7 May 2025 | In 1919 at a Bible Conference in Washington DC a candid discussion took place that raised questions about the prophetic gift of Ellen White—notably the knowledge of many of her contemporaries that she borrowed from other sources. The notes from that conference were typed up and tucked away, not to be […]
30 April 2025 | Spreading the gospel to the whole world was a strong imperative in Adventism after 1870. But the number of missionaries leaving North America increased significantly between 1910 and 1940. These hardy folk endured isolation and a variety of dangers and hardships; their dedication (albeit sometimes coupled with naiveté) was impressive. The […]
23 April 2025 | Many Adventists feel that they should go to church—in our case, at a specific time, and in a specific place, with people who share our beliefs. But they don’t always enjoy it. The pandemic opened to us not just the fear of meeting together, but new ways of meeting, studying, and […]
16 April 2025 | Less than 100 days since the inauguration, Donald Trump’s second term is already chaotic and controversial. Why is the promised Christian America imprisoning undocumented immigrants out-of-country and cutting funding for health research at home and aid to refugees abroad? And why have evangelicals largely encouraged these policies? What Christian values do […]
9 April 2025 | During the Nazi era, the Adventist welfare work and its energetic leader, Hulda Jost, integrated the Adventist welfare work into the government’s welfare organization. Adventist leaders also took advantage of their foreign ties to promote the Third Reich abroad. They worked closely with Nazi authorities and filed detailed reports. Particularly noteworthy is […]
26 March 2025 | Galatians is a short book with some fascinating content. But reading through it could raise some questions in your mind. Paul starts some of his books with praise and appreciation. Why does he start this book with a scolding? What’s significant about Paul’s conversion story that he has to add it […]
19 March 2025 | The dance between religion and science has been going on since the dawn of the scientific revolution. When the Catholic Church became more and more concerned with the drift of Easter later and later in the year, they enlisted the astronomer Copernicus to fix the problem. He did so—but in the […]
12 March 2025 | From its inception, Seventh-day Adventism has relied on an apocalyptic worldview derived from Millerism and the apocalyptic passages in the Bible. While these ideas still shape Adventist teaching and evangelism, in recent decades critical questions have been raised regarding the biblical validity, theological potency, and contemporary relevance of this apocalyptic imprint. […]
5 March 2025 | Christians spend much of their spiritual lives worshipping in some sort of religious building, which we commonly call a “church.” Huge amounts of time, money, and effort are dedicated to keeping these structures running. Have you ever paused and considered what makes these spaces sacred, or “holy”? What does sacred or […]
26 February 2025 | Throughout Christian history, the Lord’s Supper has played a central role in the church’s theology and liturgy. It is perceived by some Christian traditions as the central ritual of the Christian faith. Despite its being frequently celebrated, not many Christians understand the historical development of the Lord’s Supper to the form […]
19 February 2025 | The investigative judgment (IJ) idea, that Jesus began a new phase of activity in heaven in 1844, has been Adventism’s most contested and troublesome doctrine. We know that a group of Millerites waited for Jesus to return on October 22, 1844. But what happened afterwards, when their expectations failed, has taken […]