The Church of God (Seventh Day)












    

    I. Group Profile

    

    

      

    1. 
Name:
 Church of God (Seventh Day)

      

    2. 
Founder:
 Several Adventist Believers (living in Michigan, Iowa, and Missouri in the late
  1850's.)

      

    3. 
Date of Birth:
 N/A

      

    4. 
Birth Place:
 N/A

      

    5. 
Year Founded:
 1884

      

    6. 
History


      The
Adventist Movement
 revolves around the expectation of the return or second coming of Christ.  In his
  return Christ is predicted to rid the world of evil and replace it with only goodness
  and happiness.  Adventists often go beyond acknowledging that Christ will return and
  often predict a date of his appearance.


1




      The
Seventh Day Adventists
 (SDA) are based on the beliefs of
William Miller
.  Miller predicted the second coming of Christ between the years 1843 and 1844, and
  this launched the
Millerite movement
.


2
 

  Miller narrowed his prediction to October 22, 1844.  In preparation for the
  second coming many followers paid their debts and gave away their possesions.  It was
  described as an "utter lack of value of possesions."


3


  When October 22 came and went without any evidence of Christ's coming it became
  known as the "great disappointment."


4
 

  Miller refused to set any more dates for the second coming and stepped down from
  his leadership role.  According to Melton, "forces already in operation were prepared to
  weld these organized believers into a number of demominatonal bodies."


5



Ellen G. White
 entered the SDA with "visions" of Christ when there were many doubts about faith
  because of the "great disappointment."  She held the faith of many SDA.


6
 



      
The Church of God (Seventh Day)
 splintered from the SDA because many of their followers rejected the "visions" of
  White (the founder of the SDA).   The independents of White formed a group founded by
  Enos Easton, Samuel Davison, Gilbert Cranner, and other leaders around the publishing of

The Hope of Israel

 in 1863.
The Hope of Israel
 is a periodical published about the Church's beliefs and continued for several years,
  but was finally formally recognized under the direction of the Christian Publishing
  Association.  Also, the name the Church of God was adopted by this time.







      

      In 1889, the first Church of God's (COG) national headquarters became established in
  Stanberry, Missouri due to the growth of the movement during the nineteenth century.


7
 

    During this time the periodical was renamed as

The Bible Advocate

.  The COG's congregations became recognized as their own sect in 1906.


8
 

  In 1933, a congregation split from the Stanberry location and relocated in Salem,
  West Virginia.  The Salem and Stanberry church merged in 1950 and moved the General
  Confrence of the Church of God from Stanberry to Denver, Colorado.


9
 



      

      The COG is organized into separate congregations, and every two years a general
  conference is held with representatives from each congregation attending.


10
 

      In church hierarchy, the ministerial council directs the ministerial
  licensing, and missions are maintained by 25 countries.


11
 



      

      G.C. Rupert established an independent COG because he was in opposition to the
  establishment of a confrence and national headquarters of the COG (Seventh Day).  He
  felt that such an establishment like the first one in Stanberry was too denominational.
  Rupert and his independent church later influenced Herbert W. Armstrong.  Armstrong was
  the founder of the
Worldwide Church of God
.  Armstong was also once a minister of the Stanberry and Salem churches, but became
  excommunicated because his teachings were in conflict with basic COG (Seventh Day)
  doctrine.


12
 



      

      

    7. 
Sacred or Revered Texts:


      The Bible is the sacred text of the Church of God (Seventh Day).  The Church interprets
  the Bible extremely literally.

The Bible Advocate
 (or
The Hope of Israel
)
 is a monthly publication about the teachings of the Church.

      

      

    8. Cult or Sect:
      9. 

      
Negative sentiments are typically implied when the concepts "cult" 
and "sect" are employed in popular discourse.  Since the Religious 
Movements Homepage seeks to promote religious tolerance and 
appreciation of the positive benefits of pluralism and religious 
diversity in human cultures, we encourage the use of alternative 
concepts that do not carry implicit negative stereotypes.  For a 
more detailed discussion of both scholarly and popular usage of the 
concepts "cult" and "sect," please visit our 

Conceptualizing "Cult" and "Sect" page, where you will find 
additional links to related issues. 

      

    9. 
Size of Group:


      The General Conference of the Church of God (Seventh Day) estimates and recognizes over
  125,000 members and 160 congregations in the United States and Canada in 1996.  J.
  Gordon Melton also confirms these statistics.



13
 




    

    

    II. Beliefs of the Group

    

    

      

      According to their homepage, the COG (Seventh Day) believes that the Bible is the
  literal and final word.  The followers believe that they are sinners by birth and choice
  and also need to reach salvation by forgiveness for their sins.


14
 

  
There are many other
doctrinal beliefs
 that the COG recognizes.  Along with the seventh day Sabbath, they observe the Law of
  Moses and believe it should be observed by all Christians.



15
 

  The COG believes in the practices of baptism by immersion, foot washing, and
  observing the Lord's supper on the fourteenth day of the Hebrew month of Adib.
  Immortality will be granted to those who are redeemed in Jesus's second coming, and the
  evil will be punished for eternity.  The dead will remain unconscious until the second
  coming.



16
 



Members also confirm their faith by tithing.



17
 


Several practices are strictly forbidden in the COG (Seventh Day).  They include:
  observing 'pagan days' (Sunday, Christmas, Easter, Lent, or Halloween), participating in
  wars or military service, divorce ("except in cases of immorality"), participating in
  the use of alcohol, drugs, and tobacco, and eating unclean meats (fish and foul).



18
 

  The COG believes that when Jesus does return from heaven all humans will be
  judged according to the works they have completed in their life.



19
 




    

    

    

    

    III. Links to Church of God (Seventh Day) Web Sites

    

    

      
Church of God (Seventh Day) Homepage


      This link provides more information about the Church of God and their beliefs.  It
  provides information on how to obtain material and how to contact the General
  Conference.

      

      
http://www.denver.net/~cofgsd


      
Church of God (Seventh Day)
  Doctrinal Beliefs


      This link provides doctrinal beliefs of the Church of God (Seventh Day) which are
  supported by scriptures from the Bible.

      

      
http://www.denver.net/~cofgsd/Lit./LitDocBelief.html


      
Literature About the Church of God (Seventh
  Day)


      This link provides access to the
Bible Advocate Press
 (or
The Hope of Israel
) which is a source of print material about the Church of God.

      

      
http://www.denver.net/~cofgsd/Lit.html


      
Church of God (Seventh Day) in Denver


      This link provides information about the local congregation in Denver, including
  weekly service schedules, location, and information about the pastor.

      

      
http://indy.power-online.net/~cg7/index.html


      
Sylmar Church of God (Seventh Day)


      This link provides information about the congregation in the San Fernando Valley.

      

      
http://www.church-online.com/sca/index.html


    

    

    

    IV. References

    

    


      


    1. 
J. Gordon Melton.
Encyclopedia of American Religions
, 5th ed.  (Detroit:  Gale Research.  1996).

      


    2. 
Gary Land.
Adventism in America:  A History
.  (Grand Rapids:  William B.  Eerdmans Publishing Co.  1986).

      


    3. 
Land.

      


    4. 
Land.

      


    5. 
Melton.

      


    6. 
Gary Schwartz.
Sect Ideologies and Social Status
.  (Chicago:  The University of Chicago Press.  1970).

      


    7. 
Joel Bjorling.
The Churches of God, Seventh Day:  A Bibliography
.  (New York:  Garland Publishing, Inc.  1987).

      


    8. 
Melton.

      


    9. 
Bjorling.

      


    10. 
"The Church of God(COG), Seventh Day Homepage," Online.  World Wide Web.  9 December
  1997. (Available: http://www.denver.net/~cofgsd)

      


    11. 
Melton.

      


    12. 
"The COG, Seventh Day Homepage".

      


    13. 
Bjorling.

      


    14. 
Melton.

      


    15. 
"The COG, Seventh Day Homepage".

      


    16. 
Bjorling.

      


    17. 
Bjorling.

      


    18. 
"The COG, Seventh Day Homepage".

      


    19. 
Bjorling.

      


    20. 
"The COG, Seventh Day Homepage".

      

    


    

    

    

    V. Bibliography

    

    

      

      

      Bjorling, Joel.  1987.

      
The Churches of God, Seventh Day: A Bibliography.
  New York: Garland Publishing, Inc.

      

      Church of God Publishing House. 1962.

      
Church Manual of Organization and Procedure
. Stanberry, MO:

      

      Coulter, Robert. 1983.

      
The Story of the Church of God (Seventh Day)
. Denver: Bible Advocate Press.

      

      Land, Gary.  1986.

      
Adventism in America:  A History.
 Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company.

      

      Melton, J. Gordon.  1996.

      
Encyclopedia of American Religions, Fifth Edition.
Detroit, MI: Gale Research.

      

      Nickels, Richard. 1977.

      
A History of the Seventh Day Church of God
. Published by the author.

      

      Schwartz, Gary.  1970.

      
Sect Ideologies and Social Status.
 Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.

      

    

    

    

    
Created by Caroline Fidyk


    For Soc 257: New Religious Movements

    Fall Term, 1997

    Last modified: 07/18/01