Search results

Southern Publishing Association, the publishing house of the SA Seventh-day Adventist Churches, provides Bible Study Guides for its church members. In South Africa, the English source text is translated into five languages, namely Sesotho, isiXhosa, TshiVenda, isiZulu and Afrikaans. The study guides are used for home study and in Sabbath School classes. The specific aims of the article include: to discover, by means of an empirical study, whether the translations are meeting the cultural and linguistic needs of the target audience and to determine their views on the current Bible Study Guides; to explore the future of translation in a multilingual, democratic South Africa; to ascertain by means of a survey the difficulties the translators face and to suggest improvements; to establish, by analysis, how the text can be translated functionally; and to establish the effect of globalisation and whether it would be possible to localise the source texts.

Traditionally, direct physical operations were the main ways churches used to enlarge their presence. However, today, this has been assumed by cyberspace technologies, thereby giving the church another way of being and realizing her mission. Many church congregants, particularly the youth, are found in cyberspace technological platforms for various purposes, and many church activities are realized through cyberspace technologies. However, the critical gap that this study endeavored to investigate is that Seventh Day Adventist (SDA) churches in Nyanchwa Station employ cyberspace technologies sometimes without a proper understanding of their negative implications. Also, the church seems to be doing little to overcome the limitations of cyberspace technologies for the good of its congregants. The study employed the critical theory of technology to evaluate the implications of cyberspace technologies on the SDA church.

The crisis in Adventism in South Africa is that eschatology has been an escape wagon from liberative mission, or at best, an optional, even disposable aspect of the gospel. This attitude or understanding of seeing everything in the future with no connection to the present has caused Adventists to shun social, political and cultural responsibilities. This article explicates and advocates the position that Adventists must explore the broader message and liberative meaning, purpose and function of the Sabbath. As a re-interpretation of the traditional, legalistic understanding of the doctrine of the Sabbath, the model proposed locates the Sabbath at the centre of a radically liberative mission to the poor. It argues that rest, as a mark of wholeness, must be realised in those aspects of human life that the Sabbath addresses; and that theology is not averse to liberative mission. Any theology which claims to be a biblical theology must link its understanding of the gospel to social concern. Therefore, this article aims to retrieve and biblically articulate aspects of the Sabbath doctrine. Adventists cannot be persuaded to operate meaningfully in responding to the millennial hopes of the poor outside of formal recognition of the potency of the Sabbath as a time of deliverance or liberation of people from social, emotional, political and material consequences of sin. Thus, in the following sub-themes the broader liberative message and meaningful aspects of the Sabbath will be explored. The universality of the Sabbath will touch on the following: the Sabbath as a time for release from labour, from oppressive life, indeed a time to embrace even justice and mercy. The Sabbath entails an inclusive mission, God's dominion-free order in a world impacted by violent engagement with oppressive powers; Sabbath as missionary in its nature will also be explicated.

The present study examines the impact of the Seventh-day Adventist Church's structure on mission effectiveness in taking the gospel to unreached people groups between 1980 and 2010. A historical descriptive study, this dissertation's theory base includes structure from an anthropological perspective; structure, mission, and effectiveness from an organizational perspective; and church structure and mission effectiveness in Christian history. The impact of structure on mission effectivenessis evaluated in the present work by looking for patterns in history in which the structure has been either a facilitator or a hindrance for establishing churches among those who have not been reached with the gospel. This work surveyed previous studies on the different areas of the theory base, and its primary sources include annual statistical reports and other documents from the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists and their Office of Archives, Statistics, and Research, as well as board minutes and denominational journals. The findings reveal that, although the Seventh-day Adventist Church organization was started with missionary concerns in mind and has clearly defined its mission, its current performance metrics do not reveal much about the organization's effectiveness in achieving its mission. These measures--as reflected in the Annual Statistical Reports --as well as all administrative decisions, including but not limited to Interdivision Employee assignment, Thirteenth Sabbath School projects selection, and evangelistic/institutional employee ratios, should be better aligned with the mission of reaching the unreached. It is also necessary to nurture a healthier, mutually affirming, government/industries-like relationship between the church's formal structure and the many semi-autonomous mission structures that have been born within the church, a relationship where the denomination regulates but not administrates its mission structures, and where mission structures actually engage in mission instead of wasting time and energy in demonstrating they do the work better than the demomination's structure.

This paper takes a contemporary look at the discussion andanalysis of the concept of separation of church and statefrom a Seventh-day Adventist perspective. The separationof church and state means that the government should notenforce any specific religion on the population, and shouldnot prohibit the population to follow any specific religion.The separation of church and state can clearly be seen inthe First Amendment of the United States Constitution.Philosophers like Locke strongly opposed the combinationof church and state, and during the Dark Ages, where thechurch largely controlled the state, we can see how manypeople were killed by the Roman Catholic Church and itssubsidiaries for following their consciences. History hasshown us that in countries where religion and state hasnot been kept separate, there is persecution of the masses.The Bible, and Seventh-day Adventist Christian authorslike Alonzo Jones and Ellen White, completely reject theidea of the state wanting to enforce religious rules on theirpeople. These authors believed in the central idea of LastGeneration Theology, which is that the last generationof Christians who are alive when Christ returns will livelives completely free from sin. In order to be encouragedPrajñā Vihāra Vol. 23 no. 1 January to June 2022, 109-121© 2000 by Assumption University Press110 Prajñā Vihāra Vol. 23 no. 1 January to June 2022to be completely obedient to God in all areas that Herequires, it is crucial to have the freedom to follow yourconscience without the interference of the civil authority.The combination of church and state therefore seems toplay a major role in the eschatology of Christianity as itrelates to Last Generation Theology.

Problem While a great deal of attention has been given in conflict literature to the role of intra-church structures and the political/managerial processes and strategies for conflict intervention and/or management, this project is more concerned with relational matters. That is, the problem addressed in this project is the teaching of certain skills that would help church members preserve their interpersonal relationships even though engaged in conflict. The thesis is that an enlightened understanding of conflict and the development of certain communication skills can significantly affect how the parishioner perceives conflict and thus how he/she will behave in conflictive situations thereby reducing the strained interpersonal relationships and alienation that often follows in the wake of conflict. Method A conflict skills curriculum was developed for the Ardmore Seventh-day Adventist church. Participants in the project were volunteers from the congregation who met weekly from February 5 to March 27, 1986, for a total of eight sessions. The participants were tested prior to the seminar and again at its conclusion. The same instrument was also administered to a control group for the purpose of comparison (nonequivalent control group design with pretest and posttest). The question addressed by the instrument was, "Will a seminar on conflict change the participant's attitude and feelings about conflict?" Results A comparison of the results of the treatment group and the control group indicate a significant change in the attitude of the treatment group toward conflict. This change indicates a higher level of tolerance for conflict and a feeling on the part of the participants that they can deal more effectively with conflict. It can be assumed that this change resulted from exposure to the conflict skills curriculum. Conclusions Indications are that a lay training program in conflict skills development may be effective in raising the levels of tolerance for conflict and develop certain interpersonal communication skills that may result in reducing the negative effects of conflict as it relates to interpersonal relationships.

The Seventh-day Adventist Church's General Conference (GC) oversees several institutions and organizations worldwide. There are 118 Adventist tertiary institutions within which there are four listed institutions directly managed by the GC. They are a) The Adventist International Institute of Advanced Studies (AIIAS); b) Andrews University is the oldest Seventh-day Adventist educational institution; c) With its headquarters located in Nairobi, Kenya, Adventist University of Africa features both a graduate school and a seminary; and d) Best known for its medical school, Loma Linda University (LLU) is a Seventh-day Adventist health science university in Loma Linda, California. The administrators of these institutions are directly under the supervision of the GC officers. And they clearly understand that Internationalization is one of the core priorities for achieving international excellence in education. Therefore, these administrators should have the right attitude towards Internationalization. This is a quantitative study where the perspective of the administrators will be measured using a validated instrument with a Likert scale. The setting of the study will be at the four institutions, and the sampling will be a convenient sampling of all the available administrators of these institutions. The questionnaires will be sent through e-mail after the ethical board clearance and the gatekeepers. The results will be analyzed using SPSS. The results will be interpreted to report the level of attitude of these administrators towards Internationalization. Recommendations will be made in relation to the findings for these institutions. Keywords: Internationalization, GC Institutions, Administrators, International higher education institution, Quantitative Study

The article provides an overview of the social practices of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. The level of Adventist participation in educational, health, philanthropic and political activities is analyzed. It is determined that the educational activity of Adventists is based on the integration of Christian values into the educational process in order to educate a purposeful person who is able to serve God and society at a high level. Adventist medical and health activities are aimed at preventing physical illness, as it is believed that the disease is easier to prevent than to cure. Adventists practice charity through the officially established Adventist Relief and Development Agency, which believes that the Church's assistance to society must meet not only the spiritual but also the physical needs of man. Adventist participation in politics is not approved, but it is not forbidden. This is due to the conflict and rivalry that arises in the political race, so it is desirable to use your talents in those areas that bring peace and good to society. It is stated that the central idea of the social teaching of the Seventh-day Adventist Church is the protection of freedom of conscience and the dignity of the human person. Thus, by putting the principles of social doctrine into practice, the Seventh-day Adventist church premises become the Church's social laboratories, through which the faithful of this denomination achieve two goals. The first of them is aimed at spreading their own religious beliefs and teachings, and the second – following the example of Christ, who during his life on earth served the physical needs of society around him. As a result of the study, the document "Social Teaching of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Ukraine" aims to implement the Church's two goals: educational and charitable, the implementation of which allows the denomination to positively represent themselves in Ukrainian and world society. ; У статті представлено огляд соціальних практик Церкви Адвентистів сьомого дня. Проаналізовано рівень участі адвентистів в освітній, медично-оздоровчій, філантропічній та політичній діяльності. Визначено, що освітня діяльність адвентистів базується на інтегруванні християнських цінностей в освітній процес із метою виховання цілеспрямованої особистості, здатної на високому рівні служити Богу та суспільству. Медична та оздоровча діяльність адвентистів спрямована на профілактику фізичних захворювань, оскільки вважається, що хворобу легше завчасно попередити, ніж вилікувати. Благочинством адвентисти займаються через офіційно створену організацію «Адвентистське агентство допомоги та розвитку», вважаючи, що допомога Церкви суспільству має задовольняти не лише духовні, а й фізичні потреби людини. Участь адвентистів у політиці не схвалюється, однак і не забороняється. Це пов'язано з конфліктністю й суперництвом, яке виникає в політичних перегонах, тому бажано використовувати свої таланти в тих сферах, які несуть суспільству мир та благо. Констатовано, що центральною ідею соціального вчення Церкви Адвентистів сьомого дня є захист свободи совісті та гідності людської особистості. Отже, завдяки втіленню принципів соціального вчення на практиці церковні приміщення Адвентистів сьомого дня стають соціальними лабораторіями Церкви, завдяки яким віряни цієї конфесії досягають двох цілей. Перша з них – поширення власних релігійних переконань та вчення, а друга – слідування за прикладом Христа, який під час свого життя на землі служив фізичним потребам соціуму, яке його оточувало. У підсумку дослідження зазначено, що документ «Соціальне вчення Церкви Адвентистів сьомого дня в Україні» спрямований на реалізацію Церквою двох цілей: просвітницьку та доброчинну, виконання яких дозволяє деномінації позитивно репрезентувати себе в українському та світову суспільстві.

The article provides an overview of the social practices of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. The level of Adventist participation in educational, health, philanthropic and political activities is analyzed. It is determined that the educational activity of Adventists is based on the integration of Christian values into the educational process in order to educate a purposeful person who is able to serve God and society at a high level. Adventist medical and health activities are aimed at preventing physical illness, as it is believed that the disease is easier to prevent than to cure. Adventists practice charity through the officially established Adventist Relief and Development Agency, which believes that the Church's assistance to society must meet not only the spiritual but also the physical needs of man. Adventist participation in politics is not approved, but it is not forbidden. This is due to the conflict and rivalry that arises in the political race, so it is desirable to use your talents in those areas that bring peace and good to society. It is stated that the central idea of the social teaching of the Seventh-day Adventist Church is the protection of freedom of conscience and the dignity of the human person. Thus, by putting the principles of social doctrine into practice, the Seventh-day Adventist church premises become the Church's social laboratories, through which the faithful of this denomination achieve two goals. The first of them is aimed at spreading their own religious beliefs and teachings, and the second – following the example of Christ, who during his life on earth served the physical needs of society around him. As a result of the study, the document "Social Teaching of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Ukraine" aims to implement the Church's two goals: educational and charitable, the implementation of which allows the denomination to positively represent themselves in Ukrainian and world society. ; У статті представлено огляд соціальних практик Церкви Адвентистів сьомого дня. Проаналізовано рівень участі адвентистів в освітній, медично-оздоровчій, філантропічній та політичній діяльності. Визначено, що освітня діяльність адвентистів базується на інтегруванні християнських цінностей в освітній процес із метою виховання цілеспрямованої особистості, здатної на високому рівні служити Богу та суспільству. Медична та оздоровча діяльність адвентистів спрямована на профілактику фізичних захворювань, оскільки вважається, що хворобу легше завчасно попередити, ніж вилікувати. Благочинством адвентисти займаються через офіційно створену організацію «Адвентистське агентство допомоги та розвитку», вважаючи, що допомога Церкви суспільству має задовольняти не лише духовні, а й фізичні потреби людини. Участь адвентистів у політиці не схвалюється, однак і не забороняється. Це пов'язано з конфліктністю й суперництвом, яке виникає в політичних перегонах, тому бажано використовувати свої таланти в тих сферах, які несуть суспільству мир та благо. Констатовано, що центральною ідею соціального вчення Церкви Адвентистів сьомого дня є захист свободи совісті та гідності людської особистості. Отже, завдяки втіленню принципів соціального вчення на практиці церковні приміщення Адвентистів сьомого дня стають соціальними лабораторіями Церкви, завдяки яким віряни цієї конфесії досягають двох цілей. Перша з них – поширення власних релігійних переконань та вчення, а друга – слідування за прикладом Христа, який під час свого життя на землі служив фізичним потребам соціуму, яке його оточувало. У підсумку дослідження зазначено, що документ «Соціальне вчення Церкви Адвентистів сьомого дня в Україні» спрямований на реалізацію Церквою двох цілей: просвітницьку та доброчинну, виконання яких дозволяє деномінації позитивно репрезентувати себе в українському та світову суспільстві.