Raymond Roccograndi Thompson

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Raymond Roccograndi Thompson

Raymond Roccograndi Thompson (1987—) is a young Progressive Adventist blogger within the Seventh-day Adventist Church. In 2006 Raymond enrolled at Southern Adventist University, an Adventist college in Collegedale, Tennessee to begin academic studies in Near Eastern archaeology and international studies. The Seventh-day Adventist Church is noted for its extensive educational institutions. Some Adventists have reported that Southern Adventist University is one of the more conservative colleges within the denomination and therefore it is of importance to note that the university has a chapter of Adventist Forums, reportedly one of only a handful of such chapters at Adventist colleges and universities. In 2007 Thompson was selected to participate in the National Italian American Foundation Voyage Travel Grant to study Italian culture and language in the Le Marche region of Italy. He has been an active member in Italian American programs both in college and in the New Jersey & Philadelphia area.

As of 2008, Thompson is listed in Spectrum magazine as being president of the university chapter of Adventist Forums, this is reported as the only Adventist Forum chapter that is run exclusively by students at an Adventist university.^[1] (website) Raymond is also a contributing member of the Spectrum blog community.

Contents 1 Biography 1.1 Early Student Career 1.2 Student Representative on the NJ State Board of Education 1.3 Involvement with Progressive Adventism 2 Adventist Blogsphere 2.1 Blog Articles 3 References 4 External links

[edit] Biography

[edit] Early Student Career

Raymond Daniel "Roccograndi" Thompson Jr. was born in Edison, New Jersey to parents Arlene Roccograndi Thompson and Raymond Daniel Thompson on May 14 in John F. Kennedy Memorial Hospital. His father was raised as a Seventh-day Adventist and his mother as a Roman Catholic. In his blog entries, Thompson has reflected on the confusion within his household about matters concerning religion. Although, he has written that this confusion did not dissuade him from being an active, baptized member of the Adventist faith community. At the age of eighteen, Thompson became the first Adventist to be elected to the New Jersey State Board of Education as the student representative.^[2] He was then a student at High Point Regional high school in northern New Jersey.^[3] Since graduating high school in 2006, Thompson attends college at an Adventist university. His articles on Spectrum’s blog have caused quite some controversy among conservatives within the North American Division of the denomination.

[edit] Student Representative on the NJ State Board of Education

Thompson was elected to the New Jersey State Board of Education in March of 2005 as the student representative. The New Jersey Board of Education has 13 members who are appointed by the Governor with the advice and consent of the New Jersey State Senate. These members serve without compensation for six-year terms. By law, at least three members of the State Board must be women, and no two members may be appointed from the same county.

The Commissioner of Education serves as both the secretary of the State Board and as its official agent for all purposes. The State Board also has a nonvoting student representative selected annually by the New Jersey Association of Student Councils.

Thompson was also elected to serve the New Jersey Association of Student Councils as State Board of Education Liaison. Thompson served as both NJ State BOE Student Representative and Executive Member on the NJASC from March 2005 until March 2006. While serving on the State Board of Education Thompson worked with the New Jersey Department of Education to improve standardized testing and fought to keep the SRA assessment test for graduating high school seniors. Thompson was also involved with New Jersey’s Foreign Language curriculum, working closely with fellow board members and the Commissioner of Education.

Thompson speaking at a Lutheran Church about Progressive Adventism.

[edit] Involvement with Progressive Adventism

Thompson's contributions to Progressive Adventism have included articles on the Adventist church’s founder Ellen G. White, issues surrounding women’s ordination, Christianity and Social Justice, homosexuality and Christian community,^[4] genocide, and the role of the organization Adventist Forums within the church.^[5]

On the relevance of Ellen White, Thompson wrote in Ellen White: Paragon of Adventism:^[6]

“Ellen White, rather than a source of ultimate truth, is fallible and must be afforded the ability to have her own human free will apart from the will of God. The idea that Ellen White, in contrast to her contemporaries, was somehow a conservative (or as some would insist a “liberal”) is not supported by Adventist history. She held beliefs that were more progressive for her time and also beliefs that were conservative. As her understanding increased, so her beliefs grew and became more inclusive to reflect her personal growth. It is in the sense that Ellen White was able to adapt and grow throughout her life that she is considered “progressive” not because her views represent what Progressive Adventists believe today. Fritz Guy writes, “Ellen White, for example, consistently used the words “conservative” and “conservatism” with a distinctly negative connotation, referring to excessive caution, a lack of venturesomeness, and a concern for popular approval, in theological as well as practical contexts. Words she associated with “conservative” included “compromising,” “concession,” “narrow,” “old,” “please the people,” “policy men,” “satisfied,” “self-centered,” and “superficial.” Progressive Adventists need to rescue Ellen White from the fundamentalists within our denomination. She rightly embodies within our Adventist identity as “Progressive Christians,” not as part of an agenda of fundamentalism which has become pervasive throughout Adventism."

Some of the more controversial work that he has written on has concerned the Adventist church and homosexuality. Thompson wrote in his article, Gay Theology Without Apology, on Spectrum's blog,

"As Christians we have a tremendously rich biblical tradition of a Christ who closed the gap between those the “religious” found acceptable and the so-called outcasts in society. Scripture illustrates a Jesus who ministered unto the outcasts of society. His birth to Mary (an unmarried woman of no particular social class) is a wonderful sign that illustrates that God is willing to use the outcasts of society, the lowly, and the ostracized to be his divine vessels. One can observe this same principle in the life of the Apostle Paul with his struggle concerning the issue of women in the church–a cultural matter that greatly affected the church. In the life of Martin Luther, his struggles with anti-Semitism, also a product of his place in time, demonstrates this principle. For Adventists, Ellen White with her struggles, along with the early denominational leaders, to properly understand the guidelines and procedures of publishing and copyright laws with the high production demands of a fledgling denomination. How great, then, is it that we serve a God who does not rely on the opinions of the so-called religious of society. Understanding the ambiguity inherent with the issue of homosexuality and Christian community it can only boggle the mind when one attempts to understand why Christians, particularly within America, seem so obsessed with homosexuality–one might rightly understand this as a projection of America’s puritan views on sexuality in general and not the exclusive views of the Christian church. This overemphasis of homosexuality is quite apparent in Christianity as a whole and even within our very own church–it can be observed more recently with the frenzy that was the Federal Marriage Amendment, which incidentally failed to pass both houses of Congress."

Of particular note is the influence of a series of panel discussions. Thompson, along with several students in Southern’s chapter of Adventist Forums began these panel discussion, known as “Contemporary Issues in Adventism,”^[7] to demonstrate that the current generation of emerging Adventist leadership was committed to succeed in addressing important social issues where previous generations of Adventist leadership had not. Thompson was on the panel on homosexuality and Christian community entitled, “In Defense of Families: Homosexuality & the Family of God.”

The video has received attention from homosexual advocacy groups within and outside of the denomination, appearing on the websites of Seventh-day Adventist Kinship International^[8] and Spectrum. The video has also been widely viewed on YouTube.^[9]

Thompson's Progressive Adventism Credimushas received both praise and criticism from self-described conservatives and progressives. Some leading Christian Evangelicals have noted that the trend toward mainstream Protestant Christianity that Progressive Adventists have supported indicate a changing tide in the role fundamentalism within Adventism. Thompson's Credimus reads,

We believe in the natural constant of change over time. Guided by traditions & inspired by our founders before us, we lift up each other and those around us, engaging doctrines and challenging community in growth.

We believe that genuine dialogue leads to understanding, that consensus is often guided by human pride and we seek not the things of this earth but of those in heaven above.

We believe that the Divine inspires all through His Spirit. Claiming our Adventist heritage of Present Truth, we celebrate a Christianity of inclusion and tolerance, relating the Divine through our interactions communally and individually.

We believe that love, as taught by Jesus, is the highest of Divine Principles, the fruit of which bears out in our interactions with each other. We seek to understand various cultures not simply pronounce judgment.

We believe that together, in communion with God, we have been called to a higher purpose, “testing all things and holding fast to that which is good.” Through our forums and publications we advocate for change, not for the sake of popularity but for revelation and understanding.

We believe that God is still speaking and guiding us today, that the church should not put a period where God has placed a comma. We seek to enter into a divine covenant with God, making known His will.

We believe that progression is at the heart of God’s revelation, that He wills for His children to utilize the minds He has given them. We believe that in affirming our traditions we have yet a responsibility to creatively integrate our knowledge and faith.

We believe these things because He believes in our ability, for He has given all of us the capacity to reason and challenges us to use it. He is forever the inspiration of and the answer to our questions.

In addition to writing for Spectrum Magazine and Adventist Today, Thompson runs a blog titled “Harvest of Hope: Reforming Adventism for Today” (website).

[edit] Adventist Blogsphere

The internet is providing a thriving environment for re-envisioning Adventist theology. Various Adventist blogs are becoming increasingly progressive. One non-Adventist author believes that "Adventism is currently in a conservative phase, and... a new liberal epoch in Adventism is due anytime from now..."

Some Progressive Adventists believe that this new liberal movement within Adventism has already begun with bloggers Julius Nam, Monte Sahlinfellow, Ryan J. Bell, Alexander Carpenter, Johnny A. Ramirez, and Raymond Roccograndi Thompson.

Thompson in Urbino, Italy with NIAF.

[edit] Blog Articles

The Imperative of Jesus: Higher Ground In this blog article, Thompson reviews the biblical position on fighting and evaluates what the Christian ethic is regarding war and fighting in light of the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth.

Ellen White: Paragon of Adventism Thompson tackles the controversial topic or revelation, inspiration, and the role of Ellen White in Adventism today.

Progressive Adventism Credimus Within this blog, Thompson articulates a proposed creed for Progressive Adventists to consider.

An Open Letter to the President Jan Paulsen and the Leadership of the General Conference In this on-line letter to Seventh-day Adventist Church President Jan Paulsen and the elected leadership of the Worldwide Conference of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, Thompson articulates concerns about the conservative leadership and policies that favor fundamentalists within the denomination often ignoring moderates and progressives.

God is Still Speaking: Women and Ordination – Fighting for Equality of the Sexes Thompson argues for the inclusion of women in the ordained ministry in the Seventh-day Adventist Church citing the fact that Adventists remain one of the few Protestant denominations to refuse women ordination.

Mandating God: Adventist University Worship In this blog pot, Thompson examines the validity of mandated worship at Adventist universities and colleges. He examines whether these programs enhance or inhibit spiritual growth.

Adventist Forum of Southern Adventist University Thompson argues for the expansion of Adventist Forum programs on Adventist universities and chronicles the development of Southern Adventist University’s Adventist Forum Chapter.

Gay Theology without Apology In this blog Thompson argues for the inclusion of homosexuals into Adventist Christian community.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Thompson's blog