To Observe, or Not to Observe, the Old Testament’s Sabbaths: Brother Eli Soriano Faces a Portuguese SDA Pastor in a Debate

Brazil, December 18, 2020 – Bro. Eli Soriano, a multi-awarded Filipino televangelist and host of The Old Path program, debated with Brazil-based Seventh Day Adventist Pastor, João Pedro Torales, about whether, or not, the Sabbath day should still be observed by Christians today.

Taking the affirmative side of the topic, Torales would defend by using the Bible “that the Sabbath is the Lord’s commandment, blessed and sanctified and impossible to be abolished.”

Bro. Eli and João Pedro Torales during the Youtube Live Debate that was live-streamed on The Old Path, O Caminho Antigo and El Camino Antigo Youtube Channels respectively.

Bro. Eli, who was on the negative side, stressed, “It is not true that when God creates something, He cannot abolish it anymore.” He urged his Portuguese viewers and fellowmen to read and rely more on the Bible instead of just believing pastors who simply give their own interpretations of the Holy Scriptures.  For Bro. Eli, the Bible is “a document that is irreplaceable.”

The 3-hour-long debate was hosted on Youtube by O Caminho Antigo, the Portuguese counterpart of The Old Path program, at 8 p.m. Brazil Time (7 a.m. PHT on December 19), and was moderated by a third-party.

Live translations in English, Spanish, and Filipino were available on the Youtube channels of The Old Path, El Camino Antiguo, and Ang Dating Daan, respectively.

Tension in the Course of the Discussion

After the first round of the discussion, Bro. Eli’s cross-examination on Torales was met with delay. Obtaining answers proved difficult as the latter kept on evading the questions raised by Bro. Eli, which lead to tension.

The Seventh Day Adventist (SDA) pastor was given 15 minutes to defend his stand by explaining why he believes that the observance of the Sabbath, which he believes to be the seventh day of the week, must be kept by Christians to this day.

During the cross-examination, Bro. Eli asked him, “Can God abolish something which He has done?”  Torales evaded giving a categorical answer. Bro. Eli then changed his question to, “How many sabbaths are there in the Bible?” A follow up question was asked, “Who made the ceremonial sabbaths that you were talking about?”

For Torales, it was clear that God was the One who created the ceremonial sabbaths. However, when Bro. Eli inquired if the “ceremonial sabbaths” are still being observed today, the arrogant pastor, again, refused to answer directly. At this point, Bro. Eli asked the timekeeper to stop the timer in order to make a few clarifications and to educate his opponent on the general rules of debates. 

Torales later accused Bro. Eli of manipulating or redirecting him as to what to say. He stated in Portuguese, “I can’t always answer yes or no to a question. I will answer in my own manner, not in the way he wants me to!” However, it was clear to the audience that Bro. Eli just wanted Torales to answer how he was exactly asked instead of giving extraneous explanation when not asked to as it was cross-examination time. 

While cross-examining Torales in the second round, the veteran preacher also received some unwarranted insults from the pastor who, upon disagreeing with a statement of Bro. Eli, exclaimed, “Look at how wrong you are, because of your lack of knowledge of the Bible.”

Although he addressed it, Bro. Eli laughed lightly at the derogatory remark thrown on him and simply asked his opponent to do away with meaningless insults during what is supposed to be a gentlemen’s debate.

An Irreplaceable Bible

“Do not fall victim to those people who give personal interpretations to the words of God written in the Bible. Because we have the Bible, a document that is irreplaceable!” exclaimed Bro. Eli during the second round of the discussion.

Bro. Eli started his round by stating, “It is not true that if God creates something, He can no longer change it. God who created all things has the power and authority to change or abolish them.”

 With verses from the Bible, Bro. Eli presented examples of things that God has changed or abolished. His first example is the priesthood, as mentioned in the verse below.

Hebrews 7:12, King James Version:

For the priesthood being changed, there is made of necessity a change also of the law.

 Another example was the covenant, as clearly stated in the following verses:

 Hebrews 8:7-9, King James Version:

⁷ For if that first covenant had been faultless, then should no place have been sought for the second.

⁸ For finding fault with them, he saith, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah:

⁹ Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, saith the Lord.

Hebrews 10:9, King James Version:

Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second.

At the end of the debate, the moderator did not declare any victor, rather, both sides opted to provide their own analyses of the discussions that ensued earlier.

The largest viewership of this live debate was recorded on the Ang Dating Daan Youtube channel to an audience of over 15,000. Meanwhile, the official hashtag for the event, #OCADebate, trended on Twitter at number 1 in the Philippines.

Debate Challenges to Bro. Eli 

João Torales was not the first Seventh Day Adventist representative to debate against Bro. Eli Soriano, although he was the first to debate with him online.

The Old Path hosted the debate of Bro. Eli Soriano vs. Mitch Vickers, an elder of the Sabbath Day Adventist congregation, pictured in the above screenshot in California.

In 2008, Bro. Eli debated with the late Mitch Vickers, a Seventh Day Adventist Head Elder and Teacher who was based in California. Bro. Eli defended the negative side of the argument: Is there still a need to obey the Ten Commandments or are we to obey a new set of commandments in this age of Christianity?

Some of Bro. Eli’s most notable debates are still viewable on Youtube and on his official website, www.elisoriano.com/debates.

Bro. Eli Soriano continues to host several segments of MCGI’s flagship program, The Old Path or Ang Dating Daan, which is celebrating four decades of broadcast propagation this year.