Australian Union Conference of Seventh-day Adventists
Encyclopedia
The Seventh-day Adventist Church
in Australia
is formally organised as the Australian Union Conference of Seventh-day Adventists (often abbreviated by Australians as "the Union"), a subentity of the South Pacific Division of Seventh-day Adventists
. As of 31 December 2008, church membership stands at 54,173. Despite its small size, the Australian church has made a significant impact on the worldwide Adventist church.
Controversy surrounded Robert Brinsmead
and Desmond Ford
. Apart from Ford, other respected theologians include Norm Young
, Arthur Patrick
and others.
Seventh-day Adventist Church, which formed on 10 January 1886 with 29 members.
According to one article,
Outreach to the Australian Aborigines
has occurred since the 1890s.
Robert Brinsmead
was a controversial figure in the 1960s and 70s.
The 1980 Glacier View controversy
regarding Desmond Ford
's rejection of the investigative judgement, a fundamental belief of the church, was particularly devastating for the Adventist church in Australia. Ford had been a prominent lecturer at Avondale College
, the church's tertiary educational institution. Within eight years of his expulsion from the church, 182 ministers in Australia either resigned or were dismissed (there were also other causes), many teachers lost their jobs, and many members either chose to leave the church or were forced to.
Arthur Patrick
's research regarding church cofounder Ellen White
has been influential in the scholarship of the world church adopting a more progressive position regarding her inspiration
since the 1970s and 80s.
Norman Young is another well respected scholar who wrote a supplement to Anglican John Wenham
's book on biblical Greek
. Both Ford and Young completed doctorates under the highly respected scholar F. F. Bruce
.
The Australian Stories series of books have included numerous short stories by the following Adventist authors: Nathan Brown
, editor at Signs Publishing Company; Grenville Kent
, a pastor, lecturer, and filmmaker; and Brad Watson, a lecturer at Avondale College.
For a representative sample of Adventist theology as taught by Australian lecturers and church leaders see the textbook Meaning for the New Millennium: The Christian Faith from a Seventh-day Adventist Perspective. It is not an "official" statement of belief (the 28 Fundamentals
play this role), but rather "constitute[s] how a representative group of Australian teachers explain their beliefs."
The 1996 National Church Life Survey
revealed that of all churches in Australia, Seventh-day Adventists have the highest level of church attendance, highest proportion of members with post-graduate degrees, and the highest proportion who regularly contribute financially to their church. They are also the least open to change and most opposed to speaking in tongues.
According to the 2001 Australian census
, 53844 people identified as Seventh-day Adventist. The National Church Life Survey estimated average weekly attendance at church is 36600, which is 68% of the first figure.
in the Lake Macquarie region in New South Wales
. It offers numerous degrees including nursing, teaching and theology.
Despite being one of the smaller churches in Australia, the Adventist church in Australia operates one of the largest school educational systems of any religious group.
The Signs Publishing Company
which serves the division, is based in Victoria
. There is also another magazine called The Edge. The church also operates the Sydney Adventist Hospital
and the Sanitarium Health Food Company
based in Australia and New Zealand.
The Adventist church in Australia is a senior member of the Australian Christian Research Association
.
and its surrounds, in the state of New South Wales
.
as well as the adjacent Northern Territory
.
.
.
. The Adventist church in Victoria is likely best known to the community for its annual production "Road to Bethlehem" (website), a dramatic reenactment of events leading up to the birth of Jesus
.
.
:Category:Australian Seventh-day Adventists
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...
in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
is formally organised as the Australian Union Conference of Seventh-day Adventists (often abbreviated by Australians as "the Union"), a subentity of the South Pacific Division of Seventh-day Adventists
South Pacific Division of Seventh-day Adventists
The Seventh-day Adventist Church in the South Pacific, , is formally organised as the South Pacific Division of Seventh-day Adventists , also abbreviated as the South Pacific Division or simply "the Division". It is one of 13 world divisions of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists in...
. As of 31 December 2008, church membership stands at 54,173. Despite its small size, the Australian church has made a significant impact on the worldwide Adventist church.
Controversy surrounded Robert Brinsmead
Robert Brinsmead
Robert Daniel "Bob" Brinsmead is a formerly controversial figure within the Seventh-day Adventist Church in the 1960s and 1970s, known for his diverse theological journey....
and Desmond Ford
Desmond Ford
Desmond "Des" Ford is an evangelical Christian and an Australian theologian. He is the father of pornography gossip columnist Luke Ford....
. Apart from Ford, other respected theologians include Norm Young
Norm Young
Norman Hugh Young is a Seventh-day AdventistChristian theologian and New Testament scholar. He recently retired as senior lecturer at Avondale College in Australia.- Biography :...
, Arthur Patrick
Arthur Patrick
Arthur Nelson Patrick is a Seventh-day Adventist theologian and historian. He is an honorary senior research fellow at Avondale College in New South Wales, Australia...
and others.
History
The first Seventh-day Adventist church in Australia was the MelbourneMelbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
Seventh-day Adventist Church, which formed on 10 January 1886 with 29 members.
According to one article,
- "Australia has supplied the Adventist church in North AmericaNorth American Division of Seventh-day AdventistsThe Seventh-day Adventist Church in the United States, Canada, and Bermuda is officially organized as the North American Division of Seventh-day Adventists...
with many very able college teachers, theologians, and other professionals who have contributed ideas and insights that have become part of the church heritage. Some of those 'Aussies' have also been disturbing and have contributed to tensions within the church."
Outreach to the Australian Aborigines
Australian Aborigines
Australian Aborigines , also called Aboriginal Australians, from the latin ab originem , are people who are indigenous to most of the Australian continentthat is, to mainland Australia and the island of Tasmania...
has occurred since the 1890s.
Robert Brinsmead
Robert Brinsmead
Robert Daniel "Bob" Brinsmead is a formerly controversial figure within the Seventh-day Adventist Church in the 1960s and 1970s, known for his diverse theological journey....
was a controversial figure in the 1960s and 70s.
The 1980 Glacier View controversy
Glacier View controversy
In the Seventh-day Adventist Church, the Sanctuary Review Committee was a group of biblical scholars and administrators which met to decide the church's response to theologian Desmond Ford, who had challenged details of the church's "investigative judgment" teaching...
regarding Desmond Ford
Desmond Ford
Desmond "Des" Ford is an evangelical Christian and an Australian theologian. He is the father of pornography gossip columnist Luke Ford....
's rejection of the investigative judgement, a fundamental belief of the church, was particularly devastating for the Adventist church in Australia. Ford had been a prominent lecturer at Avondale College
Avondale College
Avondale College of Higher Education is an Australian tertiary education provider affiliated with the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Avondale College has two campuses, Lake Macquarie being the primary campus situated in Cooranbong, New South Wales...
, the church's tertiary educational institution. Within eight years of his expulsion from the church, 182 ministers in Australia either resigned or were dismissed (there were also other causes), many teachers lost their jobs, and many members either chose to leave the church or were forced to.
Arthur Patrick
Arthur Patrick
Arthur Nelson Patrick is a Seventh-day Adventist theologian and historian. He is an honorary senior research fellow at Avondale College in New South Wales, Australia...
's research regarding church cofounder 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...
has been influential in the scholarship of the world church adopting a more progressive position regarding her inspiration
Inspiration of Ellen White
Seventh-day Adventists believe church co-founder Ellen G. White was inspired by God as a prophet, today understood as a manifestation of the New Testament "gift of prophecy", as described in the official beliefs of the church...
since the 1970s and 80s.
Norman Young is another well respected scholar who wrote a supplement to Anglican John Wenham
John Wenham
John W. Wenham was an Anglican Bible scholar. Born in 1913, he devoted his professional life to academic and pastoral work. He died February 13, 1996 at age 82 after a series of debilitating strokes....
's book on biblical Greek
Koine Greek
Koine Greek is the universal dialect of the Greek language spoken throughout post-Classical antiquity , developing from the Attic dialect, with admixture of elements especially from Ionic....
. Both Ford and Young completed doctorates under the highly respected scholar F. F. Bruce
F. F. Bruce
Frederick Fyvie Bruce was a Biblical scholar and one of the founders of the modern evangelical understanding of the Bible...
.
The Australian Stories series of books have included numerous short stories by the following Adventist authors: Nathan Brown
Nathan Brown (writer)
Nathan G. Brown is a Christian author and editor. Brown is the "book editor" for Signs Publishing Company, based near Melbourne, Victoria, Australia....
, editor at Signs Publishing Company; Grenville Kent
Grenville Kent
Grenville J. R. Kent is an Australian academic, film producer, author, and Christian communicator. He is the producer of Big Questions, a forthcoming documentary series examining faith, and the "10 Questions for God" series of booklets...
, a pastor, lecturer, and filmmaker; and Brad Watson, a lecturer at Avondale College.
For a representative sample of Adventist theology as taught by Australian lecturers and church leaders see the textbook Meaning for the New Millennium: The Christian Faith from a Seventh-day Adventist Perspective. It is not an "official" statement of belief (the 28 Fundamentals
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...
play this role), but rather "constitute[s] how a representative group of Australian teachers explain their beliefs."
Statistics
The number of people who consider themselves Seventh-day Adventists is:- 1911. 6095
- 1922. 13965
- 1947. 17550
- 1961. 31633
- 1971. 41617
- 1981. 47474
- 1991. 48341
- 1996. 52655
- 2006. 55257
The 1996 National Church Life Survey
National Church Life Survey
Australian National Church Life Surveys have been performed every 5 years from 1991 to 2001, to study Church Life in Australia. The NCLS Research partnership administers these surveys...
revealed that of all churches in Australia, Seventh-day Adventists have the highest level of church attendance, highest proportion of members with post-graduate degrees, and the highest proportion who regularly contribute financially to their church. They are also the least open to change and most opposed to speaking in tongues.
According to the 2001 Australian census
Census in Australia
The Australian census is administered once every five years by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. The most recent census was conducted on 9 August 2011; the next will be conducted in 2016. Prior to the introduction of regular censuses in 1961, they had also been run in 1901, 1911, 1921, 1933,...
, 53844 people identified as Seventh-day Adventist. The National Church Life Survey estimated average weekly attendance at church is 36600, which is 68% of the first figure.
Organisations
The church's main tertiary educational institution is Avondale CollegeAvondale College
Avondale College of Higher Education is an Australian tertiary education provider affiliated with the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Avondale College has two campuses, Lake Macquarie being the primary campus situated in Cooranbong, New South Wales...
in the Lake Macquarie region in New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
. It offers numerous degrees including nursing, teaching and theology.
Despite being one of the smaller churches in Australia, the Adventist church in Australia operates one of the largest school educational systems of any religious group.
The Signs Publishing Company
Signs Publishing Company
Signs Publishing Company is a Seventh-day Adventist publishing house in Warburton, Victoria, Australia.-History:Three Adventist preachers, Stephen Haskell, John Corliss and Mendel Israel, a printer, Henry Scott, and an experienced door-to-door literature salesperson, William Arnold, travelled from...
which serves the division, is based in Victoria
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
. There is also another magazine called The Edge. The church also operates the Sydney Adventist Hospital
Sydney Adventist Hospital
Sydney Adventist Hospital, commonly known as the San, is a large private hospital in Sydney, Australia, located on Fox Valley Road in Wahroonga. Established on January 1, 1903, as a not-for-profit organisation, it was originally named the Sydney Sanitarium from which its colloquial name was derived...
and the Sanitarium Health Food Company
Sanitarium Health Food Company
The Sanitarium Health & Wellbeing Company is the trading name of two sister food companies . Both are wholly owned by the Seventh-day Adventist Church....
based in Australia and New Zealand.
The Adventist church in Australia is a senior member of the Australian Christian Research Association
Christian Research Association
The Christian Research Association was founded in 1985 to study the Christian faith in Australia. Its work consists of major research projects, overviews of research on religion in Australia, and contract research for Christian organisations, including local reports based on Australian Census...
.
Local Conferences
The Australian Union Conference comprises nine smaller subdivisions of "local Conferences".Greater Sydney
The Greater Sydney Conference (website) covers the city of SydneySydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
and its surrounds, in the state of New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
.
North New South Wales
The North New South Wales Conference (website) covers the region of New South Wales north of Sydney.Northern Australia
The Northern Australia Conference (website) covers the northern part of the state of QueenslandQueensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
as well as the adjacent Northern Territory
Northern Territory
The Northern Territory is a federal territory of Australia, occupying much of the centre of the mainland continent, as well as the central northern regions...
.
South Australia
The South Australia Conference (website) covers the state of South AustraliaSouth Australia
South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...
.
South New South Wales
The South New South Wales Conference (website) covers the region of New South Wales south of Sydney.South Queensland
The South Queensland Conference (website) covers the southern part of the state of Queensland.Tasmania
The Tasmanian Conference (website) covers the island state of TasmaniaTasmania
Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...
.
Victoria
The Victorian Conference (website) covers the state of VictoriaVictoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
. The Adventist church in Victoria is likely best known to the community for its annual production "Road to Bethlehem" (website), a dramatic reenactment of events leading up to the birth of Jesus
Nativity of Jesus
The Nativity of Jesus, or simply The Nativity, refers to the accounts of the birth of Jesus in two of the Canonical gospels and in various apocryphal texts....
.
Western Australia
The Western Australia Conference (website) covers the state of Western AustraliaWestern Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
.
See also
- South Pacific Division of Seventh-day AdventistsSouth Pacific Division of Seventh-day AdventistsThe Seventh-day Adventist Church in the South Pacific, , is formally organised as the South Pacific Division of Seventh-day Adventists , also abbreviated as the South Pacific Division or simply "the Division". It is one of 13 world divisions of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists in...
- Seventh-day Adventist ChurchSeventh-day Adventist ChurchThe 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...
:Category:Australian Seventh-day Adventists
Further reading
- Seventh-day Adventist Encyclopedia, "Australia", esp. 135-40
- S. Ross Goldstone. The Angel Said Australia (Warburton, Victoria, Australia: SignsSigns Publishing CompanySigns Publishing Company is a Seventh-day Adventist publishing house in Warburton, Victoria, Australia.-History:Three Adventist preachers, Stephen Haskell, John Corliss and Mendel Israel, a printer, Henry Scott, and an experienced door-to-door literature salesperson, William Arnold, travelled from...
, 1980) - Alwyn Salom, ed. The Seventh-day Adventist Church in Australia. Kew, Victoria: Christian Research Association, 2002 (publisher's page)
- Arthur Patrick. Christianity and Culture in Colonial Australia: Selected Catholic, Anglican, Wesleyan and Adventist Perspectives, 1981-1900 (SydneySydneySydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
: Fast Books, 1993). PhD dissertation - Geoffrey Paxton, The Shaking of Adventism. Regarding the history of justification by faith in the Adventist church, with an Australian emphasis
- Milton Frederick Krause, The Seventh Day Adventist Church in Australia, 1885–1900. MA Thesis, University of SydneyUniversity of SydneyThe University of Sydney is a public university located in Sydney, New South Wales. The main campus spreads across the suburbs of Camperdown and Darlington on the southwestern outskirts of the Sydney CBD. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and Oceania...
, 1969
External links
- Official website
- Australian Beginnings on the official Adventist website
- Statistics from AdventistStatistics.org
- "A snapshot of the church in Australia" by Ken Vogel. Record 113:42 (1 November 2008), p8–9
- "Australian Union Conference" articles as catalogued in the Seventh-day Adventist Periodical Index (SDAPI). See also "Australia" articles