Adventists and Catholics: The History of a Turbulent Relationship

This book deals with the origins and history of anti-Catholicism among Seventh-day Adventists in North America. These anti-Catholic sentiments were rooted in the history of nineteenth-century America, as well as in Adventist interpretation of particular apocalyptic passages in the Bible. Building on historicist prophetic interpretations, Adventists developed an end-time scenario in which Catholics were expected to play an increasingly sinister role.

This book chronicles in detail the flow of this turbulent relationship, from the emergence of Adventism down to the present day. It will be of interest to all those interested in the fields of Seventh-day Adventist history, American religious history, ecumenics, and Roman Catholic history in the United States.

After giving a detailed and very well documented account of how theological positions are conditioned by historical, political and economic circumstances, Bruinsma demonstrates how anti-Catholicism became an identity badge of Adventism, and the theological core of its apocalyptic prophetic interpretation. Against recent internal calls for a stop to Catholic bashing, the Adventist hierarchy has reaffirmed it is as central to its identity. The dominant ultraconservative branch of the church holds fast to the nineteen century views of the pioneers, and refuses to admit that theology must adjust to cultural developments, or that Vatican II brought about significant changes to Catholicism. This book represents a call for an aggiornamento in Adventism, which is not only timely but also indispensable. Besides, it is an expose of the fallacy of thinking that one’s superiority is established by demonizing the Other.

Herold Weiss, Professor emeritus of Religious Studies,

Saint Mary’s College, Notre Dame, (IN), USA

Adventists and Catholics--why would anyone write a book about such a strained relationship? Reinder Bruinsma has faced the challenge! And his now-expanded pioneering study unearths factors and aspects that have long been forgotten or are unknown outside Adventism: Protestant anti-Catholicism in the 19th century, historicist interpretation, and a prophetic stamp on particular positions. The scholarship resulting from this inquiry in the 1990s was significant as the first major work on Adventist interchurch relations, and with the addition of a major chapter discussing post-Vatican II developments, the horizon is now even more comprehensive. We must be grateful to Bruinsma for his sound academic perspective: As in strained family relationships, understanding the reasons for friction is an indispensable step towards improving them.

Reinder Bruinsma was born in the Netherlands, where he is now retired after a career in the Seventh-day Adventist Church in the Netherlands, West Africa, the United States and Great Britain. He has a PhD from the University of London, and is the author of more than thirty books.