Ministry And Theology

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    What if God is Absent? The Challenge of Incorporating Esther into a Biblical Theology
    (Newbold Academic Press, 2024) Turner, Laurence
    This study suggests that consideration be given to the theological potential of the book of Esther in the minority approach to the text, which explores the obvious: that God, religious practice, and theology as conventionally conceived, are absent. This is what makes the book unique in Scripture. By too easily ‘discovering’ within Esther theological themes and affirmations commonplace in the OT, we minimise the significance of the book’s distinctive contribution: God is absent. ‘All attempts on the part of critics to circumvent the areligiosity of the book of Esther shortchange the most remarkable characteristic of the book’ (André LaCocque, Esther Regina, p. 62). Rather, we should ask the question as framed by Samuel Wells, ‘What does the church know that it would otherwise not know’ (‘Esther’, in Esther and Daniel, p. 10), if God had been explicitly present in Esther? How might the answer to this question enrich our biblical-theological reflections? My purpose in this brief account is not to provide definitive answers to these questions but rather to indicate fruitful possibilities for reading Esther theologically.
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    'God Wrought Marvelously for His Penitent People’: Ellen White and the Apocryphal Esther
    (European Adventist Society of Theology and Religious Studies, 2023-06-01) Turner, Laurence
    Recent research has established Ellen White’s familiarity with the Apocrypha. This article focuses on her interaction with Esther, a book which exists in three versions. Two of these were available to White: the Hebrew version considered canonical by Jews and Protestants, and the apocryphal Septuagint Greek version containing various Additions which is canonical for Roman Catholics and some other Christian traditions. The Hebrew version never mentions God or human piety, while the Additions to the Greek version abound with such details. This article investigates whether White’s comments on Esther correlate best with the canonical or apocryphal versions and assesses the degree to which she might have been influenced by the Apocrypha. It concludes that her frequent assertions of divine activity and human piety in Esther align better with the apocryphal rather than the canonical versions of the book. However, these similarities are not due to direct influence of the Apocrypha on White. Indeed, there is ample evidence to the contrary. Rather, White shares a common theological goal with the creators of the apocryphal Additions. Both wish to affirm divine providential involvement in human life and the importance of human faithfulness. To achieve this, each transforms the canonical version from its “Godless” form into a conventional biblical narrative of God saving his faithful people. However, while the apocryphal Additions achieve this transformation by recognising the absence of God and human piety, and counter that by adding to the text, White achieves a similar end by ignoring the absence of God and human piety and interpreting the text as if they were present.
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    Proverbs
    (Pacific Press, 2022-06) Tasker, David
    This commentary addresses some of the complexities of the biblical wisdom writings (of which Proverbs is one example) through a careful analysis of the original Hebrew text.
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    The Struggle Towards Church Organization
    (Review and Herald, 2024) Oliver, Barry D.; Kaiser, Denis
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    Church Organization
    (Oxford University Press, 2024) Jackson, Wendy
    Historically, the organization of the Seventh-day Adventist Church developed as a response to the needs of the church. This has resulted in a structure composed of four organizational levels that has enabled significant church growth and provides a means for both local and organization-wide decision-making. However, the core structure has been largely unchanged for more than a century. and its ongoing maintenance is under threat due to issues the church is facing in the twenty-first century. These issues include a confused locus of authority, major demographic shifts, changed giving trends, a burgeoning number of administrators, and the need to address the limited roles and decision-making available to women within the structure.
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    Adventists in Australia and the Pacific
    (Oxford University Press, 2024) Jackson, Wendy
    This chapter briefly explores the development, expansion, and current state of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in the Pacific. Adventists quickly established a presence in Australia and New Zealand that now provides a base for mission in the wider Pacific. Polynesia and Melanesia, however, presented considerable challenges to Adventist missionaries. A failure to adequately contextualize and adapt strategies of mission was a significant factor in the slow progress of Adventism in Polynesia. Much faster membership growth occurred in Melanesia, where schools became the opening wedge for mission and more contextualized strategies were adopted. The church’s Adventist Development and Relief Agency is strongly involved in community development projects throughout the Pacific.
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    Ellen White’s Early Health Reform and it’s Nineteenth-Century Context
    (Review and Herald, 2024) Jackson, Wendy
    The 1860s marked the beginning of a growing focus on health in the newly organized Seventh-day Adventist Church. This article outlines both the development of the Adventist health message until the establishment of the Western Reform Health Institute in 1866, and the social, religious, and health context in which it emerged.
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    In the Fullness of Time: Recognizing Daniel 9:24-27 in the New Testament
    (Open Journal Systems, 2021-06-01) Tasker, David
    This article explores the influence of the seventy weeks prophecy of Daniel 9:24-27 in the New Testament. Of particular interest to this study is the string of references that refer to “the fullness of time.” The author enquires about the significance that the people of the New Testament placed upon these statements, how they were impacted by the vision of Daniel 9:24-27, and how widespread was the understanding of the 70 weeks as weeks of years in the early Christian Church. The paper concludes that the understanding of people in the New Testament era was that “the fullness of time” had arrived, based on the “weeks” of Daniel’s prophecy being counted as years rather than days.
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    Finding the Decalogue in Unexpected Places
    (General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, 2024-08-01) Young, Norman H.
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    Ellen White and Social Justice
    (Rocky Mountain Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, 2020) Skrzypaszek, John