Bill Graham

I'm SDA (albeit somewhat heretical). All other Protestants believe in the immortality of the soul, ECT, and a broken Decalogue (including the 4th gone) as do EO and RC. 98% of Christendom is essentially the same. The Theotokos/Mary thing is a side issue. If Mary is in Heaven anyway, why not ask her to help out, as well as going direct to the Father and Jesus. After all, Jesus is her flesh and blood. Faith-works issue shouldn't really be divisive because we all believe that a true faith will produce good works. There's just a spectrum there, not a black-and-white division. There is also a spectrum of beliefs regarding the Eucharist, however this isn't salvific (although the RCC says it can be). Just random thoughts. For me, it's all about God's character. Without knowing who God is at His core, it would be difficult to have a deep and loving relationship with Him. I could never love or worship a god that tormented people in some way shape or form for eternity future with no hope of escape, no hope of release, no hope of forgiveness, ho hope of reconciliation, ever. That's not my God.

No “reconciliation” required re the 4th. In Deut 5:15, adding to its standing as a memorial of our Creation by Christ (Exo 20:11), the Sabbath was increased in scope to also be a memorial of God delivering Israel (“My son” Hos 11:1) out of Egypt, with a linked prophecy foretelling of Christ (Matt 2:15) our Redeemer. The Sabbath is not Judaizing, it’s not legalism, it’s not a metaphor for “resting in Christ”. The Sabbath is 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝘾𝙝𝙧𝙞𝙨𝙩, and our relationship with Him as our Creator and Redeemer.

🤔...frankly, no. Christian mortalism Annihilationism The immutable Decalogue, including the beautiful Sabbath truth. The orthodox Protestant Trinity. The 5 Protestant Solas. This unique combination of Biblical truths differentiate us from the rest of Christendom. It encompasses the Gospel. It is more than sufficient. Everything else is excess baggage weighing us down, holding us back, sullying our core message. That's why the church is spiritually moribund.

None of those. Christian Mortalism is the only view that makes Biblical and (when considering God’s character) any other sort of sense.

The Bible distinguishes between the weekly 7th-day Sabbath (a permanent, creation-ordained commandment in the Decalogue, observed every Saturday from sunset Friday to sunset Saturday) and the ceremonial sabbaths (also called “high sabbaths” or “feasts of the LORD”). These ceremonial sabbaths were annual holy days tied to Israel’s agricultural calendar and sacrificial system, occurring on fixed dates regardless of the day of the week. They required rest from work (like the weekly Sabbath) but were part of the ceremonial law fulfilled in Christ (Colossians 2:16–17; Hebrews 10:1). The seven ceremonial sabbaths were tied to Israel’s redemptive calendar and pointed to Christ (e.g., Passover Lamb, Pentecost’s firstfruits, Trumpets’ announcement, Atonement’s cleansing, Tabernacles’ ingathering). The weekly Sabbath stands apart as a creation ordinance, not a shadow.

Alcohol is a toxic, addictive, carcinogenic, psychoactive depressant drug, and anyone with an iota of commonsense and discernment would know that Christ would certainly want us to not drink it. Even the alcohol in a small cup of wine is a mood-changer, not to mention toxic to the body. If Christians want to drink alcohol, it's their business; just don't insult God by saying He provided it.

From Grok, extracts from Viola’s writings: Viola emphasizes that Hellenistic philosophy, particularly Platonism, introduced the idea of a disembodied soul surviving death, which later crept into Christian theology post-apostolically (e.g., through figures like Augustine). He cites John 11:25 and 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 to underscore the apostolic focus on resurrection as a physical, transformative event. The New Testament church held to the Jewish hope of resurrection, where the dead in Christ would rise bodily at His return (1 Corinthians 15:12-22). This differed sharply from Hellenistic ideas, prevalent in Greco-Roman culture, that viewed the soul as inherently immortal and destined to exist apart from the body. The apostles rejected such dualism, affirming that God’s plan was to redeem the whole person—body and spirit—through resurrection. Many Christians today assume the afterlife means going to heaven as a disembodied soul, a concept borrowed from Plato and Greek philosophy. The early church, however, followed the apostolic teaching that our hope is the resurrection of the dead, where we receive glorified bodies to live in God’s new creation (Romans 8:23, Philippians 3:20-21). The Hellenistic idea of an immortal soul floating in a spiritual realm was foreign to the apostles, who saw death as “sleep” until the resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:51-52). The apostles and their followers faced death fearlessly because they believed in a future resurrection, not a vague afterlife as disembodied spirits. This was grounded in Christ’s own resurrection, which they saw as the prototype for their own (1 Corinthians 15:22-23). Hellenistic ideas of an immortal soul were seen as incompatible with this hope.

Does the Decalogue remain the foundation of God’s moral law? Written on our hearts under the New Covenant, of course.

The entire Seventh-day Adventist church stands or falls on whether a literal 6-day Creation is true or not. Mind you, the RC and EO churches stand or fall on whether soul-immortality is true or not, so the stakes there are far higher, involving ~ 1.7 billion people. The SDAs are unique in believing in both a literal 6-day Creation (hence the Biblical Sabbath) and Christian mortalism-annihilationism. Thank Heaven that God looks at the heart, not the label.

That is erroneous eisegesis. The ceremonial Sabbaths were made redundant in Christ and Jesus rebuked the Pharisaical rules and regulations, however God’s Holy Day, the 7th-day Sabbath, the 4th of the God-written Decalogue, was never changed, just as the other 9 are unchanged. Jesus emphasised the spirit of the Moral Law (the Decalogue-it’s written on our hearts under the New Covenant) but He never abolished it or spiritualised it away. The e.g. 6th Commandment to not murder wasn’t spiritualised away, neither were any others. The 4th was changed in the post-Apostolic period for political and cultural reasons. Today it’s an inconvenient Truth, and Sunday a strong delusion.

What does “soon” mean? Dictionary definition: - within a short period after this or that time, event, etc.: - before long; in the near future; at an early date: So saying “soon” is just date-setting because we have no idea when Jesus will return. It could be next century; is that “soon”? At best it’s wishful thinking, at worst it’s soothsaying or even lying. False hope is discouraging and dispiriting. Let’s stop this ridiculous date-setting and start sharing the Gospel.

How do you think the 1.2 billion Hindus, 2 billion Muslims, 0.5 billion Buddhists, 1 billion atheists, other non-Christians etc etc, not to mention the Jews, be treated under the Sunday Law? Will Islam change its holy day from Friday to Sunday? Will the powerful Jewish lobby be quashed? How will China and other communist, authoritarian, anti-West regimes be forced to comply? I’m sure it’ll take the prophesied supernatural events to happen before this can occur. For example Satan impersonating Christ and doing all sorts of signs and wonders. 🤔.

“…someone who was a good, law abiding citizen in life, but rejected Jesus and instead trusted in their good works to save them.” …will suffer for eternity future with no hope of relief or escape. Infinite torment, torture, physical and mental pain. No sleep, no rest, surrounded by tens of billions of similarly suffering wretches, with memories of loved ones and happy times haunting their thoughts…forever. God is love.

Imho the biggest divide is between soul-immortality believers (the great majority) and annihilationism/mortalism believers. I’m among the latter, and I can’t understand how one can believe in the former. How sad is your picture of God when you believe that He will torture/torment/burn/otherwise make suffer fully conscious souls in hell for eternity future with no hope of relief or escape? That is not the God who is described e.g. in 1 John 4:8 and 1 John 4:16. That is not a god in whom I can believe.

“Then he said to them, "You know how unlawful it is for a Jewish man to keep company with or go to one of another nation. 𝘽𝙪𝙩 𝙂𝙤𝙙 𝙝𝙖𝙨 𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙬𝙣 𝙢𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙄 𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙘𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙖𝙣𝙮 𝙢𝙖𝙣 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙢𝙤𝙣 𝙤𝙧 𝙪𝙣𝙘𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙣.” Acts 10:28 This refers back to Acts 10:14. Peter’s vision was a metaphor.

We’re talking the Decalogue here. All 10 are unchanged. Written by Christ on stone tablets and placed inside the Ark, the antitype of which is in the temple in Heaven. Antinomians will acknowledge that they observe from Spirit-led obedience and wouldn’t consciously break 1-3, 5-10, but oh no the 4th was done away with. Sure. The fact is that the Sabbath (sunset Friday to sunset Saturday) is an inconvenient truth for Sunday-keepers. It’s just too much trouble and bother in this world to set aside that 24 hours for God, to keep it holy as He commanded. That’s why it’s the true test of a person’s love for God. “If you love me, (as a result you will) keep my Commandments”.

So you’re knowingly and willingly breaking the 4th Commandment. What about the other 9? And what is the “OT sense”? Is murder the same now as it was then, and in Paul’s time? Stealing? Coveting? The obvious and correct answer is yes. Paul didn’t need to state the obvious. He observed the Sabbath. What does the resurrection have to do with the 4th Commandment? Absolutely nothing, except that the resurrection is used as a groundless, pathetically weak, illogical and un-Biblical justification to forget God’s Holy Day and follow the world via the path of least resistance. Weak. Above all, it’s an enormous insult to Christ, the Lord of the Sabbath. Knowingly or unknowingly, Sunday-keepers are essentially spitting in God’s face by conveniently forgetting the day that our Creator and Redeemer blessed and sanctified. The day He specifically asked us to remember. The day He set aside as a memorial of our Creation and Redemption by Christ. The eternal temple in time constructed by God for us to worship Him in. No, God, I can’t keep your Commandment. It’s just too inconvenient.

We founded the the NRLA in 1889 and the IRLA in 1893, however we (well, most of us including me) eagerly look forward to the loss of our religious freedom and being persecuted to the point of a death decree against us. We keenly watch the news for signs of approaching trouble, and we hang with bated breath on every hint of Sunday laws targeting Sabbath-keepers. We certainly have a corporate cognitive dissonance there 😅!