Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, March 4, 1993 TAG: 9303040112
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: CODY LOWE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
ADVENTISTS HAVE NO DIRECT LINKS TO CULT, ROANOKE PASTOR SAYS
Seventh-day Adventists are embarrassed by even the most tenuous association with David Koresh and the Branch Davidian cult in Texas, a Roanoke pastor said Wednesday.Early news reports of the standoff between the cult and federal agents identified the group as claiming roots in the Seventh-day Adventist Church.
That description is not entirely accurate, said Jim Richards, senior pastor of the Seventh-day Adventist Church on Melrose Avenue Northwest in Roanoke.
Branch Davidian is a "second-generation offshoot," Richards said, created in a split with a group called Shepherd's Rod that left the church in 1934.
While Branch Davidian sometimes includes the words Seventh-day Adventist in its name, there is no communication between the two, Richards said.
Adventists "feel bad for the people" involved in the Texas standoff, but fear being tarred with the "cult" label, he said.
"Phone use is running high around here" among Adventists who feel they are "getting mud thrown" on them, he said.
The Seventh-day Adventist Church is a "very strongly Christ-centered church," that is open- and community-minded, he said. "We're not cultish at all.
"Many hard-working, well-meaning Seventh-day Adventists have really been wounded by this."
Adventists and the Branch Davidian probably do share some beliefs, he said, such as "obeying the original intent of the fourth commandment" to observe the Sabbath from Friday sundown to Saturday sundown, as well the expectation that Christ's second coming will be soon.
But there are major differences.
For one, "Adventists are very non-militant people" who even refuse to serve in combat roles in the armed forces in time of war, Richards said.
It would be unusual for an Adventist to own firearms, either for protection or hunting, Richards said. "I can't imagine a sincere Adventist raising a firearm and pointing it at another person."
Because of their emphasis on healthy living, almost half of all Adventists are vegetarians, he said, so they wouldn't be killing animals for food.
Adventists also differ with Branch Davidian on the issue of polygamy. The Texas group allows men to have more than one wife, a practice prohibited for Adventists and virtually all other Christian groups.
Seventh-day Adventists trace their roots to the mid-19th century after a predicted return of Jesus Christ didn't happen.
The denomination still believes Christ's return - or Advent - is imminent, but does not attempt to predict an exact time.
Followers are considered evangelical conservatives with a strong belief in the inspiration of Scripture and the doctrine of the Trinity.
The church supports colleges, universities and medical facilities.
Doctrinally, the church teaches that the dead will sleep until Christ's second coming. The wicked will be destroyed, not suffer eternal punishment, and the righteous will join Christ in heaven.
The church teaches a strict separation of church and state and strongly advocates religious liberty for all.
The denomination has about 700,000 members in the United States. There are three congregations in the Roanoke Valley with between 800 and 1,000 members.
Memo: ***CORRECTION***