Messages for Our Time by Dr. Cindy Tutsch

The weekend before last we had a special seminar about the life and ministry of Ellen White. Dr. Cindy Tutsch, who recently authored the book Ellen White on Leadership, associate director of the Ellen G. White Estate, spoke. Her topics included “Ellen White and Last Day Events,” “Famous Last Words: Ellen White on Assurance of Salvation,” and “Ellen White and the Empowerment of Youth. We have posted all three presentations on our Montrose Adventist Church web site.

Seventh-day Adventists and Fundamentalism: Why 1919 is an important year for Adventists…

This past weekend I gave a presentation for the Loma Linda University School of Religion’s “Adventism and the World” lectureship. I thought I’d share a few observations through this blog:

(1) Seventh-day Adventists became interested in what conservative Christians, later known as Fundamentalists, were doing through a series of prophecy conferences during World War I (1914-18). Church leaders attended all of the major conferences, and in particular, these conferences became a model for the Adventist 1919 Bible Conference.

(2) When the 1919 Bible Conference was actually held it was the largest gathering of Adventist intellectuals, many of whom who had received advanced theological and historical training, ever to gather together up to that point. For the first time enough people knew Greek and Hebrew well enough to be able to have in-depth debates about the meaning and etymology of a word and its corresponding syntax.

(3) The 1919 Bible Conference is significant in the development of Adventist theology because it demonstrates the polarization that had taken place within Adventism. George Knight once told me that there should be an eleventh commandment: thou shalt not do theology against thy neighbor. In this case, all of the debates, although intended to bring theological unity within the denomination, led to increased polarization. This is demonstrated in that this is the first time in Adventist history that I find the terms “progressive” and “traditionalist” being batted around (the ostensible “liberal” versus “conservative” paradigm).

(4) Underneath all of this polarization was really two different hermeneutics, or ways of interpreting, inspired writings. In reality, although the issues would seem boring to most Adventists today if they took time to go back and read the original transcripts, these issues were seen as “vitally important” and “essential.” The reason had less to do with the actual issues and instead what was really essential was how they interpreted inspired writings. What I see is two hermeneutical camps that were clearly articulated in 1919 that represented approaches to settling doctrinal conflict that would shape and re-shape every theological debate within Adventism through the rest of the 20th-century and on into the present.

Is Truth Progressive?

What would it be like to go back in time to the days of the early pioneers? I’ve wondered this. I have even had people tell me that we would be better off if we would just go back to the “pure truth” that the founders of our church had. But, then I have to ask, would we really be better off?

I think of early Adventist worship. I have had a friend recently who started calling me “Brother Michael.” I like that because I don’t hear very many people call each other “Brother” or “Sister” anymore. Maybe they do in your church, but it has been a long time since I’ve heard anyone refer to another church member this way. I think some times this would be a good thing.

Yet, our early pioneers consistently believed that truth is progressive. Our understanding of truth will continue to unfold as we study God’s Word. It is for this reason that I think our pioneers would disagree with anyone who wanted to go back to the “good old days.” They simple would wonder if you were crazy because God had revealed and continues to reveal truth to His people.

This had a very significant practical impact on their lives. I think of the blessing of the health message. Most of our pioneers lived in a time where their longevity was significantly shorter than it is today (most people would feel fortunate to live through their 30s or early 40s), and where mortality was especially high among children. A person in the mid-19th century could expect half their children not to survive to adulthood. This proved true in James and Ellen White’s own family–they lost two of their four children. After Adventists developed a distinct health emphasis after 1863 Ellen White in her later years lamented that she wished that she knew what she did then earlier in her life and perhaps she could have saved her two children.

Truth is progressive. Our pioneers would be disappointed in any Adventists who would want to go back in time to the founding of our church. Instead, we can keep the hope that our pioneers had alive by being passionate about studying God’s Word and seeking the guidance of the Holy Spirit for the Lord to continue to reveal His truth to us today.