Steve Daily

'Adventism for a New Generation' 

Steve Daily’s New Theology Handbook for Changing the Church

As you read these quotations, think not that they are the random views of one person.

First, according to page 2 in his book, Steve Daily has been an Adventist youth educator and pastor since 1975. Six of those years he spent as a youth pastor and academy Bible teacher. Since 1979, he has been the campus chaplain at La Sierra University. In this assignment, he regularly teaches classes, counsels with students, and preaches sermons.

He could not teach, preach, and counsel such ideas as are to be found in this book, unless the school administration stood behind him. What you will read here are the type of liberal ideas permeating La Sierra and Loma Linda.

Second, Daily’s ideas are supported by many others in the denomination. Consider this sampling of praise printed on the back cover of his book:

“One of the biggest issues facing the church today is how we will meet the needs of our younger generations. This book is custom-made to address such concerns.”—Lynn Mallery, President, Southeastern California Conference.

“I have been through the book in a solid fashion. I am much impressed and joyous of its contents.”—William Loveless, Senior Pastor, Loma Linda University Church (and leader in our denomination of the “meditation” movement).

“A badly needed and creatively expressed discussion of the major issues that young people in our church are facing. Our young people deserve its honesty and its courage.”—Gary Swanson, Editor, Collegiate Quarterly.

“A treasure trove of a book . . [It] shines out for its accurate analysis, honesty, heart, and Gospel.”—Desmond Ford, Director, Good News Unlimited.

“Adventism for a New Generation is one of those books that demand attention and thought . . I recommend this book to pastors, educators and thought leaders who want a thorough analysis of what ‘might be’ if we fully commit our mission to the work of God.”—Bailey Gillespie, Coordinator, Valuegenesis Research Project.

“Steve talks right from his inmost being about the church, its ministry and especially young adult ministry. He leaves you with hope. But, be ready to have your ideas challenged.”—Ted Wick, Director of Youth Ministries, North American Division.

“Steve Daily has written a challenging and thought-provoking book . . I found his application of SDA theology to current issues extremely helpful and insightful. He writes with the heart of a pastor and the eyes of a prophet.”—Randal Wisbey, Director, Youth Resource Center, Andrews University. 

Steve Daily is the individual who, several years ago, started a Sabbath trash clean-up project in Riverside, California. With the approval of La Sierra University officials, he would take students out each Sabbath to clean streets and paint houses. At the time, he published an article (brazenly entitled, “Holy Heresy”) in the Pacific Union Recorder about what a wonderful missionary work it was, and we reprinted the article in a monthly tractpack.

Campus chaplain at LSU since 1979, Daily published a book, Adventism for a New Generation, in 1992. It is a remarkable hodge-podge of La Sierra/Loma Linda brand of liberalism. Pity the poor students who listen to his counsels (since he has a Ph.D. in psychology, he has been trained as a professional hypnotist).

Here are some of the things you will find in his book. This is what your son and daughter will learn if you send them to La Sierra University as students. It is a curious blend of a variety of errors—some Protestant, some Catholic, some Ecumenical, some psychological, and some New Age

As you read that which follows, you will be shocked to learn how rapidly the apostasy of lowered standards and changing doctrines are occurring. But you will also obtain an insight into plans to change the church even more in the years to come.

It is time to pray earnestly.

WE NEED CELEBRATION—“Many Adventists today seem so threatened by the use of the word ‘Celebration’ in connection with worship. Somehow we have managed to separate God from fun, religion from joy, and worship from Celebration in the minds of many of our church members, and this mentality has had an unfortunate impact on Adventist youth.”—page 7.

IT IS TIME FOR SOMETHING RADICALLY NEW—“It is not just coincidence that God’s prophets, including Jesus, have always been radicals . . Today, God is calling Adventism to embrace a radical, risky faith.”—page 20.

THROW OUT THE WRITTEN STANDARDS—“We must give up our preoccupation with externals and our obsession with control. It is not the business of the church to prescribe for its members how they should behave on Sabbath, what foods they should eat, in what forms of recreation or entertainment they may participate, what books they can read, how they should dress, if they can wear jewelry, or how they should think.”—page 20.

LED TO BELIEVE A LIE—“Adventism has suffered a similar tragedy [to that of Russia]. Our youth have not been led to believe a lie about communism, but they have been led to believe a lie, just the same. This lie has involved a host of burdensome rules and regulations laid on them.”—page 25.

TONGUES COMES FROM THE SPIRIT—“[In other times and religions] Healing, prophecy, and tongues were not the focus of worship but the byproduct of an openness to the Spirit genuinely lacking in Adventism today.”—page 25.

WE NEED TO REDEFINE OURSELVES—“Like Russia, the [Adventist] church has become a pluralistic society in a pluralistic world that desperately needs to redefine itself. Ideologically, we would do well to embrace the broadest range of liberal and conservative factions in the interest of dialogue as post-Vatican II Catholicism has done.”—page 26.

LET THE WORLD HELP CHANGE US—“North American Adventism needs a National Center for the Study and Transmission of Values, a think tank and policy-making body . . Such a body could even include non-Adventists who would contribute to our self-understanding and interaction with modern society. The only healthy denominations in the future will be those committed to the Kingdom of God rather than their own institutional self-preservation.”—page 27.

WHAT CONSERVATIVES ARE LIKE—“The majority of audiences I speak to [in Adventism] are made up predominately of people who were raised in conservative Christians homes and schools . . Such religion is known for its ‘proof text’ approach to Scripture, and its uncompromising emphasis on ‘correct doctrine’ or ‘objective truth.’ ”—page 36.

THE GREAT REVIVAL—“Like it or not, a revival is sweeping the globe today which appears to be gaining momentum as we move towards the year 2000. This revival movement is often referred to as ‘the third wave of the Holy Spirit,’ and has produced surprising results.”—page 41.

PEOPLE NOT BOOKS—“Authority ultimately resides in a person rather than in books or traditions. Scripture is only a means to an end rather than an end in itself.”—page 46.

PERSONAL CONDUCT NOT SO IMPORTANT—“The essence of heal­thy religion has more to do with justice and social ethics than with personal ethics.”—page 47.

NOT NECESSARY TO EVEN BE A CHRISTIAN—“Christians do not have an exclusive claim on Christ, for He transcends the local, historically-limited movement that is Christianity. Jesus Christ personifies the Kingdom of God on earth, and His people are all who attempt to live by the principles of healthy religion.”—page 47.

CHRIST GAVE US NOTHING WRITTEN—“Almost every great religious teacher in history has passed on a written record of insights for future generations . . The influence of most spiritual leaders has been measured by the volumes which bear their names; Jesus Christ is the exception to this rule . . Jesus Himself was not the author of a static written code. His revelation of truth was a dynamic, living revelation.”—page 47.

DOCTRINES AN UNFORTUNATE LATER RESULT—“When a written record became necessary, it inevitably resulted in doctrinal formulations, but these doctrines were intended to serve the purposes of healthy religion as revealed through Christ and never to assume a central position as the essence of religion, themselves.”—pages 47-48.

HEALTH REFORM IS UNHEAL­THY—“The Adventist lifestyle generally involves a serious attempt to avoid substances, habits and personal practices which are deemed harmful to one’s mental, physical or emotional health . . But at the point that these concerns dominate one’s faith, principles of justice, service and love for humanity are undermined. A fascination with personal righteousness is symptomatic of an unhealthful and introspective form of religion . . Such a religion does more harm than good because it leads to spiritual paralysis.”—page 49.

FALSE RELIGION—“According to Jesus, false religion is preoccupied with matters of personal salvation and personal piety.”—page 49.

OBEDIENCE VERY HARMFUL—“The four most destructive sins which Christ condemned in the lives of the religious leaders of His day were all the natural outgrowth of such an introspective faith:

“1. Legalism: Preoccupation with personal law-keeping, without genuine regard for human need or God’s grace.

“2. Hypocrisy: Preoccupation with what others think about our personal righteousness, blinding us to gross inconsistencies in our lives.

“3. Externalism: Preoccupation with overt acts of personal righteousness, without concern for the great principles of healthy religion.

“4. Self-righteousness: Preoccupation with personal moral goodness which blinds one to his/her own sinfulness and need to serve others.

“Jesus made it clear that such a religion did more harm than no religion at all.”—page 49.

MISTREATING POOR DES—“If Jesus were really our focal point, . . we would not be so suspicious and critical in our attitude towards other Christian denominations and religious movements. Nor would we so quick to discipline, judge and mistreat some of our greatest preachers of the gospel such as Desmond Ford and Smuts Van Rooyan.”—page 51.

OUR PROBLEM: THE SPIRIT OF PROPHECY AND THE LAW OF GOD—“Some students of Adventism have noted that the church’s history has been marked by debates and inconsistencies with regard to its Protestant heritage. In spite of our claims, the church has had difficulty practically applying the principles of Protestantism for the following reasons:

“1. ‘Sola Scriptura’ has been undermined by our over-dependence on the writings of Ellen White.

“2. ‘Grace alone’ has been undermined by our externalism and legalism.”—page 58.

OUR DEBT TO CATHOLICISM—“In the post-Vatican II era, Catholics have moved back towards a more Biblical faith, and Protestants have gradually come to more readily acknowledge the debts that they owe to their mother church.”—page 58.

WE ARE BEGINNING TO COOPERATE WITH THE CATHOLICS—“Adventists, who owe a great deal to their Protestant roots, are only now beginning to join Catholics by making a more significant worldwide impact in terms of their involvement with global needs and social justice.”—page 58.

WHERE OUR DOCTRINES CAME FROM—“The Puritans chose a pure and simple lifestyle which shunned adornment, extravagance, immodesty, impurity, over-indulgence and intemperance. They were known for their sobriety, discipline, judgment and emphasis on law, order and external behavior. Adventists have for the most part inherited these values from Puritan forefathers and mothers.”—page 59.

DOCTRINES, A NUISANCE—“Like many Adventists, and other conservative Christians, I grew up being taught that a knowledge of ‘true doctrine’ was essential if one was to survive spiritually and grow in God’s grace. I was bombarded in school with Bible studies and proof texts.”—page 67.

A BOOK OF ILLUSTRATIONS—“The beauty of New Hope Church in Portland [David Snyder’s Milwaukie Celebration church] is that they are more concerned with ‘helping people’ than ‘hooking people’ . . They see the Bible more as a ‘casebook’ than as a ‘code­book.’ ”—page 73.

FANATICS AND HERETICS—“The Anabaptists who attempted to base every practice and belief on Scripture, and to forsake every tradition of the Catholic Church not found in the Bible, were opposed by Luther as ‘schwarmer’ [Ger: fanatics] and devilish heretics.”—page 76.

NOT VERY ACCURATE—“The Bible contains certain discrepancies in different ways.”—page 77.

IT SURE HAS ERRORS—“[It has been suggested that the Bible] does not contain theological errors: The objection to such a view of inspiration would be that it does not recognize the developmental process behind the doctrinal truths which unfold in Scripture, and fails to account for theological contradictions in the Bible.”—pages 77-78.

PART MALE AND PART FEMALE—“Until we get to know the author [of the Bible], we probably won’t appreciate His/Her Book.”—page 78.

NOT SUPPOSED TO GET INFORMATION OUT OF IT—“The purpose of the Scripture is not to focus our attention on trivial items of information, or even to be an inerrant source of information. The Bible was never meant to be a science textbook, history textbook, encyclopedia, or information almanac.”—page 79.

WHAT WAS THEIR PROBLEM?—“During the first few weeks on the job [after graduating from college], my curiosity was aroused, each evening as I returned home, by a group of protesters who were picketing the local theater. The movie they were protesting was O God and their signs contained words like ‘scandalous,’ ‘sacrilegious,’ and ‘blasphemy.’ [We are told that Daily does not give the full title of the movie; it was O God—You Devil, and was an extremely blasphemous motion picture.] When I finally questioned one of them about the nature of their specific complaints, it became obvious that they were offended by a film that dared to make God in the image of George Burns, and presumed to present John Denver, a zany grocery store produce man, as God’s principal prophet. They seemed convinced that the intent of this picture was to make a mockery of God and a farce out of Christianity.”—pages 81-82.

A FAVORITE LA SIERRA SERMON—“A favorite [sermon] story of mine in Scripture is the account of David’s dance before the Lord as he led the procession which celebrated the return of the covenant box to the city of Jerusalem.”—page 82.

WE CANNOT STOP SINNING—“Furthermore, Adventism rejects as un-Biblical the teaching that Jesus Christ had a sinful human nature or that fallen human beings can perfectly duplicate the sinless life that Jesus lived.”—page 86.

LEAVE MORALITY UP TO THE FEMALE GODDESS—“Human beings are not intended to seek for a moral/ethical norm within themselves, or to set themselves up as such a norm for others. This is the Spirit’s job, and She is very good at what She does.”—page 88.

EVOLUTION IS ACCEPTABLE—“To acknowledge the creator­ship of God is not to insist that the earth is six thousand years old, or that evolutionists are ungodly.”—page 91.

NOT PARTICULARLY SCIENTIFIC—“Adventists see the Biblical doctrine of creation as crucial to the major theological themes presented in Scripture. This does not mean that Adventists support the notion that the Bible is scientifically inerrant.”—page 91.

THE MALE/FEMALE GOD MADE A MISTAKE—“The Bible says that sin began with Lucifer or the Devil (Jn. 8:44), but it does not explain how God escapes direct responsibility for sin if He/She created Lucifer while knowing full well that he would ultimately rebel and sin.”—page 105.

BUT NEVER CALLED TO OBEDIENCE—“Dan Simp­son, who pastors Celebration Center, . . [has a] love for the gospel. The gospel for Simpson is all the good news about God: Not just that God has saved us, which is mighty good news, but that He/She is a God of unconditional love—who calls us to love each other; that He/She accepts us with open arms—and nail print hands; that He/She is a God of limitless forgiveness—the source of true health; that He/She is the Ultimate Creator—who calls us to creativity.”—page 113.

SAVED BY JUSTIFICATION ALONE—“Justification is totally and exclusively the work of God in Jesus Christ. We have already noted that salvation comes only as a gift of God’s grace in Scripture. Justification is the term which describes how this gift has been made available to all human beings willing to acknowledge their sinfulness.”—page 117.

HURT BY KNOWING HE IS RESPONSIBLE FOR WHAT HE DOES—“He is a young man that I know very well. I have known him for years. I hurt deeply for him and his wife as they recently went through a divorce. But there is an even deeper pain in his life. It is a pain that is rooted in fear and insecurity about where he stands with God. He recalls being so powerfully influenced by an Academy Bible teacher, who convinced him that he as an Adventist was already being judged in God’s ‘investigative judgment,’ that when crises come into his life he falls back into this irrational fear.”—page 130 [opening words of the chapter, entitled “Cutting the Leash of Legalism!”].

POOR THING—“I struggled with the same kind of anxieties into my late teens. My mind had been so bombarded with Ellen White quotes in school that I found myself vacillating back and forth between rebellion and a religion of guilt and fear.”—page 130.

THE LAW IS THE PROBLEM—“Adventists reject a legalistic ethic which promotes blind adherence to law itself.”—page 135.

LAW-KEEPERS ARE THE ENEMIES—“When Jesus ministered on this earth, He was faced with religious leaders and other devout people who not only believed that they were capable of keeping God’s law, but actually believed they were doing so.”—page 135.

YOU CAN’T OBEY ANYWAY—“The law of God demands perfect obedience and we can never meet that requirement. We can only accept Christ’s perfect obedience and the blood of Jesus that saves us.”—page 137.

In chapter 14 (pp. 140-148), Steve Daily describes the Sabbath work program he started at La Sierra University, with the full approval of the faculty and administration. He is quite proud of the fact that he succeeded in getting large numbers of grade school, academy, and college students to break the Sabbath, week after week, and clean the streets, paint houses, and lay foundations. The chapter is entitled “Holy Heresy,” the same title given to a Pacific Union Recorder article we reprinted several years ago. Here are several excerpts from this chapter. Of course, all this could have been done on another day but, in Daily’s view, doing it on the Sabbath made it more sanctimonious:

LSU-APPROVED SABBATH-BREAKING—“What would happen if a group of Adventist college students decided to follow Christ’s example—helping non-Adventists in their community on Sabbath? What do I mean by help? I mean fixing up and painting a disabled widow’s house on a weekend, including Sabbath afternoon.”—page 140.

THE SUNDAY-KEEPERS APPROVED—“The response to this Community Service Day was overwhelmingly positive. The mayor and the City Council honored the university with a proclamation of recognition and held up La Sierra University as an example for other institutions in the community. [LLU; what’s wrong with you?] They also voted us more funds so that the next year we invited La Sierra Academy and elementary students to join us, and painted ten houses instead of eight while taking on various new projects as well.”—page 141.

DOING IT SINCE 1987—“This year [1992], our fifth annual Riverside Community Service Day is expanding to include volunteers from the Southeastern California Conference office in service activities. We hope these kinds of activities will continue to become contagious in our community and in other Seventh-day  Adventist communities      . . Service is always appropriate, even on the Sabbath day. It’s amazing what can develop from a little holy heresy!”—page 141.

A FEW FANATICS STILL HONOR IT—“There are still those Christians who subscribe to the strict Puritan notion of Sabbath-keeping, which is so committed to making God’s Sabbath a Holy Day, that it becomes a burdensome pilgrimage to endure it. This is the mentality of legalistic Sabbath-keeping that prevailed among those in Jesus’ day who considered it sinful to . . spit on the ground, look in a mirror, or have sex, etc. on the Sabbath day.”—page 147.

REALLY KEEPING THE SABBATH—“When God’s people catch a vision of what it really means to keep the Sabbath, they will occasionally or regularly take part of a Sabbath day . . by visiting, helping, or voluntarily cleaning, painting, repairing or doing whatever that person’s needs call for.”—page 148.

Steve Daily ignores the fact that it is not necessary to clean and paint houses on the Sabbath; we have other times when we can do that. The animal is pulled out of the pit on the Sabbath, because it is a sudden emergency, a life-and-death situation, and could not be postponed to another day. But cleaning the streets can be done on any other day.

In chapter 15 (pp. 149-156), Daily discusses the doctrine of hell. His conclusion is that it does not exist! The realization that they have lost out on eternal life is the only “hell” people will experience, according to Daily.

HELL IS A VISION—“This vision of reality fills the wicked with intense mental anguish and remorse . . This is the agony of Hell. God does not add any kind of punishment to the consequences of sin to make Hell.”—page 156.

SLAIN BY FALLING ROCKS—“In a final act of mercy, God responds to their pleas for the rocks and mountains to fall on them by forever putting them out of their misery.”—page 156. [Calling for falling rocks occurs at the Second Advent, not the Third.]

Chapter 16 is entitled, Does God have Aids? It tells us even more about the concepts Steve Daily teaches the youth at La Sierra University. He deeply sympathizes with homosexuals, and encourages them when he preaches sermons at Kinship Kampmeetings (pp. 157-158).

On pp. 158-159, and elsewhere, he tells of his trip to Calcutta, India, to visit Mother Teresa, and how much he appreciates her. Not once in the book does he say that he appreciates Ellen White.

Then he turns his attention to the evils of our historic Sanctuary Message:

DAILY’S FEARFUL LOOKING FORWARD TO JUDGMENT—“Many Adventists have used the sanctuary doctrine to warn of an investigative judgment that undermines the gospel of Jesus. This doctrine has particularly been a stumbling block for many young SDAs who question its validity . . Some church members have used this doctrine to promote perfectionism, legalism and other guilt-producing forms of theology.”—page 160.

FIRED FOR REJECTING A BASIC TEACHING—“Finally, this doctrine [the investigative judgment] was used by Adventist Church leaders to remove and defrock [discharge] one of the most Christ-centered theologians the church has ever produced [Desmond Ford].”—page 160. [“Christ-centered Ford” did all he could to undermine confidence in the Spirit of Prophecy and obedience to God’s law.]

THE DISEASED MALE/FEMALE DEITY—“Does God have AIDS? Yes, in a very real sense, I believe that He/She does, as He/She enters into the pain and hurts of human experience.”—page 167.

Elsewhere in the book, Daily tells us that this is one of his favorite sermon titles. Note that our perfect High Priest is said to be diseased now.

LEARNING FROM THE PENTECOSTALS—“My thinking about worship was transformed several years ago when I attended the Anaheim Vineyard Fellowship. I was dumb-founded by what I saw. Thousands of people were worshiping God with a passion that I had never witnessed in any other church. Some were standing, some were lifting up their arms, others were clapping, some were sitting quietly in prayer or meditation, a few were jumping, and several were kneeling, but they all seemed to be actively worshiping God.”—pages 172-173.

LET’S TURN ADVENTISTS INTO PENTECOSTALS—“Since that day, I have returned to the Vineyard many times for my own spiritual nourishment and have longed to see the same kind of worship emerge in Adventism.

“God’s last people will be people who find worship to be the most exciting and meaningful experience in life.”—page 173.

THE SECOND ANGEL’S MESSAGE—“The second angel [of Revelation 14] warns that all who trust in human works or material possessions in the last days will fall. Only a radical faith and trust in God which stands for the principles of Christ and shuns materialism will be able to endure and realize the hope of God’s grace.”—page 174.

ALREADY SAVED—“Those who are in Christ have already been judged and saved.”—page 176.

The context of the above statement indicates that we are saved in our sins, regardless of whether or not we obey the law of God. Not once in the book does Daily hint that obedience is ever necessary.

DANGEROUS TO BELIEVE GREAT CONTROVERSY—“There are those Christians, Adventist and non-Adventist alike, who believe that certain eschatological signs must be fulfilled before Christ can return. For example, many Adventists believe that national Sunday laws must be passed before the Advent  . . However, Jesus warned against any form of religion which relied heavily upon outward signs. It was this kind of unhealthy dependence on preconceived ideas of how things must happen which led the Jewish leaders to reject the messiahship of Christ. Therefore, Jesus declares that it is a wicked and adulterous generation that bases its faith on signs.”—pages 178-179.

Chapter 18 is entitled, “Are We a Nonprophet Organization?” As you might expect, it is a heavy downplaying of the Spirit of Prophecy.

YOU CAN’T TRUST GOD’S WORD—“Prophets are infallible: This is another popular myth . . The infallibility of Scripture comes through its only infallible interpreter, Jesus Christ. He is the only infallible prophet.”—page 182.

IMMORAL WRETCHES—“Pro­phets are morally superior [is another myth]: Many Christians assume that God would only communicate truth through the purest human channels available. But God’s ways are not our ways [i.e., we believe in moral purity, but God doesn’t.] . . The most obvious example of this is the story of Balaam. Not only does God speak through a prophet who has apostatized and given himself over to corrupt motivations, but God speaks through a jackass as well. Elijah’s spiritual pride led him to believe that he was the last righteous man on earth, and David, one of the most prolific channels of God’s revelations, lived a life checkered with moral failures. Like all of us, the prophets are sinners in desperate need of God’s grace.”—page 182.

WE’RE ALL PROPHETS—“Throughout their history, Adventists have also emphasized the importance of the prophetic spirit. But too often the gift of prophecy has been defined in a rather narrow sense. For many Adventists, the ministry of Ellen White has not only been considered the primary manifestation of this gift in the church, but its only legitimate manifestation as well. Today, this tendency is changing as Adventism is beginning to broaden its understanding of what the prophetic spirit entails in Scripture.”—page 184.

CAN’T FIGURE OUT REVELATION—“Prophecy is never understood until after it is fulfilled . . In every century, interpretations of Revelation have radically chang­ed.”—page 185.

NOTHING TO DO WITH THE SPIRIT OF PROPHECY—“The ‘Spirit of Prophecy’ has  come to be a synonym for the writings of Ellen White in Adventism. However . . the spirit of prophecy equals the testimony of Jesus, not the writings of Ellen White.”—page 187.

LOTS OF INSPIRED WRITINGS—“The idea that the gift of prophecy is a rare and isolated gift bestowed on only a few individuals over the centuries is not a New Testament understanding of prophecy. God is willing to speak through various individuals in the community of faith who are open to the Holy Spirit.”—page 187.

IF YOU ACCEPT ELLEN WHITE—“Adventists who would accept Ellen White as a post-Biblical prophet, would also recognize the prophetic ministry of individuals such as Joan of Arc, Martin Luther, John Wesley, Martin Luther King, Des­mond Tutu, etc.”—page 188.

PROPHETS AT LA SIERRA—“Who are the three greatest prophets of the twentieth century? I have asked several hundred Adventist . . students to respond to this question over the past few years, and have received some interesting answers. The names most often mentioned by Adventist students have been 1) Ellen White, . . 2) Martin Luther King, Jr., 3) Mohandas K. Gandhi, 4) Oral Roberts, and 5) Jean Dixon.”—page 181.

ADVENTISTS NOT THE REMNANT—“The Adventist church, like many others, has often overstated its relation to the remnant church of Scripture; throughout much of its history it has even made exclusive claims to remnant status. Such claims, past and present, are unfortunate evidence of unhealthy and dysfunctional religion in Adventism.”—page 194. [Read Revelation 12:17.]

DISCARD FOOLISH IDEAS—“Why has the [Adventist] church rigidly clung to an outmoded view of eschatology which has focused on Sunday laws and Catholics, rather than applying Christ-centered eschatological principles to our world today?”—page 200.

NOTHING WRONG WITH FORD—“Why did the church dismiss a theologian like Desmond Ford, who was doing such creative and Christ-centered work in the area of eschatology? Why haven’t we acknowledged our error in this regard and invited him to return?”—page 201.

BELIEVING THOSE WRITINGS IS WORSHIPING ELLEN WHITE—“How long can we afford to worship a dead prophet (Ellen White) . . while we remain closed to the prophetic Spirit as a living reality in the community of faith?”—page 201.

OBEYING GOD’S WORD HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THE REMNANT—“How can a people who have embraced conformity [to God’s Word] rather than prophetic dissent, who have become followers rather than creative and critical thinkers, and who have been preoccupied with externals rather than a radical faith . . view themselves (especially in exclusive ways) as God’s remnant people?”—page 201 [i.e., Revelation 14:12 is wrong].

LET’S UNITE WITH THE OTHER CHURCHES—“We must become facilitators of ‘spiritual ecumenicity’ (as opposed to institutional ecumenicity), so that we can respond to Christ’s last prayer for unity by breaking down the barriers of denominationalism rather than helping to build them up.”—pages 201-202.

WE MODERNS DON’T NEED THE 19TH CENTURY—“We must open ourselves to the possibility of new and different eschatological scenarios so that we do not enter the twenty-first century with a nineteenth-century view of prophecy.”—page 202.

NEW LIGHT FROM THE ATHEISTS—“In 1983, I spent one day attending the American Psychological Asso­cia­tion’s national conference at the Anaheim Convention Center. One of the presentations I heard that day made a major impact on my thinking. The paper was by Gerald LaRue, a professor at UCLA, and it was entitled ‘The Way of Ethical Humanism.’ It was an attempt to redefine religion in a scientific, humanistic context that would understand God as a force of nature and a force inside of every human being that must be harnessed for the betterment of all humanity. This psychological faith stood in contrast to the great religious traditions of the past, and was presented as being free from ‘superstition,’ ‘sexual taboos’ and ‘credal formulations’ . .

“After hearing this talk, my interest in ‘ethical humanism’ increased, and I began to read the journal The Humanist on a regular basis.”—page 202. [At the turn of the century, the atheists began calling themselves “humanists.”]

INJURE CHILDREN BY REQUIRING OBEDIENCE—“The late Virginia Satir, one of my professors in graduate school, was one of the first pioneers in the field of marriage and family therapy to explore the dynamics of healthy and dysfunctional families. Her work has been complemented and expanded by many others, whom I have drawn on as well to construct the following profile of characteristics commonly found in unhealthy families:

“Parents either strictly enforce rigid rules which break a child’s will . . Family secrets must be carefully guarded . . The way you behave (both in and out of the family system) is more important than the way you really are.”—pages 208-209.

FORGET ABOUT STANDARDS; THEY’RE CHANGING ANYWAY—“During my years as a university chaplain, I have sat through many committee arguments focusing on change in the church. They have focused on everything from Christian rock music to jewelry. But too often we try to settle disputes over individual standards—which may be in transition—apart from a larger visionary perspective on change.”—page 227.

MORAL STANDARDS NOT WANTED—“A high percentage of Adventist young people are disillusioned with the over-emphasis on rules and externals in the Adventist school system.”—page 232.

AN ECUMENICAL TRAINING CENTER—“On the La Sierra University campus, Charles Teel has established a Stahl Center for World Mission, which is dedicated to this sort of task [reaching the world]. Teel calls the church to a ‘Global Village’ perpective that places a premium on interdependence, inclusivism and cultural/ethnic diversity.”—page 247.

WE NEED TO ENTER THE PENTECOSTAL REVIVAL—“The question is, do we have something important and helpful to learn from the charismatic [tongues and excitement] movement? And my answer is a definite YES.

“Peter Wagner, a widely published professor at Fuller [Theological Seminary], has referred to the tremendous growth in the Vineyard and other movements like it, as the ‘Third Wave of the Holy Spirit’ . . He believes that the first wave of the Holy Spirit came through the Pentecostal movement at the turn of the century [when modern tongues-speaking suddenly exploded into prominence]. The second wave came through the charismatic renewal which swept through many of the mainline Christian churches after the middle of the twentieth century. And the third wave of the Holy Spirit . . is a non-denominational movement that seeks to revitalize Christians . . It is a movement that has captured the attention and imagination of some of the brightest and most educated minds in the Christian Church.

“It is not a movement I would expect Adventists generally to welcome, for we have been taught to be suspicious of anything charismatic. We are quick to point out Ellen White’s statements about a final false revival characterized by a delusion of miraculous works, but we often forget about her equally powerful statements . . which tell us the most powerful and miraculous genuine revival of all times will accompany these deceptions. On this point, we cannot afford to forget the words of Jesus, who said, ‘He that is not against us is on our side.’ The tendency to attribute to the devil miracles done in Christ’s name by non-Adventist Christians is the ‘unpardonable sin’ that Jesus condemned in the Jewish leaders. How important it is that we not commit that sin today.”—pages 249-250.

It is clear that Daily believes the Pentecostal movement is of God. He also believes those who reject it will not go to heaven.

TRAIN THE YOUTH IN INTERDENOMINATIONAL WORK—“We must empower our young people through forms of mission and service that are interdenominational.”—page 250.

Chapter 26 is entitled “Rediscovering Our Adventist Heritage: Adventism and Charismatic Renewal.”

LEARNING REVIVAL FROM A PSYCHIATRIST—“One of my favorite authors is Dr. John White, a psychiatrist who has written 20 books and spent much of his life studying historical and contemporary occurrences of revival all over the world, from a psychological, sociological and theological perspective.”—page 274.

EXPECT REVIVALS THAT ARE TOTALLY STRANGE—“When God chooses to actively and overtly intervene in human history, He usually does so in a manner that is completely unexpected, totally unorthodox, and often offensive or disturbing.”—page 275. [The context on these pages speaks of shouting and tongues.]

EXCITEMENT IS TRUE REVIVAL—“Our early Adventist pioneers were an unusually diverse group of people—strong willed, independent and dogmatic by nature . . They defined Babylon as boredom . . So what can we do, what changes can we make, to rediscover the passion for God that burned in the hearts of our pioneers? First, we must recognize that this flame is lit by the Holy Spirit.”—page 277.

EXCITEMENT IS WHAT WE NEED; NOT BIBLICAL TRUTH—“At the beginning of this chapter, I mentioned four different views of the Holy Spirit’s work which undermine an openness to, and readiness for, revival . .

“1. Naturalism: eating from the tree of knowledge. This view rejects the possibility that miracles or supernatural works of the Holy Spirit have anything to do with revival . . The more we base our faith on a purely rational understanding of objective doctrines, the more we will worship the letter which kills, rather than the spirit which gives life. As a people we have gluttonized from the tree of knowledge [by learning and obeying principles, instead of giving ourselves up to emotional outlets] for so long that we have lost our appetite for the tree of life [wonder-working revivals].”—page 277.

CLAPPING AND SHOUTING – THE MARKS OF TRUE REVIVAL—“When revival comes . . worship becomes our most exciting activity, because in worship we anticipate and experience God’s presence. It is in this context that . . [we are to] clap, shout and lift up our hands in the sanctuary.”—page 280

THE TONGUES MOVEMENT IS OF GOD—“We should acknowledge the legitimacy of the gift of tongues without stressing or overemphasizing its importance.”—page 281.

EXPECT SUPERNATURAL VISIONS AND DREAMS—“We need to recognize that God will increasingly communicate with us through visions and dreams, and to sensitize ourselves to that possibility.”—page 281.

WHEN A PROPHET ARISES, BELIEVE HIM—“As God’s Spirit is poured out, we are going to receive (if we are open and willing) the gifts of prophecy and spiritual discernment with much greater power and wider participation than our pioneers experienced.”—page 281.

MORE IMPORTANT TO BE OPEN TO THE SPIRIT THAN TO READ THE BIBLE—“In the New Testament church, most believers did not even have access to Bibles, but they were open to the Spirit. The religious leaders, who did have access to the Scriptures, but were not open to the Spirit, crucified Jesus and persecuted His followers.”—page 281.

ORDINATION OF WOMEN—“How can we give a woman like Ellen White unlimited credibility, while we currently deny basic equality to our female ministers?”—page 294.

LEARN A LOT FROM SEX BOOKS—“My library has no shortage of books which candidly address the most pressing sexual concerns facing adolescent Christians today. It really isn’t very surprising that none of these books is written by an Adventist. As a people, I believe we tend to be somewhat more inhibited and sexually repressed than Americans in general. Much of this is a consequence of our Victorian heritage, which has been well preserved through the work of Ellen White.”—pages 296-297.

AVOID THOSE WORTHLESS BOOKS—“Most Adventists are not aware of what bizarre and extreme views of sexuality were commonly held by our nineteenth century ancestors. Books like Messages to Young People have served to perpetuate such baggage throughout much of the twentieth century as well.”—page 297.

LAUGH AT THOSE WHO TEACH PRINCIPLES—“I had a senior Bible teacher in academy in the 1970s who held similar views, teaching us (much to our amusement) that any physical contact with the opposite sex before marriage was wrong. Our Victorian heritage may be greater than we think.”—page 297. [You are reading what Steve Daily has been teaching La Sierra students since 1979.]

MASTURBATION IS A HEALTHY PRACTICE—“Many Adventists have a ‘masturbation-phobia’ as a result of Ellen White’s extreme pronouncements about this practice. Her teaching on this topic was rooted in a nineteenth century ‘vital force’ physiology which has no credibility in the medical community today . . A balanced Christian approach to sexual self-stimulation sees it as a potentially healthy form of sexual discovery, exploration and awareness. It can even be a healthy equalizing force in marriages.”—page 297.

PREMARITAL SEX IS A PRACTICAL SOLUTION—“Finally, the question of premarital sex is an important one. The Biblical principle that sexual intercourse be reserved for a monogamous marital relationship is increasingly being viewed as obsolete or impractical by young Christians. One reason for this has been the church’s tendency to address this issue in an ‘all or nothing’ context.”—page 298.

NEED TIME BEFORE MARRIAGE TO GET STARTED—“Sexuality, like spirituality, communication or any other aspect of a relationship must develop and mature over time. Christian couples who have dated for a significant period need to honestly discuss their convictions and sexual boundaries . . We need to remember that God created sex to be an enjoyable, pleasurable activity.”—page 298.

NO SCRIPTURAL BASIS FOR NOT HAVING VARIETY OF SEX BEFORE MARRIAGE—“I often recommend an exercise called ‘sexual pleasuring’ that is commonly prescribed in sexual therapy . . [Unmarried] couples need to realize that there is a wide range of sexual activities that can be tremendously pleasurable and satisfying, that do not involve sexual intercourse and its accompanying risks . . Those who criticize such young people for not living up to their standards have no Scriptural basis for their criticisms and no right to make themselves moral policemen for other Christians.”—page 298.

INCORRECT TO TAKE AWAY ROCK MUSIC—“For many Adventists and other Christians, rock music is so associated with promiscuous sex, drugs, rebellion, Satanism, and immorality in general that it has no place in the church or in a Christian’s life. It becomes one more item on the ‘forbidden list’—along with dancing, movies, gambling, Sabbath breaking, etc.—that our young people know so well. We have become experts at ‘taking things away,’ but not at offering positive substitutes.”—page 299.

WE MUST HAVE DANCING—“If we condemn ‘immoral dancing’ in one breath, we must offer a more positive form of dancing in its place . . The church has managed to define it in consistently negative terms.”—page 299.

DANCING WILL HELP US BE MORE RELIGIOUS—“There has been a need for Adventists to develop modern forms of Christian dance to enhance both the social and religious environments on our campuses, but nothing is ever done for fear of what people might say.”—page 299.

OPEN THE DOOR WIDE TO EVERYTHING—“The church has not only consistently opposed innovations in the areas of music, dress and dancing, or other art forms, but has generally opposed innovations of any kind.”—page 299.

THROW OFF THE STANDARDS—“Down through the years, the church has condemned such innovations as new hymnals, new translations of the Bible, musical instruments, and at times all forms of music, drama, and colorful dress.”—page 299.

WE NEED ADORNMENTS FOR CONTEMPORARY RELEVANCE—“As a recent article in Insight reminded us, in 1866 the church was opposing women ‘adorning’ themselves with such things as ‘buttons, ribbons, embroidery and other decorations.’ We’ve come a long way, baby—but not really. We’re still obsessed with trivia and externals, still afraid to try new things, or take risks to reframe the gospel with contemporary relevance. We’re still afraid to teach our young people to think for themselves on these issues and act on their own convictions.”—page 299.

REQUIRING STANDARDS IS TOO CONTROVERSIAL—“Health reform becomes a controversial issue for many Adventist young people once again, because of what many perceive to be gross inconsistency. As a young man, I can remember an extremely obese union temperance director condemning drinking, smoking, meat-eating, and Coke, coffee and every other form of caffeine in a tirade that was totally embarrassing. Another case that immediately comes to mind is a gifted youth pastor I know who was fired by a conference for committing the unpardonable sin of drinking Pepsi in public.”—page 300.

WHY BE SO STRICT?—“Too often Adventists make a big deal of strict vegetarianism, avoiding all forms of caffeine, and other ‘tiny splinters.’ ”—page 300.

SEE, JESUS AND PAUL DIDN’T BELIEVE IN STANDARDS EITHER—“As Jesus and Paul so aptly put it, ‘You aren’t made unholy by what you put in your mouth,’ for ‘the kingdom of God is not a matter of meat and drink.’ ”—page 301.

BURIED IN BAPTISM, THAT THE OLD MAN MAY ARISE—“The most controversial aspect of Adventism’s teaching about the use of alcohol, tobacco and other drugs is not the church’s insistence on total abstinence, but its insistence that such habits be overcome prior to baptism.”—page 303.

BAPTIZE THE SMOKERS AND LIQUOR DRINKERS—“It is our manner and method of teaching total abstinence that is difficult to justify from Scripture and therefore worth reconsidering. There is something questionable about requiring people to give up ‘selected’ addictive habits before they can be baptized or given membership in our churches as ‘fellow sinners’ who have accepted a Saviour. This was not the example of Jesus.”—page 303.

IT IS LEGALISM TO ASK FOR CHANGES BEFORE BAPTISM—“I’ve never yet known a fisherman who has tried to clean a fish before catching it. Yet Adventists consistently attempt to do this spiritually by insisting that individuals must ‘clean up their lives’ in specific ways before they can come to God through baptism. No wonder we are often accused of legalism.”—pages 303-304.

UNFORTUNATELY, ELLEN WHITE IS STILL INFLUENTIAL—“Adven­tism’s response (or no-response) during the twentieth century to numerous issues reflects the influence of what Ellen White wrote before her death in 1915. The questions of competitive sports in Adventist schools is a classic example.”—page 306.

HOW CRUEL TO DENY OUR YOUTH COMPETITIVE SPORTS—“In recent years the debate has been resurrected in Adventism, as academies and colleges all over North America have gradually built up sports programs that in some cases offer scholarships and have the potential to become high profile . .

“As one who lived and worshiped sports into my teens, and was then transferred from public school to an Adventist school which had absolutely no sports program of any kind, I can relate to the frustration this causes. For the sake of our young people, we need to rethink and resolve some of the obvious inconsistencies that are rooted in the church’s current position.”—page 306.

STOP USING THOSE BOOKS­—“We need to quit misusing Ellen White’s writings as we attempt to solve such issues. She never intended that her writings be the last word, even in her own day, much less today. We need to consistently affirm all the gifts that God has given to human beings—not just musical, academic, and healing gifts, but physical, athletic gifts as well.”—page 307.

LET THEM SMOKE AND DO DRUGS IF THEY WANT—“The  church needs to quit making paternal mandates on such issues not addressed in Scripture, which serve to polarize rather than promote mature moral decision making by individuals and communities.”—page 307.

THE LIBERATING CELEBRATION CHURCHES—“My biases in favor of celebrative worship have already been revealed in chapter 24. However, there is still something important to be said about the extreme polarization that seems to exist in the Adventist Church over this issue.

“On the one hand, Adventists are condemning such innovations in worship as being ‘of the devil’ and ‘leading the church into apostasy.’ On the other hand, those who are more liberated in their forms of worship often tend to discount or make fun of the ‘rigidity, intolerance, traditionalism and over-serious nature’ of their critics.”—page 307.

ESSENE EXTREMISTS VS. A WORLDLY JESUS—“The Essenes were extreme separatists. They islolated themselves in the desert, were obsessed with ceremonial purity, took vows of poverty, chastity, simplicity and total abstinence from wine, meat, oil and any form of self-gratification. They were sober, serious men who lived lives of rigorous discipline and devotion and had no toleration for sin or compromise of any kind. They condemned all religious innovations and were not known for being ‘joyful believers.’

“Jesus, by contrast, began His earthly ministry by going to a party. He didn’t seem to give a rip about ceremonial purity or dietary restrictions, and even violated the most sacred laws and traditions of Judaism.”—page 307.

At this point in his class presentation, he probably asks his students, “Which do you want to be like: the Essenes or Jesus?

JOHN BROUGHT FUNERAL SONGS— “Jesus emphasized and affirmed the diversity of God’s attempts to communicate with humanity. ‘John came fasting and drinking no wine’; he represented those who ‘sang the funeral songs’ of warning, judgment, repentance and sober, solemn assemblies.”—page 308.

JESUS BROUGHT DANCING—“Jesus, by contrast, came eating and drinking. He represented those who ‘played the wedding music’ and emphasized God’s good news of forgiveness, mercy, and grace. He embraced sinners, identified with the dispossessed, and brought dancing and celebration wherever He went (except around the religious establishment).”—page 308.

Chapter 29 is entitled, “The Heretical Imperative: Adventism, Ecumenism, and Other Churches.”

BREAK DOWN THE DENOMINATIONAL BARRIERS—“The sixties, seventies, and eighties proved to be decades of significant Ecumenical activity. The members of the various Christian churches, as well as Christians and members of other world religions, learned to interact and cooperate in unprecedented numbers. The World Council of Churches became the symbol of this new institutional cooperation, and several important theological works called on the ‘global church’ to break down its barriers of denominationalism and division.”—page 312.

THE SIN OF SEPARATION—“There is a new Ecumenism sweeping through much of the Christian church today, that Adventism cannot afford to ignore . . It seeks to address the most tragic sin in Christendom, the ever-present sin which continually challenges the credibility of the church: the sin of fragmentation and divisiveness.”—pages 312-313.

BY NOT UNITING, WE ARE AT THE TAIL—“An Ecumenical movement will restore integrity to the word church. This movement is directly connected to the ‘Charismatic renewal’ that is impacting many mainline churches, and is based primarily on the shared faith, hope, and love of ministers and church members from various denominations who have come together . . My prayer is that Adventism will be on the cutting edge of this movement, rather than occupying its usual position at the end of the tail.”—page 313.

NON-DENOMINATIONAL SUNDAY SERVICES—“We have a unique opportunity as a people to be the church that is best able to break down denominational barriers because of our past and because of our Sabbath.

“If we were to renounce our past sectarian mentality and embrace our communities by using our sanctuaries for non-denominational Sunday services, people would think very differently about our schools and churches. They would no longer be seen as isolated subcultural islands. We would experience a dialogue with non-Adventists Christians that would not only benefit us but would open many non-Adventist minds to the value and meaning of the Sabbath. It may be that God raised us up as a people for such a time as this.”—page 313.

FORGET THE DIFFERENCES AND UNITE IN MINISTRY—“In his spiritually-anointed book, The House of the Lord, Francis Frangipane calls upon all Christians, including Adventists, to quit debating their differences and to focus on the essentials of Christ, the Holy Spirit, intercessory prayer and a shared love for their cities and communities.

“We can write this appeal off as another feeble attempt of the evil one to break through our sacred barriers of isolationism, or we can humbly repent of our independent ways and plead for a commitment to unity in Christ and intercession through His Spirit to fill our ranks. I believe the consequences of this decision will determine the future course of Adventism to a great degree.”—page 314.

HARMED BY NOT UNITING WITH THE CATHOLICS—“It is admittedly difficult for people who were born and raised believing that they were God’s Remnant Church, God’s special chosen people, to embrace an Ecumenical spirit of any kind, particularly when Adventism’s eschatology has consistently warned against any allegiance with non-Christians, Catholic Christians, ‘apostate’ Protestant Christians, or any group that is ‘non-Adventist.’

“It is a sobering and scary thought to conclude that our eschatology [set of beliefs about last-day events] has been built on an unsound foundation, and that it has ultimately done us more harm than good.”—page 314.

ALL THE OTHER CHURCHES ARE SPECIALLY CHOSEN TOO—“The ‘heretical imperative’ for Adventism is even a more difficult mandate than for Christians in general. It is the mandate to stop thinking just of ourselves as ‘God’s chosen people’ and start recognizing the existence and ministry of ‘God’s chosen peoples.’ ”—page 314.

DENOMINATIONALISM MUST GO—“Christian denominationalism is so deeply entrenched in the very nature of American religion that it is difficult to imagine its demise. Yet this is one of the ‘spiritual mega­trends’ analysts have predicted as we move towards the twenty-first century.”—page 315.

WE WOULD DO BETTER TO MERGE WITH THEM—“Non-denominational movements have flourished among young people and promise to be the rule rather than the exception by the year 2000 if this trend continues. In this context, we must honestly ask ourselves if our medium is more important than our message. Are we really concerned about communicating a message concerning the kingdom of God, or are we more concerned about preserving our denominational identity?”—page 315.

It seems unbelievable that such things could be written by a tithe-supported, Seventh-day Adventist minister! He has been teaching these views for years at La Sierra University and at meetings throughout the Southeastern California Conference. Yet there is no one to tell him, “Thus far you shall go, and no farther.” Daily could probably deny the existence of God, and continue to be accepted by the administration and faculty of La Sierra University.

Where will all this lead? The apostasy will not slacken nor cease; it will continue deepening. With the passing of time, we will hear of still more financial and licentious scandals issuing from Southern California.

Souls are going to be lost as a result. Yet many seem to have no concern.                    —Vance Ferrell

 I found several informative items in Steve Daily’s book, Adventism for a New Generation, which we have here reviewed. Here they are:

“A survey of 2,000 Adventist youth in 1960 revealed that only 42 percent of Adventist homes had regular family worship, a figure much lower than their parents would have reported. By 1980, a study of Adventist parents themselves revealed that only 34 percent had regular family worship. The recent Valuegenesis research reveals that only 23.6 percent of SDA youth report having daily worship in their homes.”—page 208.

“A few years ago, I attended a national convocation of Adventist church leaders, where a newly appointed administrator openly discussed a research finding which revealed that Mormons and Adventists in the Northwest had a higher incidence of incest than all other groups in the study.”—page 209.

“Approximately 40 percent of Adventist scientists in the 1980s believed that the earth was over four billion years old.”—page 232.

“Church growth expert Leith Anderson tells us that in the ’90s approximately 85 percent of Amer­ica’s Protestant churches are either stagnating or dying.”—page 227.

The number in the church who pay tithe: Never–10.8 percent / Seldom–16.1 percent / Sometimes–20.4 percent / Most of the time–25.2 percent / Always–27.5 percent.—adapted from page 257.

“There is a strong positive correlation between the age an adolescent begins dating and the likelihood that he or she will engage in premarital sex.”—page 298.

Here is a tabulation of the age when dating initially begins, and the percentage who ultimately have intercourse before graduation:

12 years - 91 percent

13 years - 56 percent

14 years - 53 percent

15 years - 40 percent

16 years - 20 percent.

—adapted from page 298.

DAILY PROVIDES THE LIBERALS WITH A BLUEPRINT FOR ACTION, SOURCES OF GUIDANCE

Ellen White’s writings are worthless today; and, because of its errors, the Bible is not fully trustworthy. Fortunately, there have been many prophets in history, and they are all around us today. We ourselves should expect to receive visions and dreams at any time containing new light.

We can learn much from others, especially the Ecumenicals, Pentecostals, Protestants, Catholics, and psychiatrists. We can even learn from the spiritists (F. Scott Peck) and the atheists (humanists).

We should attend meetings of Pentecostals and non-Adventist churches, in order to learn things to improve our own denominational beliefs, objectives, and activity.

We no longer need written standards and codes. We need personal changes, obtained by personal contact with people. We need people, not books.

CHANGES WE NEED TO MAKE

Radical changes are needed. Jesus was a radical, and we need to be radicals today. We should break away from all those earlier patterns in our denomination, and experiment with a host of new ones learned from the other churches.

We need to change our worships, so they will be celebration events. They should include the high excitement, clapping, hand-waving, parallel praying, and tongues of the Pentecostals.

We need to move out from Adventism and experiment with and adopt the innovations of the other churches. Whatever their fads might be (feminism, new age, etc.), we should appreciatively consider them. But we should look with consistent disfavor on the idea of returning to the restricting standards and beliefs of historic Adventism.

We need to forget about converting people to our beliefs. Instead, we should become a grand social agency, helping the poor so they can enjoy life a little better.

When we thus set aside our distinctive doctrines, the world will accept us wholeheartedly, and no longer will we be scorned as “those commandment-keepers.” We want acceptance, and this is how we can get it.

We need to forget about standards and belief. It is not conduct but being happy and making people happy that counts.

BELIEFS THAT NEED CHANGING

Most all our beliefs need changing! Earlier in our history, we thought that conduct had something to do with salvation, but now we have accepted the modern Protestant theory that we are saved in our sins. So we can abandon codes of conduct and enjoy life. Our male/female god wants us happy.

By accepting these new ideas, we are liberated from Victorian taboos on conduct, sex, amusement, and self-glorification. It is time to enjoy the world for a change!

 STEVE DAILY—How did Steve Daily wonder so far from truth? His experience is a warning to us, lest we follow in his steps:

In his book, Adventism for a New Generation, Steve mentions that he did not like doctrines and standards in his youth. Abandoning the Spirit of Prophecy, he was ready to place his confidence in the great men of the world. Steve came to the conclusion, often stated in his book, that the solutions to our personal and church problems are to be found in the wisdom of men in other denominations, as well as psychiatrists, humanists, and even men, such as F. Scott Peck, who have spiritist connections.

But in rejecting the narrow way, and stepping out into the broad one, Steve is in the process of destroying himself.

“There is only one path to Paradise restored—the path of obedience. The message given man to proclaim in these last days is not to be amalgamated with worldly opinions. In these days of peril, nothing but obedience will keep man from apostasy. God has bestowed on man great light and many blessings. But unless this light and these blessings are received, they are no security against apostasy and disobedience. When those whom God has exalted to positions of high trust turn from Him to human wisdom, their light becomes darkness, and how great is that darkness! Their entrusted capabilities are a snare to them. They are become an offense to God.”—Upward Look, 318.

Think not that we have seen the end of how deep the new theology can lead men into sin. In the months and years ahead, we are going to witness even more terrible falls by the advocates of the “it’s all right to sin” teaching. These individuals, thinking they are saved in their sins, will be led on by the devil into every species of evil—licentiousness, mismanagement, sodomy, embezzlement, and more.

“There always has been, and till the conflict is ended, there always will be a departing from God. Sins have a close connection. One act of disobedience, unless repented of, leads to another. He who justifies himself in sin is led on step by step in deception, till at length he sins with impunity.”—Ibid. 

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