The deep meaning of the Health and Dress Reform outlined by EGW leads one to conclude that if you purify the body, it helps to purify the soul. The soul by itself can't be purified if your body is impure. First you purify the body, then the soul can be purified.
That is one of the pillars of Ascetism, a spiritual discipline adopted by Roman Catholic Church in pre-medieval times and which caused the rise of monastic orders.
Ascetism also calls the follower to withdraw from the world, so he or she can properly achieve a state of perfection.
The important aspect of this philosophy is the restrictions placed upon what it is considered "worldly pleasures" such as eating certain types of food (actually most of them), wearing certain types of dress (restricting colors and fabric), and avoiding any sexual activity (even within a sanctioned marriage).
There are also restrictions placed upon possessions: the follower must abandon all his or her worldly possessions, givem them to the poor, or to the organization.
One thing is to make such claim, another thing is to claim that this is God's approved way of attaining justification.
Ascetism is a false way of attaining justification.
Back when I was a church member, I had seen it all.
Pastors when preaching at the pulpit would read from EGW's selected quotes, saying that God's message for today would require people to abandon the cities and move to the countryside, where it would be easier to escape when Persecution (yes, with capital P) arrived. They also reasoned that a quiet life in the farm fields would be free from the sins and temptations of the big cities.
Christ commanded us to GO OUT INTO the world, not to GO OUT FROM the world. So when a Christian says "Withdraw from the world", that is not what Christ wants.
I don't even need to quote again EGW's texts on the God's mandated sexual intercourse. She portrayed it as something to avoid and placed the duty upon the wife to restrain and discipline the "animal urges" of her husband. If she was unable to, she shouldn't allow herself to feel any pleasure from such sinful act.
Well there is that Bible passage where God commands the young man to enjoy the life with his wife. Oh, and there is the Song of Songs, where the woman actually gets actively engaged in such playful deeds.
So I guess that Ascetism's condemnation of sexual intercourse is not what Christ wants.
Let's talk about eating food and drinking.
Do I really need to? There are plenty of Bible passages where God actually commands "Man, eat and drink from your labor, eat your cattle, drink your vineyard". He wants us to live our lifes and get some good pleasure out of it, because, you know, we get older, and grouchy.
God doesn't prohibits us from eating, and drinking, and doing our marital duties as long as we do them with TEMPERANCE. The issue is when we misbehavior due to intemperance. And intemperance is triggered by something within. Christ said that which goes outside our mouth (coming from the inside of our hearts) is what contaminates us, not what goes inside the mouth (like eating or drinking certain types of food).
In other words: eat, but be not a glutton. Drink, but be not a drunkard. Also, mind your mouth, since the word is the deed, and the deed is the word.
So I guess that's another point missed by the Ascetics (and their modern followers, the SDAs).
My personal experience:
I had been a vegetarian until some time ago. I started to eat meat, and I find it tasteful. Sometimes I eat only meat (when it's barbecue time with friends), sometimes it doesn't see my table for several days. Some would think that a vegetarian would lose his self-control upon tasting meat (Yeah, IT IS good) but actually I really don't plan on how to do it. My mind and body doesn't crave for meat and I know that such is true for all other Christians. Well I do have a craving for "Rucula" (scientific name Eruca sativa) but you can't say that for an innocent bush!
What I am trying to say is... When Christ dwells in your soul, your harmonized actions are a mirror of His influence, it's not you trying to get into harmony with Him. And it happens naturally (from God's viewpoint). Blessed is the Lord!
That is one of the pillars of Ascetism, a spiritual discipline adopted by Roman Catholic Church in pre-medieval times and which caused the rise of monastic orders.
Ascetism also calls the follower to withdraw from the world, so he or she can properly achieve a state of perfection.
The important aspect of this philosophy is the restrictions placed upon what it is considered "worldly pleasures" such as eating certain types of food (actually most of them), wearing certain types of dress (restricting colors and fabric), and avoiding any sexual activity (even within a sanctioned marriage).
There are also restrictions placed upon possessions: the follower must abandon all his or her worldly possessions, givem them to the poor, or to the organization.
One thing is to make such claim, another thing is to claim that this is God's approved way of attaining justification.
Ascetism is a false way of attaining justification.
Back when I was a church member, I had seen it all.
Pastors when preaching at the pulpit would read from EGW's selected quotes, saying that God's message for today would require people to abandon the cities and move to the countryside, where it would be easier to escape when Persecution (yes, with capital P) arrived. They also reasoned that a quiet life in the farm fields would be free from the sins and temptations of the big cities.
Christ commanded us to GO OUT INTO the world, not to GO OUT FROM the world. So when a Christian says "Withdraw from the world", that is not what Christ wants.
I don't even need to quote again EGW's texts on the God's mandated sexual intercourse. She portrayed it as something to avoid and placed the duty upon the wife to restrain and discipline the "animal urges" of her husband. If she was unable to, she shouldn't allow herself to feel any pleasure from such sinful act.
Well there is that Bible passage where God commands the young man to enjoy the life with his wife. Oh, and there is the Song of Songs, where the woman actually gets actively engaged in such playful deeds.
So I guess that Ascetism's condemnation of sexual intercourse is not what Christ wants.
Let's talk about eating food and drinking.
Do I really need to? There are plenty of Bible passages where God actually commands "Man, eat and drink from your labor, eat your cattle, drink your vineyard". He wants us to live our lifes and get some good pleasure out of it, because, you know, we get older, and grouchy.
God doesn't prohibits us from eating, and drinking, and doing our marital duties as long as we do them with TEMPERANCE. The issue is when we misbehavior due to intemperance. And intemperance is triggered by something within. Christ said that which goes outside our mouth (coming from the inside of our hearts) is what contaminates us, not what goes inside the mouth (like eating or drinking certain types of food).
In other words: eat, but be not a glutton. Drink, but be not a drunkard. Also, mind your mouth, since the word is the deed, and the deed is the word.
So I guess that's another point missed by the Ascetics (and their modern followers, the SDAs).
My personal experience:
I had been a vegetarian until some time ago. I started to eat meat, and I find it tasteful. Sometimes I eat only meat (when it's barbecue time with friends), sometimes it doesn't see my table for several days. Some would think that a vegetarian would lose his self-control upon tasting meat (Yeah, IT IS good) but actually I really don't plan on how to do it. My mind and body doesn't crave for meat and I know that such is true for all other Christians. Well I do have a craving for "Rucula" (scientific name Eruca sativa) but you can't say that for an innocent bush!
What I am trying to say is... When Christ dwells in your soul, your harmonized actions are a mirror of His influence, it's not you trying to get into harmony with Him. And it happens naturally (from God's viewpoint). Blessed is the Lord!
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