The
Seventh-day Adventist Church is facing criticism from within following the
October 2021 statement that forsakes its members who refuse Covid vaccines due
to how they understood the church’s prophetic message of end times.
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| The SDA General Conference offices in the USA/ Wikimedia |
The
church has recently responded to the criticisms in a statement published at
Adventist Review which prompted another response of written criticism by a
group called Concerned Adventist Professionals published at Fulcrum7 on
3rd February 2022.
Faith
Reporters juxtaposes, in summary, the two long contradicting writings that
are mainly about the authority of the Administration Committee (ADCOM) of 58
officials at the General Conference over the fate of nearly 22 million
Adventists faithful.
Should a
believer undermine decisions from above?
The church
statement blames believers for undermining the church administration authority
when it joined the world in unison in praise of the Covid vaccines, referring
to the criticism as “inaccurate statements”.
“Recently some
have challenged the right of the ADCOM to speak on behalf of the Church. These
critical statements have the potential to undermine Church authority, create
confusion, and lead to fragmentation” the writing said.
On the other
hand, the challengers argue that the Protestant administration should expect
checks and balances from the members since Adventism is founded on the
individual right to conscience.
“The Seventh-day
Adventist Church is a Protestant denomination that affirms the “protest” of the
Reformers against the unilateral authoritarianism of the Papacy,” the statement
at Fulcrum7 says adding that “it was the practice of freedom [of conscience] in
the pursuit of biblical truth which resulted in the founding of the
denomination”
About conscience
and the covid vaccines
The church is
very clear that the decision to accept or not accept a Covid vaccine is a
matter of individual conscience regarding their personal health.
“The decision
whether to take the vaccine or not is not a matter of salvation, nor is it
related, as some may suggest, to the mark of the beast. It is a matter of
personal choice”.
The statement
further stresses that the Church respects the right of each member to make the
best possible decision for their health”, leaving Covid vaccination to an
individual to decide, depending on personal convictions.
It’s upon this
basis that the church promised to comfort its individual members whose
fidelity to conscience is compromised by the Covid vaccination mandates.
“Although the
Church sees [Covid vaccines] as a public health issue, we will provide support
to those of our members who see this differently by praying with them [and]
writing a personal letter to their employer.
At this point,
the challengers accuse the church administration of “confusing” believers by
claiming recognition of freedom of conscience and then dismiss believers'
concerns about their compromised religious conscience.
“The offer to
pray for members who have lost their jobs, when ADCOM’s statement is
facilitating and encouraging the loss of those jobs, is like Saul offering to
pray for the victims being stoned while he holds the jackets of the people who
are throwing the rocks”.
The ADCOM that
made the vaccination statement that affected SDA members
The church
statement goes on to explain the execution of the church business through the
General Conference in Session, which delegates power to the Executive Committee
(EXCOM) which also can authorises the Administration Committee (ADCOM).
“The list of
General Conference Statements, Guidelines, and other Documents shows that
approximately one-third of these were released by ADCOM, which issued its first
Document in 1994” the church administration argues.
The statement
warns that the church administration does not take lightly the statements that
undermine the authority of established bodies such as the ADCOM and quote Ellen
White words on organised work.
“To erode
confidence in the organizational structure of the church is an extremely serious
matter. Ellen White [commented]: ‘the Lord has an organized body through whom
He will work … When anyone is drawing apart from the organized body, … then you
may know that God is not leading him’” (Selected Messages, Book 3, pp. 17, 18).
However, the challengers
dismiss the ideas that Ellen White's message is referring to committees such as
the ADCOM but rather the organised body of the General Conference.
“It is
apparent from her writings that her reference to the ‘organized body’ is first
and foremost referring to the meeting of delegates at a General Conference in
Session” the challengers argue.
The challengers
warn that it’s not Adventism to have an administration of centralised
human authority, quoting Ellen White’s Manuscript Releases 17:185, 216, The
General Conference Bulletin, April 3, 1901, p. 25 and Letters and Manuscripts
Vol 9 MS 114. 1894 par.1.
“While it is true that EXCOM is empowered by the Working Policy…, [it] reserves the power to define denominational beliefs to the General Conference in Session. The GC admits and acknowledges that neither EXCOM nor ADCOM can do so” the statement at Fulcrum7 argues.
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Let us draw a lesson from this stand of our faithful pioneers👇👇👇
ReplyDeletethe recent Health Congress at Blackpool, a paper was read by Dr. Adler, Chief Rabbi of London, on the antiquity of sanitation, reference of course being made to the regulations found in the books of Moses. Those rules were given by the Lord Himself, and, when followed, produced the healthiest people that ever lived. Let it be noted, however, that inoculation was not included in the list of preventives of disease. Perfect cleanliness within as well as without the body, is the sum of the whole matter. *_Clean food, pure water, fresh air, plenty of sunlight, regular, muscular exercise, and a clean conscience, will ward off any plague known_*. It may be said that vaccination and inoculation have saved many lives. No doubt they have served a purpose, and will yet do so among people who find that course easier than keeping themselves thoroughly clean; but to fill one's body with death, as a means of warding off death, is unscriptural and unscientific. - PTUK October 5, 1899