THE SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTISTS

by Anne Devereaux Jordan ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 7, 1988

Conventional history of the millennialist faith. Jordan adopts a strictly neutral approach to her subject, making this read like an encyclopedia article. As she ably reports, the history of the Seventh-Day Adventists began with William Miller, a New York farmer who announced that the world would end on October 22, 1844. Miller's prophecy failed (Adventists call this ""The Great Disappointment""), but many of his followers--including one Ellen Harmon White--believed that he had merely flubbed the date. Through a series of visions, White learned that she was a messenger of God, anointed to proclaim Christ's return. In 1863, various groups influenced by Miller and White--who by this time had turned into a prominent preacher--coalesced into the Seventh-Day Adventists. Jordan runs down the group's beliefs and history, both of which lean heavily on healthy living--Adventists, who don't smoke, drink, or eat junk food, have founded 239 hospitals and clinics and pioneered baby heart transplants and baby ICUs. No mistakes, no surprises--except perhaps in the concluding chronology, which lists the 1755 Lisbon Earthquake as an event in Seventh-Day Adventist history. In all, though, a handy guide.

Pub Date: Nov. 7, 1988

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Hippocrene

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 1988

Categories: NONFICTION