Adventism in the Shadow of Fundamentalism

Seminary Room S340

Adventism emerged in the midst of the 19th century, right towards the end of the Second Great Awakening; a Protestant revival movement that swept the developing young nation. After the great disappointment of 1844, a small group of faithful Bible students continued to seek answers through the Scriptures, and came to the conviction that in 1844, Christ, our High Priest, entered the second phase of his priestly ministry. By 1863, they had organized into a church under the name of Seventh-day Adventist. At the same time that Adventism was organizing for its worldwide mission, other philosophical competitors like Darwinism, Liberalism, and Modernism were emerging into the scene of American society. Faced with such challenges, conservative Christianity in America had to rally to face what they considered a threat to the very fabric of American Protestantism; Seventh-day Adventist also confronted the threat. The result of this shared concern was a 20th century Adventism that, in the shadow of fundamentalism, developed strong fundamentalist views of faith that would determine its direction for coming decades.