Actually, 40 years (more like 35 years ago) both creation and the sanctuary were hot, hot topics in Adventism, along with righteousness by faith and the inspiration of Ellen White. For the first time, many SDAs saw there were different ways to understand these core ideas, and ministers and church-paid theologians were publishing differing views. So, although some were “reflecting” certain pillars–or so it seemed at the time–they were in fact helping the church to reformulate its ideas for a new generation.
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I am certain it is fairly obvious to everyone which way God would have us choose and then be confused why our neighbor does not see the same obvious choice we do!
There are also churches where “a succinct, snappy, spiritual and memorable sermon” is combined with praise music and a band or orchestra. They can go together very effectively!
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Mark your addendum’s betray a lack of faith I find disheartening. It’s prevalent in our church today true. But not really excusable. The world’s politics and it’s culture war are not our affair. Your passion for politics is clear. However the only things we should be concerned about are keeping our faith in the Bible and the soon coming of Jesus foremost in our minds. I agree it’s a mistake for our church to focus so heavily on “surviving the end times” or however you want to put it. There’s not a single thing we can do to make sure we survive except out our trust in Christ. Because 1:we are right. And 2: Christ is coming soon.
I’m about as left wing politically as a person can be. However ive felt a strong conviction that politics is a waste of our time. When you say we must integrate our faith and politics I wonder how you address the fact that you are advocating the destruction of the separation of church and state? Just as right wing Christians using the law to enforce their beliefs is wrong. It also follows that left wing Christians doing the same would still be the same evil. The separation of church and state must be an absolute. Yes I realize the church hasn’t been terribly good about this. But that’s no excuse to abondon the principle altogether.
At least since the days Plato wrote Euthyphro, the answer has been, “No.”
Torah was a valiant effort at delineating what the god(s) do, and do not, approve. And, of course, there is Mishnah, Gemara, and, well, the scholars can tell you better than I.
And Adventists have their own Talmud, much more voluminous than the Christian Bible.
The White Estate, at the top of its web page, has two daily reading sources penned by Ellen White:
http://www.whiteestate.org/devotional/subscribe.asp
Kind of interesting:
In recent times, many observant Jews have taken up the practice of studying a page of Talmud every day. This practice, referred to as daf yomi (page of the day), was started at the First International Congress of the Agudath Yisrael World Movement in August, 1923.
http://www.jewfaq.org/torah.htm
Moving on…R.J. Rushdoony, alluded to by Gerry Chudleigh in his book, A Short History of Headship Doctrine in the Seventh-day Adventist Church (free at Barnes and Noble), has his Institutes of Biblical Law.
And I personally tried to integrate the related Talmud of Bill Gothard, also referenced by Gerry Chudleigh, with the Talmud of Ellen White, with less than salutary results.
There is only so much room in a person’s brain before their “big tent” shatters into “many little camps.”
Perhaps there is a corporate corollary to my personal experience regarding the amount of disparate doctrine the SDA church, and SDA individuals, can absorb without inevitably shattering? God only knows, and time will tell. But I believe there is.
The video of the Yom Kippur eve vote on the unity document is “private” we are told:
Watch Annual Council Live:
https://news.adventist.org/en/live/
So, I guess, for now, I can’t solve this mystery: Did Mike Ryan really use the word thump regarding the Phase Two fate of rebellious unions? Surely I misheard that remark.
Jim Moyers, also a graduate of Sunnydale Academy, has described this church as a multinational corporation. It’s hard for me to wrap my head around the universe waiting with “bated breath” (Shakespeare, Shylock) for a multinational corporation to get its act together and Solve God’s Problem.
(Jim Coffin, Mike Ryan, Jim Moyers. Was there something in the water at Centralia, Missouri?)
Ellen White: We were disappointed but not disheartened. We resolved to submit patiently to the process of purifying that God deemed needful for us; to refrain from murmuring at the trying ordeal by which the Lord was purging us from the dross and refining us like gold in the furnace.
We resolved to wait with patient hope for the Saviour to redeem His tried and faithful ones.
I have every confidence that you, Adventist friends, will learn for yourselves the difficulties inherent in writing multiple Talmuds on the fleshy tables of the heart, and in numbering the sands in the seas and stars in the skies.
Happy Sukkot.
I can see where you might perceive my words as wanting the church to pursue a religious agenda and separation of Church and State. Last thing I want. Not my intent. I am simply stating that in the US we live in a participatory democracy, which means it is our civic duty to vote. And so, we need to bring our Kingdom values into the voting booth.