This is a book written from a pastoral heart, totally interested in the unity of the church and in bringing healing to doctrinal and theological controversies within the Adventist Church. The tone is irenic and conversational as it tries to deal with both sides of the debate as fairly as possible. What should happen in order for conservatives and liberals to coexist within the church in a harmonious way? This is the question that Thompson is seeking to answer. He works with what is almost an assumption: The church needs both of them. But how can they function together? Here is his plan as I understood it.

First, we must agree on what fully matters in the Bible. His first concern is defining fundamental doctrines. The suggestion he offers is based on a covenant of faith written by the Michigan Conference in 1861: An Adventist is one who (1) keeps the Sabbath, (2) keeps the Commandments of God, (3) believes in the Second Coming of Christ, and (4) has the faith of Jesus. Under the influence of James White, Thompson adds a fifth one: the conviction that the Bible is our creed. He also argues that there are two other elements that matter in the Bible: the law of love, which calls us to treat others the way we would like to be treated if we were where they are now; and the example of Jesus, who loved and accepted all and lived and taught a life of simplicity— what is needed is His gentle love as we deal with each other.

The implication of his discussion is that outside of these minimal convictions the church should accept a diversity of views. Thus liberals and conservatives would be able to coexist within the same community of faith. This, according to Thompson, is nothing new. The Bible, our creed, is itself characterized by a diversity of views. The rest of his book is basically a development of the ideas expressed in the first three chapters.

One of the problems that Thompson faced was defining the terms conservative and liberal. Readers must wait until chapter eleven to find his full treatment of the two terms. For him, the terms are primarily temperamental distinctions, psychological traits, and therefore both groups make contributions in the sense that we need both types of temperaments. In specifying the differences between the two, things become more complex. He admits that his own definition does not fit him and I suspect that both conservatives and liberals will argue that they are not properly represented in the definition of the terms. This raises questions related to the audience and the significance or value of the book. Could it be possible that the book is addressing a straw man? Are we not dealing here with deep conflicting ideologies and doctrinal matters and not just with temperamental issues?

The second problem Thompson faced was how to establish what really matters in the Bible. In order to keep both groups together he decided to look for the least common denominator. This minimalist approach limits the message of the church to five elements arbitrarily selected by the author. Thompson anticipated some problems with respect to the emphasis Ellen G. White gives to the doctrine of the sanctuary as being part of the very foundation of the Adventist message and mission. But he dismisses it by indicating that the purpose of the sanctuary was simply to affirm the truth of the Sabbath and the Law. Is that so? I do not think so.

Thompson also inadvertently adds another one: the unity of the church (p. 20). I suppose that he is referring to the world church. In that case I would have to say that only the world church has the authority to define the message and mission of the church based on the Scripture and under the guidance of the Spirit. If the criterion to be used in defining what we should consider to be non-negotiable is ensuring that liberals and conservatives can coexist in the church, then the principle of sola scriptura is no longer valid.

This book is not likely to please anybody. It is Thompson’s vision, a vision that the church will unquestionably not embrace. This is another weakness in the book. Unlike the Thompson we know personally, he comes across in the book as the only one with ultimate solutions. And the solutions he offers are grounded in his views on the revelation and inspiration of the Bible, particularly how to deal with contradictions in the Bible and with the picture of God found in the Old Testament. This is a topic that he has addressed in his previous books and is summarized in this one. His views have not seriously impacted the world church. One has to raise the question, why are his views still being pushed on the church? This has nothing to do with Thompson, who has the right to write and believe whatever he wants. This is about the mission of our publishing houses.

Finally, let me say that the book is already outdated. The church is no longer dealing with liberals versus conservatives but with conservatives versus radicals. We only need to look at the websites that originally promoted liberal/progressive views to realize that the stakes are now very high. The church is facing radicals who are actively involved in an open attack against many of the biblical truths that we have been called to proclaim while seeking to entice church members to support them. Having said that, I support Thompson’s desire for love to prevail and for us to avoid treating each other as enemies. God in His own time will address this concern. Meanwhile, let us pray for each other.