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Author Topic: Dr. Desmond Ford and Related Views  (Read 44318 times)

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Johann

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Re: Dr. Desmond Ford and Related Views
« Reply #60 on: September 03, 2008, 02:35:55 PM »

While studying at the SDA Theological Seminary, then at Tacoma Park, Desmond Ford and his wife lived right across the river from where we were staying, and there was a solid pedestrian bridge between us, and yet we did not get acquainted. I just knew that he was a solid student. 15 years later when I served as a departmental secretary in Norway I was to meet him, but not in person. Elder Spangler, the editor of MINISTRY, visited us and I was his guide. At every spare moment Elder Spangler was telling me of his recent visit to Australia where he had the opportunity of staying at the home of Desmond and his wife, talking to them and observing them in their daily lives. According to Elder Spangler he had never met such God fearing people, nor any family following the blueprints for daily life as outlined  by Ellen White so profoundly and consistently.

A few years later I worked together with a pastor who had studied at Avondale College where Desmond was teaching. He told me that hardly a day passed without several calls of the campus intercom stating there was an international call waiting for Dr. Desmond Ford, and most of those calls were from the Washington D.C. church headquarters. Church leaders used him as their counselor.

Some time after that new General Conference officers were elected, and it seemed like none of those knew Desmond Ford. There are varying explanations of what happened after that.

We heard of his sabbatical and that something would happen at Glacier View. Right after Glacier View I attended a worker's meeting where two high ranking officers and theologians were the main speakers. Both of then had just been at Glacier View. I do not recall them speaking of Desmond as a heretic, but rather as a challenger.

Years later a lady I had known very well in College came to the Conference office where I was working. She told me she was associated with Desmond Ford as a chaplain in California, and she gave me a glowing report of his growing Christian experience and inspiring sermons, and she classified him as a solid conservative Seventh-day Adventist.

When I read some of the most critical and scholarly written articles exposing his fallacies, and I compare those with what Desmond Ford writes himself, I wonder. I am not defending his teachings, and yet I wonder if he ever strayed as far from our fundamental beliefs as a number of our Pioneers did in the days of Ellen White, and yet they remained in leading positions in our Church? Are there others still working among us who should rather be defrocked because of their even more serious deviations?

Desmond has become a popular target. Why?

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Bob Pickle

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Re: Dr. Desmond Ford and Related Views
« Reply #61 on: September 03, 2008, 03:04:53 PM »

Interesting questions, Johann.

I think I've heard that he is conservative in lifestyle.

It isn't often that folks are officially taken to task over theology, it seems.

Does he currently believe in an investigative judgment beginning on Oct. 22, 1844?
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Johann

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Re: Dr. Desmond Ford and Related Views
« Reply #62 on: June 13, 2011, 02:05:08 PM »

People close to Desmond Ford now are telling me that all the herecies he is accused of teaching are inventions of his enemies. That he has never departed from the official teachings of the Church, but that he has promised the Lord he will never defend himself against any accusations. That is why he keeps quet when people accuse him of having departed from the way. He is supposed to have made a promise never to get into an argument, but just preach the WORD in his Sabbath sermons. I am told he never deviates from solid SDA doctrine in his sermons.

If this is his stand who wants to get into an argument with him? Or make a study to find flaws in his teachings?
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Murcielago

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Re: Dr. Desmond Ford and Related Views
« Reply #63 on: June 27, 2011, 12:30:51 AM »

Dr. Ford was recently featured on a couple of programs on LLBN. Based on what I saw, Johann's assessment would seem accurate.
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Bob Pickle

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Re: Dr. Desmond Ford and Related Views
« Reply #64 on: June 27, 2011, 04:51:52 AM »

People close to Desmond Ford now are telling me that all the herecies he is accused of teaching are inventions of his enemies. That he has never departed from the official teachings of the Church, but that he has promised the Lord he will never defend himself against any accusations. That is why he keeps quet when people accuse him of having departed from the way. He is supposed to have made a promise never to get into an argument, but just preach the WORD in his Sabbath sermons. I am told he never deviates from solid SDA doctrine in his sermons.

If this is his stand who wants to get into an argument with him? Or make a study to find flaws in his teachings?

If this is true, Johann, part of the problem is in what Desmond Ford himself has unquestionably said.

Consider his article at http://www.desford.org.au/home/skypage.php?keyid=75&parentkeyid=74 in which he explicitly states that he doesn't not believe that Gen. 1 is a literal account of a 6-day creation.

As far as the 2300 days go, see http://www.goodnewsunlimited.org/library/atodayinterview/followup.cfm#q23 where Ford says that the 2300 days are really 1150 days, and that they initially applied to Antiochus Epiphanes.
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youngwarrior

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Re: Dr. Desmond Ford and Related Views
« Reply #65 on: July 02, 2011, 09:56:13 PM »

Personally I have had no difficulty in demonstrating the validity of the 2300 days from the Bible.

If the first chapter of Genesis is just an allegory then the validity of the whole Bible is brought into question.  Old-earth evolution requires death to create new species.  Thus if God used long periods of time to create then death was a part of it from the very beginning of creation.  The only problem is scripture says death is a result of sin and thus did not exist before sin.  If there was no real Adam and Eve and no real first sin then just maybe there still isn't any real sin today.  If there is no sin then there is no eternal death and no need of a Savior.
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Johann

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Re: Dr. Desmond Ford and Related Views
« Reply #66 on: July 03, 2011, 02:29:01 AM »

Personally I have had no difficulty in demonstrating the validity of the 2300 days from the Bible.

If the first chapter of Genesis is just an allegory then the validity of the whole Bible is brought into question.  Old-earth evolution requires death to create new species.  Thus if God used long periods of time to create then death was a part of it from the very beginning of creation.  The only problem is scripture says death is a result of sin and thus did not exist before sin.  If there was no real Adam and Eve and no real first sin then just maybe there still isn't any real sin today.  If there is no sin then there is no eternal death and no need of a Savior.

Very interesting points - and important.
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Gregory

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Re: Dr. Desmond Ford and Related Views
« Reply #67 on: January 20, 2012, 05:48:02 PM »

Johann, you make some important points about Ford.  I do not agree with some of the positions that he has taken.  However, I respect him for the Christian life he has lived and how he has related to those who have accused him.  To me, he has demonstrated his Christianity and I respect his continued adherence to some Adventist distinctives.  I can consider him to be a Adventist while Idisagree with some positions he has taken.
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