Ecumenism at its Worst: Several Adventist Pastors and Theologians Join Catholics and Evangelicals to Promote a Generic Day of Rest for the Stressed-out Modern World

Journey Films will be producing a 2-hour documentary film called "Sabbath." According to the filmmakers, this documentary "explores the history of one of the world's most important spiritual practices and its timeless relevance for a stressed-out, modern world." They also state that the Sabbath is "God's invitation" for "a more sustainable way of life." The documentary features Roman Catholic, Protestant, Seventh-day Adventist, Muslim, and Jewish religious leaders and experts as they all promote the importance of the Sabbath and the need for rest.

The major problem with this project is that they are pushing for "a" Sabbath rest, regardless of whether it's Saturday, Sunday, or any other day. The video misquotes Exodus 20:10, the 4th Commandment, by referring to the seventh day as "a" Sabbath day and not "the" Sabbath day. In essence, this asserts that Saturday is merely one day of rest among many. This opens the door for Sunday to also be the Sabbath day. Once again, they are attempting to change times and laws (Daniel 7:25). The video also discusses how the "Sabbath" played an important "religious" role in the "labor movement in America." This is clearly talking about Sunday being the Sabbath for workers. So even though the Sabbath can fall on any day, according to this documentary, there is a hidden emphasis that Sunday laws, cloaked in "Sabbath" terminology, are needed again today.

The participants in the 2-hour Sabbath documentary are listed by Journey Films and include the following:

Roman Catholic
• Bishop Robert Barron of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Winona-Rochester, MN
• Catholic Priest Simeon Leiva-Merikakis, member of the St. Joseph's Abbey community of Trappist monks in Spencer, Massachusetts.
• Catholic Priest Emmanuel Morinelli, member and Music Director for the St. Joseph's Abbey community of Trappist monks in Spencer, Massachusetts.
• Charlie Echeverry, ordained Deacon for the Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles.

Seventh-day Adventist
• Randy Roberts, senior pastor at Loma Linda University Church, a Seventh-day Adventist Church in Loma Linda, California.
• Sigve Tonsted, Assistant Professor of Medicine at Loma Linda University School of Medicine
• Michael Mickens, pastor of South Jackson Seventh-day Adventist Church in Jackson, MS
• Richard Rice, Theologian, Loma Linda University.
• Ron Pickell, Senior Pastor at Life Adventist Church at the University of California, Berkeley.

Evangelical
• Jeffrey A Johnson, Sr., Senior Pastor of Eastern Star Baptist Church in Indianapolis
• Judy Fentress-Williams, Professor of Old Testament at Virginia Theological Seminary and Senior Assistant to the Pastor for historic Alfred Street Baptist Church in Alexandria, Va.
• Norman Wirzba, professor of Christian theology at Duke Divinity School and senior fellow at the Kenan Institute for Ethics at Duke University.
• J Dana Trent, ordained minister who teaches at Wake Tech Community College who is married to a Hindu Monk.
• Thomas Kidd, historian of American religion and distinguished professor at Baylor University and professor of Church history at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.

Muslim
• Khalid Latif, Imam and Executive Director of the Islamic Center at New York University, New York.

Jewish
• Susannah Heschel, Professor of Jewish Studies at Dartmouth College.
• Ammiel Hirsch, Senior Rabbi at the famed Stephen Wise Free Synagogue, a Reform congregation in Manhattan, NY.
• Michael Fishbane, Professor Emeritus of Jewish Studies at the Divinity School, University of Chicago.
• Manis Friedman, Hassid, Orthodox Rabbi.
• David Seidenberg, rabbi, teacher and author.

What a tragedy that Seventh-day Adventists would be part of a project that promotes Sunday as an alternative day of rest. This conflicts with the heart of Seventh-day Adventism, which emphasizes the seventh day as the Sabbath of the Lord. However, promoting a generic day of rest, or Sunday, is in keeping with the modern ecumenical movement. At the center of the ecumenical movement is the policy of downplaying what we cannot agree on. At the very heart of the Advent Movement is the conviction that we should emphasize our distinctive doctrines and the Three Angels' Messages, especially the seventh-day Sabbath.

"Come, join us," cries the universal fraternity of Rome, "and you can still keep your Sabbath, and we will keep our Sabbath, and all religious days are equal and one in the same." This is precisely what the ecumenical movement is saying. However, we must keep in mind that the Three Angels' Message calls us to not only observe the true seventh-day Sabbath but also to declare it to the world and work to persuade others to keep it as well. In the Sabbath documentary being made by Journey Films, the Seventh-day Adventist participants did not emphasize this at all.

Click to see the video and to read the full story: http://adventmessenger.org/ecumenism-at-its-worst-several-adventist-pastors-and-theologians-join-catholics-and-evangelicals-to-promote-a-generic-day-of-rest-for-the-stressed-out-modern-world/

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