Anthony discovers new way

Seminarian reflects on the good of God

Dr Anthony MacPherson’s roles at work, as course convenor for our Master of Arts (Theology), and at home, as husband and father, are not too dissimilar—both involve faith and fun. “My greatest love in life is listening to my wife and kids laugh, talk, pray and worship together.”

This picture of happiness at home reflects a deeper desire: to see renewal in the church “by rediscovering old or neglected essentials in a new way.” The most essential: an appreciation of biblical theology and doctrine. “In Scripture, God has revealed Himself in Jesus Christ. This is a profoundly deep, content-rich revelation. There is no way of rediscovering God outside of this.” But rediscovery requires commitment. “Renewal that is more than an emotional high will inevitably wrestle with the depths of Scripture.”

With pastoral experience, Anthony has seen evidence of renewal in local churches. “The Bible is devoured. Prayer and praise and witness and worship appear alongside sacrifice and service as one’s first pursuit, not as some receding memory. God is not an addition or afterthought. A irrepressible and persistent longing for Him just has to be expressed.”

A new position—as Head of Theology at Fulton Adventist University College—and a PhD followed. The doctoral thesis explored another new way—that of understanding the relationship between a good God and evil. Using the Great Controversy motif, Anthony argued God doesn’t want or need evil to produce greater good but sacrifices Himself to redeem and restore the good we have lost and to overcome evil we should never have embraced.

After four years in Fiji, Anthony had mixed feeling about leaving. The country promotes itself as “open for happiness.” Anthony found it “literally everywhere: in the adults and the children, in the songs, in shared meals, in church. I always found it while snorkelling amid the coral reefs.” He found it in the classroom, too, with students whose relationship with God reinforced a defining characteristic of the divine. “God is unyieldingly patient. He was with them, He is with me and you.”