The Great Controversy Theme—the Heart Beat of

Transcript:The Great Controversy Theme—the Heart Beat of:
The Great Controversy Theme—the Heart Beat of Adventist Theology. The Great Controversy Theme—the Heart Beat of Adventist Theology Building a bridge between presentations on the amazing hurricane of Emerging Church/New Spirituality/Spiritual Formation flooding Protestant churches and the stout, robust counterpunch we call the Great Controversy Theme, the rock on which the emerging waves are stopped. The Great Controversy Theme—the Heart Beat of Adventist Theology In brief, the main issue with the Emerging Church thrust is their epistemology (how do you know what you know) On what authority do they base their world views? Remember, No emerging church leader says anything 100% wrong! Frankly, I agree with some of their concerns. The Great Controversy Theme—the Heart Beat of Adventist Theology More concerned about their overall thrust, their package of ideas, not just some of them. When we think about the meaning to life, the Big Picture, there are only two presuppositions―theirs and ours―and they can be summed up quickly: CREATION or CREATURE-CENTERED REASON / FEELING. No third choice between these two world views! The Great Controversy Theme—the Heart Beat of Adventist Theology These two irreconcilable principles―have created the Great Controversy: Reason, feeling, or hope in human progress. Creationism—where basic truth flows from the personal God who created all life. The Great Controversy Theme—the Heart Beat of Adventist Theology We entered the Great Controversy when we chose to be “Seventh-day Adventists.” Jesus called Himself: “the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. . . . I am the First and Last.” Rev 1:8, 17 The Great Controversy Theme—the Heart Beat of Adventist Theology Seventh-day=Alpha: What does “Seventh-day” say to the world about God? He is Creator, who made our world in six days and rested on the seventh. And He made men and women “in His own image.” Exodus 20:8-11; Genesis 1:26. The Great Controversy Theme—the Heart Beat of Adventist Theology Adventist=Omega: What does “Adventist” say about God? The good news of the gospel is that we are not in this lousy world that has no end—that Jesus has an Exit Plan for all of us. We call it the Second Advent. We tell the story of the beginning and the end of the Greatest Story ever told! The Great Controversy Theme—the Heart Beat of Adventist Theology So, the Alpha of all theology and philosophy is God as Creator―Our Jesus! We begin with Jesus. The Omega of all theology and