SEVENTH DAY ADVENTIST
RELIGIOUS LIBERTY RECLAIMED
Thousands have read the famous, full-page advertisement sponsored by the Eternal Gospel Church of Seventh-day Adventists, entitled "Earth's Final Warning," in USA Today, August 10, 1999. The subject matter was of a prophetic theme based primarily on the Bible, including sections from the highly acclaimed, The Great Controversy [c.1884] by Ellen G. White, the most published female author in American history.
Roman Catholic Church officials had previously (erroneously) implicated the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists as the responsible party for prior occurrences of the ad in various national newspapers. In response, the General Conference Corporation filed suit against the Eternal Gospel Church of Seventh-day Adventists for trademark infringement regarding use of the term SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTIST in their church name. Resulting questions erupted: "Who are Seventh-day Adventists?" "Who has a legal right to bear the name Seventh-day Adventist in a religious identity context?"
The purpose of this ad is to educate the public, hoping that future conflicts of this nature may be averted. The Creation Seventh Day (and) Adventist Church, organized in 1991 as a protest against the union of church and state undertaken by the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, takes full responsibility for the contents of this advertisement. We hold no formal connection with other “SDA” organizations, but share a common Christian faith with many individuals worldwide who claim to be SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTIST.
Seventh Day Adventist is a generic term describing a Christian faith and practice. The major tenets designated by the name are (1) the observance of the Biblical "creation seventh day" (the seventh day of the Gregorian calendar week: Saturday), and (2) belief in a literal, imminent second coming of Jesus Christ. Historically, SDAs have been known for pioneering health reform, championing religious liberty, promoting community service, upholding the principles of Protestantism, serving as non-combatants in the military, and exemplifying the noblest of Christian graces. The origin of the Seventh-day Adventist faith can be traced back to the creation story in Genesis, but the name was not formally adopted until the mid-1800's, following the “Great Awakening.” We note the first organization to officially bear the mark to be the Seventh-day Adventist Church, now legally headed by the General Conference Corporation of SDAs, Silver Spring, MD. In the early 1900's a dissatisfied group of SDA believers became known as the SDA Reform Movement, and others in Russia were identified as True and Free Seventh Day Adventists. Some later followed suit, for example, Davidian Seventh Day Adventists (the Branch Davidian Seventh-day Adventists of Waco, Texas being the most notoriously covered by the media in recent times).
By 1980 several other Seventh-day Adventist groups began to sprout and, as a perceived threat was posed to the General Conference Corporation's financial empire, the Corporation trademarked the term SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTIST to control the use of its trade name. Pioneers of early SDA faith would have loathed such an “unholy union” of church with state, but "times have changed" is the common excuse offered for this antithetical departure from Adventist roots. The authentic Seventh-day Adventist faith claims only one "creed" which is "the Bible and the Bible alone." In 1980, however, the General Conference organization adopted a written creed of "27 fundamental beliefs" by which they could eventually define a Seventh-day Adventist adherent. This narrow and confining creed would disqualify the very pioneers of the SDA faith from church membership, since they rejected the doctrine of the Trinity as having its origin in paganism. Thus arose the Historic Seventh-day Adventist Churches, the Pioneer SDAs, the Ancient SDAs, the Free Seventh-day Adventists, the Fundamental SDAs, etc. By the year 2000 there were no fewer than 30 separate versions of "Seventh-day Adventism," worldwide. This scattering process is nothing new to church history, occurring whenever confusion and apostasy set in; the Baptists and Methodists serve as two outstanding examples of this denominational fragmentation.
We are pleased to invite you to learn of the Seventh-day Adventist faith as handed down to us by our fathers. We encourage you to study Holy Scripture and discover that Seventh-day Adventism in its purest form is the religion of the Bible, declaring “the power of God unto salvation.” If you are "hungering and thirsting after righteousness," you shall be blessed to know that our Heavenly Father has a family on earth that "keeps the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus." (Rev. 14:12) Would you care to join us in our commitment to truth, and preparation for the soon second coming of Christ?A Creation Seventh Day (and) Adventist Church
UNITED STATES FIELD OFFICE
1162 Old Highway 45 South
Guys, Tennessee 38339
Toll-free: 1-888-284-2487
Administrator Email
http://www.thefourthangel.net/
General Conference SDA v. Walter McGill, et. al.
The Seventh-day Adventist Trademark Lawsuit
NEWSBREAK: SDA Trademark Alert!
Late-breaking NEWS: GCC Threatens A CSDA Church in Guys, Tennessee
Because those who were once the depositaries of truth became unfaithful to their sacred trust,
the LORD chose others who would receive the bright beams of the Sun of Righteousness,
and would advocate truths that were not in accordance with the ideas of the religious leaders.
And then these leaders, in the blindness of their minds, give full sway to what is supposed
to be righteous indignation against the ones who have set aside cherished fables.
Testimonies to Ministers, pp. 69, 70Update 05/27/06: We have received notice that the General Conference Corporation of SDAs is now threatening our internet domain names on the world scale. Pastor "Chick" has received email notification that the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Arbitration and Mediation Center has received a complaint against several of our websites, this complaint being dated at May 23rd of this year.
We have also received word that Vincent Ramik (attorney for the General Conference Corporation) has sent a box containing some kind of information to pastor "Chick." As it turns out, pastor "Chick" had recently left on an evangelism trip to Canada, to meet with some of the brethren there who were baptized this last Feast of Unleavened Bread. As such he was not available to receive the package (which we assume is related to the WIPO complaint). When we discover the contents of this package, we will inform our readers.
For now, the CSDA Church covets the prayers of those who have been following our work and ministry. If this matter indeed goes as the Conference would have it go on a world scale, things could move forward very quickly to the end; for when the Trademark is imposed upon the people of Yah on a worldwide stage, it will not be long before the voice of the Witness ceases to be heard on the earth, and then the end will come. Our prayers are with all those who have been sympathizers and supporters, and may Yahshua find our houses in order upon His grand and glorious return.
Update 06/09/06: We have received notice that the official arbitration procedure has begun as of June 8th of this year. We are now in the 20-day response process, and will be making reply to WIPO in a timely fashion, Yahweh willing. The complaint document itself may be viewed HERE. Let us be fervent in prayer as matters continue to develop.
Update 06/16/06: We finally received a seven pound package from the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), in Geneva, Switzerland. It contains the complaint filed by the General Conference, along with all annexes and other official policies set for the arbitration process. This is evidently a duplication of the box that the General Conference attorney tried to have delivered to Pastor "Chick" at the church house in Tennessee.
Update 06/28/06: Our response has been sent to the WIPO doman dispute center by email and by FedEx as of yesterday, 27th of June. The response may be viewed HERE, and the list of annexes sent may be viewed HERE. Our prayers continue upward for Yah's perfect will to be done in this situation.
Update 09/02/06: We have received the decision of the arbitration panel appointed by WIPO. The decision of the panel is that all four of the domain names under dispute must be turned over to the Conference. This will be done automatically at some point in the near future; therefore, we are in the process of updating our current site to house all of our relevant data. We are anticipating that local litigation may follow at any time, therefore we ask for the continued prayers and support of those who protest any and all unions of civil power with ecclesiastical authority. The decision documents that pertain to our case may be read HERE and HERE. The official online WIPO decision may be accessed HERE.
Update 09/27/06: The SDA trademark lawsuit expected for the past 15 years has now begun. The "image of the beast" is imposing "the mark" on the "Remnant Church of Creation 7th Day Adventists." The legal complaint may be viewed by clicking HERE or HERE for printable PDF format.
Update 10/10/06: The General Conference of SDA is now threatening Pastor "Chick" with a demand letter regarding a CSDA domain name in Canada. See images of the letter and Canadian trademark documents following:
Demand Letter, page 1
Demand Letter, page 2
Trademark Document, page 1
Trademark Document, page 2
The Canadian website is accessed HERE.Pastor "Chick" will be answering the demand letter in a timely manner.
Update 10/20/06: Read Pastor "Chick's" response to Associate General Counsel Parker's demand letter HERE.
Update 11/01/06: The new book entitled Finally... Out of Darkness, Into His Marvelous Light was mailed to all of the Conference Offices in North America today. Read the CSDA Church Membership Cover Letter enclosed with the gift book HERE.
Update 12/24/06: The official scheduling order for the McGill lawsuit has been received. A jury trial is set for January 7, 2008 (a three-day trial is expected).
Update 03/25/07: A two-page letter has been sent out to a large number of Adventists to inform them of the Trademark lawsuit, of which most are unaware. Positive responses have already begun to be received as a result of this information.
Update 05/17/07: A Letter of Appeal dated April, 2007, has been drafted to and posted for the benefit of the General Conference Seventh-day Adventist membership.
Update 10/14/07: A
Update 11/17/07: Judge James Todd rescheduled the three-day jury trial to begin June 2, 2008. Lead attorney for the Plaintiffs, Jeffrey Tew, has officially withdrawn from the trademark lawsuit.
Update 04/29/08: A court order was filed by the judge denying the General Conference motion to prevent a jury trial. This is a signal victory in the McGill case.
Update 05/30/08: Judge Daniel Breen rescheduled the three-day jury trial to begin Monday, October 6th at 9:30 a.m.
Update 06/16/08: An order granting in part and denying in part [pdf/doc] the General Conference's motion for a summary judgment was issued on June 11, 2008. The trademarked name "Seventh day Adventist" was upheld by the judge's decision. A complete victory was denied the Conference, however, regarding the words "SDA and "Adventist." As more information about what this decision means for the CSDA movement becomes available, we will update this page.
Update 09/04/08: The trial has been moved to an unset date pending a court-mandated mediation conference between Pastor McGill and the Plaintiffs, set for October 2nd. The purpose of the conference is to attempt to reach a comprimise regarding the remaining issues - the acronym "S.D.A." and the name "Adventist." Pastor McGill has certified to the court that he will not be attending the mediation conference.
Update 05/27/09: An injunction is issued by judge Daniel Breen enjoining the Church from using the names Seventh-day Adventist, Seventh-day, Adventist, or the acronym SDA with an order to submit a sworn notice of compliance to the Court by June 17, 2009. No compliance report was filed.
Update 08/20/09: An appellant brief has been filed in the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit by the defendant.
Update 11/21/09: The attorneys for the General Conference have submitted a proposed order of contempt to the Court. While it has yet to be accepted or rejected by the Judge, it is highly significant as it reveals clearly the intent and desires of the General Conference towards dissenters. Written as though it were by the Judge himself, the General Conference seeks in the document - among other things - the immediate arrest and incarceration of Pastor McGill as soon as he returns to any part of the United States, the dispatch of a U.S. Federal Marshal to the Guys property - accompanied by and under the direction of the General Conference's representative - to confiscate and destroy all signs and materials displaying or even containing the terms "Adventist," "SDA," "CSDA," etc., the removal of several domain names and websites, including several domains such as thefourthangel.net which have no relation to the Church name, and the authority to carry out an investigation into the identities of anyone other than Pastor McGill who may be assisting in proclaiming the CSDA message.
The sheer similarity between the words in this document and the words of the Papacy during the Reformation are so striking that they ought to make any supporter of the trademark policy blush in shame. A document written by the church for the magistrate to adopt and enforce, authorizing the destruction of heretical materials by an officer of the law acting under the direct physical supervision of an agent of the church, the imprisonment of dissenters wherever they may be found until such a time as they recant, and the authority to seek out and find any others who dare defy the ruling - all because of the name in which we teach our faith. Truly the image bears a striking resemblance to the beast.
Update 12/14/09: The Magistrate Judge has filed a report and recommendation with the Court advising it to adopt the contempt of court charges requested by the Conference and award them attorney's fees, as well as the confiscation of virtually all domain names related to the CSDA faith, whether making use the name or not. The Magistrate Judge advised against the use of U.S. Marshals, as the GC had requested, and instead advised the Court to order the GC to "see ye to it," taking down the signs either themselves or through their agents, and to present us with the bill. Surely, the sight of the General Conference's agents reaching up to destroy and obscure the name "Seventh Day Adventist" will be of great significance in the eyes of the watching universe.
Update January 6, 2010: Judge Breen adopts the Magistrate judge's recommendation in full and issues an order of contempt against Pastor McGill. The order also authorizes the seizure of several websites suspected of association with or ownership by the CSDA Church, including some not violative of the injunction.
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