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An Analysis of the Adventist Pioneers

In this paper–I will address the objections to the Trinity from the Seventh-Day Adventist Pioneers. This paper alone calls into question the validity of the Seventh-Day Adventist movement. Since “Most of the founders of Seventh-Day Adventism would not be able to join the church today if they had to subscribe to the denominations Fundamental Beliefs.  More specifically, most would not be able to agree to belief number 2, which deals with the doctrine of the Trinity.” These founders supposedly being the people God used to restore His “end times church”.

JAMES S. WHITE

“The way spiritualizers have disposed of or denied the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ is first using the old unscriptural Trinitarian creed, viz., that Jesus Christ is the eternal God, though they have not one passage to support it, while we have plain scripture testimony in abundance that he is the Son of the eternal God.” – James White, The Day Star, January 24, 1846

It is true that there is no explicit statement where Jesus states “I am God” in this exact form–however Jesus claims to be the Son of Man in Daniel 7:10-14 (see Mark 14:61-62,). The same Son of Man that receives worship of all humanity. To the Jewish context in which the Gospels were written to–this is equivalent to claiming to be God. White also assumes that for Jesus to be the “Son of God”–that He needs to be some kind of creation. However–historically Christians understood that Jesus claiming to be the Son of God is Him claiming to be brought forth from the Father– i.e. be of the Fathers essence;

These tokens so declare the nature of the Son, that by them you may know both that the Father is eternal, and that the Son is not diverse from Him; for the source of generation is He Who is, and as begotten of the Eternal, HE IS GOD; COMING FORTH FROM THE FATHER, HE IS THE SON; FROM GOD…

To be the “Son of God” is to be of the Fathers essence–this false assumption that James and other Anti-Trinitarians have about Sonship is far from the historical and biblical understanding.

“Here we might mention the Trinity, which does away the personality of God, and of his Son Jesus Christ, and of sprinkling or pouring instead of being “buried with Christ in baptism,” “planted in the likeness of his death:” but we pass from these fables to notice one that is held sacred by nearly all professed Christians, both Catholic and Protestant. It is, the change of the Sabbath of the fourth commandment from the seventh to the first day of the week.” – James White, Advent Review & Sabbath Herald, December 11, 1855, vol. 7, no. 11, page 85, par. 16

The Trinity does not do away with the personality of God–on the contrary–the doctrine of the Hypostases in the Trinity clearly explains how Father, Son and Spirit relate to each other. White assumes that being a “personal” God means to have a physical corporeal body as creatures do;

“In one passage James charged that the “spiritualizers” “spiritualize away the existence of the Father and the Son, as two distinct, literal [sic], TANGIBLE PERSONS, also a literal Holy city and throne of David.”

Because of this faulty presupposition–this leads White to deny the God of the Bible.

“The “mystery of iniquity” began to work in the church in Paul’s day. It finally crowded out the simplicity of the gospel, and corrupted the doctrine of Christ, and the church went into the wilderness. Martin Luther, and other reformers, arose in the strength of God, and with the Word and Spirit, made mighty strides in the Reformation. The greatest fault we can find in the Reformation is, the Reformers stopped reforming.   

However–is White not aware that the Earliest Christians that preserved what is now known as Scripture practice sprinkling and worshipping on Sunday?

And concerning baptism, baptize this way: Having first said all these things, baptize into the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, (Matthew 28:19) in living water. But if you have not living water, baptize into other water; and if you can not in cold, in warm. But if you have not either, POUR OUT WATER THRICE UPON THE HEAD into the name of Father and Son and Holy Spirit. But before the baptism let the baptizer fast, and the baptized, and whatever others can; but you shall order the baptized to fast one or two days before.

But every LORD’S DAY gather yourselves together, and break bread, and give thanksgiving after having confessed your transgressions, that your sacrifice may be pure.

The Adventist dilemma is now revealed–was the Early Church–that very church that God used to preserve His written word corrupted by the snares of Satan. As early as the First/Second Century–before there was even an intelligible Biblical Canon? How do Adventist have assurance that the texts we call Scripture are truly Apostolic in origin? The assumption of the Worldwide 1st-2nd-3rd century apostasy jeopardises the veracity and validity of the texts Christians claim to be the very Words of God.The very men that God raised up to preserve the God-breathed Scriptures are the same men that White has the audacity to condemn? 

“Jesus prayed that his disciples might be one as he was one with his Father. This prayer did not contemplate one disciple with twelve heads, but twelve disciples, made one in object and effort in the cause of their master. Neither are the Father and the Son parts of the “three-one God.” They are TWO DISTINCT BEINGS, yet one in the design and accomplishment of redemption.” – James White, Life Incidents, p. 343, 1868

This statement from White sounds very polytheistic upfront–however I will be charitable and assume that he is conflating person/being and using them interchangeably. Unless he thinks that there are two existences of God/YHWH in the Godhead. In that case–this is simply refuted by Scripture (Deut 6:4). White is also wrong in the sense by which the Father and Son are “One”. There are one in essence, one in nature–both fully possessing the Divine Nature (Jn 1:1). Twelve passages previously–Jesus claims equality with God in the sense that Christ works in the same sense as the Father. And does not cease work as the Jews do (Jn 5 v. 1-18). Christ claims to do the exact works as the Father does (Jn 5 v. 19). Christ claims to quicken the dead in the same sense as the Father (Jn 5 v. 21), Christ claims to be the Judge of All Mankind–which is attributed to the True God alone (Jn 5 v. 22, see Isaiah 40:10-11; Isaiah 62:11; Psalm 62:12; Proverbs 24:12). Christ exclaims that we ought to honor the Son in the same respect as we do the Father (Jn 5 v. 23) and the burial goes on and on. White fails to respect context and allow the Bible to explain itself.

“We have not as much sympathy with Unitarians that deny the divinity of Christ, as with Trinitarians who hold that the Son is the eternal Father, and talk so mistily about the three-one God. Give the Master all that divinity with which the Holy Scriptures clothe him.” – James White, Advent Review and Sabbath Herald June 6, 1871 – James and Ellen White’s – Western Tour

White is wrong in his assessment of the Trinity–Trinitarians do not believe that the Son is the Father. We believe in a true distinction not following a composition–or an addition to the one Divine Essence. So his critique does not stand on the basis of the Strawman fallacy.