GCSDA Corruption #55

Lutheran-SDA Compromise

Cartigny, Switzerland ... [ANN] The fourth meeting of the consultation
between representatives of the Seventh-day Adventist Church and the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) was held in Cartigny, Switzerland, May 10-16, 1998. Over the last four years, the series of discussions with the Lutheran World Federation have consisted of three thematic parts: Justification by Faith: the Law; Scripture and Authority in
the Church: Ecclesiology; and Eschatology. The meeting in Cartigny dealt
specifically with Eschatology.

"This meeting was both intense and tense, but with a happy ending," says W.G.
Johnsson, editor, Adventist Review, and one of the participants of the
consultation. "I would say by mid-week there was a strong possibility we
would end the wee

k at an impasse agreeing to disagree---- our differences were major. The idea of
the consultation was not to change minds, but to understand each other."

The meeting in Cartigny concludes the four-year series of conversations
between Adventists and Lutherans, initiated in November 1994 in Germany. This
was the first international consultation between representatives of the
Seventh-day Adventists and the L

utheran World Federation. The goals of the first meeting were, among others,
better mutual understanding, the breaking of false stereotypes and the
discovery of each other's bases of belief.

This year's meeting dealt extensively with eschatology, a topic which has
only seldom been discussed in bilateral conversations between churches.
Several extensive papers were read, existing convergences and differences
were discussed and formulated.

"The meetings were challenging, but rewarding," says Dr. Angel M. Rodriguez,
associate director for the Biblical Research Institute at the Seventh-day
Adventist Church World Headquarters in Silver Spring, Maryland, USA. "We met
in an atmos

phere of friendship. I believe the original objectives were achieved."

Participants in these meetings recommended future consultations between the
entities to explore topics of mutual interest.

The worldwide Seventh-day Adventist Church has more than 10 million members
in over 200 countries. The Lutheran World Federation, a worldwide communion
of Lutheran churches, comprises with its 122 member churches about 56 million
members. The meetings in

Cartigny were co-chaired by B.B.Beach (USA) and Ole Chr. Kvarme (Norway).
Participants representing the Adventist Church were: Niels-Erik Andreasen
(USA), John Graz (USA), Johann Heinz (Austria), William Johnsson (USA),
Pardon Mwansa (Zambia and USA), Au

likki Nahkola (Finland and England), Jan Paulsen (USA), Jonathan Paulien
(USA), George W. Reid (USA), Angel M. Rodriguez (USA) and William H. Shea
(USA). Participants representing the Lutheran World Federation were: Erwin
Buck (Canada), Nelson Kilpp (Braz

il), Naohiro Kiyoshige (Japan), Mariette Razivelo (Madagascar), Jorg
Rothermundt (Germany), Risto Saarinen (Finland and Switzerland), Sven
Oppegaard (Switzerland) and Antonia Bossart (Switzerland).

The final report and the papers read in the conversation series 1994-1998
will be published jointly in book form. [Dixil Rodriguez]

Source: Adventist News Network