It’s no longer just Ellen White and our distinctive teachings under attack anymore.  It’s the Bible itself—the very foundation of Christian faith and practice—that is now being disputed by certain professed Adventists.

Today marks the thirtieth anniversary of the destruction of the Mount Carmel Center (sometimes called Ranch Apocalypse) in Waco, Texas, headquarters of the so-called Branch Davidians and their leader, one David Koresh. Five years ago, this website published the present article to mark the 25th anniversary of this tragedy. We are publishing it again, with some editorial revisions, to highlight the spiritual lessons of this horrific episode, with the goal of moving beyond and above the debate and demagoguery from several perspectives that has so often contorted memories of this sad event.

As the mission of the church is defined by the Word of God, it is not possible for an employee or member of the church to be “loyal to the overall mission of the church” while differing with one or more Bible-based tenets taught by the church.

My last article addressed a number of challenges to the classic Adventist sanctuary doctrine as voiced in a recent online interview   The events of Glacier View 1980 and the subsequent removal of Desmond Ford from the Seventh-day Adventist ministry on account of his denial of key features of classic Adventist sanctuary theology, continue to arouse interest and discussion in various segments of the contemporary church.  The present article will address other notable challenges to classic Adventist understandings of these issues, as raised by Ford and others.