Maybe this is too progressive for some.  But the ProgressiveAdventism blog has taken a look at how Catholic practices are seen as positive experiences by some Adventists ... all the way down to liturgical chants.

Besides showing some lovely icons, to which neither these Adventists nor Catholics pray, they give some insight into the beauty of Catholicism that is acceptable - and welcomed - by many Adventists.


I believe Catholicism (and the Orthodox Churches) retain a tremendous amount of spiritual traditions from the early Christian Church.  The Apostle Paul said we should follow their traditions - both those they wrote down, and those they taught verbally.  That applies certainly to their doctrinal teachings, but we do well to preserve their spiritual practices as well.  Adventism will only benefit from what we preserved for Christians that came originally from the Apostles and the early Christians.


Now they notice.


Yet our theology is closely tied in with that.  Not only do historical records show us that our theology is equally ancient, but a better understanding of the practices leads to a better understanding of the theology.  Adventism badly needs that.  Too many Adventists spend too much time attacking Catholicism - usually only demonstrating that they really don't understand what Catholicism teaches.  If our practices bring us closer in worship, they may eventually come to realise that our teachings are actually not that far out, and quite biblically based ... just understood with a different world view - described well in the words I quoted above:



Oh, definitely beneficial.  Not only for the reasons I give above.


Hmmm ... perhaps not all.  But some.  I know of Adventists who treasure their rosaries.  They don't pray with them, of course.  Many Adventists have their pictures of Jesus.  We just call them icons.  None of us worship them.


Yet soon they will realise that the ancient Christian practices reflect the ancient Christian theology, and identify with it, and we'll see anti-Catholic tensions within Adventism fade.  At least amongst some.  The Christian roots of Adventism should remain.  Its unique teachings ... some could well become devout practices, such as the way the Sabbath was - and still is - kept as a pious tradition, but some will have to be abandoned in their journey back to ancient Christianity ... such as their concept of an obligatory Sabbath as a law of God, something foreign to the Christians of the first few centuries.


Let us pray that the Holy Spirit works through this trend (obviously He is already) and brings them a greater theological solace.

A few interesting comments on Adventism and prophecy ...

Starting on the SDA2RC blog:


Huh?  Is being Western-centric a product of being Western, or a product of God's love for the white man?  (No, that's not my response to Hugo, that's my reaction to the idea that the West is the only place relevant to these prophecies, which was not his, but his example of how Adventists might respond.)


They quote the Sabbath School for a New Generation blog:


And they in turn quote Spectrum Magazine:


Certainly proper nourishment for the itching ears of prophecy buffs.

For those who find the Mass somewhat strange, and wonder where on earth we got it from, the answer is short - it's based on Jewish liturgies, importantly the Passover seder.

See also Scott Hahn:

The Fourth Cup
The Fourth Cup [same as above, if you want to read it in red text against a red background]
The Hunt for the Fourth Cup

Most of the Mass consists of prayers, readings of the Bible, a sermon, and most of the non-sermon section, prayers included, is taken mostly from the Bible.  For a walk-through the Mass with the verses listed, see "Just what is the Mass anyway?"  It's an archived link, as I can't find the original elsewhere.

Jared has a timeline of Bacchiocchi's interactions with the Gregorian on his blog, which he based on Bacchiocchi's recent refutations of Gregorian's statement about his thesis.


We can hope.