What are Fundamental Beliefs?
Historically speaking, for many years, the church has been so hesitant in creating a framework for the teachings of the Bible that are known as the Fundamental Beliefs – a summary of biblical teachings, simply as the Church understands the Bible.
However, reality has often demonstrated the great importance of having a system of well defined Biblical teachings that identify the Church and clearly show what the Church believes, at least in a summary of the Fundamental Beliefs. Nevertheless, it is crucial to understand that the number of the 28 Fundamental Beliefs, as elaborated in this app, may have an increase or decrease in number depending on how the church summarizes what they understanding of the Holy Scriptures. History has demonstrated this experience. For example:
- In 1872, the Adventist publishing house in Battle Creek, Michigan, published a "Summary of Our Faith" in 25 propositions. This document, which was later slightly revised and expanded to 28 points, reappeared in the Denominational Yearbook of 1889. The publication of such a summary did not continue in the following years but was reintroduced in the Yearbook in 1905 and continued to be published annually until 1914.
- In response to a request from church leaders in Africa for "a statement [that] would help government officials and others better understand the work the Church was doing," a committee of four people, including the General Conference president, prepared a statement outlining the "main points" of faith as "they could be summarized" and presented them in 22 points.
- This summary statement of the understanding of the Bible in 22 fundamental points, first published in the 1931 Yearbook, remained unchanged until the General Conference Session of 1980, which issued another similar statement. However, this new version provided a more detailed explanation of the teachings, featuring a summary of 27 Fundamental Beliefs published under the title "Seventh-day Adventist Beliefs."
- That was not the end, on July 4, 2005, the Church adopted a new fundamental belief reflecting God's ability to help believers live sanctified lives. It was titled "Growing in Christ" and became the 11th fundamental belief, placed between "The Experience of Salvation" (10) and "The Church" (12).
This demonstrates that the truth of God's Word does not change, but the light of understanding the Holy Scriptures is progressive. Understanding the Word of God is a gradual process, where individuals continually learn and grow in their knowledge of God through personal experience and the study of Scripture. The teachings in this program are presented in a concise summary of doctrines that form a solid foundation for understanding what the Bible teaches. This summary is commonly known as the Fundamental Beliefs, with each chapter beginning with a brief explanation of the specific Fundamental Belief being addressed.
This app provides an expanded, accessible, and practical study for the Christian life, emphasizing the significance of these beliefs for members, friends, and anyone seeking to understand the relevance of the Bible in today's society for those who believe in God.