Why is Death so Prominent in Adventism?
In my last post, I talked about the crucible at Adventist Frontier Missions. I mentioned that the final game we played was one where we had to bring Bibles to some far away country and if we failed, it meant death. I mentioned that death is a prominent theme in Adventism, and today I want to explore why that is. Why is the Seventh-day Adventist religion so obsessed with death?
One of my big realizations when working under Steve Huey, Monte Church, and Native Ministries of the Washington Conference of Seventh-day Adventists was that heaven was used as a carrot on a stick. Pastor Steve Huey made it clear to me that those who questioned pastors and prophets would eventually be lost. Death is the ultimate fear that many of us face, and Adventism brands itself on having the answer and solution for death. So-called prophetess Ellen G White claimed to have went to heaven. Her estate even put together a compilation on her trips to heaven, and unremarkably titled it heaven. How did I ever fall for this? I don't know. The idea that God took such a person to heaven makes me shudder. The idea that I took it seriously and based much of my life around it makes me want to throw up.
Yet, the truth is, we as humans wonder so much about what happens after old age takes us or accidents befall us. We wonder where our children, grandparents, and ourselves go after we pass away. Adventism keeps death close by at all times by singing songs about it, preaching sermons about it, and uplifting a prophetess that claims to know everything there is to know about it. No wonder at Adventist Frontier Missions, the crucible's final game was about death! Yet, it goes deeper than that. You see, Adventism is OBSESSED with persecution and death. The idea is that one day a Sunday law will be passed and those who do not obey it will be brutally tortured! This story is told over and over again to children in churches. It gives many nightmares. Growing up, one is well acquainted with sermons about the Sunday Law and time of trouble that will come. Much of Adventist life is spent preparing for this time of trouble and making sure to never break the Sabbath in any way! Because if you do break the Sabbath during the time of trouble, you will die the second death, which is even worse than the regular death that we all face! Death is an important subject of life, but it is not one to spend your life obsessing about. When I left the SDA church, I began to enjoy the life I had. In Adventism, everything was about saving the good times for heaven. Do not live for this world. Wait until death to live. The prohibitions that Ellen G White laid out for us were numerous and arduous! From rules about food, relationships with one's spouse, entertainment, music, travel, books, etc., there was never an end to what we couldn't do! Money was not to be spent on ourselves, but to be given to what is now one of the richest churches in the world! A church so rich that it can spend $1 billion to send The Great Controversy around the world! What makes things even more suspect is that pastors such as Steve Huey and Conrad Vine are exempt from the rules of the game. They can travel and spend at their leisure! If you make it out of the rank of lowly follower to leader, the playing field changes! Ellen White herself had servants, traveled in style, and ate the food that her followers were not allowed to touch! Yet, they don't tell you that in Sabbath School! It is important to have a well-rounded view of life. That's what leaving the SDA church gave me! Now I enjoy the fruits of my labor, time with my family, and also find myself more loving and more giving--because I love people--not because I fear death or want to please some works-obsessed demon God. I gave ten years of my life as a volunteer missionary to a church that spit me out when I asked a couple of questions about Ellen White! Now I live free, knowing that the Seventh-day Adventist's church's insecurity about Ellen White is its downfall! It's a beautiful day to be alive!
