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As those who have been following the movements of our Church know, Pastor Walter “Chick” McGill of the CSDA movement recently undertook an evangelistic trip to the country of Canada, returning in October in time for the recently concluded Feast of Tabernacles. During his time abroad, he was able to meet and share our teachings with a number of individuals both within and outside of the mainstream Seventh-day Adventist body.
Many of the hearers received the materials and the reminders of pure, original, Adventist doctrines with joy; however, there are always going to be those who will not advance beyond their creeds, rejecting both the Scriptural and Adventist teachings that there indeed will be further light before the end, with “many lessons to learn, and many, many to unlearn. God and heaven alone are infallible. Those who think that they will never have to give up a cherished view, never have occasion to change an opinion, will be disappointed. As long as we hold to our own ideas and opinions with determined persistency, we cannot have the unity for which Christ prayed.” [Ellen G. White, Selected Messages Book 1, page 37]
Whether through blind adherence to the current opinions of the mainstream SDA Church, prejudice against those with whom they are not already familiar, a love of sin, or simple ignorance of our true teachings (this factor will soon become apparent), there were some who attempted to publish a “warning” against the teachings of the CSDA Church for distribution. Some of our beloved brethren in Canada, however, received a copy, and forwarded it to us for our edification.
I must confess, it was difficult to take the document seriously. Upon reading it, it quickly became very clear that the people or person who wrote the letter have no idea what the CSDA Church teaches. Every paragraph, almost without exception, contains inflammatory opinionating, misquotations of our precious work, outright lies about what Mr. McGill teaches, and – not surprisingly – no Scripture. Aside from the passage quoted at the beginning of the letter, the Bible is left behind in the dust (save for three brief and irrelevant verses), and the unfounded accusations are loosed. But the reader may see for himself or herself, before I write our response to these words:
These four posts above are pictures of photocopies, therefore every word is faithfully reproduced, spelling and grammatical errors intact. Even the most casual reader will note (even without knowing our doctrines) the sheer carelessness that has gone into the production of this bit of literature, and the wild finger-pointing in which the author has engaged. But even kindly ignoring these things, we must proceed to deal with what is actually stated, though uniformly incorrectly.
Thus:
Page 1
Some of the Adventist Church have recently left the church
and followed after a man by the name of Walter McGill. Believing that he is the true Israel.
The
misrepresentations of our beliefs begin in the very first statements, in the
very introduction to the warning.
Walter McGill, with whom I have worked for a number of years now, and
with whose teachings in writing for the past 16 years I have become familiar,
has never claimed to be “the true Israel.”
Nor do any of us believe this of him; nor do any of us follow him. We are working with him as
co-laborers in the vineyard (Luke 10:2) to gather Israel (which, as Adventists
have always taught, is the complete, corporate body of Overcomers) from the
world. This has been the job of the
Church since the days of the apostles, and merits no criticism.
We welcomed Mr. McGill at our church innocently believing
him to be a brother and having heard that he was wanting to come here and spend
some time in prayer and that he was facing a court action […]
And so
he did; however, the opposition appears to have begun when his hearers realized
that it was their own beloved church that was bringing the stated court
action! If a church (or any other
entity) persecutes an Adventist for his beliefs, such as Sabbath-keeping,
immediately the outrage and sympathy springs forth. If the SDA church, however, is doing the persecuting of others
for their beliefs, that’s perfectly acceptable in the minds of blind
partisans. God is no respecter of
persons, and neither must His people be. (Deu 16:19, Rom 2:11, James 2:9) Injustice is injustice, regardless of what
kind of a mask it wears, or who is wielding the sword of Caesar.
He presented that:
The church had become “the image of the beast” mentioned
in Revelation since it united with the state (separation of church and state is
something that the Adventist church believes in although it is not
Scriptural. In God we see both church
and state united. The nation of Israel
under Moses was church and state in one… etc. [no closing bracket]
This is
one of the major inconsistencies I see in this paper. This person apparently intends to convince Adventists that the
CSDA position is wrong by presenting the idea that Adventist beliefs are
unscriptural!
IF this
individual believed that the separation of church and state was a valid concept
(a belief that is both Adventist AND Scriptural) he or she would have a much
easier time following the chain of thought and arriving at the conclusion
(spelled out for us in The Great Controversy) that any time a church
uses civil law and civil penalties to protect itself or enforce its will, it
becomes an image of the beast. Here is
one of many such quotes: “In order for the United States to form an image of
the beast, the religious power must so control the civil government that the
authority of the state will also be employed by the church to accomplish her
own ends.” [The Great Controversy, page 443]
One
other, “Although church and state will unite their power to compel ‘all, both
small and great, rich and poor, free and bond’ (Revelation 13:16), to receive ‘the
mark of the beast,’ yet the people of God will not receive it.” [The Great
Controversy, page 450]
Now
again, we would not expect a Christian in general to simply accept such
statements at once, although the principles are certainly logically true – and
historically borne out. Yet this
warning was written and distributed to Adventists, who already know and
believe these things! Any Protestant,
Adventist or not, should know far better than to believe that God ordains the
civil power to punish religious heresy.
But what can we say about those who oppose our message, except that they
are terribly confused?
But let
us take nothing for granted. First, let’s
establish that the separation of church and state is Scriptural.
“Then
went the Pharisees, and took counsel how they might entangle [Christ] in His
talk. And they sent out unto Him their disciples with the Herodians, saying, ‘Master,
we know that thou art true, and teachest the way of God in truth, neither
carest thou for any man, for thou regardest not the person of men. Tell us therefore, What thinkest thou? Is it
lawful to give tribute unto Caesar, or not?’
“But
Jesus perceived their wickedness, and said, ‘Why tempt ye me, ye
hypocrites? Shew me the tribute money.’
And they brought unto Him a penny.
“And He
saith unto them, ‘Whose is this image and superscription?’ They say unto Him, ‘Caesar’s.’
Then saith He unto them, ‘Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are
Caesar’s; and unto God the things that are God’s.’ When they had heard these words they marvelled, and left Him, and
went their way.” (Matthew 22:15-22)
Thus,
there are some things that belong to Caesar, like taxes, and some things that
belong to the God of our salvation, such as our highest loyalty, faith, and
love. In Romans 13, Paul points out
that the civil government was raised up, and allowed to exist by the Creator,
in order to punish evil. This is not,
however, the same thing as punishing sin.
The word there, kakos in
Greek, implies troublesome, injurious behavior. Only the Almighty Father and His Only-Begotten are responsible
for judging sin. (Jude 1:14, 15)
Now, it
is true that under a theocracy church and state are united. Moses was an example of this; however, the
Biblical record makes it very clear that after a king was chosen, an earthly
civil leader, this manner of operation ceased, and will not be again until the
return of Christ. (Deu 17:14, 15; 1 Sam 8:22; Dan 2:44)
Here is
another occasion on which it is mystifying to me why this individual seeks to
convince Adventists of something by arguing against Adventist doctrines. For example, aside from the Bible verses
above, we have in the writings of Mrs. White, several clear and
freely-available statements that point out the difference between a theocracy
and the forms of government that now exist in the world.
For
example: “A theocracy is a government which derives its power immediately from God.
The government of Israel was a true theocracy. […] Since the kingdom of Israel
passed away, God has never delegated authority to any man or body of men to
execute His laws as such. ‘Vengeance is Mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.’
Romans 12:19. Civil governments have to do with the relations of man with man;
but they have nothing whatever to do with the duties that grow out of man’s
relation to God.
“Except
the kingdom of Israel, no government has ever existed on the earth in which God
by inspired men directed the affairs of state. Whenever men have endeavored to
form such a government as that of Israel, they have, of necessity, taken it
upon themselves to interpret and enforce the law of God. They have assumed the
right to control the conscience, and thus have usurped the prerogative of God.
“In the
former dispensation, while sins against God were visited with temporal
penalties, the judgments executed were not only by divine sanction, but under
His direct control, and by His command. Sorcerers were to be put to death.
Idolaters were to be slain. Profanity and sacrilege were punished with death.
Whole nations of idolaters were to be exterminated. But the infliction of these
penalties was directed by Him who reads the hearts of men, who knows the
measure of their guilt, and who deals with His creatures in wisdom and mercy.
When men, with human frailties and passions, undertake to do this work, it
needs no argument to show that the door is opened to unrestrained injustice and
cruelty. The most inhuman crimes will be perpetrated, and all in the sacred
name of Christ.” [Excerpted from the 8th Appendix note of Patriarchs
and Prophets]
I
highly recommend that every reader who is attempting to understand last day
events become familiar with what Mrs. White wrote in that appendix note. I need add no emphases to the words I quoted
above, but the entire Appendix note is excellent for bringing forth the
principles we have come to accept with ringing clarity. But enough is said on this point for now.
The government of both Great Britain and Canada is still
patterned after the Biblical model.
This is
nonsense. Everyone who has read 1
Samuel realizes that Israel only instituted a monarchy because of its rejection
of the theocratic form of government.
The author appears not to have any clear idea of what God intended for
His people on earth. The Almighty has
allowed forms of government such as monarchies and democracies to exist until
He returns to establish His everlasting Kingdom, but in the meantime we are
repeatedly and clearly told to respect the powers that be inasmuch as they do
not violate conscience. (1Pet 2:17, Acts 5:29)
Yet if
this individual actually believes that a monarchy is “superior” to a democracy,
he or she is not going to make any headway whatsoever with faithful SDAs. Mrs. White has informed us, “The
Constitution of the United States guarantees liberty of conscience. Nothing is dearer or more fundamental.”
[The Great Controversy, page 564, emphasis added] If this response ever gets into the hands of
the author of the “Warning,” I pray he or she will accept the testimony of
Scripture and the writings of our Adventist pioneers on these matters – and
endeavor to study them so that he/she will become intelligently convinced,
and not a mere follower of men; these are vital issues for our understanding of
who our Father is.
The Adventist Church is not the “Image of the Beast”
spoken of in Revelation 13 and onward.
As Mr. McGill claims. (see the paper ERROR #1 The Church is not
the Image of the Beast)
An
example of misunderstanding our teachings.
We do NOT claim that “The Adventist Church is the Image of The Beast.” To give a clear parallel, we do not say that
the Catholic Church is the first beast.
It is the papacy, that chimera resulting from the union of civil
and divine right, which constitutes the beast.
The Catholic Church has suffered, and is suffering, from the faulty
doctrines produced by this monstrous amalgamation, but many of the individuals
are as devout and sincere as any Adventist ever was. People are not our enemies, illusions are.
Now
similarly, the truly Adventist Church is God’s Church! The mainstream church (commonly thought to
be Adventist in beliefs) has come under the leadership of a corporation, a
pseudo-entity that has legal standing, and the authority to use civil law to
enforce its will. Adventist people are
being oppressed, many without their knowledge, by what the organization has
become. When this message reaches
people, and they see what their leaders have done, they will be in the position
of the faithful Hebrews in the latter verses of Acts 2. They will see that they have become guilty
of rejecting truth by virtue of their association with fallen leadership, and
will seek to find the true congregation of Adventists.
The
gates of Hell have never prevailed against Christ’s Church; yet the
organization (the keepers of the vineyard) have been changed every time those
keepers have united their will with that of the civil government in order to
protect themselves, or force others to bend to their decrees. (Mat 21:43, Rev
13:10)
To be
clear, we do teach that it is necessary to separate from the General Conference’s
organization, which is no longer the Adventist Church of God (see Manuscript Releases Volume Twelve,
page 388, paragraph 1, quoted below, for the procedure to becoming “unchurched”). This is the corporation of which I am
speaking. Loyalty to those who
persecute others is registered in Heaven as a sin against Christ in the person
of His saints. (Mat 25:40) However, we
believe in the continuing validity of the Adventist Church – as identified
by distinctively Adventist teachings.
This is the reason we have sought so carefully and thoroughly to expound
the positions of our pioneers, thus rejecting such ideas as salvation in sin,
and the doctrine of the Trinity; but more on that shortly. New light will come, and has come, but it
must line up with every principle, every basic concept, our founders set forth
at the leading of the Holy Spirit.
By the
way, no paper entitled ERROR #1 was included with the document we received from
our Canadian brethren who let us know about these events. Due to the careless nature of the writing we
have received at the hand of the author, it is questionable as to
whether or not it exists; if, however, we later receive the missing(?) section,
I will add my reply as a footnote, or incorporate it into a revision of this
rebuttal.
The Church has not apostatized or fallen as he says and
has done nothing contrary to Scripture. (See ERROR #2 The church has not
apostatized)
We did receive a page entitled: “ERROR #2 The church has apostatized.” I will deal with the specifics of that
shortly, but to the statement, “[the church] has done nothing contrary to
Scripture,” the only way I can explain this statement is to conclude that the
author does not know what Scripture says.
Here is just one of an array of examples:
The
General Conference Corporation’s position/actions:
The SDA
Church has taken people to court, and thrown them into prison for keeping the
name Seventh Day Adventist, yet denying the authority of men.
The
Scriptures:
“Dare
any of you, having a matter against another, go to law before the unjust, and
not before the saints?” (1 Cor 6:1)
“…but
if [the dissenter] neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an
heathen man and a publican.” (Mat 18:17)
NOTE: The highest form of punishment ever to be administered by Christ’s
Church is excommunication, or disfellowship.
No civil penalties are ever to be exacted by the Church of the Messiah;
Scripture uniformly condemns this wicked notion.
“Jesus
answered, ‘My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this
world, then would my servants fight…’” (John 18:36)
The
True Adventist (and CSDA) position:
“I have
written largely in regard to Christians who believe the truth placing their
cases in courts of law to obtain redress. In doing this, they are biting and
devouring one another in every sense of the word, “to be consumed one of
another.” They cast aside the inspired counsel God has given, and in the face
of the message He gives they do the very thing He has told them not to do. Such
men may as well stop praying to God, for He will not hear their prayers.”
[Ellen G. White, Selected Messages Book 3, page 302, paragraph 2]
“The
world and unconverted church members are in sympathy. Some when God reproves
them for wanting their own way, make the world their confidence, and bring
church matters before the world for decision. Then there is collision and
strife, and Christ is crucified afresh, and put to open shame. Those church
members who appeal to the courts of the world show that they have chosen the
world as their judge, and their names are registered in heaven as one with
unbelievers.” [Ellen G. White, Selected Messages Book 3, page 302,
paragraph 3]
Other
examples of the changes the modern Conference association has made to the
Biblical and pioneer positions may be seen in the articles:
Page 2
[Mr. McGill] claims to be himself the real remnant Seventh
Day Adventist Church.
It is
true we believe the mainstream Adventist Church, under the power of the General
Conference Corporation, has apostatized.
We make no excuses for this belief, as the articles above make it
manifest. However, no individual claims
to be “the real remnant … Church.” As
before, this appears to be either a language-barrier problem, or some kind of
fundamental error in thought processing.
We, as a collective people, are Israel; we, as a collective people, are
the Church. Statements such as that
which is made in the document serve only to undermine the credibility of the
author.
How can he claim that the church has apostatized when it has
done nothing contrary to scripture.
He says it is because the General Conference is doing just
like the Catholic Church did during the dark ages. What’s that? Burning
heretics at the stake? They are using
the arm of the state to put people in prison.
The
author then goes on, amazingly, to try and make a case for a church using civil
power to enforce its will! He is
obviously not a Protestant Christian.
No one who understands the mission of Martin Luther and those who were
martyred in pagan Rome would make such irresponsible, sarcastic and arrogant
claims. No one who has ever read the
writings of our Adventist pioneers with any degree of understanding would think
to promote this satanic idea. It is a
spitting on the shed blood of the saints.
If anyone needs a detailed response to this section, please email me,
but I can’t imagine that the spirit of the writer of that document doesn’t make
itself clear, and in the interest of time I’ll simply let it speak for itself.
The
author concludes this section by claiming that Mr. McGill “deserves” to go to
jail (none of us expects to be burnt at the stake, to reply to the ridiculous
hyperbole), because he has “stolen” the SDA name. Here is one specific point:
Mr. McGill claims that he must not surrender the use of
this name. He claims that it belongs to
him.
We claim it belongs to EVERY commandment-keeping child of God. This statement seems to have been included
in the letter merely for its shock value.
There is nothing in Scripture that says anything about
wearing the name “Seventh Day Adventist.”
This is a made up name.
Having it or not having it therefore is optional and does not
affect one’s standing as a Christian.
Not being a member of the organization means that you are not a Seventh
Day Adventist according to law.
I have
emphasized three sections of the above quote, because I believe they most
clearly point out the author’s true beliefs.
And again, how he expects to reach Adventists with this kind of mindset
is a true mystery to me. While
Christians of the various denominations do not accept “Seventh Day Adventist” as the name of the Church, Adventists
believe it is! Now, for a general
Christian, we would simply teach the Gospel, and an understanding of the
commandments, then invite them to join the Church that teaches these things…
but for someone already an Adventist, to claim that SDA “is a made up name” is
only going to draw stunned silence.
Adventists
(true Adventists) believe:
“We are
Seventh-day Adventists. Are we ashamed of our name? We answer, ‘No, no! We are
not. It is the name the Lord has given us. It points out the truth that
is to be the test of the churches.’” [Selected Messages, Book 2, 384,
emphasis added] NOTE: If it was a made
up name, it was “made up” in Heaven.
“As to
the name Seventh-day Adventists: I was shown in regard to the remnant people of
God taking a name. . . . No name which we can take will be appropriate but that
which accords with our profession and expresses our faith and marks us a
peculiar people.” [The Early Years Volume 1, p.438]
“The name,
Seventh-day Adventist, is a standing rebuke to the Protestant world. Here is
the line of distinction between the worshipers of God, and those who worship
the beast, and receive his mark.” [Spiritual Gifts. Volume 4B, page
54,55, emphases added]
Is the
name “optional” as the writer of the “Warning” paper suggests? Not to anyone who believes Mrs. White was an
inspired writer. Now, to the average
citizen of Christendom, we would not begin in this manner, by pointing out the
importance of a “name.” It is only when
the name means something, when it represents something, then it has value. To those who truly “keep the commandments of
God and the faith of Jesus,” this name means something. And no, it does not matter what the “law”
says about it. McDonald’s, the author’s
failed attempt at a parallel on page 2 of “Warning,” is a human-run business
under civil law; the Church of Christ is not by any means comparable to a fast
food franchise. The author appears to
be saying that the CIVIL LAW has the right to tell us who an ADVENTIST is! That, dear readers, is abomination!
He is collecting tithes from Adventist members under false
pretenses.
This
is, entirely and completely, a lie.
Not Walter McGill, nor any one of us, his associates, has ever pretended
to be a part of the General Conference’s version of the Adventist Church. Indeed, we have made it a point to separate
ourselves from the Conference on paper (membership records), in doctrine, in
words, and certainly in corporate actions.
We make it very clear that we are an entirely separate organization from
the Conference, and even when we receive a question on our Message
Board about our position on this or that doctrine, we immediately make it
clear that we differ from the “mainstream” church in some fundamental ways.
We have
never collected a single cent from anyone, Adventist or otherwise, by
presenting ourselves as a part of the Conference churches. Frankly, we would not be able to stand the
shame of it. Let the author look to his
or her words very carefully; to deliberately misrepresent someone is a great
evil, and to do it even accidentally is also something that merits repentance
when the truth of the matter is discovered.
“Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.” (Exodus
20:16)
[Mr. McGill] is hanging everything on the assumption of
separation of church and state but there is nothing about separation of church
and state in scripture. […] Democracy is based on the idea of one man one vote.
[…] It rejects God’s authority and his right to appoint rulers. Democracy if the truth were to be told is
anti-Christian and anti-God. It claims
that “all men are created equal” meaning equal with God which is the claim of
Lucifer exactly. […] It is therefore a
concept born of devil worship.
Where
to begin? First, we have already shown
in Scripture that there IS a separation of Church and state. God Himself
sanctioned it after the Israelites were taken into captivity and came under the
dominion of Babylon. Daniel 2:48 shows the importance and blessing of civil
authority if it is rightly used. Daniel
3:12 shows a strict obedience to religious authority if it conflicts with the
civil (because it CAN conflict; thus, a distinction, a separation). We have already shown that there is a sphere
for human government (which God sets up) and divine government (which He
commands directly), which man must obey according to the dictates of his
Christian conscience. A Republic in a
Christian country is a blessing, and certainly not “born of devil worship.”
If the
author wishes to maintain this prejudicial philosophy, he or she will have to
explain to the intended Adventist audience why Mrs. White made the statement we
have seen above: “The Constitution of the United States guarantees liberty of
conscience. Nothing is dearer or
more fundamental.” [The Great Controversy, page 564, emphasis
added] It is true that there are
differences between a Democracy and a Republic, but this is irrelevant to the
author’s intended point. The United
States Constitution, under which the SDA Church has united with the state, is
the very thing that implements the separation the author denies!
“Separation”
of church and state does not mean that one cannot influence the other; it means
that one cannot control the other, and it is this very thing – control –
that the Conference Corporation seeks to obtain by its unjust and wicked
legislation. It did so precisely as the
author did in his reference to McDonald’s, by couching a religious matter in
mercantile terms in order to slip it past the courts (or gullible readers); but
God is not mocked. He has already
pronounced His judgment on those who seek to turn His church into a
business, (Mark 11:17) and, shortly
after it becomes a moneymaking scheme, there is always a call to withdraw
extended to those who are within it, yet still faithful to the Kingdom of
Heaven. (Acts 2:36-42)
And
then there’s this statement, “Democracy if the truth were to be told is
anti-Christian and anti-God. It claims
that ‘all men are created equal’ meaning equal with God which is the claim of
Lucifer exactly.”
This is
an absurd contention, and one denied by both the Bible and Adventists. The Scriptures tell us, “There is neither
Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor
female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.” (Gal 3:28) And again is the idea repeated in Colossians
2:11. Where does it say it means “equal with God?”
The
founding fathers of the United States echoed this concept. True Adventists agree with it; the author
does not, but rather declares it to be a diabolic invention. Here is what Adventists believe:
“In
that grand old document which our forefathers set forth as their bill of
rights--the Declaration of Independence--they declared: ‘We hold these truths
to be self-evident, that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by
their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life,
liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.’ And the Constitution guarantees, in the
most explicit terms, the inviolability of conscience: ‘No religious test shall
ever be required as a qualification to any office of public trust under the
United States.’ ‘Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of
religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.’” [The Great Controversy
[1888 edition], page 295, paragraph 1]
Now, it
may be true that the author, as a Canadian, may be less familiar with these
principles than someone who lives IN the United States. We may be courteous enough to allow for
that. Yet this does not matter. I myself am not a United States
citizen. I was born, and grew up in,
and am a citizen of, a tiny country in Central America. I never learned the pledge of allegiance to
this country in which I am now studying, nor have I taken any oaths of
loyalty. Yet, I am an Adventist; I have
read the relevant issues that pertain to the spheres of Church and state. I have read in the Bible and writings of my
forerunners that great evil comes about when the mindset of the author of “Warning”
is adopted.
As a
result I wholeheartedly and completely reject the faulty reasoning employed in
this attempt to rebut the CSDA position on these matters, which is identical
with the original Adventist position in every particular. Those brethren of ours in Canada who have
thought these matters through with prayer and faith have understood this as
clearly as those from any other country in the world. The author, therefore, is entirely without excuse.
I
learned of these matters because they were important to my understanding of
Christianity and prophecy. The author, I say again, is entirely without excuse
for this kind of ignorance. We are both
foreigners to this Second Beast of Revelation, but one of us cares enough about
the events that take place in the belly of this beast to set them forth
accurately.
Page 3
This
will be a short section. The entirely of Page 3 of “Warning” is an attempt to
show that since the U.S. Government has a law that forbids us to use the name “Seventh
Day Adventist,” we are immediately wrong because we engage in civil
disobedience. This is not a Biblical,
Adventist, or Christian point of view.
The
primary quote:
God expects us to honor the laws of the land. […] Stealing
is not condoned by God. Period. Mr. McGill is therefore the
transgressor. He has apostatized and is
fallen.
This is the complete thought behind all of page 3. To address it, we need only turn to what the Bible says.
“Obey
my voice, and do them, according to all which I command you: so shall ye be my
people, and I will be your God.” (Jer 11:4b)
“And
fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but
rather fear Him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” (Mat
10:28)
In fact
it was Peter himself, cited by the author on Page 3, around whom the following
incident occurs:
“And
when they had brought them, they set them before the council: and the high
priest asked them, saying, ‘Did not we straitly command you that ye should not
teach in this name? And, behold, ye have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine,
and intend to bring this man’s blood upon us.’
Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, ‘We ought to obey
God rather than men.’” (Acts 5:29)
The
principle should be clear; we must indeed “honour the king,” and all the
brethren, living in peace with all men “if it be possible, as much as lieth in
[us].” (Rom 12:18) On the other hand, I hope the author of “Warning” is not
suggesting that we are to honor human laws arbitrarily, regardless of what they
say about God’s instructions. And by the way, how do you “steal” something that
belongs to every Christian? The name “SDA” is a gift given to men, not their
own personal property to protect by means of the power of Christ’s own enemy,
the prophetic beasts!
To
conclude the matter, I would ask the author only one simple question: “Will
your logic hold up if you are ever told that there is a law which forbids you
to worship on the Sabbath day, and forces you to keep Sunday sacred?” This reveals the feral nature of the
accusation clearly – for every Adventist knows, every CHRISTIAN knows, that not
every law made by man can be obeyed, if it forces us to disobey the instructions
of our Creator. We must first take the
beams out of our own eyes before pointing fingers at others, before calling
them “transgressors” when they honor God rather than men. (Mat 7:5)
We
serve men, and the laws of men, as long as they are not forbidding us to
worship our Creator. To any who would
say otherwise, we say, “Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt
worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve.” (Mat 10:4)
Page 4
The doctrine of the Trinity is scriptural and not a pagan
concept borrowed from Catholicism. (See this important ERROR #3 The trinity is
scriptural)
We didn’t receive any paper entitled ERROR #3, but as with ERROR #1, if we
receive it at a later date I will respond to it. If it contains any information that is not covered already in our
article: Where 2 or 3 Are Gathered, I will address it. But for now, it should be sufficient to
point out that the original Adventist position was that the Trinity was indeed
a pagan concept or, in the words of James White, “the old trinitarian
absurdity.” [Review and Herald, Aug 5, 1852] It is, consequently, the CSDA position; not because the pioneers
taught it, but because they were right to teach it so, as Scripture
dictates.
The
number of such statements, and far stronger, by our pioneers, is overwhelming,
without exaggeration. Mrs. White’s
position on the nature of the Holy Spirit was also clearly set forth in such
well known writings as The Desire of Ages. For a brief compilation of quotes, see the article Pioneers
vs. Trinitarianism.
The name of Jesus is wrong we must say “Yeshua” (ERROR #4
The Real Name of Jesus)
We
received no paper entitled ERROR #4, but in order for it to accurately point
out that the name of the Messiah was “Jesus,” it would have to prove that the
letter “J” existed in Greek and Hebrew in the 1st century A.D. It never has; thus this simply cannot be
possible. At the same time, and more
importantly, the statement is a complete misrepresentation of our position.
As any
reader can see from this very document, we have no qualms about using the name “Jesus”
to refer to the Messiah. When teaching
others, I use it interchangeably with Yahshua (we do not spell it Yeshua even
then). My preference in prayer and my
own conversation is to use a name that is closer to the way it must have been
pronounced (since, again, there is no J sound in any of the Bible’s languages),
but there is NO teaching of the CSDA Church that dictates we “must” say
anything regarding that name. The
doctrines of our Church are those found in the Bible, regarding faith, the commandments,
the ordinances of God. This accusation,
therefore, is yet another lie. But the worst is yet to come:
That he [Mr. McGill] is the Christ and the saints must
leave the church and follow him and they shall become the 144,000 bringing the
last message of warning to the world.
When
the members of our congregation in TN read this sentence, they stared at each
other for a while with a combination of horror and amusement. Horror, because there will be people who
actually believe this nonsense, and amusement because it appears to be the
knee-jerk response to people that others wish to demonize.
Mr.
McGill has never made any such statements as “I am the Christ.” I would challenge any reader to go through
our Church writings (ALL of them) and find any such implication or declaration.
We are all “anointed” as children of Yahweh.
We are all called to be among the 144,000, as Mrs. White also wrote, [S.D.A.
Bible Commentary Vol. 7, page 970] but no one has any special advantages
that others do not. We are all called
to be “perfect, as your Father in Heaven is perfect,” (Mat 5:48 – which does
not leave out room for growth in grace and knowledge) but believing in Victory
over Sin (1John 5:4) does not make one the Son of God by anything but adoption.
(Gal 4:5)
We are
all representatives of Christ, but one of the distinctive teachings of the CSDA
Church (the ordinance of humility on New Moons) is a perpetual reminder that we
are NOT Christ! If the author of “Warning”
had taken any time at all to attempt to understand the ones he or she is
attacking, this statement would not have appeared. It is baseless, cruel and careless hand waving for which one
should fear to answer in the Judgment.
Finally:
ERROR #5 Mr. McGill’s teacing [sic] is full of errors.
So the error is that he is in error.
This does not even qualify as a “circular” argument, because it never
even gets moving. The rest of the last
paragraph is a brace of useless opining, unsupported by Scripture or Adventist
precedent.
If
readers wish to let Mr. McGill and the other members of the CSDA Church speak
for themselves, our website is open:
Our
email addresses are open:
Our
audio programs are open:
Creation 7th Day Adventist Church Real Audio Programs
We
welcome honest questions, and those with a genuine desire to learn who we
are. We are kind even to those who
misrepresent us, and attack our beliefs using whatsoever words and arguments
they can, but we are far happier to communicate with those who will at least
listen to us first, without pre-forming conclusions and seeking to inflame
public opinion against those of us who are trying desperately to tell the world
what we know before the end comes.
David.
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