Dr. Earle Hilgert, Emeritus Professor of New Testament, McCormick Theological Seminary, delivered the inaugural Richard Hammill Memorial Lecture in Loma Linda on Sabbath afternoon, October 28. The lecture was jointly sponsored by the Adventist Today Foundation and the Association of Adventist Forums. In his lecture, entitled "The Essence and Accidents of Christian Belief," Dr. Hilgert based the distinction between "essences" and "accidents." on the comments of the 4th Century B.C. Greek philosopher, Aristotle, who first pointed out the difference in his Posterior Analytics. "Essences" are those things which make something that thing, or as Dr. Hilgert notes the "inner being without which it would not be what it is"–e.g., what makes something unique. "Accidents" are those attributes of something which are not "necessary to its being what it is." Aristotle used the example of the geometric shape of the triangle to illustrate the difference. For a triangle to be a triangle, the sum of the angles must be 180 degrees–it can not be 179 or 181 degrees. However, the area or size of a triangle can vary--that is one of the "accidents" of a triangle.

Dr. Hilgert applied this distinction in thinking about Christian beliefs–what is the essence and what are the accidents? He suggested that the earliest confessions of faith by Christians contained two "essences" that are the key, focal elements of Christian belief: the resurrection and the Lordship of Christ. "Jesus Christ is risen, and he is Lord!" is the essence of Christianity. "The conviction that the risen Christ is present with us in some way is an essence of Christian belief: just how this is conceptualized is an accident"

In addressing the accidents, Dr. Hilgert recalled his own doctoral oral examination at the University of Basel where his examiner in theology was Professor Karl Barth. Professor Barth, at the end of an hour of questioning, asked (in German): "Now, Mr. Hilgert, you are an Adventist. What then is the central teaching of Seventh-day Adventists?" Earle Hilgard’s reply was: "The central teaching of Seventh-day Adventists is salvation in Christ" to which Karl Barth replied: "Das ist gut!" (That is good) and continued (in German): Then we can say that Adventists too really are Christians! If salvation in Christ is really your central doctrine, then every other doctrine you hold must be related to that center."

In Dr. Hilgert’s view, the accidents of Christian belief include theological explanations or doctrines, symbols, and liturgies. For example, like contemporary Christians, early Christians found several ways of conceptualizing the purpose and meaning of the death and resurrection of Christ and his lordship. In summarizing the question of essences and accidents in Christian faith, Dr. Hilgert adapted an old Latin adage: "In essentials unity, in accidents liberty, in all things love."

This lecture series is dedicated to the late Dr. Richard Hammill, who served as Vice President of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists and President of Andrews University. In retirement in Loma Linda, Dr. Hammill was actively involved in discussion and dialogue that contributed to progressive approaches to various traditional SDA theological understandings. n

Audio and video tapes of Dr. Hilgert's lecture are available by contacting Harold Wareham at (909) 796-3193 or Ervin Taylor at (909) 796-3585, FAX (909) 799-3703, or retaylor@citrus.ucr.edu.