Why American Adventism is Declining

By Brian Glass

I recently discovered an article in the May/June 2001 issue of Adventist Today that seems to indicate that North-American Seventh-day Adventism is in decline. According to this article by Lawrence Downing entitled "The Adventist Pastor Today,"

Adventism is in decline among North American anglos, both numerically and economically. We in the parish ministry recognize that the churches we pastor need help. We see our membership decrease through death or apostasy. The people who take the place of those who leave are usually less educated and have less expendable economic resources.

The question arises in my mind, why is this happening? Perhaps it is best to look at history.

I was talking to a friend at work the other day who is very familiar with Russia. In fact he speaks Russian and goes on a yearly trip to Russia for humanitarian purposes. He was reading an article (in Russian) about Soviet scientists who had emigrated to the United States of America. What struck me as being interesting was the sheer number of high quality scientists who had left the Soviet Union in favor of living in the United States of America. The article was blaming this exodus for the poor state of science and technology in Russia. One might also observe that this state of affairs would contribute to the poor economic state of the countries of the former Soviet Union. Why did these people leave?

Thinking about this for a few minutes I also began to realize that this is precisely what happened to Germany before and during World War II. Without the defections of German scientists such as Albert Einstein, we may never have succeeded in creating the atomic bomb and thus would likely have lost the war. Why did these people leave?

Several hundred years ago was an event called the Protestant Reformation. In this reformation a large group of people left the Catholic church and formed other churches today referred to as Protestant churches. Why did these people leave?

A similar event happened almost 2000 years ago. There was a religion we today called Judaism that lost many of its members to a young upstart religion known as Christianity. Today, Christianity is surpassed Judaism in numbers. Why did these people leave?

I don't doubt that there are numerous other historical examples that fit the current situation but these will suffice. The question we must ask ourselves is, what do these incidents have in common? The answer to this question is quite clearly that each of these groups of people experienced oppression. Oppression drives people away, and understandably so. It is by no means a pleasant experience.

What kinds of oppression are present in these types of situations? In nearly all of these situations there exists oppression against free thinking. Free thinking challenges the teachings of the regime that is carrying out the oppression, therefore it is the first item to be placed under scrutiny. The Catholic church oppressed scientists like Galileo for making claims that were contrary to the Church's established doctrine - regardless of the fact that Galileo's claims were unmistakably true.

Next comes the oppression of rules and regulations. In the Soviet Union people were required to carry papers at all times. They could not cross state borders without approval. They could not attend unapproved churches. The list goes on. In Judaism the laws were also oppressive and still are. Modern conservative Jews are even restricted from such things as flipping a light switch on the Sabbath.

Next comes the oppression of leaders. While the oppression of free thought as well as the oppression of rules and regulations exist to support the regime as a whole, the oppression of leaders exists because each petty ruler and bureaucrat seeks to maintain his own existence and to push his own agenda. The oppression of leaders is that of individual leaders lording it over those who are under them. This type of oppression is what is also known as government corruption.

Are all of these types of oppression existent in Adventism? I believe they are. Having been born into Adventism, I can honestly testify to the existence of the oppression of free thinking. When I began to think for myself people began to tell me that I shouldn't have thoughts like that. Free thought expressed verbally was often quelled as quickly and as quietly as it could be. Free thought often challenges preconceived notions and established doctrine and therefore is equated with apostasy.

Many other examples exists. Desmond Ford challenged the validity of the doctrine of the investigative judgment and prophetic fulfillment in 1844 and he was subjected to the Glacier View inquisition before being disfellowshipped. Walter Rea thoroughly proved the extensive plagiarism of Ellen White and he was disfellowshiped. Ronald Numbers proved that Ellen White's health message was borrowed from the health reformers of her day and his father was consequently forced out of the ministry. Robert Brinsmead challenged the Adventist teaching on the law and the Sabbath and he was disfellowshipped. Richard Fredericks and Clay peck were both forced out of the Adventist ministry for emphasizing Grace over law.

The Catholic church eventually apologized for its oppression of Galileo (long after his death) and admitted that the church had been wrong and that Galileo had been right. Perhaps someday the Adventist church will apologize for its persecution of these great thinkers.

The oppression of rules and regulations also exists in Adventism. The ten commandments of Adventism go something like:

1. Thou shalt not eat meat.

2. Thou shalt not wear jewelry unless it be made of cloth and tied around your neck.

3. Thou shalt not read any Christian books unless they are published by Review and Herald Publishing or by Pacific Press.

4. Thou shalt not work on the Sabbath unless you work in the medical field or in an Adventist cafeteria.

5. Thou shalt not eat mustard or pepper or drink coffee.

6. Thou shalt not go to the theater.

7. Thou shalt not gamble.

8. Thou shalt not play cards even if it does not involve gambling.

9. Thou shalt not use humorous anecdotes in sermons.

10. Thou shalt not take the name of Ellen White in vain.

11. The list goes on...

And yes, even the oppression of leaders, or corruption as I called it above, exists in Adventism. Yes, Adventist leaders do seek to promote their own existence. And they do seek to push their own agendas. And they do run over people who get in their way. There is no need to go into detail on this issue. I'm sure we can all think of examples of this type of oppression.

Another question arises, who is enacting this oppression? In the oppression of leaders this is obvious. However, when it comes to the oppression of free thought and the oppression of rules it gets a bit more complicated. It is not only enacted by the leadership, but by fellow members of the church. Adventism is like an asylum. We are all institutionalized. And if you attempt to deny the institution by participating in freedom of thought or breaking rules and regulations you are put in solitary by not only the psychiatrists, but your fellow patients. Shunnings do happen.

But if oppression is what drives these people away, what are they running to?

Well, clearly in the case of the Soviet Union and Germany, these people were running to a land where there was freedom of thought, fewer restrictive rules and regulations, and less government corruption. In America free thought is encouraged. In America, people are free to move about as they wish. They are free to become entrepreneurs. They are free to get an education and to create their own lifestyles. And even though there is significant government corruption, that corruption has diminished effect on individuals because it is pitted against itself.

But what of Judaism, Catholicism, and Adventism? Where did and are people running to? They are running to freedom, plain and simple. You see, the early Christians and the Protestant reformers were performing an exercise in free thought. They were challenging the established teachings of the day.

In Galatians 5:1 (NRSV) Paul said, "For freedom Christ has set us free. Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery." Here Paul was concluding the parable he told at the end of chapter 4 of Galatians. In this parable he told the story of two sons of Abraham. One son was his son by the free woman Sarah, and the other was his son by the bondwoman Hagar. But, he said, the son of the bondwoman was born according to the flesh while the son of the free woman was of the promise. These two women represent two covenants. The bondwoman represented the covenant made at mount Sinai and she bore children who are slaves. The free woman represented the promise made to Abraham 430 years earlier. In verse 30 and 31 he states:

But what does the scripture say? "Drive out the slave and her child; for the child of the slave will not share the inheritance with the child of the free woman." So then, friends, we are children, not of the slave but of the free woman.

This covenant compared to the slave woman was the one spoken of by Paul in chapter 2 of his letter to the Ephesians:

For he is our peace; in his flesh he has made both groups into one and has broken down the dividing wall, that is, the hostility between us. He has abolished the law with its commandments and ordinances, that he might create in himself one new humanity in place of the two, thus making peace,

You see, Jesus did away with the oppression of rules and regulations. He abolished the law with its commandments and ordinances that had held the children of Israel in bondage for centuries. Adventism has not only retrogressed to this enslaved state, but has increased its burdensomeness by creating additional rules and regulations. Just as there are countries like the United States that maintain the freedom its founders died to give, there are Christian churches out there who maintain the freedom Christ died to give us. It is to these churches which those Adventists of "apostasy" are fleeing.

And last but not least, the early Christians were fleeing from the oppression of leadership. The religious leaders of their day were so oppressive that they killed a man for getting in their way. His name was Jesus. But Jesus told us that it would not be like that among Christians. Mark 10:42-44 says:

So Jesus called them and said to them, "You know that among the Gentiles those whom they recognize as their rulers lord it over them, and their great ones are tyrants over them. But it is not so among you; but whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave of all.

Apparently Jesus was not talking about Adventists, for in my experience with Adventism this has rarely been the case.

So where is it that Adventists are fleeing? There are numerous churches that have escaped the oppression of Adventism. Among them are the Damascus Road church in Maryland lead by former Adventist pastor Richard Fredericks, and Grace Place lead by former Adventist pastor Clay Peck, and there are several others. All of these churches are growing by leaps and bounds and are being lead by the Lord. In addition there are appearing around the country groups known as Former Adventist Fellowships. These are groups of Adventists who have fled from oppression and meet together to study and pray. These people usually find local non-Adventist churches to attend. They are finding new life and freedom in Christ Jesus - not Adventism.

There are those among the Adventists who will read this essay and compare themselves to Gideon's band. They will say, the Lord is reducing our numbers so that he can show his mighty power through us. After all, his strength is made perfect in weakness. But as with the scientists in Russia and Germany, and as with the early Christians, it is not the tares who are leaving but the wheat. Those people through whom God can work the strongest are those who are leaving the Adventist church.

I think it is indeed likely that God is reducing the numbers of Adventists in order to demonstrate his might power through them, but the power God will show through Adventism is like the power he showed through Pharaoh when God hardened Pharaoh's heart. As Paul points out in Romans 9:17,

For the Scriptures say that God told Pharaoh, "I have appointed you for the very purpose of displaying my power in you, and so that my fame might spread throughout the earth."

Adventism has hardened its heart just as Pharaoh did. Just as the true believers of Pharaoh's day participated in a vast exodus, so too the exodus of true believers from Adventism carries on. Like Russia which was once a mighty nation, Adventism declines in the sight of the true freedom of Jesus Christ.