Ruth e-mailed me to let me know about her twenty-one issues reply and to tell me that she felt the New Perspectives web site was not Adventist (see her e-mail in the correspondence listed as part of the debate).
The New Perspectives site has sometimes suffered from misunderstandings from traditionalist Adventists who felt it was "anti-Adventist". However as will become clear during the debate, this is typically caused by not reading all the material on the site, and generally being unaware of what is really being said.
It is clear that any belief system cannot remain unchanged - it needs to constantly re-understand itself and re-define itself in terms of contemporary knowledge and understanding. The New Perspectives site argues that Adventism needs to find a new dynamism in its intellectual world-view. By re-examining our doctrines we can become more confident that we are able to meet the needs to Christians in the twenty-first century. The early church were constantly debating and re-defining their ideas, as were the early Adventists. It is absurd that traditional Adventism should seek to set as unchangable dogma the beliefs of the SDA church as they were in 1919.
The focus of this debate begins in a negative tone, as the initial argument is whether traditional Adventism needs to change. Only by showing the weaknesses of traditional Adventism will it become clear that a New Perspectives on Seventh-day Adventism are essential for the church to remain living and active.
"I'm sure we can all pull together sir."
"Oh, I do hope not, I really do hope not.
Pulling together is the aim of despotism and tyranny.
Free men pull in all kinds of directions. It's the only way to make progress.
That, and of course moving with the times. Good day to you."