Comment on Open letter to General Conference by Pastor Randy Brehms.
I propose that those who refer to themselves as “Progressive Seventh-day Adventists, be allowed to form their own organization with that name, and with the blessing of the General Conference (meaning no trademark suit) after all we have the “Reform Seventh-day Adventist Church, why not the antithesis. I mean the two extremes, and then in true American fashion we could choose which one we believe to represent our opinions. This has never been about tolerance, or academic freedom. This is totally and completely about loyalty. It is about mission, and the purpose that Seventh-day Adventist Church Schools were established. Teachers who cannot instruct their students in historic Adventism both religiously and scientifically should be urged to seek employment elsewhere, and if they don’t accept that urging then the should be dismissed. As a Seventh-day Adventist minister if I were teaching things that are categorically opposed to the teaching of the church I should be urged to leave, or be fired. There are realms of theology and orthodoxy that can vary from person to person, from minister to minister, but on the fundamentals, there should be unanimity or intellectual honesty demands that one seek to do something else for a living.
This is not rocket science. Those of you on this blog that have migrated from ATODAY and Spectrum, would you not be served better by your own organization instead of this pretended membership in an organization that you fundamentally believe to be in ignorance and error? Is it not the height of hypocrisy to remain in said organization while undermining the very foundation upon which it is founded? “Hypocrisy is the act of persistently pretending to hold beliefs, opinions, virtues, feelings, qualities, or standards that one does not actually hold. Hypocrisy is thus a kind of lie.hypocrisy may come from a desire to hide from others actual motives or feelings. Is not this perhaps the underlying motiveâ€. “Quoted from that paragon of trustworthy information “Wikipeda†the Miriam Webster Dictionary defines a hypocrite as: hyp•o•crite Function: noun Etymology: Middle English ypocrite, from Anglo-French, from Late Latin hypocrita, from Greek hypokritÄ“s actor, hypocrite, from hypokrinesthaiDate: 13th century 1 : a person who puts on a false appearance of virtue or religion 2 : a person who acts in contradiction to his or her stated beliefs (baptismal vows) or feelings. By trying to remake the science as accepted by the Seventh-day Adventist Church, and now reaffirmed by the General Conference President and many other Adventist Institutions of Higher Education, is not continued membership in such an organization while undermining it’s very values (which is a six day creation week, short age earth, upon which the Sabbath is a fundamental part) hypocritical? Of course each must answer that for himself.
I think Wikapedia’s explanation to be accurate in that those who claim to be progressive Seventh-day Adventists are in reality hiding from others their actual motives which in my opinion is to destroy the Seventh-day Adventist Church as we historically know it.
Bravis and others of his persuasion may be Sabbatarians, but they certainly are not Seventh-day Adventists in the sense of the 28 fundamental beliefs. I believe we have attempted to make the tent too big, and too inclusive so much so that you can believe most anything you like, and still claim to be a Seventh-day Adventist. Again, I would be my desire that all of you claiming to be progressives leave the rest of us poor ignorant, misguided and woefully naive Seventh-day Adventists alone and go somewhere else to play tiddlywinks with your so called intellectuality. I agree that a complete examination of that which is taught needs to be reviewed by both educators, administrators, and laity. There is far more taught in some of our institutions of higher learning that would shock the average grass roots Seventh-day Adventist.
Earlier on this blog I suggested that perhaps our colleges and universities had outlived their usefulness. Perhaps it is time to encourage our young people to obtain their education from secular institutions. At least when they attend them they do so with their guard up knowing that not everything they will be taught is the truth. Then perhaps we could build Seventh-day Adventist Campus Centers like many other denominations off campus that could have theological classes to train our youth in Seventh-day Adventist beliefs. Doing this could even become a major outreach of the church. Besides the cost would me much less both in tuition, and in property management.
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Recent Comments by Pastor Randy Brehms
Former LSU student letter reveals professor’s agenda
This morning in my reading of the SOP I found the following quotation: “In the work of educating the youth in our schools, it will be a difficult matter to retain the influence of God’s Holy Spirit, and at the same time hold fast to erroneous principles. The light shining upon those who have eyes to see, cannot be mingled with the darkness of heresy and error found in many of the text-books recommended to the students in our colleges. Both teachers and pupils have thought that in order to obtain an education, it was necessary to study the productions of writers who teach infidelity, because their works contain some bright gems of thought. But who was the originator of these gems of thought?–It was God and God alone; for he is the source of all light. Are not all things essential for the health and growth of the spiritual and moral nature found in the pages of Holy Writ? Is not Christ our living head? And are not we to grow up in him to the full stature of men and women? Can an impure fountain send forth sweet waters? Why should we wade through the mass of error contained in the works of pagans and infidels, for the sake of obtaining the benefit of a few intellectual truths, when all truth is at our command? {CE 98.2} {CT 378.1}” [edit] Certainly the people who teach that which is contrary to our biblical understanding as a denomination would qualify as unbelievers.
Former LSU student letter reveals professor’s agenda
I am amazed that anyone would think that this is something that is recent, and just a witch hunt to harm innocent individuals by taking away their academic freedom, and their freedom of speech.
I also am struck by the lack of the usual negative contributors to this blog that have trashed this blog and historical Adventism. It would seem that even they have been silenced by this documented betrayal. This is not recent. This has been going on for a long time. If it has been going on for so long, then how many of our other doctrines have been tweaked to correspond with other more evangelical views? Have we been compromised in more than the creation/evolution debate? Are there other areas of our twenty eight fundamental beliefs that have been arranged to say what the reader wants to believe it says?
It is time that we studied to show ourselves approved unto God, workmen that need not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. You might be surprised at how many theological issues have been swept under the carpet in the interest of unity, and pressing together. There are too many of our people who are very willing to take the word of scholars, the BRI, Doug Bachelor, Dwight Nelson, and others. This is not to imply that they teach error, but how do we know? Have we been like the Bereans who didn’t even give unlimited trust to Paul? We are under studied, and therefore ignorant of many of the current issues facing the Seventh-day Adventist Church.
Just because an individual has an earned PhD in a given discipline or multiple disciplinary areas of either the bible or science means that they are to be taken as the final word on truth. You, your bible, the Spirit of Prophecy, a good concordance under the guidance of the Holy Spirit are the equal of any scholar. They have just done it longer and in perhaps a more focused way. Many academics are also more acquainted with what other academics have taught about the bible, than the scriptures themselves. They have sat at the feet of others who may or may not believe, which poses a whole other problem. Is it possible that the great shaking that is directly ahead will turn church upside down. Anything that can be shaken loose will be shaken loose. I would suggest that we get ready, because it is directly ahead.
I firmly believe in some ways not only will we have to have faith in the face of limited, or no evidence, but at the very end, we will be required to have faith in the face of contrary evidence. The final deception will be so powerful that it could deceive the very elect. We take that warning lightly at our own spiritual risk. I only pray I will not be one of those shaken out.
Ted Wilson: “We will not flinch. We will not be deterred.”
I do not know Ted Wilson. I like what he has said before the session. Trust however is not just a word, it is something that must be earned. I don’t mean to be cynical, but I struggle with the thought of someone who has be advanced and moved into a variety of administrative positions, and who’s career has been orchestrated so as to make the position of General Conference President probable and now actual. Can anyone doubt that from the time he was a young man Elder Ted Wilson has been groomed and guided to this moment in time. I want to believe that such grooming was completely and totally at the instigation of the Holy Spirit, and not by human sources. So far it sounds good. Time will bring the truth or the lie to what has been said and proposed. I personally pray that He (Ted Wilson) is exactly what he has said he is. If he is, then we need to rejoice and be exceeding glad for he is the man we need for this hour. I will pray that he is that man, and that words will become action and reality. I would pose one question. Why is it that progressive agenda’s are always seen as forward movement, and conservative ideas and actions are always branded as witch hunts? If one’s argument cannot carry the day, then it seems that they resort to insinuation, intimidation and name calling. If a there is a witch then they need at least to be a witch somewhere else rather than in our institutions of higher learning. I would hope we can all agree to that.
LSU’s Board targets three of its members
If there is punitive measures against any board member and it should be linked to their relating vital information to those who need to know then, excuse me, the chairman of that board needs to answer to someone. I had my head Deacon come to me and made a statement how the one student should have gone to the teachers privately instead of writing a letter and spreading it everywhere. He is an elderly gentlemen who is one of my valuable right hands. However when he said this I quickly indicated to him, that the story he was relating had some serious flaws in it. Evidently he was loosely quoting something that Elder Ricardo Grahm had written in “The Recorder” I did not read the article, but Louie Bishop served as a bible instructor in my district in 2008. I found him genuine, energetic, dedicated to the Seventh-day Adventist Church and it’s “28 Fundamental Beliefs” (including #6) (which seems to escape the progressives in the church!) trained by AFCOE to be a bible instructor, and a graduate from the “University of California at Davis” with high academic honors, and outstanding athletic recognition.
And then to be accused of not being forthright with his Professors and going to them privately is just plain a lie. It was David Asserick who I very much respect that sent the letter to Jan Paulsen, Don Schneider, and Ricardo Grahm, the letter that was distributed far and near. It was David not Louie that did that. So it’s time that there was honesty. When I told my Deacon the truth, he thanked me. He says, sometimes things are so confusing. Sad but true.
Video show LSU undermining church doctrine
I hold credentials from the Northern California Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, and I am in good and regular standing. I am aghast at this. It is betrayal of the greatest sort. We are not just adding new understandings we are changing our world view from one concept to a totally foreign one. One that destroys the Sabbath, and the Seventh-day Adventist Church. It’s time we closed such college and let our young people attend secular institutions with a on campus SDA center. It’s cheaper, and the young people going there would have their guard up knowing they will be taught things that undermine their faith. This is unacceptable in a Seventh-day Adventist funded and operated institution of higher learning.
