Introduction—A number of faithful Seventh-day Adventists in Sweden have invited Pastor Stephen Bohr of Secrets Unsealed to speak in Sweden. The Swedish Union people are trying to block Bohr from coming. They finally admitted that Bohr’s committment to biblical role distinctions between male and female, AND his position on righteousness justifies their opposition to him speaking—even when invited by committed members. Below is a statement by the people who invited Bohr to come to Sweden.
Swedish Conference People
Statement Regarding the Invitation of Stephen Bohr
We are both saddened and disappointed by the spirit in all the statements our leadership has made concerning the invitation to Stephen Bohr as a speaker in Sweden.
The leadership describes itself as the good side that safeguards openness, tolerance, trust, diversity, truth, love and light, etc., and insinuates that “the others” stand for division, polarization, confusion, fear, manipulation and power games.
The leadership maligns and slanders Stephen Bohr, among other things, by claiming that he bears bad fruit, has deviant teachings, and by insinuating that his ministry contributes to conflict and polarization. These are very serious accusations and, in the name of justice, they require an explanation. But so far this has been refused, even though several people have requested it.
Rainer has admittedly said that one example of Bohr’s bad fruit is his reaction to the invitation, but surely we all understand that this cannot be the reason why he is not allowed to come. So what is his bad fruit, and what are his deviant teachings?
Does SB say anything that deviates from our common faith and doctrine?
Many of us have been richly blessed by his ministry, and there are not many theologians who are as knowledgeable about the Bible, the Spirit of Prophecy, and our church’s faith, doctrine and history. SB is one of our most highly respected theologians, and his presentations on YouTube have many followers. He is a highly appreciated speaker throughout the world, not least in South America, where he grew up, and he has also received a letter of recommendation from his home church.
It is easy to say that one stands for openness, tolerance, love, diversity, truth, etc., but quite another matter to show it in action. We think of the son who said that he wanted to work in the vineyard, but did not do so in action (Matt. 21:28-30).
The leadership justifies its actions by referring to other unions and the division, rather than keeping to the issue at hand and doing what is right because it is right, regardless of what human institutions do.
It is in fact not right to kick someone just because others do so, regardless of their position. We are all accountable to God for our actions, not to human beings. It would also be interesting to know what proportion of SDA unions and conferences are actively opposing SB and his preaching. Is it mainly in our division that people are opposing SB? If so, why is his preaching so dangerous in our particular division? Does not the true gospel, which SB preaches, apply to all peoples in all countries? Are we an exception?
The eternal stability of the whole universe rests upon complete due process and transparency. When the Great Council wanted to arrest and kill Jesus even before Golgotha, Nicodemus said to them: “Does our law judge a man before it hears him and knows what he is doing?” (John 7:51). Notice that the Great Council justified the arrest of Jesus on the ground that none of the Council believed in him, rather than explaining what was dangerous about Jesus’ teaching. Even the judicial system of pagan Rome protected Roman citizens from being punished without knowing what they had been accused of, which protected Paul several times, among others.
Should a pagan judicial system be better than our church’s judicial system? No, our administration of justice should be the highest of all, as a sweet fragrance before God. Our application of it shows our true fruit.
We expect the following of the leadership:
1. That the leadership publicly and clearly states in what way SB bears bad fruit and in what way his ministry contributes to conflict and polarization.
2. That the leadership publicly and clearly states what teachings SB has that deviate from the faith and doctrine of the global SDA Church.
3. That the leadership publicly and clearly presents any additional reasons why SB is not welcome as a speaker in Sweden.
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1. Bengt Mellin, member, Gränna SDA Church, Bible worker
2. Urban Carlsson, member, Borås SDA Church
3. Ardavast Reshdouni, elder, Stockholm SDA Church
4. Bo Larsson, member, Gävle-Sandviken
5. Roy Doss
6. Sune Gustafsson, member, Gothenburg SDA Church
7. Bengt Dahlöf, member, Gothenburg SDA Church
8. Håkan Nilsson, leader of the Bräcke/Jämtland group house church
9. Joel Mellin, member of Gränna SDA Church
10. Anders Eliasson, board member, Västerås SDA Church
11. MariaCristina Bailey, board member, Västerås SDA Church
12. Vivianne Karlsson, board member, Skövde SDA Church
13. Toni Sahlin, member, Borås SDA Church
14. Hans-Olof Forsby, member, Västerås SDA Church, former board member
15. Viola Bethdavid, member, Västerås SDA Church
16. German Caceres, member, Skövde Church, responsible for Sadlaym
17. Edith Sanches Larsson, member, Västerås Church
18. Harutyun Nersisyan, member, Helsingborg SDA Church
19. Venera Nersisyan, member, Helsingborg SDA Church
20. Hrach Nersisyan, member, Helsingborg SDA Church
21. Julieta Nersisyan, SDA member in Armenia
22. Mané Nersisyan, member, Helsingborg SDA Church
23. Maria Nersisyan, member, Helsingborg SDA Church
24. Anna Mellin, member, Gränna SDA Church
25. Britt-Marie Mellin, Gränna SDA Church
26. Ervin Nordstrand, member, Nyhyttan SDA Church
27. Joshua Honda, member, Västerås SDA Church
28. Joseph Azo, member, Västerås SDA Church
29. Jasmine Azo, member, Västerås SDA Church
30. Andrea Farkas, member, Örnsköldsvik SDA Church
31. Csaba Noske, member, Örnsköldsvik SDA Church
32. Nune Abrahamyam, member, Stockholm SDA Church
33. Gewarges Odisho, member, Gothenburg SDA Church
34. Veli-Lauri Kotilainen, former pastor in Ostrobothnia, Vaasa
35. Ellen Ljungberg, member, Uppsala SDA Church
There will be a follow-up article from these Seventh-day Adventists in Sweden.