Adventism and Ecumenism: Joinable or Not Joinable?
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Adventism has been unwilling to join with the modern ecumenism since a century ago. However, Christians until today kept on inviting Adventists’ ecumenical involvement. They challenged that Adventist are not simply “Adventists” but are “Adventist Christians.” A red-carpeted welcome and grandeur celebration has been prepared if only Adventists will join with the socio-politically concerned ecumenism. Central to this presentation is to ethically evaluate the above challenge. It traces why Adventists are hesitant to fully joining with the contemporary ecumenism. This study shows that Adventists maintain principles that interrupts them from fully joining with the modern ecumenical movement. In fact, these are barriers that do not make Adventists simply “Adventist Christians” but “Adventists.” In other words, Adventism should rise up distinct from the rest of Christendom.
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Adventism and Ecumenism: Joinable or Not Joinable?
- 2. ECUMENISM
- 4. Dr. Nicholas P. Miller “complacent and even lazy thinking about interchurch fellowship.”
- 5. 1. “Under-emphasis” on our “giveness” of the church. 2. “Over-emphasis” of our own grasp of truth.
- 6. “I like who you are and it’s a joy to be here. My concern, if I can put it that way, is with your grammar. ‘Adventist’ is a wonderful adjective, but an idolatrous noun. You are not Seventh-day Adventists, but Seventh-day Adventist Christians.”
- 9. Joinable or not joinable? What are ethical issues involved?
- 10. DEALING WITH MINISTERS OF OTHER FAITHS
- 13. “As Adventists, we all too often show apathy towards other Christians and their churches, and mentally justify it on vague [unclear] theological grounds, such as ‘standing for the truth’ or avoiding ‘compromise.’”
- 14. “unite with the papacy in forcing the conscience and compelling men to honor the false sabbath, the people of every country on the globe will be led to follow her example.” Maranatha, 214.
- 16. “attendance is not a secret and articles are published in the Adventist Review which give a report of these meetings.” John Graz,
- 17. “The wisest, firmest labor should be given to those ministers who are not of our faith. There are many who know no better than to be misled by ministers of other churches. Let faithful, God-fearing, earnest workers, their life hid with Christ in God, pray and work for honest ministers who have been educated to misinterpret the Word of Life.”—EVANGELISM, 562.
- 19. Ecumenism seeks Christian unity, mutual respects, cooperation, and relationships within the umbrella of Christianity.
- 23. “Christian could joyfully and sincerely join together as one to partake of the great sacraments of unity, the body and blood of the Lord in the Eucharist.” Alan Schreck, The Catholic Challenge: A Fresh Look at the Message of Vatican II, 206.
- 25. “the goal of reconciling all who profess Christian faith to bring them into a single, visible organization, i.e. through union with the Roman Catholic Church.”
- 28. “Togetherness but not necessarily the same.”
- 31. “at least in part, as a loss of confidence in the World Council of Churches.”
- 32. “the urgent need for churches, mission and other Christian organizations to cooperate in evangelism and social action, repudiating competition and avoiding duplication.”
- 36. “Popery [“a derogatory name for Roman Catholicism”] is just what prophecy declared that she would be, the apostasy of the latter times. [2 Thessalonians 2:3, 4.] It is a part of her policy to assume the character which will best accomplish her purpose; but beneath the variable appearance of the chameleon, she conceals the invariable venom of the serpent.” Ellen G. White, Great Controversy, 571.
- 38. “true doctrine calls for more than mere belief—it calls for action.” Seventh-day Adventists Believe, 2nd ed. (Boise, ID: Pacific Press, 2005), ix.
- 39. “will proclaim the everlasting gospel of salvation by faith in Christ. They will warn the world that the hour of God’s judgment has arrived and they will prepare others to meet their soon-coming Lord. They will be engaged in a worldwide mission to complete the divine witness to humanity (Rev. 14:6, 7; Matt. 24:14).” Ibid., 191.
- 41. The Ecumenical Movement, the union of churches, is the beginning of the great union of the opposing powers against God. It has already been developed into the union of religions. Finally, it will become the union of the church [religion] and the state. The key element in each of these unions is Sunday. But we see another great union in the universe; that is, the union of universal God’s family, including those who are on earth. The key element in this universal great union is the Sabbath.”—Kyung Ho Song, Distinctive Doctrines of the SDA Church, 83.
- 42. Ethical Standard
- 43. “Your Word is truth” (John 17:17)
- 44. “All human wisdom must be subject to the authority of the Scripture. The Bible truths are the norm by which all other ideas must be tested. Judging the Word of God by finite human standards is like trying to measure the stars with a yardstick. The Bible must not be subjected to human norms. It is superior to all human wisdom and literature. Rather than our judging the Bible, all will be judged by it, for it is the standard of character and test of all experience and thought.”Seventh-day Adventists Believe, 20.
- 48. V E R T I C A L H O R I Z O N T A L
- 52. “Adventists believe prophecy indicates that, at some point in the future, certain worship practices of the majority will be enforced through law. We are thus sensitive, maybe at times overly so, to projects that wish to seek unity by playing the game of doctrinal or theological minimization. We hold core beliefs, such as the Sabbath, that history shows to be vulnerable to being minimized.” –Nicholas P. Miller, “Adventist and Ecumenism,” Ministry, April 2013, 19.
- 53. “In the warfare to be waged in the last days there will be united, in opposition to God’s people, all the corrupt powers that have apostatized from allegiance to the law of Jehovah. In this warfare the Sabbath of the fourth commandment will be the great point at issue, for in the Sabbath commandment the great Lawgiver identifies Himself as the Creator of the heavens and the earth.”— Ellen G. White, Selected Messages, 3 vols. (Washington, DC: Review & Herald, 1980), 3:392.
- 56. “If it is not Rome that has altered its position in favor of the gospel, then it must be the other partner that has moved from its earlier position.”
- 57. “there has been a change; but the change is not in the papacy” Ellen G. White, Great Controversy (Mountain View, CA: Pacific Press, 1950), 571.
- 58. “Catholicism indeed resembles much of the Protestantism that now exists, because Protestantism has so greatly degenerated since the days of the Reformers. As the Protestant churches have been seeking the favor of the world, false charity has blinded their eyes. They do not see but that it is right to believe good of all evil, and as the inevitable result they will finally believe evil of all good. Instead of standing in defense of the faith once delivered to the saints, they are now, as it were, apologizing to Rome for their uncharitable opinion of her, begging pardon for their bigotry.”—GC, 571.
- 60. Adventism is an “on-the-ground, issue- oriented fellowship, support, and caring between Christians.” Miller, 17.
- 61. Adventists can work with other Christians “together on issues of community concern, such as religious liberty, creation and evolution, racial harmony, and issues of civil morality, such as family and marriage.” Ibid., 18.
- 62. “were active in making common cause with other Christians on points of shared concern, most notably, antislavery, temperance, reform, and religious liberty.”
- 63. Mrs. White also “spoke to her largest audiences in non-Adventist settings, speaking on behalf of temperance reform and prohibition laws to groups of Christians from various churches.”
- 67. According to Davis Duggins, it is about time to come together irrespective of doctrinal differences and “make a common cause to bring Christian values to bear in our society.” Davis Duggins, “Evangelicals and Catholics: Across the Divide: How Can We Relate to One Another in This Secular Age,” Moody Monthly, November 1993, 12.
- 68. “When the barbarians are scaling the walls, there is no time for pretty quarrelling in the camp” because Christians “have much to forgive, much to relearn” and the RCC can “help us to do both so we can band together against the rising tides of secularism which threaten to engulf us.” David Cloud, “Chuck Colson’s Catholic Connections,” para. 4, http://www.jesus-is-savior.com/Wolves/chuck_colson.htm (accessed April 28, 2013).
- 70. “doctrine, not behavior, is the real test.”
- 71. Bible’s religion is socially-oriented— “not to be brought out occasionally for our own benefit, and then to be carefully laid aside again. It is to sanctify the daily life, to manifest itself in every business transaction and in all our social relations.” Ellen G. White, Desire of Ages (Mountain View, CA: Pacific Press, 1940), 306, 307.
- 72. “ADRA is one of the first responders to many international disasters, often arriving in 24 hours of their occurrence.” Sandra Blackmer, “Faces of ADRA,” Adventist World, January 2013, 17.
- 73. It “sees its mission as making known the just, merciful, and loving character of God through humanitarian service.”
- 74. “Muslims see Adventists as good people because of the many ways we help them.”
- 75. SDA Church “must not be perceived as simply opting out of any Christian responsibility for the local community.”
- 78. “unwilling to join in the dividing up of the mission field between various denominations. This refusal to cooperate in missions may seem narrow, sectarian, and even arrogant, but we can hardly argue that the Lord did not bless the results. Without this refusal, it is unlikely that Seventh-day Adventists would become the most widespread Protestant denomination in the world, with more than 17 million members in than 200 countries, running the most widespread Protestant educational and medical systems in the world.” Nicholas P. Miller, “Adventist and Ecumenism,” Ministry, April 2013, 19.
- 82. “Adventists see their task as preaching the everlasting gospel to all men, calling for worship of the Creator, obedient adherence to the faith of Jesus, and proclaiming that the hour of God's judgment has come. Some aspects of this message are not popular. How can Adventists best succeed in fulfilling the prophetic mandate? It is our view that the Seventh-day Adventist Church can best accomplish her divine mandate by keeping her own identity, her own motivation, her own feeling of urgency, her own working methods.” Beach, under “The Influence of Prophetic Understanding,” para. 2.
- 85. Politicization
- 87. “…this warning of the judgment, with its connected messages, is followed by the coming of the Son of man in the clouds of heaven. The proclamation of the judgment is an announcement of Christ’s second coming as at hand. And this proclamation is called the everlasting gospel. Thus the preaching of Christ’s second coming, the announcement of its nearness, is shown to be an essential part of the gospel message.”—Ellen G. White, Christ’s Object Lessons (Washington, DC: Review & Herald, 1941), 227, 228.
- 89. “Impossible”
- 90. Adventists are not just “Adventist Christians” but are “Seventh-day Adventists.
- 91. “come out from them and be separate [from the socio- politically concerned Christendom].” 2 Cor 6:17.
Editor's Notes
- Good afternoon everyone! It is my second time to present a topic on ecumenism as big and academically as this audience. The other one was last year here. My topic today is: Adventism & Ecumenism: Joinable or Not Joinable? What do you think? Joinable or Not? When I say the word “joinable,” it means to “combine.” It “implies some merging or mingling with corresponding loss of identity of each unit.” Merriam-Webster, s.v. “Joinable.”
- Aside from being a hot topic, ecumenism is now penetrating contemporary Christianity. Liberal and conservative Protestants are now moving into one ecumenical direction. Catholicism is inspiring every church through the garb of social reforms. However, Adventism has maintained of being cautious in every socio-politically oriented endeavor.
- On February 2, 2012, at the Andrews University’s annual Seminary Scholarship Symposium, Michael Kinnamon gave a talk entitled “The Ecumenical Movement and Why You Should be Involved.” Kinnamon is former head of the National Council of Churches in America.
- According to Nicholas P. Miller, Kinnamon challenged Adventists’ “complacent and even lazy thinking about interchurch fellowship.” Miller is Associate Professor of Church History in the Seventh-day Adventist Seminary at Andrews University, Michigan, USA. He responded Kinnamon and published an article “Adventists and Ecumenism” in Ministry Magazine dated April 2013.
- He discussed a couple of reasons why Adventists are not joining the contemporary ecumenical movement. First, is their “under-emphasis” on their “givenness” of the church. And second, is their “over-emphasis” of their own grasp on truth.
- He even challenged attendees, by saying, “I like who you are and it’s a joy to be here. My concern, if I can put it that way, is with your grammar. “Adventist” is a wonderful adjective, but an idolatrous noun. You are not Seventh-day Adventists, but Seventh-day Adventist Christians.”
- Adventists seem not concerned with the issue of joinability but only on the level of involvement. They are satisfied with a non-member status in major ecumenical assemblies and meetings. No more, no less.
- However, meditating upon Kinnamon’s challenge, it appears that non-Adventists churches are just waiting for SDA Church to finally join with the ecumenical movement with a red-carpeted welcome and grandeur celebration.
- Thus, the above challenge should be treated fairly. Are Adventism and ecumenism joinable or not joinable? What are ethical issues involved in considering such a question?
- It is not bad so associate with ministers of other denominations. In fact, Ellen G. White suggests that Adventists should work for ministers of other churches that they may be saved—praying for and with them. See Ellen G. White, Testimonies for the Church, 9 vols. (Mountain View: CA: Pacific Press, 1948), 6:77, 78.
- However, these encounters should be done in great cautions. Association but not contamination is the best ethical dictum for such encounters.
- Miller answers Kinnamon’s challenge, by saying, “As Adventists, we all too often show apathy towards other Christians and their churches, and mentally justify it on vague [unclear] theological grounds, such as ‘standing for the truth’ or avoiding ‘compromise.’” Nicholas P. Miller, “Adventists and Ecumenism,” Ministry, April 2013, 17.
- Adventists are fairly aware of the future scenario. In the last days, Protestantism shall “unite with the papacy in forcing the conscience and compelling men to honor the false sabbath, the people of every country on the globe will be led to follow her example.” Ellen G. White, Maranatha (Washington, DC: Review & Herald, 1976), 214.
- Adventists have been enjoying a non-membership status in the ecumenical movement’s major meetings and assemblies—in spite of wild speculations that it is a secret member of the ecumenical movement. See World Council of Churches, “Church Families,” 2013, under “Seventh-day Adventist Church,” http://www.oikoumene.org/en/church-families/seventh-day-adventist-church (accessed July 2, 2013).
- While this is true it has been sending observers at WCC assemblies and meetings but the “attendance is not a secret and articles are published in the Adventist Review which give a report of these meetings.” John Graz, “Is the General Conference Involved in Ecumenism?” 2, http://www.adventistlaymen.com/Documents/Is%20the%20General%20Conference%20Involved%20in%20Ecumenism.pdf (accessed October 22, 2013).
- Adventists are just doing the importance of working with minister of other faiths. In fact, White endorses this by saying, “The wisest, firmest labor should be given to those ministers who are not of our faith. There are many who know no better than to be misled by ministers of other churches. Let faithful, God-fearing, earnest workers, their life hid with Christ in God, pray and work for honest ministers who have been educated to misinterpret the Word of Life.” Ellen G. White, Evangelism (Washington, DC: Review & Herald, 1970), 562.
- My interview respondents understand “ecumenism” as a movement (initiatives and activities) that seeks Christian unity, mutual respects, cooperation, and relationships within the umbrella of Christianity to fulfill Christ’ prayer for unity (John 17).
- It is used to dialogue in order to bridge the gap, relate to the calling, and celebrate the common faith together. It is about welcoming and open-mindedness with others, which are signs of a healthy relationship. It is a constant discussion on areas of common graces, life, and love with fellow Christians. It is an attempt to unite Christendom on points of shared doctrine and minimizing areas of disagreement. However, this attempt of unity has proven easier than a reality. The core to this is the Catholic theology on ecclesiology where RCC is the only true church and all other Christian churches are just but lost brothers and sisters of the universal church.
- World Council of Churches (WCC) follows the federation model of ecumenism. It tends to minimize the essentiality of doctrines and evangelism while emphasizing the combined socio-political action in the name of Christ. Unity is not synonymous with uniformity in everything. As an intra-faith movement, it endeavors for cooperation, wider mutual respect, and tolerance among churches. It promotes better relations and does not necessitate their members to conciliate into full and organic unity.
- The Catholic model goes beyond the federation model of WCC. It envisions an inter-faith movement and full communion that can be made through prayer, word, and action.
- RCC hopes that all will be receiving the same Eucharist together when the necessary agreements about doctrine, worship, and common life are reached. In this way, “Christian could joyfully and sincerely join together as one to partake of the great sacraments of unity, the body and blood of the Lord in the Eucharist.” Alan Schreck, The Catholic Challenge: Why Just “Being Catholic” Isn’t Enough Anymore (Makati: St Pauls, 1991), 206.
- Vatican II insists to unify churches into one single church. It means that one has been fully initiated into the Catholic faith, has been baptized in one of the Christian church traditions, and has also regularly celebrated the sacraments of Eucharist and confirmation in the RCC.
- Thus, RCC has “the goal of reconciling all who profess Christian faith to bring them into a single, visible organization, i.e. through union with the Roman Catholic Church.”
- However, Benedict XVI invented a somewhat upgraded approach. His contemporary ecumenical approach has been expressed to Anglicans. Benedict XVI approved the creation of “ordinariates”—“special structures like dioceses that would allow groups of Anglicans to become Catholic but retain their traditions, culture, liturgical expression and even some forms of governance, like participation of laity in the election of Church leaders.” OSV Editorial Board, “Editorial: Following Pope Benedicts’ Model of Ecumenism,” Our Sunday Visitor, May 5, 2011, para. 3, http://www.osv.com/tabid/7621/itemid/7844/Editorial-Following-Pope-Benedicts-model-of-ecum.aspx (accessed October 27, 2013).
- To honor his ecumenical activity, one took the name “Benedicta” while someone commented that “the chief shepherd—with gentleness and love—is gathering in the sheep.” Ibid., para. 7.
- Nowadays, some Catholic leaders are pessimistic toward converting non-Catholics into Catholicism.
- According to one of my interview respondents, there is some kind of unity that can still be achieved but not conversion. In line with Benedict XVI’s ecumenical strategy, my respondent say that being in communion with RCC is togetherness but not necessarily the same. The role of dialogue would respect each other’s charisms that would be, at the same time, a sign of the body of Christ.
- The cooperative model tries to reinstate evangelism to its appropriate place in church’s mission—hoping that more discernible type of unity would come after.
- The ecumenical movement was convened in the missionary fervor of Edinburgh 1910. The polarization between conservatives and liberals became evident when the latter inclined to social action. The former convened the World Evangelization at Berlin, Germany in 1966 and at Lausanne in 1974 “at least in part, as a loss of confidence in the World Council of Churches.”
- However, Manila Manifesto (1989) affirmed “the urgent need for churches, mission and other Christian organizations to cooperate in evangelism and social action, repudiating competition and avoiding duplication.” “Second International Congress on World Evangelization,” in Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia,
- Evangelicals are susceptible of the advocacies of the ecumenical movement.
- In fact, since 1973, Catholics and evangelicals “have worked side by side for the sanctity of life.” When Frances I was elected, evangelicals believe that the “pro-life community will have a strong ally in the new pope.”
- It appears that today evangelicals are gradually moving into a socially-oriented direction and embracing the assumed character of the papacy.
- Why I used the word “assumed character?” It is found in the writing of Ellen G. White.
- The Adventist model balances doctrine, evangelism, and social action. Adventists believe that true ecumenism has doctrinal, evangelistic, and social mandates.
- Adventists believe that “true doctrine calls for more than mere belief—it calls for action.”
- They “will proclaim the everlasting gospel of salvation by faith in Christ. They will warn the world that the hour of God’s judgment has arrived and they will prepare others to meet their soon-coming Lord. They will be engaged in a worldwide mission to complete the divine witness to humanity (Rev. 14:6, 7; Matt. 24:14).”
- Moreover, they also believe that social action is the concrete result of the gospel. Thus, social action is the natural product of the true doctrine basing on God’s Decalogue.
- The purpose of uniting Catholicism, Protestantism, and non-Christian religions “is the beginning of the great union of the opposing powers against God” and the “key element in each of these unions is Sunday.” However, Adventism is “another great union in the universe; that is, the union of universal God’s family, including those who are on earth” and the “key element in this universal great union is the Sabbath.” Kyung Ho Song, Distinctive Doctrines of the Seventh-day Adventist Church (Cavite, Philippines: AIIAS, 2010), 83. Ibid. Ibid. Ibid.
- In this post-modern era, when people are prone to believe that truth is relative, Adventists stick to the Bible as the supreme ethical standard. Its unending biblical principle is “Your Word is truth” (John 17:17).
- It officially states, “All human wisdom must be subject to the authority of the Scripture. The Bible truths are the norm by which all other ideas must be tested. Judging the Word of God by finite human standards is like trying to measure the stars with a yardstick. The Bible must not be subjected to human norms. It is superior to all human wisdom and literature. Rather than our judging the Bible, all will be judged by it, for it is the standard of character and test of all experience and thought.” Seventh-day Adventists, 20.
- Revolving around the Bible as the “supreme ethical standard,”
- Adventists uplift the following ethical principles why it prefers to remain as a non-member in the modern ecumenical movement.
- Modern-day ecumenism over-emphasizes on loving others and minimizes on loving God. It prioritizes the latter while putting the former down as a secondary matter. As a matter of fact, the biblical pattern is always loving God and then loving fellow men (Ex 20:3-17; Deut 6:5; Matt 22:37).
- The direction is always from God to humanity. The pattern is always from vertical to horizontal directions. In other words, social action is only the natural product of loving God in the first place.
- In consistent with the Old Testament pattern, Jesus’ model of service is always from spiritual to social. He teaches spiritual truths before meeting the immediate need of the people (Luke 9:10; 13:10; 17:11-13). His concern is spiritual nourishment before giving the physical food. His direction is always vertically doctrinal to horizontally social. Not a vice versa. The baseline is doctrinal and the result is social action.
- Contemporary ecumenism talks more on social programs but doctrinal differences do not give hindrance to this common engagement. In times of calamities and crises, doctrinal issues appear to be secondary matters. Doctrines are not the standard in every ecumenical dialogue. The baseline is always the pressing need of the moment. It is always the practical solution of the existing social need.
- Sabbath doctrine makes Adventists incompatible with the contemporary ecumenical movement. It offers practical, prophetic, historic, and theological obstacles why it keeps on distancing from the modern ecumenical movement.
- Miller says, “Adventists believe prophecy indicates that, at some point in the future, certain worship practices of the majority will be enforced through law. We are thus sensitive, maybe at times overly so, to projects that wish to seek unity by playing the game of doctrinal or theological minimization. We hold core beliefs, such as the Sabbath, that history shows to be vulnerable to being minimized.” See Miller, Ministry, 19.
- White says, “In the warfare to be waged in the last days there will be united, in opposition to God’s people, all the corrupt powers that have apostatized from allegiance to the law of Jehovah. In this warfare the Sabbath of the fourth commandment will be the great point at issue, for in the Sabbath commandment the great Lawgiver identifies Himself as the Creator of the heavens and the earth.” Ellen G. White, Selected Messages, 3 vols. (Washington, DC: Review & Herald, 1980), 3:392.
- The unity sought by the ecumenical movement supersedes doctrinal disagreements. Many believe that doctrinal barriers must be set aside especially when social issues are being addressed—a seemingly wonderful way of sharing Christ’s love across all kinds of boundaries. In working out the kingdom of God on earth, these churches do not address doctrinal differences but seek to create unity between believers, foster good will, and focus on caring for each other.
- Minimizing doctrinal agreements may lead to a doctrinal compromise. Norman Gulley declares that Protestantism is willing to change but not the RCC. See Norman R. Gulley, Christ Is Coming! (Hagerstown, MD: Review and Herald, 1998), 116.
- “If it is not Rome that has altered its position in favor of the gospel,” adds Michael S. Horton, “then it must be the other partner that has moved from its earlier position.”
- White states that “there has been a change; but the change is not in the papacy” White, Controversy, 571.
- She adds, “Catholicism indeed resembles much of the Protestantism that now exists, because Protestantism has so greatly degenerated since the days of the Reformers. As the Protestant churches have been seeking the favor of the world, false charity has blinded their eyes. They do not see but that it is right to believe good of all evil, and as the inevitable result they will finally believe evil of all good. Instead of standing in defense of the faith once delivered to the saints, they are now, as it were, apologizing to Rome for their uncharitable opinion of her, begging pardon for their bigotry.” Ibid.
- Adventists should never unite with those who practice false doctrines in order to effectively fufill the sacred mission God entrusted them to do. Jesus’ words to come out of Babylon (Rev 18:4) can never mean unity with all apostate churches. It appears that Revelation 18:2-5 paints an awful portrait of an anti-Christian infiltration within Christendom in the last days.
- Adventism is an “on-the-ground, issue-oriented fellowship, support, and caring between Christians.” Miller, 17.
- Adventists can work with other Christians “together on issues of community concern, such as religious liberty, creation and evolution, racial harmony, and issues of civil morality, such as family and marriage.” Ibid., 18.
- In fact, Adventist pioneers “were active in making common cause with other Christians on points of shared concern, most notably, antislavery, temperance, reform, and religious liberty.” Ibid.
- White also “spoke to her largest audiences in non-Adventist settings, speaking on behalf of temperance reform and prohibition laws to groups of Christians from various churches.” Ibid.
- Thus, social action is commendatory for Adventists as long as it does not compromise thier doctrinal positions.
- Adventists believe that any ecumenical movement that minimizes proper doctrines is not the right place for unity. Modern ecumenism pushes for the “restoration of unity among all Christians” in spite of many conflicting and unbiblical doctrines. Thus, a one-sided ecumenism has existed and it is putting doctrinal issues down as secondary matters.
- According to Davis Duggins, it is about time to come together irrespective of doctrinal differences and “make a common cause to bring Christian values to bear in our society.” Davis Duggins, “Evangelicals and Catholics: Across the Divide: How Can We Relate to One Another in This Secular Age,” Moody Monthly, November 1993, 12.
- “When the barbarians are scaling the walls, there is no time for pretty quarrelling in the camp” because Christians “have much to forgive, much to relearn” and the RCC can “help us to do both so we can band together against the rising tides of secularism which threaten to engulf us.” David Cloud, “Chuck Colson’s Catholic Connections,” para. 4, http://www.jesus-is-savior.com/Wolves/chuck_colson.htm (accessed April 28, 2013).
- Undeniably, there is a paradigm shift to churches’ challenges in the 21st century. Today’s conflict is not anymore doctrinal but on issues related to society. It is about how to counter-attack secularism and materialism that are attacking the sanctity of the human person. According to Reginaldo Lavilla, RCC does not anymore attack the teachings of other churches as long as they promote the sanctity of man’s life. Reginaldo V. Lavilla, Vice Rector of Mission Society of the Philippines, Interview by the author, Tagaytay City, Philippines, 03 May 2013.
- For Adventists, social action is equally important with unity. Gospel message is incomplete without it. It is the natural product of a concrete gospel. In fact, there are many commendable things that are taking place in the modern ecumenical movement. Its strong advocacy on poverty, climate change, human rights, peace and justice issues, and other basically human development issues are all praiseworthy and admirable. However, when we allow Woodrow Whidden II to say something about it, he will simply say that “doctrine, not behavior, is the real test.” Woodrow W. Whidden, “The Antichrist, Is the Adventist Interpretation Still Viable?” Adventist Review, May 2000, http://www.adventistreview.org/2000-21/story1.htm (accessed July 7, 2013).
- White says that the religion in the Bible is socially-oriented—“not to be brought out occasionally for our own benefit, and then to be carefully laid aside again. It is to sanctify the daily life, to manifest itself in every business transaction and in all our social relations.” Ellen G. White, Desire of Ages (Mountain View, CA: Pacific Press, 1940), 306, 307.
- To be socially involved is of great importance for Adventists. Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA), the humanitarian arm of the Adventist Church, has been fulfilling the church’s social mission. Sandra Blackmer writes, that in times of crisis, “ADRA is one of the first responders to many international disasters, often arriving in 24 hours of their occurrence.” Blackmer is an assistant editor of Adventist World, the international paper for Seventh-day Adventists. Sandra Blackmer, “Faces of ADRA,” Adventist World, January 2013, 17.
- It “sees its mission as making known the just, merciful, and loving character of God through humanitarian service.” Ibid.
- Through ADRA “Muslims see Adventists as good people because of the many ways we [Adventists] help them.” Ibid.
- Adventists may join other faith’s humanitarian endeavors with great caution. The reason of its being cautious is the ecumenical agenda on social salvation. Thus, it is better to deal social issues on local levels, where there is less doctrinal and more practical. Adventists “must not be perceived as simply opting out of any Christian responsibility for the local community.”
- The last is gospel ethics.
- The first ecumenical International Missionary Conference in Edinburgh, Scotland in 1910 was attended by Adventists.
- However, they were unwilling to join in the dividing up of the mission field between various denominations. This refusal to cooperate in missions may seem narrow, sectarian, and even arrogant, but we can hardly argue that the Lord did not bless the results. Without this refusal, it is unlikely that Seventh-day Adventists would become the most widespread Protestant denomination in the world, with more than 17 million members in more than 200 countries, running the most widespread Protestant educational and medical systems in the world. Miller, Ministry, 19.
- Adventists’ everlasting gospel is to call God’s people out of the ecumenically-concerned churches in the end-time, to restore His true worship on earth, and to prepare them of Jesus’ return. Seventh-day Adventists, 197.
- The first angel calls for the restoration of the true worship of the Creator God for His judgment hour has come (Rev 14: 6, 7), the second calls people out of the fallen churches and all man-made forms of worship (v. 8), and the third warns of the fearful destruction awaiting all who ecumenically worshipping “the beast and his image and receives his mark on the forehead or on the hand” (v. 9).
- In fact, verse 12 plainly describes the obedient remnant through whom God proclaims His true worship and calls His faithful out of the ecumenically apostate churches, preparing them for Jesus’ imminent return. Ibid.
- “Adventists see their task as preaching the everlasting gospel to all men, calling for worship of the Creator, obedient adherence to the faith of Jesus, and proclaiming that the hour of God's judgment has come. Some aspects of this message are not popular. How can Adventists best succeed in fulfilling the prophetic mandate? It is our view that the Seventh-day Adventist Church can best accomplish her divine mandate by keeping her own identity, her own motivation, her own feeling of urgency, her own working methods.” Beach, under “The Influence of Prophetic Understanding,” para. 2.
- The gospel message of the ecumenical movement appears contrary to the “everlasting gospel” mentioned in Revelation 14:6. It is neither the restoration of the true worship of the Creator God nor the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is about the good news to the poor.
- Since the WCC Assembly in New Delhi, India in 1961, words “witness” and “mission” have been referring to breaking down “every walls of race, colour, caste, tribe, sex, class and nations.”
- In other words, ecumenism advocates politicization (political transformation) to saving the society. See Earle E. Cairns, Christianity Through the Centuries: A History of the Christian Church, 3rd ed. (Grand Rapids, MI, Zondervan, 1996), 475.
- The historical origin of Adventism was a midnight in Christendom. It was a time in history when the day of worship was relatively unimportant. It was an era when the nearness of Christ’s Second Coming was darkened by Charles Darwin’s evolutionary utopian idea and speculations.
- . Clearly enough, White indicates that “this warning of the judgment, with its connected messages, is followed by the coming of the Son of man in the clouds of heaven. The proclamation of the judgment is an announcement of Christ’s second coming as at hand. And this proclamation is called the everlasting gospel. Thus the preaching of Christ’s second coming, the announcement of its nearness, is shown to be an essential part of the gospel message.” Ellen G. White, Christ’s Object Lessons (Washington, DC: Review & Herald, 1941), 227, 228.
- Ethical barriers make Adventists reserve to fully joining with the contemporary ecumenism. Firstly, it uplifts the Bible as the best ethical standard. And secondly, it is grounded with ethical principles, which will only make Adventists to impossibly join hands with the modern ecumenism.
- Thus, Adventists are not just “Seventh-day Adventists Christians” but are “Seventh-day Adventists.”
- Meaning, Adventism should “come out from them and be separate [from the socio-politically concerned Christendom].” 2 Cor 6:17.