The Seventh-day Adventist Church is a denomination that has contributed much to the development of American society. Although the Church is a religious and social institution, its views on race in America have changed over the years, from its abolitionist approach during the mid 19th century to its stance of non-involvement during the Civil Rights Movement. By studying the race relations in the Adventist Church, this thesis reveals the factors that may have caused its position of non-intervention during the Civil Rights Movement. The thesis analyzes the development of black/white race relations in the Seventh-day Adventist Church, and how it has led to the Church’s stance regarding race during the Civil Rights Movement. The functionalist theory is utilized to elucidate the Church’s racial approach from a sociological perspective. This thesis allows for future research of other religious organizations and how those institutions have helped advance or delay the quest for social freedom amongst African Americans.

Thesis (MSc. Soc. Ecol. (Honours)--University of Western Sydney, Hawkesbury, 1997. / Thesis submitted for Masters of Science (Hon) Social Ecology. Thesis is an inquiry into how a consulting approach can be used by a church helping organisation in the Seventh-day Adventist Church to assist congregations.

In this research, I have attempted to show how the Seventh-day Adventist Church originated in America during the 19th century, following a spiritual revival centered on the eschatology propounded by the Millerite Movement, which proclaimed the return of Christ in 1844. After the disappointment and the defection of its members, the remainder formed the nucleus of Adventists. They believed in the mission to proclaim the Second Coming of Jesus to the world, without fixing the dates. The Adventists reached Europe and from there Rwanda in the persons of two missionaries during 1919. In spite of various difficulties, they founded three mission stations to be used as a base for their growth. They integrated faith in education and medical work while, in particular, involving laity in evangelism, which was the key to their success. / Christian Spirituality, Church History and Missiology / M. Th. (Church History)

Thesis (DTh)--Stellenbosch University, 2011. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This dissertation is a critical analysis and evaluation of the teaching of the priesthood of believers and the development of ecclesiology in the Seventh-day Adventist church. The study analyses this development in Seventh-day Adventist ecclesiology by evaluating how the doctrine of the priesthood of believers has been viewed in biblical, historical, and theological contexts. The comparative analysis of (mainly, though not exclusively) the Free church ecclesiology with the aim of contributing towards the understanding of the development of the Seventh-day Adventist ecclesiology is key. The importance of the development of ecclesiology in general and more specifically within the Seventh-day Adventist church is reflected in the discussions on the priesthood of believers by Free Churches and Seventh-day Adventist church historians and theologians. This research demonstrates that the development of ecclesiology cannot be studied in isolation. Therefore the development of ecclesiology in the Seventh-day Adventist church should be viewed with the history of the Christian church in view. For the purposes of this study this implies that the reflection of the Christian church on the priesthood of believers should have an impact on the development of the history of ecclesiology within the Seventh-day Adventist church. The critical analysis and assessment of the development of Seventh-day Adventist ecclesiology highlights the importance of biblical, historical, theological and ecclesiological contexts combined, on the priesthood of believers. Therefore this highlights the importance of the doctrine of priesthood of believers in the development of ecclesiology. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie werkstuk is ‘n kritieke analisering en evaluering van die leer van die priesterskap van gelowiges en die ontwikkeling van ekklesiologie in die Seventh-day Adventist Kerk. Die studie analiseer die ontwikkeling in die Seventh-day Adventist ekklesiologie deur te evalueer hoe die doktriene van die priesterskap van gelowiges gesien word in bybelse, historiese, en teologiese konteks. Die vergelykende analisering van (hoofsaaklik, tog nie alleenlik nie) die Vrye kerkse ekklesiologie met die doel om by te dra tot die begrip van die ontwikkeling van die Sewendedagse Adventiste ekklesiologie is opperste. Die belangrikheid van die ontwikkeling van ekklesiologie in die algemeen, meer spesifiek in die Seventh-day Adventist Kerk, word gereflekteer in die gesprek oor die priesterdom van gelowiges deur die Vrye Kerke en die Sewendedagse Adventiste geskiedkundiges en teoloë. Hierdie navorsing demonstreer dat die ontwikkeling van ekklesiologie nie in isolasie bestudeer kan word nie. Daarom moet die ontwikkeling van ekklesiologie in die Sewendedagse Adventiste kerk gesien word met die geskiedenis van die Christen kerk in sig. Vir die doel van hierdie studie impliseer dit dat die refleksie van die Christen Kerk op die priesterskap van gelowiges, ‘n impak moet hê op die ontwikkeling van die geskeidenis van ekklesiologie in die Seventh-day Adventist kerk. Die kritieke analisering en assesering van die ontwikkeling van die Seventh-day Adventist ekklesiologie beklemtoon die belangrikheid van die bybelse, geskiedkundige, teologiese en ekklesiologiese konteks saamgebind om die priesterskap van gelowiges. Daarom word die belangrikheid van die doktriene van priesterskap van gelowiges in die ontwikkeling van ekklesiologie beklemtoon.

In this research, I have attempted to show how the Seventh-day Adventist Church originated in America during the 19th century, following a spiritual revival centered on the eschatology propounded by the Millerite Movement, which proclaimed the return of Christ in 1844. After the disappointment and the defection of its members, the remainder formed the nucleus of Adventists. They believed in the mission to proclaim the Second Coming of Jesus to the world, without fixing the dates. The Adventists reached Europe and from there Rwanda in the persons of two missionaries during 1919. In spite of various difficulties, they founded three mission stations to be used as a base for their growth. They integrated faith in education and medical work while, in particular, involving laity in evangelism, which was the key to their success. / Christian Spirituality, Church History and Missiology / M. Th. (Church History)

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / The Seventh-day Adventist Church in South Africa was planted towards the end of the 19th century. Within less than forty years after its inception, a separate Coloured department developed. This was not to be the last organizational development impacting upon the Coloured community within the Church. The problem that this study will seek to address is:“What factors contributed to the different organizational phases that the predominantly ‘coloured’ section of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in South Africa underwent between 1887 and 1997?” It will examine particularly the role and impact of racism on the various organizational phases.METHOD: The study was conducted primarily within the qualitative paradigm. This paradigm was selected as it allowed the researcher to analyse, interpret and understand events in history and the present in terms of the experience and definition of the world as experienced by others.As a qualitative study, the research utilised the approach in which a literature study was conducted involving current literature and archival material on the subject. With regard to the archival material, extensive use was made of primary sources, specifically utilising the minutes of the different organizational structures. The researcher was able to source a large amount of material dating back to the turn of the 20th century. These materials were systematically scrutinised in order to discover any material of relevance to the topic being researched.CONCLUSION: The study has demonstrated that racism has been an all-pervasive factor within South Africa since the time of the invasion of the country by European colonists. Commencing with the Dutch in 1652, the fabric of the social and political structure became inextricably linked to a hierarchy which placed the White Europeans in authority over the indigenous inhabitants of this country by virtue of being the conqueror backed by superior weapons of war and control of the economy and the means of production.Legislation was enacted, firstly by the Dutch and subsequently by the British to protect the interests of the invaders and systematically disenfranchise the inhabitants of South Africa. The indigenous inhabitants of the country and their descendents were relegated to being 2nd and 3rd class citizens of their country in order to feed the greed and expansionist agenda of the European invaders. This social structure impacted upon and influenced every aspect of South African existence.The Seventh-day Adventist Church did not engage society on its view and position regarding human relations and racial discrimination. It uncritically merged its thinking and operations to reflect the majority view of the minority ruling class. This it did despite the biblical view of the Church on the nature and equality of man, its historical heritage and the counsel as given by Ellen White. While some commentators have postulated that the Church was ahead of the government in applying Apartheid, it appears as though it would be more accurate to state the Church uncritically imbibed and adopted the policies of the government of the day. As has been seen,while the practice of segregation and separation became subsumed in the ideology of Apartheid as propagated by the post-1948 Nationalist government, the discrimination practiced by the Church found its roots in the social engineering initiated by Van Riebeeck and perpetuated by successive governors, prime ministers and other heads of state to varying degrees.From the turn of the 20th century the Church pursued an agenda of separation culminating in formal organizational structures for the different racial groupings as instituted by the Dutch,British and subsequent South African governments.Each phase of the organizational development of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in South Africa, as applied to the Coloured community, can be seen to having been influenced by and impacted upon by the Church’s view and practice of separation based on colour. No evidence can be found in the documentation available that the creation of separate structures for different racial groups in South Africa was for any other reasons than racial separation.

Thesis (D.Min.)--Andrews University, Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary, 2007. / Vita. Bibliography: leaves 203-218.

Thesis (D. Min.)--Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, 2001. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 260-265).

July 1997 marks the 110th anniversary of the Seventh-day Adventist (SDA) Church's existence in South Africa. During this time the denomination has augmented both organizationally and numerically. Notwithstanding the expansion in these dimensions though, a thorough perusal of the denomination's history and present modus-operandi makes it clear that all is not as it should be within the denomination. In an attempt to discover the fundamental causes for the malaise that exists within the denomination, chapter one begins by succinctly tracing the growth of apocalyptic and millennial thinking. Beginning from the Maccabean era it reveals not only the numerous transformations that took place in millennial discernment throughout the subsequent centuries, but also demonstrates how these oscillations prepared the "soil" which allowed the emergence of the Millerite Movement - the immediate forerunners of the SDA church. Chapter two unveils the emergent movement in America initially opposed to to the formation of any formal organizations and hesitant to commission any missionaries to foreign lands. This period was destined however to also be an era of maturation. In the wake of the doctrinal consolidation that eventually took place, came not only an evolvement of missionary consciousness but also the successful development of a unique tri-lateral missiological approach that the denomination would employ' with great success on the world's mission fields.In July 1887 the first SDA missionaries stepped onto South African shores. Chapter three reveals this emergent church greatly stirred by the organizational, institutional and missiological developments experienced by the church in America, looking set to rapidly emulate both the missionary paradigm and numerous accomplishments of its mother church. Chapter four discloses however, how this once dynamic, intrepid, missionary-minded church very quickly became bogged down in a quagmire of difficulties. Many of these occurrences and other serious issues that followed in the ensuing years of the twentieth century were indisputably detrimental to the church, seriously affecting both its missionary expansion and its development in this country. As the denomination in South Africa stands on the brink of the twenty first century there is no question, that unless some drastic measures are taken, that it could very soon find itself under the sword of Damocles. This impending crisis is augmented not only by its almost total lack of involvement in crucial social issues, conspicuous inconsistencies present in its organizational structure, and its manoeuvre from a once dynamic evangelistically orientated movement to an institutionalized organization, but also by the fact that indispensable facets of its missionary strategy are at the present moment no longer in evidence in its continued operations. There is no question that the denomination is faced not only with a missiological identity crisis but also with the very sobering question whether it is indeed fulfilling the missionary mandate it ironically still preaches and still so strongly believes in. / Thesis (M.Th.)-University of Durban-Westville, 1996.

Thesis (D. Min.)--Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, 2001. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 260-265).