| Author | Message | ||
| Greg Registered user Username: Greg Post Number: 96 Registered: 2-2005 |
I just received a very interesting news item from the Adventist News Network, found here. Evidently there was a two-day "Next Adventism" seminar held recently at Columbia Union College. The keynote speaker, Philip Jenkins, an Episcopalian professor from Penn. State University made some intriguing comments on the prospects for Adventism in Africa.
These are interesting statements because they implicate the rest of Christianity as not believing in the whole Bible, which apparently only Adventism (according to this Episcopalian) addresses effectively. I'm surprised by the willingness of this speaker to broad-brush the rest of Christendom here. Maybe he was playing to the home crowd in these statements, or maybe they were taken out of context. If not, he apparently has a limited grasp on the old vs. new covenants and their relative importance to Christians. Here's the response from the Southern India Ocean division president, Pardon Mwansa:
This is one of those "read between the lines" statements. I'll leave it for your interpretation.  But then there are some somewhat paradoxical comments from a former NAD president and the head of ADRA:
It's interesting that the church is willing to promote an Episcopalian's view on the sociology of Adventism that preys on the supernatural beliefs of specific people groups, allowing him to frame those beliefs as "another gospel", ie "African" or "Southern" Christianity while Adventist officials simultaneously stress a more evangelical role for modern-day Adventism. Strange stuff indeed. Greg (Message edited by Greg on April 13, 2005) | ||
| Colleentinker Registered user Username: Colleentinker Post Number: 1781 Registered: 12-2003  |
Very interesting, Greg. Somehow this is not surprising, however; Adventism has a history of being syncretistic (taking a bit of this religion and mixing it with a bit of that and combining it with their own to get a hybrid they like.) For example, Jerry Whitehead, who is [was?] the director of Muslim relations for the SDA church, told me in the mid-90s that Adventist evangelism to the Muslims focussed on integrating into their culture and finding points on which they agreed: ie OT food laws, Abraham, etc. and showing they honored the same laws. Then they introduce "Jesus" as Savior, and the Muslims could accept Him [so he said] without ever leaving Islam. They could be Islamic Christians. Right. South Africa in particular has a history of Old Testament entrenchment; apartheid was built upon what the Boors considered to be Old Testament principles of separation of the races, etc. The New Covenant reality of there being no "Jew of Gentile" in Christ didn't figure into their thinking at all when those early generations of Dutch immigrants arrived. (James Michener wrote a long but fascinating novel on the subject of South Africa called "The Covenant".) One of the things that distills out of the quotes you posted, Greg, is that both the Episcopalian (who no doubt represents many others in his denomination) and the Adventists are willing to adjust the "gospel" according to culture and demographics. It's not so important that people learn the truth about Jesus as their Savior; it's more important (to the Adventists, at least) to make converts regardless of what the converted understand about Jesus let alone living in the new covenant. The majority of Episcopalians have become quite theologically liberal, and they do not hold to the reliability of Scripture. They are quite strong on a "social gospel" at the expense of the gospel of the New Testament. I guess it's not really surprising that the Adventists asked an Episcoplian to comment on Adventism in Africa. Sandfur's comments are interesting. If it's true that 20,000 people are being baptized daily, my question is--into what are they being baptized? It seems their baptisms are into the SDA church--however it has presented itself to individual cultures where those baptisms are taking place. I would guess that many of those new "converts" cannot confess Jesus with any understanding of his power, supremacy, and suffering. I believe the Adventist church tries to look evangelical in North America because that's the way to be popular, accepted as a mainstream church. In Africa, it's probably more popular to be an "Old Testament" church that plays on people's cultural superstitions. Whatever works, seems to be the motto... It is not popular to believe Jesus is the only way to the Father; it's even becoming less popular here in "evangelical" North America. Colleen | ||
| Colleentinker Registered user Username: Colleentinker Post Number: 1783 Registered: 12-2003 |
I just had to add this: the article you quoted above, Greg, reminds me of this statment of Jesus to the Pharisees days before His crucifixion: "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as you are" (Matthew 23:15). Colleen | ||
| Greg Registered user Username: Greg Post Number: 97 Registered: 2-2005 |
Thanks for your insights Colleen. Here's another quote from the end of the article, this time about the sins of the Adventist church against women:
When I read this, I immediately thought of the Canright quote Bob posted the other day:
Evidently there is plenty of sin to go around, against both men and women. I wish we would stop compartmentalizing who has been sinned against and admit that we're all sinners, in need of a great Savior. Putting individuals on the proverbial pedestal is antithetical to this notion, however. Greg | ||
| Colleentinker Registered user Username: Colleentinker Post Number: 1786 Registered: 12-2003 |
Amen. | ||
| Weimarred Registered user Username: Weimarred Post Number: 44 Registered: 1-2005 |
Colleen, you made mention earlier of the Boors and the old Euro-centric belief in Biblical racism. I just recently watched Hotel Rwanda, and did a little research on this same subject. The Tutsis and Hutus of Rwanda had long lived in a sort of caste system, but this was over-emphasized by the Belgian colonialists, to the point where it greatly magnified the tragic conflicts to come, particularly the genocide of 1994. Of particular interest to me was the damnable Hamitic Hypothesis that the Belgians superimposed on the system they found in place in the region. The archived comments on this forum regarding the 1994 genocide in Rwanda made for some interesting reading. In an interview in the extras on the DVD, there was a passing mention of SDA schools in Rwanda. So it was interesting to read what others on this forum have said. I canít help but wonder what future tragedies will be magnified by what I canít help but see as meddling on the part of those wish to proselytize to the ìthird worldî. I know they mean well, but where they come from as opposed to where their target audience is coming from can be two, very different things. Inborn prejudices can be a very sneaky thing, and we know too well how SDAs are conveniently blind to obvious truths. | ||
| Colleentinker Registered user Username: Colleentinker Post Number: 1875 Registered: 12-2003 |
Interesting observations, Tom. When I compare the usual proselytizing of SDA missionaries, for example, to the gospel preaching demonstrated in Acts and also the epistles, the differences become more and more clear. The gospel erases boundaries between people. The Jews resisted Christianity because the gospel tore down the dividing wall between them and the "gentile dogs". The gospel also calls us away from our culturally-imposed prejudices and self-serving desires. Many people have trouble with Paul because he didn't preach an active "social gospel", decrying slavery and societal "caste systems", so to speak. What he did, though, was much more radical. Instead of making "human rights" the central value, he pointed out that the honor of Christ is the central value of the universe. When individuals accept Jesus and allow the Holy Spirit to make them new, their obligation is to treat every human as eternally significant and every brother in Christ as deserving of one's honor and service. The issues of genocide and domination and cultural "superiority" vanish when people are living to honor Christ and surrendering to His glorifying Himself through them. Preaching "special truths" can't help but be divisive and destructive. Preaching Christ alone is the only thing that can truly offer people hope and new lives. Colleen |
