Are 7th Day Adventists a cult group?
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Are 7th Day Adventists a cult group?
Are the Adventists a cult group? I know about the Sabbatarianism, vegetarianism, annihilationism, dichotomious views, and the like, but does this thing about Ellen G. White make them a cult? If it does, then why doesn't an affection for Calvin, Luther, or Menno Simmons make the Reformed churches and Anabaptist/Mennonites cult groups? THanks.
Last edited by Guest on Wed Dec 31, 1969 7:00 pm, edited 0 times in total.
Reason:
Reason:
Most of the Seventh-Day Adventists I have known seem like real Christians to me...not that I am the judge of such things. I have never been a part of their movement, so I don't know to what degree there may be cult-like dynamics there.
Any group (including a given church of a respectable denomination: e.g., Baptist, Assemblies of God, Calvary Chapel, etc.) can be a cult, in my judgment, regardless how correct their doctrines may be, if they are placing some human teacher in a position of infallability, and refusing to think for themselves about their beliefs. If a group will not permit their teacher/leader to be contradicted without consequences to the contradictor, the group is what I would call a cult. No one but God is above the need to be contradicted at times.
It is also possible for a group NOT to have this cult-like characteristic, and yet for individuals within the group to have a cult-member-like attitude of reverence for the teacher. This may even be contrary to the teacher's wishes, but some people just choose to let others do their thinking for them. This is not healthy.
As near as I can tell, the SDA (Seventh-Day Adventists) view of E. G. White differs from that of the Lutherans toward Luther, the Anabaptists toward Menno Simons, etc. in that Mrs. White is regarded in the movement as a "prophet." This can mean different things to different people. Many evangelicals speak of A.W. Tozer as a prophet, but this doesn't mean to them that he spoke as an infallable oracle. Prophets in the Bible spoke the words that the Holy Spirit gave them to speak, and were expected to do so infallably.
Simply recognizing someone as a modern-day prophet does not necessarily indicate that the group that does so is a cult...but more often than not, if a leader is regarded to be a prophet, rather than just a preacher or a teacher, the group that holds this opinion will have cult-like loyalty to him/her. This translates into automatic and unthinking deferrence to the leader's opinions and interpretations of scripture. That is what I regard to be the main feature of a cult.
I suspect that, among SDA's, there are some who view Ellen G. White in a manner similar to the way people viewed Tozer. Others probably view her as the Mormons view the "prophet" Joseph Smith. Those who are of the first opinion are not cult-followers. Any who might take the second view would be cultists, in my reckoning. Which view the SDA churches actually promote I do not know.
Any group (including a given church of a respectable denomination: e.g., Baptist, Assemblies of God, Calvary Chapel, etc.) can be a cult, in my judgment, regardless how correct their doctrines may be, if they are placing some human teacher in a position of infallability, and refusing to think for themselves about their beliefs. If a group will not permit their teacher/leader to be contradicted without consequences to the contradictor, the group is what I would call a cult. No one but God is above the need to be contradicted at times.
It is also possible for a group NOT to have this cult-like characteristic, and yet for individuals within the group to have a cult-member-like attitude of reverence for the teacher. This may even be contrary to the teacher's wishes, but some people just choose to let others do their thinking for them. This is not healthy.
As near as I can tell, the SDA (Seventh-Day Adventists) view of E. G. White differs from that of the Lutherans toward Luther, the Anabaptists toward Menno Simons, etc. in that Mrs. White is regarded in the movement as a "prophet." This can mean different things to different people. Many evangelicals speak of A.W. Tozer as a prophet, but this doesn't mean to them that he spoke as an infallable oracle. Prophets in the Bible spoke the words that the Holy Spirit gave them to speak, and were expected to do so infallably.
Simply recognizing someone as a modern-day prophet does not necessarily indicate that the group that does so is a cult...but more often than not, if a leader is regarded to be a prophet, rather than just a preacher or a teacher, the group that holds this opinion will have cult-like loyalty to him/her. This translates into automatic and unthinking deferrence to the leader's opinions and interpretations of scripture. That is what I regard to be the main feature of a cult.
I suspect that, among SDA's, there are some who view Ellen G. White in a manner similar to the way people viewed Tozer. Others probably view her as the Mormons view the "prophet" Joseph Smith. Those who are of the first opinion are not cult-followers. Any who might take the second view would be cultists, in my reckoning. Which view the SDA churches actually promote I do not know.
Last edited by Guest on Wed Dec 31, 1969 7:00 pm, edited 0 times in total.
Reason:
Reason:
In Jesus,
Steve
Steve