Reactions to the Seventh-Day Adventist Evangelical Conferences and Questions on Doctrine 1955-1971
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Andrews University Digital Commons @ Andrews University Dissertations Graduate Research 2005 Reactions to the Seventh-day Adventist Evangelical Conferences and Questions on Doctrine 1955-1971 Juhyeok Nam Andrews University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.andrews.edu/dissertations Part of the History of Christianity Commons, and the Modern Literature Commons Recommended Citation Nam, Juhyeok, "Reactions to the Seventh-day Adventist Evangelical Conferences and Questions on Doctrine 1955-1971" (2005). Dissertations. 107. https://digitalcommons.andrews.edu/dissertations/107 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate Research at Digital Commons @ Andrews University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ Andrews University. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Thank you for your interest in the Andrews University Digital Library of Dissertations and Theses. Please honor the copyright of this document by not duplicating or distributing additional copies in any form without the author’s express written permission. Thanks for your cooperation. Andrews University Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary REACTIONS TO THE SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTIST EVANGELICAL CONFERENCES AND QUESTIONS ON DOCTRINE 1955-1971 A Dissertation Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy by Juhyeok Nam June 2005 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. UMI Number: 3182012 Copyright 2005 by Nam, Juhyeok All rights reserved. INFORMATION TO USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print bleed-through, substandard margins, and improper alignment can adversely affect reproduction. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauthorized copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. ® UMI UMI Microform 3182012 Copyright 2005 by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest Information and Learning Company 300 North Zeeb Road P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. © Copyright by Juhyeok Nam 2005 All Rights Reserved Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. REACTIONS TO THE SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTIST EVANGELICAL CONFERENCES AND QUESTIONS ON DOCTRINE 1955-1971 A dissertation presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy by Juhyeok Nam APPROVAL BY THE COMMITTEE: /I Faculty Adviser, Director/Ph.D./Th.D. Program George R. Knight Roy E. Gane Professor of Church History h 'U r * -'— Jerry ^Hoon-' Dean, SDA Thperfogical Swmnary Associate Professor of Church History John K. McVay Woodrow W. Whidden II Professor of Religion Professor of Theology Edithdith L. Blumhofer U <i^Date approved Professor of History Wheaton College, Wheaton, IL Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ABSTRACT REACTIONS TO THE SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTIST EVANGELICAL CONFERENCES AND QUESTIONS ON DOCTRINE 1955-1971 by Juhyeok Nam Adviser: George R. Knight Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ABSTRACT OF GRADUATE STUDENT RESEARCH Dissertation Andrews University Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary Title: REACTIONS TO THE SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTIST EVANGELICAL CONFERENCES AND QUESTIONS ON DOCTRINE, 1955-1971 Name of researcher: Juhyeok Nam Name and degree of faculty adviser: George R. Knight, Ed.D. Date completed: June 2005 Topic The Seventh-day Adventist Evangelical Conferences of 1955-1956 resulted in the publication of articles favorable to Adventists inEternity and Seventh-day Adventists Answer Questions on Doctrine, both of which evoked a variety of reactions among evangelicals and Adventists. Purpose This study identifies and analyzes various evangelical and Adventist responses to the Seventh-day Adventist Evangelical Conferences and Questions on Doctrine. In particular, this investigation examines the interaction between the major theological camps that emerged within and outside the Adventist church. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Sources This research is a documentary/analytical study of materials produced between 1955 and 1971 in reaction to the Seventh-day Adventist Evangelical Conferences and Questions on Doctrine. Sources of particular importance to this study have been major evangelical and Adventist periodicals and unpublished materials gathered from archival collections at Andrews University, the Ellen G. White Estate, the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, Loma Linda University, and the Presbyterian Historical Society. Conclusions Four distinct types of reactions were identified by this research: (1) pro-Adventist evangelicals; (2) anti-Adventist evangelicals; (3) pro -Questions on Doctrine Adventists; and (4) ant\-Questions on Doctrine Adventists. The first group was represented by Walter R. Martin, Donald Grey Bamhouse, E. Schuyler English, and Frank Mead, who accepted Adventism as an evangelical church. The rest of the evangelical world belonged to the second group and continued to regard Adventism as a cult. The third group was led by those General Conference leaders who participated in the Adventist-evangelical conferences and in the publication of Questions on Doctrine. The final group was led by M. L. Andreasen, who strongly protested against the book which he considered to be significantly un-Adventist. The reactions by and interactions among these four groups until 1971 show that the controversy over the Adventist-evangelical dialogues and Questions on Doctrine was never fully resolved and the four sides remained in tension. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ........................................................................................... viii PREFACE ........................................................................................................................... ix Background of the Problem ............................................................................ ix Statement of the Problem.................................................................................. xii Purpose of the Study ......................................................................................... xii Justification for the Study .............................................................................. xii Scope and Delimitations .............................................................................. xiii Key Individuals and Terms ............................................................................ xiv Review of Related Literature .......................................................................... xx Methodology and Sources ............................................................................ xxii Design of the Study ..................................................................................... xxiv Acknowledgments ......................................................................................... xxv Chapter 1. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF THE SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTIST EVANGELICAL CONFERENCES OF 1955-1956 ............... 1 Protestant Views of Adventism Prior to 1920 .............................................. 1 Adventist Views of Protestantism Prior to 1920 .......................................... 8 Protestant Views of Adventism from 1920 to 1955 ..................................... 14 William C. Irv in e ....................................................................................... 15 Jan Karel Van Baalen................................................................................. 17 Other Negative Assessments .................................................................... 21 Some Positive Assessments ...................................................................... 23 Adventist Views of Protestantism from 1920 to 1955 ................................. 28 Reactions to Fundamentalism .................................................................. 29 Rise of Adventist Apologetics .................................................................. 35 Conclusions ....................................................................................................... 43 iii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 2. FROM THE SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTIST EVANGELICAL CONFERENCES TO THE PUBLICATION OF QUESTIONS ON DOCTRINE....................................................................... 46 Walter Martin’s Initial Inquiries to Adventists ........................................... 46 Seventh-day Adventist Evangelical Conferences (March 1955-May 1956) ......................................................................... 51 March 8-10,1955, Conference ..............................................................