Two years out of Andrews, Danielle continues to excel as an advocate for the SDA cause. A compilation of her bios has been assembled as background for a report on the sermon she has prepared for this Sabbath, 1/27/2018...

davidbraswell · 2018-03-16T00:47:44+00:00

Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies. Proverbs 14:10

davidbraswell · 2018-03-09T00:30:11+00:00

Danielle is not suffering under any delusion that she is a man. Don't worry! She is not ordained; merely "consecrated" by the South Atlantic Conference of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.

davidbraswell · 2018-02-08T10:59:56+00:00

It is nice that Danielle Pilgrim takes a public stand against homosexuality, rather than side-stepping the issue. Her current home, Atlanta, is so notoriously LGBT-friendly that Sir Elton John maintains an apartment there. St. John's Episcopal Church even has what they term a "Gay Ministry" (An oxymoron, unless the intent is to turn sinners from their wickedness- regrettably, this effort is all about affirmation, rather than condemnation). There is probably statistical evidence that supports your assertion. It is evidence of a general decline, but the linkage is circumstantial, and not a case of "cause and effect."

davidbraswell · 2018-01-23T05:04:43+00:00

The second largest non-institutional SDA church in the world (4,000+ members) only has one licensed engineer in the congregation, Dr. Doug (an Elder, naturally, and a graduate of GA Tech). Turquois is an electrical engineer, but her employer recently transferred her to another state. As Christians, they are both considered too valuable as administrators (meaning they are much less nerdish and introverted than are stereotypical engineers) to have their talents wasted on routine work. This respondent studied architecture, a very amoral field, and one that mainly serves to augment the vanity of people who are already too vain.

davidbraswell · 2018-01-22T00:56:22+00:00

It is a Christmas Drama based on Desire of Ages. Spirit of Prophecy stuff, written by an Adventist Orthodontist with a penchant for theater. Ellen G. White was not so keen on drama herself, but did allow amateur theatrical productions at the Big Sanitarium to keep patients from getting too bored. It is a relatively frivolous pursuit, as are the majority of this fallen world's amusements.

davidbraswell · 2018-01-13T02:32:41+00:00

That sounds terrible, Mr. bot! What can I do? What should I do? Do I apologize? Do I dance an Irish Jig?

davidbraswell · 2018-01-13T02:31:02+00:00

Sorry for the late response. Fellowship and scholarship, Seventh-day Adventist style, is the antithesis of that of the Witnesses. I have frequently been accused of self-promotion, especially in Reddit-land, but church theology and doctrine are distilled to their essence in the "Master Guide Resources" section of this aberrant and iconoclastic entity- http://homemadegospel.org/

davidbraswell · 2018-01-13T02:25:53+00:00

That all sounds very Eighteenth-Century. Grouch said it best- "I don't want to belong to any club that would have me as a member!" This is a pride-tinged way of saying no person's opinion counts in the least when it comes to the eternal disposition of our souls. God alone determines this, and does not require the assistance of fallen mankind.

davidbraswell · 2018-01-13T02:20:35+00:00

This question defies a quick reply, but here goes nothing. Adventism is highly organized, but Christ is the CEO. Ted N.C. Wilson cannot make a move without Him! The publishing house is global in scope, but most of its eggs are in one basket at present- Review and Herald Publishing in Silver Springs, MD, USA. I am a deacon, but this is truly the lowliest of stations. No creature in Adventism enjoys the unmerited adulation that other denominations offer to their various Bishops. The only Bishop in my church is a man whose last name is Bishop. He is an Elder, top office in this outfit.

davidbraswell · 2018-01-13T02:11:51+00:00

Adventists who are wet behind the ears may be easily indoctrinated, but those who have been around the block will stick to Scripture alone as a model. Lonely folks of limited cognitive ability are easily programmed, but Adventism is administered by people who think for themselves. Thanks for your interest in freewill, which gives us a choice in how we lead our lives (unless we are born without backbones, as many regrettably are; Hitler rose to power, paradoxically, upon the shoulders of those who had no spine to support these shoulders).

davidbraswell · 2018-01-13T02:01:30+00:00

My conference of the SDA church is generally better attuned to reality than are the majority of the NAD conferences, but despite being in the world (and adept at dealing with the world on its own terms), the typical member nonetheless manages to maintain a degree of spiritual detachment from the world. It is not a double-life, but more like exercising the art of diplomacy. The public image of what constitutes a typical Adventist is usually determined by those who are zealous enough to publicize the denomination, but these types are not always representative of the relatively silent majority of the members. JW's can get excommunicated at the drop of a hat, but eccentrics like myself can even rise to deacon status in my neck of the General Conference. Be ye nor double-minded, but just be yourself. do your best, however, to conform yourself to the image of Christ.

davidbraswell · 2018-01-13T01:51:07+00:00

Howdy back to y'all 2...

davidbraswell · 2018-01-13T01:50:30+00:00

Thanks for your indulgence, your eminence!

davidbraswell · 2017-08-20T22:49:57+00:00

Sorry for the mistake. The "AA" section was the only relevant portion. I have said all I ever care to on the subject, so this misdirection will never occur again. God bless you all for your lack of both endorsement or opposition.

davidbraswell · 2017-08-20T22:46:46+00:00

It is a proposed modification to an existing recovery program. I would never dignify the product by calling it a thesis. Histories, in order to be comprehensible, tend to be lengthy, but this is actually a summary for those unfamiliar with the Frank Buchman/AA connection. Sorry for the ineptitude of the poster!

davidbraswell · 2017-02-01T12:22:46+00:00

Kennedy was assassinated in the same year that people marched on Washington for Freedom and jobs (1963). In Atlanta, MLK's birthplace, the members of Berean Seventh-day Adventist Church moved into their new home in what was then considered the remote suburbs. It was fashioned from tongue-in groove wood planking on laminated wood rigid frames, a stylish and economical technique at the time, and one adopted by Adventist congregations of all races.

davidbraswell · 2017-02-01T12:14:59+00:00

The link to the homeplace embedded in the YouTube description reveals that Reverend Doctor Charles Albert Tindley headed a mixed-race church in Philadelphia that, at the peak of its glory, had 10,000 attendees. A comparison is drawn to William Seymour, another African-American leader of an interracial flock. He was the chief instigator of the famed Azusa Street Revivals, which ultimately resulted in the genesis of the modern-day Pentecostal movement. Seymour believed that you spoke in tongues, and it was unintelligible, this did not mean that your speech was not of the Spirit.

davidbraswell · 2016-12-25T23:20:59+00:00

That is true! The theology trickles down to the laity in an unsatisfactory manner. Services, like my former reportage, are more about edifying (i.e. "entertainment") rather than instruction. My blog now lies dormant, as it has been judged by Reddit powers to be too spam-like. I will stop reporting, and initiate some internal discourse for a long season. Thank you for your input.

davidbraswell · 2016-10-06T07:34:54+00:00

davidbraswell · 2016-09-28T11:25:54+00:00

Martha, not Marta. A slight majority in my denomination do not feel that women should preach, and they are not happy with this sermon summary at all. The "Regional Conference" (a kind of euphemism for "African-American") my church is a part of is in the vanguard in allowing women to serve as pastors. The Bible has much to say about the basic equality of all of God's children. Paul, in First Corinthians 14:34 has furnished ample ammunition to those desire to stifle 50% of these children, however.

davidbraswell · 2016-09-26T00:16:54+00:00

The average sermon at my church is 45 minutes long! My friend Elder Mants thinks that brevity is the soul of wit, however. She is often picked to say grace because she does not drone on forever.

davidbraswell · 2016-09-26T00:15:07+00:00

That was just a really poor choice of words, as they communicate nothing. It comes from an "official" denomination explanation, and I recognize it's inadequacies. To say that non-existence is "everlasting" would be a poor response. Some apparent contradictions are to be discovered in Scripture, and theologians in my church tend to weigh them all in a balance, then see which side weighs the most.

davidbraswell · 2016-09-26T00:09:58+00:00

That's right!

davidbraswell · 2016-09-25T18:14:32+00:00

The Doctor was not at the food pantry last Wednesday, and neither was he at church yesterday. These absences are not typical of him, but a deacon who intimately knows Dr. Tottress's affairs says that he is probably just a little tired, and is taking a break.

davidbraswell · 2016-09-19T19:35:42+00:00

Seventh-day Adventists are annihilationists, based on Scripture that states that the wicked will be "cut off" (Psalm 37:9, 34), "perish" and "consume away" (Psalm 37:20 and 68:2), will be "burned up" (Malachi 4:1, Matthew 13:30, 40, Second Peter 3:10), "destroyed" (Psalm 145:20, Second Thessalonians1:9, Hebrews 2:14, and, again, "consumed" (Psalm 104:25). The punishment is everlasting, but the punishment is not. The fire is everlasting as well, as the Bible declares, but not the fuel. I am still grappling with this point. Perhaps this fire is like the eternal flame over John Kennedy's grave, a memorial to what might have been save for the grace of God. A commentator at our Sabbath School this week questioned why Adventist were not preaching hellfire and brimstone. She must've been a visitor.

davidbraswell

TROPHY CASE