7th Day Adventist Church
101 W 123rd St
New York, NY 10027

Terminology:

Seventh-day Adventists are also called Adventists and SDAs. The word Adventists is often pronounced incorrectly. The emphasis should be on the first syllable (Ad’-ven-tist).

History:

The origin of the Seventh-day Adventists can be traced to the Millerite Movement of the 19th Century. This movement was largely responsible for what has been called the Great second advent awakening. William Miller (1782-1849) was a farmer who settled in upstate New York after the war of 1812. He was originally a Deist (a person who believes that God created the universe but has not been actively involved since). After two years of private Bible study, Miller converted to Christianity and became a Baptist lay leader. He was convinced that the Bible contained coded information about the end of the world and the Second Coming of Jesus. He also realized that he had an obligation to teach his findings to others. In 1831, he started to preach; the next year, he wrote articles about his findings. In 1833, he published a pamphlet on end-time prophecy. In 1836, his book Evidences from Scripture and History of the Second Coming of Christ about the Year 1843 was published.

One of the key texts that he interpreted was in the Book of Daniel: Daniel heard two angels talking; one asked how long it will take until the destruction of the Temple is avenged and it is restored to its rightful state. The other replied in Daniel 8:14

“And he said onto me, unto 2,300 days, then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.”

Miller believed that the 2,300 days were each of one year duration and that the interval started in 457 BCE. He concluded that the cleansing of the temple (i.e. the Second Coming) would occur sometime between two spring equinoxes: 1843-MAR-21 to 1844-MAR-21. He found other methods of calculating the end time which also seemed to point to the year 1843 CE. In common with all other predictions of the Second Coming, the end didn’t happen on cue. Samuel Snow, a follower of Miller, then interpreted the “tarrying time” referred to in Habakkuk 2:3 as equal to 7 months and 10 days, delaying the end time to 1844-OCT-22. That prophecy also did not come to pass. Many believers left the movement in what has become known as The Great Disappointment. Miller himself gradually withdrew from the leadership of the group and died in 1849. His followers called themselves Adventists; the group was often referred to as Millerites by others.

Ellen Harmon (later known by her married name Ellen White) joined with other Adventists, including Joseph Bates, and her husband James White to form a small group of Baptist, Methodist, Congregational and Presbyterian believers in Washington NH. The church was formally organized as the Seventh-day Adventist Church. on 1863-MAY-21. She believed that the 1844 prediction was correct, but that it referred to the start of an Investigative Judgment. This is a time when Christ will judge the dead and the living on earth for righteousness. She predicted that this would soon be followed by the second coming of Jesus. Late in her career, the church voted her the credentials of an ordained minister. However, she was never actually ordained.

Victor Houteff joined the SDA church in 1919. His beliefs deviated from main-line church doctrine. This became obvious when he wrote his book The Shepherd’s Rod in which he outlined errors that he found within the church. He left the church and formed a new sect in 1929 called the Davidian Seventh-day Adventists. This group split further and eventually led to the organization of the the Students of the Seven Seals, popularly known as the Branch Davidians. In 1993, after a long standoff with the FBI, the Branch Davidian’s compound burned down with major loss of life.

The Church Now:

The SDA church has always taken a special interest in health concerns. They have played a major role in health research into the dangers of smoking and of diets rich in cholesterol and fats. Dr. John Kellog, founder of “Kellogg’s” and a major supplier of breakfast cereals was a well known member of the church. They promote plans to help people quit smoking and consuming alcohol. They sponsor cooking classes, heart disease teams, narcotics education outreaches and disaster teams. There are 155 SDA hospitals and 276 clinics, dispensaries, etc. in the world. Many congregations have a Dorcas Society which provide food and supplies to the needy. They currently operate 92 post-secondary institutions, almost 1000 secondary schools and over 4000 elementary schools and kindergartens.

The SDA church is a strong supporter of the principle of separation of church and state. They also promote religious liberty, and publish a periodical called Liberty.

As of mid-2000, the Church has about 11 million baptized members, worldwide, who are “of age” and on the “official” roles. The total number of members and adherents is perhaps double that. They have a growth rate of about 11% per year. “Adventists can now be found in 205 of the 229 countries and areas of the world recognized by the United Nations, with 91.6% of membership living outside of North America.” 22

By the middle of 2004, the total world church membership reached 13,663,497. The Adventist News Network reports that: “Six of the church’s 13 world regions — Inter-America, South America, East-Central Africa, Southern Africa-Indian Ocean, Southern Asia Pacific and North America — have memberships of more than 1 million each. The church regions with the largest membership are: Inter-America, with 2.5 million; South America, with 2.3 million; and East-Central Africa with, 2.1 million.” 23

Beliefs:

Seventh-day Adventists follow most of the beliefs of conventional conservative Christianity: creation, the fall of mankind in the Garden of Eden, original sin; the virgin birth; the divinity of Christ; the nature of the Trinity; belief in Satan as a rebellious created being; the inerrancy of Scriptures as they were originally written; the resurrection of Jesus, salvation by the atonement of Christ, etc. However, they differ on a number of other beliefs: Writings of Ellen White: Ellen White is recognized by the SDA church as having received the gift of prophecy. The written works by Ellen White , “are a continuing and authoritative source of truth which provide for the church comfort, guidance, instruction, and correction.” 21 This produced some conflict within the Church when research in the 1980’s showed that she had borrowed heavily from contemporary writers.
Immortality: They deny the concept of “innate immortality”. They believe that a person is not naturally immortal. When a person dies, they remain unconscious until they are resurrected. Eternal life is a gift which God gives only to righteous Christians; the rest will be ultimately annihilated. Thus, they do not believe that a person goes to heaven or hell immediately upon death.
Jesus’ return: The second coming of Christ is imminent. Believers should be ready at all times to be removed from earth to be with God in heaven; others will be destroyed by Christ. Righteous Christians who had previously died will be resurrected at that time and taken to heaven. For the following 1000 years, only Satan and his angels will be living on earth. A second resurrection will occur at the end of that period. The righteous will then return to a cleansed earth, and establish the New Jerusalem. The unrighteous who died before the Second Coming will be resurrected and be consumed by fire and by God, along with Satan and his angels. The universe will then be free of sin and sinners. Hell exists as a lake of fire where the unrighteous are “burned up, utterly destroyed, and cease forever to exist”. Hell does not exist as a place of eternal torment.

Practices:

The practice of Adventism varies greatly from congregation to congregation. Some are more conservative; others more liberal. This is seen in their degree of emphasis on the writings of Ellen White, their customary clothing styles, their order of service, choice of music, etc. Sabbath: Perhaps their most obvious practice which differentiates them from most other Christian churches is that they follow observe Saturday as their weekly Sabbath (from Friday sunset to Saturday sunset). Their religious education classes are called Sabbath Schools, not Sunday Schools. They often give a “Happy Sabbath” greeting when they meet.

The earliest Christian movement, the Jewish Christians centered in Jerusalem, followed the Jewish Saturday Sabbath. This was changed by the Church Council of Laodicea circa 364 CE, which ordered that future religious observances were to be conducted on Sunday. The Seventh Day Baptist church in the 19th century reverted to the practice of the primitive Christian church and adopted Saturday for religious services. The SDA followed suit.

Saturday worship has caused some employers to discriminate against those SDA members who feel that they cannot work on Saturday. On the other hand, other companies have found that an employee who is willing to work every Sunday can be an asset.
Baptism into the church is done by full immersion after the age of accountability. It is preceded by instruction, a personal acceptance of the Scriptures, repentance of sins and confession of sins.

Diet: Members are expected to abstain from alcohol, tobacco, and every other “soul-defiling habit”.

They were once also expected to abstain from caffeinated drinks such as coffee, tea, cola drinks etc. The church has since removed this from the baptismal vows, although they still recommend that policy. They have interpreted the Old Testament dietary laws as prohibiting the eating of some foods. The church recommends avoiding red meat. Many SDA member are vegetarians who supplement their diet with eggs and milk.

Dress: Dress codes differ greatly among individual congregations. Some churches expect members to dress simply; others have no dress codes at all.

Entertainment: Members are encouraged to watch uplifting entertainment. Some conservative congregations suggest that members should “shun all questionable worldly amusements such as the theater and dance”. However, most Adventists differ little from the typical American in this area.
Inter-faith marriages are discouraged. This includes marriage to non-SDA Christians.

Divorce: The Adventist World Session in 2000 modified the grounds under which a divorce is permissible. They became: adultery/fornication, abandonment by an unbelieving spouse, or physical violence. Adultery/fornication includes incest, child sexual abuse, or homosexual behavior. However, abandonment by a believing spouse would not be grounds for divorce. (A believing spouse means a fellow SDA member; Roman Catholics, other Protestants, etc. are considered unbelievers.) 20 In practice, members who have terminated an unworkable marriage are not shunned or harassed in any way.

Remarriage: Remarriage is only allowed if one’s spouse is guilty of adultery/fornication.

Evolution: The SDA church has been quite active in the promotion of Creation Science in opposition to the theory of evolution. The Geoscience Research Institute at Loma Linda University (a SDA institution) publishes a semi-annual periodical Origins which promotes Creation Science

Education: Higher education is highly respected within the church. The rate of college graduates in SDA membership is about twice the US national average.

Church Controversies: The role of women: In common with many conservative Christian churches, the question of ordination of women is actively debated within the SDA church. The special role of the SDA founder, Ellen White, is proof that women are able to contribute to church life. However, although they have been allowed to be ordained as elders for many years, none are eligible as pastors. This decision was based largely on the text of 1 Corinthians 14:34-37 when St. Paul presented as a command of God that women should keep quiet in church, and remain subordinate. In 1 Timothy 2:12A, he said that no woman was to teach or have authority over a man; she is to remain silent. As in other denominations, the debate concentrates on whether:These were commands for the first century church, or for all eras
These were commands for the Mediterranean region, or for all cultures. Whether these passages were written by St. Paul or were forgeries written by others and attributed to Paul.

The North American Division (NAD) of the Seventh-day Adventist Church proposed to the 1995 General Conference in Utrecht, Netherlands that each World Division be allowed to decide independently whether to ordain women to the pastorate. The proposal was defeated by a vote of 1481 to 673. A few NAD congregations went ahead and ordained women pastors in spite of the decision.

Homosexuality: The church’s stand is that the Bible consistently condemns homosexuality as a sin. Gay candidates are not permitted to be ordained as pastors.

Seventh-day Adventist Kinship International is an organization “devoted to the spiritual, emotional, social and physical well-being of current and former Seventh-day Adventists who are lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgendered.” Their group is completely independent of the SDA church. It was founded in 1976 and has over 1000 members: gays, lesbians, their parents, friends and supporters. They believe that: God loves and accepts gays and lesbians as they are.
The Bible does not “condemn, or even mention homosexuality as a sexual orientation.”
Ellen White’s writings do not “parallel any of the Bible Texts which are often used to condemn homosexuals.”
sexual orientation is unchangeable.

In 1987 the Seventh-day Adventist Church filed legal action in a federal district court in California, in an attempt to stop SDA Kinship International from using “Seventh-day Adventist” in their name. The church lost their lawsuit, which was never appealed.

Cult Status: Several prominent theologians, including ex-members of the Seventh-day Adventists, have stated in the past that the SDA church is a cult. In doing this, they do not imply that the church is a mind control cult or a doomsday cult, but simply that some of their beliefs deviate from those of traditional, conservative Christianity. Some attackers have quoted isolated writings of some members of the church and incorrectly asserted that the thoughts represented official church doctrine.
Some of the criticisms include: That the writings of Mrs. White are considered on a par with those of the Bible: inspired by God and infallible.