Seventh Day Adventists and YOU!

So it's pretty common for newer religions to build off of older ones. I mean, if you look at bible, one of the more noticeable things about it is that it's mostly Judaism with a sequel at the end. And the denominations of Christianity all stem from very similar roots, even though many of them do contain the same ending. One of the most interesting things to someone like me who likes to study and observe is when the ending IS actually different. New faiths have been rising up in the last three or four centuries with new 'radical' and innovative beliefs that dare to challenge the religions that have held so strong over millennia. This week in my class, we were asked to choose one of the many religions we will not get to study, research it, and explain a little about it in our blog. After looking into a few, I decided to choose Seventh Day Adventist.

William Miller had decided to privately study the bible for an extensive two years. He then left Deism and converted to Christianity where he became a Baptist Lay leader. Miller was absolutely convinced that he had found something crucial coded within the bible that was imperative to the faith of God; secretly placed information telling of Christ's second coming and the end of the world. With an urgent sense of importance to spread the word, Miller began preaching in 1831 and began a following that believed according to his calculations that Christ would return in 1844. This unfortunately, to our knowledge, never happened and was known as 'The Great Disappointment'. Miller withdrew from leadership and passed away several years later, leaving his newly formed church in pieces. Ellen White, along other members of different churches  banded together in 1863 to build upon the religion that once was led by Miller. In May of that year, they opened the Seventh Day Adventist Church in NH. She believed that the prediction of 1844 was not the date of Christ's return, but the beginning of the Investigative Judgment where Jesus would begin judging the souls of the living and the dead. White also predicted that Christ would return to Earth shortly after this judgment.

The logo of the church is a direct representation of their values and beliefs. It is said that though the picture is a simple one, it is meant to depict the powerful message of the SDA. The open bible is shown as the base of the religion because the message mus be read and constantly put into action throughout day to day life. At the center is the cross, representing the gospel and salvation as well as tribute to Christ's sacrifice for mankind. The flames circle the earth, representing the Holy Spirit which is everywhere. It is made of 3 lines signifying the 3 angels from Revelation 14. The flames also trail upwards above the Earth to show the ascendancy of the faithful souls departing together to heaven at the Second Coming of Christ.

In the past and present, I have had several friends who were apart of the SDA church. In my time spent with them, I noticed the characteristic that all of them were closely involved with their church and associated mainly with those involved. I became curious and decided this was an ideal time to learn more. I spoke with 3 members from their church and received a lot of valuable information about their beliefs, cultures, and views on life. To learn more about the history and origin of the faith, I researched online for a while and found out the religion was only 150 years old. It's very interesting to see how modern day religions are built off of the others and how strong they can be in gaining a following. I still have many questions, but for now, I am very satisfied with the better understanding I now have of the religion I have seen so close to me but knew little about.