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’
Review of ‘Adventist Mission in the 21st Century’
This book, edited by the chair of the Department of World Mission at Andrews University, home of the Adventist Seminary, with contributions from 30 scholars, administrators, pastors, teachers, and laypersons involved in cross-cultural missions and drawn from all continents, assesses the state of Adventist missions and the issues facing them. The book is divided into…… Continue reading Review of ‘Adventist Mission in the 21st Century’
Book Review: Religion and Social Change in Kenya
Seventh-day Adventist missionaries entered Kenya in 1906. Because they were relatively late on the scene, and the British colonial government policy discouraged direct competition between missions, they concentrated their efforts for the first several decades on the region of western Kenya near Lake Victoria. Their efforts met with considerable success, so that by 1991 Adventists…… Continue reading Book Review: Religion and Social Change in Kenya
Ethics for Gay Christians?: The Seventh-day Adventist Experience
The Seventh-day Adventist Church, like many conservative denominations, has officially rejected homosexuality and its members who practice homosexuality. The Seventh-day Adventist Church Manual states that “…homosexual practices, and lesbian practices are among the obvious perversions of God’s original plan” [1990: 147]. To what extent does this church help its homosexual members with the ethical issues…… Continue reading Ethics for Gay Christians?: The Seventh-day Adventist Experience
Ronald L. Lawson Ph.D., Professor Emeritus, Queens College, CUNY 