Date of Award

1994

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Divinity

College

Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary

Program

Master of Divinity, MDiv: Christian Ministry

First Advisor

Norman K. Miles

Second Advisor

Douglas R. Kilcher

Third Advisor

Nancy J. Vyhmeister

Abstract

Problem Seventh-day Adventists claim that their doctrines are Bible-based. The question is asked whether the same holds true for their practice of appointing ministers. This study exéunines and compares aspects of ecclesiastical appointment in the New Testament, Early Christian, and the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Method The New Testament passages pertaining to ecclesiastical appointment were surveyed, incorporating brief exegeses and word studies. Selected writings of the Early Church and the early history of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, were also examined. Conclusions The Bible does not appear to present a definitive pattern on the practice of ecclesiastical appointment. The concept of "ordination" appears to have evolved to reflect the practices of the latter part of Early Church history. It seems as though the early Seventh-day Adventist Church adopted a system of "credentialing" and "ordination" for pragmatic reasons. This system more closely approximates the pattern found in the Early Church than that found in the New Testament.

Subject Area

Ordination--Seventh-day Adventists., Clergy--Office.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.

DOI

https://dx.doi.org/10.32597/theses/37/

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