The SDA Forgotten Foundation - Materialism

The SDA Forgotten Foundation - Materialism

This week we thought we would talk about a foundation - if not THE foundation - of the SDA movement that has been forgotten about. In fact, it is the foundation upon which all the pillars of our faith rest. But in spite of that, as we will show, Satan has buried this forgotten pillar under a pile of rubbish called "Spiritualism."

Now most SDAs understand that the doctrine of the conscious state of the dead is spiritualistic. We should all know that the deceased do not have disembodied spirits. Today we are going to learn **why** the belief in the "conscious state of the dead," or "the immortality of the soul" is a form of "spiritualism". It is this aspect of our faith - the understanding of the root problem with spiritualism - that has been "forgotten" over the last century or more.

Uriah Smith taught that the idea that the soul is immortal was the fundamental problem underlying that idea. That is, the idea of "immateriality." The belief in immateriality is the belief that something that is not made of matter exists - like the common idea of a soul, for example. Uriah Smith said immateriality is preposterous because "all nature is material," and also for the reasons that something not made of matter is impossible to comprehend, and that scripture expressly presents to us the materiality of human nature - and actually of all things. The prefix "Im" means "not," and the word "material" means, well, "material," or "matter" - you know, physical stuff. Today the word "material" and "materialism" are linked more popularly to the idea of accumulating worldly goods. But back in the 1800's, at the time Uriah Smith was writing, "materialism" more commonly meant the belief that all that exists is made of matter, or "material." Notice also that Uriah Smith attributes even the thoughts of the conscious mind to matter also. He said that "we do claim that all vital and mental phenomena result from material causes." The pioneers believed that consciousness is a function of certain material organizations. It is a process of the physical brain. Some SDAs today use the phrase "soul sleep" to express the Adventist position on the state of the dead, but this really isn't the best expression since it might convey that the soul is something separate from the body and that it continues to exist, albeit unconsciously, when the body dies. The early SDAs rejected the idea of a separate soul altogether, which is probably why Ellen White and the other pioneers didn't use the term 'soul sleep' to express their views. They understood that when the brain stops working, the mind ceases to exist (See Psalm 146:4).

Now, the early SDA pioneers wrote a ton on the topic of spiritualism and immateriality – that the issue with spiritualism, again, is immateriality. In fact, it's clear from reading their writings that they equated spiritualism with the belief in anything immaterial. And actually, this is just what spiritualism means in philosophy, as it says in Encyclopedia Britannica, "Spiritualism - in philosophy, a characteristic of any system of thought that affirms the existence of immaterial reality imperceptible to the senses." Notice, spiritualism is any system of thought that affirms the existence of immaterial reality.

Now, most of the Christian's in the world, including many if not most in the SDA church today, believe that God IS beyond time and space. But this idea concerning the "personality" or person of God – that He is beyond time and space - goes against the very foundation of our faith. The pioneers taught that there is no "immaterial substance," and that to view God as an immaterial spirit annihilates God entirely — it makes Him a nonentity. To the pioneers, to be beyond time and space was akin to non-existence.
The pioneers had a shared doctrine regarding the personality of God. They held the view that for God to be a "person" means that He’s a strictly material being with a body and parts, and that the human form resembles His form.

Now, pantheism is the spiritualistic belief that God is everywhere present in all things. While pantheists may grant that God manifests at times in a localized form, they assert that God isn't limited to any particular place or body. This sort of view about the nature of God was presented in 'The Living Temple' by John Harvey Kellogg.
Materialism - it is simply the truth - God and everything that has existence is made up of matter.

"Materialism: Our Forgotten Foundation," by Trent Wilde,
http://www.bdsda.com/materialism-our-forgotten-foundation-2/

David Arnold's full article, ARSH July 21, 1853, p. 34
https://egwwritings.org/?ref=en_ARSH.July.21.1853.p.34.8¶=1644.992

Sabbath School Q4 2021: Present Truth In Deuteronomy - Week 10
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