In the spring of 1983 the graduating class of the Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary Far East requested that I conduct a special church service for them. Sabbath School lessons dealing with the subject of the human nature of Christ had been creating questions and discussions in their home countries, and they expected to meet these questions when they returned to their respective fields of labor. They asked me to share with them the results of my research on that subject.
I presented to them the results of my own studies until that time, and added information that had been shared with me by others. Then, realizing that all of our efforts until that time had been fragmentary, dealing with small bits of the total mass of evidence, I resolved to devote as much time as possible to a more thorough examination of the statements about the nature of Christ to be found not only in the books and articles published by Ellen White but also in the writings of other Adventist leaders who had edited and contributed to the major church journals through the years.
This proved to be a most profitable experience. The search brought to light a great deal more material on the subject than I had supposed existed. Apparently the humanity of Jesus was seen as a tremendously important foundational doctrine by the pioneers of the Seventh-day Adventist church, and they bore their testimony to it frequently and with unmistakable clarity.
It was also a pleasant surprise to discover that most, if not all, of the theological questions now receiving attention from the church had been examined carefully and thoroughly by our spiritual ancestors, who, although they may not have had academic degrees, were unquestionably competent in the scriptures.
A third item of interest that I report somewhat wistfully is that until the mid-1950's much of the theological writing in our church papers was done by our church administrators, who accepted the responsibility of being competent in theology as part of their administrative duty. It would seem that they considered theology too important a matter to be entrusted to theologians.
They may have been right.
Yet, I wish to emphasize that although the results of my research have compelled me to disagree with some Seventh-day Adventist theologians, it is not my intention to impugn either the sincerity or the integrity of those persons with whom I disagree.