"Seventh-day Adventist, I don’t know about. I just don’t know...": A Lawyer’s Defence of Adventist Belief and Practice

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About "Seventh-day Adventist, I Don’t Know About. I

"I love Iowa. And, look, I don’t have to say it, I’m Presbyterian. Can you believe it? Nobody believes I’m Presbyterian. I’m Presbyterian. I’m Presbyterian. I’m Presbyterian. Boy, that’s down the middle of the road folks, in all fairness. I mean, Seventh-day Adventist, I don’t know about. I just don’t know" - Donald Trump.The Seventh-day Adventist Church (SDA or Adventist) is now the fifth largest Christian denomination in the world. Yet it must be one of the most misunderstood. If Adventists aren’t being confused with door-knocking bicycle missionaries from the Church of Latter Day Saints (the Mormons) they are being mistaken for Baptists, Jews or some doomsday cult. It is also often said, quite wrongly, that Adventists refuse blood transfusions, a case of mistaken identity with Jehovah’s Witnesses – a totally different denomination. Despite being the religion of 2016 US Presidential candidate Dr Ben Carson and Hacksaw Ridge war hero Desmond Doss, Adventism remains largely a mystery to many.Looking at and beyond the proof-texts, this book surveys the major historical and theological themes that underpin this very different brand of Christianity, with its emphasis on: Sabbath-keeping (Saturday worship), kosher food laws (no pork or shellfish), conditional immortality (subjective non-existence immediately after death), great controversy (cosmic war), free will (no Calvinistic predestination), contemporary spiritual gifts (including prophecy), and the critical importance of eschatology (end-time beliefs).As a government lawyer who also studied theology at an Anglican (Episcopalian) seminary, Ferguson attempts to unravel this case of mistaken identity. Embracing the insults and arguments of critics and turning them on their heads, he explains core Adventist beliefs in some non-traditional ways.