Creation, Evolution, and Hermeneutics: Recent Trends in Adventism

Authors

  • Jean Zukowski Faculdade Adventista da Amazônia- FAAMA, Pará, (Brasil) https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0658-6597
  • Luan Alves Cota Mól Centro Universitário Adventista de São Paulo, UNASP, (Brasil)

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.19141/1809-2454.kerygma.v17.n1.pe01564

Keywords:

Hermeneutics, Doctrine, Theology and Science, Adventism

Abstract

Abstract: Seventh-day Adventists, since their early days, have regarded themselves as a religious movement that bases its beliefs on the Bible and advocates for historical creation in six literal days. Recently, proposals that confront this belief have emerged in the Adventist milieu causing some reflection on issues hitherto undiscussed. However, as this debate involves the ancient conflict between theology and science, it is necessary to recognize that, generally, the discussions boil down to conflicts between different interpretations and perceptions, and little attention is paid to the philosophical presuppositions of each model.

Goal: To identify the broader hermeneutical presuppositions that influence the main proposals about the debate between creation and evolution in Adventism.

Methodology: Through a bibliographic survey of the writings of Desmond Ford, Fritz Guy and Roy Graf, this work highlights, without exhausting the theme, the main proponents of three different models, called respectively in this research progressive, modern (Guy) and historical (Graf).

Results: The doctrinal differences within Adventism are conditioned by deep philosophical (ontological) foundations, and a hermeneutic (and not merely doctrinal) analysis of the debate between creation and evolution reveals the different paradigms that act as keys of interpretation for Ford, Guy and Graf, and the latter model seems to fit more with all the information provided by the scriptures and with the Adventist philosophical system.

Conclusion: Indeed, different philosophical bases and assumptions shape the worldview in such a way that it is possible to perceive different interpretations of the biblical text even within a single religious movement. It is also perceived the need, in future research on Adventist beliefs and different proposals, to always recognize the need to go beyond the doctrinal and exegetical debate, seeking to perceive the different paradigms of each interpreter and their implications in the theological formulation.

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Author Biographies

Jean Zukowski, Faculdade Adventista da Amazônia- FAAMA, Pará, (Brasil)

Doutor em Religião com ênfase em História do cristianismo -Andrews University – A.U, Michigan, (Estados Unidos). Professor de teologia na Faculdade Adventista da Amazônia- FAAMA, Pará, (Brasil). 

 

 

Luan Alves Cota Mól, Centro Universitário Adventista de São Paulo, UNASP, (Brasil)

Bacharelando em teologia pelo Centro Universitário Adventista de São Paulo, UNASP, (Brasil).

References

AGOSTINHO. Confessions, XII, 25. In: Bernard Ramm, The Christian View of Science and Scripture (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1955), 107).

BULL, Brian; GUY, Fritz. Then a Miracle Occurs. in: BULL, Brian; GUY, Fritz; TAYLOR, Ervin. Understanding Genesis: Contemporary Adventist Perspective. Riverside, CA: Adventist Today, 2009.

CANALE, Fernando. Basic Elements of Christian Theology: Scripture Replacing Tradition. Berrien Springs, MI: Andrews University Lithothec, 2005.

CANALE, Fernando. Criação, Evolução e Teologia: introdução aos métodos científicos e teológicos. Engenheiro Coelho, SP: Unaspress, 2014.

CANALE, Fernando. Toward a Criticism of Theological Reason : Time and Timelessness as Primordial Presuppositions. Tese (Doutorado em Teologia) – Berrien Springs, MI: Andrews University, 1983. Disponível em: https://digitalcommons.andrews.edu/dissertations/22. Acesso em 21 nov. 2022.

DULLES, Avery. The Craft of Theology: From Symbol to System. New York, NY: Crossroad, 1992.

FORD, Desmond. Genesis versus Darwinism: The Case for God in a Scientific World. N.p.: A&S Publications, 2014.

GRAF, Roy E. The Principle of Articulation in Adventist Theology: An Evaluation of Current Interpretations and a Proposal. Berrien Springs, MI: Adventist Theological Society, 2020.

GUY, Fritz. Change, Scripture, and Science: Good News for Adventist Thinking in the Twenty-First Century. Spectrum, vol. 37, n. 3, p. 50-55, 2009.

GUY, Fritz. God´s Time: Infinite Temporality and the Ultimate Reality of Becoming. Spectrum. vol. 29, n. 1, p. 19-28, 2001.

GUY, Fritz. Interpreting Genesis One in the Twenty-First Century. Spectrum vol. 31, n. 2, p. 5-16, 2003.

GUY, Fritz. Man and His Time: Three Contemporary Theological Interpretations, Tese (PhD em Teologia) Universidade da Escola em Divindade. Chicago, IL: 1971.

GUY, Fritz. Thinking Theologicaly? Adventist Christianity and The Interpretation of Faith. Berrien Springs, MI: Andrews University Press, 1999.

KANT, Imanoel. Critique of Pure Reason. London: J. M. Dent and Sons, 1939.

KITTS, David. The Conditions for a Nomothetic Paleontology. In: History and Evolution. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1992.

RICE, Richard. Reason and the Contours of Faith. Riverside, CA: La Sierra University Press, 1991.

TIMM, Alberto. El Santuario y los mensajes de los tres ángeles. Florida: Asociación Casa Editora Sudamericana, 2019.

WHITE, Ellen. Counsels to Writers and Editors. Nashville, TN: Southern Publishing Association, 1946.

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Published

2022-04-28

How to Cite

ZUKOWSKI, J. .; COTA MÓL, L. A. . Creation, Evolution, and Hermeneutics: Recent Trends in Adventism. Kerygma, Engenheiro coelho (SP), v. 17, n. 1, p. e01564, 2022. DOI: 10.19141/1809-2454.kerygma.v17.n1.pe01564. Disponível em: https://revistas.unasp.edu.br/kerygma/article/view/1564. Acesso em: 18 may. 2024.

Issue

Vol. 17 No. 1 (2022): Fluxo contínuo

Section

Dossiê Origens

License

Copyright (c) 2022 Jean Zukowski, Luan Alves Cota Mól

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