Desmond Ford

Desmond Ford was one of the most prominent preachers of Righteousness by Faith in the Seventh-day Adventist denomination. In 1970, he completed a second doctorate in New Testament (eschatology) at Manchester University, UK, under the supervision of the eminent Professor F. F. Bruce. From 1960 till 1977, Ford taught at Avondale College, in NSW Australia and helped train a whole generation of ministers and teachers. In 1977, he and his second wife Gillian and family went to teach at Pacific Union College, in Angwin, California. Ford had many enemies who were bitterly opposed to his emphasis on a sinless Christ, justification by faith alone, a different interpretation of prophecy, and a kinder approach to Roman Catholic Christians. Robert D. Brinsmead, called "a gadfly on the flank of Adventism," switched from his Adventist perfectionism to teaching the Reformer's gospel of righteousness by faith in the early 1970s. This heightened the agitation against Ford, especially when Brinsmead renounced Adventism's unique doctrine of 1844 and the investigative judgment. Through historicist principles and with the aid of the nonbiblical Year-Day Principle, Adventists had taught from 1853 that in 1844, Christ entered the Most Holy Place in heaven and began the judgment of the living. The heads of the Adventist Forum chapter asked Ford to take a meeting on the subject of 1844 at Pacific Union College. After the talk, Ford was pulled out his classes and sent to General Conference headquarters to write up his views. This manuscript was the result. In August 1980 at convocation at Glacier View, Ford's views were rejected and plans for his dismissal were put in place. In this third volume, in chapter five Ford discusses the wider views of modern New Testament scholars (in 1980). He shows how all great eschatological themes such as the kingdom, judgment, the gift of the Spirit, eternal life, resurrection, the destruction of Satan, and the abolition of death are applied to the Cross and its fruits. In chapter six, Ford concludes that a misunderstanding of the issues of authority, inspiration, and inerrancy have been responsible for the majority of doctrinal controversies the Seventh-day Adventists has experienced. In this final chapter, Ford discusses the foundational role of Ellen G. White in forming the Adventist Church.

Desmond Ford was one of the most prominent preachers of Righteousness by Faith in the Seventh-day Adventist denomination. In 1970, he completed a second doctorate in New Testament (eschatology) at Manchester University, UK, under the supervision of the eminent Professor F. F. Bruce. From 1960 till 1977, Ford taught at Avondale College, in NSW Australia and helped train a whole generation of ministers and teachers. In 1977, he and his second wife Gillian and family went to teach at Pacific Union College, in Angwin, California. Ford had many enemies who were bitterly opposed to his emphasis on a sinless Christ, justification by faith alone, a different interpretation of prophecy, and a kinder approach to Roman Catholic Christians. Robert D. Brinsmead, called "a gadfly on the flank of Adventism," switched from his Adventist perfectionism to teaching the Reformer's gospel of righteousness by faith in the early 1970s. This heightened the agitation against Ford, especially when Brinsmead renounced Adventism's unique doctrine of 1844 and the investigative judgment. Through historicist principles and with the aid of the nonbiblical Year-Day Principle, Adventists had taught from 1853 that in 1844, Christ entered the Most Holy Place in heaven and began the judgment of the living. The heads of the Adventist Forum chapter asked Ford to take a meeting on the subject of 1844 at Pacific Union College. After the talk, Ford was pulled out his classes and sent to General Conference headquarters to write up his views. This manuscript was the result. In August 1980 at convocation at Glacier View, Ford's views were rejected and plans for his dismissal were put in place. In this volume two, chapters 3 and 4 deal with the biblical issue of the Day Atonement in the New Testament books of Hebrews and Revelation in order to show there is no biblical evidence for 1844 and the Investigative Judgment.

Reprint of the manuscript prepared by Desmond Ford for a Seventh-day Adventist convocation at Glacier View, Colorado in August, 1980. As a result Ford was let go from employment and had to hand in his ministerial credentials. This book outlines differences between the denomination's official view about the investigative judgment, 1844, and the Day of Atonement and Ford's views. It give a history of others who challenged these doctrines and gives Biblical evidence for the stances taken.

Popular commentary on the Book of Romans, dealing chapter by chapter with Biblical issues such as original sin, judgment, righteousness, salvation. How to find and keep your salvation.

Is the New Testament Sabbath still binding on Christians? Desmond Ford believes it is as we live in this increasingly difficult world. The Sabbath provides a unique opportunity to spend time in worship with our Maker in order to fortify ourselves for Christian living. Above all, Ford believes that the Sabbath is a symbol of the rest of heart that we receive when we accept Jesus as our Savior and Redeemer.

This book covers the path of a seeker for Christ from unbelief to the cross of Calvary. Written for a modern audience, using Scripture, philosophy, and literature, it is a simple and beautiful apologetic for the Christian faith.

For much of the second half of the twentieth century, the Seventh-day Adventist church was embroiled in dissent and argument over a doctrine which was largely unknown by other Christian churches. October 27 1979 was a pivotal date for Seventh-day Adventism. On that day Desmond Ford, responding to an invitation from the PUC (Pacific Union College) Forum, spoke to over 1000 people on "The Investigative Judgment: Theological Milestone or Historical Necessity". Dr Eric Syme responded, expressing his substantial agreement with Ford's presentation. Then followed a lengthy Q&A session. The results were cataclysmic: they included the loss of hundreds of SDA ministers and the withdrawal from Adventist churches of thousands in coming years. For several days in August 1980, at great expense to the church administration, over 100 church leaders gathered at Glacier View Colorado to discuss the controversial issues. Here is the story... transcribed, undiluted and unplugged. Dear Reader, Almost forty years have passed since the events you will read about in this publication. At the time, the ripples from this controversy became a tsunami that tore through a generation of Seventh-day Adventists, leading to the exodus of hundreds of dedicated ministers and thousands of disillusioned members from the church. Many more remained inside the church they loved, but grew old and passed away without the confidence they deserved to have in the certainty of their salvation. Desmond Ford

Ours is a world of violence, greed, sexual perversion, and a thousand other ills. The rebellious nature of fallen man is the fundamental cause of these woes. But the trigger that multiplied and exacerbated existing evils was the "scientific" heresy of Darwinism. An idea is mental dynamite and this new view of human origins motivated heads of nations, leaders of business, and teachers in schools and universities to act on the Darwinian assumptions that life is a violent struggle between competitors where only the fittest (the cruelest) can survive. Results included "legitimized" wars, oppression of the poor and helpless by the rich and powerful, racism, colonialism's increased extortions, and crime. Darwinism also bewildered minds and broke hearts, for sin was no longer sin but only a relic of our animal natures.The most influential philosopher of the nineteenth century was fashioned by the reading of The Origin of Species. Nietzsche became the father of nihilism and violence (Superman). Kaiser Wilhelm, Mussolini, Hitler, and many other dictators absorbed Darwinism through Nietzsche. The speeches of Mussolini and Hitler resound with phrases from the Origin. The Holocaust is the most widely known result. Today there is a "youth bulge" in many nations, especially those belonging to Islam. As higher education becomes part of the cultures of all the world young people in particular discover that life has no meaning, and that the rule governing survival is one not hampered by morality. Those with tender natures who flee from violence against others often turn upon themselves in hopelessness and despair, and suicide rates among adolescents are forever rising higher.In recent decades the scientific evidence against Darwinism has blossomed. Multitudes of scientists of note now reject it. Sadly, most people are unaware of this. Among Christians, especially those of fundamentalist background, recent scientific progress in this area is frequently unknown. Theories have been devised to answer Darwinism that are often inaccurate, and revelation of their errors often leads to disillusionment among believers.Multitudes cling to evolution and always will because it is "the only game in town" for those who reject God. But the pillars of Darwinism-the competitive, violent struggle for existence, the "survival of the fittest," the inheritance of acquired characteristics, the almost infinite number of intermediates (many links), fashioned by gradual, minute changes, the theory of gemmules, racism, etc.-have been shattered.While it is estimated that forty per cent of scientists in general believe in God, prayer, and morality, only about two per cent of those teaching in universities do. Universities are the hotbed of secularism and atheism, and it is here that young Christians enter a lion's den of dangerous ideas without any intellectual and spiritual armor.