Robert Daniel "Bob" Brinsmead (born 9 August 1933, in

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

, Australia) is a formerly controversial figure within the Seventh-day Adventist Church in the 1960s and 1970s who is known for his diverse theological journey. During the 1960s Brinsmead advocated a form of perfectionism which he described as the " anctuaryAwakening" message. During the 1970s after examining the controversies of the

Protestant Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and ...

and the writings of Adventist church co-founder and author

Ellen G. White Ellen Gould White (née Harmon; November 26, 1827 – July 16, 1915) was an American woman author and co-founder of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Along with other Adventist leaders such as Joseph Bates and her husband James White, she wa ...

, he abandoned this position and went back to the 16th-century

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

principle of justification

by faith alone ''Justificatio sola fide'' (or simply ''sola fide''), meaning justification by faith alone, is a soteriological doctrine in Christian theology commonly held to distinguish the Lutheran and Reformed traditions of Protestantism, among others, fr ...

. His representation of justification by grace through faith alone was substantially from the writings and thinking of

Martin Luther Martin Luther (; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, theologian, author, hymnwriter, and professor, and Augustinian friar. He is the seminal figure of the Protestant Reformation and the namesake of Lutherani ...

. He founded the magazine '' Present Truth'', whose name was later changed to ''Verdict''. In the late 1970s, he again underwent another theological shift and changed his focus from a call to return to Reformation principles to that of systematically questioning and discarding many of the doctrines he had held. A side effect of this activity was the commissioning of an independent study and report on the basis for Christian beliefs on final punishment or hell by

Edward Fudge Edward William Fudge (July 13, 1944 – November 25, 2017) was an American Christian theologian and lawyer, best known for his book ''The Fire That Consumes'' in which he argues for an annihilationist Biblical interpretation of Hell. He has been c ...

. Brinsmead's Verdict Publications published the first edition of the resulting book ''The Fire That Consumes'' subtitled ''A Biblical and Historical Study of Final Punishment.'' The book became a major catalyst in the broader Christian

evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide interdenominational movement within Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being " born again", in which an individual expe ...

world for a growing acceptance of

annihilationism In Christianity, annihilationism (also known as extinctionism or destructionism) is the belief that after the Last Judgment, all unsaved human beings, all fallen angels (all of the damned) and Satan himself will be totally destroyed so as to not ...

. In the early 1980s Brinsmead's theology shifted to liberal Christianity, and he now rejected the Adventist belief in the Sabbath. He abandoned his belief in many

orthodox Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pa ...

Christian teachings, including justification through faith in Christ and the divinity of Christ, seeing God's interaction with mankind as not being limited to just the history of the

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts ...

, but as an ongoing and continuous interaction with humanity towards a positive future. In the 1990s he turned from his theological focus, and shifted his attention to politics and his tropical fruit theme park
Tropical Fruit World

Brinsmead and church tension

There was tension in the 1960s within the Adventist church surrounding Brinsmead's message and influence, but Brinsmead's active promotion of his shifting views 1970s, and 1980s led to fading influence, and saw the rise of

Desmond Ford Desmond Ford (2 February 1929 – 11 March 2019) was an Australian theologian who studied evangelicalism. Within the Seventh-day Adventist Church he was a controversial figure. He was dismissed from ministry in the Adventist church in 1980, ...

who opposed his perfectionist views. Richard Schwarz wrote in 1979, "Although there had been dissident groups in the church from its start, none was more troublesome to Adventist leaders than rinsmead's. (This was eclipsed by the controversy and dismissal of

the following year.) According to Larry Pahl, "The name of Robert D. Brinsmead was once capable of evoking strong emotion and division in the Adventist circles brave and informed enough to discuss his controversial ideas."Where is Robert Brinsmead?
by Larry Pahl; ''Adventist Today'
7:3 (May/June 1999)
/ref> His lessened influenced is seen in the writings of the Standish brothers, "In the 1980s it is difficult to believe the emotive reaction which the name ''Brinsmead'' conjured up in the minds of the majority of Seventh-day Adventists in Australia two decades earlier. To have the name Brinsmead associated with a church member was akin to being termed '

pink Pink is the color of a namesake flower that is a pale tint of red. It was first used as a color name in the late 17th century. According to surveys in Europe and the United States, pink is the color most often associated with charm, politeness, ...

' in the

McCarthy era McCarthyism is the practice of making false or unfounded accusations of subversion and treason, especially when related to anarchism, communism and socialism, and especially when done in a public and attention-grabbing manner. The term origina ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

" (in other words, akin to being termed pseudo-" Communist" in an era of Communist paranoia)! His influence was described as "The Brinsmead Agitation" by the Biblical Research Committee, a precursor to the

Biblical Research Institute The General Conference Corporation of Seventh-day Adventists is the governing organization of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Its headquarters is located in Silver Spring, Maryland and oversees the church in directing its various divisions and ...

. Claims of collusion with Brinsmead could have devastating impact, according to the testimony of Desmond Ford. According to one report, towards the close of the Glacier View meeting, "a small group of church executives" confronted Ford with ultimatums such as "Publicly denounce Robert Brinsmead as a troublemaker and heretic or hand in your credentials."
Report: Sydney Australia Adventist Forum Remembers Glacier View Twenty-Five Years Later
'' by Dr. Milton Hook, former president of Sydney Adventist Forum, 16 January 2006 Ford would not do so, since Brinsmead had converted from his perfectionist views. According to a reported view of Ford, "John Brinsmead, brother of Robert, had evidently spun Parmenter the allegation that Ford and Robert Brinsmead were in cahoots and were determined to bring the SDA church down." Apparently he accepted this "allegation without verification." Arthur Patrick described a South New Zealand minister in 1961, who integrated a man known to have a connection with Brinsmead into his church and was asked to affirm the statement, "Robert Brinsmead is of the devil," to demonstrate his loyalty. When he refused to do so, he was given 10 months leave-of-absence. One source describes him as "intense and driven." In 1999 Raymond Cottrell observed: "Robert Brinsmead’s repeated and mutually contradictory positions over the years, together with his dogmatic public insistence on each of them successively, is clear evidence of immaturity. One cannot help but wonder if the present one is final, or if it is—like the others—ephemeral and will be followed by others."

Biography

Childhood

Brinsmead was born in 1933 in Australia, the youngest of eight children (another died in infancy) to Cedric John Brinsmead (1886–1980) and Laura Elsie Goullet (1889–1979). He grew up in the

Tweed Tweed is a rough, woollen fabric, of a soft, open, flexible texture, resembling cheviot or homespun, but more closely woven. It is usually woven with a plain weave, twill or herringbone structure. Colour effects in the yarn may be obtained ...

area.History of Tropical Fruit World
/ref> During his early childhood his parents were a part of the

Seventh Day Adventist Reform Movement The Seventh Day Adventist Reform Movement is a Protestant Christian denomination in the Sabbatarian Adventist movement that formed from a schism in the European Seventh-day Adventist Church during World War I over the position its European church l ...

, a German splinter group that broke away from the Seventh-day Adventist Church in the

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

era over military service and conscription. They rejoined the mainstream church when he was 10. According to Schwarz, this background gave him a disposition that was skeptical towards church leadership; although this assertion was removed when Floyd Greenleaf revised Schwarz' work. As a youth he ran a large family banana plantation (near the location of what would become the tropical fruit theme park), and later sugar cane and banana plantations deep in the

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , establishe ...

jungle. He spent his personal time doing study and research into theology.

Avondale College (late 1950s)

Brinsmead enrolled in a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four year ...

in theology at

Avondale College Avondale College is a state coeducational secondary school located in the central Auckland, New Zealand, suburb of Avondale. With a roll of students from Years 9–13 (ages 12–18), it is the third largest secondary school in New Zealand. ...

in 1955 when he was in his mid-twenties. One of his older brothers, John, also enrolled at the college in this year. Robert developed a form of perfectionism after reading the writings of

A. T. Jones Alonzo Trévier Jones (1850 – May 12, 1923) was a Seventh-day Adventist Church, Seventh-day Adventist known for his impact on the Seventh-day Adventist theology, theology of the church, along with friend and associate Ellet J. Waggoner. He w ...

and E. J. Waggoner"Brinsmead, Robert David (1933- )" in

Gary Land Gary may refer to: *Gary (given name), a common masculine given name, including a list of people and fictional characters with the name *Gary, Indiana, the largest city named Gary Places ;Iran * Gary, Iran, Sistan and Baluchestan Province ;Uni ...

, ''Historical Dictionary of Seventh-day Adventists'', p.47 (of

1888 Minneapolis General Conference The 1888 Minneapolis General Conference Session was a meeting of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists held in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in October 1888. It is regarded as a landmark event in the history of the Seventh-day Adventi ...

Session fame). His final year was 1958.Editorial Introduction
by Robert Brinsmead. ''Present Truth Magazine''

!--Volume 7, Number 2, March 1978 according to Doug on the talk page--> While still a student, Brinsmead was

disfellowshipped Excommunication is an institutional act of religious censure used to end or at least regulate the communion of a member of a congregation with other members of the religious institution who are in normal communion with each other. The purpose ...

from the church in 1961 for his writings on " perfectionism", which would be his theme for the 1960s. Brinsmead wrote he "retained lay membership in the church until 1962." However he would remain closely involved with the church for another two decades. John was also disfellowshipped, and together they formed the "Sanctuary Awakening Fellowship". While it was based in the

, it also influenced

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

and

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...

Perfectionist era (1960s)

Brinsmead's early views were a fanatical expression of "

historic Adventism Historic Adventism is an informal designation for conservative individuals and organizations affiliated with the Seventh-day Adventist Church who seek to preserve certain traditional beliefs and practices of the church. They feel that the church l ...

". His primary opponents were his friend and former classmate Desmond Ford, for sixteen years head of the Department of Religion at Avondale College,

Hans LaRondelle Hans Karl LaRondelle (born April 18, 1929 – March 7, 2011) was a respected Seventh-day Adventist Church, Seventh-day Adventist theologian; a strong proponent of the gospel and salvation by faith alone. In a 1985 questionnaire of North America ...

of the

Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary The Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary (SDATS) is the seminary located at Andrews University in Michigan, the Seventh-day Adventist Church's flagship university. Since 1970 the SDATS has been accredited by the Association of Theological Sc ...

Andrews University Andrews University is a private Seventh-day Adventist university in Berrien Springs, Michigan. Founded in 1874 as Battle Creek College, it was the first higher education facility started by Seventh-day Adventists and is the flagship universi ...

, and

Edward Heppenstall Edward E. Heppenstall (8 May 1901 in England – 1994) was a leading Bible scholar and theologian of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. A 1985 questionnaire of North American Adventist lecturers revealed Heppenstall was the Adventist write ...

,. In the 1960s he advocated a form of perfectionism which he described as the "Sanctuary Awakening" or "Awakening" message. The "sanctuary" element referred to the distinctive Seventh-day Adventist theological understanding of events believed to have begun in the year 1844 in a

heavenly sanctuary In Seventh-day Adventist theology, the heavenly sanctuary teaching asserts that many aspects of the Hebrew tabernacle or sanctuary are representative of heavenly realities. In particular, Jesus is regarded as the High Priest who provides cleansin ...

, of which the earthly sanctuary in the Old Testament was understood to be a figure and " type". Brinsmead believed that after Jesus concluded his mediatorial work in the heavenly sanctuary with the "blotting out of sins," a special outpouring of the Holy Spirit would perfect and seal believers and render them sinless. Thus he taught a physical transformation of living believers at the end of earth's history, distinct from the moment at the

Second Coming The Second Coming (sometimes called the Second Advent or the Parousia) is a Christian (as well as Islamic and Baha'i) belief that Jesus will return again after his ascension to heaven about two thousand years ago. The idea is based on messian ...

of the physical change to immortality described in 1 Corinthians 15 and believed by many Christians. Brinsmead claimed he was led to this position by the

pre-advent judgment In Christian theology, the pre-advent judgment is a belief that the Last Judgment will occur before the Second Coming (or "Advent") of Jesus.

Seventh-day Adventist eschatology The Seventh-day Adventist Church holds a unique system of eschatological (or end-times) beliefs. Adventist eschatology, which is based on a historicist interpretation of prophecy, is characterised principally by the premillennial Second Coming ...

. He also claimed it was a thoroughly

concept of justification – "I taught sanctification by atonement, not by attainment." Brinsmead visited the

throughout the 1960s, holding retreats and seminars to teach his message. The resulting Awakening movement had its own campmeetings, publications and songbook, and the controversy led to Adventist members in Australia and the United States being disfellowshipped. The church in North America became aware of Brinsmead during the early spring of 1961, when he submitted several documents to the General Conference.

Raymond Cottrell Raymond Forrest Cottrell (April 21, 1911, Los Angeles, California, Los Angeles, California – January 12, 2003, Calimesa, California, Calimesa, California) was an Seventh-day Adventist Church, Adventist Christian theology, theologian, missionar ...

was asked to evaluate them, presenting critiques of each document about three weeks later, writing that he gave each one "careful consideration" with a desire to be completely objective (note: more recently Cottrell has criticized the investigative judgment and other Adventist doctrines). A few weeks later Robert and John came to the General Conference offices and requested a hearing, and a committee which included Cottrell met the brothers. The meeting had a "cordial atmosphere", spent mainly listening to the Brinsmeads express their views, and the groups "parted as friends." According to Gary Land, in 1968 the brothers started '' Present Truth Magazine''. However the first edition is dated April 1972.

Evangelical era (1970s)

In the early 1970s, he abandoned this position, and went back to a view more in line with the Protestant Reformer

and Luther's understanding of the

New Testament The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Chri ...

gospel message of Paul the Apostle.

convinced him that his perfectionism was incorrect in about 1970."Righteousness by Faith" entry in ''Historical Dictionary of Seventh-day Adventists'' by

Adventist eschatology was relegated to the background. Brinsmead reversed his ideas on the nature of Christ and perfection, and now believed "righteousness by faith" was entirely justification by faith. Largely due to the impact of

, Robert embraced righteousness by faith in the mid-1970s, rejecting perfectionism. He began to target ''Present Truth'' at Adventists and also other Christians, with a more

message, and a central focus on the Protestant principle of justification by faith alone. A survey of issues of ''Present Truth'' throughout the 1970s indicated that he studied a wide range of 16th-century Protestant Reformation scholars, including John Calvin, Philipp Melanchthon, and

Martin Chemnitz Martin Chemnitz (9 November 1522 – 8 April 1586) was an eminent second-generation German, Evangelical Lutheran, Christian theologian, and a Protestant reformer, churchman, and confessor. In the Evangelical Lutheran tradition he is known as ...

. Brinsmead wrote ''A Review of the Awakening Message''
Part I
first published May 1972, an

first published April 1973), which was his own assessment of his earlier "historic" views. Brinsmead now found himself in substantial agreement with Desmond Ford, as Brinsmead's views on perfection had shifted away from what he had held. In 1972, Brinsmead and his wife Valorie (born 1939, originally from Cootamundra, NSW) purchased the property which they developed into
Tropical Fruit World
in northern New South Wales.

Rejection of Adventism and Evangelical Christianity (Late 1970s and 1980s)

In the late 1970s Brinsmead began to systematically re-examine and give up many of his prior beliefs. He rejected the roots of the Adventist movement and its prophetic interpretations, the doctrine of the

, and the

inspiration of Ellen White Most Seventh-day Adventists believe church co-founder Ellen G. White (1827–1915) was inspired by God as a prophet, today understood as a manifestation of the New Testament " gift of prophecy," as described in the official beliefs of the church ...

, and the Sabbath. His hesitation on discarding Adventist views on death and the afterlife caused him to commission independent research by

that eventually resulted in Fudge's influential book ''The Fire That Consumes: A Biblical and Historical Study of Final Punishment'', which Brinsmead published in 1982. Brinsmead changed the name of ''Present Truth'' to ''Verdict'' in 1978. The controversy resulting from his publication in July 1979 of his ''"1844" Re-Examined Syllabus'', Ford's October 197
response to it
and the alarmed reaction of church administrators saw some depart from the church over the issues that were raised. In June 1981 he published an issue of Verdict titled ''Sabbatarianism Re-Examined'' in which he rejected the Sabbath. In 1983 he published a special issue of Verdict titled ''Justification by Faith Re-Examined.'' Afterwards, ''Verdict'' quickly became a much smaller publication of newsletter size in which Brinsmead began to explore theological topics of more interest to liberal Christianity, before ceasing publication as a regular periodical altogether as he abandoned more orthodox Christian doctrines.

Change of interests (1990s)

During the 1990s Brinsmead did not write anything about theology for almost ten years. Raymond Cottrell wrote in 1999 that Brinsmead "seems to be immune to further rational dialogue", and that he "felt constrained to let him go his own way and do his own thing". Brinsmead developed a sort of humanist emphasis. According to Larry Pahl, "Brinsmead's journey has led him back, full circle, to raw perfectionism. The new Brinsmead requires that we become 'forgiving, caring and compassionate, doing the right thing', certainly the marks of a perfect man."

Recent views (2000s)

Brinsmead emphasizes the human side in ecology. On 7 August 2007, Robert Brinsmead's wife Valorie died at age 68.
Sad News: Valorie Brinsmead 1939–2007
' by Brinsmead, 8 August 2007 Brinsmead has published his more recent views on a personal website
www.bobbrinsmead.com