The short lesson is that a religious conviction to healthy living is very beneficial. The long answer is that this does not not necessarily translate into mainstream respectability.
Sent from my iPhone > On Sep 22, 2015, at 16:29, BILROJ via Centroids: The Center of the Radical > Centrist Community <[email protected]> wrote: > > > The Christian Century > > The Adventist adaptation > > Sep 18, 2015 by Philip Jenkins > In recent years, some Christian denominations have discovered that their > membership rolls are growing mightily in the Global South. Often those > growing Christian communities are quite conservative on issues of gender > and sexuality. We are now seeing such conflicts among the Seventh-day > Adventists, which has passionately debated the ordination of women. A church > that was once regarded as a purely U.S. phenomenon has become one of the > world’s fastest growing and most diverse. > > The Adventists grew out of the millenarian fervor that swept the United > States in the 1840s. In 1844, William Miller warned of the Christ’s imminent > return and the world’s destruction. In fact, he did so twice, and the double > failure provoked what is termed the Great Disappointment. A remnant of > Millerites then reconstructed their movement under the visionary leadership > of New England–born Ellen G. White. > > The new Adventism displayed many characteristics of the American sectarian > world of the 19th century, not least the belief in charismatic prophetic > leaders. The Seventh-day movement regards Saturday as the true Christian > sabbath. Adventists follow older sectarian practice in avoiding meat, > alcohol, and tobacco. These puritanical habits gave them a cranky image in > the Mad Men era—until a series of longitudinal studies from the 1950s onward > showed just how highly beneficial those lifestyle practices were. Much of > what we know today about the linkage between diet and health grows out of > Adventist health and mortality studies. We also owe to Adventist dietary > theories the notion that cereal is an ideal breakfast food. > > In the mid-20th century, Seventh-day Adventists stood on the far fringe of > the North American religious spectrum. Some evangelicals even challenged > their Christian credentials, worried by what was seen as their excessive > veneration for Ellen White and her writings. By the late 1950s, the church > celebrated the fact that it had surpassed the milestone of a million > adherents, the vast majority of whom were in the United States. No scholar of > religion picked the church as destined for any major growth spurt. > > How shortsighted such secular prophets were. Sixty years later, Adventists > constitute a global church that plausibly claims 18 million members, only 7 > percent of whom live in the United States. The transformation is in fact even > greater than these rough figures suggest, as so many Adventists within the > United States have ethnic roots in Africa or the Caribbean. Most of this > change has occurred since about 1980. > > The SDA Church includes some 75,000 churches spread over 200 countries. Latin > America and the Caribbean account for almost 6 million believers, almost a > third of the church’s strength. Brazil is the country with the largest number > of SDA members. Growth in Africa has also been spectacular. The church’s > East-Central Africa division reports 2.5 million members worshiping in 11,000 > churches. > > Apart from the numbers, the church has developed its rich network of > educational institutions and media outlets around the world. Among its many > colleges and universities, the largest in numerical terms is Northern > Caribbean University, based in Jamaica. Medical schools and hospitals abound, > which follows naturally from the long-standing Adventist commitment to health > care. > > When I meet an Adventist, I sometimes ask a semi-joking question as to how > many relatives he or she has working in the medical professions. The answers > are often lengthy. Adventist humanitarian and relief efforts are celebrated > for their reach and efficiency. > > The health and medicine theme goes far toward explaining Adventist successes > worldwide. Any plausible account of emerging Global South churches stresses > the importance of healing activities, commonly framed in terms of spiritual > warfare. > > That does not mean that ordinary believers reject scientific medicine if they > are given access to it. As part of their basic teachings, Adventists show > believers how to improve their lives in physical terms as well as spiritual, > and that practical message carries enormous weight in societies overwhelmed > by disease and substance abuse. Faithfully following Adventist principles > promises a major improvement in life chances and in longevity. > > Any church has its share of scandals and controversies, and the Adventists > are no exception. By far the worst blot on the movement’s recent history > was its experience in Rwanda, where some Adventist clergy were prominent in > the genocide of the 1990s. This horrible experience raised critical questions > about the depth and sincerity of conversion, in this country at least, and > the need for fundamental Christian instruction. > > Numbers alone, obviously, do not measure the growth of Christian faith. What > they can tell us powerfully, though, is how churches adapt to the massive > opportunities and challenges of globalization. > > > -- > -- > Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community > <[email protected]> > Google Group: http://groups.google.com/group/RadicalCentrism > Radical Centrism website and blog: http://RadicalCentrism.org > > --- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. -- -- Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community <[email protected]> Google Group: http://groups.google.com/group/RadicalCentrism Radical Centrism website and blog: http://RadicalCentrism.org --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community" group. 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