Videos Released from Sabbatarian Adventist Dialogue

By: Bettina Krause, Public Affairs and Religious Liberty Department

A series of eight presentations delivered during a recent meeting between representatives of the Seventh-day Adventist Church and the Seventh Day Adventist Reform Movement is now available online, said Nikolaus Satelmajer, coordinator of the two-day dialogue held in December 2018.

Satelmajer, former associate secretary of the Ministerial Association and editor of Ministry magazine, said news reports of the conversation between these two groups — which share many historical and theological connections — have sparked tremendous interest from many Seventh-day Adventist Church members.

“We videotaped the presentations simply as a record of our time together,” Satelmajer said. “But given the requests for more information, and with the permission of all of the presenters, we are now making these recordings accessible to everyone.”

The dialogue, held December 5 and 6, 2018, at the Seventh-day Adventist Church’s world headquarters in Silver Spring, Maryland, United States, was the third meeting between representatives of the two groups. Presentations focused on four topics chosen by leaders of the Seventh Day Adventist Reform Movement: Christian temperance emphasizing the diet for the last generation; the relationship between church and state especially as it relates to participation in military service; justification by faith; and issues surrounding divorce and remarriage.

The Seventh Day Adventist Reform Movement has a membership of some 42,000 around the world. It shares the same early history as the larger Seventh-day Adventist Church, but began its independent development around the time of World War I, initially over the issue of involvement of church members in military service.

Participants in the dialogue said the meetings have been open and friendly, offering a unique window into each communion’s identity and beliefs.

In a joint statement following last year’s meeting, the group acknowledged “areas of clear difference in theological understanding and church practice” but expressed gratitude for “the opportunity to meet and dialogue together in a spirit of Christian friendship and respect.” Another similar dialogue is planned.

The videos in English of the eight presentations given at the 2018 meeting were not originally recorded with a view to further distribution, and audio quality is not always consistent.

The original version of this story was posted by Adventist News Network.