Trent Wilde Blog

The early SDAs had a definite idea of what it means to be a "person." Understanding their view of personhood/personality is illuminating for what Ellen White meant when she called the Holy Spirit a person.

Blog Article: What Did Ellen White Teach About the Personality of the Holy Spirit? - (bdsda.com)

More on the Holy Spirit: holy spirit Archives - (bdsda.com)

Follow/Subscribe: Follow The Trent Wilde Blog Podcast! - (bdsda.com)

Ellen White described the early SDA beliefs regarding the "personality of God" as one of their pillar doctrines. Even though we commonly use the word "personality" to refer to character traits, the early SDAs used it to refer to what we might call "personhood." Their focus was on these two questions:

1) Is God a person?

2) What does it mean to be a person?

Their answer to the first was, "Yes!" Their answer the second was, "It means to be a material being consisting of a real body with real parts and passions."

As you can hear in this episode, the early SDA doctrine of the personality of God was that God is a physical entity whose shape is humanoid (we were made in his image after all).

Blog Article: What is the SDA Doctrine of the Personality of God? - (bdsda.com)

Here are some great articles produced by Branch Davidians during the Feast of Tabernacles 2021. First, there are the following three Q&As: Q: Why study logic? Isn't that just the wisdom of man? - answered by Melissa DiLernia

Q: Since Jesus' resurrection is a supernatural event, isn't it outside of the realm of historical investigation? - answered by Mary Zebrowski

Q: What is the SDA doctrine of the Personality of God? answered by Teresa and Trent Wilde

(In connection with this last Q&A, we also recommend reading the series 'The Personality of God' by D.M. Canright. James and Ellen White personally assisted Canright with the series.)

Ed Zebrowski also started a new Youtube Channel and uploaded his first video: "Materialism" which is a great introduction to philosophical materialism.

Lastly, there is the video Ed and Mary Zebrowski produced during the feast for their channel Sabbath School with Branch Davidians (also now a podcast).

Links to all of the above can be found at the blog article.

Blog Article: Offerings of Truth from the Feast of Tabernacles 2021 - (bdsda.com)

Victor Houteff (founder of the Davidian movement) took a progressive stance on health reform. In other words, rather than looking for medical/health advice from Ellen White or the doctors of her day, he recognized that knowledge of health advances and we need to advance with it. He pointed out that Ellen White recommended reading the best authors on health. If God had revealed the specifics of healthy living, there would be no need to turn to these lesser authorities. So, the fact that Ellen White herself used and recommended these earthly authorities shows that she didn't receive her knowledge of food values and medicine from God. The best sources of medical/health information change over time as knowledge increases, so we ought to always seek the best sources of our own day. Houteff then stresses that the true health authorities are not those who label their products and professions "health," "nature," "drugless," and so on - and who try to prejudice people against approved professional places. He refers to those who run these alternative "so-called health shops" as quacks, and he warns against using their services. Houteff's teachings on this subject have clear implications for how Davidians should approach health today. Furthermore, what Houteff pointed out regarding Ellen White's recommendation to read the best authors on health is a lesson all SDAs can benefit from.

Blog Article: http://www.bdsda.com/2021/10/26/houteff-against-alternative-medicine-davidian-history-day/

Most Christians have a spiritualistic worldview - they believe in proposed "spiritual" (aka non-physical) realities. The distinctive doctrines of the Millerites moved them on a trajectory towards materialism (the belief that all that exists is made of matter). After the Great Disappointment, the Millerite movement fractured and different groups formed - heading either back toward spiritualism, maintaining the Millerite position, or moving toward full-fledged materialism. Those who formed the SDA church became full-fledged materialists. This episode explains how the Great Disappointment (and the SDA explanation of it) was instrumental in making that happen. Plus... you'll get to find out what it means for the Second Advent to be "Personal" as well as what it means for God to be a "Person."

Blog Article: http://www.bdsda.com/2021/10/17/what-happened-on-oct-22-1844-is-not-immaterial/

Materialism: Our Forgotten Foundation: http://www.bdsda.com/materialism-our-forgotten-foundation-2/

Personality of God tag: http://www.bdsda.com/tag/personality-of-god/

The past is gone... So how can we know anything about it? And what do tree rings have to do with this?

Blog Article: http://www.bdsda.com/2021/09/20/how-can-we-know-things-about-the-past/

If there is only one way to translate "literally," that would imply there can only be one "literal" translation. So if we acknowledge that there are multiple "literal" translations, we must admit that translations can differ in their wording and still be "literal." The issue with Genesis 1:1 is that, even when comparing literal translations, there are substantial differences. Some imply that the verse speaks of the ultimate beginning while others imply that it speaks only of the beginning of the actions described. Which is correct? The only way to know is to seek to understand the Hebrew original.

Blog Article: Are There Literal Translations? (continued exchange with Edward D. Andrews) - (bdsda.com)

Aleph with Beth - YouTube Home - Free Hebrew. Forever. (hismagnificence.com)

The issues include: Clear Communication Translation Philosophy Details of Translating Genesis 1:1 Blog Article: My Response to Edward D. Andrews on Translating Genesis 1:1 - (bdsda.com)

A hymn in Paul's letter to the Philippians is one piece of evidence among many that the early followers of Jesus were materialistic theists - they believed that God, like everything else, is made of matter. The hymn plainly states that God has a form and that other heavenly beings have body parts like knees and tongues.

Materialism: Our Forgotten Foundation - (bdsda.com)

personality of god Archives - (bdsda.com)

A Vision of Christ (Ode 36) - (bdsda.com)

Blog Article: Materialistic Theism in the Philippian Christ Hymn - (bdsda.com)

A call to honesty regarding our motivations and reasoning.

Blog Article: When You Said, "The COVID Vaccines Aren't FDA-Approved!" ... - (bdsda.com)