Progressive Adventist

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Progressive Adventists are members of the Seventh-day Adventist Church who consider themselves to be theologically progressive relative to the denomination's mainstream. They typically question one or more of the church's more peculiar, or "distinctive" beliefs such as the investigative judgment, the remnant or a future global Sunday-law.

A significant number of scholars would be considered "progressive".[1] Despite some diversity of theological opinion, the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists considers itself to be remarkably unified given its worldwide geographical extent.

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[edit] Terms

Although the terms liberal or left-wing are also used, these may be considered derogatory, and "progressive" is the preferred self-designation. This is appropriate because most progressive Adventists still identify more with "conservative" Christianity than with "liberal" Christianity. Progressive Adventists may be contrasted with "historic Adventists", who lie at the other end of the Adventist theological spectrum, and more mainstream Adventists who lie somewhere in between. While progressive Adventists may not be mainstream in the context of the theology of the world church, they are mainstream in the sense that many are employed as university lecturers in church operated institutions. By contrast, historic Adventists generally operate outside of the official church structure.

A similar, possibly equivalent group have been referred to as cultural Adventists by Ervin Taylor in an interview with Clifford Goldstein[2]. These individuals feel an attachment towards the Adventist church for cultural reasons rather than strict theological conformity. However the broader term "Cultural Christian" refers to a Christian who is not active in their faith, and this is not the intended meaning in this case.

Many progressive Adventists might hold similar beliefs or feel an affinity with the Evangelical left.

[edit] Beliefs

There is no formal organization or specified set of beliefs held by progressive Adventists. (Perhaps, in this sense, they could be compared to the Emerging Church.) However, a common factor shared by all progressive Adventists seems to be some degree of discomfort with certain of the church's official or traditional doctrinal positions. An article called Progressive and Traditional Adventists Examined[3] identifies four typical areas of progressive belief:

  • Investigative judgment. A different view of the investigative judgment, or a denial of its biblical basis.
  • Remnant. An inclusion of other Christians in the term remnant.
  • Ellen White. A less rigid view of the prophetic ministry of Ellen White, or perhaps even denying the validity of her prophetic gift. Many scholars share a more progressive view of Ellen White's inspiration, but would not be classified as progressive Adventists overall.
  • Sabbath. An emphasis on the benefits of the Sabbath, but a denial that it is the "seal of God" or that Sunday keeping will ever become the mark of the beast.

Young earth creationism. Other traditional teachings may also be challenged, such as young earth creationism. The 1994 Adventist Today article Science Faculty Vary in Views on Creationism documents a survey of North American Division science educators. 60% responded, of which 83½% held doctoral degrees. Just 43% of the respondents affirmed the statement "God created live organisms during 6 days less than 10,000 years ago." Other progressive Adventists believe in young earth creationism.

Bible. The same survey showed close agreement on the nature of the Bible, with 92.6% affirming the moderate statement "Bible is God's word with human thought forms and perspectives." Only a minority affirmed the competing statements, "Bible is the actual word of God, to be taken literally word for word" or "Bible is ancient book of myths, history, and moral precepts." Progressive Adventists may be open to a small use of the historical-critical method of Bible scholarship, as well as the historical-grammatical method employed by many Adventists.[4]

Speaking in tongues. The majority of Adventists believe that speaking in tongues refers to speaking in unknown earthly languages, not to a personal prayer language or similar as practiced by many charismatic and Pentecostal Christians.[5] Hence an Adventist with an appreciation for charismatic experiences could be considered progressive in one sense, particularly because traditional Adventist views are suspicious of the Pentecostal and charismatic movements.

[edit] History

Progressive Adventism is not institutionalized nor highly structured, yet there have been numerous individuals and developments throughout the history of the Seventh-day Adventist Church with which progressives find an affinity. Many of these individuals might not be classified as "progressive Adventists" relative to the rough criteria defined above, yet they were progressive thinkers relative to their times. Progressive Adventists believe they have a legitimate place in the Adventist church, and feel a rapport with certain with historical precendents discernable in the church.

Progressive Adventists generally are appreciative of church cofounder Ellen White. She was influential in pointing the church towards Christ, most notably at the 1888 Minneapolis General Conference Session. Her writings formed a key part of the conversion experience of many progressive Adventists. Her concept of "present truth" is endorsed by progressives, as are many other aspects such as her willingness to restructure the church governance, her openness to trying new things, and many of her spiritual and personal counsels to others. However progressives also emphasize more strongly than many Adventists that she was human and fallible. They feel free to substantially differ with her on some points of her theology.

General Conference president A. G. Daniells showed many Christ-like and progressive tendencies regarding the view of her inspiration and other matters. Willie White also had a moderate understanding of her inspiration. Progressives tend to be disappointed that the discussion during the 1919 Bible Conference wasn't made available to church members. Along with perhaps the majority of Adventists, they see the influence of fundamentalism on the church during the early 1900s in a negative light.

In the minds of progressives, a very positive development occurred in the 1960s when a large number of Adventists completed PhDs at secular universities. This occurred because of a new requirement that feeder colleges to medical institutions needed to be accredited, which meant that a large number of professors at the union colleges were required to take PhDs in secular universities. This allowed a widening of ideas and a greater degree of open-mindedness, and a greater appreciation of other Christians, eventually leading to the creation of the Association of Adventist Forums and the founding of the progressive Spectrum magazine in 1969, which have been influential in the church.

Progressives typically are supportive of Desmond Ford and his ministry, and regret that his ministerial credentials were removed after the controversial meeting at Glacier View in 1980.

Progressive view favourable the church's increased understanding regarding the inspiration of Ellen White since the 1980s and 90s. Some believe the approach taken by the church administration towards the discoveries made by Walter T. Rea, Ronald Numbers and others was unfair and overly protective of Ellen White.

The progressive magazine Adventist Today was first published in 1993.

[edit] Periodicals

A number of Adventist periodicals would be considered progressive:

"Spectrum’s objectives were to print differing viewpoints about church-related issues not always discussed openly and to encourage communication among those willing to explore such issues. The founders hoped that by working toward these goals they would strengthen the Church."[1]
"advances the best in Adventist culture, thought, and ministry and serves the needs of the 21st Century Adventist church by offering inspiration, analysis, reviews, commentary, and narratives rooted in and relevant to the contemporary Adventist community."[2]

See the the last section "XI. Alternate Publications" of the article The Future of Adventism: Where's The Church Headed? by Alden Thompson for a useful comparison of Adventist periodicals across the spectrum.

[edit] Notable progressive Adventists

Caution. Progressive Adventists do not fit in a "box". They have no formal organization and no official list of beliefs. Hence it should not be assumed that those listed here hold to all the beliefs listed above. Rather, the belief considered to qualify them as progressive is mentioned for each scholar.

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.
  • Steve Daily, author of Adventism for a New Generation. He boldly argues for changes in Adventism for it to remain relevant, denying many traditional doctrines such as the remnant.[citation needed]
  • A. Graham Maxwell, Ph.D., emeritus professor of New Testament, Faculty of Religion, Loma Linda University, supports the moral influence theory of the atonement[6][7][8] which is considered liberal by many Adventists. Many other Adventists believe that the Bible uses different metaphors to describe the atonement, all of which have a place and contribute to the overall picture.[citation needed]
  • Richard Rice, an Adventist theologian who published with the Association of Adventist Forums. He is well known for the 2002 book Believing, Behaving, Belonging: Finding New Love for the Church.[citation needed]
  • Julius Nam, assistant professor of religion at Loma Linda University Faculty of Religion is a self-proclaimed progressive as he is the "primary writer" of progressiveadventism.com.[9]

There are also many others not yet listed above, including a significant proportion of Adventist theologians. Samuel Koranteng-Pipim's book Receiving the Word,[1] particularly the section "Liberals are not bad people" on pages 198-200, displays a strong concern about progressive Adventist scholars. According to Alden Thompson, "The footnotes label some 66 Adventist scholars, authors, administrators as being on the wrong side of the divide."[10]

A large number of other scholars may not be as markedly progressive, but still challenge certain traditionally-taught beliefs. Jon Paulien, arguable the church's best authority on Revelation, challenges certain aspects of the traditional Adventist eschatology, but retains other aspects. A large number of scholars

More conservative scholars such as Clifford Goldstein have accepted a more progressive view of the inspiration of Ellen White - that she was fallible (although Goldstein quantifies this somewhat).

In conclusion, there is a wide variety of scholarly opinion and the various labels do not have clear boundaries.

Many contributors to Spectrum and Adventist Today would consider themselves progressive, although articles are contributed by authors across the theological spectrum.

[edit] Reaction against theological restrictions

An illustration of the notability of progressive Adventism is the outcry regarding former General Conference president Robert S. Folkenberg's "Total Commitment to God" initiative, which was voted by the Annual Council in Costa Rica in 1996. In 1998 a church action to establish a Board of Ministerial and Theological Education to oversee the church's theological seminaries "has evoked significant criticism in some areas, including North America, and awaits implementation."[3] There was concern over the document International Coordination and Supervision of Seventh-day Adventist Ministerial and Theological Education.GC (General Conference) Sets Standards for Ministerial and Theologic Education See a response Toward Spiritual Assessment in Seventh-day Adventist Colleges and Universities by Duane C. McBride, which appeared in the April/May 1998 issue of Adventist Education.

See also 2003 Conference on Religious and Theological Education, Adventist Today article.

[edit] Relations with other Christians

Progressive Adventists display an inclusive attitude towards other Christians and other people. Other Christians have often had positive experiences interacting with more progressive Adventists. Tony Campolo has had positive experiences speaking on numerous Adventist university campuses[11] . Clark Pinnock gave a very favourable review of Alden Thompson's Inspiration, despite the significant attention given to Ellen White in the content.

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Koranteng-Pipim, Samuel (1996). Receiving the Word: How New Approaches to the Bible Impact Our Biblical Faith and Lifestyle. Berrien Springs, MN: Berean Books, 198-200. ISBN 1-890014-00-1, OCLC 36080195.  Koranteng-Pipim is a conservative scholar.
  2. ^ http://www.atoday.com/486.0.html
  3. ^ Ron Corson, Progressive and Traditional Adventists Examined, copyright 2006 Adventist Today
  4. ^ Alden Thompson argues for acceptance of a small use of the historical-critical method.[citation needed]
  5. ^ The 1991 National Church Life Survey in Australia found that approximately 5% of Australian Adventists approve of and/or speak in tongues, whereas 11% have no opinion and approximately 85% disapprove. This was the highest disapproval rating amongst all denominations surveyed. Kaldor, Peter; John Bellamy, Ruth Powell, Merilyn Correy, Keith Castle (1994). Winds of Change: The Experience of Church in a Changing Australia. Lancer books, 76. ISBN 0-85892-536-2. 
  6. ^ Adventism: Fat Lady or Beautiful Bride?
  7. ^ Ministry Magazine refutes The Moral Influence Theory (March, 1992 pp. 6-10.)
  8. ^ Samuele Bacchiocchi, Ph.D., Adventist Confusion on Atonement
  9. ^ http://progressiveadventism.com/writers/
  10. ^ http://people.wwc.edu/staff/thomal/unpub/futur_adventism.htm
  11. ^ Tony Campolo, foreword to Adventism for a New Generation by Steve Daily
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