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[Murcielago]

They should keep whatever day is the seventh-day as reckoned by a point referenced to a line directly south of the middle of the Bering Strait.

Why?

[Dedication]

Actually the idea that the day must begin on a STRAIGHT LINE is an illusion.   
Now if you start the day at midnight, it might work, but biblically each day begins at sunset.

This means that even if you chose a straight line along one single longitude, you can have a ten hour difference in the time the sun actually sets along that line.

So on any given  longitude, the sunset doesn't set in a straight line following along that longitude, it can take  more than a 10 hour span! 

On a June 21 (summer solstice) the sun sets
--at the equator at 6:00 p.m.
--At the Arctic Circle it sets at 11:30 p.m. (close to midnight)
--At the Antarctic Circle it sets at 12:30 (noon)

On a Dec. 21, it's reversed
--at the equator at 6:00 p.m.
--At the Arctic Circle it sets at 12:30  (noon)
--At the Antarctic Circle it sets at 11:30 p.m.(close to midnight)

So when people argue the "straight line"  with the illusion that the darkness falls in a straight line along a given longitude, have a wrong concept--  they haven't considered the problem of the earth's tilted axis.

[Dedication]

They should keep whatever day is the seventh-day as reckoned by a point referenced to a line directly south of the middle of the Bering Strait.

Why?

It's where J.N.Andrews, in his studies felt it should be.
Because
1)The day for "old world" ancients and Bible writers began at the eastern tip of Asia
2)The sun set in the west and as Europeans travelled further west they brought the seven day week count to America
3)The Day ends at the farthest tip of America (which is Alaska)
4) The dateline needs to be a natural barrier --
A natural barrier, that runs from the north to the south and does not run through populated areas.
The Bering Straits are just such a natural barrier where east meets west at a point where a line can be drawn from north to south meeting next to no land masses.

[Bob Pickle]

Ulicia, I think that is the easiest and most logical solution.

The Aleutian Islands, they have an appearance of going with Alaska, but following Andrews' reasoning, some of them would go with Russia as far as the day of the week. Does this seem a little unnatural to you? It does to me.

[SDAminister]

Ulicia, I think that is the easiest and most logical solution.

The Aleutian Islands, they have an appearance of going with Alaska, but following Andrews' reasoning, some of them would go with Russia as far as the day of the week. Does this seem a little unnatural to you? It does to me.

Why would this be unnatural?

[Bob Pickle]

Ulicia, I think that is the easiest and most logical solution.

The Aleutian Islands, they have an appearance of going with Alaska, but following Andrews' reasoning, some of them would go with Russia as far as the day of the week. Does this seem a little unnatural to you? It does to me.

Why would this be unnatural?

It seems more natural to me to keep visibly associated land masses together. That may be improper, but it seems more natural to me.

[Murcielago]

Ulicia, I think that is the easiest and most logical solution.

The Aleutian Islands, they have an appearance of going with Alaska, but following Andrews' reasoning, some of them would go with Russia as far as the day of the week. Does this seem a little unnatural to you? It does to me.

Why would this be unnatural?

I agree. Isn't that part of the Samoan conundrum?

It seems more natural to me to keep visibly associated land masses together. That may be improper, but it seems more natural to me.

[Bob Pickle]

Ulicia, I think that is the easiest and most logical solution.

The Aleutian Islands, they have an appearance of going with Alaska, but following Andrews' reasoning, some of them would go with Russia as far as the day of the week. Does this seem a little unnatural to you? It does to me.

Why would this be unnatural?

It seems more natural to me to keep visibly associated land masses together. That may be improper, but it seems more natural to me.

I agree. Isn't that part of the Samoan conundrum?

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/61/International_Date_Line.png

I don't see any way to conclude that Samoa more naturally is associated with land masses to the east of the international date line. Plus, Samoa would be west of a line drawn down from the Bering Strait. It is the local mission leadership that wants to keep Samoa on the east of the IDL for calculating the Sabbath.

[Murcielago]

Ulicia, I think that is the easiest and most logical solution.

The Aleutian Islands, they have an appearance of going with Alaska, but following Andrews' reasoning, some of them would go with Russia as far as the day of the week. Does this seem a little unnatural to you? It does to me.

Why would this be unnatural?

It seems more natural to me to keep visibly associated land masses together. That may be improper, but it seems more natural to me.

I agree. Isn't that part of the Samoan conundrum?

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/61/International_Date_Line.png

I don't see any way to conclude that Samoa more naturally is associated with land masses to the east of the international date line. Plus, Samoa would be west of a line drawn down from the Bering Strait. It is the local mission leadership that wants to keep Samoa on the east of the IDL for calculating the Sabbath.

It's a good thing we serve a God who isn't vengeful about these strange little confusions that come up. Is he was, we would all land in the hot place without question. None of us knows it all, and even when we do the best we know, we are still, without doubt, breaking some rule. Nothing in the Bible says where the IDL is, so it seems reasonable that any debate on divine will in this matter is based on man's conjecture.

[Dedication]

So now -- if the Bible, as has been said, does not define the dateline, on what do we base the last day crises when issue will be --
Do we serve God and remember His day which He blessed and made holy, or do we worship the Beast and honour his  "sun" day?

I really don't believe God would make something a test that isn't clearly defined.
Thus before the test can come that definition must be clear.


J.N.Andrews makes the best arguments for the placement of the dateline.
Right now the "default dateline" is too far west and has cut many Islands away from their origins for about 100 years, but now they are moving back.

One rather startling observation --
If the dateline were moved to run straight down from the Bering Straits  it would be approximately at 168W longitude --
Guess where this would place the Prime meridian (line 0) --what center would it be close too?

[Dedication]

Ulicia, I think that is the easiest and most logical solution.

The Aleutian Islands, they have an appearance of going with Alaska, but following Andrews' reasoning, some of them would go with Russia as far as the day of the week. Does this seem a little unnatural to you? It does to me.

That's why the dateline has always zig zagged.   
It is unnatural for a country to be on two different days.  So a dateline through populated areas is unnatural.

However, the Aleutian islands, as far as I understand are largely unpopulated.   I was curious if any Adventists lived on them and were worshipping on Friday (since they are east of the dateline but west of the 180th) under the same arguments that Tonga (which is west of the dateline but east of the 180th) worshipped on Sunday these past 120 years.  But there doesn't seem to be any people there. 

Right now if the 168W were set as the default dateline it would more nearly reflect where the literal dateline is right now in relation to the populated areas!

Of course:
Kiribati Islands would still want it further east ( but it won't jut out quite so far anymore)
And the largely unpopulated Aleutian islands would still want it further west.

[Bob Pickle]

One rather startling observation --
If the dateline were moved to run straight down from the Bering Straits  it would be approximately at 168W longitude --
Guess where this would place the Prime meridian (line 0) --what center would it be close too?

Rome? Rome is 12.5E.

[Daryl Fawcett]

I previously searched through the EGW CD regarding this topic and placed the results here for all to read:

http://www.maritime-sda-online.com/main/?page_id=100

I underlined the more relevant parts in relation to this topic.

[Gregory]

So, tell us what you think EGW is saying.

[Dedication]

To understand you need to know the history and circumstances that triggered the writing.