Apologetics Help: Uncle Converted to 7th Day Adventist!

[Maryam]

Hi everyone,
I need help in bringing my uncle back to the Catholic Church. He recently joined the 7th Day Adventist Church through the influence of tenants to whom is renting out apartments in the building he owns and lives in.

SORRY IF THIS IS A LONG RANT… I AM JUST VERY UPSET AT THIS SITUATION!

As if this weren’t upsetting enough… He threw in the garbage all of the statues of the Virgin Mary, holy cards and devotional books that were of his deceased wife who died 3 years ago and is my Mothers older sister and my Aunt!!! One of my favorite Aunts…

When my mother and I found out he did this it upset us very much as he knew that my mother and I are practicing Catholics and he could have easily given these religious items to us instead of throwing them out!

I know 100% that these tenants put him up to doing this and now he is paying the Adventist church 10% of his savings every week. My uncle is retired and I think to ask this of a retired person every week is crazy.

I already knew something about the Adventists before, but, never expected my uncle to convert. How he can believe as they do that the Pope is the anti-Christ, that after death the soul does not leave the body, but, simply lays in sleep waiting for judgement day and that Satan will take all of mans sins upon himself is INSANE!

**I need to know if anyone can show me where I can obtain pamphlets in Spanish that show the errors of the Adventists church teachings against the Catholic faith??? **

I have already visited sties such as:

globalserve.net/~bumblebee/ecclesia/sda.htm

scripturecatholic.com/index.html

But, they are in English and to translate them would be too much and my ability to translate religious terms from English to Spanish is so so…

My uncle is getting deeper and deeper into this group and I smell a rat… I feel in my gut that they are just after his savings and home!

I’d appreciate any help.

God bless all

 

[scylla]

Here are some spanish links for you…

defiendetufe.com/

If I were you I would buy this yellow book that they have, you just have to order over the phone.

Also here are some more spanish resources…

geocities.com/luisperezbus.rm/

You can print some of these translations and reference the original english from Dave Armstrong.

I would do this as soon as possible as being newly converted he probably would be more open to talking than after he is involved for a while. That is the way with my brother, he wanted to talk as soon as he converted and later once I had some answers and he was comfortably indoctrinated he didn’t want to talk.

Remember it is for you to plant the seeds of truth, you need to pray and remember to discuss things charitably. Be a witness to the faith by your example.

God Bless
Scylla

Remind him that those statues\pictures are like photos of people you love, we don’t worship them and never have. Would his departed wife like to have him toss out pictures of her in the trash?

 

[FCEGM]

Maryam, here is another Spanish-language site for you:

130.94.75.135/portada.php?f_doc=12

Since your uncle is fairly recently widowed, it might be that his tenants have responded to some loneliness on his part and taken advantage of it. Also, if he has met an SDA woman through them. . . . You get the picture.

God bless and reward you for your concern for him!

 

[adventistnomore]

Well… in reply to everyone’s suspicions… Adventists are a regular Protestant denomination. Even though I am entering into the Catholic Church here, I am actually quite OFFENDED that some would even think that the Adventists who converted him are after his finances, or have introduced himself to some woman or something. As a once-loyal Seventh-day Adventist, still attending an Adventist Universty, and surounded by many Adventists friends, I assure you such suspicions are not only ** RADICALLY UNGROUNDED **, but also unbecoming of Catholic Christians. (!!!)

That being said…

Maryam,

Your uncle is probably at a point in his life where he is looking to make sense of the world around him, considering the loss of his wife and his old age. He is surrounded by Adventists, and they have very convincing Biblical-based arguments on their side. As a former Adventist, I can tell you that most Christians completely underestimate the reasonableness of the Adventist approach to the Bible. (Doctrines such as the state of the dead, etc.) It has been a very difficult strugle for me to finally enter into Catholicism, because Adventism has such a united, intelligent theology. Nonetheless after deep study for over 2 years, I am finally ready to become Catholic, becaue I have finally see the flaws in Adventist theology.

That being said, the process to reclaim your uncle from his new convictions will also be very slow. Believe me, anytime one embaces a new conviction, the first few years are the least likely times to bring him back. I ask you, above all, to do so in a spirit of compassion. Love him, all the more becaue he has left the Church. Have even a (very difficult, reluctant) joy that he is seeking answers (God bless him for seeking God rather than the 70% of Catholics who would rather seeking anything but Mass.) This is your time to grow, this is your time to prepare yourself to aswer his challenges and convictions, because they have now become his. I, and the other former Advetists on this forum are more than willing to provide you with the help you need to both learn why Adventist believe as they do, and how to successfully witness to your uncle. Only as your heart forgives him and embraces him, will you ever be able to show him all the facts that undermine, challenge, and at last refute those beliefs.

It will be long, difficult, and he will reach out to you as well, trying to make you an Adventist. Stand your ground, in a poaitive spirit… that’s the hardest part. Invite the holy Spirit to soften you, to remove your anger, an to be indwelt by the mercy of God to wait patiently on him. I am writing much with regards to the issues that precluse my continuesmembership int he Adventist Chruch, I hope ot share some thoughts with you int hefuture. I don;t know where we can find spanish materials, but when I find them I’ll let you know. Finally, you have my heartfelt prayers, and joys that this will introduce you to one of the most fascinating spiritual joureys of your life – one that I know will confirm your own Catholic faith, and hopefully lead your uncle back to Mother Church. Tonight, I say my rosary for him.

God be with you,

• Hugo

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Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you.
And through you, He is with us forever.

 

[adventistnomore]

P.S. sorry about the typos… I blame it on my wireless keyboard.

 

[Maryam]

scylla Thanks so much for the links… will look more into the yellow book you described and also for how to explain to my uncle concerning the statues and other religious items and use the example of “family”. Very much appreciated.

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FCEGM Thanks as well for the links… He has not met an SDA woman yet that he is interested in… He is too busy now learning about the Adventists’.

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adventistnomore I understand your feeling offended, but, I can only speak for myself, not for what others have posted…

I have my REASONS to think that the Adventists’ he is renting apartments out to in his 3 family home are after his money.

He started with renting the 2nd floor to Adventists and then Adventists moved into the 1st floor and basement apartments. They have done considerable damage to the home and expect him to pay for it out of his retirement savings not taking responsibility themselves.

They use the guise of being his friends to make him believe they are blameless and anytime I or other members of my family come to visit they monopolize the conversations and won’t let us get a word in edgewise.

It makes me very angry that they will use the friendship/religion angle to get my uncle to buy clothes and other things for their kids or to make donations to the Adventist church he attends…

Even when he makes plans to go on vacation, he has to seek permission from the church leader (I don’t know the proper term for this gentleman) before he can go.

**Does this mean that all Adventists are this way… no… Just the ones that I have come across that are affiliated with this particular Adventist church. **

There is more that has happened… but, I don’t want to offend anyone else that is Adventist or was in the past.

I am sorry you feel offended, but, if it was your UNCLE who is elderly and being taken advantage of you would not be too happy about it.

**Abuses happen in all churches and with people from all walks of life… Can we agree on that? **

I understand emotionally you have a great love for the Adventist church and don’t want to sound un-Christian, but, this the ** REALITY ** of my situation with my uncle and it is not a pretty one. **Just as a Catholic I cannot deny abuses within the Catholic Church… neither can Christians of other denominations. I am not looking to bash any Christian group, I am just worried about what is happening with my uncle. **

Again, sorry if you are offended and I am overjoyed that you want to find your home in the CATHOLIC CHURCH.

Thank you for your advice on taking it slow, Hugo, I will take it to heart and for saying a rosary for my Uncle. Que Dios te bendiga.

God bless all

and you are excused ** adventistnomore ** from your typo’s. LOL Tis’ ok… we all do it.

 

[adventistnomore]

Thank you for that reply… Yeah, that does sound suspicious. Hm… asking permision from a Church official to take a vacation!? That does sound quite irregular. I’d need to know more details to know for sure, but I respect your suspicions… .

And thank you for the love in that reply, I was a bit fired up in my reply I’m sry to say (haha… and I’m talking about the need for love, compassion and patience. Ah well…) You are, once again, in my prayers.

• Hugo

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Introibio ad Altare Dei.