So this is my question for this thread:
Why does the Adventist Church persist in claiming that the Catholic Church teaches things that she emphatically does not?
I appreciate everyone’s responses, but i’d like to narrow this a bit now.
Many protestant denominations (not all, but many) are at least somewhat anti-catholic in their doctrine. The difference with Adventists is that many of their beliefs are highly anti-catholic, and quite a few of those same beliefs are Adventist ‘distinctives’.
I read current Adventist periodicals of all kinds, papers from their seminary professors, Adventist Today, the Review, etc. The impression I get from my reading and from live conversations with Adventists online, is that the denomination is in crisis. Not that you see that put just that way. Traditional teachings are under attack from within the denomination. Whole congregations are leaving en mass. Some to form more traditional groups, some leaving the ‘core’ teachings of Adventism behind all together. The North American membership has dwindled in numbers and wealth to the point the North Amercian Conference no longer holds all the power and purse strings.
WHY do they do what they do… That was some of my frustration from 25 years ago expressing itself. They do it for many reasons, most of the obvious WHYs have already been posted.
A further question though… Would Adventists still
BE Adventists, if they genuinely dropped the anti-catholic doctrines?
Is all that holds them together as a denomination are their ‘end time’ fulminations against Catholicism?
A few years ago, a group of people in my city bought full sized bill boards with a cartoonish picture that was obviously intended to be the Pope, with the caption, “The Man of Sin is to be revealed”
New Mexico is a largely Catholic state, the uproar was all over the talk radio programs, the news, the papers, the office chat, etc.
A sign company donated billboard space to the Archdiocese of Santa Fe for a rebuttal message, which our Archbishop used to post something to the effect of “let us love one another” .
It was interesting to me, that the SDA conference went to great lengths to distance themselves from the group that posted the billboards, insisting the SDA church had not paid for them or endorsed them. But when reporters would press them to deny the message they contained, they would try deflect the topic, give vague answers, etc. Some bright reporters pressed them hard and got half hearted admissions. Write ups in Adventist papers expressed regret over the damage to their reputations, talk about how the ‘truth’ should be presented with proper preparation and more charity, etc. But no denial of the message.
It is my opinion the Adventists continue with the attacks on Catholics out of fear of losing their distinctive identity, even if they don’t think of it that way.
I’d really like to hear an Adventist opinion on my question:
If Adventists GENUINELY dropped all the anti catholic doctrines in their theology, would they have anything left as a reason to continue their denomination?
MarysRoses
