Le Roy Edwin Froom
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Le Roy Edwin Froom (October 16, 1890 – February 20, 1974) was a
Seventh-day Adventist The Seventh-day Adventist Church (SDA) is an Adventist Protestant Christian denomination which is distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the seventh day of the week in the Christian (Gregorian) and the Hebrew calendar, as the Sabbat ...
minister and historian whose writings and interpretations are a cause of much debate in the Adventist Church. He also was a central figure in the meetings with evangelicals that led to the producing of the theological book, ''
Questions on Doctrine ''Seventh-day Adventists Answer Questions on Doctrine'' (generally known by the shortened title ''Questions on Doctrine'', abbreviated ''QOD'') is a book published by the Seventh-day Adventist Church in 1957 to help explain Adventism to conserv ...
'' which easily qualifies as the most divisive book in Seventh-day Adventist history.


Life

Froom studied at
Pacific Union College Pacific Union College (PUC) is a private university, private Seventh-day Adventist Church, Seventh-day Adventist liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Angwin, California. It is the only four-year college in Napa Cou ...
and Walla Walla College (now Walla Walla University), before graduating from Washington Training Center, now
Washington Adventist University Washington Adventist University is a Private university, private Seventh-day Adventist university in Takoma Park, Maryland. History Washington Adventist University was established in 1904 by the Seventh-day Adventist Church as Washington ...
. Froom was the first associate secretary of the General Conference Ministerial Association from 1926 to 1950. He was also the founding editor of ''Ministry Magazine''. From 1950 until his retirement in 1958 he was a field secretary of the General Conference assigned to research and writing. He was part of the developments in the ministerial institutes during the 1920s, emphasizing the Holy Spirit as a person, rather than a divine influence, and authoring the first book in the church on the Holy Spirit as the Comforter.


Publications

Froom is best known for his apologetic writings and his attempts to help non-Adventists understand his own denomination. The most famous resulted in the publication of ''
Questions on Doctrine ''Seventh-day Adventists Answer Questions on Doctrine'' (generally known by the shortened title ''Questions on Doctrine'', abbreviated ''QOD'') is a book published by the Seventh-day Adventist Church in 1957 to help explain Adventism to conserv ...
'' in 1957.


''The Prophetic Faith of Our Fathers''

His best known work was the ''Prophetic Faith of Our Fathers'', consisting of four volumes published from 1946 to 1954 (III 1946, II 1948, I 1950, IV 1954), and covers the Christian Era. These four volumes are the result of more than sixteen years of intensive research including three extensive trips to Europe as well as in America. This work analyzes the understanding of Bible Prophecy by Christian theologians and scholars beginning in the 1st century AD to the late 19th century.


Critical reception to ''The Prophetic Faith Of Our Fathers''

In this work Froom argued that the "
historicist Historicism is an approach to explaining the existence of phenomena, especially social and cultural practices (including ideas and beliefs), by studying the process or history by which they came about. The term is widely used in philosophy, ant ...
" interpretation of
Bible prophecy Bible prophecy or biblical prophecy comprises the passages of the Bible that are claimed to reflect communications from God to humans through prophets. Jews and Christians usually consider the biblical prophets to have received revelations fr ...
had been the earliest and most extensively used throughout history, and that other schemes were not only novelties in comparison but had emerged as the result of attempts to deflect the condemnation of the
Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
which typically accompanied historicist exposition. Froom spent over 20 years compiling a collection of documentation which numbered over 1,000 works. Each volume of Froom's work has a bibliography which typically runs to over 30 pages and cites hundreds of sources. Although largely substantiating the Adventist understanding of prophecy (which is historicist in nature), the work received some favorable reviews from non-Adventist scholars. When published, the first volume was praised for its value for money, the scope of its research, and its documentation. Another contemporary review of the first volume noted "An astounding amount of reading, traveling, compilation, and patient research has gone into the preparation of this book", characterizing it as "a rich summary of an enormous lot of materials". An early review of the second volume described it as "a quarry of information on the subject which will be useful to scholars in many fields", though it was noted that "The historical picture is curiously distorted" due to the Adventist focus on specific prophetic interpretations. This limited focus is a commonly found criticism of the work. A 1952 review of the first two volumes complimented their breadth of research, but lamented "The scope of the work is seriously delimited, however". Despite criticism of the work's limited focus, the reviewer also noted "Specialists can find here a wealth of material", and praised the care with which the research had been undertaken and presented. In a review of the first volume, the same author spoke highly of the work's contribution to scholarship, though again criticizing its narrow focus. Early reviews noted Froom's skill as a historian, and predicted that the work would become recognized as a standard reference on the subject. In recent years Froom's work is still praised for its extensive review and analysis of the history of prophetic interpretation, and is referred to as the classic work on the subject by theological scholars (as well as by secular scholars). Ernest R. Sandeen, in commenting on this "monumental" work, nonetheless drew attention to the "pitfalls" facing those who follow "Froom's guidance uncritically". While "useful as a reference work ndastonishingly accurate", it is "virtually without historical merit when Froom lifts his eyes above the level of the catalog of the British Museum".


Primary publications

* ''The Coming of the Comforter'' * ''Prophetic Faith of Our Fathers'' (4 volumes, 1946–54) **Volume 1: Early Church Exposition, Subsequent Deflections, and Medieval Revival **Volume 2: The Historical Development of Prophetic Interpretation
Volume 3

Volume 4
*
Movement of Destiny
' * ''The Conditionalist Faith of Our Fathers'' (2 volumes, 1965–1966). Described as "a classic defense of conditionalism" by
Clark Pinnock Clark H. Pinnock (February 3, 1937 – August 15, 2010) was a Canadian theologian, apologist, and author. He was Professor Emeritus of Systematic Theology at McMaster Divinity College. Education and career Pinnock was born in Toronto, Ontario, ...

Volume 1

Volume 2


Controversy

Adventist historian George Knight has noted that Questions on Doctrine "easily qualifies as the most divisive book in Seventh-day Adventist history". and M. L. Andreasen, a theologian and author on the sanctuary doctrine, saw the book as "the most subtle and dangerous error" and "a most dangerous heresy."


Death

Froom died on February 20, 1974, at age 83 while working on his final book, ''The Holy Spirit – Executive of the Godhead'' and was buried in plot 860 of the George Washington Cemetery in
Adelphi, Maryland Adelphi is an unincorporated area and census-designated place in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. Per the 2020 Census, the population was 16,823. Adelphi includes the following subdivisions; Adelphi, Adelphi Park, Adelphi Hills, ...
.


See also

*
28 Fundamental Beliefs The 28 fundamental beliefs are the core beliefs of Seventh-day Adventist theology. Adventists are opposed to the formulation of creeds, so the 28 fundamental beliefs are considered ''descriptors'', not ''prescriptors''; that is, that they desc ...
*
Adventist Adventism is a branch of Protestant Christianity that believes in the imminent Second Coming (or the "Second Advent") of Jesus Christ. It originated in the 1830s in the United States during the Second Great Awakening when Baptist preacher Willi ...
*
Adventist Review The Seventh-day Adventist Church (SDA) is an Adventist Protestant Christian denomination which is distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the seventh day of the week in the Christian (Gregorian) and the Hebrew calendar, as the Sabbat ...
* Conditional Immortality *
Historicism (Christianity) In Christian eschatology, historicism is a method of interpretation of Biblical prophecy, biblical prophecies which associates symbols with historical persons, nations or events. The main primary texts of interest to Christian historicists include ...
*
History of the Seventh-day Adventist Church The Seventh-day Adventist Church had its roots in the Millerite movement of the 1830s to the 1840s, during the period of the Second Great Awakening, and was officially founded in 1863. Prominent figures in the early church included Hiram Edso ...
* Inspiration of Ellen White *
Investigative judgment The investigative judgment, or pre-Advent Judgment (or, more precisely, the pre-Second Advent Judgment), is a unique Seventh-day Adventist Church, Seventh-day Adventist Seventh-day Adventist theology, doctrine which asserts that the divine judgmen ...
* The Pillars of Adventism *
Prophecy in the Seventh-day Adventist Church Seventh-day Adventists believe that Ellen G. White, one of the church's co-founders, was a prophetess, understood today as an expression of the New Testament spiritual gift of prophecy. Seventh-day Adventist believe that White had the spiritual ...
* ''
Questions on Doctrine ''Seventh-day Adventists Answer Questions on Doctrine'' (generally known by the shortened title ''Questions on Doctrine'', abbreviated ''QOD'') is a book published by the Seventh-day Adventist Church in 1957 to help explain Adventism to conserv ...
'' *
Sabbath in seventh-day churches The seventh-day Sabbath, observed from Friday evening to Saturday evening, is an important part of the beliefs and practices of seventh-day churches. These churches emphasize biblical references such as the ancient Hebrew practice of beginning a ...
*
Second Coming The Second Coming (sometimes called the Second Advent or the Parousia) is the Christianity, Christian and Islam, Islamic belief that Jesus, Jesus Christ will return to Earth after his Ascension of Jesus, ascension to Heaven (Christianity), Heav ...
*
Seventh-day Adventist Church The Seventh-day Adventist Church (SDA) is an Adventist Protestant Christian denomination which is distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the seventh day of the week in the Christian (Gregorian) and the Hebrew calendar, as the Sa ...
*
Seventh-day Adventist eschatology The Seventh-day Adventist Church holds a unique system of eschatology, eschatological (or Eschatology, end-times) beliefs. Adventist eschatology, which is based on a historicism (Christianity), historicist interpretation of prophecy, is characteri ...
*
Seventh-day Adventist theology The theology of the Seventh-day Adventist Church resembles early Protestant Christianity, combining elements from Lutheran, Wesleyan-Arminian, and Anabaptist branches of Protestantism. The Seventh-day Adventist Church is "one of the fastest-grow ...
* Seventh-day Adventist worship *
Teachings of Ellen White Ellen G. White, one of the co-founders of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, was extremely influential on the church, which considers her a prophet, understood today as an expression of the New Testament spiritual gift of prophecy. She was a volum ...
* Three Angels' Messages *
Ellen G. White Ellen Gould White (née Harmon; November 26, 1827 – July 16, 1915) was an American author, and was both the prophet and a co-founder of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Along with other Adventist leaders, such as Joseph Bates and her husb ...


References


External links


Articles by Froom
as cataloged in the Seventh-day Adventist Periodical Index (SDAPI) {{DEFAULTSORT:Froom, Le Roy Edwin 1890 births 1974 deaths Seventh-day Adventist religious workers American Seventh-day Adventists American Seventh-day Adventist ministers Seventh-day Adventist administrators Seventh-day Adventist writers History of the Seventh-day Adventist Church 20th-century American historians American male non-fiction writers 20th-century American writers 20th-century American male writers