We are told in the Bible to “spur one another on toward love and good works” (Hebrews 10:24). However, there is a segment of liberal Adventism that is locked in a strange game of race-to-the-bottom. One-upmanship. Or more accurate, one-downmanship.
During Sabbath service at the Oakridge (Canada) SDA church (OAC) in Vancouver, Jesus is portrayed by a woman in an Easter program. As if female Jesus isn’t sacrilegious enough, throw in a gay flamboyant Mary Magdalene man and female Apostle Peter for blasphemous contaigon effect.
From Oakridge Adventist Church’s Facebook page:
Today's service is our very special Easter Program entitled Seeing Jesus in John: "Anecdotes of Easter" by Selene Dublanko and cast.
Summary
This is a theatrical church service portraying the “Easter” weekend. Disciples are male and female (all dressed as males). Here are two key areas:
1. Jesus is a female dressed like a male (look for this at 25:00—27:30).
2. The female Jesus washes the disciples’ feet. The disciples are five men and seven women (31:00—41:10).
3. Mary Magdalene is a flamboyant gay male dressed as a female (look for this around 50:10).
‘Pastor’ Rhoda Miller
This strange mockery happened (predictably) under the oversight of a female pastor. OAC senior ‘pastor’ (Rhoda Klein Miller) defends this dramatic production against those who expressed concerns or walked out.
Oakridge Adventist Church was touted in a 2016 Ministry Magazine article by Kumar Dixit (previous OAC pastor) as a multigenerational, “multicultural, and multiethnic mix” that is interested in social justice and spiritual disciplines. Dixit was a speaker at the 2018 Kinship Kampmeeting. According to the Ministry Magazine article, a recent study found that only 19 percent of OAC young adults and 30 percent of BC young adults claim to engage with Scripture daily.
Based on the above ‘Easter’ play, 19-percent may be too generous.
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“Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’” But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil” (Genesis 3:1—5).