Articles — Advent Christian Voices

Finding Our Red Line: When Must the Church Gather Again?

We never thought we would be here. More than a month has passed and our church buildings remain shuttered, the members of the Body of Christ scattered and isolated from one another. Yes, on the basis of our duty to love one another and our neighbors, it is has been justified. Yes, God has been at work in the Body, revealing our weaknesses and idols, forging us in the flames of hardship to acquire a strength heretofore unknown. Yes, this whole season has the makings of a fast, if we would but embrace that aspect.

Lent Through the Eyes of Adventism

Without belaboring the basics, I thought it would be interesting to consider what special contribution Adventism can make to the season of Lent. At first glance, the two might appear to be strange bedfellows. While Lent looks to our past and present condition, Adventism by its very nature looks forward to the future. To the uninformed, the essential message of Adventism is that the Christian’s hope should be fixed upon the day of Christ’s return, that day in which the reign of Christ will be fully revealed along with new heavens and a new earth. It is the message that God promises to set everything aright in the end, bringing all of Creation to the glorious end instituted by her Creator. It is the promise of a coming age far removed from our present condition, but which carries with it the assurance that we who have been joined to Jesus Christ shall live again to see all things made new.

The value this conviction brings to the season of Lent is that the hope of resurrection is necessarily preceded by the need for death.

Tom Loghry, TheologyThomas LoghryFebruary 26, 2020adventism, lent, repentance, resurrection, deathComment

The Divine Invasion

The scene of the Nativity, set among hay and humble beasts, fringed by scruffy shepherds with their meek lambs, drawn together at the center by the sweet affection shared between mother and child, fills our eyes with what would seem to be the very picture of peace. The setting seems far removed from any field of battle…

Tom Loghry, DevotionalsThomas LoghryDecember 8, 2019sin, devil, advent, incarnationComment

The Reformation Reached my Catholic Professor

To set the scene, I am taking a course in ethics at a prominent Catholic college (I’ll keep some details anonymous to protect the professor). Of my classmates, at least half of the class are Roman Catholic priest or members of a Catholic religious order (e.g. Society of Jesus/Jesuits).

Tom Loghry, Church History, TheologyThomas LoghryOctober 31, 2019catholic, martin luther, salvation, pelagianismComment

The Burden of Democracy

The American Church is commonly admonished to thank God for the freedoms that we enjoy as Americans, especially the freedom we enjoy…

Tom Loghry, Ethics & SocietyThomas LoghryJuly 4, 2019democracy, freedom, Johannes Althusius, 1 Corinthians 7, Romans 13Comment

To My Fellow Social Rejects

I have become accustomed to the indoctrination. Truly, I have.

The "Good" in Good Friday

Many holidays bear a name that on the surface clearly communicates the occasion of celebration or remembrance…And then there is “Good Friday.” Of all holidays, none seems a greater misnomer.

Tom Loghry, DevotionalsThomas LoghryApril 19, 2019Good Friday, Cross, Foolishness, Resurrection, AtonementComment

My Thoughts on “The Blessed Hope Catechism”

I first want to say, “Thank You.” I know this is not how most book reviews begin, but I must say it.

Tom Loghry, Book ReviewsThomas LoghryFebruary 12, 2019The Blessed Hope Catechism Comments

"Should Christians Fight?" Read I.C. Wellcome's Original Pamphlet

In the midst of doing the research for my eventual essay, "Recollecting an Advent Christian Political Theology: A Retrieval of Advent Christian Thought on the Relationship Between Church and State”, I had the good fortune of uncovering a digitized version of I.C. Wellcome’s pamphlet, “Should Christians Fight?”.

Tom Loghry, Ethics & Society, Church HistoryThomas LoghryJanuary 23, 2019I.C. Wellcome, Pacifism, DownloadComment

Recollecting an Advent Christian Political Theology: A Retrieval of Advent Christian Thought on the Relationship Between Church and State

When studying the Advent Christian tradition, one is hard-pressed to find any self-conscious attempts at political theology. In larger treatments found in pamphlets and books, implicit political theologies might emerge in the midst of discourses on world events, the Kingdom of God, and of course pacifism, but there are very few (and by my count no) books consciously dedicated to the subject. In smaller treatments found in various Advent Christian periodicals, one does find some forthright consideration of the relation between the church and politics, but as is the case with most of the books above, it is difficult to measure the influence of these writings. The lone exception when it comes to measuring influence may be I.C. Wellcome’s popularly received pamphlet Should Christians Fight?

Hope After Disappointment: an Impression of the late-19th Century Advent Christian Message

Throughout the 1830s and early 1840s, a frenetic movement raged across the American landscape spawned by William Miller’s conclusions regarding the time and manner of Christ’s return. His study of the Bible led him to believe in the personal return of Christ in 1843, a belief that quickly won wide approbation among those who would come to make up the Second-Advent/Millerite movement. Despite the earnest expectation of these Millerites, Christ was not to appear in 1843, nor was he to appear in the eagerly embraced subsequent year of 1844. The accumulation of these failed expectations became known as “The Great Disappointment.” The Second Advent movement was in ruins.

Are Advent Christians Fragmented?

Corey McLaughlin has put forth a monumental effort in his four-part series...After reading these articles, I found myself agreeing with most of them, so much so that it has ironically led me to disagree with the basic contention of the series, that we are in fact fragmented along the lines Corey describes.

The Dawn of Neo-Adventism?

The title of this article is punctuated with a question mark because of the embryonic stage at which it is being put forward. In his latest two-part series, “Advent Christians in the 21st Century”, Corey McLaughlin has set before us what is in my estimation one of the most pivotal reflections on Adventism in late Advent Christian history. Conditionalism has dominated Advent Christian identity in the latter part of our history, but McLaughlin has reminded us of our other hand, in fact what was once our dominant hand, which is our Adventism.

Awaiting Our Adoption

“Impatient”- it is a word that singularly describes most of us who are Americans. From our fast-food to our hi-speed internet, we are seldom satisfied by anything less than instant gratification. We must have it all, right now.

Tweaking Tim Keller's Tweet

Early yesterday afternoon, Tim Keller sent out a tweet that set Twitter ablaze with controversy. Keller tweeted, “Jesus didn’t come primarily to solve the economic, political, and social problems of the world. He came to forgive our sins.” Accusations immediately began to pour in that Keller was claiming that Jesus does not care about social justice.

Tom Loghry, Missions, TheologyThomas LoghryDecember 19, 2017tim keller, forgiveness, kingdom of God, new heavens and new earth, second adventComment

Mary and Joseph and Roy Moore: a quest for moral clarity

We live in a politically charged climate these days. As a pastor, it is a climate I usually try to avoid entering whenever possible. However, when politics crosses wires with the Church (typically evangelicalism) and issues of moral concern, I am compelled to share my own voice when other voices are effectively speaking for me. The case of Roy Moore is such an instance of the wires crossing.

Tom Loghry, Ethics & Society, Biblical StudiesThomas LoghryNovember 21, 2017roy moore, marriage, sexual assault, mary, josephComment

Gun Violence and Our Futile Answers

There is no need for me to give a lengthy account of the rampant gun violence and other massive acts of violence in America. You know about Las Vegas, Manhattan, and now Sutherland Springs. You know about the countless events that have preceded these more recent ones. It is horrific and is increasingly so as we grow ever more numb to it and it grows ever more normal to us. How tragic that our children have never known a world without all of this. Can they ever know such a world?

Coming and Going: Living the Advent Christian Life

The world is supposed to end on Saturday. That’s at least according to some crackpot astronomers/Biblical scholars. I do not want to give them the time of day in this space, but you can find fitting responses here and elsewhere. As Advent Christians, we are no strangers to foolhardy Biblical calculations and date-setting. After the excesses of William Miller and the subsequent “Great Disappointment”, Advent Christians know better than anyone else the futility of trying to pin down the time of Christ’s return, of which he himself said, "But concerning that day or that hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.” [Mark 13:32 ESV]

My Parents' Loudest Lesson

It was another morning like any other. By some titanic feat I managed to get myself out of bed to plod my way downstairs for breakfast. Breaking past the stairwell wall and coming to the railed banister, I could see my mom reading her Bible in the recliner as she always did, her little dog cuddled up beside her. It was just another day, same as any other.

Coming and Going: a Theological Vision for Advent Christian Mission

Before I get on with what I am about to write, I want to first dispel any narrow association that might be assumed in my use of the word “mission”. Very often when we hear the word “mission” we think “missions”, and more specifically “foreign missions”. This is to be expected since the sort of talk in our churches that typically involves words that sound like “mission” are usually in association with short-term missions trips and supporting foreign missionaries.

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