Write Lightning is a blog from writer Deb Thompson.
Everyone is welcome here.
(Some links or topics may not be completely kid-appropriate.)
Everyone is welcome here.
(Some links or topics may not be completely kid-appropriate.)
Tue, Mar 16 2004
Marcus Wesson And The Seventh-day Adventists And Why It Matters To Me
There continue to be news stories in which people say Marcus Wesson (who is accused of killing 9 members of his family in Fresno) is/was a Seventh-day Adventist. But I've gotten emails in which local Adventist department pastors are saying there is no record of Wesson ever having been an official member. The statements also mention that polygamy is not a part of Adventist doctrine and never has been. (Neither are incest and murder, though they didn't mention those specifically.)
We've certainly had our share of extremists in Adventism. Our unique blend of mainstream Protestant ethics and our tendency to focus attention on certain points seems to attract both sincere seekers and (to put it bluntly) raving maniacs. One such point of focus would be the fourth commandment. (Basically we'd just like that one to get equal time with the other nine, but humans being what they are, some folks get single-minded about these things.) There are other issues that tend to make the denomination a perfect place for mentally unstable individuals to wander in, have (or pretend to have) a come-to-Jesus experience, snatch up a few isolated Bible texts, and then go off and form their own skewed version of religion. The offshoot beliefs often become just a vehicle in which to further incubate a sick person's particular obsessions into full-blow madness. And whether we like to admit it or not, our denomination has had its share of difficulties in this area. Remember the Waco tragedy? This is one reason why I often tell folks I'm "sort of" an Adventist. There many degrees of Adventism. There are Adventists who play rock music and have snack cakes and espresso for breakfast. There are middle-of-the-road Adventists. There are Adventists who won't watch movies or eat their stew if they think someone tipped a bit of Burgundy into it. Some wouldn't make a move without consulting something we often refer to internally as the "red books", which are a number of writings by one Ellen G. White. White was a female pioneer of Adventism and is considered by many to have been inspired. And I don't mean that in the "muse" sense of inspired. I mean that in the "divine" sense of inspired. Well, a lot of people are probably actually inspired, and yet there is a tendency among certain church members (I would like to think it is a tiny minority) to treat every word of the writings of Ellen G. White as the equivalent of the Lord's P.S. to the Book of Revelation--as though He forgot a few details and needed to have them cleared up in modern times. My personal feeling is that we should be able to explain and practice our beliefs without resorting to the (often taken out of context) writings of White, because most people would never recognize her as an equal to biblical writers. And why should they?
I suppose this fellow Wesson may have visited a Seventh-day Adventist church in his life. He may have perceived himself as being aligned with some doctrines of the denomination. But if that's true, then he went down another dark path at some point. It does bother me that we usually hear about these straying people as part of some breaking news story. (sigh)
By the way, just to clear up a few other bits of confusion about Seventh-day Adventists--we do indeed hold our hands over our hearts and recite the pledge of allegiance. We do display the flag. We do believe in donating blood. (The denomination has hospitals of stellar reputation all over the planet.) We do believe in taking care of the whole person. The denomination also has a Religious Liberty department dedicated to preserving the legal rights of all individuals (of any religion) to practice their religious beliefs without fear of government reprisal.
Some say Seventh-day Adventism is a cult, but that has become rather a passe sort of remark. Those who sit down and take time to really anaylze the beliefs of this denomination will find it full of the same activities and mission work as that of most any other Protestant denomination. The church has some right-wing radicals, no doubt. But it's mostly full of really cool people who believe that religion is for the whole person and that the mind and body were never meant to be so separated into the term "body and soul". And this belief is reflected in the missions, ministry and worship in the Church. If you went to an Adventist church service, you probably wouldn't find it that much different from many other Protestant church services. Go and see for yourself what it's like. Just remember to go on Saturday instead of Sunday.
posted at: 10:02 | category: /Religious and Spiritual | link to this entry
There continue to be news stories in which people say Marcus Wesson (who is accused of killing 9 members of his family in Fresno) is/was a Seventh-day Adventist. But I've gotten emails in which local Adventist department pastors are saying there is no record of Wesson ever having been an official member. The statements also mention that polygamy is not a part of Adventist doctrine and never has been. (Neither are incest and murder, though they didn't mention those specifically.)
We've certainly had our share of extremists in Adventism. Our unique blend of mainstream Protestant ethics and our tendency to focus attention on certain points seems to attract both sincere seekers and (to put it bluntly) raving maniacs. One such point of focus would be the fourth commandment. (Basically we'd just like that one to get equal time with the other nine, but humans being what they are, some folks get single-minded about these things.) There are other issues that tend to make the denomination a perfect place for mentally unstable individuals to wander in, have (or pretend to have) a come-to-Jesus experience, snatch up a few isolated Bible texts, and then go off and form their own skewed version of religion. The offshoot beliefs often become just a vehicle in which to further incubate a sick person's particular obsessions into full-blow madness. And whether we like to admit it or not, our denomination has had its share of difficulties in this area. Remember the Waco tragedy? This is one reason why I often tell folks I'm "sort of" an Adventist. There many degrees of Adventism. There are Adventists who play rock music and have snack cakes and espresso for breakfast. There are middle-of-the-road Adventists. There are Adventists who won't watch movies or eat their stew if they think someone tipped a bit of Burgundy into it. Some wouldn't make a move without consulting something we often refer to internally as the "red books", which are a number of writings by one Ellen G. White. White was a female pioneer of Adventism and is considered by many to have been inspired. And I don't mean that in the "muse" sense of inspired. I mean that in the "divine" sense of inspired. Well, a lot of people are probably actually inspired, and yet there is a tendency among certain church members (I would like to think it is a tiny minority) to treat every word of the writings of Ellen G. White as the equivalent of the Lord's P.S. to the Book of Revelation--as though He forgot a few details and needed to have them cleared up in modern times. My personal feeling is that we should be able to explain and practice our beliefs without resorting to the (often taken out of context) writings of White, because most people would never recognize her as an equal to biblical writers. And why should they?
I suppose this fellow Wesson may have visited a Seventh-day Adventist church in his life. He may have perceived himself as being aligned with some doctrines of the denomination. But if that's true, then he went down another dark path at some point. It does bother me that we usually hear about these straying people as part of some breaking news story. (sigh)
By the way, just to clear up a few other bits of confusion about Seventh-day Adventists--we do indeed hold our hands over our hearts and recite the pledge of allegiance. We do display the flag. We do believe in donating blood. (The denomination has hospitals of stellar reputation all over the planet.) We do believe in taking care of the whole person. The denomination also has a Religious Liberty department dedicated to preserving the legal rights of all individuals (of any religion) to practice their religious beliefs without fear of government reprisal.
Some say Seventh-day Adventism is a cult, but that has become rather a passe sort of remark. Those who sit down and take time to really anaylze the beliefs of this denomination will find it full of the same activities and mission work as that of most any other Protestant denomination. The church has some right-wing radicals, no doubt. But it's mostly full of really cool people who believe that religion is for the whole person and that the mind and body were never meant to be so separated into the term "body and soul". And this belief is reflected in the missions, ministry and worship in the Church. If you went to an Adventist church service, you probably wouldn't find it that much different from many other Protestant church services. Go and see for yourself what it's like. Just remember to go on Saturday instead of Sunday.
posted at: 10:02 | category: /Religious and Spiritual | link to this entry
