An Appropriate Topic?

by Royce Mitchell, Jr.

What constitutes a "proper" subject for The Sabbath Sentinel? Is adherence to the doctrinal beliefs of any one sect or group of people a proper path for the leadership of the Bible Sabbath Association? If so, how should we decide who has the correct "doctrine?"

These questions came to me as a result of a letter received from a former BSA board member. He wrote complaining of an article about the annual Sabbaths. His concerns were so forcefully proposed that I felt it proper to address them in this month's editorial.

The majority of his letter concerned the reasons for not recognizing those annual Sabbaths. Certainly, everyone is entitled to his opinion, whether or not I or anyone else agree with it. Yet, another statement of his caused me special concern-concern that our message is not getting out to our friends as well as it ought to be.

He wrote: "Please do not allow the teaching, [that] these yearly Sabbaths should today be observed, enter into the teachings of the BSA and in The Sabbath Sentinel." He goes on to state, "... make theBible Sabbath Association appealing to allgroups of Sabbatarian Christians; avoid controversial issues where possible."

The question that comes to mind is this; what is the purpose of The Sabbath Sentinel? Is it solely to list points upon which we can all agree? Certainly, we can all agree that the Sabbath is the Lord's. Certainly we can all agree that the Sabbath was made for man-but, is our agreement on this point a valid reason for publishing a bimonthly magazine?

There is one particularly pertinent question that we should ask ourselves here. Who reads The Sabbath Sentinel? We have members of (at least) the following Sabbatarian groups among our readers: Seventh Day Adventist, Seventh Day Baptist, Church of God, Seventh Day, Sacred Names congregations, Church of God groups, Independent Sabbatarian congregations, Latter Day Saints-Strangites.

This is quite a diverse group of Sabbatarians! All of these groups hold certain views or doctrines: singularities which make them distinct from the others. While such differences are what make each unique, should The Sabbath Sentinel adopt a particular viewpoint of any one of them? Would not that be our undoing?

So, how should we handle articles from our brethren which might not correspond to our own viewpoint? Should TSS not print those articles? Should we avoid such controversy?

The answer to this can be found if we simply look clearly into what our mission is supposed to be. The BSA board meeting in January reiterated that we are to promote not only our Lord and Savior, but also His Will for us: cooperation among Sabbatarians (John 17). This has been the mission of BSA for many years.

For the sake of cooperatively promoting God's plan and purpose, can we set aside our differences and still lovingly work to resolve them? Too many of our arguments have gotten ugly-such do not serve God. Should TSS become a forum for these arguments? Again, this would greatly risk defeating our purpose. Yet, we must have a Godly freedom of expression that allows for the positive growth of us all. God's Holy Spirit of Love always has the answer.

What is a better use of the editorial process? Is it to censor all items that differ from what I believe? Or, is it to allow those which express what our brothers believe, but to edit out those comments which insist that we must comply with what they believe?

Should I allow an article that supports the idea that only the weekly Sabbaths were intended for observance-and then not allow an article supporting the yearly Sabbaths? We Sabbatarians do have our various differences. Where, my friends, does one draw the line?

It is important to me that we, as brethren, come to understand and accept one another for what we are: the begotten Children of the Eternal God. It is important for us to understand that we all are at different levels of understanding, and that we don't perfectly know who is correct in some of the things which we believe. It is important to me that we don't see our brothers as wrong, but as brothers merely of a different opinion.

Having considered all of the questions posed here, it is clear to me that our differences are what makes us unique. Those differences do not make us wrong. Indeed, in understanding our differences we can come to see that those differences provide an opportunity for growth, for both ourselves and our brother.

If we take the time to understand what our brother thinks, then we show the appropriate respect for our brother that is pleasing to our Father, and we show a healthy respect for our brother that engenders respect for our own beliefs.

Therefore, The Sabbath Sentinel should be a tool of education and communication. It should inform us on what our brethren are doing and it should enlighten us about what our brethren believe. This "information" must be in a way that does not call our conversion, nor the conversion of our brothers, into question. We should not shy away from articles that explain why-or what-our brothers believe differently from us, nor should we shy away from articles that cause us to reconsider the things we believe.

Our articles should not shy away from teaching us about our brothers-brothers whom we must grow to love, understand, and work with. Yet, we must also walk the fine [straight] line of not granting such writing as would offensively call various Sabbatarian beliefs into question, or which would insinuate that others have sinful beliefs. We should allow education, not castigation; ... edification not pontification.

The Sabbath Sentinel has a goal set for it. That goal has not changed in decades. Part of that goal is to promote understanding and cooperation.

These noble [almost synonymous] attributes do not come from ignorance of what our brother thinks. Understanding and cooperation are achieved through knowledge and understanding of what our brother thinks-even if we do not believe it ourselves.

There is an apt bit of wisdom which I learned a while ago. I don't remember where I got it, but it has stuck with me. That saying is this: "You do not love somebody because; you love them in spite of."

We are all brethren in Christ-called according to His purpose. God has given us a measure of His Holy Spirit. While this blesses us with a growing understanding, it is not all the same. Yet, He has also given us the tools to overcome our prejudices and to demonstrate that His Way is the only right Way.

Love is the only true Way to show that we are Christ's disciples. Love is not done in ignorance; it is done with knowledge and acceptance. Because The Sabbath Sentinel is more about Love than doctrines-we will continue to grow in grace and continue to be fruitful in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

TSS

May - June 2000 The Sabbath Sentinel