Siegfried Horn: Strategies for coping with theological tension and conflict

Abstract

Siegfried Horn was an alumnus of both Friedensau Seminary and Newbold College, who subsequently served for 25 years at the Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary as professor of Antiquity, Chair of the Old Testament Department and finally as Dean of the Seminary. Through his field work and his writing, he became an internationally respected authority in the field of Biblical Archaeology. During most of his career but particularly through the 1960s and 70s, the Adventist church faced enormous social and cultural change and experienced increasing pressure for theological change in response to the need to accommodate new knowledge. Theological conflict often simmered underneath the surface of church life and as a result, Horn’s teaching and administrative responsibilities exposed him to significant stress as he navigated the sharp tensions. Utilizing Horn’s personal diary kept over fifty years, this paper will explore Horn’s private reflections on these tensions and his perceptions of the need for theological change. It will also seek to identify strategies he adopted in order to cope with the tensions associated with change and consider how he approached the challenge of maintaining personal integrity when his views and those of his church and its leaders markedly differed.