If I had to summarize my painful experience in the Seventh-day Adventist church, I could do it in a single line. To me SDA stands for Stasi-Demon Agency.

If I had to explain just a little bit further, then adding one key line by Chris Hedges comes to mind: "The Nazis broke bones; the Stasi broke souls."

This thread is a formal request that I be disfellowshipped from the Seventh-day Adventist church on the basis that I strongly oppose the 29th fundamental belief of the church.

I expect to be told (but not as bluntly or honestly as I prefer) that the Stasi-Demon Agency only works in the secrecy of darkness and that my only option is to send a letter of resignation, which will be promptly filed in file 13.

Chris Hedges wrote:The most radical evil, as Hannah Arendt pointed out, is the political system that effectively crushes its marginalized and harassed opponents and, through fear and the obliteration of privacy, incapacitates everyone else. ... If we do not immediately dismantle the security and surveillance apparatus, there will be no investigative journalism or judicial oversight to address abuse of power. There will be no organized dissent. There will be no independent thought. Criticisms, however tepid, will be treated as acts of subversion. And the security apparatus will blanket the body politic like black mold until even the banal and ridiculous become concerns of national security.

I saw evil of this kind as a reporter in the Stasi state of East Germany. I was followed by men, invariably with crew cuts and wearing leather jackets, whom I presumed to be agents of the Stasi—the Ministry for State Security, which the ruling Communist Party described as the “shield and sword” of the nation. People I interviewed were visited by Stasi agents soon after I left their homes. My phone was bugged. Some of those I worked with were pressured to become informants. Fear hung like icicles over every conversation.

The Stasi did not set up massive death camps and gulags. It did not have to. The Stasi, with a network of as many as 2 million informants in a country of 17 million, was everywhere. There were 102,000 secret police officers employed full time to monitor the population—one for every 166 East Germans. The Nazis broke bones; the Stasi broke souls. The East German government pioneered the psychological deconstruction that torturers and interrogators in America’s black sites, and within our prison system, have honed to a gruesome perfection. -- Read the complete article at Truthdig.

The Stasi also remind me of the swift retaliation that Ellen G. White prophesied would happen against authentic believers that would dare say anything that might possibly undermine faith in the Seventh-day Adventist church being "the holy order." I certainly see it as prophecy perfectly fulfilled. The indisputable context to the prophetic revelation was the medieval-mindedness of those in Sister White’s home church and the ease to which they could believe gossip and half-truths.

That night I dreamed that I was in Battle Creek looking out from the side glass at the door and saw a company marching up to the house, two and two. They looked stern and determined. I knew them well and turned to open the parlor door to receive them, but thought I would look again. The scene was changed. The company now presented the appearance of a Catholic procession. One bore in his hand a cross, another a reed. And as they approached, the one carrying a reed made a circle around the house, saying three times: "This house is proscribed. The goods must be confiscated. They have spoken against our holy order." Terror seized me, and I ran through the house, out of the north door, and found myself in the midst of a company, some of whom I knew, but I dared not speak a word to them for fear of being betrayed. I tried to seek a retired spot where I might weep and pray without meeting eager, inquisitive eyes wherever I turned. I repeated frequently: "If I could only understand this! If they will tell me what I have said or what I have done!"

I wept and prayed much as I saw our goods confiscated. I tried to read sympathy or pity for me in the looks of those around me, and marked the countenances of several whom I thought would speak to me and comfort me if they did not fear that they would be observed by others. I made one attempt to escape from the crowd, but seeing that I was watched, I concealed my intentions. I commenced weeping aloud, and saying: "If they would only tell me what I have done or what I have said!" My husband, who was sleeping in a bed in the same room, heard me weeping aloud and awoke me. My pillow was wet with tears, and a sad depression of spirits was upon me. —Testimonies for the Church, Vol. 1, p. 578.

Just to be clear, I'm not asking for my membership to be rescinded. I'm asking to be disfellowshipped for heresy according to the Seventh-day Adventist Church Manual, pp. 61-62.

Reasons for Discipline

The reasons for which members shall be subject to discipline are:
1. Denial of faith in the fundamentals of the gospel and in the fundamental beliefs of the Church or teaching doctrines contrary to the same.

Process of Discipline

When grievous sins are involved, the church has two ways in which disciplinary measures must be taken:
1. By a vote of censure.
2. By a vote to remove from membership.

Is there any doubt that I teach doctrines that are contrary to the fundamental beliefs of the Church? Is there any doubt that I have grievances against the church?

1. The quintessence of the message to Laodicea is loving opposition to the 29th fundamental belief of the SDA church.
2. God requires Seventh-day Adventists to do all they possibly can to reform their church and if they fail in that, then they must stop fellowshipping there.
   

   Ellen G. White wrote:I am instructed to say that we must do all we possibly can for these deceived ones. Their minds must be freed from the delusions of the enemy, and if we fail in our efforts to save these erring ones, we must 'come out from among them' and be separate. E.G.W., Ms 106, "A Plea For Loyalty," Nov. 20, 1905.
   
   There is a little hope in one direction: Take the young men and women, and place them where they will come as little in contact with our churches as possible, that the low grade of piety which is current in this day shall not leaven their ideas of what it means to be a Christian. 12MR 333.

3. Seventh-day Adventists have only the glimmerings of the rays that God has given to my Millerite church, which I like to call The Church with the Lion's Roar (Rev 10:1-3).

There are two disciplinary measures for heresy. I'll take either one. I will accept a vote of excommunication, censure or exoneration. I just want it to be voted on.

The Church Manual states:

... Take with you those who are spiritually minded, and talk with the one in error in regard to the wrong.... As he sees their agreement in the matter, his mind may be enlightened.

"‘And if he shall neglect to hear them,’ what then shall be done? Shall a few persons in a board meeting take upon themselves the responsibility of disfellowshiping the erring one? ‘If he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church.’... Let the church take action in regard to its members." p. 57.

If anyone wants to know how I feel about the official fundamental beliefs of the SDA church, numbers 1 to 28, I have an answer. I only strongly oppose the 29th fundamental Adventist belief and I'm fairly tolerant of the deceptive showcase of 28.

For example, fundamental beliefs #2, 3, 4, 5 were obviously formulated by uninspired bureaucrats to urge the church to conform to the mainstream theology of everyone else. Furthermore, it's easy to believe, as the church teaches, that EGW became Trinitarian in her later writings, but it simply isn’t true. The Trinity doctrine requires a careless Babylonian standard of proof, not the Biblical standard.

Remember this prophecy:

The religion of Jesus is endangered. It is being mingled with worldliness. Worldly policy is taking the place of the true piety and wisdom that comes from above, and God will remove His prospering hand from the conference. Shall the Ark of the Covenant be removed from this people? Shall idols be smuggled in? Shall false principles and false precepts be brought into the sanctuary? Shall antichrist be respected? Shall the true doctrines and principles given us by God, which have made us what we are, be ignored? Shall God's instrumentality, the publishing house, become a mere political, worldly institution? This is directly where the enemy, through blinded, unconsecrated men, is leading us. —21MR 448.3.

See Ellen G. White Contradicts Fundamental Adventist Beliefs.

Church 12
The church is the community of believers who confess Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour. In continuity with the people of God in Old Testament times, we are called out from the world; and we join together for worship, for fellowship, for instruction in the Word, for the celebration of the Lord’s Supper, for service to all mankind, and for the worldwide proclamation of the gospel. The church derives its authority from Christ, who is the incarnate Word, and from the Scriptures, which are the written Word. The church is God’s family; adopted by Him as children, its members live on the basis of the new covenant. The church is the body of Christ, a community of faith of which Christ Himself is the Head. The church is the bride for whom Christ died that He might sanctify and cleanse her. At His return in triumph, He will present her to Himself a glorious church, the faithful of all the ages, the purchase of His blood, not having spot or wrinkle, but holy and without blemish. (Gen. 12:3; Acts 7:38; Eph. 4:11-15; 3:8-11; Matt. 28:19, 20; 16:13-20; 18:18; Eph. 2:19-22; 1:22, 23; 5:23-27; Col. 1:17, 18.)

This misleading doctrine in the deceptive showcase of the so-called 28 fundamental beliefs is merely a cover for the hypocrisy of corporately directed collective insincerity. The Seventh-day Adventist church is not really a community of believers that join together for worship, fellowship, and instruction in the word. It is most certainly not there "for service to all mankind, and for the worldwide proclamation of the gospel." It is more like a stage for the rehearsing of traditions and, consequently, for the carefully scripted performances of paid shills whose job is primarily to manage sheep, to fleece them regularly and to place the Stasi-Demon Agency in the most beautiful light possible.

Continuing on with the deceptive showcase of 28 fundamental beliefs brings us to number 13, which is worth quoting in full.

Remnant and Its Mission 13
The universal church is composed of all who truly believe in Christ, but in the last days, a time of widespread apostasy, a remnant has been called out to keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus. This remnant announces the arrival of the judgment hour, proclaims salvation through Christ, and heralds the approach of His second advent. This proclamation is symbolized by the three angels of Revelation 14; it coincides with the work of judgment in heaven and results in a work of repentance and reform on earth. Every believer is called to have a personal part in this worldwide witness. (Rev. 12:17; 14:6-12; 18:1-4; 2 Cor. 5:10; Jude 3, 14; 1 Peter 1:16-19; 2 Peter 3:10-14; Rev. 21:1-14.)

As this doctrine reads, I too believe that there is a remnant with this mission. However, I am persuaded that the majority of sheeple and the ruling authorities of the Seventh-day Adventist church oppose both the commandments of God and my heartfelt request that I be disfellowshipped for opposing the 29th fundamental belief of the church.

Ellen G. White wrote:There are many among us who are prejudiced against the doctrines that are now being discussed. They will not come to hear, they will not calmly investigate, but they put forth their objections in the dark. They are perfectly satisfied with their position. "Thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent" (Revelation 3:17-19).
This scripture applies to those who live under the sound of the message, but who will not come to hear it. -- 1SM 413.1-2.

Item 14 in the showcase of fundamental Seventh-day Adventist beliefs should be regarded as the most insincere of all SDA doctrines because of the extreme abuse and retaliation that the church uses to crush dissidents that proclaim Christ's message to Laodicea.

Unity in the Body of Christ 14
The church is one body with many members, called from every nation, kindred, tongue, and people. In Christ we are a new creation; distinctions of race, culture, learning, and nationality, and differences between high and low, rich and poor, male and female, must not be divisive among us. We are all equal in Christ, who by one Spirit has bonded us into one fellowship with Him and with one another; we are to serve and be served without partiality or reservation. Through the revelation of Jesus Christ in the Scriptures we share the same faith and hope, and reach out in one witness to all. This unity has its source in the oneness of the triune God, who has adopted us as His children. (Rom. 12:4, 5; 1 Cor. 12:12-14; Matt. 28:19, 20; Ps. 133:1; 2 Cor. 5:16, 17; Acts 17:26, 27; Gal. 3:27, 29; Col. 3:10-15; Eph. 4:14-16; 4:1-6; John 17:20-23.)

As for the seemingly self-contradictory, speculative and unbiblical phrase, "the oneness of the triune God", I prefer to adhere to the explicit revelation in Scripture on the nature of the Godhead.

Lord’s Supper 16
The Lord’s Supper is a participation in the emblems of the body and blood of Jesus as an expression of faith in Him, our Lord and Saviour. In this experience of communion Christ is present to meet and strengthen His people. As we partake, we joyfully proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes again. Preparation for the Supper includes self-examination, repentance, and confession. The Master ordained the service of foot washing to signify renewed cleansing, to express a willingness to serve one another in Christlike humility, and to unite our hearts in love. The communion service is open to all believing Christians. (1 Cor. 10:16, 17; 11:23-30; Matt. 26:17-30; Rev. 3:20; John 6:48-63; 13:1-17.)

I am truly speechless that Seventh-day Adventists are so far away from practicing and understanding what they preach. They seem to have no sense or shame about their remarkable hypocrisy.

Spiritual Gifts and Ministries 17
God bestows upon all members of His church in every age spiritual gifts which each member is to employ in loving ministry for the common good of the church and of humanity. Given by the agency of the Holy Spirit, who apportions to each member as He wills, the gifts provide all abilities and ministries needed by the church to fulfill its divinely ordained functions. According to the Scriptures, these gifts include such ministries as faith, healing, prophecy, proclamation, teaching, administration, reconciliation, compassion, and self-sacrificing service and charity for the help and encouragement of people. Some members are called of God and endowed by the Spirit for functions recognized by the church in pastoral, evangelistic, apostolic, and teaching ministries particularly needed to equip the members for service, to build up the church to spiritual maturity, and to foster unity of the faith and knowledge of God. When members employ these spiritual gifts as faithful stewards of God’s varied grace, the church is protected from the destructive influence of false doctrine, grows with a growth that is from God, and is built up in faith and love. (Rom. 12:4-8; 1 Cor. 12:9-11, 27, 28; Eph. 4:8, 11-16; Acts 6:1-7; 1 Tim. 3:1-13; 1 Peter 4:10, 11.)

This encouraging and true doctrine whitewashes a shamefully hidden practice in the Seventh-day Adventist church. What needs to be honestly revealed is the “shield and sword” of the church, the precise mechanism whereby "the church is protected from the destructive influence of false doctrine." And who decides what is heresy? It certainly isn't decided according to the theology of the fundamental beliefs and the Church Manual.

What is the “shield and sword” of the Seventh-day Adventist church in actual practice? Google for Threats, Intimidation and the Kingdom of God.

The Gift of Prophecy 18
One of the gifts of the Holy Spirit is prophecy. This gift is an identifying mark of the remnant church and was manifested in the ministry of Ellen. G. White. As the Lord’s messenger, her writings are a continuing and authoritative source of truth which provide for the church comfort, guidance, instruction, and correction. They also make clear that the Bible is the standard by which all teaching and experience must be tested. (Joel 2:28, 29; Acts 2:14-21; Heb. 1:1-3; Rev. 12:17; 19:10.)

Most Seventh-day Adventists believe that Ellen G. White’s prophecies of the future are absolutely unconditional, so, supposedly, Sister White’s visions of the future rank higher than the prophecies of the Bible, which are mostly conditional. These facts contradict mainstream Seventh-day Adventist beliefs.

There are a few dissenting opinions that refuse to assume the absolute unconditionality of Sister White's eschatology. Undeniably, those dissenting opinions carry considerable weight since there are insurmountable problems with the traditional view.

Sister White expected that the US Constitution would be repudiated because of a popular movement desiring a national Sunday law. Most certainly, EGW did not foresee the future unfolding as it actually has -- the US Constitution has recently been repudiated by our Secret Security/Surveillance State, but not for Sunday sacredness.

Consequently, honest Seventh-day Adventists should be willing to admit that events aren't unfolding in the direction Sister White predicted. Even the Adventist Review has acknowledged this.

Shubert's heretical article Is Ellen G. White's Eschatology a Conditional Prophecy? contains the expert opinions of Noam Chomsky and Paul Craig Roberts on the demise of Labor Unions, which Sister White prophesied would be instrumental in bringing about the time of trouble, along with that noteworthy admission by the Adventist Review that Ellen White's eschatology on this matter is best understood as a conditional prophecy.

Logically therefore, I propose that Seventh-day Adventist entertain a more humble point of view. If Sister White's eschatology is outdated on some points, then maybe it was all meant to be fulfilled in the 19th Century. I propose that the future is open. Unquestionably, Satan still has free will and hasn't been fated to work for the advancement of a national Sunday law. Where is it written that Satan can't change his mind? Couple the philosophical and pragmatic bankruptcy of the mainstream view with the fact that Revelation 13 can be fulfilled in a countless number of possible scenarios that do not contain any mention of a superstitious belief in Sunday sacredness.

Sabbath 20
The beneficent Creator, after the six days of Creation, rested on the seventh day and instituted the Sabbath for all people as a memorial of Creation. The fourth commandment of God’s unchangeable law requires the observance of this seventh-day Sabbath as the day of rest, worship, and ministry in harmony with the teaching and practice of Jesus, the Lord of the Sabbath. The Sabbath is a day of delightful communion with God and one another. It is a symbol of our redemption in Christ, a sign of our sanctification, a token of our allegiance, and a foretaste of our eternal future in God’s kingdom. The Sabbath is God’s perpetual sign of His eternal covenant between Him and His people. Joyful observance of this holy time from evening to evening, sunset to sunset, is a celebration of God’s creative and redemptive acts. (Gen. 2:1-3; Ex. 20:8-11; Luke 4:16; Isa. 56:5, 6; 58:13, 14; Matt. 12:1-12; Ex. 31:13-17; Eze. 20:12, 20; Deut. 5:12-15; Heb. 4:1-11; Lev. 23:32; Mark 1:32.)

It's very disturbing to me that Shubert's Date Line Existence Theorem is easy to prove, unquestionably true and definitely anti-SDA. And my perplexity only intensifies when I consider EGW saying that the existence of a day line "would make all our history for the past fifty-five years a complete fallacy." Church leaders have no right to misrepresent the problem. Elementary logic is inescapable. The Sabbath as Seventh-day Adventists imagine it is a mathematical impossibility.

Shubert's Date Line Existence Theorem

There is a place on earth where two Seventh-day Adventists can stand side-by-side and even hold hands, where, for one, the Sabbath is starting and, for the other, the Sabbath is ending.



Suppose, momentarily, that Seventh-day Adventists are right in believing that the Sabbath was or should have been enjoined upon the world as a part of The Great Commission:

Matthew 28
16 Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. 17 When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. 18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Let’s imagine then, in the history of taking the gospel to the whole world, that straightaway some Sabbath-keeping Christian evangelists went west from Jerusalem to comply with the Great Commission and some with the identical theology and dedication went east. Their message would have been “the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.”

Exodus 20
8 “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. 11 For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.

Leviticus 23:32
“from evening to evening, you shall celebrate your Sabbath.”

Recall that the days of the creation week are reckoned from evening to evening:

Genesis 1
1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.
3 Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. 4 And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. So the evening and the morning were the first day.

8 So the evening and the morning were the second day.
13 So the evening and the morning were the third day.
19 So the evening and the morning were the fourth day.
23 So the evening and the morning were the fifth day.
31 So the evening and the morning were the sixth day.

Genesis 2
1 Thus the heavens and the earth, and all the host of them, were finished. 2 And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. 3 Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made.

It is reasonable to suppose therefore that both groups of traveling evangelists could never forget which day of the week it was and which day was the seventh according to the days they would measure by the setting of the sun.

Suppose now that both groups of Sabbath-keeping travelers or their descendants eventually cross paths on the opposite side of the earth. It is an elementary mathematical theorem (the proof of which only requires high school algebra) that the west-bound travelers would discover that the east-bound travelers were keeping Sunday holy and the east-bound travelers would discover that the west-bound travelers were keeping Friday holy. So which group was actually keeping the Sabbath? Indisputably, Shubert’s Sabbath-Sunday Paradox clearly shows that you can’t define the Sabbath globally on a round earth.




Evidently, what I mean by the "Neutral Zone" is simply that sizable portion of the earth where the existence of God's Sabbath is doubtful. Consequently, if Shubert’s Paradox is resolvable, how could we be sure of a Sabbath day anywhere on earth outside the Middle East if we don't know where the Garden of Eden was located?

Do I have any hope for the Seventh-day Adventist church to answer this honestly? I have no confidence in the presumed integrity of the SDA church. Instead, I'm reminded of the Rabbinic curse on any Jew that would study the 70 Week prophecy of Daniel 9. Thus, my only expectation is that the Seventh-day Adventist hierarchy will pronounce a similar curse on Shubert. As I see it, Sister White's dismissal of questions on the existence of an international date line is no excuse for Seventh-day Adventists to dismiss a disquieting mathematical theorem in modern times. Truth is no real threat to the church. The greatest fear that Seventh-day Adventists should have is that they are their own worst enemies. It is easy to see that Shubert has some insightful Biblical expositions on Daniel and Revelation that vindicate the quintessence of Seventh-day Adventism and the supporting messages of Ellen G. White overall: Genuine New Light from Revelation and Daniel. All I ask is an official confession or repudiation of the truths of this thread and Shubert's new light so that my church, The Church with the Lion's Roar (Rev 10:1-3), will have an undeniable confirmation that they are not merely an auxiliary church but are certainly the true continuation of the Millerite faith.

For completeness, here are all the unmistakably discouraging instances that I know of that demonstrate Sister White's misunderstanding of the legitimate theological challenge.

Ellen G. White wrote: It would be very strange if the Lord God of heaven should set apart a day for people to observe, and bless and sanctify that day, and give it to man and enjoin upon man that it be kept holy unto the Lord as a memorial that He made the world in six days and rested upon the seventh day and blessed the Sabbath day, and yet that day become so uncertain the world cannot tell definitely when the seventh day comes to us. {10MR 342.2}

Sister T has been speaking of you to me. She says that you are in some confusion in regard to the day line. Now, my dear sister, this talk about the day line is only a something that Satan has devised as a snare. He seeks to bewitch the senses, as he does in saying, "Lo, here is Christ, or there." There will be every fiction and devising of Satan to lead persons astray, but the word is, "Believe it not. For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. Behold, I have told you before. Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not" (Matthew 24:23-26). {3SM 317.3}

Is it possible that so much importance can be clustered about those who observe the Sabbath, and yet no one can tell when the Sabbath comes? Then where is the people who bear the badge or sign of God? What is the sign? The seventh-day Sabbath, which the Lord blessed and sanctified, and pronounced holy, with great penalties for its violation. {3SM 318.2}

The seventh-day Sabbath is in no uncertainty. It is God's memorial of His work of creation. It is set up as a heaven-given memorial, to be observed as a sign of obedience. God wrote the whole law with His finger on two tables of stone. . . . {3SM 318.3}

Now, my sister, . . . I write . . . to tell you that we are not to give the least credence to the day line theory. It is a snare of Satan brought in by his own agents to confuse minds. You see how utterly impossible for this thing to be, that the world is all right observing Sunday, and God's remnant people are all wrong. This theory of the day line would make all our history for the past fifty-five years a complete fallacy. But we know where we stand. . . . {3SM 318.4}

My sister, let not your faith fail. We are to stand fast by our colors, the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus. All those who hold the beginning of their confidence firm unto the end will keep the seventh-day Sabbath, which comes to us as marked by the sun. The fallacy of the day line is a trap of Satan to discourage. I know what I am speaking about. Have faith in God. Shine where you are, as a living stone in God's building. {3SM 318.5}

The children of God will be triumphant. They will come off conquerors and more than conquerors over all the opposing, persecuting elements. Fear not. By the power of Bible truth and love exemplified in the cross, and set home by the Holy Spirit, we shall have the victory. The whole battle before us hinges upon the observance of the true Sabbath of Jehovah. . . . {3SM 319.1}

God rested on the seventh day, and set it apart for man to observe in honor of His creation of the heavens and the earth in six literal days. He blessed and sanctified and made holy the day of rest. When men are so careful to search and dig to see in regard to the precise period of time, we are to say, God made His Sabbath for a round world; and when the seventh day comes to us in that round world, controlled by the sun that rules the day, it is the time in all countries and lands to observe the Sabbath. In the countries where there is no sunset for months, and again no sunrise for months, the period of time will be calculated by records kept. . . . {3SM 317.1}

The Lord accepts all the obedience of every creature He has made, according to the circumstances of time in the sun-rising and sun-setting world. . . . The Sabbath was made for a round world, and therefore obedience is required of the people that are in perfect consistency with the Lord's created world.--Letter 167, 1900. {3SM 317.2}

Do not allow your mind to wander from the main points of the truth for this time, to grasp unimportant theories and problems. If anyone gives you unessential problems to solve, tell him that God has placed in your hands a work to be done. Tell him that you are doing a great work and cannot come down to try to solve the problem of the day line. You have the message for this time--the third angel's message--to give to the people. This is your work. Hold the beginning of your confidence firm unto the end. The truth is to be repeated, line upon line, precept upon precept.--Letter 11, 1901, pp. 6, 7. (To M. G. Kellogg, Jan. 21, 1901.) {2MR 187.1}

Stewardship 21
We are God’s stewards, entrusted by Him with time and opportunities, abilities and possessions, and the blessings of the earth and its resources. We are responsible to Him for their proper use. We acknowledge God’s ownership by faithful service to Him and our fellow men, and by returning tithes and giving offerings for the proclamation of His gospel and the support and growth of His church. Stewardship is a privilege given to us by God for nurture in love and the victory over selfishness and covetousness. The steward rejoices in the blessings that come to others as a result of his faithfulness. (Gen. 1:26-28; 2:15; 1 Chron. 29:14; Haggai 1:3-11; Mal. 3:8-12; 1 Cor. 9:9-14; Matt. 23:23; 2 Cor. 8:1-15; Rom. 15:26, 27.)

This is yet another misleading doctrine in the deceptive showcase of the so-called 28 fundamental beliefs. What the SDA church really wants you to believe is that they are the supreme church and have the highest spiritual authority in all the earth and that you must return your tithes to them. I tend to believe that The Church with the Lion's Roar (Rev 10:1-3), in its present form, is the church of the greatest work and the greatest need.

Here is a thoughtful theological challenge: Should Seventh-day Adventists be paying tithes to finance aggravated apostasy, which supports and encourages extreme deception and rebellion? See http://everythingimportant.org/tithe

Christ’s Ministry in the Heavenly Sanctuary 24
There is a sanctuary in heaven, the true tabernacle which the Lord set up and not man. In it Christ ministers on our behalf, making available to believers the benefits of His atoning sacrifice offered once for all on the cross. He was inaugurated as our great High Priest and began His intercessory ministry at the time of His ascension. In 1844, at the end of the prophetic period of 2300 days, He entered the second and last phase of His atoning ministry. It is a work of investigative judgment which is part of the ultimate disposition of all sin, typified by the cleansing of the ancient Hebrew sanctuary on the Day of Atonement. In that typical service the sanctuary was cleansed with the blood of animal sacrifices, but the heavenly things are purified with the perfect sacrifice of the blood of Jesus. The investigative judgment reveals to heavenly intelligences who among the dead are asleep in Christ and therefore, in Him, are deemed worthy to have part in the first resurrection. It also makes manifest who among the living are abiding in Christ, keeping the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus, and in Him, therefore, are ready for translation into His everlasting kingdom. This judgment vindicates the justice of God in saving those who believe in Jesus. It declares that those who have remained loyal to God shall receive the kingdom. The completion of this ministry of Christ will mark the close of human probation before the Second Advent. (Heb. 8:1-5; 4:14-16; 9:11-28; 10:19-22; 1:3; 2:16, 17; Dan. 7:9-27; 8:13, 14; 9:24-27; Num. 14:34; Eze. 4:6; Lev. 16; Rev. 14:6, 7; 20:12; 14:12; 22:12.)

What Eugene Shubert teaches on the Investigative Judgment is correct and entirely Biblical. The official Seventh-day Adventist version is a tangled, disorientating mess and is not supported by the Scriptures cited.

What is the 29th fundamental belief?

The infamous, unwritten, 29th fundamental belief is to have a faith beyond all criticism in the holy order of the SDA church and to believe in the exemplary character and righteousness of the SDA leadership.

The discipline process the Bible outlines is to restore someone that has done something wrong back into the body. You are asking to be disfellowshipped.....you don't have any sorrow or regrets about what you have done....you don't want to be restored.

Where is it expressed, either by Christ, the Spirit of prophecy or the Church Manual that an opposer to the holy order must have the intention of being reconciled? Reconciled to what? The holy order?

It's interesting that you regard the church to be infallible. I don't want to be aligned with the infallible holy order of the Seventh-day Adventist church. So why must I be tethered to it? And why isn't Christ entitled to having His commands obeyed?

No sense wasting others time as well as your own.

So that's why Christ isn't entitled to having His commands obeyed. Adventist time is too valuable. And you speak for everyone. But why are you so sure that all Seventh-day Adventists refuse to be inconvenienced by obedience to Christ?

You're just looking to increase the size of your cult by forcing the Seventh-day Adventist church to examine your heresy. I know how Jesus responded to the "bait" the Pharisees were using on him ... he called them "hypocrites", "brood of vipers", making converts that were "twofold more the child of hell" than they were, and "blind guides." You deserve the same response.

You are misrepresenting the Lord. Christ always answered the baited questions from the Pharisees and Sadducees. For example:

Luke 20
20 So they watched Him, and sent spies who pretended to be righteous, that they might seize on His words, in order to deliver Him to the power and the authority of the governor.

21 Then they asked Him, saying,“Teacher, we know that You say and teach rightly, and You do not show personal favoritism, but teach the way of God in truth: 22 Is it lawful for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?”

23 But He perceived their craftiness, and said to them,“Why do you test Me? 24 Show Me a denarius. Whose image and inscription does it have?”

They answered and said,“Caesar’s.”

25 And He said to them,“Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”

26 But they could not catch Him in His words in the presence of the people. And they marveled at His answer and kept silent.

Here's a second example:

Matthew 22
23 That same day the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to him with a question. 24 “Teacher,” they said,“Moses told us that if a man dies without having children, his brother must marry the widow and raise up offspring for him. 25 Now there were seven brothers among us. The first one married and died, and since he had no children, he left his wife to his brother. 26 The same thing happened to the second and third brother, right on down to the seventh. 27 Finally, the woman died. 28 Now then, at the resurrection, whose wife will she be of the seven, since all of them were married to her?”

29 Jesus replied,“You are in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God. 30 At the resurrection people will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven. 31 But about the resurrection of the dead—have you not read what God said to you, 32 ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not the God of the dead but of the living.”

33 When the crowds heard this, they were astonished at his teaching.

Also recall this notable example of Christ baiting those who tried to bait Him:

Matthew 21
23 Jesus entered the temple courts, and, while he was teaching, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him.“By what authority are you doing these things?” they asked.“And who gave you this authority?”

24 Jesus replied,“I will also ask you one question. If you answer me, I will tell you by what authority I am doing these things. 25 John’s baptism—where did it come from? Was it from heaven, or of human origin?”

They discussed it among themselves and said,“If we say,‘From heaven,’ he will ask,‘Then why didn’t you believe him?’ 26 But if we say,‘Of human origin’—we are afraid of the people, for they all hold that John was a prophet.”

27 So they answered Jesus,“We don’t know.”

Then he said,“Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.

So you are misrepresenting the Lord Jesus Christ as virtually saying,`How dare you ask Me a challenging question that I might not know the answer to?' and then having Christ explode in a fit of rage because He never claimed to have all the answers.

The only true parallel here is that the Pharisees and Sadducees believed in "the holy order," that Seventh-day Adventists have the same mindset as the Jews of the first century and that Seventh-day Adventists outrank first century Judaism in terms of disobedience and failure. [1], [2].

So you think you have your local church over a barrel then? They HAVE to listen to you before then can disfellowship you for heresy? I think you missed something: your church doesn't have to hear you out because you have already admitted to wanting to be disfellowshipped.

So there you have it. You insist that Christ isn't entitled to having His commands obeyed because I’ve allegedly confessed to being LITERALLY A HERETIC. What does one have to do with the other?

So I wonder what the Pharisees might have made of the Apostle Paul’s admission that he was the "chief of sinners." And that reminds me: at the Point Loma Seventh-day Adventist church, there was a head-elder that would always say of himself in any mention of the sea beast of Rev 13 – "I am the beast." And you might know that Martin Luther is on record saying that the pope he feared most was "Pope Self."

Narrow, bigoted minds could easily have a heyday with any of these admissions.

The truth is that there are at least four or five possible outcomes to my grievance. There is even a fantastic improbability that events might turn out better than I could realistically hope for. It's only the most likely outcome that I wouldn't be happy with.

1. Church authorities could decide to pocket-veto my request with the excuse that Christ isn't entitled to having His commands obeyed.

2. From an honest and serious investigation of my grievance, it is possible that God might speak to those who would be willing to consider all my claims. Out of that minimal effort, events might unfold such that the whole denomination could see their error and repent.

3. Or the truth I share could cause the prophesied shaking of the church. "If the solemn testimony upon which the destiny of the church hangs” will be listened to and carefully examined, then we can reasonably expect the prophesied outcome. "The hidden ones will be revealed to view" and "then will the church of Christ appear ‘fair as the moon, clear as the sun, and terrible as an army with banners.’ " 5T 81-82.

4. With a far less thoughtful investigation, I could be put under censure by a vote of the church.

5. With only a very superficial investigation, I could be disfellowshipped by a vote of the church.

Send your letter to your church, tell them you "defy the holy order" and what's more, you demand that they listen to you while you do it.... What I find "intolerable" is your dishonesty, trying to use Christ's method of reconciliation to force them to listen to you when you have no intentions of reconciling with them unless they agree with you and hand over the tithe. Your dishonesty is in resorting to false pretense to get your theology aired.

I thank you for your truthful appraisal of my argument as being an irrefutable force. However, you lie by your ridiculous pretense that I’m making a demand. Also, I have no intention of misrepresenting my case by affirming your distortions. I have said repeatedly that the church is free in the short term to exalt its own convenience above obedience to Christ. And at the final judgment, I only expect that I’ll be participating as an observer, not an executioner. So what is the nature of the force that I’m using IF NOT PURE UNADULTERATED TRUTH and where is the evil in invoking truth? As for the requirements of justice, the Church Manual is quite specific:

“Settlement of Grievances of Members Against the Church---The same principles that influence resolution of differences among members apply to the settlement of grievances of members against Church organizations and institutions.” p. 61.

I have many grievances against the church.

And the church should have grievances against me and should seek to officially disfellowship me if I’m teaching error. Is Christ still the head of the SDA church? Then why aren’t His commands being obeyed?

If the church is willing to obey Christ, then I’m willing to listen to their defense against my arguments. If they can present facts or explanations that I haven’t considered, then I would be very happy to reconsider my position. For example, perhaps I don’t have the answer to every theological riddle that plagues Seventh-day Adventism, only two or three, and thus I’m not entitled to receive church tithes but only gifts and offerings. If the church could present even one remotely plausible argument against my claims, then I would happily concede their point.

Jesus was 100% honest 100% of the time. "Baiting" and "mockery" were not part of his character.

Plan `A` in Old Testament eschatology was bait, an alluring, enticing promise of worldly blessings that would be fulfilled if certain conditions would be met. There's nothing dishonest about that. There's also nothing dishonest about Seventh-day Adventists obeying Christ, as I proposed.

And strictly speaking, the only bait I'm offering is a time-consuming study that I assert leads to a ten-fold increase of light. However, if the church were to dismiss new light entirely from prejudice and refuses to comply with Christ's expressed will about church discipline, then obviously the church is choosing willful ignorance and invites God's judgment. Now, is that a threat from me or did God already promise it?

As to your feelings about being mocked, if you feel mocked, perhaps you should rethink your loyalty to fantasy and consider the possibility that powerful doctrine makes a mockery of willful blindness. For instance, why do you persist in trying to distort my meaning of being a heretic?

... so he's devised a plan whereby he can wangle a hearing by requesting that he be disfellowshipped for heresy. Mr. Zog refers to his theology as "heresy", but admits that that's just "bait" to get the church to hear him out, which, according to his interpretation of the church manual, Ellen White, and Jesus, is a requirement before the church board can disfellowship him. It's a clever scheme ... but a dishonest one.

According to you, I'm trying to force the church to obey Jesus, which might open their eyes to see why a life-long Seventh-day Adventist would renounce "the holy order", and that's an evil motive and the church shouldn't assist with such evil motives.

Wait a minute.

Wishing that the church would obey Jesus is an evil motive?

What if obeying Jesus isn't evil? What if those who presume to know and judge the hearts of others are evil?

What if God requires obeying Jesus regardless of what the judges of human hearts assert?

Why am I attacked so fiercely for my opposition to the holy order?

The Apostle Paul said, "I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction." 2 Timothy 4:1-2.

Likewise: Ephesians 5:11: "Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them."

Consider this opposing force:

"Satan has laid every measure possible that nothing shall come among us as a people to reprove and rebuke us, and exhort us to put away our errors." -- Testimonies to Ministers and Gospel Workers, p. 411.

This thread shows that Satan has achieved his diabolical plan for the Seventh-day Adventist church. Actually, if we look closely, we should confess that Satan has achieved far more than EGW realized. I believe that Satan exercises overwhelming power over the SDA church. See How Perfectly Does Satan Control Seventh-day Adventists?

What is the proper Christian attitude in defying the holy order? See Christ's Opposition to the Holy Order.

http://everythingimportant.org/showcasedoctrines