― René Girard, Violence and the Sacred
Guilty as charged, Your Honor!
Thank you…you’re too kind, in turn.
Zuckerberg and I used to have a thing, but now we’re just friends…
Lucky you. Go ahead and share the juicy details here. We need to know. 
Zuckerberg had a thang with millions of us, and shared our juicy bits all around.
So…”No more juicy bits for you, Mark,” said lots of us.
So sorry to hear. I feel your pain. 
1 Like
"This non-involvement with social issues goes way back in Adventist history."
So true. I can remember being taught that all other social service groups outside of Adventism were always suspect. For this reason, there were always separate SDA services such as the old Dorcas Society (before it bit the dust). I can NEVER remember when the local church joined forces with another Christian church or political group to do anything in the community.
1 Like
@cincerity, Very good point. “local church joined forces”… the unspoken viewpoint, which should permeate all NT christians… is… what is Jesus calling me to do within my “own” personal sphere… Ministry is not something external that defines us. It is the internal working of God’s purpose and understanding of the “fellowship of all believers”… IF the SDA stressed the overall importance of each ones value to God and treated each other in kind…
This would create bonds of fellowship and trust with “other followers of Christ”… What will Jesus ask me when he returns,… were you an SDA or… (i am not currently) or … did you share my love and care for those also for whom I died and provided opportunities for you to comfort and show care…
Membership doesn’t have its privileges … knowledge of Jesus daily includes “whom we come in contact with”… … its called God’s providence. May it ever continue to be my teacher and help me keep my heart ready for God’s influence.
with kind regards,
Gracevessel
1 Like
Here in Orlando a lot of different church fellowships give to Second Harvest Food bank. That inlydes sone SDA churches. It has a very good reputation.
1 Like
I remember going to Dorcas Society every Wednesday with my mother when I was a toddler. The church women would spend the whole day sorting, washing, and mending used clothes. Making quilts, packing food boxes, and gossiping up a storm. Gossip was a very important part of the day. I think I learned more about inappropriate dalliances than any little boy that age should ever learn! lol
Our local congregation here in our coastal town runs the community food bank and still sorts, washes, and mends clothing to pass out to those less fortunate. I don’t know if they gossip, but I’ll venture a guess that times have not changed much during the intervening years. The difference between then and now is that it’s a cooperative venture among any interested local charitable or religious organization but hosted in the SDA facilities.
4 Likes