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explain different statements of the Bible relating to the subject,

then we must not, on the one hand, adopt any theory of the concepts. This fact sheds more light on how the doctrine, Examining “The Bible
trinity of the Godhead, of which the divinity of Christ is one years after the death of Ellen White, was able to be intro-
element, that involves the supposition of three gods instead of duced into the Church to those who were not familiar with the Doctrine of the Trinity”
one, and, on the other hand, we must not adopt any theory of teachings that were attached to these “loaded” terms by the
the unity of God, or in respect to Christ, that logically excludes Pioneers. What the Pioneers did, in using such terms, was not By Brendan Knudson
the divinity of the latter.” wrong, however, it was short-sighted and would be unwise for
the non-trinitarian of today to adopt similar expressions due to
In fact, this “Bible Doctrine of the Trinity”, while being used as the confusion which now abounds.
evidence of early trinitarianism in the Seventh-day Adventist The controversy over the Godhead in Seventh-day Adven-
Church, is also disclaimed by most who point to it as unac- Spear’s closing thoughts should give us pause to think in tism at the present time is carried out on a number of levels
ceptable to the Seventh-day Adventist Church today. (See these matters. “It is only when men speculate outside of the - Biblical, Spirit of Prophecy, Historical and Rational - both
Gane, op. cit.; also Max Hatton, Ellen G. White and the Trin- Bible and beyond it, and seek to be wiser than they can be, individually, and with overlap. The principal of taking "the
ity) The Trinitarianism of Spear is not a dogmatic one, but only that difficulties arise; and then they do arise as the rebuke of weight of evidence" (3T, p. 255) should apply to each of
a way in which he attempts to harmonise the Biblical evi- their own folly. A glorious doctrine then becomes their per- these, but in reality, a true understanding will harmonise all
dence: “Bible Trinitarians are not tritheists. They simply seek plexity, and engulfs them in a confusion of their own creation. so called "anomalies" which lie outside this weight.
to state, in the best way in which they can, what they regard What they need is to believe more and speculate less.”
the Bible as teaching.” One point of historical interest which has presented an
"anomaly" in the past to the non-trinitarian Seventh-day
It is also important that there is no effort made on the part of Source Information: Adventist position is an article by Dr. Samuel T. Spear,
Spear to expound on the work or personality of the Holy Spirit. D.D., called The Bible Doctrine of the Trinity which ap-
It should be noted that J. H. Waggoner’s tract, The Spirit of ‘The Bible Doctrine of the Trinity,’ can be found in ‘The Book of He- peared as number 90 of the Bible Students Library in 1892.
brews’ by M.L. Andreasen at: This has been heralded by trinitarian Seventh-day Advent-
God: Its Offices and Manifestations to the End of the Christian
http://www.maranathamedia.com ists as evidence of trinitarianism in the ranks of the Sev-
Age, which set forth the Pioneer position, was also advertised
regularly in the Signs of the Times during the year Dr. Spear’s enth-day Adventist Church at that early stage. This tract will
Erwin Gane’s manuscript is located at:
article was printed. expose the background of this article, and also highlight
http://www.sdanet.org/attisue/trinity/
some inconsistencies for the trinitarian who uses this article.
In this tract though, are beautifully set for the Pioneer truths Note:
of: This 6 column tract is designed to be a double sided brochure First of all, who is the author? Spear was an Episcopal
printed on A4 sized paper. priest from Brooklyn, New York who also wrote heavily
against church/state unions. During the early to mid 1890's,
1. Christ’s absolute divinity, Seventh-day Adventism was dominated by two issues:
2. that Christ’s Sonship “relates to Him as He was Righteousness by Faith and the then (seemingly) imminent
before He assumed our nature”, For further information, a catalogue Sunday laws that were being pushed in the United States.
3. that Christ and the Father are separate individuals, of study resources as well as articles Non-SDA articles were often reprinted by Adventist
4. that Christ is subordinate to the Father in His divinity by the present author, please presses, especially by authors whose views on these sub-
as well as humanity, contact: jects were in line with Seventh-day Adventism.
5. that there are three personalities of the Godhead
which are engaged in the plan of salvation;
with these, no non-trinitarian who accepts all that the Bible Truth vs Tradition Spear’s article was originally reprinted over two issues of
says can disagree. PO Box 97 Signs of the Times, on December 7 & 14, 1891 (Vol. 18,
Eagle Heights, Qld, 4271. Nos. 5 & 6) under the title The Subordination of Christ. This
Australia. gives us an indication of how the article first appealed to the
So we see from examining all the evidence that the printing of
The Bible Doctrine of the Trinity, does not “indicate a growing Seventh-day Adventists of that period. Each of these issues
Phone: (07) 55 450486
acceptance of this doctrine in the Adventist Church” as Erwin included editorial comments on the last page. Here they are
Mobile 0400 340 267
Gane would infer (Gane, op. cit.). Instead it shows an accep- Email: truthvstradition@mail.com in full:
tance of trinitarian language to describe definite non-trinitarian
brings to us Christ’s presence… the ’eternal spirit’ comes to late Samuel T. Spear, D.D., and is reprinted from the New
"We call attention to the article entitled "The Subordination of us as the life force and veritable presence of Jesus Christ; York Independent. While there may be minor thoughts in this
Christ," by the late Samuel T. Spear, taken from the Inde- Redeemer, Companion, King.” (Signs, Vol.24,No.33, p.518). worthy number which we might wish to express differently, on
pendent. It was so long that we found it necessary to divide the whole we believe that it sets forth the Bible doctrine of the
it. We trust that this candid setting forth of the Trinity will be The evidence shows that M. C. Wilcox was non-trinitarian in trinity of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit with a devout adherence
read with care." (Signs, Vol. 18, No. 5, p. 80). the period of the 1890's at least. So is there another explana- to the words of the Scripture, in the best brief way we ever
tion for his use of the term "trinity" as we saw above? saw it presented." (Signs, Vol.18, No.22).
"In this number is concluded Dr. Spear's article on the
"Subordination of Christ." To this candid setting forth of the A trend can be seen in this decade where avowedly militant A later description in May 28, 1894 added the following:
Trinity, we believe that no Bible student will object. It is wor- non-trinitarians became more liberal with their words. Uriah
thy of careful reading, for not only the subject matter it con- Smith is another example. In 1896 Smith used the term "This tract of 16 pages is a reprint of an article in the New
tains, but for the way in which it is presented." (Signs, Vol. "trinity" to describe the three powers which are mentioned in York Independent, by the late Samuel Spear, D.D. It presents
18, No. 6, p. 96). the baptismal formula and praised in the doxology. (see Re- the Bible view of the doctrine of the Trinity in the terms used in
view, October 27, 1896). the Bible, and therefore avoids all philosophical discussion
Now the trinitarian might jump upon the use of the word and foolish speculation. It is a tract worthy of reading." (Signs,
trinity in each of these instances and declare their case. After commenting on this usage, one trinitarian wrote: "Uriah Vol. 20, No. 29).
However, there is more to unravel which bears upon this Smith's argument here and his use of the word "trinity" may
matter. suggest to some that perhaps his view of the nature of the The first of these comments appears to contain a disclaimer of
Holy Spirit and of the relations between the members of the sorts regarding the way certain things in the article were ex-
The editor of Signs was M. C. Wilcox. Did Wilcox believe in Deity have undergone a change in the direction of Trinitarian- pressed. However, it is also said to be “worthy of reading”. So
the trinity doctrine at this time? If we are to take other writ- ism, since last he expressed himself on the subject. As will let us now turn to examine the contents of the article itself.
ings from this decade, we would have to conclude in the be seen, this is not so... It is, therefore, reasonable to con-
negative. Due to the emphasis on righteousness by faith, clude that Uriah Smith consistently held that the Holy Spirit is Reading the article, it becomes apparent that the initial title it
this decade saw the work of the Holy Spirit receive a level of an influence, not a person nor a member of the Deity in a ran under, The Subordination of Christ, is the more appropri-
attention unparalleled in Seventh-day Adventist publications Trinitarian sense. No evidence has been discovered that he ate to define the contents. In fact, this very theme occupies
up to this point. In comparison, the personality of the Holy held any other belief on the subject, or that he changed his the majority of the article. Spears sums up his thrust, saying:
Spirit received very little attention. However, at the rate of position prior to his death in 1903." (Erwin Roy Gane, The
about one a year, a variety of the following question was Arian or Anti-Trinitarian Views Presented in Seventh-day “These facts-namely, the absolute unity of the Godhead, ex-
received by the leading publications, Review and Signs: Adventist Literature and the Ellen G. White Answer) cluding all multiplicity of gods, the absolute divinity of the Lord
"May we not understand that the Holy Ghost is a person, as Jesus Christ and the subordination of Christ in some respect
well as the Father, and the Son, or is it Jesus' Spirit, as most The evidence of Wilcox and Smith should urge to more study to God the Father-when taken together, have led biblical
all claim it is?" those who are ever ready to jump upon the word "trinity" scholars to consider the question which relates to the method
appearing in Seventh-day Adventist literature of this period of harmonizing them.”
The specific question above was answered by M. C. Wilcox as evidence of that doctrines acceptance. (For more informa-
in Signs, August 11, 1898 (Vol. 24, No. 31): "The Spirit of tion, see ’When Trinity Doesn’t Mean Trinity’ by the present What little is said of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit together
God, the Holy Spirit, the Spirit, the Holy Ghost, the Com- author). With this in mind, we now move to look at the Spear as “Trinity” is (apart from wording) acceptable to the non-
forter, the Spirit of Christ, are all one and the same Spirit; for article as it appeared in the Bible Student's Library. trinitarian understanding that there are three agen-
there is "one Spirit, even as ye are called "in one hope." cies/powers/etc of the Godhead.
Eph. 4:4. This Spirit is the outflowing life of God in Christ, It should be noted that according to the Seventh Day Advent-
and has the power of bringing to the child of God the person- ist Encyclopaedia entry, "M. C. Wilcox was chair of the edito- It is interesting that Spear infers a “tri-personal” God from
ality and presence of Christ. In this way it may be said to be rial committee for a number of years." (see entry on the Bible similar statements that Uriah Smith used “trinity” for. At the
a person, while as God's life it is said to be shed forth, Student's Library) Each addition to the Library was adver- same time, Spear makes no effort to outline three co-equal
poured out, etc. We cannot comprehend the infinite." tised in the Signs of the Times, sometimes with additional persons or beings in the way that it is found in various trinity
comments. Here are the comments which accompanied the beliefs, saying at one point:
The next issue of Signs featured an article by Wilcox entitled Spear article:
The Spirit - Impersonal and Personal, in which he expanded “If, however, as some are inclined to do, we undertake to
upon this subject, saying, “So the Spirit, the Comforter, "No. 90 is entitled "The Bible Doctrine of the Trinity," by the

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