Hope you all had a great week. Mine was rather hectic, and full of activity. I had the privilege of flying an active 93 year old world war two veteran back to his home up in Bellingham Wa. in a Ryan Navion. I learned a few interesting things about his life along the way!! 

Here is belief number one. You will notice that all beliefs will be backed up with bible texts.  Hope you learn something :)

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1. Holy Scriptures:
The Holy Scriptures, Old and New Testaments, are the written Word of God, given by divine inspiration through holy men of God who spoke and wrote as they were moved by the Holy Spirit. In this Word, God has committed to man the knowledge necessary for salvation. The Holy Scriptures are the infallible revelation of His will. They are the standard of character, the test of experience, the authoritative revealer of doctrines, and the trustworthy record of God's acts in history. (2 Peter 1:20, 21; 2 Tim. 3:16, 17; Ps. 119:105; Prov. 30:5, 6; Isa. 8:20; John 17:17; 1 Thess. 2:13; Heb. 4:12.)

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Your comments are most welcome. Have a safe and pleasant Labor Day Weekend for those of you living in the good ol USA.

Hello Jim,

Glad that you had a good trip.

Your work is fascinating to a guy that's only been in a plane/helicopter about 6 times. I have problems keeping awake on the highway so what chance for me up there? Not so easy as opening the window and singinging like I do.

Fundamental Belief Number One.

Ouch! Hard one to start with.

Yes, I can go with the infallible revelation of His will as far as the Spirit moving the authors and compilers to record events and to write them down, but, my problem is what came later.

There have been, and continue to be, different translations and attempts to put into more modern language the fundemental truths but I am not assured that ANY of the versions of His word in use today are without flaw. It is true that in almost all of the cases of clarification to date the Holy Spirit would have been invoked to influence the final work but I am not assured that every word is now accurate. Even many of the original scrolls would have been transcribed.

To me this does not matter as I believe that the Spirit is with us when we search to understand the meaning of his word with prayer and with our highest intention.

This to me is what makes Christianity real and alive as opposed to, for want of a better couple of words, BLIND FAITH. I believe that honest search for his truths leads to spiritual closeness with Him far more than by accepting everything AS IT IS WRITTEN.

Sometimes I wish that I could have just BLIND FAITH, it seems easier, but there is a part of me that questions for the right reasons. As I have got older I have sought the power of the Spirit more and more as the doubts I have had all of my life tend to be worsened by too much study of those things I find difficult to accept. I am now closer to blind faith on certain issues because I no longer have a desire to doubt, however for my own strength of faith I feel that I need to have areas open to me that need prayer and study to strengthen.

You will see from my profile that I am a Hypnotherapist (I don't wish to discuss this as an issue here) and there are members of my church who are not just sceptical but downright alarmed by this but there are others who, like me, understand that I just use His power within my clients to bring about change and I do this for ANYBODY regardless of faith on the understanding that they know I love the Lord and seek to promote His word in the world. I have verses quoted to me from both sides giving support and condemnation, just interpretation.

You may well say that interpretation of verses is a thing of study and communion but it won't convince me that ANY ONE manuscript is exact in its words and phrasing.

I hope you enjoy this forum and I ask that The Holy Spirit guides us all to understand the wonderful diversity of His creation even in the matter of choice and interpretation.

Roger Macdivitt 

Fundamental Belief..........

Could "Society Truth" be a better phrase ?   I don't know !

The Bible rightly assumes that truth exists and can be known,both through nature and divine revelation.

Today our Society has embarked on a great need for Biblical truth to be understood and a philosophical need for the truth to be acknowledged as existing and accessible.

Roger, thanks for sharing. I'm sure you live an interesting life being able to hypnotize!! They say you can hypnotize a person into believing just about anything with that power. Not to get off track though, I agree with you, there are flaws in the Word of God, and in fact the Hebrew and Greek versions are most accurate from what I understand. One can break down words and get in trouble by taking words out of context. It is important to follow texts either before and after the actual text to make sure the point is not lost.

Good question Bob. The problem with "Society Truth" is it's a more general term. In this study, we are going to get into the nitty gritty so to speak of they way Adventists believe. Alot of people have placed Adventists into a group of "Cults", probably because of the David Coresh Branch Dividian episode back in the mid nineties in Texas.

I believe as time goes on more and more people will be searching for the missing link in their lives. Religion has a way of doing that, but unfortunately most people listen to what the preacher says instead of studying for themselves to prove the difference between right and wrong. Did that help any?