Is Seventh-day Adventism a false religion?

Answer 1

It all depends on perspective. To Adventists, Catholicism is a false system of worship, but so are many other religions exclusive of Adventism. These other religions would consider Adventism to be false as well. Obviously Baptists would consider Vishnu a false god and atheists believe all religions are false. So you could expand your question to inquire whether Adventism is false compared to what standard.

AnswerSeventh day Adventists are part of the worldwide Christian Church. Within their 28 'fundamental beliefs' all but one are identical with the Roman catholic, Anglican, Baptist, Methodist, Reformed, Orthodox and other Christian Churches across the world. Therefore to call them 'false' is as silly as calling someone a misfit because he or she happens to be wearing one different item of clothing from you.

The only minor differences between Adventists and the rest of the Christian church is that they have certain beliefs about the end of the world that are based on a literal interpretation of Revelation 20: 1-6 rather than accepting Revelation (as most Biblcal scholars do) as apocalyptic, symbolic and allegorical. They also prefer to revert to the Biblical Sabbath (Saturday) as their 'holy day' rather than meet on Sundays as did the early Church.

However, to call them 'false' because of these very minor differences in tradition is a little harsh. There are many fringe groups that call themselves Christian that actually deny the divinity of Christ and the Trinity, and these deserve the accolade of being 'false far more than the Adventists, who are regarded, by the vast majority of Christians, to be an evangelical mainstream Church and part of the worldwide Christian Body of Christ.

Answer

One of their founders, Ellen White claimed divine authority for her prophecies and was obviously wrong when she prophesied she would be alive when Christ returned. This is known as being a false prophet in most circles. Not a good thing for a founder to be. There are Adventists who are orthodox and share belief in the essentials of Christian faith. There are liberal Adventists who compromise such essentials as the virgin birth, the bodily resurrection and the infallibility of Scripture. Then there are the traditionalists who believe in such things as soul sleep and Sabbatariansism. Adventists believe Satan plays a vital role in your salvation. They also believe Jesus did not finish his work on the cross. Based on these facts, I would not disagree with calling the Adventists a false religion.