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Living the Adventists and Mennonites in Conversation n 2011 and 2012, representatives of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists and of the Mennonite World IConference met together for official conversations. Adventists and Mennonites have distinct identities that are Life Christian critically important to them. From the outset of discussions lead- ing to the conversation, it was understood that organic union was not the objective. Rather, the dialogue would provide an opportunity for learning about each other’s history, beliefs and values, clarifying misunderstandings, and removing stereotypes. The theme, “Living the Christian Life in Today’s World,” focused the conversations, which were built on papers prepared on selected topics by representatives from each side. These papers, while theological in nature, endeavored to show the in Today’s World in Today’s practical outworking in the life of the community. Participants in the conversation quickly realized that they have much in common. They share a desire to recover the authenticity and passion of the New Testament church, a similar understanding of Christian history, and a strong commitment to be followers of Jesus in their personal lives and in their corporate witness to the world. Each communion brought to the conversation a deep experience of what it means to live the Living the Christian faith, often as a minority voice in the world. These conversations have been testimony to the critical role of historical context in shaping values, beliefs, and ethics, but in Christian Life each case they have been founded on the sincere desire to affirm the authority of scripture and the centrality of Jesus Christ for faith and practice. This book contains all the papers presented in Today’s World in the conversations, as well as a final statement agreed upon by the participants. A Conversation between Mennonite World Conference and the Seventh-day Adventist Church $14.99 2011-2012 Living the Christian Life in Today’s World Living the Christian Life in Today’s World A Conversation between Mennonite World Conference and the Seventh-day Adventist Church June 28-July 1, 2011 – Silver Spring, Maryland, USA May 28-31, 2012 – Basel, Switzerland Participants from Mennonite World Conference were: Robert J Suderman (Canada); Valerie G Rempel (United States); Henk Stenvers (The Netherlands); Patricia Urueña Barbosa (Colombia); Danisa Ndlovu (Zimbabwe); and Thomas R Yoder Neufeld (Canada). Participants from the Seventh-day Adventist Church were: William Johnsson (Australia); John Graz (France/Switzerland); Bert Beach (United States); Gary Councell (United States), Denis Fortin (Canada); Peter Landless (South Africa); and Teresa Reeve (Canada). Carol E Rasmussen, Editor and Production Manager William G Johnsson, Consulting Editor Robert John Suderman, Consulting Editor Lindsay Sormin, Book Designer The authors assume full responsibility for the accuracy of all facts and quotations as cited in this book. Copyright ©2014 by: Public Affairs and Religious Liberty Department General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists 12501 Old Columbia Pike Silver Spring MD 20904 USA And by: Mennonite World Conference All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America ISBN: 978-0-692-02116-3 - v - Preface n 2011 and 2012 representatives of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists and of the Mennonite World Confer- Ience met together for official conversations. In many respects the meetings proved to be a journey of mutual discovery. The history of Mennonites stretches back 500 years, that of Ad- ventists only about 160 years. Mennonites arose out of the religious ferment of the 16th century, Adventists out of the Great Second Awakening in the United States in the 1830s and 1840s. Adventists and Mennonites have had frequent contacts dur- ing the past 40 years, particularly through their participation in the annual meetings of the Christian World Communions. These periodic encounters, along with other contacts, gradually led to the conviction on both sides that an official conversation might be both instructive and valuable. From the outset of discussions leading to the conversation, it was understood that organic union was not the objective. Rather, the exchange of ideas would provide an opportunity for learning about each other’s history, beliefs and values, clarifying misun- derstandings and removing stereotypes. Out of the discussion, therefore, might emerge areas where Mennonites and Adventists can cooperate in selected areas of mutual concern. Participants in the conversation quickly realized that they share much in common. They desire to recover the authenticity and passion of the New Testament church, they have a similar under- standing of Christian history, and they are strongly committed to be followers of Jesus in their personal lives and in their corporate - v - Living the Christian Life in Today’s World witness to the world. The theme of the conversations was “Living the Christian Life in Today’s World.” Discussion proceeded by way of prepared papers which, while theological in nature, endeavored to show the practical outworking in the life of the community. This book gathers together, with slight editing, all the papers presented in the two rounds of conversation. It also includes a summary statement that was agreed upon by participants at the con- clusion of the meetings. This statement includes recommendations for ongoing cooperation. The papers represent the thinking of individual participants: they are not official documents of either the Seventh-day Adventist Church or of the Mennonite World Conference. The two years of conversation were characterized by Christian fellowship and mutuality of purpose. To God be the glory! William G Johnsson Robert J Suderman General Conference Mennonite World of Seventh-day Adventists Conference - vi - Table of Contents Preface . v FIRST MEETING . 11 Anabaptist Overview . 13 Patricia Urueña Barbosa A Profile of Seventh-day Adventists . 27 William G Johnsson Reflections on Salvation, Healing, Health and Ecology . 44 Henk Stenvers The More Abundant Life: Some Adventist Views on Health, Healing and Wellness . 61 Peter N Landless Reflections on Foundational Anabaptist Understandings of Discipleship, Non-Conformity and Ethics . 69 Valerie G Rempel Ordinances of the Church . 80 Patricia Urueña Barbosa Adventist Concepts of Discipleship and Nonconformity . 90 Denis Fortin Seventh-day Adventists and Military-Related Service . 100 Gary R Councell - vi - Anabaptist Understandings of Peace, Non-violence, and Separation of Church and State . 114 Thomas R Yoder Neufeld From Symposiums to Stadiums: Promoting Religious Freedom . 138 John Graz Reflections on Anabaptist Ecclesiology . 153 Robert J Suderman SECOND MEETING . 161 Early Anabaptist Eschatology . 163 Valerie G Rempel Eschatology as Understood by Mennonites Today . 169 Thomas R Yoder Neufeld The Role of Eschatology in Seventh-day Adventist Thought and Practice . 182 William G Johnsson Reflections on Seventh-day Adventist Ecclesiology and Church Organization . 197 Bert B Beach Nonconformity . 207 Henk Stenvers Some Thoughts on Nonconformity in the Adventist Ethos . .219 Teresa Reeve Hermeneutics from an Anabaptist Perspective . 231 Robert J Suderman A Perspective on Seventh-day Adventist Hermeneutics . 247 Denis Fortin SUMMARY STATEMENT . 261 Living the Christian Life in Today’s World: Adventists and Mennonites in Conversation, 2011-2012 . 263 APPENDICES . 271 APPENDIX I Frequently Asked Questions: Mennonite Questions/Adventist Answers . 273 APPENDIX II Frequently Asked Questions: Adventist Questions/Mennonite Answers . 286 APPENDIX III Short Bios of Dialogue Participants . 294 FIRST MEETING - 13 - Anabaptist Overview Patricia Urueña Barbosa he grace and peace of our God be with you. We, as repre- sentatives of Anabaptist churches, are more than pleased to Tparticipate in this initiative of dialogue and approach with the Seventh-day Adventist Church. This is an historic date when we meet to share the beliefs and practices from our own Anabaptist identity, and learn from the wisdom and Christian practices of our brothers and sisters from the Seventh-day Adventist Church. The 21st century demands these types of contacts between churches that are committed to justice, peace and nonviolence. We celebrate that the Word of God, the saving grace of Christ, the Christian faith, and the mission entrusted to us by Jesus to witness to the world of His incarnation, teachings, and redemptive and transformative power bring us together. We also celebrate, as part of the Anabaptists, the Christian commitment to peace, conscientious objection to mandatory military service, and the practice of nonvio- lence as a basis for the ethics of the Christian life. We want to learn from the Adventist Church about your commitment to evangeliza- tion, discipleship, comprehensive health care, ecological concerns and ethical decision-making as a global church. In this context, the following historical approach aims to deepen - 13 - Living the Christian Life in Today’s World knowledge and mutual understanding, where we can identify the common historical roots, the principles and reasons for our faith and practices. We desire to continue encouraging ourselves to be witnesses to the Gospel of Christ so that, guided by the Holy Spirit, we move forward in building unity among Christians and mutual cooperation in the mission of the churches in the world. History and Principles of the Anabaptist Radical Reformation Both the Protestant
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