Committed to Liberty And Mission
May/June 2003
The Seventh-day Adventist Church grew out of a national revival of prophetic interest that swept the United States in the early and mid-1840s. Very much in the Protestant continuum, the church has reached out and become a worldwide phenomenon, with almost 13 million members today–966,774 of them in the United States and Canada.
From the very beginning Seventh-day Adventists proclaimed the importance of religious liberty. They based this on their gospel understanding of the freedom from sin we are all offered by a God who will never compel a response. They came to it also through their own sometimes difficult experiences in gaining Sabbath accommodation, and saw clearly that religious freedom can flourish only when applied to all equally. They cherished the principle of religious liberty that characterized the United States, because they saw in prophecy clear details of how it might one day be put aside. After two previous religious liberty journals the church began publishing Liberty magazine in 1906.
The present editor, Lincoln Steed, recently sat down for a dialog with Jan Paulsen, president of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Paulsen, originally from Norway, has given his life to the church, serving as a local minister, a theology professor, a seminary and college president, and an administrator at various levels until his election to the world presidency in 1999.
Steed: How would you characterize the Adventist commitment to religious liberty?
Paulsen: I would describe it as unqualified. We believe that freedom, particularly in regard to the conscience and our rights to worship, is something you have to be very jealous of. We stand up and assert it as a human right given by God. We have all along had a strong commitment to the religious liberty ministry. At our General Conference headquarters we have a well-staffed Religious Liberty Department. I have said many times to them that given our understanding of the times in which we live, religious liberty is something that requires the very deliberate attention of the church.
Steed: Do you see a real challenge today in the role of the church as it functions in society?
Paulsen: I am always troubled when I see religious organizations and individuals, often high-profile leaders in the religious community, move over and assert themselves dominantly with a political agenda. Yes, there is a very legitimate kingdom, as it were, that is of a secular, political nature. It is part of God's structure for society. Secular leaders do their best to look after the state, the nation. I believe that Christian leaders should not try to do what the state or secular forces or elected government and state leaders are there to do. We have a religious agenda, and that needs to be attended to right now.
Steed: I am sure that you are aware that in this country there is much discussion about redefining this country as a Christian nation in a legal and structural sense.
Paulsen: I think that this inclination has become mentally unwholesome! I believe that secular state systems and religious institutions function best for people and God when they recognize their own separate areas of responsibility.
Steed: Would you encourage individual Adventists, or indeed, any other people of faith, to put into secular practice their religious convictions and enter into politics or public office?
Paulsen: I think a nation—any nation—can be well served by committed Christians in public life. Naturally you carry with you what you are. You carry with you a set of values that describe your relationship to people, to society, to morality, to ethics, to everything that is a foundation of society. I would not suggest that a government be structured or led by people who are atheists—I believe that Christians have a responsibility to do that—but they should not confuse the agendas of spiritual community with the government of community.
Steed: The Seventh-day Adventist religious liberty work has very often involved defending members who experience Sabbath problems in the workplace. Sometimes there is outright discrimination, other times just a lack of accommodation, in spite of legal rights. At the moment our church is leading a coalition initiative for the Workplace Religious Freedom Act. Do you think it a good thing for us to be actively pushing for laws and legislation to support our practice of religion as Seventh-day Adventists in the workplace?
Paulsen: It is right that the laws that govern any society be of such a nature that they allow the freedom that individuals must have—and that churches and organizations must have—to subscribe to and express their religious convictions. I do not believe that it is good when laws are being enacted that will govern the religious activities or the status of religious convictions in any given matter. One has to move very, very cautiously when it comes to encouraging laws that regulate a religious consciousness. Laws are there to protect civil rights, and the freedom of conscience is a civil right.
Steed: What about Seventh-day Adventists in countries that don't grant or acknowledge the rights that we would count as basic civil and religious rights? How best should Adventists , or people of any faith, relate to that?
Paulsen: Here we are stepping into a very, very murky international dilemma. We could name countries that have absolutely no tolerance for some religious communities. They carry their own religious profile. They have absolutely no tolerance for other kinds of religious expressions. Clearly the church needs to use whatever public forum is available to express its disenchantment with that particular posture, because it is a violation of basic human rights.
Steed: The Seventh-day Adventist Church has always encouraged obedience to civil authority unless its claims conflict with the clear word of God. This is, of course, the position of most other faiths. But can we establish the converse—that is, avoiding the appearance that we are agents of any state? This is a problem with overseas church workers representing U.S.-based churches.
Paulsen: I think it is very important that church workers on overseas assignment keep in mind that they are working in another country and that they are not citizens there. I think that it is very, very important that they not be drawn into the political discussion there. To our overseas workers I say, "You were not sent there to represent a particular political conviction of any particular state; you were sent there because the church has a particular spiritual agenda. Stick with that."
Steed: During the Civil War, two world wars, and modern conflicts such as Korea and Vietnam, our church supported conscientious objection and noncombatancy. We now have a volunteer army, but there have been recent calls to reintroduce the draft. Will the Seventh-day Adventist Church maintain its response to past conflicts?
Paulsen: As a church, historically we have been noncombatant; we have supported the noncombatant standard. That is also where we stand today, and I think that no one should have any illusions about it. I have stated on several occasions that I do not believe that war, an instrument of taking lives on a mass scale, is an answer to human dilemmas of any kind.
Steed: It may suit the needs of international diplomacy to speak of things such as an axis of evil. But we know that there are 1 million fellow Christians in Iraq, for example. We even have Seventh-day Adventists in Baghdad. How do we relate to them in a likely conflict?
Paulsen: We relate to them as brothers and sisters.
Steed: Post-September 11, activist religion of any form is seen as somehow threatening. How can the Seventh-day Adventist Church define itself as activist without appearing as a threat to social cohesion?
Paulsen: Define your use of the word "activist."
Steed: I'll define it this way. Terrorism as we have seen it of late is identified with "extremists"–who act out a violent form of their religion. There is a tendency for all religious activity to fade back into passivity so as not to appear dangerous. I think we are losing the vital distinction between individuals willing to die for their faith if necessary and those, like the terrorists, who are ready to kill in the name of faith.
Paulsen: Yes, we need to be very clear that our engagement is defined and justified by the Lord we serve and the instruction that He has given to us as a church. And in harmony with that, we will always be active. The Christian's agenda comes from our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and His Scripture. We are to be actively sharing the faith, hope, and charity that comes from knowing Him.
Steed: We live in a world of obvious injustice and moral challenge. Is the Seventh-day Adventist Church committed to dealing with such issues as abortion, the environment, pornography, immorality, despotic regimes, and so on? Does our orientation to heaven and the soon-coming Savior put these imperatives in a different order?
Paulsen: Of course! When you read the Old Testament prophecies of Isaiah, for example, it's very clear that God cares for things such as justice and helping the poor. God cares for these things. It's not because we say "Well, that's in the Old Testament." No, it's fundamentally the way God looks at our condition.
The Seventh-day Adventist Church has a responsibility to play a role in the quality of life we should experience here and now. I believe in that. We don't live in another world. Ours is the one in which we live here and now. And I believe we have a responsibility for morality; I believe we have a responsibility to make our voice heard in dealing with issues that governments decide will impact morality and social life. And I believe we have a responsibility for protecting the environment. This is part of our agenda as a faith community, in the interest of our common humanity. It seems to me that we should be distinguished by crying out against injustice and sin. We shouldn't just accept the status quo because we know this world will pass away someday. We've clearly lost some opportunities.
Steed: Seventh-day Adventists are clearly not alone in seeing prophetic implications in current events. How does the church state this now? Where we are heading for in the U.S., is freedom secure, and what role will faith play? What is our stance?
Paulsen: First of all, it's important that as a church we continue to profile the understanding of the eschatological scenario we have held to all along. It is biblical, and it so clearly speaks to the times in which we live. I think it is similarly important that we be alert enough under the Word of God and our own prayer life to see what's happening now. Of course, it's important that we don't become overly speculative of what we think lies between now and the closing events of history. One may see some broad strokes . . . one may see hints of what is coming, but it's worth remembering the adage that prophecy is difficult, particularly prophecy about the future!
I would like to make a point that really applies to several of the things we've talked about. It is so important for a church, for a group of Christians, committed Christian believers, to be sure about who they are and what their mission is. They cannot be aggressive in the sense that they are hostile, but they need to be very conscious of who they are and what their agenda looks like. What troubles me is when religious groups step out of their defined role and take on roles that belong elsewhere. The resulting voice might not even be Christian.
Steed: So you're reaffirming the spiritual and prophetic role of Adventism?
Paulsen: Yes, I am! It needs to be clear to all churches that the Seventh-day Adventist Church is not a hostile community. No church should seek to gain ground by scoring points off others. If the truths that you subscribe to, the spiritual realities that you identify with, are not appealing enough to gain ground on their own merit, you've already lost it.
I want to see Seventh-day Adventists stand in public witness for their Lord and disclose their identity in a dynamic way. I want this witness to be so attractive that the truth of it will draw people's interest.