Primary Beliefs, Peripheral Beliefs

I did a little research on "Seventh Day Adventists" the other day. It came about because a young lady (18 or so years old) came to the door selling cookbooks for an organization called "Youth Education Scholarship" -- YES for short, apparently dedicated to raising money for helping low income kids to attend college. I fell for the pitch mostly because I'm a sucker when it comes to teenagers like that selling ... it takes guts to go door to door. I'm even more of a sucker if the kid is obviously nervous but willing to try hard.

Anyway, the sales pitch included an offer for another book called "The Great Controversy," which she had a copy of. I thumbed through it really quickly and saw references to Martin Luther, the Catholic Church and tons and tons on the book of Revelation. So right away I knew something was up ... it wasn't just a straight cookbook sale. Long story short, I bought the cookbook (a vegetarian cookbook, it turns out, but I didn't realize it at the time) and the "Great Controversy" book.

I looked more closely at the "Great Controversy" book and came across some references to Saturday worship and "Seventh Day Adventists" came to mind. I found the Seventh Day Adventist website, and their "what we believe" section had nothing that was clearly heretical. More searching yielded a description of them as borderline -- some feel them a "cult," others feel they're just a sect within Christianity. The most significant departure from orthodoxy is that they hold the founder of Seventh Day Adventistism (a woman named E.G. White) was divinely inspired and inerrant in her writings. That's a form of "additional revelation" over and above Scripture. Whether it contradicts Scripture or not I can't say ... but I doubt it. If her writings were clearly contradictory (as Mormon writings are), there'd be a strong condemnation of them as a cult.

Anyway, back to my title ... the idea of battle over Saturday or Sunday as the day for Worship is one of those "peripheral matters" I find so tiresome. I think I have a pretty good understanding of the main theme and thrust of Scripture, and I can't seem to sense there's much of a focus on small issues like this. Jesus was pretty clear in what the issue was:

• You're all sinners
• I'm the Messiah
• Trust in me and my atoning work and be saved
• Turn from your sins and follow me in discipleship

I realize that's a bit superficial and somewhat irreverent, but you get the point. Excessive focus on detailed matters like "Saturday vs. Sunday" strikes me as a form of legalism. Plus, thinking one day is exceptionally more important than the others leads some to think that's the only day to be dedicated to God, when we're called to live our every breathing moment in communion with the Holy Creator of the universe, not just one day out of seven.

But I digress. Yes, I am capable of that! :-)