Reference
- AdventismAdventism grew out of the Millerite movement, whose members expected the return of Christ in judgement in 1844. When this did not occur as predicted (the ‘Great Disappointment’), numerous clergy and laity combined their shared faith into a new movement. Its adherents adopted the name ‘Seventh-Day Adventist’ in 1860 and established its highest administrative body, the General Conference, in 1863. Seventh-Day Adventists have a representative four-tier administrative structure: congregations; conferences; union-conferences; and General Conference, which includes thirteen world divisions.
Since J. N. Andrews (1829–83) became the first missionary in 1874, Adventists have grown into one of the world’s ten largest Christian denominations. Facilitators in Adventism’s growth include its commitment to education (operating the largest educational system within Protestantism); preventive and curative health systems, hospitals, orphanages, and retirement homes (Adventist health practices contribute to an added life expectancy of six to ten years over the general American population); worldwide television, radio broadcasting, and publishing; and practical involvement in local communities through Adventist Community Services and the Adventist Disaster and Relief Agency, which facilitates humanitarian aid worldwide; and programs to counter AIDS in many developing countries.
Adventists come from the Reformation traditions of sola Scriptura, solus Christus, sola fide, and sola gratia, and hold the doctrines of an eternal Trinity, literal six-day creation and young earth, stewardship of the earth, tithing, God’s moral law as binding on all humanity, traditional Christian marriage, respect for life, Holy Communion (see Eucharist), and spiritual gifts (see Charism). Adventists are also part of the Arminian/Wesleyan tradition (see Arminianism), believing in free will; restoration of the complete individual in the image of God through Christ (justification); and the ministry of the Holy Spirit (sanctification and personal holiness).
Other Adventist doctrines include: adult baptism by immersion; holding both OT and NT as of equal relevance; historicist interpretation of biblical prophecy; premillennial eschatology (see Premillennialism); a temporary and literal great controversy between Christ and the Devil (viz., good and evil), concluding with the creation of a new earth; a literal heaven; mortality of the soul, with immortality given as God’s gift at Christ’s parousia (Ezek. 20:12, 20; 1 Cor. 15:52–4); the imminent, literal second coming of Christ; a future, temporary hell; the seventh-day sabbath of both testaments as relevant today; and strict separation of Church and State derived from Revelation 14.
Adventism also holds that the prophetic gift (1 Cor. 12:10) is one of God’s gifts to the Church, and was evidenced through E. G. White (1827–1915). This conviction is understood in the context of a belief that non-canonical prophetic gifts throughout history have been lesser lights pointing humanity to God’s greater light (i.e., Christ as revealed in Scripture). A product of early Methodism, White held that her writings were to exalt Scripture, never to replace it, and to encourage adherence to it as God’s perfect standard of truth (see Methodist Theology). Her view, and that of Adventism more generally, is that salvation is effected by one’s submission to God’s will as revealed in Scripture.
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Credo Reference is an easy-to-use tool for starting research. Gather background information on your topic from hundreds of full-text encyclopedias, dictionaries, thesauri, quotations, and subject-specific titles, as well as 500,000+ images and audio files and over 1,000 videos.
Perspectives
Heartwarming Stories of Adventist Pioneers
They look out at us from their portraits: earnest faces, still and sober for the photographer, above stiff collars and plain clothing. But who were they really, these strong-minded Adventist pioneers?
James White's transportation on his first preaching tour was a borrowed horse. Neither he--nor the horse--would ever be the same again. Noted surgeon Amos Twitchell amputated 12-year-old Uriah Smith's leg in a 20-minute amputation performed on the Smiths' kitchen table--with no anesthetic. Joseph Bates was almost ridden out on a rail during one of his preaching tours.
And who was the object of Annie Smith's unrequited love? "My lot has been to learn / Of friendship false, that bright will burn / When fortune spreads her wing of light, / but fades away when cometh night."
Often hungry and usually penniless, they argued passionately and worked tirelessly, hammering out their beliefs on the anvil of the Scriptures as the "only rule of faith and practice," following it intelligently and willingly.
None of them were perfect--but all of them did their best, by God's grace, to spread the message of Jesus' soon return and the good news of the seventh-day Sabbath. These are their stories.
William Miller and the Advent Crisis
Everett Dick was the first scholar to investigate the Millerite movement of the 1840s in depth. His work set the stage for the academic study of an important religious movement. Publication of his revised dissertation makes his work available to a larger public. This work still makes a significant contribution to its field of study. Much of the research and many of this volume's insights are found nowhere else.
Light Bearers: a history of the Seventh-day Adventist Church
A classic work of Adventist history revised and updated for today's reader More than 20 years ago Richard W. Schwarz chronicled the exciting story of how a "little flock" grew into the worldwide Seventh-day Adventist denomination with some 10 million members operating churches, schools, hospitals, publishing houses, and other institutions in the book Light Bearers to the Remnant. Now Floyd Greenleaf, for many years a professor of history at Southern Adventist University, has revised and updated the book to deal with the developments in the world of Adventism since the earlier edition was published. The result is Light Bearers, a carefully researched, contemporary history of the Seventh-day Adventist Church that shows how continuity despite change, unity in diversity, and singleness of purpose amid an expanding breadth of activity have combined to produce an Adventist world that the pioneers could never have imagined.
Rise and Progress of the Seventh-Day Adventists
This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923. This book may have occasional imperfections
such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact,
or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections,
have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works
worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book.
TELL THE WORLD [Feature Film] History of The Seventh-day Adventist Church
- TELL THE WORLD [Feature Film] History of The Seventh-day Adventist Church"Tell the World" shares the compelling story of a small group of farmers from the northeast region of the United States who would go on to set the foundation of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.
Adventist Missionaries - The Backbone of Church History
- Adventist Missionaries - The Backbone of Church HistoryMissionaries often live a decorated life. They have one of the most compelling stories in the world. Theirs may not be a rags-to-riches effect, but they are ordinary people with extraordinary hearts.
Research Guide
Preparing for the End
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William Miller calculated that the end of history would come in 1843. He gave sermons throughout the U.S. Some people left their jobs and abandoned their families because they thought the end was near. Many tried to right their wrongs.
The Great Disappointment
- Films on Demand This link opens in a new windowWilliam Miller announced an exact date for the Rapture, October 22, 1843. He and his followers gathered on the intended day. Their hopes were not realized. Many believed the end was still imminent, it was just an error in human calculations.