ACFAR Conference on Cults (March 21–23)

REGISTRATIONS ARE NOW OPEN! 

Powerful, scriptural answers to the challenges and claims of…

Mormonism • the Prosperity Gospel • Jehovah’s Witnesses • Seventh-day Adventism

March 21–23, 2013 • Africa Renewal Christian College • Buloba, Kampala

Featured speaker: Tim Martin | Watchman Fellowship USA

Registration is 25,000/- for the two and a half days of the conference, plus materials. 

For inquiries, please call The Africa Centre for Apologetics Research at 0706 100 664/0782 000 664.

Viral Video: The International Adventist Challenge

Paul Carden, the Executive Director of the Centers for Apologetics Research (our parent ministry), spoke at the annual Former Adventist Fellowship Weekend earlier this month. His message was a timely one: "The Apostolic Imperative and the International Adventist Challenge." Thankfully, his message has been made available online. Please watch as Paul explains the serious challenge that Seventh-day Adventism presents globally.

Book Notice: Truth About Adventist "Truth"

Dale Ratzlaff, Truth About Adventist “Truth.” Glendale, AZ: LAM Publications, 2007; 88 pp.

Though many people don’t realize it, the Seventh-day Adventist Church is growing quickly around the world—especially in Africa. With this in mind, I’ve undertaken a detailed study of SDA history, beliefs, and practices.

One especially helpful resource is Dale Ratzlaff’s recently revised Truth About Adventist “Truth.” Ratzlaff, a former SDA pastor, has packed this booklet with solid summaries of the movement’s most troubling doctrinal distinctives, along with references and quotations from SDA leaders. CFAR’s executive director contributed the foreword and explains that “The time for a reassessment among evangelicals is long overdue, because for too many inattentive Christians, Adventism represents a profound danger hidden in plain sight. As Dale Ratzlaff amply demonstrates in the following pages, the movement is founded not on the infallible Word of God, but on such an extraordinary mass of error and calculated deception that it must be seen to be believed.”

From the Back Cover:
Many Christians believe the Seventh-day Adventist Church is simply another evangelical church that worships on Saturday (Sabbath). They do not perceive the organization’s cultic nature nor understand the spiritual bondage that results from following Adventist teachings.

In this book you will learn about:
• Adventism’s emergence from the date-setting heresy of the Millerite movement in the 1840s.
• The church’s foundation in Arianism.
• Ellen White, the “messenger” who is a “continuing and authoritative source of truth.”
• The gospel-denying investigative judgment.
• Sabbath as the “seal of God” and Sunday-worship as the “mark of the beast.”
• The doctrine that the dead do not exist; they do not go to be with the Lord.
• The printing and continuing promotion of The Clear Word, a Bible paraphrase containing Ellen White’s theology inserted into the texts.
• Deceptive practices, including misleading Walter Martin, concealing their identity in public evangelism, proselytizing Christians, pastors and administrators who privately disbelieve many Adventist doctrines yet must present a public image of complete loyalty for fear of losing their influence and livelihood and creating a crisis among the laity.

This book will help Evangelical pastors in knowing how to better minister to transitioning Adventists who may visit their church and help pastors to keep their own members from being caught in the enticing net of Adventist evangelism.

Table of Contents:
Foreword, 11
Preface, 13
Ellen White, a Source of Truth, 15
Founded on Error and Deception, 21
Remnant Church of Bible Prophecy, 29
Sabbath Observance, the Seal of God, 33
Sabbath Observance, the Mark of the Beast, 39
Judgment Started, October 22, 1844, 43
Promote The Clear Word, 51
Dead Persons No Longer Exist, 61
Gospel Additions, 65
Deceptive Practices Still Used, 69
Author’s Summary Remarks, 75
The Good News of Christ, 79
Suggested Resources, 85

Book Review: Cultic Doctrine of Seventh-day Adventists

Dale Ratzlaff, Cultic Doctrine of Seventh-day Adventists. Glendale, AZ: Life Assurance Ministries Publications, 2003; 383 pp.

Seventh-day Adventism has had amazing success around the world, especially in Africa. (There are some 1.5 million Adventists in East Africa alone.) Since my exposure to Adventism has been limited, due diligence demands that I become well acquainted with the movement’s history and beliefs. In this important book Dale Ratzlaff introduces evangelical Christians to the troubling doctrines of historic Adventism—and confronts Adventists with the seriousness of their error. As a fourth-generation Adventist and former SDA pastor, Ratzlaff has the insight and experience necessary to critically evaluate Adventist doctrine and the personal authority required to call Adventists to repentance.

He begins by taking us back to the Millerite movement, with its failed predictions of Christ’s Second Coming in 1843 and 1844. When the latter date came and went without Jesus’ return, a vision by one disappointed Millerite led many to believe that the prediction had been misunderstood; instead of Christ’s reappearance, it marked when He invisibly entered the Most Holy Place of the heavenly sanctuary for the first time, beginning a new phase in his atoning work. Ellen G. White was among those who embraced the new doctrine, and she quickly developed a following as one who had the end-time “spirit of prophecy.” Through her leadership and authority, the Church grew in size and influence, and further defined its distinctive beliefs of the cleansing of the heavenly sanctuary and the “investigative judgment.”

Having carefully placed these and other central SDA beliefs in their historical context, Ratzlaff provides biblical, theological, experiential, and ethical evaluations. From examining Adventist interpretations of Daniel 8:14 and Revelation 14:6–12 to showing how these errant beliefs weave themselves throughout the SDA doctrinal system, Ratzlaff leaves no stone unturned. He concludes by contrasting the cleansing of the heavenly sanctuary and the investigative judgment with the gospel of Jesus Christ, and he appeals to SDA leaders to follow God’s truth instead of their traditional beliefs.

The book is amazingly informative. I began Cultic Doctrine with little familiarity with Seventh-day Adventist teachings and ended with a substantial understanding of what makes Adventism “tick.” What’s more, Ratzlaff’s reasoning is well laid out and convincing, documented with numerous extended quotations from Ellen G. White and other major Adventist authorities.

I especially appreciate Ratzlaff’s evenhanded approach to the Seventh-day Adventists themselves. He distinguishes among different streams of Adventism, including contemporary historic Adventism, liberal Adventism, and evangelical Adventism. He admits that evangelical Adventists should, as individuals, not be shunned as cultic, but emphasizes that denominational Adventism fully deserves the label until it repudiates its teachings on the heavenly sanctuary and the investigative judgment—false doctrines that corrupt the gospel of Jesus Christ and demand biblical refutation.

Cultic Doctrine does have the usual problems one sees in independently published works, including typos and formatting issues. It also could have been more concise through robust editing. Nevertheless, these minor points should not detract from the importance of Ratzlaff’s book. Any Christian who wants to better understand Seventh-day Adventists and engage them with the gospel of Christ should read Cultic Doctrine. And Adventists themselves should wrestle through the issues that Ratzlaff raises. May our Lord continue to use this work and Life Assurance Ministries to draw people to Jesus!

Weekly Round-Up: Missionary Work in Africa, Seventh-Day Adventism, Benny Hinn, Mormonism, and the LRA

Here's this week's round-up:

1) Michelle Cantrell, "Why I Would Die for South Africa" (in PDF format) on the DesiringGod web site. Missionary and pastor's wife Michelle Cantrell passionately explains why they are ministering in South Africa. As one looking to serve our Lord in East Africa, I give a hearty "Amen"!

2) Elizabeth Tidwell, "Sabbath observance rooted in Africa, says Adventist historian" from the Adventist News Network. The news service of the Seventh-day Adventists (SDA) touts some of the research that has been done to show a supposed link between their teaching and traditional African beliefs. Yes, the errors of Ellen G. White and her followers are alive and well in Africa.

3) David Kuo, "Benny Hinn in Uganda" on the J-Walking blog. Kuo gives a report in pictures while in Uganda. What did he see? Benny Hinn Miracle Crusade posters in a cancer clinic. Talk about wolves looking for some easy prey--look no further than prosperity gospel peddlers in Africa! See the pictures for yourself; they will break your heart.

4) E.R.K. Dwemoh, "Why I joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints" in the Accra Daily Mail newspaper (Ghana). Here is the testimony of an African explaining why he converted to Mormonism. The Latter-day Saints are continuing to grow throughout Africa.

5) "New breakthrough in Uganda talks" in the BBC News online. Here's some great news that just came out! The Ugandan government has reached a new agreement with the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) rebels. May God bring justice, peace, and reconciliation to Uganda!