Over the past few years there has been a resurgence of interest by Adventists in the doctrine of the trinity. A majority of early Sabbatarian Adventists held to a semi-arian view of Jesus' divinity. Ellen White's revolutionary statements about the divinity of Christ in Desire of Ages significantly impacted Adventism and pushed the church toward trinitarianism. Some Adventists have suggested that it would be better for Adventists to return to the views of the "pioneers" by returning to the semi-arianism of Ellen White's contemporaries. Because of this interest, in 2002, John W. Reeve, Jerry Moon, and Woody Whidden (all from Andrews University) co-authored a book entitled The Trinity: Understanding God's Love, His Plan of Salvation, and Christian Relationships.
From March 30 through April 1, 2006, the Adventist Theological Society sponsored a conference that examined various aspects about the trinity from both a historical and biblical perspective. These talks are available as a podcast.
These criticsms seem to be indicative of a restorationist pulse within Adventism. In other words, it seems that a higher priority is placed upon doctrines previously believed instead of upon progressive truth. While it is true that many of our early Seventh-day Adventist pioneers (especially those with strong Christian Connexion roots like Joseph Bates) saw the Trinity doctrine as unscriptural, it is significant that our church believes in progressive truth. Thus, after 1888 when Ellen G. White along with A. T. Jones, E. J. Waggoner, W. W. Prescott, and others began to focus on a more Christ-centered theology of Adventism, our denomination's theology shifted in such a way that allowed for the acceptance of the Trinity doctrine.
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