For those interested:
The Edges of Seventh-Day Adventism: A Study of Separatist Groups Emerging from the Seventh-Day Adventist Church (1844-1980) Including the Worldwide Church of God, the Ford and Brinsmead Controversies, as Well as the Massacre of David Koresh & His Follower
Amazon has this to say:
Lowell Tarling wrote ‘Edges’ for that most wonderful of all author incentives – insatiable curiosity. Combined with a quest for enlightenment, he undertook a subject few would have chosen—the history of those people and groups that separated from the Seventh-day Adventist church. Of necessity, this also includes touching on the history of the mainstream Seventh-day Adventist church. Lowell’s education and early adult experiences were deeply entwined with the Seventh-day Adventist church. However, it would be a mistake to assume that his writing on the subject suffers from any degree of bias. There is a sense that he took on the role of bystander, and this essentially gave him a valuable degree of separation and objectivity. Methodical in his approach and relentless with regard to research, Lowell delivers a surprising, connective, inside view of a divisive period in the growth and emergence of the separatist groups that were spawned within the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Sparing nothing, he pares back the layers of doctrine, dogma and the heated nature of the schisms in the church. He deftly reveals the angst, divergence and egotism; but also humanity, desire for truth and humility. For all of these were present in the interchanges that shaped not only those movements that separated, but also the Seventh-day Adventist church. The first edition of ‘Edges’ was published in 1981. Reprinted now to a generation who did not share the past struggles is indeed worthwhile. It is because of the conflict and debate of those times that they now sit in the pews of churches of their choice, where ‘saved by grace alone’ is integral and unchallenged. Essentially, emergence from dissension is a human experience. It occurs with every doctrine, creed or organisation. There is a wider view - this is not only the history and narrative of one church’s crises. It touches wherever we are in life. Ultimately, it is impossible to ignore the authenticity of Lowell’s search. We sense that it means more than a disengaged treatise on a topic of interest. In the end it matters less whether he found viable answers to a religious dilemma. It is significant that he had the courage to ask questions. Above all, it is notable that at the close of the book he chose the words spoken by Christ, ‘Whosoever will, may come’.
Buy it here: The Edges of Seventh-day Adventism Separatist Groups
All church "organizations" are doomed to splits and schisms or as I said once by mistake in a bible study, "shits and splishms."
ReplyDeleteDave Pack boldly proclaims himself to NOT be a splinter and he isn't. That is being too generous. He is a sliver of a splinter and will sliver up again down the road when a few here and there on the Council of Sixteen Agreers get fed up.
It is a search for truth but the search is confined to a very small box. Truth is not "out there" It is "in here" Religion is what others pour into one's head. Where to be, when to be there, what to believe or not believe and how much it is going to cost you. True spirituality is an inside job and why people leave organized religion (an oxymoron if there ever was one) to finally the Kingdom of God truly is within you. And no, Jesus was not saying "I, representing the Kingdom of God, am among you."
The Gnostics undertstood this but the literalist loons won the day and we have been stuck with the sad results ever since.
Most churches multiply by division and add to themselves by subtracting others from their seats
Dennis said: “It is a search for truth but the search is confined to a very small box. Truth is not "out there" It is "in here" Religion is what others pour into one's head. Where to be, when to be there, what to believe or not believe and how much it is going to cost you. True spirituality is an inside job and why people leave organized religion (an oxymoron if there ever was one) to finally the Kingdom of God truly is within you. And no, Jesus was not saying "I, representing the Kingdom of God, am among you." The Gnostics undertstood this but the literalist loons won the day and we have been stuck with the sad results ever since.”
ReplyDeleteI find there is a need to recognize that religion is man’s concentrated effort to deal with unknown and until we put it in a positive perspective we will constantly fighting against the moral development of human life. The following comments have been taken from an article titled “The Joy of Religious Doubt” on a Jewish website. I believe it gives a good view of the value faith and how it should be applied.
The Road to Faith is Paved with Uncertainty
“Doubt only appeals to the intellect. The intellectual approach to faith is always a barer form of existence than faith itself. The reason is obvious. Besides our critical assessment, the other human faculties remain idle. Trust, hope, love and the notion that one is part of something bigger no longer play a role. Instead, life becomes nothing more than only itself. When doubt and skepticism are no longer the most important faculties through which one seeks religious faith, only then is it possible to actually find it. Skepticism, though it has its place, should not be at the center of one's search.
In today's climate there is a certain gratification in going to the extremes of genius and brilliance until one nearly loses that which one would like to discover.
Intellectual thought and scientific discovery can never cover the sum total of the inner life of man. When one prays, one is involved in something that the intellect can never reach. When one studies Torah and hears its divine voice, it becomes something different than what academic study can ever achieve. It is in a separate category, which is closed to the solely scientific mind.”
A quote from an article of a JWR contributor Rabbi; Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo is a world-renowned lecturer and ambassador for Judaism, the Jewish people, the State of Israel and Sephardic Heritage.
A. Boocher
Hey, Booch,
ReplyDeleteLooks like HWA taught us to borrow all of the wrong things from Judaism. I've been pointing out for years that difference of opinion is actually celebrated in synagogue. Faith is seen as being highly personalized, and given the diversity of our makeup as a species, that is the only way it can realistically be.
BB