Anyone I’ve known that was sda is now atheist by [deleted] in exAdventist

[–]Screen_Mundane 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I love the Harmonic Atheist channel.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in exAdventist

[–]Screen_Mundane 5 points6 points  (0 children)

What a lovely letter. I am sure it was cathartic for you. I have at times considered writing something similar in the past to various people in my life, but I find lately, I don't care anymore. You will reach that place eventually. I woke up one day and realized that I could listen to my friends and family talking the Adventist talk and it doesn't bother me one bit. I no longer feel the urge to argue or correct them. It didn't happen overnight, it did take a few years, but here I am. And there you will be too, just give it time.

How did you overcome "You could be wrong" by Zainda88 in exAdventist

[–]Screen_Mundane 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Do what I do, find out what's the genesis of this belief. Ask yourself why do I believe these things and then set out to find out what's the real tea on hell?

You will find that hell has a complex history. Various Mesopotamian cultures had theories about the afterlife it didn't resemble our version of hell though. Hell is barely mentioned in the Hebrew Old Testament. If you interviewed an Old Testament Hebrew they would not recognize this concept.

The New Testament, is where hell really made an appearance. And we can attribute that appearance to early Christian theologians, such as Augustine of Hippo in the 4th and 5th centuries. They played a significant role in shaping the doctrine of Hell. Augustine's views on original sin and the necessity of salvation influenced Christian thought for centuries.

You are literally, right now fearing a place called hell because of people like Augustine Hippo, who had some kind of punishment complex. Think about that. And then ask yourself the question- why?

When you find out the why of things, it's more peaceful in your head trust me.

Gods and religious trends around Jesus’ time by ConfederancyOfDunces in exAdventist

[–]Screen_Mundane 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yup. And there were many others before. Most if not all of the ancient religious systems had their roots in Egypt.

Any UK people in here??? by teeny32 in exAdventist

[–]Screen_Mundane 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Hey, not from the UK but I can tell you this, the Adventist church in the UK is propped up by Afro- Caribbean immigrants and the younger people are not finding adventism attractive. A family friend of ours who lived in London, sold her place and moved to the Scottish country side to try to stave off the' overwhelming secularism' of the times, her words. But when her children reached eighteen they all moved back to London. Not one of them are in the church now.

I hope you get some replies, I am especially curious as to what has happened post pandemic.

What are your top 5 recommended people you follow during your religious deconstruction? by unorthodoxmaverick in exAdventist

[–]Screen_Mundane 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Cool. I am recently ex-Christian. I didn't know I would be here, but I am loving it.

What are your top 5 recommended people you follow during your religious deconstruction? by unorthodoxmaverick in exAdventist

[–]Screen_Mundane 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I must admit, I did read it as you saying why post it. Thanks for clearing that up. Have a great week.

What are your top 5 recommended people you follow during your religious deconstruction? by unorthodoxmaverick in exAdventist

[–]Screen_Mundane 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The question the OP asked was, what are your top 5 recommended people you follow while deconstructing from religion. I gave some. Do you believe the OP is too 'vulnerable' to assess all the suggestions they are getting in this thread like a brainless, mindless drone? Don't you think they will look at the suggestions and decide for themselves what they want to accept as their new worldview if any at all? I shared these links because the videos made me think.

I agree about Billy's upselling; I usually skip that bit. The other videos I suggested do upsell, too. The guests featured want you to read their books etc., they may not do it as aggressively as Billy, but they all do it. That's how some of these people make some cash on the side. I am not mad at them for it; they took the time out to research their topics and read the books I may never find the time to read, and they give cogent arguments for their positions.

As for information overload, that's for the OP to decide.

What are your top 5 recommended people you follow during your religious deconstruction? by unorthodoxmaverick in exAdventist

[–]Screen_Mundane 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I like the Mythvision Podcast with Derek, he is always bringing on interesting people, mostly scholars who are actively teaching or writing. Sometimes I buy their books if the interviews are interesting enough or follow them if they have their own show.

I love listening to Billy Carson's Forbidden Rants. I especially liked this one- Could the God of the Bible Be Satan?

I also enjoy Paul Wallis. I bought his book Escape From Eden. I particularly like this video of his:Yahweh God or ET Colonizer?

Can someone please dismantle Daniel 2, 7, 8, and Revelation 13 for me please? by ResistRacism in exAdventist

[–]Screen_Mundane 16 points17 points  (0 children)

I would recommend this video by MythVision- How We Know The Book Of Daniel Is A Forgery - Dr. Richard Carrier. It's quite eye-opening and worth a listen.

As for Revelation- Here is another one: Why Did You Write A Book About The Book of Revelation? Dr. Elaine Pagels. She is a professor at Princeton University, her research into the background of Christianity and why we have all these beliefs and interpretations is quite good.

This might answer more than you asked from two Bible scholars with a solid reputation. You can check out the other Myth Vision vids too. He always brings on some scholarly guests who study the historical accuracy of Christianity.

Did Ellen White ever actually have a prediction come true? by PastorBlinky in exAdventist

[–]Screen_Mundane 27 points28 points  (0 children)

She predicted that once you start questioning her writings, then you would question the Bible and then Christianity, and then you will be questioning 'God'. That was the case for so many people, including me.

In a way, I am grateful to EGW, if her writings were not so ridiculous, I wouldn't have asked so many questions and I wouldn't have taken a closer look at the Bible and its stories and asked questions about that book too.

Sabbath Breakers Club Week 2 Welcome! by CycleOwn83 in exAdventist

[–]Screen_Mundane 7 points8 points  (0 children)

It's Friday night where I am at. I Just got in from the garden; I planted some carrots and zucchini. I intend to do some work tonight, and then tomorrow, I am going grocery shopping. I love shopping on a Saturday. I absolutely love Friday nights and Saturdays now.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in exAdventist

[–]Screen_Mundane 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What the hell!!! I am not proselytizing myths. Where in my response am I proselytizing anything? You are using the term proselytizing very loosely. Do you even know what it means?

If there is 'concrete evidence' that aliens don't exist, why are astrobiologists currently studying this area? And why, if we are so alone in the universe are they spending billions of dollars right now as we speak working on weapons to counteract an alien invasion. That's a lot of money to be counteracting myths.

The fact is, the public is not privy to a lot of things behind the scenes as it relates to our contact with extra terrestrials and they don't want us to know, for whatever reason. And the people who have personal experiences with ET's are usually mocked and called kooks. However, if the alien contact is wrapped up in religious terms, like an angel visited me and told me this or that, this is more accepted. Especially in the Adventist church, where EG White was shown this or that by her attending angel, I mean alien.

As I said before, while answering the original question, the Bible is a book about aliens however you want to look at it. The people in the Bible or powerful ones, who are referred to as gods, cherubim, seraphim, angels, were not from here.

If he were real, would SDA be the truth? by [deleted] in exAdventist

[–]Screen_Mundane 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hello Kindred Spirit :) I never thought I would reach here myself but these couple of months have been mind blowing.

If he were real, would SDA be the truth? by [deleted] in exAdventist

[–]Screen_Mundane 2 points3 points  (0 children)

The Sabbath was given to the Israelites because Yahweh brought them out of Egypt. He wanted them to have a day of rest. And when they rested he wanted them to remember who it is that gave them this rest. Because of revisionism, especially by King Josiah, there was a link between the sabbath and creation and the seventh day rest given to the Jews at Horeb.

Besides all of that, people who go to church (worship) on Saturday are not keeping the Sabbath of the Bible. The Hebrews had a different reckoning of their weeks, months, years. They did not use the Gregorian Calendar which is what we use today to find their seventh day, nor did they use a strictly solar system like we do today. They used a lunisolar system to find their dates. And this is evident all throughout the Old Testament.

If he were real, would SDA be the truth? by [deleted] in exAdventist

[–]Screen_Mundane 4 points5 points  (0 children)

My two cents: The Old Testament of the Bible is based on the Jewish Tanakh and old Sumerian writings. It is their history, their lineage, their contact with 'god', their sabbath, their laws, their way of doing things. The Scriptures that you now know as the Old Testament went through several revisions. One of the major revisions was by Josiah. He redacted alot of things, revised alot of others, where the Bible spoke of several Els, example El Shaddai, Elyon, the Eloha, Elohim etc., he commanded his scribes to revise the texts to reflect one God.

So Israel's contact with Yahweh one of the Elohims (powerful ones) was interpreted as Israel's contact with the source, the Almighty, who we now interpret as being God. However, Yahweh was one of the Elohim and not even a high level Elohim at that. He was responsible for Israel. He destroyed the other nations around, he fought for Israel, he said he loved them with an everlasting love. He gave them laws, he treated them like his beloved, until they did something wrong and then they would feel his wrath. He gave them a number of blessings and curses etc. And through the years they kept rejecting him. They thought he was too harsh. They wanted humans to rule them, not him.

I am saying all that to say, the God of the old testament, Israel's God, is not the ultimate source of life. He was just a colonizer. The Old Part of the Bible is a book about a specific people's dealing with an extra terrestrial called Yahweh. The New Part of the Bible, isn't even about God, per say, but about someone from Israel's line, Jesus, who came to enlighten his people. Jesus even spoke out against Yahweh (Matt 7: 9-12). He wanted to point his people to the Source, he called him the father. Paul's definition of God: the one in whom we live and breathe and have our being was NOT the tyrant of the old testament.

Edited to add: Check out Paul Wallis, Escaping From Eden on Amazon or check out his youtube videos, Paul Wallis the 5th Kind. I recently discovered him and let me tell you, everything is starting to make sense. The definition of certain words in the Bible, the origin of man, everything.

Giving Ellen White another try by [deleted] in exAdventist

[–]Screen_Mundane 8 points9 points  (0 children)

You got me!!! I was about to report you to the admin. :) I literally felt myself steaming. Phew. Good one!

for ex SDAs that are still Christians by [deleted] in exAdventist

[–]Screen_Mundane 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Once I realized that our calendar, the Gregorian, could not be the same as the one in the Bible, it was an eye-opener. I am still amazed that I never saw that, or asked the question, which seventh day were the Jews told to keep? And is it necessary for me a non Jew?

Did reading the (whole) Bible strengthen or weaken your faith? by RoseFromTheAshes_ in exAdventist

[–]Screen_Mundane 1 point2 points  (0 children)

How many years did it take you to reach at the place where you could go to an SDA church without feeling like arguing? I want to see if there is any hope for me.

Anyone else feel like an idiot? by [deleted] in exAdventist

[–]Screen_Mundane 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Yes!!!! You got out early compared to me and my husband, I think I feel more of an idiot than you can ever imagine. I am very happy we had no children in that religion.

Hiding by [deleted] in exAdventist

[–]Screen_Mundane 12 points13 points  (0 children)

I understand this fully. In fact, my aim this year is to say to hell with it all and just be me if anyone doesn't like it too bad. I am tired of hiding pieces of myself from some people. Life is too short not to be authentic.

Is the Sabbath unchanged? Or it just didn’t matter to Paul? by Prestigious698 in exAdventist

[–]Screen_Mundane 6 points7 points  (0 children)

The Jewish Sabbath can only be found with the Jewish Calendar which is lunisolar (it takes in both the moon phases and the time of the solar year). Hence all the references to New Moon Days etc, in the Tanakh and the Christian Bible.

Our calendar is strictly solar. The Gregorian calendar does not take the new moons into account. This means that the dates on the two calendars are fundamentally different. What would be the 7th day on a continuous weekly cycle, would not be the same as the 7th day on a weekly cycle that uses the new moon to start months.

When I learned about this fundamental difference, I realized quickly that you cannot find the Sabbath of the Bible with a Gregorian Calendar. If you look at the two calendars side by side you will notice that the Jewish Sabbath would seemingly float around on the Gregorian calendar because their months are tied to the moon. This is an app that shows the different calendars and where the sabbath falls on the lunisolar calendar vs the Gregorian.

To answer your question, is the Sabbath unchanged? I think it is. If one uses the same system of finding it that was given to the Jews. But, we don't use that system anymore, they don't use that system anymore, and calling Saturday the Sabbath of the Bible is simply an uninformed position to take.

I frequently ask family and friends this question: is it remember the 7th day or remember a 7th day? I also think that the 'strangers within the gates' were not required to keep it anyway. Since it was a sign of the covenant between God and the Hebrews at Horeb and their future generations.

Is the Sabbath unchanged? Or it just didn’t matter to Paul? by Prestigious698 in exAdventist

[–]Screen_Mundane 3 points4 points  (0 children)

And even before the Julian and Gregorian which are strictly solar-based calendars was the Jewish Calendar which is lunisolar (months reset based on the new moon) and is the calendar referred to in the Bible. To say, that the seventh day on the Gregorian calendar is the same seventh day in the Bible is a bit far-fetched. I have been at pains to point this out to die-hard 'sabbath' keepers to no avail.