1952 Bible Conference (Adventist)

The 1952 Bible Conference was a Seventh-day Adventist conference in the Sligo Church in Takoma Park, Maryland from September 1–13, 1952. There were 498 people listed as attending this meeting with worldwide representation (with at least 3 people from every division of the General Conference). From published reports it appears that there were on average 450 people in attendance during the presentations. The Conference was the second major Bible Conference held by Adventists during the twentieth century, and the next major meeting of its kind after the 1919 Bible Conference. According to the then General Conference president, W. H. Branson these meetings were regarded as “one of the most important meetings in our history.” Others, like R. F. Cottrell, noted that the Conference was less of an academic conference and designed instead to be a "faith-building" event.

Conference Structure

There were 82 presentations with a devotional lecture each day at noon; Sabbath (Saturday) services were open to the public. The meeting commenced with a communion service on Friday afternoon and a "revival" church service on Sabbath led by the former General Conference (GC) president, J. L. McElhany. The sessions were chaired by the General Conference president, W. H. Branson, and fellow GC Vice-presidents.

Planning Committee

A planning committee of 23 members asked participants to present. Potential speakers were asked to write up their presentations and submit them to the committee. They were then “preached” (as opposed to reading them). In only a “few” cases were individuals asked to leave things out of their prepared presentations, and most of the suggestions were given to help avoid repetition among presenters. The planning committee consisted of W. H. Branson, L. K. Dickson, E. D. Dick, H. L. Rudy, A. V. Olson, R. R. Figuhr, W. B. Ochs, R. A. Anderson, C. L. Torrey, D. E. Rebok, L. E. Froom, W. A. Spicer, Glenn Calkins, E. E. Cossentine, J. E. Weaver, M. V. Campbell, L. L. Moffitt, T. H. Jemison, W. E. Read, F. D. Nichol, M. L. Rice, F. H. Yost, and C. L. Bauer.

Seventh-day Adventist leaders set a goal to double church membership from 1950 to 1953. Therefore, revival was needed among church leaders to help further this evangelistic goal. It was furthermore believed that because a whole new generation of leaders had "come on the scene of action" that they would benefit by a series of revival meetings centered on Bible study. Furthermore, a re-examination of docrinal positions would help "make sure that they are setting forth the truth in a way that most fully explains the meaning of the times.".” In addition, events surrounding World War II caused Adventist prophetic expositors to re-examine some points of prophetic exposition.

Highlights and Analysis

One of the most significant lectures was given by W. E. Read on the topic of Armageddon. His lecture represented a dramatic shift in Adventist eschatology. During and prior to World War II Adventists had interpreted Armageddon as a battle between the Oriental and Western nations. Read argued that the battle of Armageddon was instead a battle between the forces of good and evil. This position has since become an accepted stance in the denomination.

A second major focus was that presentations focused on attacks by Bible critics. Adventists needed to take "these very missiles that are so confidently hurled at them . . . [and] even more confidently hurled [them] back at the Bible critic." In this light, several presentations focused on recent archaeological discoveries as "evidence for Bible inspiration."." Study was also given to the relation of "science to Adventist faith."

Edward Heppenstall’s presentations on the Two Covenants became the normative interpretation on the topic in the denomination to the present day. Heppenstall emphasized the importance of the heart in obeying the Ten Commandments (a position earlier stated by Ellen G. White, but did not become normative until this point). Early Adventists had emphasized legalism (i.e. “obey and live”) and during the early twentieth-century had wandered into a dispensationalist view of the covenants (old covenant belonged to the Old Testament). Heppenstall taught that the old and New Covenants are part of an everlasting covenant.

Motivation and Legacy

Seventh-day Adventist college bible teachers formed the Bible Research Fellowship in 1943. It pioneered unofficial corporate bible study research until 1952. It valued the sharing of biblical research findings in an atmosphere of freedom and collegiality. According to Raymond Cottrell, secretary for the Fellowship, a misunderstanding of the group's relationship to the church led to its discontinuation. The "official" 1952 Bible Conference convened in response to the misunderstanding. Shortly after the Bible Conference, the Biblical Research Committee was founded by the General Conference. This new organization was created to encourage biblical research and to provide guidance to those who have new biblical ideas. The committee was chaired by W. E. Read until 1956 and has become the Biblical Research Institute. The presentations on Armageddon and the Covenants have become the normative positions in the Seventh-day Adventist Church to the present day. The 1952 Bible Conference paved the way for new scholarly projects like the Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary (published 1953-1957) and Problems in Bible Translation (1954).

Research

The edited transcripts of the 1952 Conference were published as Our Firm Foundation. In addition, the recordings of the Bible Conference have recently been conserved and digitized at the Loma Linda University Archives & Special Collections.

See also

• History of the Seventh-day Adventist church
• 1888 Minneapolis General Conference
• 1919 Bible Conference
• Seventh-day Adventist Church
• Seventh-day Adventist theology

References

• Branson, W. H. (1952). "The Bible Conference" (PDF). The Ministry. XXV (7). Washington, D.C.: Ministerial Association of Seventh-day Adventists: 4, 5. Retrieved September 16, 2011. {{cite journal}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
• Cottrell, Raymond F. (1985). "The untold story of the Bible Commentary" (PDF). Spectrum. 16 (3). Takoma Park, MD: Association of Adventist Forums: 35–51. Retrieved September 16, 2011. {{cite journal}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
• Cottrell, Raymond F. (1978). "The Bible Research Fellowship: A pioneering Seventh-day Adventist organization in retrospect". Adventist Heritage. 5 (1). Loma Linda, CA: Loma Linda University Library: 41–54. ISSN 0360-389X. Retrieved September 17, 2011. Raymond Cottrell attended all the meetings of the original Fellowship as well as all the meetings of the Biblical Research Committee dating from 1943 to 1975. {{cite journal}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
• Nichol, Francis D. (1952). "The Bible Conference" (PDF). Review and Herald. 129 (35). Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association: 1, 13, 14. Retrieved September 16, 2011. {{cite journal}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
• "Our Firm Foundation" (DjVu). Review and Herald. 1953.
• "Two hundred fourth Meeting of the General Conference Committee: Biblical exegesis and research". General Conference Committee Minutes: 925, 926. 1952. Retrieved September 16, 2011. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)

External links

• Frederick Lee. Historic Bible Conference Convenes. Review and Herald. September 25, 1952
• Francis D. Nichol. Looking Back on the Bible Conference. Review and Herald. October 23, 1952, p. 10