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Chetiwe Kapila Cosmin Ritivoiu English 102 5 February 2014 True Source of Salvation There are many misconceptions concerning Adventists in the world today. While some people say Adventists are a cult, others say they are all legalistic and believe in works for salvation. Among the various misconceptions people have of Seventh-day Adventist can be found the topic of vegetarianism. An article targeting Adventists as a cult states the following, They believe in and demand vegetarianism. There is no place in the Bible where God demands this. There is nothing wrong if a person chooses to be vegetarian for personal or health reason, but it should never be tied in with our salvation (Cult of Seventh Day Adventism). However, Adventists are not vegetarians to be saved but believe in taking the best care of the bodies God has given them. Ellen White, the Adventists second most respected author, makes a statement concerning health reform that could cause people to think vegetarianism is a salvation issue when not rightly understood. In her book Fundamentals of Christian Education, she states, The appetites and passions must be

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controlled, that through them we shall not weaken or defile God's human temple. Anything that lessens the physical power, enfeebles the mind, and makes it less clear to discriminate between good and evil, between right and wrong (FE 427.2). One could read this quote and ask the question, Does a persons ability to discern between good and evil have a bearing on a persons salvation? If so, then one would need to be careful that they eat the right food so that they could see that God is good, as a result choose Him, and be then be saved. This type of thinking could lead someone to think Adventist believe in Salvation through vegetarianism. But was Ellen White really saying eating meat could cost a person salvation? What Ellen White says is true in one sense but not in another. She does not mean that by refraining from meat a person can earn salvation. The thinking that abstaining from meat will result in going to heaven is wrong because what she means by this statement is that the body ends up battling with disease and is weighed down, instead of having a strong body for Christ. As stated in the Bible and her writings, a person needs Jesus sacrifice on the cross in order to be saved. She is trying to bring out that eating meat has the ability to lessen a persons perceptions, which could eventually lead to loss of faith.

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Though many could misunderstand this, Ellen White is not making a direct coloration between eating meat and salvation. To expound on what Ellen White says the Bible relates the human body to a temple of God.1 Corinthians 6:19, 20 says, What? Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost [which is] in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's. A temple symbolizes a sacred place and the human body is compared to it in the Bible. Just as the temple is to be kept clean and pure,

the human body is to be kept pure and to glorify God in everything including the things consumed. In the book Studying Together, Mark Finely a prominent Adventist author and speaker states, Human beings are a unit. Whatever affects the physical also affects the mental and spiritual faculties. Our Physical habits affect the quality of blood, which passes through the brain. A poor quality of blood supplied to the brain makes us less capable of comprehending spiritual truth.(47) By being cautious of what is taken into the body, understanding of the Bible can be enhanced. Other than the improved understanding of the Bible, there are two reasons this misconception against the Adventist church is not true.

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The first most important reason this misconception is false, is that Adventist believe salvation is attained through Christ. Ephesians 2:8 says, For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: [it is] the gift of God. By this verse it is shown that salvation is in no way a result of works but acceptance of the gift given by Jesus. To add to this Acts 4:12 says, Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved. The Bible repeatedly shows that Salvation

has everything to do with Jesus and nothing that is done by humans. The second reason this misconception is false is that if heaven was only for vegetarians, Jesus and many other Old Testament people would not be in heaven. This would be false because not only did Jesus multiply meat but He also ate it. In John 6:11 the story is told of the 5000 Jesus fed with bread and fish. In addition in Luke 24:41-43 another story told after the resurrection before Jesus ascended to heaven. He asked the disciples for fish and then ate it before them. Furthermore In the old testament when the Israelites were leaving Egypt they were told to kill a lamb, sprinkle the blood on the door post, and were to eat the meat that night. This ceremony was repeated by the Israelites every year at the time of Passover. A belief

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that only vegetarians will be in heaven would mean that many Old Testament people would lose salvation, as well as discredit Jesus of being our perfect example. Some Adventists refrain from eating meat not for salvation reasons but because it has been proved that a vegetarian lifestyle is the healthiest. Adventists partake in a vegetarian diet because of the various benefits received by this lifestyle. It has been found that animals are in filthy living conditions and are poorly taken care of prior to their death and consumptions by humans. Years ago Ellen White, stated the following concerning animals, Those who use flesh foods little know what they are eating. Often if they could see the animals when living and know the quality of the meat they eat, they would turn from it with loathing. People are continually eating flesh that is filled with tuberculosis and cancerous germs. Tuberculosis, cancer, and other fatal diseases are thus communicated (MH 313.2). Today her statement has been found to be true. To support this claim, the Weise Brother Farms wrote an article showing the horrific conditions of slaughter farms. Imagine Workers viciously kicking, beating and whipping cows in the face and body, sick and injured cows suffering from open wounds and infections, and workers dragging cows by

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their fragile legs and necks using chains attached to a tractorthese are just some of the routine abuses documented by an MFA investigator at a DiGiorno cheese supplier in Wisconsin(Pigs 3). In summary, the misconception that Adventist are vegetarian for salvation is just that, a misconception. Not only do Adventists believe they are saved through Christ but they also believe that God wants His people to take best care of their health because physical health affects other aspects of the body such as emotional, spiritual and mental health. Believing that salvation is a result of not eating meat would contradict many other Bible based beliefs. Though Adventists promote vegetarianism, they do not demand it.

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Works Cited

"Cult of Seventh Day Adventism." Cult of Seventh Day Adventism. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Feb. 2014. <http://www.eaec.org/cults/seventhdayadvent.htm>. Finley, Mark. Studying Together: A Ready-reference Bible Handbook. Fallbrook, CA: Distributed by Hart Research Center, 1991. Print. King James Bible. Nashville, TN: Holman Bible, 1973. Print. "Pigs: Intelligent Animals Suffering in Factory Farms and Slaughterhouses Read More: Http://www.peta.org/issues/animalsused-for-food/animals-used-food-factsheets/pigs-intelligentanimals-suffering-factory-farms-slaughterhouses." WWW.PETA.ORG. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Jan. 2014. Steve. "Advice." Insight Magazine Online. Insight Magazine, n.d. Web. 04 Feb. 2014. <http://insightmagazine.org/advice/showadvice.asp?adviceid=612>. White, Ellen Gould Harmon. Fundamentals of Christian Education. Nashville: Southern Pub. Association, 1923. Print. White, Ellen Gould Harmon. The Ministry of Healing. Mountain View, CA: Pacific Pub. Association, 1942. Print