Milton Raymond Hook (born 1939) is 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 ...
religion educator, author and church historian. He is an honorary research fellow at
Avondale College
Avondale College is a state coeducational secondary school located in the central Auckland, New Zealand, suburb of Avondale, Auckland, Avondale. With a roll of students from years 9–13 (ages 12–18), it is the third largest secondary schoo ...
, New South Wales, Australia.
Biography
Hook was born in
Perth, Western Australia
Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...
, and attended North Inglewood
website and Bickley
website elementary schools before entering
Carmel College in Perth and
Kent Street Senior High School
Kent Street Senior High School is a Public school (government funded), public Mixed-sex education, co-educational specialist school, specialist Secondary education#Australia, high day school, day and Boarding school, boarding school in the Town ...
, finishing with six credits including three distinctions.
During 1958 and 1959 he was a trainee schoolteacher at
Manjimup and
Victoria Park before proceeding to
Avondale College
Avondale College is a state coeducational secondary school located in the central Auckland, New Zealand, suburb of Avondale, Auckland, Avondale. With a roll of students from years 9–13 (ages 12–18), it is the third largest secondary schoo ...
,
New South Wales
New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...
, where he completed the Elementary Teachers Certificate (1961) and a Bachelor of Arts (1964). He was president of his graduation class.
Further studies were taken at the Evangelical Lutheran Seminary in Ohio (now
Trinity Lutheran Seminary
Trinity Lutheran Seminary at Capital University (formerly the German Theological Seminary of the Ohio Synod; the Evangelical Lutheran Theological Seminary, ELTS; and Trinity Lutheran Seminary) is a seminary of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in A ...
), and
Andrews University
Andrews University (Andrews) 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 flag ...
in Michigan, graduating with a Master of Arts and Doctor of Education (1978). With the encouragement of his advisor, Hook wrote ''Flames Over Battle Creek'' based on his MA work.
His doctoral dissertation is titled, "The Avondale School and Adventist Educational Goals, 1894–1900)." While doing this research he became the only known Australian to have read all of the Australian manuscripts of Seventh-day Adventist Church pioneer
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 ...
, written during the years 1892 to 1901.
He has worked as a church pastor in
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
and Ohio, a mission director in
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea, officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is an island country in Oceania that comprises the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and offshore islands in Melanesia, a region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean n ...
, and a religion teacher in Australia,
New Zealand
New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...
and the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
. Throughout his career he has exercised his interest in historical research and the publication of his findings.
Hook served his local community in
Rotary Club
Rotary International is one of the largest Service club, service organizations in the world. The self-declared mission of Rotary, as stated on its website, is to "provide service to others, promote integrity, and advance world understanding, go ...
(1984–1995) including several directorships and as president of the Waitara branch in
Sydney
Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...
. He is also a committee member of the Sydney
Adventist Forum, the Eastwood-Epping
Philatelic
Philately (; ) is the study of postage stamps and postal history. It also refers to the collection and appreciation of stamps and other philatelic products. While closely associated with stamp collecting and the study of postage, it is possibl ...
Society, and secretary of the Royal Sydney Philatelic Club. He does volunteer work for the Philatelic Society of New South Wales.
Milton Hook has also served as the president of the Sydney Adventist Forum.
Report: Sydney Adventist Forum Remembers Glacier View Twenty-Five Years Later
'' by Dr. Milton Hook, former president of Sydney Adventist Forum, 16 January 2006 At a meeting in 2005 Sydney Adventist Forum reminisced about the
momentous gathering of Adventist scholars and administrators at Glacier View, Colorado in 1980. Approximately 250 people attended the Sydney Adventist Forum meeting.
Two presentations were given by
Desmond Ford (the subject of the 1980 meeting), as well as a paper delivered by
Arthur Patrick, and a paper by
Norm Young was read (although he was not present).
In 2008, Hook released a biography titled, ''Desmond Ford: Reformist Theologian, Gospel Revivalist'' published by ''Adventist Today''. The book has started healthy debate in Seventh-day Adventist circles as it clarifies issues in Adventist theology. This is the first official biography of Dr Desmond Ford with Hook charging the church hierarchy with calumny during Ford's defrocking. The book is heavily footnoted. It emphasises the Christian gospel, and describes a number of key Adventist doctrines.
Publications
Hook has edited or contributed to the following journals:
*''
Ministry''
*''
Record''
*''
Signs of the Times (Australia)''
*''Hari''
*''Jacaranda''
*''Worker''
*''
Adventist Heritage''
*''
Adventist Professional''
*''Intrasyd''
*''Avondale Reflections'', published by the Avondale Alumni
webpage
*''Good News Unlimited''
Book chapters by his pen are included in:
*"Seventh-day Adventists in the South Pacific: 1885–1985," ed. Noel Clapham (Warburton, Victoria:
Signs Publishing Company
Signs Publishing Company is a Seventh-day Adventist publishing house in Warburton, Victoria, Australia.
History
Three Adventist preachers, Stephen Haskell, John Corliss and Mendel Israel, a printer, Henry Scott, and an experienced door-to-doo ...
, 1985), pp. 144–165
*"Towards Righteousness by Faith: 1888 in Retrospect," ed. Arthur Ferch (Wahroonga, NSW:
South Pacific Division of Seventh-day Adventists
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 Sabbath ...
, 1989), pp. 25–49
*"Symposium on Adventist History in the South Pacific: 1885–1918," ed. Arthur Ferch (Wahroonga, NSW: South Pacific Division of Seventh-day Adventists, 1986), pp. 92–104
He was a consultant for Kerrin Cook, "The Railway Came to Ku-Ring-Gai," and contributed to ''The Historical Encyclopedia of Western Australia''.
Books and monographs by Milton Hook
*''Flames Over Battle Creek.'' Washington, D.C.:
Review and Herald, 1977.
*''Adventist Heritage Series,'' Nos. 1–32. Sydney, NSW: Seventh-day Adventist Church (South Pacific Division Education Department), 1988.
*''Avondale: Experiment on the Dora.'' Cooranbong, NSW: Avondale Academic Press, 1998.
*''Okely Ancestors.'' Castle Hill, NSW: Bold Print, 1998.
*''A Smith Family From Boldre.'' Self-published, 1998.
*''Hook Family Ties to Tenterden.'' Self-published, 1999.
*''Eastwood-Epping Philatelic Society: The First Fifty Years.'' Sydney, NSW: Richard Peck, 2001.
*''Desmond Ford: Reformist Theologian, Gospel Revivalist.'' Riverside, California: Adventist Today Foundation, 2008. , (pbk.), , (pbk.). Extract:
Contemporary Adventism: The Owl and the Aging Tiger. ''Adventist Today'' 15:3 (May 2007), p24
See also
*
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 ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hook, Milton
1939 births
Living people
Historians from Western Australia
Australian historians of religion
Australian biographers
Australian male biographers
Historians of Oceania
Andrews University alumni
Australian Seventh-day Adventists
People educated at Kent Street Senior High School