Killing time at the Geoscience Research Institute

Modified from the comic Bizarro by Dan Piraro.
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Ted at the Haberdashers

Comic from Rubes, by Leigh Rubin.

(click for enlarged image)

Reviewing Adventist World, NAD Edition

April, 2012
Vol. 8, No. 4
http://www.adventistworld.org/

Adventist World is free online. For that reason, I only review or comment on articles that I believe to be of special interest. This includes editorials, special supplements, and NAD features not available online.

GENERAL OVERVIEW 
The contents of NEW FEATURES is of most interest to me. I’ll comment after I mention some other items that caught my eye.

REVIEWS
Did you know that 28% of Adventists are lacto-ovovegetarian?

I am delighted to acknowledge that WHAT’S LEFT? Angel Manuel Rodríguez’ answer to this reader’s question, is a scholarly and clearly stated! “In many Bible versions the word “remnant” is not found in Revelation 12:17. Is it correct to insist that the passage refers to a remnant?” The answer is “yes”.

WHAT ABOUT VITAMIN SUPPLEMENTS?by Allan R. Handysides and Peter N. Landless answers the following question in their usual authoritative and lucid language. The following is their summary:

So who should receive vitamin and mineral supplementation?

• Those suffering nutritional deficiencies from an inadequate diet.
• Pregnant women—folic acid supplementation has been proven to decrease neural tube deformities; also iron supplementation may be needed.
• Those with dark skin and individuals with fewer than 15 minutes of sun exposure per day may benefit from supplemental vitamin D.
• Those with gastrointestinal diseases, which cause decreased absorption of nutrients, e.g., celiac disease (gluten sensitivity).
• Those undergoing cancer treatment (chemotherapy).

It doesn't seem that Mark A. Finley can talk about FAITH with out prefacing the word with END-TIME.

COMMENT
A NEWS FEATURE: LISTENING, STUDYING, AND SHARING
“In response to the action of the 2010 General Conference session, a Fundamental Beliefs Review Committee was established by the church to consider any adjustments that may be deemed necessary in the church’s 28 fundamental beliefs. General Conference vice president Artur Stele chairs that committee, and recently sat down with Adventist World editor Bill Knott and news editor Mark Kellner to talk about how the process will unfold.”

STELE: First of all, the task is not to rewrite the fundamental beliefs. The task is to see if the wording that we have used for a number of years requires a change. Language is dynamic, and in the more than 30 years since the Statement of Fundamental Beliefs was endorsed by the 1980 General Conference session, it’s possible that new language can better express what the church has historically believed on these points. We’re engaged in an editorial revision of the fundamental beliefs, not a rewriting of them.”

KELLNER: “You noted the special task that has been given the committee about Fundamental Belief No. 6, on Creation. How significant is that belief to the life of the Seventh-day Adventist Church? What Do You Think?”

STELE: Belief No. 6 is crucial, because the whole system of beliefs that we have as a Seventh-day Adventist Church is so interlinked. If you take one out, especially one as central as our belief in special creation, the whole building collapses. And No. 6 is one of the foundational beliefs that really undergird the entire structure of our beliefs. If you don’t believe in Creation, then you definitely will not believe in the biblical account of re-creation, the creation of new heavens and a new earth. If you don’t believe in Creation as described in the Bible, the Sabbath—of which it is the weekly memorial—quickly declines in significance. It’s vitally important that the language we choose to express our belief in Creation clearly articulates what we mean to express about what the Bible teaches.

There are two admissions in the following dialogue that are troubling. First, the Fundamental Beliefs Review Committee is only engaged in an “editorial revision of the fundamental beliefs, not a rewriting of them”. The second is the assertion that any official statement that does not support “Creation as [literally] described in the Bible” undermines and eventually destroys Adventist theology.

This “editorial revision” statement runs counter to the statement on page vii of What Seventh Day Adventists Believe, (Review and Herald Publishing Association, May, 1988.)“We have not written this book to serve as a creed, a statement of beliefs set in theological concrete.” This statement suggests that periodically, all beliefs should undergo a review, not just an “editorial revision”.

The assertion that the literal seven-day creation story found in Genesis is the cornerstone of all Adventist theology seems unwise given historical and scientific evidence to the contrary. Sabbath keeping can be justified using other Bible references and practical considerations.

In addition, if Belief #6 is revised to require Seventh-day Adventists to believe that the creation of the universe happened 6000 years ago, I along with many baptized members who joined the church before such a revision is contemplated will be excluded from membership. (In my case, I was baptized 34 years before all be one of the current 28 fundamental beliefs were written!) Will us old timers be grandfathered in?

“Individuals are invited to make suggestions for integrating the current Fundamental Belief No. 6 and “An Affirmation of Creation”, or for revising the wording of other statements by:

1. Identifying the change of wording recommended.
2. Providing a brief rationale of 150-200 words maximum.
3. Sending suggestions by one of these methods:
1. Mail: FBRC, Biblical Research Institute, General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, 12501 Old Columbia Pike, Silver Spring, Maryland 20904-6600, U.S.A.
2. E-mail: FBRC@gc.adventist.org

The Medium Is The Message!

Modified from the comic Non Sequitur, by Wiley 
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The Gospel Or Fear Mongering?

Modified from the comic Dilbert, by Scott Adams
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Reviewing the Adventist Review

March 22 2012
Vol. 189, No.9
http://www.adventistreview.org/index.php?issue=2012-1509


NOTE TO READERS:
WORD NEWS AND PERSPECTIVES is an important section of each magazine. I do not usually report on its contents because it is available at the online address I provide with every review.

GENERAL OVERVIEW
Unfortunately, this issue doesn’t have a great deal to recommend it other than CARPE DIEM, the lead editorial by Gerald A. Klingbeil and REFINED FOODS, another excellent treatise on healthy living authored by Handysides and Landless.

I do, however, have something to say about what is glaringly absent from almost all of the Adventist Reviews and Adventist Worlds I have read over the past years—relevancy.

REVIEWS
Gerald A. Klingbeil’s inspiration for CARPE DIEM came from “a very engaging program on National Public Radio featuring Dr. Evan Lipson, a young oncologist from Johns Hopkins Hospital…Seize the Days [website] honors cancer patients and the ways they have made their days meaningful; it showcases their courage in order to inspire others; and it provides an avenue that helps family honor the memory of their loved ones.”

Carpe Diem inspired Klingbgeil to look at his priorities to make sure that his “first things” truly remain first. He ends the editorial with the request that readers send him their carpe diem stories at klingbeilg@gc.adventist.org.

Handysides and Landless conclude their essay on REFINED FOODS with these sensible words: “Fresh vegetables, lots of fruit, whole grains, legumes, and nuts, along with a little dairy or dairy equivalent, should form the basis of a healthful diet. Excessive texturized protein, processed foods, and ‘created’ complexes need to be viewed with caution. If you do choose to eat them, do so in moderation.”

COMMENT
Today, three print editions of the Review are mailed to fewer than 30,000 subscribers each month. Consequently, its theological impact on the Adventist community is negligible. The NAD edition of Adventist World is mailed to every member whose name appears on “the church books”, free of charge, in the attempt to keep individual Adventists connected to the church in some tenuous way since it has been estimated that only half of the official 1.2 million Adventists on the books attend church at least once a month. * (My brother gets the magazine, and he hasn’t attended church in twenty years.)

Both publications unfailingly canonize official church dogma. Consequently, Adventist young people aren’t motivated to read them, and Adventist professionals and working stiffs “don’t waste their time”. With a few exceptions, the rest of us old-timers venerate these periodicals as if they contain church sanctioned gospel that reflects a united voice.

The failure to elicit and publish opposing viewpoints permits the readership and Adventist hierarchy to persuade themselves that everything in Adventist land is hunky-dory. That everyone’s working hard to reform themselves and revive their commitment to Adventism. That only a few ragtag bloggers and malcontents are unhappy, and Cliff Goldstein can be depended on to defend any official position with supercilious ease.

I would argue that this lack of critical response should be interpreted as a sign of profound disinterest. It masks a growing disaffection created by a rigid formulistic church creed and, most glaringly, official pronouncements regarding biblical literalism and the misogynistic and homophobic attitudes embraced in church doctrine and policy.

* A Passion For Revival: An Interview With Lee Venden in the February 2012, issue of Ministry Magazine.

A Little Help From A Friend

Modified from the comic Dilbert, by Scott Adams
(click to enlarge)