Reviewing the Adventist Review

May 8, 2008
Vol. 185, No. 13

GENERAL COMMENTS
Nice job Jimmy Phillips. I was also impressed by the cover story, My Space: What are the Dangers? What are the Possibilities?

COVER STORY
My Space: What roles do social networks play in the lives of Adventists?
Even though the article was a bit wordy, it was an informative, balanced, and objective discussion of online social networks. The authors conclude the piece with the words of Jon Cicle, pastor of the Vallejo Central Adventist Church in Vallejo, California. "If you're looking for scandals, you will be scandalized. If you're looking for the inspirational, you will be inspired." Authors Stephanie Kinsey and Tyler Craft did themselves proud!


ARTICLES
The Search for Meaning: Why does life often look so hopeless? Where’s the Silver lining?”
Editors, Melody Tan needed your help. She concludes “life is genuinely meaningless only when we take God out of the picture." However the tenor of the article and the following quotes do not support Tan’s conclusion. "But when you consider the wisdom of Solomon, what he says in Ecclesiastes makes perfect (albeit depressing) sense. Whatever our actions may be, they do not make a difference." "Meaning in life comes with God and pertains to what comes after our existence here on earth is over."

Balancing Ambition With Contentment
Judith H. Nembhard suggests the following seven ways to strike that healthy balance: acknowledge God’s faithfulness, cultivate God’s friendship, share with others, accept life's inadequacies, accept yourself, and make a habit of thinking positively.

Another Side of Motherhood
Caring for an elderly parent is one of life's great challenges. Vickie Hillary was up to the challenge. Caring for her mother proved to be a difficult assignment, but her prayer that God would give her "a positive cheerful attitude" was answered.


DEPARTMENTS
Letters
The comments on these two pages reflect an enlightened editorial policy. Journalistic credibility is enhanced when published letters to the editor balance praise with objective criticism.

Journeys
On Lacking Tact
Sari Fordham, you summarized Proverbs counsel to all of us tactless bloggers, "Be judicious, but don't be phony."

World News and Perspectives
The Mosier Missionary family survived a deadly Congo Jet Crash.

Cornelius M. Matandiko, Zambia Union Conference President, died after a short illness. He was 48.

Adventists Church Vice President, Ella Simmons, represented Seventh-day Adventists at the Woman, Faith, and Development Summit to End Global Poverty at the National Cathedral in Washington, DC. "Summit speakers agreed that merely funneling money into disenfranchised hands does little to dent poverty rates. Rather, any solution to poverty must fully utilize women and girls as ‘agents of change, not just objects of charity.’"

Roscoe Howard III is the new president of the Mid-America Union of Seventh-day Adventists.

Stennett H. Brooks, retired Northeastern Conference President, was killed in an automobile crash on April 4.

Introducing the Why
Forget “Success” by Jimmy Phillips’ is a MUST READ. His story about the compassion of twelve businesspeople from Minneapolis, Minnesota, will lead you to conclude with Jimmy that “Jesus would have given His life if none would have accepted salvation. His motivation was not to fill a quota for Heaven; it was to love and serve with every ounce of His being".

Touching Base
This is the story of Feryl Harris’ amazing willingness to mentor a troubled boy from childhood to his adult years. I can think of no finer expression of Christian love.


EDITORIALS
The Devil’s Favorite Story
Bill Knott doesn't mince words. “Tabloid journalism invites us to window-shop on moral issues, teasing us into believing that thinking—and even emoting—about the world's poor is enough. Unless our righteousness exceeds that of the Pharisees . . . we will not enter the kingdom of God, even though our souls overflow with lofty sentiments."

All Things Grace Is
Wilona Karimabadi’s equates "grace" with forgiveness. "Grace", in my view, is God's gift of discernment, the ability to think rationally and to make "right" decisions as we live our lives in this chaotic world.