Kwabena Donkor, The Pillars of Adventism in the World Today: Being Seventh-day Adventist and Knowing Why. (original) (raw)
Related papers
Adventism and the World: Towards an Adventist Theology of Solidarity
This paper addresses the need for the Seventh Day Adventist church to find solidarity with the world, without conforming to the world. This analysis will begin with the church's " apolitical " stance, and proceed to briefly sketch the evolution of this stance in history. This paper will also briefly sketch a contradiction between this stance, and the practice of the church by looking at the church in South African history as a brief case study: that the church in South Africa assumed an apolitical stance, yet in its accepted practices it reflected the " worldly " politics of the time (racial segregation) in South Africa. In order to move towards a way of finding solidarity between the church and the world, first a biblical notion of how the church must relate to the world will be sought. This will be done through firstly sketching a brief biblical notion of the world; secondly, how God relates with the world through Christ. Christ will then be taken as the point of entry, through which solidarity between the world and the SDA church will be explored. The paper will end by suggesting that an Adventist theology of liberation would serve the cause of Christ, but will only give a brief sketch of what that theology could look like by using the two of the church's beliefs – The Lord's Supper, and Sabbath Keeping – as a short case study. Abbreviations: SDA – Seventh Day Adventist
2005
The fundamental question to which a thorough consideration has been given in this research is, ‘What was the Adventist spirituality like that matured from 1844 to 1915’? In answering this question, the current work has proposed to identify and give a documented description and analysis of the crucial features that are most specific to Seventh-day Adventism, determinative of its spirituality. Underlying the above-stated enquiry into Adventism’s spiritual identity, there is a correlated quest at the heart of the current thesis. This is the role which Ellen G. White (1827-1915) and her charismatic ministry played in the shaping of Seventh-day Adventist spirituality primarily within its American socio-cultural context. With regard to this form of piety, the study has thoroughly documented that it is recognisable by a set of distinctive and interrelated features. These characterised the personal and communal spirituality of those who perceived themselves to live within the temporal frame of what they thought to be a yet unprecedented Era of human history and of the history of salvation: the very Time of the End. Having identified the aforementioned fact of the Adventist perception of history, the research has yielded further evidence to substantiate the following conclusions. In Adventism one is faced with a form of Protestant apocalyptic piety of the modern age, identifiable by the following five characteristics: 1) collective consciousness of being the End-Time Remnant; 2) a sense of eschatological crisis; 3) historicist biblical hermeneutic; 4) apocalyptic gospel; 5) a set of three institutions – publishing, health, and education – to promote a specifically ‘Adventist’ lifestyle. Adventist lifestyle has been found to be a representative mode of witnessing to the Adventist faith, with healthy living, six days of diligent work followed by a work-free observance of, and liturgical celebration on, the seventh-day Sabbath (Saturday). From 1844 to the present time, Adventists pursued their spirituality as an act of obedience to the End-Time will and purposes of God. The research has documented that such an understanding of spirituality turned the apocalyptic corpus of the Bible into the prime source of Adventist piety and devotion.
Remnant Identity: The Quest for Adventist Ecclesiology in the Last 40 Years (1980-2020)
REMNANT IDENTITY: THE QUEST FOR ADVENTIST ECCLESIOLOGY IN THE LAST 40 YEARS (1980-2020), 2020
This was my Th.M. Thesis at the Southern Methodist University. In ecclesiological terms Seventh-day Adventism has primarily self-identified as Remnant. In the first chapter, this thesis provides a summary of the relevant background and history of Seventh-day Adventist beliefs, mission, and identity. This is done in order to give an overview and critical evaluation of selected, representative Adventist scholarship on the concept of remnant, which is covered in chapter two. Chapter three provides a working taxonomy of the concept of Remnant and suggests which underlying assumptions might be shaping the debate, proposing questions that offer possible paths for further ecclesiological development. The thesis finds that the differences in remnant identity are mainly between a focus on either orthodoxy or orthopraxy. The taxonomy reveals the inadequacies of the status quo on identity. The last step suggests that four themes have contributed significantly to debate on remnant, namely 1) the Delay of the Parousia, 2) Hermeneutics, 3) the Kingdom of God, and 4) Arminian Soteriology. I explicate these themes and show possible underlying tensions, raising questions that indicate areas requiring careful development in the pursuit of an Adventist Ecclesiology.
From Vision to System: Finishing the Task of Adventist Biblical and Systematic Theologies - Part II
Journal of the Adventist Theological Society, 2005
In the first article of this three article series, we traced the more salient turns in the development of the Adventist hermeneutical vision from its origins to the present. This summary overview brought to light some important facts about the way Adventists do theology. For early Adventists the Sanctuary doctrine became the hermeneutical vision guiding the discovery of a complete system of theology and truth. This system of theology, in turn, guided the practice of ministry and led to the growth and worldwide expansion of the Adventist church.
Emerging Church and Seventh-day Adventist Spirituality
Spes Christiana, 2021
Postmodernism challenges the church. The complexity of late 20th and early 21st century American evangelicalism was the environment for fresh Emerging Church conversations. Interest in Americanized Church Growth was waning, and church attendance was continuing to decline in spite of charismatic renewal. There was increasing frustration with the evangelistic ineffectiveness of the megachurch seeker models in reaching postmoderns, together with the growing realization that there were alternatives to inherited Constantinian models of church. It is a complex conversation. Some, who are faithful to biblical authority, doctrine and the eternal gospel of Jesus Christ, have sought to keep the focus on being both a missional and missionary movement. This article does not simply list what is right or wrong with Emerging Church, nor confine discussion to certain practices. It examines how Adventists have assessed this movement, and, in reflecting the author's academic, professional and personal journey of ministry, it represents an Adventist response.