It's Okay NOT to be a Seventh-day Adventist (or Sabbatarian)

Those of us that have left Armstrongism know that we have deep ties into other Sabbatarian movements.  HWA borrowed all kinds of stuff from Adventism and William Miller.  COG 'historians' love to link Armstrongism to William Miller and the Rhode Island Sabbatarians.  Even though HWA took a lot from Adventists he conveniently loved to ignore that part.

Teresa Beem has a great blog that is about her journey out of Adventism after 40 years immersed in it.  So much of her journey and her reactions are exactly like what many of us have went through. All we need to do is replaced her SDA names and places with WCG names and places and it could be our story.


She obviously grew up with a healthier version of Sabbath keeping than most of us did in Armstrongism with some of the foolishness that Armstrongite ministers had attached to it.  Like Armstrongism, Sabbath keeping was the identifying mark that kept her in the church.  Like her, Sabbath keeping was used to set us apart from the evil  world around us and to make us into something special in God's sight.  We were chosen, set apart, and special in God's sight.

Her comments in the last paragraph quoted below perfectly describes Armstrongite thought processes.

 "At night I would lay and imagine dancing with Jesus and singing with Him. I pictured the Second Coming. I prayed so hard that I would be able to be alive to see it. I would even go through having bamboo shoots shoved up my fingernails. I would be strong to death for Jesus’ Sabbath-- for I knew that I would someday have to be put in prison and tortured for the Sabbath truth. When our class read something like Project Sunlight, (I’m not sure that was the book) my fear of the last days went from hoping Jesus would wait to come back just until I got my first kiss to something far more horrible. In the last days, the Catholics would drag my family into court and torture them in front of me to get me to crack and go do church on Sunday! That was a pretty terrifying picture to put into a fifth grader’s imagination! Nevertheless, as creepy as that was, I didn’t ever worry about my or my families’ salvation.

 My dad was so liberal as to almost be a universalist. We were not into rules and my parents didn’t guilt us into sabbath regulations. We drank Dr. Pepper, went to movies, wore jewelry, danced--at home for fun. My dad’s music taste was conservative and he wasn’t too fond of the Heritage Singers. But over all, I couldn’t WAIT till Sabbath because I loved church and we would stop and get donuts on the way and go out to eat at a good Mexican food restaurant with friends afterwards. Sabbaths rocked in our house. Our parents made it the funnest of all days!"

 "I was as entrenched as an SDA can be and truly loved being Adventist. You see, I was especially blessed by God, I was an enlightened Adventist. Our intelligent, taboo-shunning version of Adventism was so far superior than those fundamental Adventists hovering around the periphery of truth. You know, those that actually thought Ellen a prophetess and still clung to silly beliefs such as the sanctuary message and the last-day prophecies. We believed in a non-judgmental, non-legalistic Sabbath--a Sabbath that was a blessing! The rest was for--you know--the conspiratorial crowd (we would smile sympathetically but condescendingly.)"

 "What kind of God could be so unthinkably cruel as to allow such nice, sincere people to be so deceived? Everything I trusted in, my whole world and worldview was submerged, steeped, marinated in and permeated in Adventism. My earliest thoughts had been formed around its paranoia, my hopes and dreams shaped by its restrictions and taboos. Liberal SDA or not, Adventism was the warm and fuzzy fabric of my life. My heart was made secure by its doctrines of what was right and wrong. I happily colored within the Adventists’ lines and the picture was really, really pretty (even if my color choice was shockingly bright for SDA standards!)

But then when I checked Adventist doctrine’s accuracy with the scriptures, the foundation of my life was wiped out. When finally I rejected the false doctrines of Adventism I felt like I had jumped off a cliff into a deep, black hole. I had looked down and realized that underneath what looked like the gentle, protective godly fundamentals of Adventism, was the diabolical smile of the Father of Lies.

How could my parents have bought into it? Was I in the Truman Show or in M. Knight Shyamalan’s The Village? Or better still--was that Rod Serling’s voice I heard and am I a part of an episode of the Twilight Zone? (My husband’s transition out of Adventism was a piece of cake because he had never been a part of it. He had always thought it was insanity and had kept his heart protected by being an Adventist atheist--like many of my generation. He--by the way--is now a believing Christian.)"

"All those years of participating in mind-numbing circular arguments with the SDA scholars--like an eternal swirl of a toilet flushing never actually going anywhere! Why didn’t God see our zombie-like devotion to a false prophet and our sincere but total brainwashing and rescue us!! Why did we not matter enough to Him to send an angel or earthquake or something to shake us from the stupor of our imbecility? How embarrassing to let such nice people give their lives and hearts over to, to, to such... senseless drivel. And how embarrassing that we actually believed it. Why would a loving God allow that?"

"After all, out there in non-Adventism land it is worse than inside Adventism. You know, they had a little error mixed with a lot of truth which was, of course, much worse--much more evil than.... a little truth mixed ......with lots of error .....like Adventism.... wait? Was that right? That didn’t make sense and yet that is what many Sabbath School teachers had said to our bright, innocent and gullible eyes through the years. They said that it was the 5% error mixed in with the 95% truth that was the most deceitful. Hmmmm....

No matter what, we had the Sabbath truth.... no matter how many babies our hospitals killed in abortion, no matter how many sexual abuse cases were covered up by the conference, no matter how many despicable things happened at the Adventist academies, no matter how much our SDA church school failed in educational standards, no matter how hypocritical, unloving, negligent or abusive our families were, no matter how dysfunctional and historically inaccurate our doctrine---in the end, none of that mattered for we were sabbatarians. Which, if the Sabbath IS the end times test for Christians, would be a very good argument. However, that is just a pure fantasy of the church’s visionary pioneers which takes a bit of twisting of scripture to arrive at."

Read her entire article here:

It's Okay NOT to be a Seventh-day Adventist: Obedience in the Darkness: "I haven’t wanted to do this. In fact I dread it. But perhaps it will be helpful to many former Adventists out there. I am not a big fan o..."

Silly Heathens! Mooning Is Commanded!

Malm is on another of his legalistic old covenant benders today:  Paying homage to the new moon.

HOW SHOULD WE OBSERVE THE NEW MOON DAY?  We are commanded to begin each month with special sacrifices to consecrate that month on the New Moon day.  Today we go to the Father with the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.  Church organizations and independents should hold bible studies on the New Moon day and should pray to our Father through our sacrifice thanking him for the blessings of the previous month and asking him to bless us with his spirit and increasing understanding, wisdom, knowledge and blessings durimg the coming month. 

So should a person who follows Jesus observe new moons?

Even one of Armstrongism's biggest propaganda/apology sites says Christians should NOT be keeping New Moons: Are Believers Required to Observe New Moons?

But nowhere in the Bible is there a command from God that we in this present age are to observe new moons! There is no such command and that is why articles which assert that we are to observe new moons today are never able to quote a specific command from God. New moons simply don't feature amongst the commanded assemblies of God.

Furthermore, where does God say that on the new moon kings should have special meals, national leaders should address major problems, and those of military service age should be mustered?

Nowhere!

The new moons are not at all like Sabbath days! The very word "Sabbath" is an intensive form of the Hebrew word for "REST"! Any day that is NOT "a rest" is simply NOT "like the Sabbath"! And new moons are emphatically not at all like Sabbath days. Would God want a king to organize a banquet for a Sabbath day? Certainly not! So if a king does have a banquet on a new moon day, then this illustrates that the new monday is different from a Sabbath day.
Sometimes people quote Scriptures which refer to the millennium, and which also mention new moons. That's fine ... but that still is not the same as clear instructions from God for this present age. This approach is nothing more than reasoning that tries to INFER instructions for us today from these references about the millennium. But such inferences are not justified.

The point to consider is this: since without doubt new moons were important to Israel in Old Testament times, why is there not a single command to actually 'observe' them anywhere in the Old Testament? People did, and still do, many things which are not commanded. Some of these things certainly have some merit.

But the observance of days is not something God expects us to just 'infer!'

Of course this all ties into Malm's strict Sabbatarianism.  Here are a list of things that Sabbatarians do NOT like to be confronted with:  Questions Sabbatarians Don't Like

Sabbatharians: COG Cult - Arrests and Suicide - The Dugan's

One Sabbatharian group that has been in the news a couple of years ago is located in Clarkson, Kentucky. These‘Sabbatharians’ were led by Richard and Laura Dugan. They called their community, ‘Levita Township.’ Religion News Blog

They are/were staunch believers in the doctrines of the old Worldwide Church of God.  The very same doctrines Meredith and Flurry screech on and on about keeping faithfully.  We have already seen killings in Living Church of God (Meredith) because of the church teachings.  How long until someone in Philadelphia Church of God snaps and more 'believers' are killed?

They told me that they were at one time affiliated with the WCG, but broke away in the 1980’s to practice their own doctrines when HWA was beginning to be discredited from within and without. They opted for a stricter approach to spiritual matters than the WCG was espousing at that time–mainly Old Testament rituals and rules, which were scrupulously followed.
[...]
The book The United States and Britain In Prophecy was a constant source for their justification in the plans and operations of the “Township.” HWA was regarded as “A prophet like unto Jeremiah” by the congregation. He was quoted daily, and any occurrence that came close to fulfilling a prophecy of his, his name would be trumpeted around, saying that wasn’t it wonderful that God had chosen such a great and wise man to be His prophet? (paraphrased)
I had been a borderline Christian before moving to their “Township,” called by them “La Vita,” in 2005. As I was a “city boy,” I had to learn the ways of working on a farm with a spread of 400 acres. I was informed of the rules governing the community, about how work had to cease at sundown on Friday and could not commence until Sunday, how the community as a whole had to celebrate the various feasts from the Old Testament, and so on.
Then it was explained that all of the so-called “holidays” that I had celebrated in the past were pagan, and I could no longer participate in them. They told me that if I visited my relatives on a Sunday, that I was engaging in a pagan ritual, because they believed Saturday was the Sabbath. The same with Christmas or Easter, Thanksgiving or New Year’s Eve–all were considered “pagan, sinful, and evil.”
I was told that the leader, a man named Richard Dugan, was a “prophet of God,” and that it was the congregation’s duty to serve him in whatever way he saw fit. As proof of his exalted status, he had two wives, both living with him. There were a few in the congregation that called Richard “Sire” in reference of the claim that he was to be the king whom Christ Himself would appoint, “Who would administer justice in the name of the Lord.”
There was another thing that concerned me, and that was the opposition they expressed toward any state or federal agency. They even said that because Kentucky is a commonwealth, that the state police are not legally police.
- Source: I Got Out While There Was Time Kevin, Exit & Support Network

These cult leaders had numerous run in's with the police.  Both were arrested.  Richard Dugan later committed suicide.

More articles about: Sabbatharians:

What is the Levita Township and why did Richard Dugan commit suicide?

WBKO, USA
May 2, 2007
Reporter: Lauren Hanson
www.wbko.com

Not much is known about the small community of Levita Township, the compound that houses the members of the Sabbatarian church.
The church began in Louisville, Ky. Michael Boutte and his family joined the church when he was around eight-years-old.
He said his leader, Richard Dugan decided to commit suicide on May 1, 2007, after a grand jury indicted him for custodial interference and three counts of terroristic threatening related to a child welfare situation back in December 2006.
Boutte was arrested on May 1, after Dugan’s death. He said he was trying to protect his leader and the church’s way of life.
“The members of the Sabbatarian church have lived in the same spot in Grayson County for the last 13 years,” Boutte explained.
Residents of the community, Levita Township, live by their own code of conduct and they were led by Richard Dugan, the founder of the church until his recent suicide.
“The lord spoke to him in obtuse – well I wouldn’t say obtuse, but odd ways,” Boutte said.
They live without running water or electricity as generators provide heat. Members of this town say it’s not by choice because the town is so far from civilization that a substation would have to be built.

Sabbatharians

Led by Richard and Laura Dugan, this small sect has a focus on the End Times. It adheres to the doctrines of the old Worldwide Church of God.

Theologically, Sabbatharians (sometimes spelled ‘Sabbathian’) is a cult of Christianity. Sociologically the group has cult-like elements as well.

Some members work while others are disabled, so their way of life depends on one thing: sharing everything. They even put all of their earnings together.
“I go without electric, everybody goes without electric,” Boutte explained.
Members don’t celebrate Easter, Christmas, or birthdays.
“We stick by what’s in the Bible – the original holy days that the Israelites kept in Egypt,” Boutte explained.
Twenty-six-year-old Boutte said it’s their unconventional lifestyle that had social services on their property back in December.
Back in December WBKO reported the social worker was trying to take four children into custody after a referral of neglect was issued.
Boutte said Dugan was in foster homes when he was a child and he believes the appearance of a social worker set him off.
“I think it was eleven foster homes and three institutions …” Boutte said Dugan had resided in.
Yesterday, Dugan was indicted by a grand jury on charges of custodial interference and three counts of terroristic threatening and Boutte said that’s what drove Dugan to suicide.
“He wasn’t going to do any harm to anybody else, but it was the fact if they pushed him too much I knew that he was going to shoot himself. He promised they would not pull him out of the car alive,” Boutte explained.
Boutte said he and the other followers were arrested because they were simply trying to protect their leader.
“It looked as if they laid a rifle down in there – we figured sniper. So my mother and I sat on the hood, right in his direct line of sight, so he could not shoot Richard,” Boutte explained.

Religious sect leader commits suicide during police standoff

WBKO, USA
May 2, 2007
Reporter: Sarah Goebel
www.wbko.com

The quiet town of Leitchfield, Ky., went back to its normal state on May 2, 2007, after a three-hour standoff left one dead the day before.

Richard Dugan of Clarkson, Ky., is believed to be the leader of a religious group called the Levita Township.
Dugan was at the Grayson County Judicial Building yesterday facing charges on custodial interference and terroristic threatening. He was seated in his car in the health department parking lot across from the judicial building getting ready for court when an officer approached him.

Sabbatharians

Led by Richard and Laura Dugan, this small sect has a focus on the End Times. It adheres to the doctrines of the old Worldwide Church of God.

Theologically, Sabbatharians (sometimes spelled ‘Sabbathian’) is a cult of Christianity. Sociologically the group has cult-like elements as well.

Several of Dugan’s supporters were shielding him from the officers. Officers spent the next two hours trying to convince Dugan to turn himself in. The standoff ended when Dugan shot himself in the head.
Today, we spoke with several people in Leitchfield and they say they’ve never seen anything like this happen in their community.
“We didn’t know what to expect today. So far everything seems okay,” a Shell station worker said.
This is what a typical day in downtown Leitchfield looks like.
“… People in and out getting food and getting them out as quick as we can,” the station worker explained, but this was not the scene the day before.
This Shell station worker wouldn’t show her face on camera fearing retaliation from the Levita Township.
“They’ve been saying they’re going to come to Leitchfield and shoot random people. It’s got a lot of people scared,” the station worker said.
She said she doesn’t know much about this religious group, who many people in Leitchfield refer to as the bus people because they use to live in buses.
“They don’t live out here in Leitchfield. They live in the country somewhere I guess,” the station worker said.
She only knows that several of its members came to Leitchfield and disrupted their normally quiet work day.
“It was chaos,” the station worker said.
She said all of the parking lots downtown including Shell’s were full of people watching in shock.
“Anybody that saw the cops wanted to know what was going on so they just stopped,” the station worker said.
She even stood near a store window and watched as Richard Dugan killed himself.
“We seen the smoldering and we knew he shot himself. We knew the cops either shot him or he shot himself,” the station worker explained.
Five of Dugan’s supporters are in jail today, facing charges of disorderly conduct, hindering apprehension and resisting arrest. They’re scheduled to appear in court on May 3, 2007

http://www.apologeticsindex.org/520-sabbatharians

http://www.religionnewsblog.com/18141/richard-dugan

http://www.religionnewsblog.com/18142/richard-dugan-2