Articles — Advent Christian Voices

I wasn’t planning on publishing a piece for Reformation day, but I read something the other day that really struck a nerve.

Theology, Tom Loghry, Church PracticesThomas LoghryOctober 31, 2021reformation, Stephen Nichols, Martin Luther, Advent ChristianComment

We can change, but will we?

Sometimes there are blog articles that really get you thinking. Nathaniel Bickford’s article, “Solutions?” is just that kind of piece. Honestly, I’ve thought along his lines for awhile, but I couldn’t help noticing how it grabbed the attention of so many of you.

One Millerite Virtue

William Miller and his followers look like a pack of fools - an example of what not to do. However, I would contend that assessing the merits of the movement is a bit more complex. To be clear, date-setting is absolutely not commendable. No, what I have in mind far more basic and entirely orthodox. The virtue I have observed is this…

Will I Fail?

I fear failure. Do you? It’s not so bad that I don’t bother trying anything at all - that’s just choosing failure. Nonetheless, I still fear it.

Tom Loghry, Spiritual Formation, DevotionalsThomas LoghrySeptember 30, 2021failure, success, stewards, faithfulnessComment

Adventism as Political Orientation

“So…are you a socialist or a capitalist?”Smiling, I respond to my imaginary inquisitor, “I’m an adventist.”

Are You Too Patriotic?

Some people have American flag pajamas. You know it’s true. Red, white, and blue attire knows no bounds. When you see such garb, do you think it’s a bit much? Maybe too patriotic? Perhaps you do; that tends to be my opinion.

Tom Loghry, Ethics & SocietyThomas LoghryJune 30, 2021patriotism, America, Christians Comments

Abortion, Murder, and Ethical Precision

Whenever the subject of abortion is brought back to the surface of public conversation, a whirlpool of debate and ethical consternation forms. Certain questions give us pause and leave us feeling uncertain. We ponder, “Are women who get abortions no different than the common murderer?” We ask, “What about those who find themselves in a crisis pregnancy?”

Jesus Didn’t Go to Heaven When He Died

Most of us are familiar with the Easter narrative. In fact, many of us feel so familiar with the details that we don’t suppose there’s anything we have left unconsidered. Jesus died on the cross and rose again - that’s all there is to it. Three days no doubt felt like eternity to the disciples, but it is little trouble for us to rush between the cross and the empty tomb. We always do like to get to the good part.

But would you allow me to trouble you?

Tom Loghry, TheologyThomas LoghryApril 2, 2021Jesus, Death, Harrowing of Hell, ResurrectionComment

Who Tells Your Story?

Laying in bed late one night, I began thinking of my life story. As I considered the plot of my narrative, I found there could be two tellings. And which way it went struck me as immensely important, not because I am immensely important, but because the story I tell myself about myself guides me into the future. This is true not only of me but also of you.

Tom Loghry, Spiritual Formation, DevotionalsThomas LoghryMarch 31, 2021Psalm 139, story, lifeComment

Meaningless Authority: Advent Christians and the Bible

Advent Christians managed to make biblical authority meaningless even as it was being celebrated. What will we do today?

Tom Loghry, TheologyThomas LoghryFebruary 25, 2021advent christian, bible, creeds, non-creedalComment

Advent Christian Identity for the 21st Century

Among the Advent Christian faithful, there has been a palpable sense that we are in the midst of an identity crisis as a denomination. It begins with the common report that the majority of people who fill our pews do not identify as Advent Christians. Of the few who do embrace that identity, many are progressively joining the ranks of the elderly…

Never Partisan

A funny thing can happen once we cast our ballot and the election is decided…

Ethics & Society, Tom LoghryThomas LoghryNovember 3, 2020election, partisan, democrat, republican, Isaiah 5:20Comment

Wake Up the Dead?

Yes, I’m being a bit cheeky with the name of my blog.

Tom LoghryThomas LoghrySeptember 30, 2020wake up the dead, new blog, advent christian, tom loghryComment

On Race

I remember how tense the classroom felt that first day. I had chosen this class to help fill out my degree program in Ethics & Society at Gordon-Conwell. I had chosen it with a great deal of apprehension, knowing how uncomfortable it might make me. Nevertheless, I believed I should take it.

Tom Loghry, Ethics & SocietyThomas LoghryJune 5, 2020race, white privilege, justice Comments

Finding Our Red Line: When Must the Church Gather Again?

We never thought we would be here. More than a month has passed and our church buildings remain shuttered, the members of the Body of Christ scattered and isolated from one another. Yes, on the basis of our duty to love one another and our neighbors, it is has been justified. Yes, God has been at work in the Body, revealing our weaknesses and idols, forging us in the flames of hardship to acquire a strength heretofore unknown. Yes, this whole season has the makings of a fast, if we would but embrace that aspect.

Lent Through the Eyes of Adventism

Without belaboring the basics, I thought it would be interesting to consider what special contribution Adventism can make to the season of Lent. At first glance, the two might appear to be strange bedfellows. While Lent looks to our past and present condition, Adventism by its very nature looks forward to the future. To the uninformed, the essential message of Adventism is that the Christian’s hope should be fixed upon the day of Christ’s return, that day in which the reign of Christ will be fully revealed along with new heavens and a new earth. It is the message that God promises to set everything aright in the end, bringing all of Creation to the glorious end instituted by her Creator. It is the promise of a coming age far removed from our present condition, but which carries with it the assurance that we who have been joined to Jesus Christ shall live again to see all things made new.

The value this conviction brings to the season of Lent is that the hope of resurrection is necessarily preceded by the need for death.

Tom Loghry, TheologyThomas LoghryFebruary 26, 2020adventism, lent, repentance, resurrection, deathComment

The Divine Invasion

The scene of the Nativity, set among hay and humble beasts, fringed by scruffy shepherds with their meek lambs, drawn together at the center by the sweet affection shared between mother and child, fills our eyes with what would seem to be the very picture of peace. The setting seems far removed from any field of battle…

Tom Loghry, DevotionalsThomas LoghryDecember 8, 2019sin, devil, advent, incarnationComment

The Reformation Reached my Catholic Professor

To set the scene, I am taking a course in ethics at a prominent Catholic college (I’ll keep some details anonymous to protect the professor). Of my classmates, at least half of the class are Roman Catholic priest or members of a Catholic religious order (e.g. Society of Jesus/Jesuits).