1952 Bible Conference (Adventist) - Highlights and Analysis

Highlights and Analysis

Siegfried H. Horn spoke several times at the conference. The year before, he had received a Ph.D. in Egyptology from the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago. He studied briefly under William F. Albright. Two of Horn's presentations have been preserved as audio recordings. He provided a review of archaeological discoveries relevant to the biblical record and reported recent discoveries in both archaeology and palaeography, a few of which he gave eye-witness accounts. In the first of the two published volumes of the conference, fifty-five pages cover his report.

Another significant lecture was given by W. E. Read on the topic of Armageddon. His lecture represented a dramatic shift in Adventist eschatology. During and prior to World War II Adventists had interpreted Armageddon as a battle between the Oriental and Western nations. Read argued that the battle of Armageddon was instead a battle between the forces of good and evil. This position has since become an accepted stance in the denomination.

Several presentations focused on attacks by Bible critics. According to Francis D. Nichol, one of the leaders of the conference, Adventists needed to take "these very missiles that are so confidently hurled at them . . . even more confidently hurled back at the Bible critic." In this light, several presentations focused on recent archaeological discoveries as "evidence for Bible inspiration."." Study was also given to the relation of "science to Adventist faith."

Edward Heppenstall’s presentations on the Two Covenants became the normative interpretation on the topic in the denomination to the present day. Heppenstall emphasized the importance of the heart in obeying the Ten Commandments (a position earlier stated by Ellen G. White, but did not become normative until this point). Early Adventists had emphasized legalism (i.e. “obey and live”) and during the early twentieth-century had wandered into a dispensationalist view of the covenants (old covenant belonged to the Old Testament). Heppenstall taught that the old and New Covenants are part of an everlasting covenant.