Church History

Introduction Christian theologians and philosophers have discussed human nature for some two millennia. In light of the daunting smallness of human beings against the backdrop of God’s greatness and the vastness of the universe already the psalmist raised the question: “ What are human beings th...

Michael Campbell 1919: The Untold Story of Adventism’s Struggle with Fundamentalism (Nampa, ID: Pacific Press, 2019). For the one hundredth anniversary of the 1919 Adventist Bible Conference, Pacific Press published a short volume written by Southwestern Adventist University professor Michael W. ...

War is an everyday reality that no longer happens remotely: it is played out in our living rooms and over the breakfast table, thanks to embedded reporters, smartphones, and the Internet. Adventists and Military Service, an initiative of the Inter-European Division Biblical Research Committee, is...

To commemorate the five hundredth anniversary of the beginning of the Protestant Reformation, the editors carefully chose a collection of essays that explore “the various facets and contours of Luther and compares them with Seventh-day Adventism.” The book is comprised of four parts: Historical F...

Like most Christians, Seventh-day Adventists have historically displayed little interest in ecological matters. Around 1970, Adventist authors began addressing the issue of Christians’ responsibilities regarding the earth. However, such important efforts and official statements were neither comprehensive nor systematic. It remains for Adventists to develop a theology of environmental responsibility—one that is not only Christian but also uniquely Adventist. This presentation proposes an Adventist theology of the earth within a paradigm of five affirmations and two symbols. While none of these affirmations or symbols are entirely unique to Adventism, the assemblage is particularly characteristic of Adventist thought and practice. It asserts that such a theology of the earth is both complementary to an Adventist eschatology and necessary for it.

Since the ultimate aim of Christianity is the second coming of Jesus and the arrival of the kingdom of God, the delay of the second coming of Jesus is one of the most important issues to be solved by Christian theology. This presentation explores the understanding of Christian eschatology in modern theology with the historical dialectic method, and proposes the historical understanding of the kingdom of God as a synthesis of Christian eschatology. To understand Christian eschatology as the correct Christian theology, we should pursue the historical understanding that the Kingdom of God was presented in the past as the crucifixion of Christ, and is realized today in the lives of Christians, and will be completed in the future through the second coming of Jesus Christ.

World War I was a defining moment in world history. It had profound implications for religion, particularly among evangelical Christians. At the same time, it also had profound implications for Seventh-day Adventism. This presentation examines its impact for Seventh-day Adventist theology, particularly in a renewed emphasis upon Adventist eschatology. During World War I the rising fundamentalist movement held a series of prophecy conferences that captured the attention of Adventist church leaders. By the end of the conflict this sense of militarism had pervaded Protestant Christianity with various reactions to the war. This presentation surveys some of those reactions within Adventism, including how this impacted eschatological debates with Adventism and fundamentalism. The focus of this presentation is to survey Adventist eschatology and theological debates from World War I through World War II, leading up to the pivotal 1952 Bible Conference that finally culminated in continued eschatological discussions. This presentation argues that both twentieth-century world wars had a profound impact upon Seventh-day Adventist theology.

This presentation focuses on specific and geographically restricted millenialist trends by examining the interpretation and use of Daniel 2 and 7 four-kingdom schema by João de Castro and António Vieira. Though coming from diverse contexts and aims, the interpretations of these two Portuguese enthusiasts reveal fascinating parallels with basic Adventist understandings of the theme.

The Roman Catholic Church has had a fascinating history and contradictory relationship with the ecumenical movement. Catholic popes prohibited participation in dialogues with Protestants until the Second Vatican Council opened the door to full participation in ecumenical activities. This was a complete reversal of policy and since then the Catholic Church has been very involved in the movement. This presentation will give a brief survey of the historical developments from isolationism, in the nineteenth century, to current participation in the ecumenical movement, highlighting changes in policy and outlook, John Paul II’s contributions, and more recently Francis’s. In closing, it will give a brief outlook of possible trends and future developments.

Scripture reveals promises that shape biblical eschatology, the advent hope. However, is eschatology being presented in a way relevant to audiences of the twenty-first century? The Hebrew generations who coexisted during the early Persian period can illuminate current challenges on the proclamation of the Advent Hope. An overview of the Hope messages to the audiences of Haggai, Malachi, and Hadassah provides principles that are relevant today. These audiences have many elements in common with modernists, postmoderns, and metamoderns who coexist in current communities. Insights from these biblical texts and their archaeological context illuminate ways that could be used to present Adventist eschatology to contemporary generations.