discussion 5

Week 5 – A Movement Goes Global

As we’re moving into Week 5, I hope that you’re starting to get a sense of how and why the message of health has been such an integral element of the Seventh-day Adventist presence. We started with a large contingent of health related work, which combined our belief in an imminent Second Coming, but also allowed for healing to be something that begins in the present, anticipating the final healing of the future. With these elements in place, the chapters you’re going to be reading for this week will combine a view of how that message expanded and became international in a big way. We’ll be reading through the Robinson text, which again is a very rosy picture of things, but also allows for the diversity of thinking that was present in the international expansion projects. We’ll also be getting some first hand accounts from early 20th century medical missionaries, who were part of this expansion. Some of them may be known to long-time Adventists, but I’m hoping that we can also find relevance in how they describe their mission and purpose within these diversifying times.

Robinson – Ch 22, 24-25 – The Message moves to a global audience. – Robinson Ch 22-25 – The Story of our Health Message.pdf

Download Robinson Ch 22-25 – The Story of our Health Message.pdf

1. Early 19th-century medicine often focused strictly on the physical administration of drugs. However, the sources suggest that a “Christian physician” should extend efforts to the “diseases of the mind” and the “saving of the soul”. Based on this, how does the 19th-century Adventist view of a doctor differ from a strictly secular “drug-based” practitioner of that era?

2. Dr. Peter Parker, a missionary to China in 1834, found that his skill as a physician gave him “access to multitudes of people” that traditional theology could not reach. In a historical context where many nations were closed to Western religion, why was medical “healing art” considered the most effective “pioneer work” for opening new territories? Is this necessarily a colonial aspect to the mission of the church, or is there a greater philosophy at work?

3. Dr. J.H. Kellogg argued that Adventist medical work should be “undenominational” and “independent of any sectarian or denominational control” to better serve humanity. Conversely, Ellen White warned that concealing the “peculiar characteristics of our faith” to gain patronage was a “danger”. How does this debate reflect the tension between professional medical standards and religious mission at the turn of the century? Is religious-based health practice fundamentally connected to issues of faith, or would it be better to abandon such connections?

4. By 1901, the International Medical Missionary and Benevolent Association employed more people (over 1,700 physicians, nurses, and helpers) than the entire General Conference. How did the financial and personnel “strength” of the medical branch create an “impediment to united action” within the church organization?

5. The General Conference was reorganized to include representatives from “all lines of our work,” including sanitariums and educational institutions. Why was it necessary to move from the “wisdom and power” of a few men to a committee that included medical professionals? Could it have been done differently, or better, based on where things eventually progressed?

ESDA Articles – International Medical Sanitariums –

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1. Robinson describes medical missionary work as “pioneer work” that provides access to people where traditional ministry might not. In Paraguay, the work began with nurse Mateo Leytes serving as the private masseur for the countrys president. How does Leytes’ experience illustrate the Adventist concept of the medical work as an “entering wedge,” and what are the strategic advantagesand potential risksof a religious movement gaining influence through the physical care of a nation’s elite?

2. The Asuncion Sanitarium currently participates in complex national transplant programs while simultaneously promoting the “Eight Natural Remedies” and “Healthy Vegetarian Cooking Schools”. Based on Robinsons description of the “combined ministry for soul and body,” how does a modern institution balance high-tech medical science with the traditional Adventist emphasis on simple natural laws?

3. Robinson highlights a tension where medical leaders often sought to be “independent of any sectarian or denominational control”. In South Africa, the sanitariums decline was partly attributed to doctors building “private practices” rather than focusing on the institutional mission. Why was the shift from institutional loyalty to private practice seen as “detrimental” to the Adventist mission, and how does this reflect the broader conflict between professional medical careerism and religious “self-sacrifice” discussed in Robinsons chapters?

4. Dr. Edgar Caros Summer Hill Sanitarium was initially “semi-autonomous,” modeled after Dr. Kelloggs increasingly independent Battle Creek system. Robinson discusses the “impediment to united action” when medical institutions become more powerful than the General Conference. How did the Summer Hill crisiswhere church leaders eventually voted the independent association out of existencedemonstrate the denomination’s struggle to keep the “right arm” attached to the “body” of the church?

5. Established in 1996, the Yeosu Sanitarium was a response to Korea’s “aging society” and an increase in “terminally ill patients”. Robinson notes that Adventist health reform was originally an “advance step” to awaken moral responsibility. How has the mission of Adventist sanitariums evolved from treating 19th-century “heroic medicine” victims to addressing modern “lifestyle diseases” like cancer, diabetes, and obesity?

6. The Yeosu hospital emphasizes its success in passing government certifications and accreditation assessments. Referring to Robinson’s account of the American Medical Missionary College seeking state board approval, how does the modern need for “government accreditation” complicate or support the Adventist goal of remaining a “distinct and peculiar people” in their medical practice?

Voices from the Past – Medical Missionaries speak – Pages from RH sept 12 1974 – report on health missions overseas.pdf

Download Pages from RH sept 12 1974 – report on health missions overseas.pdf

, Missions report – 1912.pdf,

Download Missions report – 1912.pdf,

1. How do the missions themselves seem to function on the ground? How are the higher ideals practiced, within the specific instances described?

2. How do the missionaries themselves seem to understand their goals? Do they generally align with the greater work of the church, or is it a new branch from the mission?

3. In looking backwards, how should we understand the present moment and our medical work within such religious institutions? Is there a religious ethos that should be met, or can/should we work independently from such concerns?