Reviewing the Adventist Review

May 15, 2008
Vol. 185, No. 14

GENERAL COMMENTS
This edition of the Review has a great deal to recommend it. However, it has earned my lifetime award for including the ugliest illustration ever. This drawing introduces an otherwise excellent article, And to All—A Good Night, and may well have driven its author, Victor M. Parachin, to take those sleeping pills he believes should be taken only as a last resort.

COVER STORY
It Really Is All About Jesus
Shane Anderson sets up a straw man and, predictably, knocks him down by assuming that those of us who are critical of the 28 Fundamental Doctrines of the Adventist Church have made three faulty assumptions: Jesus is inherently inoffensive, doctrine is irrelevant to ones salvation, and doctrine has only a distant relationship to Jesus.

Anderson argues for the almost uncritical acceptance of the "teachings" of the Adventist Church. "If an Adventist doctrine seems unpalatable, could it be that it's time for a reevaluation of the doctrine rather than throwing it out altogether? And might it be that Adventist doctrine still has a central and indisputable role to play in evangelism—that is, in bringing our friends and neighbors into the arms of Jesus Christ?" (Editors Note: The 28 have not been helpful in evangelizing my nonAdventist friends. And the overwhelming majority of my Adventist school classmates, K—16, are no longer Adventists.)


ARTICLES
The Weight of Glory
An inspirational quote by C. S. Lewis

Finding the Source
Bert Williams argues that Jesus’ prayer life sustained him. "It is unimaginable that Jesus could have sustained His ministry apart from His relationship with His Father. The possibility is even more remote that we can maintain spiritual life apart from a continuous connection with Heaven."

God Vision
Ron Reese tells the story of a fledgling realtor that made $75,000 in commission because she ignored the appearance of a client despite the initial snickering of her colleagues. Reese goes on to write, "We need some kind of spiritual goggles; we need God vision. We need to look past the limitations of those we interact with daily and see them as God sees them."

And To All—A Good Night
Don't be "turned off" by Terry Crews revolting illustration. Victor M. Parachin has ten important tips for a better night's sleep: be predictable in your sleep habits, practice emotional and spiritual stress management, observe and modify your sleep environment, avoid caffeinated drinks eight hours before bedtime, exercise, quit smoking, be mentally and socially engaged during the day, don't take an alcoholic drink before bedtime, make your bedroom a sleep haven that is associated with pleasure and rest, and "if you and your doctor decide you need a sleeping pill, use one that's short-acting, doesn't leave you with a hangover, works quickly, and doesn't accumulate in the body”.

Tools of the Trade
Monte Sahlin highly recommends, Sometimes I Don’t Feel Like Praying by Mike Jones (Pacific Press) He also recommends, Summer Ministries by Tyner, Gillespie, and Wood (AdventSource) and Winning Ways to Witness, a four-session video seminar by David Hartman (AdventSource)


DEPARTMENTS
Letters
Once again readers’ comments surprise, inform, and delight.

World News Perspectives
PREACH Seminar Marks Decade of Service
Lloyd John Ogilvie, Earl Massey, JoAnn Davidson, and Lawrence Turner conducted a worldwide satellite seminar on preaching at Walla Walla College on April 22. The Seventh-day Adventist Church’s Ministerial Association sponsored the seminar.

Review Web Site, Cover Feature Garner Top Awards at ACP Convention
Kimberly Luste Maran reports that the Adventist Review and the Messenger, published by the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Canada, covered themselves with glory at the Associated Church Press Awards Convention. Way to go folks!

The George E. Peters Seventh-day Adventist School in Chillum, Maryland, was partially destroyed by a tornado. Fortunately the twister did not hit on a school day, and there were no injuries.

Birding and Life Lists
Rosalind Landless has definite favorites when it comes to birds, but she's resolved not to play favorites when it comes to people. Though she would much prefer "a rare visit from a Baltimore oriole or a rose breasted grosbeak", Landless reminds herself that sparrows are also included in God’s bird list.


EDITORIALS
Life Matters
Kimberly Luste Maran reflects on the murder of a four-year-old classmate of her daughter. His father also drowned Austin’s two-year-old sister and six-year-old brother. Her editorial is a call to action, political and personal. "As I dwell on the impact of their deaths these are things that break my heart—and call me to act—because Austin and his siblings mattered. Because life matters. And what I do now, from here on out, does matter.”

Are You Watching?
Mark A. Kellner is bothered by a drop in news ‘consumption’ by people younger than himself. "Having a global news perspective will aid our understanding, fuel our prayer life, and let us fulfill Jesus’ command in Mark 13: 37:’ What I say unto you I say unto all, Watch.’”