Aunt Sevvy, what is the Seventh-day Adventist Reform Movement?
2 December 2024 |
Dear Aunt Sevvy,
Recently I came across a church apparently related to ours called the Seventh-day Adventist Reform Movement. At first glance, I see little difference. Are they the same?
Signed, Clarification Needed
Dear Clarification,
The Seventh-day Adventist Reform Movement (SDARM) arose in Germany during World War I, out of a disagreement with European church leaders about Adventists’ defending their countries on the battlefield rather than serving in noncombatant positions. (Noncombatant service had been the historical position of the church from the time of the American Civil War, based on Adventists’ belief in the Ten Commandments—in this case, the sixth.) Not surprisingly, it came up again during World War II. The schism is associated with popular German evangelist Louis R. Conradi, though he was only one of several prominent church leaders involved.
The Seventh-day Adventist Reform Movement has had a tumultuous history since then: it has “reformed” and split several times, and remains small and struggling. What started out as a schism in the European church is now a United States-based organization that seems to attract mostly disaffected Adventists.
The original Adventist church and the Reform Movement share our distinctive beliefs, such as the Sabbath and the return of Jesus; lifestyle teachings having to do with diet, health and appearance; and the ministry of Ellen White.
There have been attempts to heal the rift, but by now the SDARM has a life of its own: it has become the home for a few who want to make the statement that the mother church isn’t conservative enough. They say they are reclaiming the high ground by being more faithful to teachings about divorce and remarriage, noncombatant military service, lifestyle, Ellen White, the remnant church, the sealing, and other conservative teachings.
Unless you’ve got a specific bone to pick with the original Seventh-day Adventist Church, you probably would find the SDARM’s concerns of more historical than current interest.
Aunt Sevvy
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