Standish brothers

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Colin D. Standish and Russell Roland Standish^[1] (both born 27 October 1933; Russell died 2 May 2008) are identical twin brothers and "historic" Seventh-day Adventists. They are often referred to collectively as the Standish brothers. They have co-written many books together, which have been published by their Hartland Institute.

Biography

The identical twin brothers were born on 27 October, 1933^[2] to Darcy Rowland Standish (1912–1997) and Hilda Marie Joyce Standish née Bailey (1912–74).^[3] Their hometown is Newcastle, New South Wales in Australia. From 1943 to 1949 they attended the Newcastle Seventh-day Adventist High School (now Macquarie College).^[4] They were baptized by pastor R. A. R. Thrift.^[5]

They studied at Avondale College in 1950 and '51, mainly studying primary teaching, and graduating from the "Theological Normal Course". As seventeen year-olds in 1951, they attended an evangelistic meeting held by George Burnside in Newcastle, and were impressed.^[6]

Colin is an author and administrator, as well as the founder and president of the independent Adventist institute Hartland College.^[7] He received a PhD in psychology from the University of Sydney in Australia.^[7] He has worked in both academic and administrative jobs at Avondale College, becoming President of West Indies College (now Northern Caribbean University), and President of Columbia Union College.^[7] as well as Weimar Institute. He was ordained to the ministry on 17 April, 1971.^[3]

Russell was a medical doctor and author in Australia. He completed medical training at the University of Sydney in Australia, and worked as a Hospital Clinical Superintendent and physician in Southeast Asia and Australia.^[7] as well as heading the Health Program at Enton Hall in the UK. Russell obtained specialist qualifications with the College of Physicians of both England and Glasgow. He was ordained on 6 December 1980,^[3] After his dismissal from denominational employment, he founded Remnant Ministries^[7] and ran Highwood, another secessionist Adventist college.

Russell spent the bulk of his career as a missionary physician in Southeast Asia, and also as a hospital administrator. He worked as the president of Bangkok Adventist Mission Hospital in Thailand, where he rescued the hospital from imminent closure, and as president of Penang Adventist Hospital in Malaysia. He later became Health Director of the South-east Asian Union of SDAs. Russell was dismissed from church service by the Australasian Division of Seventh-day Adventists in 1992 for continuing to write and speak against the mainstream doctrines of Dr. Desmond Ford.

Russell and Colin were presenters at the Questions on Doctrine 50th anniversary conference in 2007, where they also distributed free copies of their papers, each presented in book form.^[8]

Russell died in a motor vehicle accident in Mildura, Victoria, Australia on 2 May, 2008.^[9] A memorial service was also organized in Bangkok, Thailand, where his years of service were remembered by many of the grateful Thai people he had worked with and treated as a physician.^{[citation needed]}

As of August 2009, Colin continues serving at Hartland Institute of Health and Education, as an author and as an invited speaker at many venues around the world.

Beliefs

The Standish brothers have long been vocal supporters and prolific authors of "historic Adventism", the conservative wing of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Their focus has been supporting Adventist theological beliefs against perceived inroads from competing views derived from other theological streams. As such they criticize what they see as 'new theology' within the church, particularly evident since the 1957 publication 'Questions on Doctrine' which showed Adventists as being closer to the evangelical mainstream. They predicted that the theology promoted by Ford and Brinsmead in Australia and Heppenstall in the USA in the 1970s would lead to apostasy from other traditional Adventist doctrines, especially that of the sanctuary, unique to Seventh-day Adventism. The Standish brothers also were strong supporters of Biblical Creation, the Adventist Health message and the prophetic gift of Ellen White.

Speaking of "Seventh-day Adventists", they believe there is "almost universal entry of apostasy and false standards within our midst".^[10]

Publications

The Standish brothers have co-written dozens of books on Christian theology and lifestyle, including:

• Adventism Imperiled: Education in Crisis (1998) with Dennis C. Blum
• Deceptions of the New Theology (1999)
• Education for Excellence – The Christian Advantage
• Evangelical (1997)
• Liberty in the Balance
• Swarming Independence (1996)
• The Big Bang Exploded (1998)
• The Greatest of All the Prophets (2004)
• The Mystery of Death (2003)
• The Pope's Letter and Sunday Law (1998)
• The Perils of Timesetting (1992)
• The Rapture and the Antichrist
• The Road to Rome (1992)
• The Sacrificial Priest: The Sanctuary Message (2002)
• The Second Coming – Fervent Hope or Faded Dream
• The Twenty-eight Fundamentals
• Why Members Leave the Seventh-day Adventist Church (2007)
• Winds of Doctrine
• Youth do you Dare

Written by Colin only:

• Missionary to Jamaica
• Vision and Gods Providences: the Story of Hartland Institute

Written by Russell only:

• Adventism Vindicated: The Doctrine of Righteousness by Faith (1998)
• Georgia Sits on Grandpa's Knee (1999)
• The Sepulchres are Whited (1992)

See: Standish & Standish books on their website.

See also

• Historic Adventism
• Hartland Institute
• Independent ministries of the Seventh-day Adventist Church
• History of the Seventh-day Adventist Church

References

1. ^ Funeral order of service
2. ^ Half a Century of Apostasy, p26. They say they reached their 64th birthdays 3 days prior to their father's death on 30 October, 1997
3. ^ ^{a b c} Half a Century of Apostasy: The New Theology's Grim Harvest 1956–2006 by the Standish brothers, p23–26
4. ^ Half a Century of Apostasy by the Standish brothers, p377
5. ^ Keepers of the Faith by the Standish brothers, p115
6. ^ Keepers of the Faith by the Standish brothers, p60
7. ^ ^{a b c d e} Presenters at the Questions on Doctrine 50th Anniversary Conference
8. ^ A History of Questions on Doctrine: Fidelity or Compromise? (Highwood Books: Narbethong, Victoria, 2007)
9. ^ "Church leader is killed in Mildura accident". Mildura Independent 5th May 2008
10. ^ The Sepulchres are Whited by the Standishes, p11

External links

• "Report on Hope International and Associated Groups", a statement of concern by the General Conference about Hartland Institute and other groups. Published in the Adventist Review in August 31, 2000, Ministry in August 2000, and by the Biblical Research Institute on their website
• Articles by Colin Standish and by Russell Standish as cataloged in the Seventh-day Adventist Periodical Index (SDAPI)