HOME / PROCLAMATION! MAGAZINE / 2015 / SUMMER / LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
S U M M E R • 2 0 1 5
VOLUME 16, ISSUE 2
D E P A R T M E N T S
LETTERS to the Editor
One unbelievable article after another
Vol. 16, issue 1 has outdone itself again with one unbelievable article after another. I confess, I never cease to be amazed with wonderment—OK, and bewilderment—as I read each Proclamation! edition.
I just knew you could use some helpful editorial advice. It is unfortunate you did not send me the drafts before publishing, but here goes anyway. Cheryl Granger made an astounding discovery in the annals of history that she just had to share: the “jaw-dropping quote” on page 21 about some German Seventh-day Adventists’ thoughts regarding Hitler: “Seventh Day (sic) Adventists…rejoiced in an August 1933 circular that the nation was now being run by Hitler ‘who has his office from the hand of God; and who knows himself to be responsible to Him. As an anti-alcoholic, non-smoker, and vegetarian, he is closer to our own view of health reform than anybody else.’”
Fair enough argument—derisively denounce a plant based diet because a supposedly God-appointed man by the name of Hitler practiced, to whatever degree, a “health reform” lifestyle. This line of reasoning must cause the editorial board nightmares when it comes to whom God and the devil set up, or appoint, or sanction as civil or uncivil, as the case may be, rulers on this earth over the eons of time.
I mean, who appointed Tiberius Caesar as the one in charge of the levers of government when Christ was crucified? Was Tiberius God’s man or the devil’s man of the hour? Hmmm? Was Nero God’s man or the devil’s man of the hour? I mean, the blood of martyrs proved fruitful ground for the exponential growth of Christianity. According to Daniel, King Nebuchadnezzar was God’s man of the hour, and this is the same man who threw good men into a fiery furnace. How can it be that a “good” man could do such a terrible bad deed? Oh, the stuff of Proclamation! editors’ nightmares.…
Colleen proclaims on page 17, “What one eats is immaterial, Paul says, as long as one eats ‘for the Lord.’ Dale contends for “intelligence” in regards to healthful practices for Christians, and Colleen contends it is “immaterial” what one eats as long as it is done “for the Lord.” So which is it? The cognitive dissonance in Proclamation! within the same issue between these two competing, polar-opposite ideas is just plain awesome. My guess is that Dale needs additional deprogramming to fully accept the “immateriality” provisions of the New Covenant.
Colleen and Dale, you have got to get your heads together and figure out this cause and effect business or you will continue to offer odd (as in Hitler was not a kinder man for eating plants, a fact intended to destroy the myth that kinder/healthier/less sensual people don’t dine on the carcasses of dead animals) and conflicting views and advice. Come to think of it, that is almost exactly the same sort of castigating argument Dale offers on Ellen White’s supposed confusion on the issue of the “right arm of the gospel”.
Via email
Editor’s note: We are accustomed to readers taking issue with our articles using all manner of persuasive devices, from anger to shame to sarcasm to logic. We want to address, however, this letter’s rhetorical questions about appointments being from God or the devil.
There is no question about Who is in charge of history. God is sovereign over everything. Paul said, “He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation” (Acts 17:26). Job 12:23 says, “He makes nations great, and he destroys them; he enlarges nations, and leads them away.” Further, Isaiah deliver’s God’s own words, “I form light and create darkness, I make well-being and create calamity, I am the LORD, who does all these things” (Is. 45:7).
Adventists debate over what God may or may not know, and they insist God does not “cause” disasters; Scripture, however, is unequivocal: God is utterly sovereign. We can trust that God is not surprised by anything that happens. We cannot thwart His purposes, and all that occurs is within His sovereign will. He is the God of history, the One “who was and is and is to come” (Rev. 4:8).
Truth with love and boldness
While pastors and theologians shrink from the message of truth in Mark 7:18-19, you put it forth with love and boldness. This diet-lifestyle-yoga training is certainly not limited to Loma Linda.
I’m so grateful to you, and I’m sending your website to all those I know who are either concerned about it or are into it, advising they download your Spring issue.
Thank you.
Winnetka, IL
You need counseling
It would do you a world of good to bring your “gospel” to the Hindus and the Muslims rather than slandering the Adventist church—or are you afraid to challenge them? The Muslims will not even touch the swine, much less eat it.
Dale, regarding tea and coffee: do not write something scientific if you do not have the biochem or physiology background to back your words….
Cheryl Granger, originally the Hindus got their vegetarian theology from the Garden of Eden as written in the Bible. So if anyone writes about a vegetarian diet, does it mean they are plagiarizing it? Ellen White also got her message from the Bible, like you (I hope) and I would.
Your latest publication shows me that you are all very angry and in need of psychological counseling. Try Google and get some help there.
Via email
First article bringing laughter
“From Where Did It Come?” is the first article in your magazine that brought laughter as I read it. Here is the GC president stating that he’s a vegetarian because it affects his frontal lobes and nerve endings. The Rosenvolds are astounded that Adventists have catsup on their tables. There is disappointment that some outside the church think there is fanaticism in the church over diet. The writings of Ellen White breed fanaticism!
When I pastored someone came to our home for my wife’s birthday party, and that evening he became sick and threw up only the cake and ice cream, but not the fruit. He stated it was a judgment of God for having eaten something unwholesome. He got up during announcement time [the next Sabbath] to let the whole church know about this experience, to the horror of my wife.
Church members shouldn’t eat chocolate, cheese, ice cream, spices, pickles, and the dreaded catsup. They mustn’t drink tea or coffee. They must only eat two meals at day and never, ever mix their fruits and vegetables. One conference president’s wife refused to offer prayer over “this junk food”. All this sounds to me like salvation by the belly!
Ontario, Canada
Present love; don’t bash
I am not sure why I am giving you the “whatever” of an email, but [here it is]. I do not understand your tactics. Why don’t you present the love of Christ, rather than bashing the Adventists? Why not the Baptists or the Methodists or the Catholics?
Via email
Pray for body of Christ to discern
Wow and wow! Your last issue on the health message of Seventh-day Adventism was right on. I nearly read it cover to cover in one sitting. The Lord is definitely warning all His people about health-related systems of thought and teaching that are based in the occult. I’m all for healthy eating, good lifestyle practices, and so forth, but some take it to an “unhealthy” extreme, especially where Yoga is concerned. Talk about a trick of Satan on the people of God. We need to pray the body of Christ develops more discernment.
On the subject of the kundalini spirit as part of the Hindu religion—thank you for exposing this phenomenon for the world to see. I was part of a Christian church 20 years ago that allowed this spirit to operate under the guise of the Holy Spirit (they called it the “renewal”). It is interesting for me to remember that some of the strange behaviors included actual animal sounds (barking, etc.) and poses…We were told not to worry because it was all just “holy chaos”. This church today attracts thousands (especially vulnerable young people) from all over the world yearly to their services and school. There is spiritual power there for sure, but not always the Holy Spirit. I believe they have been deceived by their own fleshly desires, as are the Adventists who believe they can grow closer to God by something done in and through the flesh (Saturday Sabbath keeping, vegetarianism, etc.).
Thank you for sounding the alarm about the roots of Seventh-day Adventism. I will continue to pray for these poor deceived souls to find the freedom of knowing Jesus paid it all.
Whitmore, CA
You need prayers
I will never support your false teachings. If you are teaching truth, why do you constantly run down the Adventist church? You will need all the prayers you can get in the day of judgment.
Dunnegan, MO
Who’s bashing whom?
I very much appreciate this publication. It is apparent that the writers and editors work very hard to present each article, each topic, in a thoughtful, studied manner. Thank you for your hard work and dedication to the truth.
One thing that disturbs me from month to month are the angry letters I read accusing this magazine and this ministry, of “bashing” the Adventist church. I suppose these accusations are made with the assumption that no Adventist would ever say negative things about another church or another Christian’s beliefs. But I have attended too many evangelistic meetings and adult Sabbath School classes and read too many of their publications (including, or especially, Ellen White), to know that assumption isn’t true. Adventists are very willing to “bash” other Christians—note the many negative statements made about the Catholic church, or their saying “Sunday-keeping” Christians are part of Babylon, the harlot’s daughters, worshiping the beast, deceived by Satan himself. How is that NOT bashing, but placing Scripture next to Ellen White and pointing out the inconsistencies and error IS?
I understand defensiveness when you feel your house is being attacked, but I think Adventism, and the members themselves, would be better served if they would listen to what these people have to say, instead of just trying to shout them down. And if for no other reason than maturity, don’t be one of those people who “can dish it out, but can’t take it.” Just because you don’t like what you’re hearing doesn’t mean this publication is bashing anybody.
Crestline, CA
Freedom is obedience to divine commands
I wondered how Sharon Clark (“Recovery from Adventism”, Spring, 2015) would have felt in the Garden of Eden? Would she have felt free as she does now? God placed some restrictions on Adam and Eve with their “freedom and choices.” Eve must have thought why can’t we eat of all the trees and experience complete freedom? Most individuals not happy with the Adventist Church or any other church don’t want to feel others, including God, have the right or authority to make rules that when broken, yield consequences. True freedom is found only in obedience to divine commands!…
Having trained as a physician at Loma Linda and attending many religious classes and services, there never entered my mind I was a slave to a bunch of dreamed up religious notions! Strange, obedience made me feel free!
Via email
Editor’s response: To be sure, rules provide structure that bring order out of chaos. Never the less, the issue is not whether or not we will live by rules; the issue we each face is whether or not we will trust Jesus, believing He has paid the price for our sin, repenting before Him, and acknowledging Him as our Savior and Lord. Salvation is not bad people becoming good; it is dead people becoming spiritually alive.
We are born spiritually dead (Eph. 2:1-3), and only by believing are we made alive and pass out of death into life (Eph. 2:4-10; Jn. 5:24; Jn. 3:3-6; 16-18; 6:29). When we believe Jesus and are made spiritually alive, our Father transfers us out of the domain of darkness into the kingdom of His beloved Son (Col. 1:13).
It is this life and the concurrent indwelling of the Holy Spirit (Eph. 1:13-14) that sets us free, for “where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom” (2 Cor. 3:17). Paul tells us that “For freedom Christ has set us free;” and he commands us not to submit again to a yoke of slavery (Gal. 5:1).
“For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another” (Gal. 5:13).
Freedom is being made alive in Christ through faith by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. This new birth frees us from the law (Rom. 10:4), but never are we to use our freedom for license. We now submit to the Spirit and serve one another, for “love is the fulfilling of the law” (Rom. 13:8). “For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Gal. 5:14).
My heart is broken
Thank you for your study, courage, bravery, and tenacity for the Biblical truth.
My heart is broken over the fact that I need to leave my church, but since I have been too ill to attend, at least I will no longer beat myself up over that. However, I love my pastors.
I hate thinking that all of their wonderful sermons are so tainted. However, it has always annoyed me greatly that E.G. White is quoted almost as often as Scripture from the pulpit in a supposed Bible-teaching church!
I wish I could find a nearby church that would help me transition away from the specific fellowship I am in right now. At least I am happy that your Proclamation! magazine has continued to show up in the mail at my church, and that I eventually decided to take one home and read it.
Fresno, CA
Plan to prosecute
Quit sending me your Proclamation! magazine! I don't want it; you are harassing me, and I intend to pursue legal action against you if the harassment does not stop.
I have attempted to contact you several times yet continue to receive this offensive propaganda.
You are hereby ordered to remove my address from your mailing list. It may be addressed to “Occupant” but my family and I are the only occupants at this address. Again, if this harassment does not stop, I plan to go through all the proper channels to see that you are prosecuted to the full extent of the law.
Missoula, MT
Editor’s note: Thank you for finally giving us your name and full address. We frequently receive phone messages or even emails which do not clearly share the recipient’s name and address. If one wishes to be removed from the mailing list, please be sure to share all of one’s contact information.
Adventists visiting prison
I have been receiving Proclamation! magazine ever since I’ve ordered books from Life Assurance Magazine. I often see letters from prisoners, and I wondered about getting a subscription for one.
I have been assisting in prison ministry by communication with prisoners who have become Christians. I decided that one I’m currently corresponding with (who has terminal cancer) could benefit from your magazine. There are some Adventist people who visit the prison, and while I have been able to teach that prisoner with whom I correspond about why Adventist teaching needs to be avoided, I think it would be great if he could receive your magazine.
Thank you for your consideration.
North Liberty, IA
I am free!
Every time I get my Proclamation! magazine in the mail, I get mad—mad that I was duped for 52 years of my life by the Adventist church; mad that I didn’t believe my husband when he told me during our first 22 years of marriage that what I believed was wrong (even though he gave me the freedom to practice what I believed). Then I sit down to read my Proclamation! from cover to cover and shed tears of joy for the grace of God that saved me from Adventism, and for the Life Assurance Ministries publications that assisted with my transition. Chris Lee’s “A Study of the Covenants” was the final nail in my Adventist coffin. I am amazed that it took me all of 12.5 seconds to leave “God’s True Church” once I read in the Bible that there wouldn’t be two sealings (Holy Spirit sealing and Sabbath sealing). I am now assured of my salvation all the time, thanks to Jesus’ sacrifice and God’s great mercy and grace, and can’t help but tell people my story. I love Jesus, and I am FREE!
via email
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Truth needs no other foundation than honest investigation under the guidance of the Holy Spirit and a willingness to follow truth when it is revealed.
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