"Am I therefore become your enemy, because I tell you the truth?" Galatians 4:16
It’s easy for honest theological conversations to get misread as personal attacks.
Recently, Brother Eligene Tayco, an Adventist from Ibajay, Aklan reached out to us at Former Adventists Philippines. In his letter, he shared a sincere concern: from where he sits, our posts, videos, and discussions seem like they are driven by hurt feelings, bitterness over disfellowship, or a desire to get back at the Seventh-day Adventist Church.
We genuinely appreciate Brother Eligene taking the time to write. His letter comes from a real love for his local church community, and we respect that. But his message also brings to light a huge misconception about why Former Adventists Philippines exists.
Here is our direct, brother-to-brother open letter to Brother Eligene to set the record straight and point back to the real peace we have in Christ.
Dear Brother Eligene,
I read your letter to the Former Adventists Philippines. I know you wrote it out of genuine concern for the church, so I want to reply to you directly, brother to brother, without any sugarcoating. We just need to clear a few things up because there is a massive misunderstanding about where we are coming from.
You mentioned that we’re speaking out because we have hurt feelings from being disfellowshipped, and you advised us to choose peace over revenge.
Honestly, the vast majority of us didn't leave because we were offended, and we certainly aren't out for revenge. We speak up because our eyes were finally opened to the true gospel. Look at the Apostle Paul. He was a hardcore Pharisee, highly respected in Judaism. When he met Christ on the road to Damascus, did he just quietly move on with his life to keep the peace? No. He immediately started preaching the truth to his former associates. Was he attacking them out of anger? Not at all. Read Romans 9, he was agonizing over his former brethren. He loved them so much he was willing to be cursed himself if it meant they could be saved. When we post about our new faith, it’s not payback. It’s a rescue mission.
You also quoted Galatians 5:22, saying that if we are truly at peace, we should just stay quiet and not "drag down" the newly baptized members in Ibajay, Aklan.
Think about it this way. What if you found out the daily vitamins your family has been taking for years actually contain ingredients that keep them weak, and then you found the actual cure? Would you just quietly take the cure yourself and say nothing so you don't "disturb their peace"? Of course not. True peace in Christ actually pushes us to speak up. Pointing people to the New Covenant isn't dragging them down; it’s pulling them out of a heavy, performance-based system so they can finally rest in the finished work of Jesus.
Regarding Ellen G. White, you asked us to stop attacking her, pointing out she isn't the Saviour and that her books used to help us.
We agree, only Christ saves. But holding a prophet's writings up to the light of the Bible isn't an "attack." It’s basic biblical discernment. First Thessalonians 5:21 tells us to test everything. Just because something felt inspiring in the past doesn't mean we should turn a blind eye to theological errors now. If a teaching drags a believer back under the Old Covenant, we have an obligation to call it out. We aren't attacking a person; we are protecting the gospel.
You also mentioned that if we want to correct the church, we should talk to the pastor privately based on Matthew 18.
Brother, Matthew 18 is about personal, private sins, like if a brother cheats you or insults you. It doesn't apply to public doctrines, published books, or church-wide teachings. When Peter started compromising the gospel in public, Paul didn’t pull him into a private room. He corrected him right there in front of everyone (Galatians 2). Public theological errors require public biblical correction.
Finally, you said you are praying for us and that the door is always open if we repent and come back.
I want you to really think about this question: If Paul’s former Pharisee friends invited him to come back to Judaism, to the old shadows of the law and the heavy yoke of his past, would he accept the invitation?
Never. Paul found the substance, which is Christ. Under the New Covenant, we aren't bound by the shadows or the Old Testament yokes that Jesus already fulfilled. Going back would mean trading the reality for a shadow. We have finally found rest in grace, and we simply cannot go backward.
Since we are having some real talk, I want to leave you with three friendly questions to chew on:
1. If sharing a different theological belief on Facebook is automatically considered "hate," "anger," or "attacking," then how can SDA evangelists hold public Revelation seminars proving Catholics and Evangelicals wrong without being guilty of the exact same thing?
2. Are former members actually attacking the people inside the church, or are we just critically examining the doctrines using the Bible alone?
3. If you were in our shoes, and you genuinely believed with all your heart that you had finally discovered the absolute freedom of the New Covenant, wouldn’t you do everything you could to share it with the people you care about most?
We love you, brother. We don't post out of hate. We post because we want you to experience the exact same freedom and absolute assurance we now have in Christ alone.
FORMER ADVENTISTS PHILIPPINES
“Freed by the Gospel. Firm in the Word.”
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