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Knowing nothing about the Adventist Church or the Maxwell you are speaking of, I am rather astounded that your Church had you thrown in jail. The newsletter is rather odd to say the least. Perhaps you need to change denominations?
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I know a man who was disfellowshiped from the local SDA church many years ago. His "crime"? He could not break the smoking habit.
I'm not a Seventh Day Adventist, but many members of my family are. I can verify that this sort of thing happens quite regularly. IMHO the SDA denomination is a dying denomination. The young people are leaving the church in droves, leaving local congregations of elderly people the norm. My stumbling block was the emphasis on using Ellen G. White (the "prophet" of the SDA) to interpret the Bible. They use EGW much like the LDS use Joseph Smith.