Dec. 24 - The "Why" Of Success(3)

Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 2 Peter 3:18, NKJV.

Another factor that led to the evangelistic success of Millerism and Seventh-day Adventism is the content or doctrinal element in their view of truth. Thus Millerism had what it considered to be an important Bible understanding to offer to individuals searching for meaning--the premillennial return of Christ. As a result, Millerism was not just a part of the ecclesiastical woodwork--it stood for something distinctive from other religious groups. It had a message to preach. And many responded to it.

As noted previously, one of the reasons Evangelical Adventism died out was that it had lost its doctrinal distinctiveness once a significant portion of American Protestantism accepted premillennialism. After that, Evangelical Adventism had no reason to exist. On the other hand, the Advent Christians adopted conditional immortality as a focal point that lent a reason for a separate denominational existence.

By way of contrast, the Seventh-day Adventists developed a whole arsenal of unconventional beliefs that they saw as their special mission to share with the world.

And just as a kite flies 'against the wind, so there is a dynamic in religious movements vitalized by differences and even opposition. Being different gives individuals and social groups a sense of identity and meaning.

Clyde Hewitt, in seeking to explain Seventh-day Adventism's growth in contrast to his Advent Christian community's lack of growth, notes that "the distinctive beliefs and practices of the [Seventh-day Adventist] denomination, while causing it to be viewed with suspicion by many traditional Christian believers, have seemingly given its faithful members a resoluteness of individual and group character that goes far to explain their success." On the other hand, Seventh-day Adventism (like Millerism) is close enough to orthodoxy in most central doctrines to get a hearing among other Christians.

It's OK to be different (but not "strange"). That is true as long as the major differences rest upon sound principles--biblical and otherwise. One of the great strengths of Adventism is the lifestyle and doctrinal commitments that set it apart as a unique movement. It stands for something biblical, something true, something worth living for.

That is part of the attraction of the Adventist message for people who are looking for the
answer to life's most perplexing problems.