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Praise for the Promise of Peace Praise for The Promise of Peace “The book opens up fresh possibilities of thinking and being, and serves as a window into the soul of a new century Adventism. While dis- turbing to every form of status quo, the book is full of hope and promise. I am thrilled that this book is coming to us at this time.”—Raj Attiken, DMin, president, Ohio Conference of Seventh-day Adventists “Charles Scriven’s The Promise of Peace will give hope to a new gen- eration of Adventists who desperately long to re-appropriate their faith and traditions in a way that gives meaning to their lives and helps them shape a more peaceful and just world. I will be using this book with all my new members.”—Ryan Bell, pastor, Hollywood Adventist Church “Scriven is a son of the soil and that soil is the Adventist faith com- munity. All of his thought roads lead to his ‘beloved community.’ In spite of its warts and blemishes, he chooses to identify and suffer with this peacemaking remnant.”—Charles Bradford, former president, North American Division of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists “Scriven has given young North American Adventists something to celebrate—a description of our church’s heritage and identity, which in- spires hope in spite of our frequent failures to live up to our ideals. Read- ing The Promise of Peace made me proud of my Adventist heritage.” —Lisa Clark Diller, professor of history, Southern Adventist University “Scriven makes a passionate appeal for Adventists to be faithful to their high destiny. I am especially moved by chapter 5, which challenges the church to recover its peacemaking roots in a world torn by war.” —Roger Dudley, professor, Andrews University “Scriven, ever honest about life’s hurts and horrors, explores the Ad- ventist faith as the practice of hope. As one who takes seriously being and becoming Adventist, I am a better one for having read this book. I look forward to the classroom conversations it will generate!”—Kendra Haloviak, assistant professor of New Testament studies, La Sierra Uni- versity “Scriven, writing with the passion of an evangelist, seeks to invigorate a tradition in need of making itself relevant to the here and now. I love and cherish this book. I will make sure that my kids read it.”—Edwin I. Hernandez, PhD, Foundations research director, DeVos Family Foun- dations, and research fellow, Center for the Study of Latino Religion, University of Notre Dame “Is Adventism defined simply by its doctrines? Charles Scriven offers a fresh and insightful approach: as important as specific doctrines and behaviors may be, they find their basis in the peacemaking mission of God and His people in the world.”—Donn W. Leatherman, professor of religion, Southern Adventist University “Don’t get this book if you’re afraid to have your faith re-focused, re- energized, perhaps even revolutionized. Or if you’re hesitant to spark a lively, well-informed discussion in your class or study group about the meaning of historic Adventism for contemporary times.”—Douglas Morgan, professor of history and political studies, Columbia Union Col- lege; director, Adventist Peace Fellowship “This book expresses hope for a radically new—yet historic—way of being Adventist and doing the work of God as a people of shalom, which, I believe, lies at the heart of Adventism’s apocalyptic dream.”—Julius Nam, associate professor of religion, Loma Linda University Also by Charles Scriven The Transformation of Culture: Christian Social Ethics After H. Richard Niebuhr The Demons Have Had It: A Theological ABC How to Believe When You Hurt Pacific Press® Publishing Association Nampa, Idaho Oshawa, Ontario, Canada www.pacificpress.com Cover design by Gerald Lee Monks Inside design by Aaron Troia Copyright © 2009 by Pacific Press® Publishing Association Printed in the United States of America All rights reserved Scripture texts not otherwise credited are from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright © 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Coun- cil of the Churches of Christ in the USA. Used by permission. All rights reserved. You can obtain additional copies of this book by calling toll-free 1-800-765-6955 or by visiting www.adventistbookcenter.com. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Scriven, Charles. The promise of peace : dare to live the Advent hope / Charles Scriven. p. cm. ISBN 13: 978-0-8163-2350-0 (pbk.) ISBN 10: 0-8163-2350-X (pbk.) 1. Adventists—Doctrines. I. Title. BX6121.S37 2009 230’.67—dc22 2009009538 09 10 11 12 13 • 5 4 3 2 1 Acknowledgments and Dedication What you will read here are notes on a long conversation. My seminary teachers at Andrews University challenged and inspired me, especially Roy Branson. So did my teachers at the Graduate Theo- logical Union in Berkeley, especially James Wm. McClendon Jr. My colleagues at Walla Walla University kept the long conversation going, as did my colleagues at the Sligo church, near Washington, D.C., and at Columbia Union College just next door. For the past nine years, I’ve worked at Kettering College of Medical Arts, where, as members of the Theological Club know, the conversation is still rich, and where leaders of the parent Kettering Health Network provide a congenial atmosphere for what I like to call the ministry of imagination. Besides these teachers and friends, there are the books I’ve read, so many of them like the morning light that scatters darkness. As I hope someone may be grateful for what I’ve written here, I am grateful for what the authors of these books have bequeathed to me. The endnotes do not begin to account for my entire debt to them. Several people took the trouble to read chapter drafts along the way, including Raj Attiken, Roy Branson, Lisa Diller, Bonnie Dwyer, Kendra Haloviak, James Londis, Charles Sandefur, Graeme Sharrock, and Da- ryll Ward. I wish to single out Doug Morgan in particular, who, by way of both his scholarship and his passion for peace, gave invaluable guid- ance and support. Bert Haloviak deserves thanks for helping me with details of Advent- ist history. For their patience and attention, I thank members of the Adventist Society for Religious Studies, who heard drafts of many of the book’s chapters at the annual meeting we all love to attend. I also wish to thank Arthur Patrick, who arranged for me to speak on the book’s themes at Avondale College in Australia, where my working title (up to that point) began to change into the one you see now. I also owe much to my editors at Pacific Press—to Tim Lale (now at Southern Adventist University), 7 The Promise of Peace who took a highly encouraging interest in my book proposal, and to David Jarnes, who did all the work on the manuscript. I also thank Karen Pearson. When, in 2004, I asked Rebekah Wang to read chapter drafts for me, she suspected right away that my request was partly disingenuous. Not long afterward, she became my wife and best friend. Again and again as my work continued, Becky reminded me to shun pomposity in my writ- ing and easy optimism in my theology. Her gift for seeing into the hu- man heart and her awareness of how much we need the Second Coming are singular embodiments of grace. As for her habit of pushing me, some- times severely, toward the finish line, let me say only that without her, I might still be fretting over endnotes or looking for another synonym. All three of my children make an appearance in these pages. Jonathan, Christina, and Jeremy are themselves part of the long conversation. To them, and to Marianne, their mother, I owe much of the joy I have known, and also much of the insight. In its way, the whole book is a fa- ther’s letter—a record of what he hopes his family will remember about his passions, about why he walks (and all too often stumbles) along the path the risen Christ has set before us. I return now to James Wm. McClendon Jr. He spoke and wrote from the Radical Reformation point of view. And he gave me the greatest intel- lectual gift of my life: the knowledge that the Radical Reformers—who broke with Luther, Calvin, and Zwingli precisely by emphasizing how loy- alty to Christ transcends every other loyalty—belong to our heritage. He taught me that Adventism is a Radical Reformation movement. Jim McClendon died in late October 2000, shortly after seeing a fin- ished copy of volume 3 of his Systematic Theology. His legacy, apparent in both the outline and substance of these pages, is challenging; his words both beautiful and deep. I dedicate The Promise of Peace to his memory. This great teacher helped me explore my heritage with new eyes, and come, as T. S. Eliot would say, to “know the place for the first time.” The mistakes and shortsightedness in what follows will remind us, however, that if we ever cease from our exploration, we will have stopped too soon. 8 Contents 1: Dreams and Disappointments 11 LIFE 2: Reaching for Radical Hope 20 3: The Story Behind the Story 34 4: The Adventist Way 46 5: The Peacemaking Remnant 57 TEACHING 6: Pictures of the Kingdom Coming 72 7: Pain and Promise 85 8: Jesus Saves 98 9: The Beloved Community 111 WITNESS 10: Engaging the Other 124 11: Growing the Church 134 12: Making a Difference 146 General Index 159 Scripture Index 171 “ ‘I will bless you .
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