When we read of what might have been experienced at the Minneapolis Conference in 1888 and during the years immediately following, we sense what a tragic loss it was to the church.
Read MoreRethinking Uriah Smith's assessment of Laodicea
A friend recently posted the excerpt below from Uriah Smith’s renowned commentary on the books of Daniel and Revelation. Smith unwittingly fulfills the Laodicean prophecy of Revelation 3, claiming that Seventh-day Adventists have actually received all that they need, they just need to use or apply it better.
Read MoreNothing to see here
Chances are, if you pick up the histories of 1888 that are published by official Adventist publications, about 99% of them will say – when you cut through everything else – something to this effect: nothing of lasting significance really happened at the 1888 General Conference that has any relevance for us today. Indeed, there is “nothing to see here,” so we may as well move on to more pressing and relevant topics.
Read MoreSanctification by faith
Many times, when I hear people talk about “1888,” there seems to be a preoccupation with a narrow explanation of the event and message. This emphasis usually comes from the more “conservative” end of the spectrum and it essentially goes thusly: the main point, and grand theme, that Jones and Waggoner brought to our attention is that we can, by faith, live completely victorious lives. We can overcome sin, attain perfection, live righteously by faith.
Read MoreToo much Jesus?
I think one would be hard-pressed to find a Seventh-day Adventist – at least one who is at all familiar with our history – who would deny this basic premise: that in the years leading up to the 1888 General Conference meetings in Minneapolis, Adventism was largely characterized by legalism and an unbalanced emphasis on the law.
Read MoreTy Gibson tries to bring clarity to conflicting voices in the church
The current tensions and polemics within the Seventh-day Adventist Church are not occurring in a vacuum. We have history behind us that has created the trajectory within which we are now living. To a significant degree the spirit and content of our present dialogues and debates are shaped by a tragic theological turn we took in our journey as a people more than one hundred years ago.
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