“Religious Liberty and Legal Restriction: Seventh-day Adventists and the Christmas Day Act of 1899 in the Cook Islands”

Abstract

This article examines the impact of the Christmas Day Act of 1899 on Seventh-day Adventists in the Cook Islands, exploring the tension between colonial legal enforcement of Sunday observance and Adventist commitment to the biblical seventh-day Sabbath. Drawing on historical records, missionary correspondence, legal documents, and theological analysis, the study traces how early Adventists resisted state-imposed worship mandates, grounded in the principle of Sola Scriptura and the unbroken weekly cycle established at Creation. Particular focus is given to indigenous responses, such as the resistance in Titikaveka and the sentencing of Sabbath-keepers to hard labor. The faithfulness of early Adventists under pressure affirms the enduring authority of Scripture and the resilience of God’s Church.