Russell Standish, M.D., an iconic figure in contemporary Adventist theological discussions, died Friday, May 2, as a result of a two-vehicle collision at an intersection near Irymple, Victoria, Australia.  Standish was traveling with a friend, Cliff Cocks, to the home of another friend.  According to Mildura Independent, a local newspaper, Standish had flown on a commercial flight from Melbourne to Mildura (5 miles north of Irymple) and arrived at 4:20 p.m., local time.  The accident occurred around 5:25 p.m.  Standish was to speak at a weekend meeting in Red Cliffs, 5 miles south of Irymple, as he had done on numerous occasions, for the independent ministry group located there.  Standish is survived by his wife, Glenice, his three sons, Stephen, James, and Timothy, and his twin brother, Colin.  (James is director of legislative affairs, public affairs, and religious liberty at the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists; Timothy is a research scientist at the Geoscience Research Institute, located at Loma Linda University; and Colin is president of Hartland Institute, an independent ministry institution that supports the mission of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.)  He was 74 years old.  

A brief bio of the Standish brothers can be found in their Wikipedia entry.

Since the 1970s, the Standish brothers have offered a powerful voice representing what is known as “Historic Adventism.”  In many ways, they have helped shape the Adventist theological discussions on the doctrines of sin, atonement, human nature of Christ, salvation, and perfection.  They have co-authored more than 60 books, almost all of them geared toward their fellow Adventists, alerting them to the need for personal repentance and corporate re-direction toward a purer Adventism that is in harmony with Scripture and the writings of Ellen White.

Many of the Standish brothers’ concerns for the church centered on the unfortunate “new theology” that was introduced through the 1957 publication of Seventh-day Adventists Answer Questions on Doctrine (QOD).  They saw the book as providing a “fertile ground for those who wished to destroy the sanctuary message and God’s claim upon the loyal obedience of His children” (Adventism Challenged, 1:52) through what they believed to be the denigration of the historic Adventist teachings on the atonement and the human nature of Christ.  A frequent refrain in their books has been the issuance of the call to their fellow Adventists to turn away from the new theology and its degenerative implications.

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