A Response to the Video:
Seventh-day Adventism, the Spirit Behind the Church

by Bob Pickle

Answers to Questions Raised by:
Mark Martin, Sydney Cleveland
Dale Ratzlaff, The White Lie
. . . and Others

Discern Fact from Fiction

Other Doctrines; the Jehovah's Witnesses

#89: "During the mid-1800's, within a few years of each other, Mormons, Jehovah's Witnesses, Christian Scientists, and Seventh-day Adventists were all presenting doctrines contrary to those held by traditional Bible believers."—Narrator.

#89: They teach doctrines contrary to tradition. The same could be said about nearly every church in existence today. They each proclaimed doctrines contrary to the traditions of the times. When the popular churches rejected the new doctrines discovered in the Bible, the people who wanted to stay true to Scripture started a new church.

Even Jesus opposed the traditional beliefs of His day: [p. 65]

He answered and said unto them, Well hath Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men, as the washing of pots and cups: and many other such like things ye do. And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition. For Moses said, Honour thy father and thy mother; and, Whoso curseth father or mother, let him die the death: But ye say, If a man shall say to his father or mother, It is Corban, that is to say, a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me; he shall be free. And ye suffer him no more to do ought for his father or his mother; Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered: and many such like things do ye. (Mark 7:6-13)

The most basic principle of Protestantism is Sola Scriptura, or, the Bible and the Bible only. It used to be that tradition was considered subordinate to the authority of Scripture by Protestants. Alas, times have changed to the point that churches are being condemned on videos if they don't follow tradition.

Yet notice the contradiction: Michael being a name for Christ the Son of God was a popular traditional belief (see #87). If teaching doctrines contrary to tradition is wrong, then this video is wrong in calling the idea that Michael is Christ a heresy. It is also wrong for condemning the idea that the 2300 days would end around 1844 (see #64).

By associating Adventism with Mormons, Jehovah's Witnesses, and Christian Scientists, the video apparently is trying to suggest that if these other groups aren't Christian, then neither is Adventism. But that isn't necessarily true.

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