KASPARS OZOLINS | Assistant Professor of Old Testament Interpretation, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary
Last month I was at the annual biblical scholarly conferences that take place every year in November in a major US city (this time we were in sunny San Diego). The ETS meeting (hosted by The Evangelical Theological Society) and SBL (hosted by the non-confessional Society of Biblical Literature) are massive annual events featuring thousands of biblical scholars from all over the United States and the world. Hundreds of sessions take place; scholars network together, plan book projects, and peruse the latest scholarly monographs on display at gigantic book expos. It’s a great time to catch up with people you often only meet once a year in person. There are many meetings, dinners, and events, making it stand out as a somewhat strange week in the life of a biblical scholar. The length of time spent away from family is a challenge, as well. You miss your loved ones and are very glad to see them again. This year was similar for me to previous years. I gave a number of papers, was present at daily meetings and events, and also saw old friends and colleagues.
Adventism at the Evangelical Theological Society
In recent years, I have grown increasingly concerned and burdened by the pervasive participation of the Adventist organization at the annual meeting of the Evangelical Theological Society. This is despite their (very thin!) doctrinal statement to which all members are required to subscribe:
The Bible alone, and the Bible in its entirety, is the Word of God written and is therefore inerrant in the autographs. God is a Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, each an uncreated person, one in essence, equal in power and glory.
Now, without exaggerating in the slightest, I can affirm that I am unaware of any Christian doctrinal statement that is more sparse than this one! It only contains two propositions. So it is all the more astonishing that Adventism and Adventists are so welcome at ETS, given that both of these propositions are contrary to Seventh-day Adventist doctrine! The inerrancy of Scripture has never been affirmed in Adventism, lest their errant prophetess be seen as less authoritative than the Bible. And the denial of the triunity of God’s essence, while carefully masked and obscured in Adventism, has always been there. Current Seventh-day Adventist teachings promote a counterfeit trinity—a tritheism that is the offspring of the movement’s blatant Arian roots.
Now, without exaggerating in the slightest, I can affirm that I am unaware of any Christian doctrinal statement that is more sparse than this one! It only contains two propositions. So it is all the more astonishing that Adventism and Adventists are so welcome at ETS, given that both of these propositions are contrary to Seventh-day Adventist doctrine!
This cooperation is evidenced on many levels. The Adventist Theological Society is characterized by ETS as an “affiliate society,” along with the Evangelical Philosophical Society and the Near East Archaeological Society. (There are a lot of “societies” out there!) That means their annual meetings take place side by side at the same venue each year. Adventists present at ETS meetings while non-Adventist evangelicals will even present at ATS meetings. For example, this year, the renowned evangelical biblical scholar Daniel Block presented a talk at the Adventist Theological Society D session alongside presenters from Newbold and Andrews University (among other key Adventist institutions).
Furthermore, the book expo will feature exhibits from publishers such as Andrews University Press, alongside well-known evangelical publishers like Crossway, P&R, Zondervan, an so on. Evangelical attendees, many of whom will be unaware of the issues, peruse the latest published scholarship and come into contact with the literature of the Adventist organization. Even the fact that Adventism is given a place at the book expo sends a big signal. I must note that this year I did not see Adventist publishers at ETS, though there were several other publishers that I had expected to be present who were absent. Perhaps this is symptomatic of a broader economic downturn. Whatever the case, I have seen no evidence that ETS has changed its official attitude toward the Adventist organization.
More fundamentally, I cannot explain how any Seventh-day Adventist attending these meetings (almost certainly a scholar, and not a layman!) can in good conscience sign the ETS doctrinal statement, thin as it is, and become a member.
Other trends in evangelical scholarship
For some time now, a number of Seventh-day Adventist scholars have had work published by evangelical institutions, thereby lending significant credibility to the organization. I have seen quite a number of evangelical scholars interact with and recommend Richard M. Davidson’s Typology in Scripture: A Study of Hermeneutical Typos Structures, published in 1981. In 2007, he published a massive study, Flame of Yahweh: Sexuality in the Old Testament, with Baker Academic, a well-known evangelical publisher.
In the area of Bible commentaries, Roy Gane’s NIV Application Commentary on Leviticus and Numbers stands out (published by Zondervan Academic in 2004). Roy Gane is viewed by many as a mainstream Old Testament scholar, yet even in his commentary, he reveals his underlying Adventist theological foundation, for example in his explanation of Azazel in Leviticus 16: “[T]his enemy of God and his people would be the final bearer and recipient of the Israelites’ culpabilities, inexpiable rebellious sins, and expiable sins (Lev. 16:21–22).” Although Gane goes on to claim that Azazel is not “the substitute for the Israelites, who committed them [these sins]” he has already diminished the substitutionary work of Christ, and frankly, is playing language games here. The commentary also liberally cites his other work (Altar Call) written directly to Adventist audiences, which is much more open about the cultic doctrines of Adventism.
Roy Gane is also part of a more recent trend in which new major theological works by Adventists have received glowing praise by significant figures in the evangelical world. His work Old Testament Law for Christians: Original Context and Enduring Application (published by Baker Academic in 2017) is highly recommended by well-known evangelical authors such as Daniel Block, Richard Hess, Christopher Wright, and more. Bill T. Arnold (professor at Asbury Theological Seminary) states on the back cover:
“This much-needed work offers Christians a sure guide to developing a mature and nurturing understanding of Old Testament law. The author’s ‘progressive moral wisdom’ approach is firmly rooted in sound hermeneutical method. Gane’s proposal will demand the attention of serious readers of the Bible and will no doubt move us closer to the kind of approach we need when reading Old Testament law.”
Another young rising star in the evangelical publishing world is Andrews University professor John C. Peckham. We can name only a few of his major recent works, all published by mainstream evangelical publishers, and endorsed by significant figures in the evangelical world: The Love of God: A Canonical Model (IVP Academic, 2015), Theodicy of Love: Cosmic Conflict and the Problem of Evil (Baker Academic, 2018), Divine Attributes: Knowing the Covenantal God of Scripture (Baker Academic, 2021), Why We Pray: Understanding Prayer in the Context of Cosmic Conflict (Baker Academic, 2024). The last book is a notable recipient of the Christianity Today Book Award. These works were selected by CT editors as “books most likely to shape evangelical life, thought, and culture.”
What is even more surprising (and sadly disappointing to me) is that even his recently released SDA systematic theology God With Us: An Introduction to Adventist Theology (Andrews University Press, 2023), has received the commendation of a number of prominent voices in evangelicalism, among them Sung Wook Chung, professor at Denver Seminary, and Adam Harwood, professor at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, who states the following:
“Peckham provides a clear and engaging synthesis of bbiblical theology and Christian doctrine to present Adventist beliefs. Rooted in the hope of Christ’s future return and God’s promises to dwell with His people, the book will benefit readers from all faith traditions and deserves a wide readership.”
Among his many book projects, John Peckham is also currently collaborating with another young evangelical scholar, R. T. Mullins, to create a new monograph series Studies in the Doctrine of God, published by Cascade Books (an imprint of Wipf & Stock publishers). The series aims to explore alternative views of God that land somewhere between the classical doctrine of God and process theism (a radical departure from the historic biblical understanding of God). This school of thought is sometimes termed “Neoclassical theism” and it is the perfect home for classic Adventist teachings on the heavenly trio, the Great Controversy theme, and more.
Muddying the living water of the gospel
What is the upshot of all this evangelical accomodation to prominent Seventh-day Adventist scholars and their doctrinal views? One could perhaps conceive of each side interacting respectfully yet maintaining their differences and doctrinal distinctives. Yet that is never the case because doctrines cannot simply be siloed into hermetically sealed slots. Instead, doctrines form a network that grows up from a distinctive root. In historic evangelical Christianity, we have a doctrinal system that grows out of an apostolic root which speaks to the person and work of Jesus Christ the God-man. In Seventh-day Adventism, by contrast, we have a distinctive non-apostolic doctrinal system that grows out of an Arian root which presents an alternative Jesus and an alternative gospel.
I don’t know whether the growing lack of clarity in many evangelical quarters about the person and work of Jesus Christ is due to outside influences or internal weaknesses. Perhaps it is a bit of both. But it is shocking to me how many new evangelical ideas are uncanny in their resemblance to the Adventism I grew up with.
I don’t know whether the growing lack of clarity in many evangelical quarters about the person and work of Jesus Christ is due to outside influences or internal weaknesses. Perhaps it is a bit of both. But it is shocking to me how many new evangelical ideas are uncanny in their resemblance to the Adventism I grew up with. For me, a personal example is that of David M. Moffitt’s recent book Rethinking the Atonement. It features a foreword by N. T. Wright and aims to move past beyond traditional views of the atonement that the author considers to be “reductive.”
One essay in this book is distressingly titled “It Is Not Finished: Jesus’s Perpetual Atoning Work as the Heavenly High Priest in Hebrews.” Though Moffitt does not come from an Adventist background, his proposed revision of the biblical doctrine of Christ’s atonement has features which are deeply disquieting to me. The author attempts to pit Christ’s cry on the cross “It is finished!” (John 19:3) against a revisionist understanding of Hebrews which argues that Jesus’ ongoing “high-priestly intercession” indicates “some kind of ongoing work of sacrificial atonement.”
In fact, I found out recently that Roy Gane has publicly stated that his writings on atonement have partly been the basis for Moffitt’s new thinking about the epistle to the Hebrews. Indeed, Gane cites Moffitt’s Rethinking the Atonement as an example of a new work in evangelical scholarship that is much closer to the Adventist position. The two-phase atonement, an Adventist innovation that robs Christ of his rightful glory and robs Christians of their assurance of salvation, is slowly working its way into the evangelical consciousness.
A clarion call to gospel faithfulness
Biblical scholarship, conducted in fancy conference centers and expressed in written form in pricey monographs, is upstream from the life and faith of the church of Jesus Christ. Today’s “new” theology can quickly become tomorrow’s accepted dogma. Seventh-day Adventist influence in evangelical scholarship is undeniable and growing. The global evangelical movement, as I see it, stands at a doctrinal crossroads: will it fight for the faith delivered once and for all to the saints or will it let go of the gospel of Jesus Christ? †
- New Covenant Has a New Commandment - October 16, 2025
- Seventh-day Adventism: Neither Christian, Nor a Church - August 14, 2025
- Battle Creek and Nicea - June 12, 2025
Dear Kaspars,
I deeply appreciate yours, the Tinker’s and everyone else’s work there at Proclamation On-Line Magazine in furthering the kingdom of God. I must say, reading your article was extraordinarily disheartening to say the least. When is it going to end? Adventism has been infiltrating the church now for decades dating back to Walter Martin’s and his Pastor Donald Grey Barnhouse’s day. Adventists lied to Dr. Martin, and this opened the door for others to enter into the church and deny Christ’s once and for all time substitutionary atonement, which is the heart of the Gospel, the very foundation.
The cancer has spread since then. There is D.A. Carson’s and David Noel Freedman’s endorsement on the back pages of Samuele Bacciocchi’s book, From Sunday To Sabbath (1977). This was followed by the “in-house” debated issue of Calvinism and Arminianism, in a combined work entitled The Grace of God, The Will Of Man (1989), in which two Seventh-day Adventists (Fritz Guy and Richard Rice) contributed their alleged Evangelical views on the subject. Oh, are Guy and Rice one of our own? Are they “in-house” members of Evangelicalism? I say this sarcastically, though respectfully to you, Kaspar. Clark H. Pinnock even went so far as to praise these two Adventists as Evangelicals for the “excellence of their theological insights and convictions” (p. xi).
What does this communicate to the public? That Evangelicals view Adventists as Christians. This is a gross disservice to the public because it conveys the idea that Adventism is part of Protestantism; i.e. Mainstream Evangelicalism, Reformed, Baptist, Lutheran, Episcopalian, etc
William lane Craig should be an example to us of how quickly cancerous doctrines spreads. He began by denying that the resurrection recorded in Matthew 27:51-53 was a historical event. Today, he says that a good analogy of the Trinity is Cerberus the three-headed dog of Greek mythology, and sat in panel-discussion entitled, Four Views On The Trinity. If we do not make every effort to safeguard purity in doctrine, there will come a day when hear that awful sound, “Two Views On The Atonement” in the church.
Although E.P. Sanders did not flat-out deny the sufficiency of Christ’s atonement, it opened the door for N.T. Wright, who wrote the Forward to Moffit’s book, to spread his cancerous doctrine of the New Perspective on Paul’s view of the atonement.
More recently, Gane’s endorsement of A Catholic Introduction To The Bible (2018), is cited on the back cover.
Lastly there was Tremper Longman III, who has contributed two volumes to the Zondervan NIV Commentary Series, which Gane contributed the Leviticus volume to this series. Longman has since then discerned Gane’s heretical view of the atonement, having disclosed this to me private email correspondence. He informed me that he was going to bring it to the publisher’s attention when they met in November 2022.
Once again, I appreciate your efforts, though if I may offer some loving, construction criticism. I think that by calling Moffitt an “evangelical” provides him with a vehicle to spread his cancerous denial of the atonement and it gains oxygen and momentum, though I know you did not intend to. Defining oneself as an Evangelical, Baptist, Reformed does not make them an Evangelical, Baptist or Reformed Christian; it is our beliefs that define us.
Respectfully,
Angel Arellano, Jr
Thanks for your comments, Angel. You helpfully point out many other areas where we as evangelicals need to be on guard.