Adventist Theological Society
Encyclopedia

The Adventist Theological Society (ATS) is an international nonprofit organization of Seventh-day Adventist
Seventh-day Adventist Church
The Seventh-day Adventist Church is a Protestant Christian denomination distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the original seventh day of the Judeo-Christian week, as the Sabbath, and by its emphasis on the imminent second coming of Jesus Christ...

 scholars and lay-people. The society holds its annual meeting in connection with the Evangelical Theological Society
Evangelical Theological Society
The Evangelical Theological Society is a professional society of Biblical scholars, educators, pastors, and students with the stated purpose of serving Jesus and his church by advancing evangelical scholarship. It was established in 1949 in Cincinnati. The number of members in 2005 was over 4,200...

. It describes its theology as "balanced and conservative Adventist theology". The other main Adventist theological organization, the Adventist Society for Religious Studies
Adventist Society for Religious Studies
The Adventist Society for Religious Studies is a Seventh-day Adventist scholarly community whose purpose is "to provide intellectual and social fellowship among its members and encourage scholarly pursuits in all religious studies disciplines, particularly with reference to the Seventh-day...

 is more liberal/progressive by comparison.

History

The society was organized in October 1988 at what is now Southern Adventist University
Southern Adventist University
Southern Adventist University is a college in Collegedale, Tennessee, owned and operated by the Southern Union Conference of Seventh-day Adventists. U.S. News & World Report categorizes it as a Southern Regional College, and the magazine has consistently ranked it as one of the top-tier schools in...

, when a group of scholars broke off from the Andrews Society for Religious Studies, which is now the Adventist Society for Religious Studies
Adventist Society for Religious Studies
The Adventist Society for Religious Studies is a Seventh-day Adventist scholarly community whose purpose is "to provide intellectual and social fellowship among its members and encourage scholarly pursuits in all religious studies disciplines, particularly with reference to the Seventh-day...

(ASRS). The meeting consisted of four delegates from Andrews University
Andrews University
Andrews University is a Seventh-day Adventist university in Berrien Springs, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1874 as Battle Creek College in Battle Creek, Michigan, it was the first higher education facility started by Seventh-day Adventists, and is the flagship university of the Seventh-day...

 and eight from Southern. Jack Blanco, author of The Clear Word
The Clear Word
The Clear Word, originally published in March 1994 as the Clear Word Bible, is an English-language "devotional paraphrase of the Bible expanded for clarity"...

, was elected president.

The first annual session was held at Wheaton College
Wheaton College (Illinois)
Wheaton College is a private, evangelical Protestant liberal arts college in Wheaton, Illinois, a suburb west of Chicago in the United States...

 in November 1988.

In 1989 the society decided to publish the Journal of the Adventist Theological Society
Journal of the Adventist Theological Society
The Journal of the Adventist Theological Society is a refereed scholarly Christian journal published by the Adventist Theological Society, a group of Seventh-day Adventists. It is issued twice a year from Collegedale, TN...

, with Leo Van Dolson as editor. C. Mervyn Maxwell and Gerhard Hasel
Gerhard Hasel
Gerhard Franz Hasel was a Seventh-day Adventist theologian, and Professor of Old Testament and Biblical Theology as well as Dean of the Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary at Andrews University. His best known works are Old Testament Theology: Basic Issues in the Current Debate and New...

 were also actively involved with the journal. The first issue was published in 1990.

Membership consisted of 1400 individuals in 1994. According to a 1996 article, its religion scholars are predominantly from the Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary
Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary
The Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary is the seminary located at Andrews University in Michigan, the Seventh-day Adventist Church's flagship university...

 at Andrews University
Andrews University
Andrews University is a Seventh-day Adventist university in Berrien Springs, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1874 as Battle Creek College in Battle Creek, Michigan, it was the first higher education facility started by Seventh-day Adventists, and is the flagship university of the Seventh-day...

, Southern Adventist University
Southern Adventist University
Southern Adventist University is a college in Collegedale, Tennessee, owned and operated by the Southern Union Conference of Seventh-day Adventists. U.S. News & World Report categorizes it as a Southern Regional College, and the magazine has consistently ranked it as one of the top-tier schools in...

, and the Biblical Research Institute
Biblical Research Institute
The Biblical Research Institute is a service department of the Seventh-day Adventist Church with the three stated functions of research, apologetics , and service to the church. It serves as a theological consultant to the General Conference...

, plus around 1,700 lay people.

President

The following is a chronological list of those who have served as presidents of the ATS:
  • Jack Blanco (author of The Clear Word
    The Clear Word
    The Clear Word, originally published in March 1994 as the Clear Word Bible, is an English-language "devotional paraphrase of the Bible expanded for clarity"...

    )
  • Gerhard Hasel
    Gerhard Hasel
    Gerhard Franz Hasel was a Seventh-day Adventist theologian, and Professor of Old Testament and Biblical Theology as well as Dean of the Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary at Andrews University. His best known works are Old Testament Theology: Basic Issues in the Current Debate and New...

  • C. Raymond Holmes
  • E. Edward Zinke
  • Richard M. Davidson
    Richard M. Davidson
    Richard M. Davidson is an Old Testament scholar and Seventh-day Adventist. He has authored dozens of articles for theological journals. As of 2009, he is the chair of the Old Testament department at Andrews University, and the J. N...

      1994 -
  • Jiri Moskala
  • Larry Lichtenwalter
  • Ron Clouzet
  • Roy Gane
  • Stephen Bauer

Publications

The organization publishes the Journal of the Adventist Theological Society
Journal of the Adventist Theological Society
The Journal of the Adventist Theological Society is a refereed scholarly Christian journal published by the Adventist Theological Society, a group of Seventh-day Adventists. It is issued twice a year from Collegedale, TN...

(JATS), a referred scholarly journal issued twice a year from Collegedale
Collegedale, Tennessee
Collegedale is a city in Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 8,282 at the 2010 census. Collegedale is a suburb of Chattanooga and is part of the Chattanooga, TN–GA Metropolitan Statistical Area...

, TN
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...

. It was first published in 1990.

It also publishes the Perspective Digest, which contains popular level articles.

Constitution

According to its constitution, "The centrist focus of the Society places it against all forms of theological extremism, avoiding theological liberalism and legalistic or literalistic interpretations of the Scriptures." According to former Journal of the Adventist Theological Society
Journal of the Adventist Theological Society
The Journal of the Adventist Theological Society is a refereed scholarly Christian journal published by the Adventist Theological Society, a group of Seventh-day Adventists. It is issued twice a year from Collegedale, TN...

editor Ed Christian,
"The ATS is an organization of centrist Adventist biblical scholars who affirm the teaching and leadership of the Adventist church and covenant to study the Bible as believers rather than skeptics. Beyond that, members are free to hold and argue a variety of opinions. (For example, some ATS scholars favor the ordination of women, and some oppose it.) About forty ATS scholars are also members of the Adventist Society of Religious Studies (ASRS), so there is a good deal of overlap between the two groups, and I for one consider many ASRS scholars who are not ATS members as friends. Our aim is not to separate ourselves from supposedly “heretical” scholars, as some claim, but to have a forum where serious scholarship from our perspective can be shared and discussed."


The Constitution has six components describing the society's name, mission statement, core values, goals, categories of membership, describes the society's Mission Statement, core values, goals and other items. Acceptance of the constitution, particularly the core values, is required to become a member of ATS.

The core values are acceptance of the Bible, Christ as only savior of the world, and the fundamental beliefs
28 Fundamentals
The 28 Fundamentals are a core set of theological beliefs held by the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Traditionally, Adventists have been opposed to the formulation of creeds. It is claimed that the 28 Fundamentals are descriptors not prescriptors; that is, that they describe the official position of...

, as well as the following doctrinal points (summarised):
a. Christ's death on the cross was both an act of love and a substitutionary atonement
Substitutionary atonement
Technically speaking, substitutionary atonement is the name given to a number of Christian models of the atonement that all regard Jesus as dying as a substitute for others, "instead of" them...

.
b. The Bible is the inspired, unerring, infallible
Biblical infallibility
Biblical infallibility is the belief that what the Bible says regarding matters of faith and Christian practice is wholly useful and true. It is the "belief that the Bible is completely trustworthy as a guide to salvation and the life of faith and will not fail to accomplish its purpose...

 Word of God.
c. The historical-grammatical method
Historical-grammatical method
The historical-grammatical method is a Christian hermeneutical method that strives to discover the Biblical author's original intended meaning in the text. It is the primary method of interpretation for many conservative Protestant exegetes who reject the so-called historical-critical method used...

 of interpreting the Bible, as opposed to critical methods
d. A literal reading of Genesis 1-11: six day creation, Flood geology, and a young earth
Young Earth creationism
Young Earth creationism is the religious belief that Heavens, Earth, and all life on Earth were created by direct acts of the Abrahamic God during a relatively short period, sometime between 5,700 and 10,000 years ago...

.
e. The investigative judgment
Investigative judgment
The investigative judgment is a unique Seventh-day Adventist doctrine, which asserts that a divine judgment of professed Christians has been in progress since 1844. It is intimately related to the history of the Seventh-day Adventist Church and was described by the church's prophet and pioneer...

, historicist
Historicism (Christian eschatology)
Historicism is a method of interpretation, in Christian eschatology, by associating biblical prophecies with actual historical events as well as identifying symbolic beings with historical persons or societies. In prophetic theology, the main texts of interest are apocalyptic literature such as the...

 view of prophecy, and the year-day principle
f. Ellen White
Ellen G. White
Ellen Gould White was a prolific author and an American Christian pioneer. She, along with other Sabbatarian Adventist leaders, such as Joseph Bates and her husband James White, would form what is now known as the Seventh-day Adventist Church.Ellen White reported to her fellow believers her...

's writings possess more than pastoral authority (see prophetic gift of Ellen White)
g. The Seventh-day Adventist church is the remnant
Remnant (Adventist)
In Seventh-day Adventist theology, there will be an end time remnant of believers who are faithful to God.The remnant church is a visible, historical, organized body characterized by obedience to the commandments of God and the possession of a unique end-time gospel proclamation...

 called to preach the three angels' messages
Three Angels' Messages
In Seventh-day Adventist beliefs, the "three angels' messages" is an interpretation of the messages given by three angels in Revelation . The church teaches that these messages are given to prepare the world for the second coming of Jesus Christ, and sees them as a central part of its own...

 of Revelation 14:6-13
h. The society will support the church financially and through personal effort.


According to its website, "Membership in the Adventist Theological Society is open to any serious Bible student that recognizes the strength of working together to help touch Adventist leaders, pastors, theologians, and lay person with balanced and conservative Adventist theology on the cutting edge."

See also

  • Journal of the Adventist Theological Society
    Journal of the Adventist Theological Society
    The Journal of the Adventist Theological Society is a refereed scholarly Christian journal published by the Adventist Theological Society, a group of Seventh-day Adventists. It is issued twice a year from Collegedale, TN...

  • Perspective Digest
  • Adventist Society for Religious Studies
    Adventist Society for Religious Studies
    The Adventist Society for Religious Studies is a Seventh-day Adventist scholarly community whose purpose is "to provide intellectual and social fellowship among its members and encourage scholarly pursuits in all religious studies disciplines, particularly with reference to the Seventh-day...

  • Seventh-day Adventist theology

External links

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