Filipino:
"Inuoto mo na lang sarili mo bro... Ang hikayatin mo dapat Ngayon na umanib sa Inyo ay Ang mga catolico , baptist , inc. protestante ,saksi ni Jehovah..etc.. . Sumobra na Ang talino nio , Wala na kayo pinagkaiba ni Quiboloy, soriano, at iba pa na Wala ng dapat batas ng Dios na kinikilala....John 14:15... 1John 4:19-21... Galit na Galit na kayo sa dati mong Kasama gaya ni bro.johnson amican..at sa buong samahan ng seventh day Adventist.... Sana kung matino ka talaga kayo ni Balberan at Sabaupan..eh hwag na kayo mag alipusta sa mga dati nio kasamahan ..kung may mali man Ang pinaggalingan nio dahil sa kayo Ngayon Ang TAMA sa akala nio o dahil sa sama ng loob nio... Ay Doon sa ibang Wala pa talagang walang alam sa katotohanan o aral Ang puntahan at tirahin nio sa social media.. MAHIYA KAYO SA SARILI NIO KUNG WALA NA KAYONG TAKOT SA DIOS NA SUNDIN ANG KANYANG BATAS AT KAUTUSAN... Ecclesiastes 12:13-14.. ganyan lang kasimple Bro."
English:
"Just focus on yourself, bro... What you should encourage now to join you are Catholics, Baptists, Iglesia ni Cristo, Protestants, Jehovah's Witnesses, etc... You've become too smart, you're no different from Quiboloy, Soriano, and others who don't follow God's laws anymore. John 14:15... 1 John 4:19-21... You're really angry with your former companion like bro. Johnson Amican... and with the whole Seventh Day Adventist community... If you're really sensible like Balberan and Sabaupan... don't mock your former companions... if there was something wrong with where you came from because you think you're right now or because of your grudge... Then go to those who still don't know the truth or teachings and attack them on social media... Have some shame if you no longer fear God to follow His laws and commandments... Ecclesiastes 12:13-14... It's that simple, bro."
English:
"Just focus on yourself, bro... What you should encourage now to join you are Catholics, Baptists, Iglesia ni Cristo, Protestants, Jehovah's Witnesses, etc... You've become too smart, you're no different from Quiboloy, Soriano, and others who don't follow God's laws anymore. John 14:15... 1 John 4:19-21... You're really angry with your former companion like bro. Johnson Amican... and with the whole Seventh Day Adventist community... If you're really sensible like Balberan and Sabaupan... don't mock your former companions... if there was something wrong with where you came from because you think you're right now or because of your grudge... Then go to those who still don't know the truth or teachings and attack them on social media... Have some shame if you no longer fear God to follow His laws and commandments... Ecclesiastes 12:13-14... It's that simple, bro."
I posted this publicly not to embarrass Mr. Jaime Catalon but to clarify all his accusations and suggestions regarding our Former Adventist Fellowship Philippines ministry. Our only goal is to provide a reasonable answer with love and understanding to such overly emotional reactions from our Seventh-day Adventist friends. This is not the first time we've received this kind of message. I decided to respond once and for all to these kinds of message for the benefit of everyone who might attempt to express such harsh words and misrepresentations towards our ministry again.
Response:
I don't personally know bro. Jaime Catalan, and I think he doesn't know me either. I tried to check his background on his Facebook profile, but it lacked details. I would like to know if he holds a position in the Seventh-day Adventist church, like if he is an Elder, Layman, Evangelist, or Pastor. It's important for me to know his background so I can understand why he mentioned his strong sentiments about our ministry. From what I gathered from his words, I don't think he has a background in evangelism, meaning he may not know how to give Bible studies or conduct public evangelism like Crusades.
If bro. Jaime Catalan has experience in evangelism, he probably wouldn't tell us to "What you should encourage now to join you are Catholics, Baptists, Iglesia ni Cristo, Protestants, Jehovah's Witnesses, etc." I said this because a thoughtful and careful person would be mindful of what they say, knowing that they should be careful with every word spoken because if they are not careful, their wrong words will come back to them. For example, for him to tell us not to encourage our fellow Seventh-day Adventists, where we came from, but instead encourage others like the religions he mentioned. People who argue like this don't even think that what they're complaining about to us, they're also doing the same thing.
If, for example, a Catholic convert to the SDA church, why do SDA leaders encourage them to persuade their former Catholic companions? And isn't it true that one of the ways SDAs persuade Catholics to prove their religion wrong is by revealing its false teachings about the Sabbath, which they changed to Sunday? Don't SDAs also encourage converts from various religions that worshiping on Sunday is wrong because it originated from Paganism and was promoted by the Roman Catholic church? Didn't the very prophet of the SDA church, Ellen G. White, also say that Protestants and other non-SDA religions are children of "Babylon the Great," the mother church being the Roman Catholic church? Jesus criticized that kind of attitude as hypocrisy.:
Matthew 7:3-5 (NLT) 3 “And why worry about a speck in your friend’s eye when you have a log in your own?4 How can you think of saying to your friend, ‘Let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,’ when you can’t see past the log in your own eye?5 Hypocrite! First get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye.
Why did bro. Jaime Catalan react that way? What mistake did he make in his argument that he might not realize? The root of bro. Jaime Catalan's significant mistake is what is called "Bigotry" in English. What does "Bigotry" mean? According to the Cambridge Online Dictionary:
"The fact of having and expressing strong, unreasonable beliefs and disliking other people who have different beliefs or a different way of life."[1]This online dictionary also explained the meaning of "Bigot" or "religious bigot," which to me seems like a more fitting description for people like bro. Jaime Catalan:
If you notice, the mentioned definition above emphasizes who qualifies as a bigot. The basis for why a viewpoint becomes "bigoted" is due to their "unreasonable beliefs." This simply means that a bigot's reason for declaring a belief as wrong is not logical. To understand this, let's use Matthew 7:3-5 again to show that it's not inherently bad to point out others' mistakes. It only becomes wrong if your criticism is "Hypocritical," like in the example Jesus mentioned:
Matthew 7:5 (NLT) 5 Hypocrite! First get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye.
In a way, a bigot is like a hypocrite because they focus more on seeing and criticizing someone else's mistakes without realizing their own bigger mistakes.
It's really fair to say that Adventist bigots are very unreasonable because they are highly prejudiced or biased in their beliefs, which they mostly just believe without understanding why. When you ask an Adventist why they believe something, they often say it's because it's what they've been taught since they were young or what their elders and pastors have taught them without independent and critical examination. So, it's undeniable that many Adventists stay in the SDA church because of social value, good relationships, or kindness shown to them, including being part of Adventist families for many generations, aside from some material benefits and advantages. Being a Seventh-day Adventist has become their comfort zone, regardless of whether their beliefs are right or wrong.
I also mentioned that bro. Jaime Catalan's reasoning is unreasonable, and his perspective is hypocritical because the SDA church also criticizes "false teachings" like Sunday worship, eating pork, and not following the Ten Commandments. If we were to turn bro. Jaime Catalan's criticism back to him, then the SDA church should also stop criticizing those who worship on Sundays (even though we don't consider Sunday as the Sabbath!).
It's really fair to say that Adventist bigots are very unreasonable because they are highly prejudiced or biased in their beliefs, which they mostly just believe without understanding why. When you ask an Adventist why they believe something, they often say it's because it's what they've been taught since they were young or what their elders and pastors have taught them without independent and critical examination. So, it's undeniable that many Adventists stay in the SDA church because of social value, good relationships, or kindness shown to them, including being part of Adventist families for many generations, aside from some material benefits and advantages. Being a Seventh-day Adventist has become their comfort zone, regardless of whether their beliefs are right or wrong.
I also mentioned that bro. Jaime Catalan's reasoning is unreasonable, and his perspective is hypocritical because the SDA church also criticizes "false teachings" like Sunday worship, eating pork, and not following the Ten Commandments. If we were to turn bro. Jaime Catalan's criticism back to him, then the SDA church should also stop criticizing those who worship on Sundays (even though we don't consider Sunday as the Sabbath!).
It's not applicable to call us "bigots" because our perspective is reasonable since we were once an Adventist for many years, so we have the right to point out what's wrong, especially since we used to be SDA defenders, Elders and Pastors. I mentioned that we have more authority to say what is right and wrong compared to bro. Jaime Catalan and other SDAs who share his perspective because they only listen to one side, making their basis biased and "unreasonable" to say that we are wrong. We came from there because we saw the mistakes and now, we are in the truth and have the assurance of salvation and eternal life solely by God's grace through faith in Christ as our personal Lord and Savior. Whereas bro. Jaime Catalan only listens only to the SDA perspective and hasn't heard the gospel of salvation like other beloved Seventh-day Adventists. So, no SDA has the right to stop our preaching of the gospel because this is the power of God unto salvation.
Romans 1:16-17 (NLT) 16 For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes—the Jew first and also the Gentile. 17 This Good News tells us how God makes us right in his sight. This is accomplished from start to finish by faith. As the Scriptures say, “It is through faith that a righteous person has life.”
SDAs haven't come to where we are now. It's true that some born-again Christians have converted to the SDA church, which I think is because they haven't studied the Bible deeply. Many SDAs have become Catholics, but I'm sure SDAs would also agree that just because someone becomes a member of the Roman Catholic church, it doesn't mean it's the true church.
Conclusion:
Romans 1:16-17 (NLT) 16 For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes—the Jew first and also the Gentile. 17 This Good News tells us how God makes us right in his sight. This is accomplished from start to finish by faith. As the Scriptures say, “It is through faith that a righteous person has life.”
SDAs haven't come to where we are now. It's true that some born-again Christians have converted to the SDA church, which I think is because they haven't studied the Bible deeply. Many SDAs have become Catholics, but I'm sure SDAs would also agree that just because someone becomes a member of the Roman Catholic church, it doesn't mean it's the true church.
Conclusion:
I'm not saying that all SDAs are "afflicted" with "religious bigotry." It's just sad that there are a few individuals like bro. Jaime Catalan who are unreasonable. One reason why a Seventh-day Adventist becomes a religious bigot is because of fear and ignorance. As I read somewhere, "fear of the unknown" is one of the main reasons why a person becomes a bigot. Fear often drives bigotry. When people encounter something unfamiliar or different, they may react with prejudice due to ignorance or lack of understanding.
In truth, bro. Jaime Catalan's emotions overshadowed his intellect here, to the point of claiming, "You're really angry with your former companion like bro. Johnson Amican... and with the whole Seventh Day Adventist community," which is untrue. We hate the false teachings of the SDA church NOT the people. If our issue was only personal anger and not doctrinal, why would we leave the SDA church? Because no matter which church you go to, there are more "Tares" than "Wheat," and they will remain until the Second Coming of Christ. Our minds have matured regarding such personal matters, so we are not affected by them anymore. We are more affected when teachings are wrong and worse, when the SDA church refuses to acknowledge and correct them but instead hides them. This is a grave sin against the Lord. Often, those who accuse us of leaving due to personal grudges are the ones reflecting their own character flaws. They are the ones who are judgmental, projecting onto us even if it's not true.
If bro. Jaime Catalan can't accept the truths we're revealing about the false teachings of the SDA church, then we advise him to refrain from watching our program for now because he hasn't yet ready to accept the fact that the SDA church is wrong in their teachings. I want to share with bro. Catalan the advice of their most respected and revered authority in the SDA church about her rebuke for those SDAs who are mistaken in their thinking that the doctrines of SDAs are perfect and infallible:
“There is no excuse for anyone in taking the position that there is no more truth to be revealed and that all our expositions of Scripture are without an error. The fact that certain doctrines have been held as truth for many years by our people, is not a proof that our ideas are infallible. Age will not make error into truth, and truth can afford to be fair. No true doctrine will lose anything by close investigation.” (Christian Writers and Editors p.35)
“There is no excuse for anyone in taking the position that there is no more truth to be revealed and that all our expositions of Scripture are without an error. The fact that certain doctrines have been held as truth for many years by our people, is not a proof that our ideas are infallible. Age will not make error into truth, and truth can afford to be fair. No true doctrine will lose anything by close investigation.” (Christian Writers and Editors p.35)
Therefore, according to this advice from their prophet, the most effective antidote to the bigotry for bro. Jaime Catalan and other members of the SDA church is to refrain from assuming that the doctrines of the SDA church are already perfect and unchangeable. In other words, they should be open-minded and learn to listen to what others are saying before hastily judging a perspective without understanding what it truly entails. We former Adventists did not fall short in this aspect. It's more likely that the level of study and depth of our research into the teachings of SDAs has not yet been reached by bro. Jaime Catalan. For example, his accusation against us, claiming that we no longer believe in the validity of the 10 Commandments for Christians and implying that we can become criminals, is merely gossip and an "unreasonable belief" because, in truth, we born-again Christians believe, "Now we can serve God, not in the old way of obeying the letter of the law, but in the new way of living in the Spirit."
Romans 7:6 (NLT) 6 But now we have been released from the law, for we died to it and are no longer captive to its power. Now we can serve God, not in the old way of obeying the letter of the law, but in the new way of living in the Spirit.
Because of that, we live under God's grace, which teaches us to stay away from evil:
Titus 2:11-12 (NLT) 11 For the grace of God has been revealed, bringing salvation to all people. 12 And we are instructed to turn from godless living and sinful pleasures. We should live in this evil world with wisdom, righteousness, and devotion to God.
Footnote:
[1] BIGOTRY | English meaning - Cambridge Dictionary | https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/bigotry
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