A Historical Perspective on the Development of Adventist Theology and its Determining Influence

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CHAPTER TWO A Historical Perspective on the Development of Adventist Theology and its Determining Influence

Introduction

In the chapter I will research the historical development of the SDA Church and especially how this development has influenced its theology relating to pastoral care, or the lack thereof. I will research how the church has evolved and how certain events and approaches have influenced the church’s message, mission and theology. My focus will be on the North American Adventist Church, as it is here where the major development of the SDA Church took place and because our theology and lifestyle are very much determined by the North American Adventist Church.
Furthermore, George Knight asserts that Adventism was not born in a vacuum.1 It is claimed within Adventism that its existence is rooted and founded in the fulfilment of prophecy and that it is not simply another of many denominations. Furthermore, professing to be a people of “The Book”, it is held that the churches theology and mission is founded and based upon“Scripture”. It is the persuasion of Adventism that the Bible is the only form of authority. I would like to suggest, therefore, that much of the theology of Adventism has been profoundly influenced by its history. It is also proposed that the build-up to “1844 and its turbulent aftermath is really a kind of indispensable key that unlocks the secrets of classical Adventism as it was understood by its pioneers, such as James and Ellen White, O.R.L. Crosier, Hiram Edson, and Joseph Bates”.2Seventh-day Adventism and its message and mission are to a large extent focused on October 22, 1844 and inevitably, it has inherited many of the beliefs of the Millerite movement.3 We should also not forget, however, that the worldviews of the 19th century also had, to a large extent, an impact on Adventism. The build-up to 1844, therefore, has some very significant “pointers” in understanding the message and mission of the SDA Church.

The historical background of Adventism

Despite the fact that some claim that Seventh-day Adventism was a prophetic movement that was not influenced by society, political and religious influences, it did grow out of the 19th century American context. It was profoundly influenced by the worldview of Protestant North America of that time, which was in the throws of a renewed revival, religiously, socially, and politically. There was a very prominent religious awakening that was prevalent at the time. To some extent Millerism, and later Seventh-day Adventism, which emerged out of Millerism after 1844, is a product of its times.During the late 18th century there was a religious “awakening” in Europe as well as in North America, known as the “Great Awakening”. Among other factors this awakening was stimulated by the French Revolution, especially when Napoleon’s general Berthier deposed Pope Pius VI,4 and also motivated by natural disasters, such as the great Lisbon earthquake in the year 1755.5 These caused a real stir among theologians and focused their attention on the apocalyptic prophecies.Then the immigration of the Dutch, the French Huguenots and the Moravians also brought Pietism to America, which also focused the attention on religious matters.

The religious-socio-political world of 19th century America

The socio-political world of North America was in a state of great flux. Knowledge was increasing at an alarming rate and brought with it better modes of transport, new methods of communication and also an industrialisation of society.The political stage was very much one of optimism and prosperity known as the “era of good feelings”. There was a sense of individualism and the hope of an ideal democracy.6 The spiritual arena was one of revival, and a renewed focus on the Bible, which was partly“…a reaction against the atheistic or agnostic philosophies of the age”.7
There was also a drive to “…restore the original simplicity and purity of the New Testament faith”.Thus,many missionary and other societies were formulated and there was what the historians have called, the “Second Great Awakening”.

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CHAPTER ONE Introduction
1 Humanity facing the twenty-first century
2 Terminology and abbreviations
3 The research problem
4 Possible reasons for the problem
5 The task of the research
6 The methodology
7 The organisation of the research
8 Summary
CHAPTER TWO A Historical Perspective on the Development of Adventist Theology and its Determining Influence
1 Introduction
2 The historical background of Adventism
2.1 The religious-socio-political world of 19th century America
2.2 Worldviews influencing the American Protestant world
2.2.1 Anabaptism and Restorationism
2.2.2 Wesleyanism
2.2.3 Deism
2.2.4 Puritanism
2.2.5 Baconianism
3 Millerism and Seventh-day Adventism
3.1 Miller—his message and mission
3.1.1 The imminent advent: The hope of the world
3.1.2 A proclamation-oriented mission
3.2 Post 1844 and Adventism
3.2.1 The “shut and open” door and its significance for a theology of caring
3.2.2 Sabbatarian Adventists and the Second Advent
3.2.3 Early Seventh-day Adventism and the great advent hope
3.2.4 1888—A move from law to grace
3.2.5 A search for identity after 1888
4 Early Adventism’s view and use of Scripture
4.1 The Reformation and its impact
4.2 Millerism and Scripture
4.3 James White, Joseph Bates, Ellen G White and Scripture
4.4 An intellectual approach to Scripture and its implications for caring
5 Seventh-day Adventists, practical theology and caring
6 Summary
CHAPTER THREE A SDA Confessional Framework and Pastoral Care
1 Introduction
2 Seventh-day Adventism and a confessional framework
2.1 A confessional approach and its view and use of Scripture
2.1.1 A conservative orientation
2.1.2 A moderate view of Scripture: A Christological approach
2.1.3 A progressive (liberal) orientation: View and use of Scripture
2.2 The importance of “truth” and “present truth” in Adventist theology
3 The implications of a confessional approach
3.1 A confessional approach and its implications for pastoral care
3.1.1 Adventism, eschatology and imminence
3.1.2 An apocalyptic-focused eschatology
3.1.3 The remnant idea
3.1.4 Proclamation: The SDA mission
3.2 A confessional approach and ecclesiology
3.3 Seventh-day Adventism and anthropology
3.3.1 Anthropological orientations
3.3.2 SDA anthropology?
3.4 An applied theology and Adventist pastoral care
4 Summary
CHAPTER FOUR The Challenges of Postmodernism and Possibilities for Pastoral Care
1 Introduction
2 Modernism and its assumptions
2.1 Rationalism
2.2 The search of modernism for objective truth
2.2.1 Objectivism
2.2.2 Reductionism
2.2.3 Determinism
2.2.4 Dualism
2.3 Newtonian atomism: Individualism and the dispassionate observer
2.4 Metanarratives
2.5 An overview and modernism’s implications for pastoral care
3 Postmodernism and it’s response to modernism
3.1 Postmodernism and its orientations
3.2 “Limitations” of postmodernism?
3.3 The challenges of postmodernism
3.3.1 Postmodernism dealing with rationalism: Mystery, awe and wonder
3.3.2 Postmodernism and deconstruction
3.3.2.1 Deconstruction and language
3.3.2.2 Deconstruction: Interpretation or objectivism?
3.3.2.3 Deconstruction: Objective truth, or “pointers”?
3.3.2.4 Deconstruction and binary oppositions
3.3.3 Postmodernism challenging metanarratives
3.3.4 Postmodernism and communication approaches
4 In Search of a practical theology beyond modernism
5 Summary
CHAPTER FIVE Beyond Confessionalism: Pastoral Care in Search of a Narrative Approach
1 Introduction
2 Why narrative?
2.1 The power of narrative
2.2 The limitations of narrative
3 Beyond Confessionalism
3.1 Narrative and context
3.2 Beyond absolutism and objectivism
3.3 A “perspective” approach
3.4 Narrative and learning theories
3.5 Narrative and metaphor
4 Pastoral care, narrative and dialogue: Four stories
4.1 The client’s story: “A living human document”
4.2 The pastor’s story: “Death of the spectator”, resurrection of the participant
4.3 “God’s story”: “The Word of God”
4.3.1 Why the Bible? Narrative and the authority of Scripture
4.3.2 Narrative and views of Scripture
4.3.3 The authority of the Bible as “God’s story”
4.3.4 A Narrative Bible is a communicative Bible
4.3.5 The Bible as an open-ended “story book”
4.3.6 Reading the Bible as a “story”
4.3.7 The Bible as a “caring story”
4.4 Pastoral care: The communities’ story
4.5 The story of hope: A “conjoined story”
5 A Story of Care
6 Summary
CHAPTER SIX Summation
BIBLIOGRAPHY