Growing up Adventist I got the impression you were not supposed to look into other religions too deeply, lest you put yourself at risk for "falling away." One highschool Bible study teacher went so far as to say that he never sought widsom anywhere except for the Bible and EGW.

Well that is all fine and dandy if our faith is the "correct" one. But what if someone grows up Muslim. They may, depending on their circumstances (I know not all Muslims have a conservative upbringing), have even harsher restrictions placed upon them to keep them from learning about other faiths. How can we expect them to come to our "precious truth" when we warn our own against looking into other religions.

I just don't see how anyone is supposed to know anything for certain unless they are willing to look outside of what they have always been taught...

BUT THEN...

There are SOOOOOOO many different religions, philosophies, ideas, etc to look into it seems their is no realistic way to discern between them.

Our pat answer as Adventists is that the "Holy Spirit" will guide us into all truth...

but let's face it. There are plenty of caring, commited, sincere individuals who are not being led to Adventism. In fact some seem to be being led out of Adventism.

So...what is the answer for the sincere seeker. Trust that God is big enough to see us through to the truth? Trust a God who only revealed himself to the Jews for a few millenium? Errr...this really scaring me.

Comments

Anonymous said…
I believe there will be a lot of people in Heaven who are not Adventist because they are doing the best they can with the knowledge they have.
February 16, 2007 at 3:59 AM
Anonymous said…
I once used to wonder if God wanted Christians to be conservative or liberal. Did God want his children to be open-minded to the world around them, or so focused on doing right they couldn't see anything but rules, rules, and more rules. I eventually came to the conclusion that it doesn't really matter to God. Romans 14 talks about how some Christians say they can eat anything, others eat only vegetables. Paul tells the 'open-minded' not to despise the picky-eaters. He then tells the 'legalists' not to judge the others. We are God's children and we will answer to Him alone. Paul says that he personally sides with the open-minded, but he doesn't put stumbling blocks in front of the legalists because of hisopen-mindedness.
Anyway, this whole cahpter is talking about food, but I think it applies to more than just that. I came to the conclusion that it doesn't matter whether someone is liberal or conservative, open-minded or legalistic.
Jesus says that He is the truth. It seems odd that all these different people seeking after Truth arive at different places with different opinions of the truth. But maybe it's like the food. I know that's kind of un-Adventist, but maybe it doesn't matter.

Lp
June 27, 2007 at 1:38 PM
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