Robert Brinsmead
Robert Daniel "Bob" Brinsmead
During the 1960s Brinsmead advocated a form of perfectionism which he described as the "[Sanctuary] Awakening" message.
During the 1970s after examining the controversies of the
In the late 1970s, he again underwent another theological shift and changed his focus from a call to return to Reformation principles to that of systematically questioning and discarding many of the doctrines he had held. A side effect of this activity was the commissioning of an independent study and report on the basis for Christian beliefs on final punishment or
In the early 1980s Brinsmead's theology shifted to
In the 1990s he turned from his theological focus, and shifted his attention to politics and his tropical fruit theme park, Tropical Fruit World.
Brinsmead and church tension
There was tension in the 1960s within the Adventist church surrounding Brinsmead's message and influence, but Brinsmead's active promotion of his shifting views in the 1970s and 1980s led to fading influence, and saw the rise of Desmond Ford who opposed his perfectionist views.
Richard Schwarz wrote in 1979, "Although there had been dissident groups in the church from its start, none was more troublesome to Adventist leaders than [Brinsmead's]".
According to Larry Pahl, "The name of Robert D. Brinsmead was once capable of evoking strong emotion and division in the Adventist circles brave and informed enough to discuss his controversial ideas."
Claims of collusion with Brinsmead could have devastating impact, according to the testimony of Desmond Ford. According to one report, towards the close of the
One source describes him as "intense and driven."[4]
In 1999 Raymond Cottrell observed: "Robert Brinsmead’s repeated and mutually contradictory positions over the years, together with his dogmatic public insistence on each of them successively, is clear evidence of immaturity. One cannot help but wonder if the present one is final, or if it is—like the others—ephemeral and will be followed by others."[8]
Biography
Childhood
Brinsmead was born in 1933[9] in Australia, the youngest of eight children (another died in infancy) to Cedric John Brinsmead (1886–1980) and Laura Elsie Goullet (1889–1979).[10] He grew up in the Tweed area.[11] During his early childhood his parents were a part of the Seventh Day Adventist Reform Movement, a German splinter group that broke away from the Seventh-day Adventist Church in the World War I era over military service and conscription. They rejoined the mainstream church when he was 10.[3] According to Schwarz, this background gave him a disposition that was skeptical towards church leadership;[12] although this assertion was removed when Floyd Greenleaf revised Schwarz' work.[13] As a youth he ran a large family banana plantation (near the location of what would become the tropical fruit theme park), and later sugar cane and banana plantations deep in the Queensland jungle. He spent his personal time doing study and research into theology.
Avondale College (late 1950s)
Brinsmead enrolled in a
While still a student, Brinsmead was disfellowshipped from the church in 1961 for his writings on "perfectionism", which would be his theme for the 1960s.[4] Brinsmead wrote he "retained lay membership in the church until 1962."[14] However he would remain closely involved with the church for another two decades.[4] John was also disfellowshipped, and together they formed the "Sanctuary Awakening Fellowship".[9] While it was based in the United States, it also influenced Africa and Asia.[9]
Perfectionist era (1960s)
Brinsmead's early views were a fanatical expression of "
Brinsmead visited the United States throughout the 1960s, holding retreats and seminars to teach his message. The resulting Awakening movement had its own campmeetings, publications[16] and songbook,[17] and the controversy led to Adventist members in Australia and the United States being disfellowshipped.
The church in North America became aware of Brinsmead during the early spring of 1961, when he submitted several documents to the General Conference.[8] Raymond Cottrell was asked to evaluate them, presenting critiques of each document about three weeks later, writing that he gave each one "careful consideration" with a desire to be completely objective (note: more recently Cottrell has criticized the investigative judgment and other Adventist doctrines).[8] A few weeks later Robert and John came to the General Conference offices and requested a hearing, and a committee which included Cottrell met the brothers.[8] The meeting had a "cordial atmosphere", spent mainly listening to the Brinsmeads express their views, and the groups "parted as friends."[8]
According to Gary Land, in 1968 the brothers started
Evangelical era (1970s)
In the early 1970s, he abandoned this position, and went back to a view more in line with the Protestant Reformer
Brinsmead wrote A Review of the Awakening Message (Part I first published May 1972, and Part II first published April 1973), which was his own assessment of his earlier "historic" views. Brinsmead now found himself in substantial agreement with Desmond Ford, as Brinsmead's views on perfection had shifted away from what he had held.
In 1972, Brinsmead and his wife Valorie (born 1939, originally from
Rejection of Adventism and Evangelical Christianity (Late 1970s and 1980s)
In the late 1970s Brinsmead began to systematically re-examine and give up many of his prior beliefs. He rejected the roots of the Adventist movement and its prophetic interpretations, the doctrine of the
Brinsmead changed the name of Present Truth to Verdict in 1978.
The controversy resulting from his publication in July 1979 of his "1844" Re-Examined Syllabus,[20] Ford's October 1979 response to it, and the alarmed reaction of church administrators saw some depart from the church over the issues that were raised.
In June 1981 he published an issue of Verdict titled Sabbatarianism Re-Examined
In 1983 he published a special issue of Verdict titled Justification by Faith Re-Examined.
Afterwards, Verdict quickly became a much smaller publication of newsletter size in which Brinsmead began to explore theological topics of more interest to liberal Christianity, before ceasing publication as a regular periodical altogether as he abandoned more orthodox Christian doctrines.
Change of interests (1990s)
During the 1990s Brinsmead did not write anything about theology for almost ten years.[4] Raymond Cottrell wrote in 1999 that Brinsmead "seems to be immune to further rational dialogue", and that he "felt constrained to let him go his own way and do his own thing".[8]
Brinsmead developed a sort of humanist emphasis. According to Larry Pahl, "Brinsmead's journey has led him back, full circle, to raw perfectionism. The new Brinsmead requires that we become 'forgiving, caring and compassionate, doing the right thing', certainly the marks of a perfect man."[4]
Recent views (2000s)
Brinsmead emphasizes the human side in ecology.
On 7 August 2007, Robert Brinsmead's wife Valorie died at age 68.[22]
Brinsmead has published his more recent views on a personal website, www.bobbrinsmead.com.
See also
- Present Truth Magazine
- Progressive Adventism
- Historic Adventism
- Seventh-day Adventist theology
- History of the Seventh-day Adventist Church
- Desmond Ford
- Avondale College
- Hesba Fay Brinsmead, novelist and sister-in-law
References
- ^ "About Bob".
- ^ [1], [2]. Gary Land incorrectly states Brinsmead's middle name is "David"
- ^ ASIN B0006CZ2QO.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Where is Robert Brinsmead? by Larry Pahl; Adventist Today 7:3 (May/June 1999)
- ^ Russell and Colin Standish, The Gathering Storm and the Storm Burst. Hartland Publications, p.41–42
- ^ Adventist Forum, 16 January 2006
- ^ "The Questions on Doctrine Event: Contrasting Perceptions, Their Impact and Potential" by Arthur Patrick
- ^ ISSN 1079-5499. Archived from the originalon 14 April 2008. Retrieved 4 November 2007.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "Brinsmead, Robert David (1933- )" in Gary Land, Historical Dictionary of Seventh-day Adventists, p.47
- ^ Brinsmead family tree: Descendants of Cedric John Brinsmead. Personal page of Cedric John Brinsmead. Personal page of Laura Elsie Goullet
- ^ a b History of Tropical Fruit World
- ^ Richard Schwarz, Light Bearers to the Remnant. Philip W. Dunham repeats this assertion in Blinded by the Light: The Anatomy of Apostasy with Maylan Schurch. Hagerstown, MD: Review and Herald, 2001, p38
- ^ Schwarz and Greenleaf, Light Bearers
- ^ a b "Editorial Introduction" by Robert Brinsmead. Present Truth Magazine' Volume 36
- ^ The Shaking of Adventism
- ^ "The Awakening". Archived from the original on 14 March 2016.
- ^ Sayler, Floyd. Awake and Sing! (PDF). Denver, Colorado: International Health Institute. Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 April 2005. Retrieved 7 August 2016.
- ^ "Righteousness by Faith" entry in Historical Dictionary of Seventh-day Adventists by Gary Land
- ^ An archive of magazine issues in both HTML and PDF format is kept independently at: "Present Truth Archive". www.presenttruthmag.org/archive/. Bill Diehl Jr. Archived from the original on 1 April 2016. Retrieved 7 August 2016.
- ISBN 978-0-89890-002-6. Preserved in HTML format at ""1844" Re-Examined". www.presenttruthmag.com. Archived from the originalon 29 June 2007. Retrieved 7 August 2016.
- ^ Preserved in HTML format in several places on the web, including: "Sabbatarianism Re-Examined". Retrieved 7 August 2016.
- ^ Sad News: Valorie Brinsmead 1939–2007 by Brinsmead, 8 August 2007
Further reading
- Defense Literature Committee (precursor to the Biblical Research Institute), The History and Teaching of Robert Brinsmead (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald, 1961)
- Biblical Research Committee (also a precursor to the Biblical Research Institute), The Brinsmead Agitation (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald, 1969)
- Richard Schwarz, Light Bearers to the Remnant, p. 456–61
- Brinsmead, Judged by the Gospel: A Review of Adventism. Fallbrook, California: Verdict Publications, 1980. (Review, "Evangelical Essentials And Adventist Distinctives" by Richard Rice appeared in Spectrum 13:1 (September 1982), 55–57)
- Tarling, Lowell R. (1981). "The Awakening Movement". The Edges of Seventh-day Adventism: A Study of Separatist Groups Emerging from the Seventh-day Adventist Church (1844–1980). ISBN 0-9593457-0-1. See also p203–21, "[The Controversy over] Righteousness by Faith in Australia 1972–1979"
- A 2016 Interview with Robert Brinsmead