Master Guide Class Adventist History Class 3
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Master Guide Class Adventist History Class 3 The 1960s: Denominational leaders realized that they needed to have a graduate theological institution where an ongoing systematic study of the Bible could take place, and where pastors could obtain post-graduate training. Therefore, the Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary was established in Washington, DC, but was then moved to Emanuel Missionary College – now Andrews University – in Berrien Springs, Michigan. The College of Medical Evangelists had been established in 1909, not long after Dr. John Harvey Kellogg removed the existing medical institutions from the denomination. In 1961, CME became Loma Linda University, an institution which consists of not only a medical and a dental school, but several other medically-related training schools, as well. During the 1960s, the Federal Government became involved in education for the first time. Students were able to obtain federal scholarships, grants, and loans. Colleges and Universities were able to obtain grants for research projects and equipment. As with other denominations, there was a controversy among Seventh-day Adventist administrators and educators over whether or not to accept these funds. The church – at first reluctantly – decided to accept government assistance for higher education. World Representation: The 1970s was a time of agitation and controversy for the Seventh-day Adventist denomination. By the early part of the decade, 80% of the members were outside the United States, and most administrative positions outside the United States had been filled by indigenous people. The “missionary” mindset was disappearing. However, since most of the operating funds came from North America, the NAD still had a controlling voice in the leadership and decision-making of the church. There was agitation from the other divisions for equal representation, and Adventist academics were beginning to accuse the church of racial discrimination. The church – within the decade – changed its policy. By 1980, there was equal representation at all General Conference councils and sessions. This meant that the North American Adventists were just one voice among many. The Status of Women: This new arrangement would also influence the role of women in the church. By the late 1960s, women were beginning to demand a larger role in both the local churches and within the denomination. Traditionally, the denomination had had a policy of “Sustenance.” The idea was that the family of an employee would be provided with enough money to take care of his family. The male worker was considered to be the head of his family. If his wife worked for the church, she was not given as much, since she was not considered to be the primary support of the family. In 1973, an Adventist author and editor – Merikay McCloud Silver – who worked at the Pacific Press, came to realize that she was not being paid as much as her male counterparts. She was not considered to be the head of her household. When the church refused to change its policy of sustenance, Mrs. Silver sued the denomination – something that had never before been considered acceptable. She won the lawsuit, and the denomination was forced to provide equal pay for equal work. It was also required to make a settlement with all living female employees. By the early 1980s, women were being ordained as local church elders. They were also beginning to hold leadership positions at all levels of church administration. There was agitation among academics once again, as well as female administrators to ordain women to the ministry. At the General Conference session of 1990 in Indianapolis, the NAD proposed the worldwide ordination of women. The proposal was favored by most delegates from the developed nations. However, the representatives from the developing – or Third World – nations generally opposed the idea. Since GC representation was based upon membership, the vote was overwhelming against women’s ordination. At the next General Conference session in Utrecht, Netherlands, in 1995, the NAD proposed that each division be allowed to ordain women within the division, if they chose to do so. Such ordinations would not need to be accepted by other divisions. Once again, the world membership overwhelmingly voted against the proposal. The issue has not been brought before the world church since 1995. The Sligo Church on the campus of Columbia Union College is the home church for many of the denomination’s leaders. Therefore, it came as a surprise when the senior pastor, Elder Rudy Torres, took it upon himself in 1996 to ordain several female pastors and Bible workers to the ministry. Complaints immediately came to the General Conference from many parts of the world. Was the denomination’s leadership ignoring the decision just made by the world church? Both the GC and NAD denounced the action of Elder Torres and refused to recognize these ordinations (and those conducted soon afterwards at the La Sierra University church). Torres was soon removed as senior pastor of Sligo and was given the pastorate of a small church in Arizona. Theological Issues: In the early 1970s, a book titled The Harvest Principle by Pastor Herbert Douglass was published. The thesis of the book was that Christ would return when the “harvest was ready.” In other words, the Second Coming would take place only when God’s 7 followers come to the point of spiritual maturity. The Review and Herald generally supported Douglass’ position. However, too many pastors and theologians, this idea once again smacked of perfectionism, and many of them denounced the book. Dr. Desmond Ford and his new disciple Robert Brinsmead not only denounced the book, but went on to teach that Sanctification is not at all important to salvation. There was so much controversy that the General Conference sponsored a special conference in Palmdale, California in 1976. Out of this conference came the “Palmdale Statement,” which said that we are saved only through the righteousness of Christ. However, when we accept Christ’s gift of salvation and accept the Holy Spirit into our lives, a change will take place in our lives and actions. The statement was a basic summation of the terms “Justification” and “Sanctification.” Both Dr. Ford and his followers and Elder Douglass and his followers came away from the conference believing that the “Palmdale Statement” supported their viewpoints. The Three-Fold Crisis: This brings us to the end of the 1970s, when another major crisis hit the Seventh-day Adventist Church. It was a crisis at least as devastating as the 1888 General Conference and the Kellogg controversy. This Three-fold Crisis consisted of an attack on Adventist doctrine, an attack on Ellen White and her writings, and an attack on Church administration. We will look at each attack in the above order. By 1979, Dr. Desmond Ford of Australia was a visiting professor of theology at Pacific Union College in California. In October, during a commemoration of the Great Disappointment, Dr. Ford gave a lecture at a student assembly in which he claimed that nothing had happened in heaven on October 22, 1844. In his talk, he also questioned the inspiration of Ellen White on the matter. This talk sent a shock-wave throughout Adventist theology. The General Conference executive committee, under the leadership of President Neal Wilson – a longtime friend of Dr. Ford – decided to give the professor a six-month paid leave-of-absence to research and prepare a presentation on his views. In August, 1980, the “Sanctuary Review Committee,” consisting of 115 theologians and administrators from around the world, met at Glacier View Ranch – the summer camp for the Colorado Conference. Dr. Ford presented his paper, in which he argued that Christ entered the Most Holy Place of the Heavenly Sanctuary immediately upon His ascension. After many days of presentations, debates, and general discussion, the delegates voted by a large majority to reject Ford’s belief. Ford, in turn, rejected the Committee report, and within a few weeks, his ministerial credentials were revoked, and he was fired. Desmond Ford had been an influential professor in both Australia and the United States. Many younger ministers and theology professors looked-up to him as a mentor. There was therefore a “shaking-out” of “Fordites,” as many pastors and theology professors in both nations gave-up their positions and left the denomination. Many others remained as employees of the church, but either kept their thoughts to themselves, or worked to influence Adventists covertly. In 1976, an Adventist history professor, Ronald L. Numbers, published a book outside the denomination about Ellen White, titled Prophetess of Health. The book claimed that Mrs. White had borrowed all her ideas from other reformers, such as Sylvester Graham. Time included a favorable review of the book. The White Estate published a 23-page refutation of Dr. Numbers’ book, claiming that he had misread sources and left-out evidence. It was true that Ellen White promoted health reforms, such as abstinence from alcohol, which were also being advocated by many other health reformers. However, she also rejected other ideas then being advocated, such as abstinence from salt, and the medicinal use of tobacco. Beginning in 1977, Walter Rea, the pastor of the Long Beach, California Church, began to give public speeches denouncing Ellen White as a fraud and a plagiarist. He claimed that she had made extensive use of the writings of others in the “Conflict of the Ages” books. Arthur L. White, the grandson of Ellen White and the head of the White Estate, wrote a series of articles in the Review and Herald refuting Elder Rea’s claims in 1978. In 1980, a committee of scholars and administrators met with Rea to assess his claims and review his evidence.