More Adventist Heritage Stories

October 22 is a memorable date for Adventists – the Great Disappointment day, when 170 years back in 1844 over 250,000 Christians hoped that William Miller was right, and Jesus would come to this earth, to end the pain and suffering forever.  Yet, here we are, 170 years later, still hearing of wars, pestilence, disasters, violence with no end in sight.

This past Wednesday Canadian capital was reeling in chaos, pain, shock, confusion, as violence erupted at the core of our government by a misguided gunman whose misconception of God’s will took lives.  As I teach World Religions class I always bring up the fact that the name “Allah” used by Muslims is the same as used by early Jewish and Syriac Christians, who spoke Aramaic and used Peshita as their Bible.  It is a generic word, same as English term “God” which may mean different things to different cultures.  Hence, what really matters is how we understand Who God Is, not just by what name we call Him. 

There is a significant difference between a god who “collapsed” on himself, is self-centered, is disconnected from life, creation and ongoing experiences, and is a transcendent principle, and God who is involved with and in His Creation at all times, going through each experience with his creatures.  There is a huge difference between god who uses his creation and makes creation do things for him, and the God who does everything for creation, who serves creation, who invests in and even sacrifices Himself, limits Himself for the sake of His Creation.

Our early pioneers emerged from an assortment of religious experiences and denominations, often with different perspectives on Who God is and what is His Will.  Church historians like to point out the fact that most of our pioneers differed with understanding of God.  Through decades of searching the Bible and being guided by the Spirit of Prophecy our church had formulated statements on how we understand God.  The very first doctrine had been set entitled “The Scripture – Holy Word of God” with emphasis that God is interested in us knowing and understanding Him. God invites us to reason together as He reveals Himself through people He chooses, at all times in different places, in different ways.  The Bible is a collection of people’s experience of God Revelation.  God reveals Himself!

The very next statement of our faith asserts that we believe in God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, three in one, of one nature but different functions and wills always working inseparably, as Ellen G. White put it “three living persons of the heavenly trio, three great powers --the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.”  Creation and Redemption are inseparable and cannot be understood without proper understanding of God as Trinity, eternal Love and eternal Savior.   And our “theology” determines the rest of our “….logies”, guides how we live, how we relate to one another.

On Wednesday night elder Clara Baptiste led the prayer meeting with focus on the primacy of the Word of God.  Read Psalm 119, the ode to God’s Law and Word, and reflect how important it is for our faith identity.

More Adventist Heritage Stories

This past week the Annual Council of the General Conference had met and discussed many urgent matters.  One addenda item was a revision of the statements of beliefs, the 28 fundamentals received aslight “makeover” in wording (more details will be in the November monthly newsletter).  The transparency and openness of or church enable everyone to read via internet the updates, to see the documents as they were amended.  Some were concerned about changes made.  All are welcome to consider the recommendation which will be brought to the General Conference in session at San Antonio in July 2015.  Until then these changes are up for discussion.

This reminded me of a story from 1888.  By the late 1870s and 1880s Ellen White had become convinced that the low spiritual condition of her contemporary Adventists was a result of the failure of their theology!  She was concerned that inadequate understanding of God and His will was resulting in people’s wrong lifestyle of legalism.  The legalistic heritage of the Christian Connexion, from which her husband James came out into Adventism, which suggested that the right to the tree of life is earned by keeping the commandments, had to be corrected.  When Adventist ministers of the day were approached with the message that it is through the righteousness of Christ that we are saved by Grace alone, most objected.  The two young Biblical scholars Jones & Waggoner were teaching justification by faith, but older generation of leaders and pastors were not hearing it.

Ellen White announced that her intention of taking the new message to the grassroots, to the laity “if the ministers will not receive the light, I want to give the people a chance” (letter to Willie White, September 12, 1881).  Her concern was that those who had bound themselves to their “legal religion” would “see the better things proided for them – Christ and His Righteousness.” (Review & Herald, 1889, 66:465-66).  She wrote that people, masses, would read and see the light of truth for themselves, often by-passing the “chain of command” and not communicating first to pastors, and then to people.  I am encouraged to know that our pioneers took seriously words of Apostle John that all have the same anointing from Christ, and there is no need to depend on others for understanding (1^st John 2:27).

I invite you to study the changes proposed to the 28 fundamentals to learn how definitions of our faith have improved in language to communicate clearer Biblical Message to the world.

Adventist Heritage Stories continue

In 1872 Ellen White wrote a small paper “Proper Education” advocating a balance between intellectual effort and manual labor, yet she never got a chance to develop such an ideal in America.  When Battle Creek college was organized not on a sufficient acreage for agricultural work and training she was in tears.  It was not until her founding the Avondale School in Australia, hacking the campus out of the wilderness in Cooranbong, New South Wales, that she experienced the very best school.

When she returned to the United States in 1900 she learned that Adventist school were so poorly managed that the combined debt was about $350,000.  She donated the profits from the sale of Christ’s Object Lessons to diminish the debt, and call for changing the management principles of the school system.

She also found a misuse of her earlier writings regarding the education.  In 1872 she wrote that “small children should be left as free as lambs to run out-of-doors” and that “parents should be the only teachers of their children until they have reached eight or ten years of age.”  As a result of these statements parents were not enrolling their children in church schools and keeping them home until they were ten.

In the Adventist Community surrounding St.Helena sanitarium in Napa Valley, California, the Board of the newly established elementary school was also divided on the matter of the minimum age for school entry.  In 1904 they visited with Ellen White and her home to discuss the subject.  She simply explained that conditions in schools have changed since 1872.  Whereas before the children were tied to their desks and instruction required long time sitting in-doors, the new kindergarten movement had teachers plan a curriculum with plenty of activities.  She simply told that the problem of immobilizing children at their desks had been resolved, and in such circumstances even five-year-old youngsters were educable.  Back in 1888 Ellen White already suggested to an Adventist community in Oakland, California to start a kindergarten.

There is a caution to us too, a “wooden literalism” may pass by the principles and the context of why things were said.  The principle of education that was brought forth by pioneers was parental and community responsibility for spiritual education of young children, as well as health aspect of physical activity to be involved in proper education.  At times when secular education was focused on rote memorization and arresting mobility, the messenger of the Lord was instructed the importance of kinesthetic and visual learning in addition to audible instruction alone, and free-thinking instead of memorization

How are your children educated?  Do you heed the Counsel? 

Adventist Heritage Stories

October has been traditionally Adventist heritage Month.  Ever since the Great Disappointment of 1844, when on October 22 Millerite followers expected Jesus to come, Adventists look back at that date seeking a renewed hope, and knowing that there was god’s hand even in their disappointment (Revelation 10).

I picked up a new book published by a secular Oxford press.  A compilation of articles about Ellen G. White titled “Ellen Harmon White. American prophet.”  As I read through historical research there a lot of interesting details about our heritage.  I will share some that these may serve as an encouragement for us today.

Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote in 1841 “an institution is the lengthened shadow of one man,” suggesting that people of significance leave a legacy behind, by establishing an institution that will outlast them, and survive in time.  Consider the LEGACY left by Ellen. G. White.  One cannot deny the Divine inspiration through her as a person influencing what is the Seventh-day Adventist world wide movement.  But things were not easy.

A book by George Knight “lest we forget” published as 2009 daily devotional shared 365 unfamiliar stories.  I will share some unfamiliar facts here too.

When in July 1849 James White located a printer who was willing to publish his paper Present Truth on credit, with postage due to recipients, and expecting that people will send money after receiving the paper (how crazy is that?! Imagine London Free Press sending you the paper, and hoping you will send them money for it J!!!).  By September of that year the publication was fully paid.  It was done by faith because Ellen told her husband of the vision that she saw.  But other leaders did not support it.  Joseph Bates, the elder statesman, objected to any publishing, as he feared it would create an institution from the movement.  For 13 month, from December 1849 to January 1851, Bates refused to support the paper, and discouraged James White so much, that James vowed to give up publishing “forever”!  James suffered physical exhaustion trying to build things up while his senior leader was tearing things down.  Just think – 13 month!  Imagine the leading pastor objecting to the first elder for 13 month J  In all this Ellen did not give up, because of visions she had.  And finally her strong words got through to Bates, just as James quit, Bates began to write and became a wholehearted supporter of the Advent Review, becoming a major fundraiser specialist for the press.

Just because leaders disagree it does not mean that god is not in the project.  Some may just need more time to hear from the Holy Spirit.  The conviction and determination of those called, of those who received a mission from God will be the driving force behind God-led projects.