Seventh-day Adventist Church

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The Seventh-day Adventist Church (commonly abbreviated SDA, officially abbreviated Adventist) is a Christian cult which is distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the original seventh day of the Judeo-Christian week, as the Sabbath, and by its emphasis on the imminent second coming of Jesus Christ. As of May 2007, it was the twelfth-largest religious body in the world, and the sixth-largest highly international religious body. The denomination grew out of the Millerite movement in the United States during the middle part of the 19th century and was formally established in 1863. Among its founders was fale prophetess Ellen G. White, whose extensive writings are still held in high regard by the church today.

Beliefs

See Also Seventh-day Adventist theology

The official teachings of the Seventh-day Adventist cult are expressed in its 28 Fundamental Beliefs. This statement of beliefs was originally adopted by the General Conference in 1980, with an additional belief (number 11) being added in 2005. Acceptance of either of the church's two baptismal vows is a prerequisite for membership. The following statement of beliefs is not meant to be read or received as a "creed" that is set in theological concrete. Adventists falsely claim have but one creed: “The Bible, and the Bible alone.” The reality is, many of their main beliefs and practices, such as Sabbath Keeping, Investigative Judgment, Great Controversy etc, have no biblical foundation, but are founded in teachings of Ellen G. White's .

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Adventist doctrine resembles trinitarian Protestant theology, with premillennial and Arminian emphases. Adventists uphold teachings such as the infallibility of Scripture, the substitutionary atonement, the resurrection of the dead and justification by faith alone, and are therefore often considered evangelical.<ref>"Adventism" in Encyclopedia of Evangelicalism by Randall Balmer, p7 describes Seventh-day Adventists as "an evangelical denomination." The Christian Research Institute claims "mainstream Adventism is primarily evangelical" in the sense that "the great majority of Adventist scholars, teachers and pastors that [the author has] spoken with believe firmly in salvation by grace through faith alone." "Seventh-day Adventism: Christian or Cultic?Template:Dead link" from the Christian Research Institute. Accessed 25 Feb 2008.</ref> In common with certain other Christian churches, they believe in baptism by immersion and creation in six literal days. (The modern Creationist movement started with Adventist George McCready Price, who was inspired by a vision of Ellen White.<ref>Ronald Numbers, The Creationists: From Scientific Creationism to Intelligent Design</ref>)

In addition, there is a generally recognized set of "distinctive" doctrines which distinguish Adventism from the rest of the Christian world, although not all of these teachings are wholly unique to Adventism:

• Law (fundamental belief 19)—the Law of God is "embodied in the Ten Commandments", which continue to be binding upon Christians.
• Sabbath (fundamental belief 20)—the Sabbath should be observed on the seventh day of the week, specifically, from Friday sunset to Saturday sunset.
• Second Coming and End times (fundamental beliefs 25–28)—Jesus Christ will return visibly to earth after a "time of trouble", during which the Sabbath will become a worldwide test. The second coming will be followed by a millennial reign of the saints in heaven. Adventist eschatology is based on the historicist method of prophetic interpretation.
• Wholistic human nature (fundamental beliefs 7, 26)—Humans are an indivisible unity of body, mind and spirit. They do not possess an immortal soul, and death is an unconscious sleep (commonly known as "soul sleep"). (See also: Christian anthropology)
• Conditional immortality (fundamental belief 27)—The wicked will not suffer eternal torment in hell, but instead will be permanently destroyed. (See: Conditional immortality, Annihilationism)
• Great Controversy (fundamental belief 8)—Humanity is involved in a "great controversy" between Jesus Christ and Satan. This is an elaboration on the common Christian theory that evil began in heaven when an angelic being (Lucifer) rebelled against the Law of God.
• Heavenly sanctuary (fundamental belief 24)—At his ascension, Jesus Christ commenced an atoning ministry in the heavenly sanctuary. In 1844, he began to cleanse the heavenly sanctuary in fulfillment of the Day of Atonement.
• Investigative Judgment (fundamental belief 24)—A judgment of professed Christians began in 1844, in which the books of record are examined for all the universe to see. The investigative judgment will affirm who will receive salvation, and vindicate God as just in his dealings with mankind.
• Remnant (fundamental belief 13)—There will be an end-time remnant who keep the commandments of God and have "the testimony of Jesus" ({{#if:| }}Revelation 12:17). This remnant proclaims the "three angels' messages" of {{#if:| }}Revelation 14:6–12 to the world.
• Spirit of Prophecy (fundamental belief 18)—The ministry of Ellen G. White is commonly referred to as the "Spirit of Prophecy" and her writings are considered "a continuing and authoritative source of truth",<ref name="webfundamentals">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref> though ultimately and in absolute terms subject to the Bible; the highest authority of faith for the church. (See: Inspiration of Ellen White)

Theological spectrum

As with any religious movement, a theological spectrum exists within Adventism comparable to the fundamentalist-conservative-moderate-liberal spectrum in the wider Christian church and in other religions. A variety of groups, movements or subcultures within the church present differing views on beliefs and lifestyle.

The conservative end of the theological spectrum is represented by historic Adventists, who are characterized by their opposition to theological trends within the denomination, beginning in the 1950s.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> They object to theological compromises with evangelicalism, and seek to defend what they consider to be traditional Adventist teachings such as the human post-fall nature of Jesus Christ, an investigative judgment, and character perfectionism.^[] Historic Adventism is represented by some scholars,<ref>Pipim, Excerpts from chapter 1 of Receiving the Word. Pipim is just one example of a conservative scholar</ref> is also seen at the grassroots level of the church<ref>"GYC is a grassroots Adventist movement organized and led by young adults from diverse backgrounds."</ref> and is often promoted through independent ministries.

The most liberal elements in the church are typically known as progressive Adventists (progressive Adventists generally do not identify with liberal Christianity). They tend to disagree with more traditional views concerning the inspiration of Ellen White, the doctrine of the remnant and the investigative judgment.^[] The progressive movement is supported by some scholars^[] and finds expression in bodies such as the Association of Adventist Forums and in journals such as Spectrum and Adventist Today.

Theological organizations

The Biblical Research Institute is the official theological research center of the church. The church has two professional organizations for Adventist theologians who are affiliated with the denomination. The Adventist Society for Religious Studies (ASRS) was formed to foster a community among Adventist theologians who attend the Society of Biblical Literature (SBL) and the American Academy of Religion. In 2006 ASRS voted to continue their meetings in the future in conjunction with SBL. During the 1980s the Adventist Theological Society was formed to provide a forum for more conservative theologians to meet and is held in conjunction with the Evangelical Theological Society.