Curious
This cant be discussed here, but would love to private message with someone- or better still email about SDA. Until this showed up in Logos as a "product group", I have always counted SDA in with Mormons and JW as a cult. They are listed in cult books- like Kingdom of the Cults, etc.. But Faithlife does not have a product group for Mormons, or JWs, etc..
So maybe I have not properly understood the distinctives of SDA?
-Michael
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Actually Walter Martin had us in the first version of Kingdom of the Cults. But after much discussion over several years with Adventists he declared we were basic evangelical Christians. His second version put us in the appendix only because he wanted to set the standard straight.
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There are some that claim to be SDA or Mormons or JW [and others] that are close to being cult members [David Koresh for example but his followers would dispute their being a cult].
The cult types make the news headlines but that does not make the mainstream group a cult.
So maybe I have not properly understood the distinctives of SDA?
Maybe you can find a local group of mainstream SDA or Mormons or JW and ask for advice.
Or if you have a Roku box check out some of the religious channels.
If you use the internet to find out be sure that you are reading a pro site and not a anti site. [[there are anti sites for everything]]
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From an academic perspective, “cult” has little diagnostic meaning beyond “religion I don’t like.” It says more about the speaker than the topic.
And fwiw, Mormons are at least somewhat represented here. I‘m probably the most prominent, but I know of a few others. I’ve proposed an academic collection of Mormon books from Oxford Press, U of Illinois Press, etc. here on the boards a few years back.
"The whole modern world has divided itself into Conservatives and Progressives. The business of Progressives is to go on making mistakes. The business of Conservatives is to prevent mistakes from being corrected."- G.K. Chesterton
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Actually Walter Martin had us in the first version of Kingdom of the Cults. But after much discussion over several years with Adventists he declared we were basic evangelical Christians. His second version put us in the appendix only because he wanted to set the standard straight.
Ah, I was unaware of the change. Thanks, I will check into that.
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From an academic perspective, “cult” has little diagnostic meaning beyond “religion I don’t like.” It says more about the speaker than the topic.
And fwiw, Mormons are at least somewhat represented here. I‘m probably the most prominent, but I know of a few others. I’ve proposed an academic collection of Mormon books from Oxford Press, U of Illinois Press, etc. here on the boards a few years back.
Interesting. I have seen some of your posts before Ben, but did not know you were LDS. I am about to post my understanding of the definition of "cult", so maybe it will strip any connotations the word carries... Thanks for replying.
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David, thanks for replying.
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By cult, I mean:
these six characteristics defined by Ron Rhodes:
1. Authoritarian Leadership
2. Exclusivism
3. Isolationism
4. Opposition to independent thinking
5. Fear of being "disfellowshiped".
6. Threats of Satanic attack
(http://andynaselli.com/sociological-characteristics-of-cults).
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Some people call Christianity a cult because we're obsessed with and have singular devotion to some dude named Jesus of Nazareth. lol Seriously though, I was taught a cult is a "high-control" group that is organized around a particular person or thing. By high-control I mean that the group exercises an inordinately high degree of control over its members.
Here's how Google defines a cult:
Cultnounnoun: cult; plural noun: cultsA system of religious veneration and devotion directed toward a particular figure or object."the cult of St. Olaf"- a relatively small group of people having religious beliefs or practices regarded by others as strange or sinister."a network of Satan-worshiping cults"
synonyms: sect, denomination, group, movement, church, persuasion, body, faction
"a religious cult" - a misplaced or excessive admiration for a particular person or thing."a cult of personality surrounding the leaders"
synonyms: obsession with, fixation on, mania for, passion for, idolization of, devotion to, worship of, veneration of "the cult of eternal youth in Hollywood"
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If you use the internet to find out be sure that you are reading a pro site and not a anti site. [[there are anti sites for everything]]
Is this a fair presentation?
https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/9-things-you-should-know-about-seventh-day-adventism/
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There are some that claim to be SDA or Mormons or JW [and others] that are close to being cult members [David Koresh for example but his followers would dispute their being a cult].
The cult types make the news headlines but that does not make the mainstream group a cult.
So maybe I have not properly understood the distinctives of SDA?
Maybe you can find a local group of mainstream SDA or Mormons or JW and ask for advice.
Or if you have a Roku box check out some of the religious channels.
If you use the internet to find out be sure that you are reading a pro site and not a anti site. [[there are anti sites for everything]]
I have family members that are SDA and whenever I tell people that they always ask me "is that like Jehovah's Witnesses?" SDAs are trinitarian Christians, so, no, not like JWs. lol I don't know where people got the idea to conflate SDAs with JWs. From my understanding SDAs keep the sabbath and have particular beliefs about the second coming of Jesus (hence the name Seventh Day Adventist). Some observe certain dietary restrictions but not all do, so there's diversity there. So they're Christians with different practices. I've visited a couple of SDA churches, I didn't find them to be too different than other church services except they meet on Saturday.
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If you use the internet to find out be sure that you are reading a pro site and not a anti site. [[there are anti sites for everything]]
Is this a fair presentation?
https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/9-things-you-should-know-about-seventh-day-adventism/
The Seventh Day Adventist church has its own website that explains all of their beliefs. That's where you should start. https://www.adventist.org/en/beliefs/
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Is this a fair presentation?
https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/9-things-you-should-know-about-seventh-day-adventism/
The Seventh Day Adventist church has its own website that explains all of their beliefs. That's where you should start. https://www.adventist.org/en/beliefs/
Always review the works of a group and not what others say about the group. And always add a space at the end of a link to make the link active.
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Here's how Google defines a cult:
Cult
noun noun: cult; plural noun: cults A system of religious veneration and devotion directed toward a particular figure or object. "the cult of St. Olaf"- a relatively small group of people having religious beliefs or practices regarded by others as strange or sinister. "a network of Satan-worshiping cults"
synonyms: sect, denomination, group, movement, church, persuasion, body, faction "a religious cult" - a misplaced or excessive admiration for a particular person or thing. "a cult of personality surrounding the leaders"
synonyms: obsession with, fixation on, mania for, passion for, idolization of, devotion to, worship of, veneration of "the cult of eternal youth in Hollywood"
In my Logos library, I have a resource-
About Missiology: An Introduction to the Foundations, History, and Strategies of World Mission
Chapter 24 is regarding cults, and it is very in depth and has helpful material in case anyone has that book. But it interacts with many definitions of cult and their applications with various groups. I think, my understanding is primarily an evangelical understanding- therefore any group that denies the foundational tenets of the historic Christian faith is subject to this categorization.
But all that aside, your comments have been helpful, and have at least spurred my research into the SDA.
0 - a relatively small group of people having religious beliefs or practices regarded by others as strange or sinister. "a network of Satan-worshiping cults"
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Among biblical scholars, Seventh-day Adventists are generally considered to be Evangelical. For instance, the Adventist Theological Society (ATS) is affiliated with the Evangelical Theological Society (ETS) and run their annual gathering of scholars in the same venue:
http://www.etsjets.org/puc/puc_overview (see last paragraph)
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And always add a space at the end of a link to make the link active.
[:)][Y] Lol. I was wondering why the link didn't go active when I hit post.
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Happy Sabbath everyone.
Mission: To serve God as He desires.
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