Although Adventism experienced an astonishing rate of upward mobility in the New Guinea Highlands, especially the Southern Highlands, during this period, much of the rest of PNG Adventism, especially in the villages, remained poor in income, lifestyle, and level of education. When these saw the difference between their goods and those of the missionaries and…… Continue reading A Changing Church: Adventism in Papua New Guinea in the 1980s and 1990s
Category: Culture
Adventist Relations with Other Churches
Adventists viewed themselves as “God’s Remnant People,” who, as the bearers of “present truth,” were charged with delivering God’s final warning message in the last days. Other Protestant groups were “apostate” and had become “the whore of Babylon”; the Roman Catholic Church was identified with the persecuting “beast” of the book of Revelation. Adventist evangelists…… Continue reading Adventist Relations with Other Churches
Questions Concerning the Relevance of Adventist Teachings in Animist Cultures
I am completing an ambitious sociological study of global Adventism. My research has taken me to 56 countries in all divisions of the world church. Today I will focus on Africa and Papua-New Guinea, both of which have pervasive animist cultures. I will share with you some vignettes that will raise some issues where I…… Continue reading Questions Concerning the Relevance of Adventist Teachings in Animist Cultures
Review of ‘The Silent Church: Human Rights and Adventist Social Ethics’
In this reworking of a dissertation, this ethicist/theologian considers the history of the Adventist Church, and finds that it has been largely silent on issues concerning human rights. However, when he examines some case studies, he concludes that there has been some variation over time, with peripheral interest in some issues by a few pioneers…… Continue reading Review of ‘The Silent Church: Human Rights and Adventist Social Ethics’
