Book Review: G.I. Butler: An Honest but Misunderstood Church Leader by Denis Fortin

G.I. Butler: An Honest but Misunderstood Church Leader by Denis Fortin
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

In Adventist history, he is known as the man who from a distance influenced opposition to a new understanding of righteousness by faith within the Seventh-day Adventist Church, but this General Conference president’s opposition was misunderstood. Denis Fortin’s G.I. Butler: An Honest but Misunderstood Church Leader gives added context to the events of 1888 and later the breech with John Harvey Kellogg in the 1900s.

Fortin’s biography of George Butler is only the second written about the two-time General Conference president, and unlike the first that the author references this one tries to add context to the biggest controversy of Butler’s tenure the 1888 General Conference session in Minneapolis. Yet while that is the literal heart of this volume, Fortin reveals that this wasn’t the first “controversy” of Butler’s time in office, nor would it be the last in his long career in service of the denomination. As this is the first book published in the Adventist Pioneer Series in four years, Fortin readily referenced previous biographies to contrast his findings and interpretations of Butler’s actions and activities to previous research. Through the 680 might appear daunting for some, the last 60 pages are a bibliography of Butler’s writings and an index, yet the remaining 620 pages of text includes several pages at the end of each page of notes thus giving the reader assurance of a thoroughly researched subject. Personally, I came into this biography intrigued given the way Butler has been colored by previous historians and came away impressed while also seeing the controversial events Butler is associated with in a fuller context.

To the average Seventh-day Adventist that knows that name of George I. Butler, the initial thought might not be positive. However, after reading Denis Fortin’s well researched and thorough biography one will have a better understanding of the man and his perspective of events that he is seen in a negative light.

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