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The Australian Constitution contains two provisions concerning religion: a reference to “Almighty God” in the preamble and a provision denying the Federal Parliament power to legislate in respect of religion. The inclusion of those two provisions by the National Australasian Convention, which met from 1897 to 1898 to draft the Australian Constitution, was in large measure a result of political campaigns undertaken by competing religious groups. The first group, the Councils of Churches in each colony representing the main Protestant denominations, agitated for a constitutional “recognition” of God. The second group, the Seventh Day Adventists, campaigned against any constitutional recognition of God and for the inclusion of a provision limiting the Federal Government's power in respect of religion. The Adventists held fears that constitutional “recognition” of God would empower the federal parliament to pass nation‐wide Sunday observance laws. This article explores the theological and legal thinking of the Seventh Day Adventists to explain how they came to believe what, on a strict legal analysis, was highly implausible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article looks at issues concerning the vote made by the Seventh-day Adventists (SDA) on July 8, 2015 regarding the ordination of women in the ministries. It is noted that the Theology of Ordination Study Committee (TOSC) was appointed by the SDA General Conference to address the issue of women in ministry. Offered is a brief history of the pre-SDA Church in the U.S.

An essay is presented on the theopolitics of adventist apocalypticism. It examines the characteristic of progressive or degenerating research program in the subject. It mentions that the Seventh Day Adventist Church is one of the fastest growing dominations in the world every five years. It notes that general conference sessions of the religion have grown to feature elaborate displays of pageantry, worship, evangelistic outreach and entrepreneurialism.

College student spiritual development constitutes an important, yet understudied topic in higher education research. In particular, very little is known about whether and how this development varies among students from diverse religious backgrounds. Using a longitudinal sample of 14,527 students from 136 institutions, the current study explored the degree to which spiritual development is related to the religious affiliations of students and the type of colleges and universities they attend. Hierarchical linear modeling analyses demonstrate numerous differences between students who identify with religious majority groups (e.g., Lutherans, Methodists), religious minority groups (e.g., Muslims, Seventh Day Adventists), and no religion at all. In most instances, the presence of individual differences in spiritual development depends upon the religious affiliation of the institution. Moreover, several college experiences are positively associated with spiritual development. Implications for higher education practitioners and administrators are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Between 1844 and 1863, fragments of disappointed Millerism developed the landmark ideas, the denominational name and the basic structure of what is now the Seventh-day Adventist Church with fifteen million members (2008) in 201 countries. This article contextualises the struggle of recent decades between continuity and change in Adventist teaching, suggesting that a score of doctoral theses/dissertations and other studies offer a coherence that is deeply disturbing for some believers, insufficient for some others, but satisfying for many. The demands in Western culture for faith to be shaped by evidence and to offer existential meaning have elicited three stances in relation to traditional Adventist thought: reversion, alienation, and transformation. Whereas the consequent tensions may be viewed as evidence of “growth, vitality and increased understanding,” they also constitute an urgent call for effective internal and external dialogue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study seeks to engage the question of how A.J. Tomlinson formulated the theological platform that influenced the ecclesiologies of various Churches of God. The cast includes R.G. Spurling and R. Frank Porter, a forgotten figure but one who, together with Spurling, organized the Holiness Church at Camp Creek in western North Carolina on May 15, 1902. I will argue that, absent the intervention of A.J. Tomlinson on June 13, 1903, the work of Spurling, Porter, and W.F. Bryant would have suffered the ill-fated demise common to hundreds of like works in Appalachia. Yet Tomlinson was more than an organizer; he was also someone who influenced the mission adopted by the early Church of God (Cleveland, TN). This article has particular relevance in the face of awakened sensitivities to Pentecostal ecclesiology in the light of the Edinburgh 1910 centenary celebrations around the world and the World Council of Churches' working document, Nature and Mission of the Church. Here I will frame the discussion as a response to Dale Coulter's article, 'The Development of Ecclesiology in the Church of God (Cleveland, TN): A Forgotten Contribution?' in Pneuma: The Journal of the Society for Pentecostal Studies 29, no. 1 (2007): 59-85. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article reviews the historical and theological origins of Adventism. This revision compares the theological positions of classical Protestantism, the radical Reformation and spirituals revivals that emerged in its midst. The author concludes that Adventist theology, or Adventism, did not arise in a historical-religious vacuum. On the contrary, it is the result of a sum of influences of diverse backgrounds. The author cautions about the correct way to implement the deconstructionist project of Fernando Canale as the task of Adventist theology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a study of the concept of the human body as host to the Holy Spirit and the idea of women as ideal caretakers of the body and the Temple of God (the church), based on Adventist doctrine and the story of Eve and the forbidden fruit. It explains the importance of diet in the Adventist church as a means to purify the body and characterizes the participation of women in the church with a focus on the gender relations surrounding their role as nurturers of both the physical and spiritual body. The study is based on interviews with male and female members of the Seventh Day Adventist Church in Chetumal in the state of Quintana Roo in Mexico.

This is the first of a series of two articles arguing that the Seventh-day Adventist Church needs to complete the theological revolution initiated by its early pioneers. With the passing of time later generations have neglected the theological growth indispensable to sustain the unity and global mission of a young Church. As consequence of forgetting theological project of early pioneers and the eclectic use of ideas drawn from the Evangelical tradition, Adventist theology stands to-day underdeveloped and seriously divided. Moreover, theological disciplines are disconnected from each other and from the life and the mission of the Church. Thus, by briefly describing the present state of Adventist theology this article shows the need to finish the theological project of early Adventist pioneers at the scholarly level of university research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chapter 12 of the book "On the Road to Being There: Studies in Pilgrimage and Tourism in Late Modernity" is presented. It focuses on the Seventh Day Adventists' Miller homestead complex and the Mormon's Hill Cumorah Pageant site both in New York which are religious tourist destinations related to American religious traditions. The author examines the reasons why people are drawn to the sites and how its staff demonstrate that they are adherents to the tradition represented by the site.

A survey was conducted among Library Directors in Seventh-day Adventist (SDA) colleges and universities around the world to learn how Seventh-day Adventist librarians view and define intellectual freedom, whether SDA libraries are having censorship challenges to library materials, and what policies and procedures are used to resolve the challenges. It was found that the majority of libraries surveyed have had materials challenged, most often because of differences in religious/theological beliefs or strong language. A comparison made between this study and Hippenhammer's (1993) survey of Christian college libraries showed significant differences in the following areas: written selection policy, reasons for materials challenges, and group submitting challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Focuses on the relationship between an American-based church, the Seventh-Day Adventists, and German authorities during Hitler's regime; Nazi Germany's use of religious denominations in its effort to improve its image abroad; State relations with different religious denominations during the Nazi regime; Visit of the German Adventists director for welfare, Hulda Jost, to America; Political purpose of Jost's visit.

Explores the dynamics of evolution of church-state relations in the Adventist context and the transformation of the pattern of relationship between the Adventist church and the government. Role of the Adventist church in the espousal of religious liberty and in the separation of church and state; Chronological discussion of the tension between the state and the Adventist Church.