ATSS: James Walters, “Canaries and Ostriches Forever: The Case for Adventism Version 2.0”
14 February 2024 |
Few Adventists would doubt the bonafides of the late Richard Hammill (Andrews University president and world-church education leader) or former General Conference (GC) president R.R. Fighur. However, the Adventism of these towering thought-leaders couldn’t be more different in ethos from widely respected GC presidents such as R.H. Pierson and current GC president Ted Wilson. Using the taxonomy of Gilbert Valentine’s monumental Ostriches and Canaries: Coping with Change in Adventism 1966-1979, the first two are canaries, the latter ostriches. Canaries come to terms with unwelcome truths; ostriches can’t or won’t. Canaries are our church’s progressives; Ostriches are the fundamentalists.
My presentation expands Valentine’s helpful ornithological taxonomy by contrasting traits in human nature, illustrating how some people need simple solutions, while others entertain complex, both-and resolutions. In using this typological method, I readily acknowledge that no person neatly fits into any type. But suggesting undergirding socio-psychological traits that reappear may illumine our Adventist faith in a manner not otherwise readily evident. A rebooted view of Adventism isn’t needed by the church’s fundamentalists; Adventism 1.0 (supposedly unchanging) is sufficient—to be protected at all costs. But many others want room for other ideas, which they regard as a matter of intellectual honesty and inclusion.
God created canaries and ostriches, and Adventism is sufficiently big, dynamic, and mature to not just abide, but celebrate both. There are powerful reasons to get beyond an either-or mentality, and applaud both-and. But deep in the denominational DNA there’s an opposing momentum: it treasures the exclusivity of either-or. Nevertheless, the genius of Adventism is only realized when we acknowledge our penchant for fundamentalist either-or thinking, and appreciate our more progressive both-and sentiment.
I will argue, informed by our Adventist history, that the genius of Adventism (and really religion itself) is deeply affective and only regulated by reason, and the fundamentalist/progressive distinction roughly parallels these undergirding elements.
Further, I will suggest that James White is an early Adventist progressive—a canary—who in seeing a larger picture for the Advent movement refused for five years to publish his wife Ellen’s visions to avoid the accusation of “fanaticism,” and the charge of using visions rather than Scripture as the basis for Adventist doctrine. Ellen, James’ highly gifted wife and the movement’s increasingly acclaimed prophetess, was a dynamic leader in her own vein: a charismatic, emotional visionary who had a strong following among the Millerite-adventists who constituted the devoted band of truth-seekers who would finally formally organize 19 years after their Great Disappointment.
Teacher:
Jim Walters is professor emeritus of the Loma Linda University School of Religion.
Moderator:
Gina Jett is a retired attorney who lives near Sacramento.
How to join:
One-click link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/88384425702
Passcode: FEBRUARY
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The class is intended to last about 2 hours, though the conversation often continues to 4 PM (Eastern time).
About our class:
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YouTube channel:
You can see all of our previous ATSS recordings here.
Coming up:
- Stephen Chavez
- Kart Lazic
- Denis Fortin
- Andreas Bochmann
- Tom deBruin
- Reinder Bruinsma
