One cannot help but be impressed by the progress of Seventh-day Adventism in our day. Its colleges and uni-versities produce legions of graduates, its medical institu-tions are centers of innovation and healing. The legacy of Ellen G. White lives on through her “health message,” through the denomination’s global missionary endeavors, and through parachurch agencies such as Amazing Facts, The Voice of Prophecy, and The Quiet Hour.
Yet many Christians are, at best, vaguely aware that Adventism is somehow—different. And so this booklet challenges the reader to ask and answer two central questions for himself: Are the differences real? And if so, do they matter?
The time for a reassessment among evangelicals is long overdue, because for too many inattentive Christians, Adventism represents a profound danger hidden in plain sight. As Dale Ratzlaff amply demonstrates in the follow-ing pages, the movement is founded not on the infallible Word of God, but on such an extraordinary mass of error and calculated deception that it must be seen to be believed. The differences between Adventism and biblical Christianity cannot be ignored, for they strike at the very heart of the gospel. The disciples of Ellen G. White do not merely offer an alternative view of secondary Christian doctrines, as many suppose; instead, they encourage millions to place their trust in a false prophet who sets obstacles in the path of anyone who would trust in Christ alone for their salvation and “adds” nothing to the written Word of God except her convoluted and contradictory speculations.
The evidence presented herein compels evangelicals to make an informed choice. Pastors, missionaries, relief agencies, and others need to face the potential problems of collaborating, on an organizational level, with a movement that affirms and promotes such error. Many of us who have served as missionaries in the Third World recognize the two faces of Adventism: indulging in cozy ecumenism in English-speaking cultures while engaging in bare-knuckle proselytizing nearly everywhere else. The Seventh-day Adventist Church cannot have it both ways.
As those who have been commanded to “test all things” (1 Thess. 5:21) and “defend the faith once for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 3–4), we have neither the liberty nor the luxury of turning a blind eye to these matters. To do so means not only unconscionable compromise for evangelicals, but spiritual bondage for countless Adventists who need to hear the Gospel proclaimed as God intended.
In closing, let me assure the reader that this booklet is no mere rant or rebuke. It is a message motivated by compassion, given in the sincere hope that through a careful presentation of the evidence many who are held captive by Adventism will one day be “free indeed” (Jn. 8:36).

Paul Carden, Executive Director
The Centers for Apologetics Research
San Juan Capistrano, California

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