Criticism of the Seventh-day Adventist Church

This article is about criticism of the movement. For the main article, see Seventh-day Adventist Church.

A number of groups and persons have voiced criticisms of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, some of which are summarized below.

Major critics

One of the most prominent early critics of the church was D. M. Canright, an early leader who later left the movement. According to evangelical Walter Martin, most subsequent criticism of the church has been based on his work.

In the middle of the 20th century, Martin and the Christian Research Institute concluded that the Seventh-day Adventist church is a legitimate Christian body with some heterodox doctrines. However, other scholars disagreed and continued to classify the church as a cult. One such scholar was Anthony A. Hoekema, who grouped Seventh-day Adventism with Mormonism, Jehovah's Witnesses and Christian Science in his book The Four Major Cults. Another scholar who criticized Adventism vocally was John C. Whitcomb.

A prominent contemporary critic is former Adventist Dale Ratzlaff, who left the church in the early 1980s and founded a private ministry catering to ex-Adventists called Life Assurance Ministries[1]. Ratzlaff has been described as the "fountain head" of all critics.

According to Samuele Bacchiocchi, most criticisms of Ellen White come from former Adventists, many of whom were church pastors. In the intense debates regarding the inspiration of Ellen White during the 1970s, Adventists Walter Rea and Ronald Numbers wrote material considered critical of Ellen White by much of the church, and subsequently left.

Another category of critics disapprove of certain traditional Adventists beliefs and attitudes, but ultimately remain supportive of the church and seek its reformation from within. These include individuals such as Desmond Ford and Steve Daily, and independent ministries such as Good News Unlimited.

Additionally, very few critics of Adventism allow for open discussion on websites and blogs. This prevents two sides to be discussed openly.

Church doctrine

Hell

Traditional Christianity teaches that, for the sins of a brief earthly life, the wicked dead are tormented with fire and brimstone in an eternally burning hell and will continue to suffer this torture for all eternity, although this is in dispute among evangelicals currently. This doctrine relies on literal interpretations of many verses of the Bible (Revelation 20:10, Jude 1:7, Luke 16:19–31, Isaiah 66:24, Isaiah 14:3–11) and other seemingly contrary verses in a symbolic or abstract sense (2 Thessalonians 1:9, Matthew 10:28, Ezekiel 18:20, Ecclesiastes 9:5–6, Ecclesiastes 9:10, Daniel 12:2, John 5:28–29, John 11:12–14, Psalms 115:17, Psalms 49:12, Isaiah 33:14–15, Malachi 4:1, Malachi 4:3). Seventh-day Adventists interpret the meaning of the original language used in the verses above to mean that there is no eternal conscious torment but believe that at the world's end the wicked will be destroyed in a non eternal hell.

Anti-Catholicism

See also: Seventh-day Adventist interfaith relations

Some writings of Ellen White appear to be anti-Catholic in tone, ascribing a generally conspiratorial nature to the Catholic Church in preparation for a nefarious eschatological role as the antagonist against God's remnant church (the Seventh-day Adventist Church) and that the pope is the antichrist. However, after careful study, it appears that Ellen White's writings are referring to the institution of the papacy - rather than to individual popes. Neither does she or the Seventh-day Adventist Church include the members of the Catholic Church in their teachings about the anti-christ. It should be noted that every Protestant church, by its very name, started by 'protesting' against the Catholic Church. Many Protestant reformers held similar beliefs about the Catholic Church and the papacy when they broke away from the Catholic Church during the reformation. Up until about fifty years ago, some Protestant churches continued to preach these beliefs from their pulpits and even today a few continue to do so. It would therefore be uncharitable to ascribe the origin of these beliefs about the Catholic Church and the papacy to the Seventh-day Adventists. Equally it would be inaccurate to deny that Seventh-day Adventist teaching and especially the writings of Ellen White present views that are hostile to Catholic teaching and to the Catholic Church.

Ellen White writes,

His word has given warning of the impending danger; let this be unheeded, and the Protestant world will learn what the purposes of Rome really are, only when it is too late to escape the snare. She is silently growing into power. Her doctrines are exerting their influence in legislative halls, in the churches, and in the hearts of men. She is piling up her lofty and massive structures in the secret recesses of which her former persecutions will be repeated. Stealthily and unsuspectedly she is strengthening her forces to further her own ends when the time shall come for her to strike. All that she desires is vantage ground, and this is already being given her. We shall soon see and shall feel what the purpose of the Roman element is. Whoever shall believe and obey the word of God will thereby incur reproach and persecution.

In their defense Adventists maintain that their views regarding eschatology are anti-papal but not necessarily anti-Catholic. John F. MacArthur is one noted evangelical whose strong messages against Catholicism agree exactly with what Seventh-day Adventists teach. The Seventh-day Adventist Church, in short, claims to be one of the last bastions of historicism and orthodoxy in Protestant Christianity.

Catholics, on the other hand, accept the validity of Seventh-day Adventist baptisms (in view of their Trinitarian confession) and remain open to ecumenical discussion with the Seventh-day Adventists. The insular attitude characteristic of Seventh-day Adventists in their contacts with other Christian groups is especially manifest in their approach to Catholicism, which they identify as the Antichrist power of Bible prophecy in public seminars. Popular suspicions of Catholic intentions (reflecting the anti-Catholic tone of late 19th Century political tracts) preclude most forms of dialogue. Thoughtful engagement with Catholic theology is also limited by portraying the Catholic Church as an end times persecuting power. Seventh-day Adventist literature tends to ignore the teachings of the Catholic Church regarding religious liberty and liberty of conscience as evidenced by the documents of the Second Vatican Council, which defined religious liberty as an eternal moral principle. Because Catholic authors occasionally refer to the Seventh-day Adventist Church as a sect some Seventh-day Adventists view this as an unfriendly approach and regard it as a type of persecution

Again, Ellen White writes,

And let it be remembered, it is the boast of Rome that she never changes. The principles of Gregory VII and Innocent III are still the principles of the Roman Catholic Church. And had she but the power, she would put them in practice with as much vigor now as in past centuries. Protestants little know what they are doing when they propose to accept the aid of Rome in the work of Sunday exaltation. While they are bent upon the accomplishment of their purpose, Rome is aiming to re-establish her power, to recover her lost supremacy. Let the principle once be established in the United States that the church may employ or control the power of the state; that religious observances may be enforced by secular laws; in short, that the authority of church and state is to dominate the conscience, and the triumph of Rome in this country is assured.

Christology

It has been alleged by the Christian Research Institute that traditional Adventism teaches that Christ had a sinful nature (Christian Research Journal, Summer 1988, p. 13). This is in opposition to the position given by commentators on Christology, a field which studies the nature of the biblical Christ. Adventist historians today agree that this view was common in early Adventism, although it is rejected by the mainstream church today. It is still held today by a minority of "historic Adventists" on the fringes of the church.

Anthony Hoekema wrote in 1963 that "there remain some real difficulties on the question of the sinlessness of Christ's human nature" in Adventist theology, in spite of the fact that Questions on Doctrine had attempted to repudiate the doctrine of Christ's sinful nature. Hoekema argues that the Adventist denomination failed to definitively repudiate the traditional doctrine, as evidenced by Adventist writers in his day who continued to espouse the doctrine. He also asserts that Ellen White's teachings on the matter were inconsistent, and that the authors of Questions on Doctrine merely emphasised some of her statements while ignoring others.

Ellen White wrote: “Christ took upon His sinless nature our sinful nature...; Christ took human nature and bore the infirmities and degeneracy of the race. He took our nature and its deteriorating condition”. It is also acknowledged by the CRI that there is significant disagreement in the Adventist Church as to what Ellen White meant by her statement. Many Christian faiths teach that Christ “was tempted in every way, just as we are, yet without sin” Hebrews 4:15, that he appeared on earth “in the likeness of sinful flesh” Romans 8:3 and that to some degree Christ “had to be made like His brethren in all things” Hebrews 2:17. Ellen White also wrote that "The human nature of Christ is likened to ours, and suffering was more keenly felt by Him; for His spiritual nature was free from every taint of sin. Therefore His desire for the removal of suffering was stronger than human beings can experience" Appendix B of the Adventist publication "Questions on Doctrine" deals with the writings of Ellen White in regards to the incarnation of Christ; the view most compatible with the seemingly contradictory statements seems to be that which is summarized in the aforementioned quote; that Christ's human, or fleshly nature was that of fallen humanity, while His spiritual nature was holy and uncorrupted. In other words, Christ took a fallen human nature in every respect except one; he did not have a propensity to sin.

Investigative judgment and salvation

The Investigative Judgment doctrine is defined in the Church's list of fundamental beliefs.

In reviewing this uniquely Seventh-day Adventist doctrine, authors deny that it has any biblical basis, particularly its claim that Christ did not enter the "holy of holies" until 1844, despite verses such as Hebrews 9:25–26, and Hebrews 10:11–14, among others, which reference the work of Christ having been completed at the cross.

Adventists answer that Investigative Judgment doctrine isn't about celestial geography, that Lordship salvation is compatible with the gospel, and that Scriptures like 1 Peter 4:17 and Matthew 25 teach an end-time judgment of the Church. Equally certain is that the end time gospel of Revelation 14:6–12 did not sound in the first century but applies to our time. Also, many Adventist scholars interpret the references in Hebrews as to do with inauguration of the heavenly sanctuary, taking Hebrews 6:19–20 as parallel to Hebrews 10:19–20, a view shared with certain biblical scholars of other faiths, instead of the Day of Atonement event as interpreted by critics.

The essence of Old Testament sanctuary typology that Adventists rely on for their eschatology and may be summarized as follows:

The sanctuary services emphasized three aspects of Christ’s work for us: sacrifice, mediation, and judgment. In general, the three parts of the sanctuary corresponded to these three kinds of ministry. Sacrifice occurred in the court, mediation in the holy place, and judgment in the Most Holy Place.

As to the 1844 date, Walter Martin wrote:

Lest anyone reading the various accounts of the rise of "Millerism" in the United States come to the conclusion that Miller and his followers were "crackpots" or "uneducated tools of Satan," the following facts should be known: The Great Advent Awakening movement that spanned the Atlantic from Europe was bolstered by a tremendous wave of contemporary biblical scholarship. Although Miller himself lacked academic theological training, actually scores of prophetic scholars in Europe and the United States had espoused Miller's views before he himself announced them. In reality, his was only one more voice proclaiming the 1843/1844 fulfilment of Daniel 8:14, or the 2300-day period allegedly dating from 457 B.C. and ending in A.D. 1843-1844.

Remnant church status

The Seventh-day Adventist church's 13th fundamental belief describes the remnant church: 13. Remnant and Its Mission: 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.

Both historically and contemporaneously, some Seventh-day Adventists have viewed the Seventh-day Adventist Church as THE remnant church. This is not however official church belief as can be seen from the above quote. Many of the claims made regarding this are made by opponents of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. These include statements like The SDA leadership affirms that they are indeed the remnant church, the true "," because they have the mark of the Lord, Saturday worship, and the prophetess to confirm this.

Although some may criticize the Adventist belief that they are the true church, it is not uncommon to find other religions who also claim they are the true representatives of God such as all Christian Religions, Jewish religion and Muslims.

The Adventist Theological Society--an unofficial group of Seventh-day Adventists--has the following as part of their affirmation which prospective members must sign: I affirm the identification of the Seventh day Adventist Church as the remnant movement called by God to proclaim the three angels' messages of Revelation 14:6 13, which prepare the world for the soon arrival of Christ.

Ron Corson in his article "Progressive and Traditional Adventists Examined" in Adventist Today points out that members of the Seventh-day Adventist Church hold a variety of beliefs on the subject. He sees "Traditional Adventists" as believing that the Seventh-day Adventist Church is the "Remnant"; while "Progressive Adventists" believe in the inclusion of other Christians into the category termed the "Remnant."

Exclusivism

Finally, it is alleged that certain Adventist beliefs and practices are exclusivist in nature. Non-Adventist critics have raised concern about the Adventist claim to be the “remnant church”, and the characterization of Roman Catholicism as "Babylon the Great" (Rev. 17:5), just as was believed by many great reformers such as Martin Luther, John Knox, Jean Calvin and others. These distinctively Protestant understanding of eschatology is said to legitimize the evangelism of Roman Catholics, just as some other evangelical Christians believe.

Also Seventh-day Adventist Church believes that all Christians (Protestants or Orthodox) who seek to return to Roman Catholicism and accept Pope of Rome as a Head of Church of Christ on Earth are to be considered as daughters who came from Her ("Mother of Harlots" Rev 17:5).

Adventist theologians also state that the doctrine of the remnant does not preclude the existence of genuine Christians in other denominations.

"We fully recognize the heartening fact that a host of true followers of Christ are scattered all through the various churches of Christendom, including the Roman Catholic communion. These God clearly recognizes as His own. Such do not form a part of the "Babylon" portrayed in the Apocalypse."

— Questions on Doctrine, p. 197.

Ellen G. White

The Seventh-day Adventist Church considers the ministry and writings of Ellen G. White as manifesting the gift of prophecy, as evidenced in fundamental belief 18. The role of Ellen White as a prophet has been criticized on two main fronts, her health and her uncredited reliance on numerous literary sources. These accusations have resulted in questions about her legitimacy as a true prophet. White's prominence in the church has also been criticised. Mainstream Adventists today agree that at times she has been given too much prominence in the church.

Health

At the age of nine, White sustained a blow to the head from a rock thrown at her. It is frequently interpreted from various speculations on the incident that Ellen White spent three weeks in a coma and that a brain trauma might explain her visions. Individuals with epilepsy have also been found to have delusions and hallucinations in relationship to God. Abnormalities in the hippocampus are associated with religiosity in refractory epileptic patients similar to Ellen G.White.

Donald I. Peterson, Professor of Neurology at the Adventist Loma Linda University School of Medicine and Chief of Neurology at Riverside General Hospital, California, disagrees and explains the difference between "stupor" and "coma." Adventists Desmond and Gillian Ford also disagree with the critics of Ellen White, writing:

We personally do not believe that the epilepsy theory of "partial-complex seizures" is an adequate explanation for the phenomenon of Ellen G. White. Such seizures typically are common within a few months of the cause of the injury, not eight years after. If disease could provide the dedication, energy and wisdom that Ellen White revealed for over seventy years, some of us would pray "Lord, give me that disease".

Plagiarism

A common criticism of Ellen White, widely popularized by Walter T. Rea and other scholars, is that she took vast amounts of uncredited material from contemporary authors in an unethical way, something which is generally regarded today as plagiarism. The Seventh-day Adventist Church believes that White's use of sources does not constitute plagiarism.

When the plagiarism charge ignited a significant debate within the Adventist church during the late 1970s and early 1980s, the General Conference commissioned a major study. Fred Veltman, was asked in 1982 to analyse the works with a scope of detecting whether both "literary borrowing" and/or plagiarism were a concern given cultural views on plagiarism in the literary context she lived in. The ensuing project became known as the "'Life of Christ' Research Project." In the course of the research, it was found that White's use of derived sources was not troubling given the common behaviour of her contemporaries. Although the report did not provide a conclusive result as to whether White's writing was plagiarism, Veltman did express his personal opinion that she was not guilty of the charge as given.

"We did find verbatim quotes from authors who were not given credit. But the question of plagiarism is much more complicated than simply establishing that one writer used the work of another without giving credit. A writer can only be legitimately charged with plagiarism when that writers literary methods contravene the established practices of the general community of writers producing works of the same literary genre within a comparable cultural context."

Other Seventh-day Adventists have also commented on the issue. Some of these include; Dr. Roger W. Coon, David J. Conklin, Dr. Denis Fortin Don McMahon asserts that health principles espoused by White were accurate.

See also: prophetic gift of Ellen White

Status of Ellen White

The Adventist church has also been criticized for unduly elevating the status of Ellen White. Many Adventist scholars such as Alden Thompson, Clifford Goldstein and Graeme Bradford agree that unrealistically high views of Ellen White have been held in the church, particularly in the past. Graeme Bradford in his book Prophets are Human highlights that fact that Ellen White participated and was involved in many normal human activities.

Disputed cult status

Disputes have arisen among counter-cult authors over whether Seventh-day Adventism is a cult.

In the late 1950s, Walter Martin and Donald Barnhouse classified Adventism as non-cult-like, a reversal of his earlier 1955 classification of Adventism as a cult. He expanded his position in the 1960 book-length treatment, The Truth About Seventh-day Adventism. Many evangelicals followed this new advice, and continue to do so today, accepting Adventism as an orthodox Christian denomination, even though it holds a few doctrines that are seen as different from mainline Christian churches.

Others class Adventism as an unorthodox Christian denomination, including, for example, John Whitcomb, Jr. Anthony Hoekema, a contemporary of Walter Martin, analysed Adventist teachings and came to the conclusion that the Adventist church is a cult which he grouped together with Mormonism and Jehovah's Witnesses. Hoekema based his conclusion on Adventist views concerning the remnant, the investigative judgment, the incomplete atonement, the scapegoat, the authoritative role of Ellen White, and legalistic soteriology. He also differed from Martin in his view that Adventists had not truly broken away from the doctrine of Christ's sinful nature.

Other criticisms

Membership retention

Some have criticized the church for the high proportion of members which leave it. According to statistics assessed by the Adventist church, 45 members left in the year 2005/2006 for every 100 members who joined, although the figure may not be precise. In the 2006/2007 year the reported membership retention was much higher at 76%, in other words 24 people left the church for every 100 who joined it.

See the Conserving Membership Gains - an Appeal statement voted in 2007.

The Clear Word

The Clear Word is an interpretative Bible paraphrase created by Dr. Jack Blanco and printed by the Review and Herald Publishing Association. It has been widely used by Adventists, though is not officially endorsed by the church. The majority of Adventists use the same standard non-denominational translations as most other churches. Critics have said that it is a corrupt Bible version designed to support Adventist beliefs and Ellen G. White teachings. The author of the book, Dr. Blanco, however, writes in the book's preface that it is not a Bible translation. It is rather an expanded paraphrase for a devotional use.

Early Shut door theology

Main article: Shut-door theology

Eugene Taylor and others have criticised the church over its shut door theology Ellen White wrote in defense of the shut door belief,

"I am still a believer in the shut-door theory, but not in the sense in which we at first employed the term or in which it is employed by my opponents.

"I was shown in vision, and I still believe, that there was a shut door in 1844. All who saw the light of the first and second angels' messages and rejected that light, were left in darkness. And those who accepted it and received the Holy Spirit which attended the proclamation of the message from heaven, and who afterward renounced their faith and pronounced their experience a delusion, thereby rejected the Spirit of God, and it no longer pleaded with them. Those who did not see the light, had not the guilt of its rejection. It was only the class who had despised the light from heaven that the spirit of God could not reach."

In the aftermath of the Great Disappointment in 1844 there were two groups of Adventists: “open door” Adventists and “shut door” Adventists. The shut door Adventists concluded that they had completed their mission to humanity, that Christ's Second Coming was very near and that their only duty was to encourage and instruct other Adventists who had believed prior to in the Millerite movement. The "shut door" doctrine, based on the Parable of the Ten Virgins, asserted that those not saved at the judgment hour (1844-10-22) were unable to attain salvation. Adventists teach that believing in a shut door was a very reasonable conclusion at the time. Ellen White explains:

After the passing of the time of expectation, in 1844, Adventists still believed the Saviour's coming to be very near; they held that they had reached an important crisis, and that the work of Christ as man's intercessor before God, had ceased. Having given the warning of the Judgment near, they felt that their work for the world was done, and they lost their burden of soul for the salvation of sinners, while the bold and blasphemous scoffing of the ungodly seemed to them another evidence that the Spirit of God had been withdrawn from the rejecters of his mercy. All this confirmed them in the belief that probation had ended, or, as they then expressed it, "the door of mercy was shut."

Today, Seventh-day Adventists consider the Millerite Movement, their prophesying the end of the world, believing that the end of all things had actually come, and eventual disappointment, to be a fulfilment of Revelation 10.

Assurance of salvation

Many Adventists do not feel assurance of salvation, that is, confidence that they are indeed saved, according to the Valuegenesis studies. A 2002 survey of Adventists worldwide showed just under 70% feel assurance of salvation.A 2002 survey of Adventists worldwide showed 91% acceptance of various beliefs. Adventist Alden Thompson wrote in a letter to former Adventist Dale Ratzlaff that he suspects one of the three major reasons some Adventists leave for evangelical communities is assurance: "In guarding against carelessness, Adventism often comes up short on assurance." The church holds Arminian theology, and hence does not teach a "once-saved-always-saved" philosophy. Ellen White's comments regarding the matter are mixed.

Opposition to unions

The Adventist church is opposed to unionization of its hospitals and businesses. Critics have claimed that this has been a method used by the church to prevent employees from demanding protection of workers' rights and improved benefits and treatment by management.

The Adventist Church sued to stop the unionization of nurses in the Ukiah Valley Adventist Hospital, but it lost its case.

An Adventist man from Puerto Rico filed a complaint with the EEOC because he was prevented from joining a labor union.

See:

• "Church Hospital Challenges Labor Law Nurses want union – facility says it would violate faith" San Francisco Chronicle 1998-10-29
• "Adventist Hospital Loses Bid to Prevent Union Organizing" Adventist News Network 2000-10-09
• "Church run hospital wants religious exemption to scab" www.holysmoke.org
• United States Court of Appeals For the First Circuit Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

Separations

Wayne Bent, former Adventist pastor, left his denomination with a group of followers in 1987 and has since referred to that church as one of the "daughters of great harlot" condemned in the book of Revelation. Bent claims that during an experience in his living room in March 2000, God told him, "You are Messiah." Bent has since asserted, "I am the embodiment of God. I am divinity and humanity combined." He founded Lord Our Righteousness Church.

Change and development in the church

Adventists reply that many critics do not do justice to the Adventist church as it is in the present. They often give little or no recognition to the change and development which has occurred in Adventism throughout its history. Sufficient recognition is not given to the broad spectrum which exists within the church at all levels - lay people, administrators and scholars. Rather, conservative Adventism is overemphasized, in particular historic Adventism, despite for example the official church's concern about the beliefs and attitudes of these groups and legal action at times. For Christianity in general, The May 30, 2007 report by Media Matters for America claimed there is a strong skew towards over-reporting conservative religious leaders in the United States compared to moderate and progressive ones.

Evangelical Walter Martin, who defended the Adventist church, also claimed that his contemporaries who criticised the church did not do justice to the then-present state of the church. Martin saw himself as someone who showed Christian concern for justice in properly researching the church as it was in his day.

External links

Opposition to Adventism

• AskAnAdventist.com
• BeyondAdventism.com
• exAdventist Outreach (formerly SDAOutreach.org)
• ExposingAdventism.com
• The Ellen White Research Project (not official)
• Let Us Reason
• DIES DOMINI (organized by former adventist who joined Catholic church)
• The Watchman Expositor
• Catholic.com

Online books

• National Sunday Law: Fact or Fiction? by D. Anderson (1999)

For online books on Ellen White, see prophetic gift of Ellen White.

Accusations of church corruption

• The Merikay McLeod Silver Case
• The German Adventist compromise with the Nazi regime
• The War against Scripture
• Organizational Practices
• Advice regarding GC lawsuits

Addressing corruption and opposition claims

• Adventist Leadership in Nazi Germany
• Official Ellen G. White Estate site
• Biblical Research Institute
• Official Adventist Racketeering self-help site