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The Political Character Of Adventist Rhetoric Until The End Of The Civil War, Jeffrey Boyd Smith

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

This thesis attempts to account for the emergence, development, and function of Seventh-day Adventist apocalyptic rhetoric within its social context. As the title indicates, the argument is that the rhetoric was political in character, having been derived from the apocalyptic rhetoric of American "civil religion," which originated in the colonial wars with the French during the eighteenth century. After tracing the formation of Adventist rhetoric from William Miller's preaching of the Second Coming to John N. Andrew's interpretation of the third angel's message found in Revelation 14, the author concludes with an analysis of this rhetoric's influence on Adventist behavior …

Ringers Of Bells And Teachers Of Civilization : The Work Of The California Franciscan Missionaries, 1769-1821, Gilberto Vega

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

In 1769 Spain took active and decisive actions to settle the vast region of her empire known as California. To accomplish the feat she turned to the willing hands of the Franciscan missionaries. The friars willingly answered their call and through their labors assured Spanish hegemony over the region. Both soldiers and friars had participated in the project but the latter's role has usually been underestimated.

The usual mental picture of the Franciscan monks that settled California is one that belittles their greatness. Such views regard the friars as crude religious fanatics with little education and intelligence, whose only pleasure …