Adventist Philosophy of History - Chart

Journal of the Adventist Theological Society, 2005

In the first article of this three article series, we traced the more salient turns in the development of the Adventist hermeneutical vision from its origins to the present. This summary overview brought to light some important facts about the way Adventists do theology. For early Adventists the Sanctuary doctrine became the hermeneutical vision guiding the discovery of a complete system of theology and truth. This system of theology, in turn, guided the practice of ministry and led to the growth and worldwide expansion of the Adventist church.

Journal of the Adventist Theological Society, 2003

The Seventh-day Adventist Church derives its unique witness to Jesus Christ from a historicist reading of the apocalyptic prophecies of Daniel and Revelation. Historicism understands these prophecies to portray a relentless march of God-ordained history leading from the prophetÕs time up to a critical climax at the end of earthÕs history. 1 The interpretation of biblical apocalyptic was at the center of Adventist theological development in the formative years of the Adventist Church and its theology. 2 There were many reasons for this emphasis on apocalyptic. 1) Daniel and Revelation provided much of the content that makes Adventist theology unique in the Christian world. 2) These apocalyptic books furnished the core of Adventist identity and mission, leading to the conviction that the Advent movement was to play a critical role in preparing the world for the soon return of Jesus. 3)ÊThe apocalyptic sense that God was in control of history supplied confidence to go on even when the movement was small and difficulties were large. 4) The sense of an approaching End fostered by the study of Daniel and Revelation motivated Adventists to take their message to the world at once. While many Christians, including some Adventists, 3 disagreed with the conclusions that the Adventist pioneers drew from Daniel and Revelation, few in the early years 1 The Adventist definition of ÒhistoricismÓ does not bear the usual literary and historical meaning common in scholarship today, but goes back to a more traditional usage, in relation to the way biblical prophecy is applied in todayÕs world. See Reimar Vetne, ÒA Definition and Short History of Historicism as a Method for Interpreting Daniel and Revelation,Ó JATS 14/2 (Fall, 2003), 1Ð14. 2 By Òformative yearsÓ I mean the mid-1840s through the end of the 19th Century. 3 These included the Òfirst-dayÓ remnants of the Millerite movement as well as individuals who separated from the Seventh-day Adventist pioneers over these issues, such as D. M. Canright. 9 10 I recall a scholarly panel discussion around 1990 in which all popular attempts at interpreting prophecy were ridiculed as ÒMillerism.Ó I doubt the leaders of the session were aware how many theological descendants of Miller were in the audience on that occasion! 11 Arasola, 171Ð172.

Spes Christiana, 2021

2012

While the arrival of Adventism on the historical scene was not followed by any doctrinal innovations, and despite the fact that the early Adventists developed their own theological system by combining doctrines which were already present within their theological milieu, theologians sharply disagree when they have to classify Adventism. The difficulty arises from the fact that the uniqueness of Adventism is not seated on the doctrinal level where classification is usually decided, but rather on the level of metaphysics. The theory of paradigms developed by Thomas Kuhn reveals two more levels beyond the level of doctrinal conclusions, namely metaphysical and sociological, which form the ultimate context within which these conclusions are developed. As a consequence of mutual interdependence, the concrete problem-solutions are seen as paradigm-dependent and expose the link between the non-empirical and concrete, i.e. between the metaphysics and doctrinal problem-solutions. In this study, the three core doctrines of early Adventism are analyzed together with the hermeneutical methods used during their development in order to distil five metaphysical elements which together, articulated in narrative form, fashion and limit the early Adventist paradigm. This study is an exercise in descriptive metaphysics which follows how that metaphysics found its unique story-form expression, how it shaped the general theological, interpretative and philosophical outlook of the early Adventists, and compares and contrasts it with the existing theological paradigms. As a result of this approach it becomes clear that the early Adventists perceived the world from a radically different perspective. The uniqueness of early Adventism seems to be in their adoption of scriptural rather than Greek metaphysics and the consequent development of a Hebrew-like way of thinking. With Greek philosophical ‘glasses’ out of the way the same doctrines looked completely different and were reorganized to fit the new, narrative-based theological system. This study should help non-Adventists to understand the heart of Adventist theology on its own terms and can also be helpful for Adventists engaged in ongoing theological debate to look beyond the doctrinal maze, to become sensitive to the early Adventist paradigm, and to recognize its developmental potential.

Theological Librarianship, 2015

The Center for Adventist Research (CAR), an Andrews University and General Conference of Seventh-day Adventist organization, seeks to promote an understanding and appreciation of the heritage and mission of the Seventh-day Adventist Church (SDA). It combines the resources of the James White Library's Adventist Heritage Center and the Ellen G. White Estate Branch Office to provide the most extensive collection of Adventist-related resources in the world, both physically and digitally. An introduction to the background, collections, and activities of CAR is presented. Of particular interest are the digitization projects.

Church History, 1997