Early Adventists Used Popular Songs and Set them to Sacred Words

One way of addressing this issue was to set new hymns to well known popular tunes, and early Adventist hymnals display several examples of this practice. “Land of Light” was written by Uriah Smith and first published in 1856. Smith’s hymn focused on heaven and was set to the popular secular tune “Old Folks at Home” by Stephen Foster. Smith also penned “O Brother Be Faithful” and set it to the popular tune, “Be Kind to the Loved Ones at home” by Isaac Baker Woodbury. [1]

How many times I have changed the words to songs from my youth and enjoyed--as though a secret vice--the joy that these Christianized pop songs gave me. Perhaps the earliest instance was in the mid-70s when I found a particularly transcendent sentence from Steps to Christ [2] and mysteriously started singing those words to the tune of "I've Seen All Good People" by the Progressive Rock group Yes. For me, that combination of a song by a group that had altered my reality and had introduced me to the music of Igor Stravinsky, with the much loved words from Steps to Christ will forever remind me of, perhaps, the most natural and spiritual time of my life.

References:

1. I Have Heard the Angel's Sing
2. Steps to Christ. See Chapter 9, "The Work and the Life." which contains these words: "God is the source of life and light and joy to the universe" which I adapted to the Yes song I've mentioned above.

Great Controversy Prophecy Is on the Verge of Taking Place

Only an avid reader of Ellen G. White's Great Controversy would find this headline in today's New York Times astounding:

Pope Urges New World Economic Order

The lead paragraph is like a swim in a cold ocean:

VATICAN CITY — Pope Benedict XVI on Tuesday called for a radical rethinking of the global economy, criticizing a growing divide between rich and poor and urging the establishment of a “world political authority” to oversee the economy and work for the “common good.”

Another paragraph contains a reference to labor unions which Ellen G. White also was wont to attack:

Indeed, sometimes Benedict sounds like an old-school European socialist, lamenting the decline of the social welfare state and praising the “importance” of labor unions to protect workers. Without stable work, he notes, people lose hope and tend not to get married and have children.

It seems that Ellen G. White did have a window into the future after all.

"Progressive Adventism" Blog (by Julius Nam) has Ended

The following lengthy quote was excerpted from the final post which can be found at Progressive Adventism Blog. I am quoting it here because Julius Nam's web ministry meant a lot to me especially when his blog first appeared. I always assumed his blog was going to exist until Christ came or until something better came along. Perhaps something better has come along.

Thank you, brother Nam for the time and all the work that went into what will always be in my fondest memories. May God bless you and may we meet some day when blogging is no longer necessary.

"I [Julius Nam] continue to envision our [Adventist] community:

as one of doers of God's love and compassion, and transformers of lives, communities and societies toward justice and peace

as one that affirms the presence and reality of God in diverse and plural expressions of humanity, even as we affirm the Oneness and Ultimacy of Truth in God, in Jesus

as one that takes Scripture very, very seriously and obeys its high call for sanctified and sanctifying living, even as we disagree on some of its specific applications,

as one that affirms the visionary, prophetic ministry of Ellen White and the amazing gift she has been to us, even as we disagree on the continuing utility of her specific statements and teachings,

as one that is humble, confessing our fallenness and inadequacies, depending fervently and radically on God

One note about the issue of sexual/gender identity equality:

I continue to believe and affirm the need for deeper study and dialogue in the Adventist church on the question of sexual identity. Clearly, the issue of sexual identity is not at the heart of the Gospel, but ... the issue of justice is. And I'm convicted that God's high call for righteousness includes in our time to recognize the full humanity, dignity, and equality of bisexual, gay, lesbian, and transgendered children of God for the way God made them--both in society and in our church community.

Yet, I recognize that the prevailing understanding of justice in Adventism differs widely.

So, I'm committed to working through these issues with prayer, communal study of Scripture, patience, and most of all, compassion for and trust in each other who make up the Body of Christ. It may indeed be that I am completely wrong on this and many other matters. But that is why it's all the more important for me to remain committed to a process of learning and dialogue--to be held accountable by my community--all the while asking God for wisdom, patience and humility.

I seek your prayers as I seek to discern for myself what it means to be courageous, and not stubborn, what it means to be patient, and not cowardly, what it means to defer, and not avoid, what it means to obey, and not merely comply, what it means to be prophetic, and not be narcissistic, what it means to follow Christ."

May each of us follow Christ as the Holy Spirit leads us.

One Million Members Added to Adventist Church Yearly

Through non-human means, the amount of new members is reaching incredible heights. Even though the human has to cooperate with the divine, nevertheless, some new principle is at work in the mission camps and older traditional sites of Adventism.


With the increase in numbers come new challenges, as in some locations, Adventists are no longer in the minority. Efforts are being made to counteract any dangerous influence on the part of political magistrates who now control most of the courts in some lands.


Disclaimer: The above is an example of anticipatory journalism. It expresses the desired outcome of a near-future event on the part of the writer. It is intended in the best possible way. If such outcome does not materialize, time then becomes important as to determine the eventual realization of the desired reality.

Adventism Reversed

I have benefited immensely from the blog ministry of Julius Nam. Recently he has had to cut back, as well as revamp the nature and specificity of his blog. I'm especially sorry to see all of the links to Adventist blogs removed.

I am especially grateful for the article in question which I've linked to the title of this post. In the article in question, "'Questions on Doctrine' and M. L. Andreasen: The Behind-the-Scenes Interaction" he recounts the effects of objections voiced and written by one, . L. Andreasen, a deceased Adventist theologian, on Adventism.

While one cannot effectively turn back the wheels of time, I can't help but wonder what Adventism would be like today had brother Andreasen simply sat back and enjoyed his retirement. Perhaps others would have stepped in and taken up the challenge. Or perhaps those involved in Questions on Doctrine would have revised and republished that book as the direction of the Adventist church would have grown increasingly self-critiquing and transparent.
I must tell you that as I read about the machinations, although I fear that word is too strong, of M. L. Andreasen, I felt both postive and negative emotions. Negative because so much discord and wasted opportunities were the result of his objections. Positive because of his refusal to simply go with the flow and to fight for what he felt were his just rewards for his efforts or objections.

As I reflected further on the results--five decades--of changes in Adventism because of M. L. Andreasen's efforts, I wondered if it was providential that he entered Adventist history in the way that he did, as a corrective, if you will. Or were his letters and published materials merely free human will injecting itself in the stream of time? Much depends on which view one takes. If it was the former, then it is a good thing, of course. If it was the latter, it may happen yet again with untold consequences within the Adventist movement.

At this point in time I think it accurate to speak of Adventist movements. I strongly feel that conservative, mainstream and progressive Adventist approaches to the nature of the church, and its future, consitute distinct movements with soon-to-be-felt repercussions, and not just divergent currents within one homogeneous body of water.

Please click on this link, Progressive Adventism, in order to read the entire article and benefit from Julius Nam's research.