>>...their neighbor...<<

...and there are those who believe everyone is their neighbour: and there are those who believe 'neighbour' is Jesus Christ-defined in the NT...

Holy Writ leads many directions. Perhaps, that is

as it should be.

Take practically any dogma and it, seemingly, blows in the wind. Say, isn't the HS referred to, euphemistically,

as 'wind'?

Quote:

The way you join the Body of Christ is through baptism.

The way you join the church is through a vote. And that would be anything greater than 50% of those present at a particualar time .

I think you are simplifying that too much, Redwood.

God accepts those who fully follow Him to the extent of their understanding of the truth. There are very sincere Christians who love the Lord, and to their best knowledge follow Him. The purpose of the Seventh-day Adventist Church is to bring to their knowledge a fuller understanding of the full truth -- as far as God has given it to us. Those who have died loving Jesus, but not having had the full truth pointed out to them, will be saved -- but "he that knoweth to do good and doeth it not" to him it is sin.

God's purpose in raising the Seventh-day Adventist Church was to bring to the world (including other Christians) a fuller knowledge of His truth -- including the Sabbath, the Health message, and the nearness of the Second Coming. This is our task, and this is why we have the 28 fundamentals spelt out clearly, so that we know all that we believe.

Beryl

I believe Adventist pastors should be able to bapatize someone into the greater body of Christ. That is simply that the baptized person becomes a baptized Christian.

Why should someone put off baptism until he/she has studied out the 28 fundamental Adventist beliefs. If a person knows that he/she loves God and wants to follow Him, shouldn't he/she be allowed to be baptized then, as the Ethiopian was in Acts 8? He hadn't accepted all 28 when Philip baptized him.

Then after further study a person could be accepted into the Adventist church, just as many other Christians join our church by "confession of faith".

I do know of SDA pastors who baptize people into the body of Christ and not as members of the SDA church. They don't advertise the fact, but nevertheless, it IS done.