"What is Seventh-day Adventism (SDA), and what do Seventh-day Adventists believe?"
Answer: There seem to be different "degrees" of Seventh-day Adventism. Some Seventh-day Adventists believe identically to orthodox Christians, other than believing that worship should be held on Saturday and that the Saturday Sabbath should still be observed. If these are the only differences, then, yes, a person could be a Seventh-day Adventist and still be a true believer in the Lord Jesus Christ.
However, some Seventh-day Adventists believe in much more than a Saturday Sabbath / worship day. Seventh-day Adventists have been known to believe in the annihilation of the wicked instead of an eternal hell, and believe that believers who die enter a state of soul sleep and that a person must observe the Saturday Sabbath in order to be saved. Other problems with some Seventh-day Adventists are belief in Ellen G. White, the founder of Seventh-day Adventism, as a true prophet of God, even though many of her "prophecies" failed to come true, and that Jesus entered a second phase of His redemptive work on October 22, 1844, as "prophesied" by Hiram Edson.
So, what is Seventh-day Adventism, and what do Seventh-day Adventists believe? Should a Christian attend a Seventh-day Adventist church? Due to the potential doctrinal issues mentioned above, we would strongly encourage believers to not get involved in Seventh-day Adventism. Yes, a person can be an advocate of Seventh-day Adventism and still be a believer. At the same time, there are enough potential issues to make attending a Seventh-day Adventist church questionable at best.
"Answer: There seem to be different "degrees" of Seventh-day Adventism. Some Seventh-day Adventists believe identically to orthodox Christians, other than believing that worship should be held on Saturday and that the Saturday Sabbath should still be observed. If these are the only differences, then, yes, a person could be a Seventh-day Adventist and still be a true believer in the Lord Jesus Christ.
However, some Seventh-day Adventists believe in much more than a Saturday Sabbath / worship day. Seventh-day Adventists have been known to believe in the annihilation of the wicked instead of an eternal hell, and believe that believers who die enter a state of soul sleep and that a person must observe the Saturday Sabbath in order to be saved. Other problems with some Seventh-day Adventists are belief in Ellen G. White, the founder of Seventh-day Adventism, as a true prophet of God, even though many of her "prophecies" failed to come true, and that Jesus entered a second phase of His redemptive work on October 22, 1844, as "prophesied" by Hiram Edson.
So, what is Seventh-day Adventism, and what do Seventh-day Adventists believe? Should a Christian attend a Seventh-day Adventist church? Due to the potential doctrinal issues mentioned above, we would strongly encourage believers to not get involved in Seventh-day Adventism. Yes, a person can be an advocate of Seventh-day Adventism and still be a believer. At the same time, there are enough potential issues to make attending a Seventh-day Adventist church questionable at best."
Actually, most Adventists DO believe in the annihilation of the wicked, and it is supported by scripture. It is one of the "fundamental beliefs" of the Adventist church, along with the idea that souls are not immortal(immortality of the soul is derived from paganism, it came right along with the easter bunny).
Adventists do NOT believe a person must keep the Sabbath to be saved, Adventists believe the majority of God's children are in other denominations.
Adventists do believe Ellen White was a prophet, I would just say that your definition of a prophet is mistaken. If you remember, Jonah's prophecies did not come true. The idea that a prophet must be absolutely sinless and infallible is not a biblical principle, there were many prophets that directly went against God in some way. Some were even counted with the pagans, or stricken with leprosy until they repented, or overcome with fear, or not allowed to enter the promised land, etc.
If you study the prophecies, the prophecies in the bible can be interpreted. The people who first discovered the prophetic link to 1844 were not Adventists, they were made up of people from many denominations. The Great Disappointment shattered the beliefs of many people because their prophetic "math" was so accurate. They would not have lost their faith otherwise. All Adventists say is that they were right about the date, they simply had the event wrong. If you'd have a better explanation for those people who studied so diligently, yet lost their faith, I'd like to hear it.
I am glad to hear you consider at least some Adventists to be believers, even if you disagree with some of their beliefs. Adventists consider anyone who claims that Jesus is Lord, confesses Him as their savior, and bears the fruit of a changed life to be a believer and a follower of Christ. Like I said before, Adventists believe the huge majority of Christ's children are NOT Adventists. I'd also just like to point out that I am an Adventist, and I am an official witness to the fact that quite a few of the things you have to say against Adventists are FALSE. I would advise you to check your sources.
1 Cor 12:3
Wherefore I give you to understand, that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed: and that no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost.
