Professional Dissertations DMin

Date of Award

1995

Document Type

Project Report

Degree Name

Doctor of Ministry

College

Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary

Program

Doctor of Ministry DMin

First Advisor

George R. Knight

Second Advisor

Norman K. Miles

Third Advisor

Philip G. Samaan

Abstract

Task

It was the purpose of this study to discover what charismatic manifestations were extant among the Sabbatarian Adventists and to determine why those manifestations deceased. This information was then analyzed in the light of the Seventh-day Adventist Church of the late twentieth century in order to find ways of stimulating spirituality and a healthy approach to the Holy Spirit and charismatic manifestations.

Method

The historical section of this project focused on the charismatic manifestations and enthusiasm of the Sabbatarian Adventists between the Great Disappointment of 1844 and the development in formal organization in 1861. The types of experiences of this period were dealt with topically, not chronologically. The study used a documentary/historical approach based on both published and unpublished primary and secondary sources. The second half of the project proposed a practical plan for the application of the findings for the church today.

Findings and Conclusions

It was found that the Sabbatarian Adventists believed that the Holy Spirit was the cause of charismatic manifestations such as visions, healings, melting power, slaying power, shouting, weeping, impressions, dreams, and feelings of freedom, liberty, joy, and peace. True charismatic manifestations were a result of reaching out to God in prayer, confession, and submission to Him. False manifestations could be generated through human effort. Nine possible reasons were given for the decline of charismatic experiences. People of the 1990s were found to have a desire for supernatural, experiential religion. This desire could be met with a prayer meeting styled after that of the Sabbatarian Adventists. The content and format of an experiential prayer meeting was discussed.

Subject Area

Enthusiasm--Religious aspects--Seventh-day Adventists, Worship--Comparative studies

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/dmin/247/

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