INTRODUCTION

Although it traces its origins back to the founding of the New Testament Church by Jesus Christ in the first century, and ultimately back to the relationship between God and mankind in the Garden of Eden, Seventh-day Adventism arose under that particular name, and adopted its particular doctrinal positions, in the middle-to-late 1800s. Since that time, it has become a fast-growing, global religion that seeks to restore the true worship of God to the world by continuing the work of the Reformation, which insisted on a Bible-only approach to the determination of religious beliefs and observances.   

Although Adventism in general does believe in the continuing voice of  prophecy, and has accepted the writings of certain individuals as inspired, it maintains that the Bible is the only standard by which to evaluate truth, and must be the foundation for every dogmatic element of the Christian faith. In light of its various beliefs and reforms, the Seventh-day Adventist Church, and those groups that have come forth from it at various times, and for various reasons, uphold the following common doctrines (to varying degrees of significance):

• The Bible is the Word of God, and the foundation for all true doctrines
• The soon return (i.e., Advent) of Jesus Christ to resurrect the faithful, gather the living saints and desolate the earth
• Adherence to the 10 Commandments of the Old Testament, notably the fourth, which involves observance of the Sabbath on the 7th day of the week
• The summarization of the Gospel for the present generation as three angels’ messages, outlined in the Book of Revelation, chapter 14, and verses 6 through 11
• The composition of the soul as the union of body and spirit; i.e., the soul is not a “spiritual entity” that is independent of the body
• Conditional immortality/annihilationism; the entire souls (body and spirit) of the unsaved completely destroyed in the lake of fire following the judgment of mankind
• The writings of Ellen White held as inspired testimony
• An avoidance of “unclean meats,” and the encouragement of a vegetarian lifestyle
• Abstinence from alcoholic drinks, caffeinated drinks, and tobacco products

 Various groups under the umbrella of “Adventism” have maintained beliefs and practices that distinguish them based upon their understanding of some key doctrinal points. However, today  we will see the main differences between the Creation 7th Day Adventism and the Genereal Conference Seventh-day Adventism ®

In this blog are four chapters, or sections, of a work written to explain the primary or most-discussed differences between the CSDA church and the General Conference denomination.