Hi Bevpirt

Hi B,

Thank you for your kind and thoughtful comments and questions, they are greatly appreciated. I may be able to shed some light on your situation.

I attended (but never joined) a Seventh Day Adventist church for approximately 3 years. I have great respect for Seventh Day Adventists, but after 3 years of earnest study, I could not join their denomination. It was at that time that I lived as a vegetarian. As you know, within Adventism, there are different factions that seem to be at odds with one another. On one hand you have the traditionalists, who hold to the inerrancy of Ellen White. On the other hand, you have the ‘liberals’ who seem to be more Gospel oriented, and they place less emphasis on the writings of Ellen White.

The SDA churches I attended were ‘traditional’ with a strong emphasis on the writings of ‘sister White.’ Her words were regularly quoted from the pulpit. Her dietary rules and regulations were taught and most of the congregation lived by them.

My reason for not becoming a Seventh Day Adventist was because they placed more of an emphasis on Ellen White, prophecy and dietary rules, and much less of an emphasis on proclaiming the Gospel. The church I was attending also made the Sabbath into quite a ‘legalistic’ event. The church I was attending actually refused to baptize me because I told them I did not believe that the writings of Ellen White were infallible.

I have met many wonderful Seventh Day Adventists, but many of these people do not talk about or share the Gospel with others. They loved to talk about Ellen White, vegetarianism, and prophecy, but they did not place an emphasis on the Good News at the church I attended. I respect SDA’s and I wish them well, but many of them must learn to place their emphasis on the Gospel. The Gospel is so simple a child can understand it, yet it is so profound that scholars can spend a lifetime discussing it. Nothing brings me more joy.

I have read Ellen’s White’s dietary books. I do respect her writings, but I do not believe she was infallible, and I certainly do not believe her writings are equal to the Bible. At the church I attended, they viewed the Bible through the interpreting lens of Ellen White’s writings. What they need to do is to view the writings of Ellen White through the lens of the Bible. Since Ellen White promoted vegetarianism, everyone believed that the vegetarian diet was somehow ordained by God for everyone. I believe this is simply wrong, and it’s not Biblical.

I too have heard the argument from Adventist vegetarians that the reason the lifespan of man has decreased was because man ‘began to eat meat’. I’ve heard this old canard so many times that I really wonder if these people ever read their Bibles. What does the Bible say? In Genesis 6:3, God, in His sovereignty, set the lifespan of man at 120 years. He did this because man had become so wicked, that He could not allow man to live longer. Clearly, the Bible teaches that this was a supernatural act of God whereby our lifespan was shortened. Three chapters later, in Genesis 9:3, God now instructs man that animals will be food for us. Think about that, God set the lifespan (which still stands to this day), and he tells us we can possibly achieve 120 years on a diet that includes meat. Instead of praising God for this good news, some vegetarians ‘blame’ God for this lifespan by saying it only occurred because God 'allowed us to eat meat'. It’s as if they believe people would still live 800 years, if after the flood people simply remained vegetarians. I disagree.

To infer that the man’s lifespan has been shortened because ‘we eat meat’ is to deny God’s sovereignty and to clearly misinterpret the Bible. This canard exists for one purpose, and that is to promote vegetarianism as if it is a Biblical mandate. As an interesting side note, although the Bible accurately tells us in Genesis that the lifespan of man is 120 years, in Psalms 90:10, the Bible also accurately tells us that the life expectancy of man is 70 to 80 years, exactly what it is today.

I too have read the studies on Seventh Day Adventists regarding their longer lifespan, but there are many variables to those studies other than diet. Most people say it’s because they are vegetarians. But remember, that most Adventists are also non-smokers, non-drinkers, non-illicit drug users, non-obese and many of them exercise. Plus they do pray a lot and they are people of faith. How much do those factors weigh in? Sadly, I’ve known some lifelong Adventist vegetarians who have died before their full lifespan due to cancer. Of course, I have seen the same happen to omnivores.

What does all this mean? For me it drives me deeper into the arms of the Savior. I trust God and His sovereignty more and more in all matters. God knows the day He will call me, and all His children, home. We can argue whether this is based on predestination or foreknowledge, but the bottom line is that God knows the day and even the very hour He will call us home. The times of my life is in His capable hands (Psalm 31:15), and I feel very comforted by that. All I can do is live each day for His glory and not worry about when my time will be up. He has sustained me since birth and I trust He will continue to do so. I used to believe that I could control my destiny by the dietary and lifestyle choices I made. I will still make wise dietary and lifestyle choices, but I have learned never to worship my created body more than I worship the Creator of my body.

I still make wise dietary and lifestyle choices, but I now do so simply because I am commanded to do so (1Co 10:31), not because I believe it will extend my life, although I understand that God can use my wise dietary choices as a means of grace to extend my life if it’s according to His will.

You may want to check out www.goodnewsunlimited.org and the site linked below. Both are from former SDA's who now proclaim the Gospel.

Thanks again for your great questions...you make me think.

Gospel Outreach