“The Allure of Fundamentalism” Panel Discussion at LLU
(3:00 p.m. Pacific time)
“The Allure of Fundamentalism” will be discussed by a diverse panel of Adventist theologians on Sabbath afternoon, 3:00–5:00 p.m., April 29, in Loma Linda University’s Damazo Amphitheater.
Recently published books in Adventist history are the backdrop for this discussion—particularly Michael Campbell’s 1922: The Rise of Adventist Fundamentalism. Fundamentalism arose among American evangelicals in the 1920s, contending for biblical literalism/inerrancy and social conservativism.
This movement profoundly affected Adventism, argues Campbell. In 1910 an estimated 1,000 women were employed as Adventist pastors, editors and other workers, but Campbell sees “the disappearance of women within Adventist leadership during the 1920s” (p 25). Adventist leader, Daniel H. Kress, M.D., published an article, “The Passing of the Man: Is business to be dominated by the women twenty-five years now?” [sic].
The 1920s in Adventism pitted non-fundamentalist such as A. G. Daniells, longest serving GC president, against “ultra-fundamentalists” like linotype operator Claude Holmes. In the 1922 GC session, Daniells was defeated in his desire to continue as president. The Holmes forces won, and the fundamentalist movement influenced Adventism ever since. Not until Gilbert Valentine’s Ostriches and Canaries (Oak and Acorn Publishing, 2022), did Adventism have adequate categories for informed discussion of ideological differences—"fundamentalists” and “progressives.”
Diverse panelists will address the allure of fundamentalism—that appeal, in a word, is the assurance of clear, black/white religious answers:
– Michael Campbell, PhD, is the newly appointed director of achieves, statistics, and resear4ch for the North American Division of the General Conference. He has served as a pastor, and spent a decade as a professor of religion in Texas and the Philippines.
– Marina Garner, PhD, assistant professor of religion/ethical studies, LLU, earned undergraduate degree as the only women in a class of 120 male theology students, Universidade Adventista de São Paulo, Brazil. She is president, the Society of Adventist Philosophers.
– Paul Giem, M.D., adjunct assistant professor of emergency medicine, LLU, is the author of Scientific Theology, in which he argues for a literalist interpretation of Genesis 1-2. Giem has a graduate degree in religion from LLU.
– Calvin B. Rock, PhD, was a general vice president of the General Conference for 1985 until his retirement in 2002. Earlier he was president of Oakwood University for 14 years, and has been a major leader in Adventism for more than six decades.
– Ray Tetz, Director for Communication, Pacific Union Conference, began his ministry as a pastor, Bible teacher, and youth director. But communication is his passion—at Adventist Development and Relief Agency, and then running his own media production company.
“The Allure of Fundamentalism: Adventist History and Relevance Today” is sponsored by the LLU Humanities Program, and the Humanities Program’s director, Jim Walters, will moderate the discussion.
