Reactions to the Seventh-day Adventist Evangelical Conferences and Questions on Doctrine 1955

443 Pages·2017·12.19 MB·English

by  Juhyeok Nam

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Juhyeok Nam
Andrews University, [email protected]
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Nam, Juhyeok, "Reactions to the Seventh-day Adventist Evangelical Conferences and Questions on
Doctrine 1955-1971" (2005). Dissertations. 107.
https://digitalcommons.andrews.edu/dissertations/107
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Andrews University
Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary
REACTIONS TO THE SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTIST
EVANGELICAL CONFERENCES AND
QUESTIONS ON DOCTRINE
1955-1971
A Dissertation
Presented in Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements for the Degree
Doctor of Philosophy
by
Juhyeok Nam
June 2005
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
UMI Number: 3182012
Copyright 2005 by
Nam, Juhyeok
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REACTIONS TO THE SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTIST
EVANGELICAL CONFERENCES AND
QUESTIONS ON DOCTRINE
1955-1971
A dissertation
presented in partial fulfillment
of the requirements for the degree
Doctor of Philosophy
by
Juhyeok Nam
APPROVAL BY THE COMMITTEE:
/I
Faculty Adviser, Director/Ph.D./Th.D. Program
George R. Knight Roy E. Gane
Professor of Church History
h'Ur*-'—
Jerry ^Hoon-' Dean, SDA Thperfogical Swmnary
Associate Professor of Church History John K. McVay
Woodrow W. Whidden II
Professor of Religion
Professor of Theology
Eddiitthh LL.. BBlluummhhooffeerr U <i^Date approved
Professor of History
Wheaton College, Wheaton, IL
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
ABSTRACT
REACTIONS TO THE SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTIST
EVANGELICAL CONFERENCES AND
QUESTIONS ON DOCTRINE
1955-1971
by
Juhyeok Nam
Adviser: George R. Knight
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
ABSTRACT OF GRADUATE STUDENT RESEARCH
Dissertation
Andrews University
Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary
Title: REACTIONS TO THE SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTIST EVANGELICAL
CONFERENCES AND QUESTIONS ON DOCTRINE, 1955-1971
Name of researcher: Juhyeok Nam
Name and degree of faculty adviser: George R. Knight, Ed.D.
Date completed: June 2005
Topic
The Seventh-day Adventist Evangelical Conferences of 1955-1956 resulted in the
publication of articles favorable to Adventists in Eternity and Seventh-day Adventists
Answer Questions on Doctrine, both of which evoked a variety of reactions among
evangelicals and Adventists.
Purpose
This study identifies and analyzes various evangelical and Adventist responses to the
Seventh-day Adventist Evangelical Conferences and Questions on Doctrine. In particular,
this investigation examines the interaction between the major theological camps that
emerged within and outside the Adventist church.
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Sources
This research is a documentary/analytical study of materials produced between
1955 and 1971 in reaction to the Seventh-day Adventist Evangelical Conferences and
Questions on Doctrine. Sources of particular importance to this study have been major
evangelical and Adventist periodicals and unpublished materials gathered from archival
collections at Andrews University, the Ellen G. White Estate, the General Conference of
Seventh-day Adventists, Loma Linda University, and the Presbyterian Historical Society.
Conclusions
Four distinct types of reactions were identified by this research: (1) pro-Adventist
evangelicals; (2) anti-Adventist evangelicals; (3) pro-Questions on Doctrine Adventists;
and (4) ant\-Questions on Doctrine Adventists. The first group was represented by
Walter R. Martin, Donald Grey Bamhouse, E. Schuyler English, and Frank Mead, who
accepted Adventism as an evangelical church. The rest of the evangelical world belonged
to the second group and continued to regard Adventism as a cult. The third group was led
by those General Conference leaders who participated in the Adventist-evangelical
conferences and in the publication of Questions on Doctrine. The final group was led by
M. L. Andreasen, who strongly protested against the book which he considered to be
significantly un-Adventist. The reactions by and interactions among these four groups
until 1971 show that the controversy over the Adventist-evangelical dialogues and
Questions on Doctrine was never fully resolved and the four sides remained in tension.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ........................................................................................... viii
PREFACE ........................................................................................................................... ix
Background of the Problem............................................................................ ix
Statement of the Problem.................................................................................. xii
Purpose of the Study ......................................................................................... xii
Justification for the Study .............................................................................. xii
Scope and Delimitations .............................................................................. xiii
Key Individuals and Terms ............................................................................ xiv
Review of Related Literature.......................................................................... xx
Methodology and Sources............................................................................ xxii
Design of the Study..................................................................................... xxiv
Acknowledgments......................................................................................... xxv
Chapter
1. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF THE SEVENTH-DAY
ADVENTIST EVANGELICAL CONFERENCES OF 1955-1956 ............... 1
Protestant Views of Adventism Prior to 1920 .............................................. 1
Adventist Views of Protestantism Prior to 1920 .......................................... 8
Protestant Views of Adventism from 1920 to 1955 ..................................... 14
William C. Irvine....................................................................................... 15
Jan Karel Van Baalen................................................................................. 17
Other Negative Assessments.................................................................... 21
Some Positive Assessments...................................................................... 23
Adventist Views of Protestantism from 1920 to 1955 ................................. 28
Reactions to Fundamentalism .................................................................. 29
Rise of Adventist Apologetics.................................................................. 35
Conclusions ....................................................................................................... 43
iii
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