By MINDELL SMALL,Guardian Staff Reporter
The Bahamas Conference and The North Bahamas Mission of Seventh-day Adventists strongly refuted the claim made by Anglican Archdeacon Dr Etienne Bowleg that their church is a cult.
Archdeacon Bowleg told the National Cultural Development Commission on May 12, that cults and sects are increasing in The Bahamas and include Seventh Day Adventists, Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormons and the Unity School of Christianity.
He defined a cult as a religious group of people who are unorthodox and devoted to a leader — a person who is usually charismatic and charming. He also said there are 250 cults in New Providence and warned Bahamians to be aware of them, as they might appear to be authentically Christian.
However, Seventh-day Adventists leaders, Dr Leonard A. Johnson and Pastor Keith D. Albury, feel that Archdeacon Bowleg's comments are "ill-advised, superficial, lacking in research, confusing and contradictory."
Most of all, his comments, according to pastors Johnson and Albury, cannot be supported by the Bible, which they say is the only authority of what is true or false regarding the teachings of Scripture. They further explained that SDAs believe that the Bible is their only rule of faith and practice, as opposed to conventional religious traditions, "which appear to be Archdeacon Bowleg's definition of orthodoxy."
They said anyone can go to the website of the world Seventh-day Adventist Church (www.adventist.org) and read its mission statement which states, "The mission of the Seventh-day Adventist Church is to proclaim to all peoples the everlasting gospel in the context of the three angels' messages of Revelation 14:6-12, leading them to accept Jesus as personal saviour and to unite with his church, and nurturing them in preparation for his soon return."
Furthermore, the SDA statement said the Seventh-day Church strongly believes in family values predicated on scriptures and teaches everyone of the personal worth and dignity of each member in the Christian family, while affirming respect, equality, openness, and love.
Pastors Johnson and Albury also referred Archdeacon Bowleg to Dr Walter Martin's book on cults entitled "The Kingdom of the Cults." Dr Martin wrote, "It is perfectly possible to be a Seventh-day Adventist and be a true follower of Jesus Christ despite certain heterodox concepts."
Additionally, as it pertains to biblical orthodoxy, Johnson and Albury suggested that Archdeacon Bowleg revisit some of his own church's statements by clergyman Philip Carrington, Archbishop of Quebec who, back in 1949, sent local clergy men into a huddle by saying outright, "There is nothing to support Sunday being kept holy." Carrington told a church meeting of straight-laced Protestantism that tradition, not the Bible, made Sunday the day of worship" (Toronto Daily Star -Oct. 26, 1949).
Pastors Johnson and Albury also questioned Archdeacon Bowleg's position on apostolicity, where he said, "In the New Testament, the Church must be firstly apostolic, you must be able to trace your line of apostolicity." They indicated that they are aware that there are Christians who speak of the apostolicity of the Church; some insisting even on a literal, linear, and uninterrupted apostolic succession by the laying on of hands as evidence of such apostolicity.
They said what is claimed to authenticate the Church is a visible and unbroken connection, which can be traced historically between a present-day Christian community and the church of the apostles. This view, they added, according to the Adventist leaders, seems to ignore the fact that in the New Testament, the line of succession between the apostles and today's apostolic witness is conceived as a continuous line of faithfulness to the testimony of the apostles, sustained by the Holy Spirit.
Pastors Johnson and Albury then emphasised that apostolicity is a distinct mark of the true Church.
"But any notion of apostolicity that fails to engage in faithfulness to the gospel and to mission is a misconceived view of apostolicity. It would then be true to say that the benchmark that should be used to determine Christian authenticity should be based on how close one's belief is in harmony with beliefs of the first century apostles," their statement said.
They stressed that there is no question that central to the gospel preached by the apostles was the belief that one must be born again to enter the Kingdom of Heaven.
They questioned the authenticity of Archdeacon Bowleg's faith in speaking against the notion of "being born again" to enter heaven. The Archdeacon said, "For instance by being born again... the purpose of this type of sect is to affect individual consciousness of guilt, bringing about conversion and secure redemption. And this group tends to place most of its emphasis on proselytising members of the established church."
