To Baptize or Not to Baptize?Adventists and Polygamous Converts
Keywords:
Polygamy / Polygamous converts, Baptism, Seventh-day Adventist, Missiological hermeneutic, Cultural context / Contextualization, Theological reasoningAbstract
The theological questions connected with the baptism of polygamous converts have been answered in divergent ways. This article gives an overview of perspectives that Seventh-day Adventists have taken on this issue and analyzes the factors that have led to several turns in the stance of the denomination toward this problem. The multiplicity of factors involved in the discourse on baptizing polygamists repeatedly eclipsed the need of appropriate theological reasoning. It is suggested, therefore, that a missiological hermeneutic, in which local cultural meanings are taken seriously, is crucial in such complex issues.
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