Modified from the comic Non Sequitur, by Wiley
(click to enlarge)
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Reviewing Adventist Today
Winter 2009
Vol. 17, No.1
GENERAL COMMENTS
“Adventist Today brings contemporary issues of importance to Adventist Church members.” That’s what the editors proclaim, and that’s why we subscribe. In this issue, there were 29 interior pages in which these issues could be discussed. 3½ pages were devoted to very large, albeit beautiful, pictures that accompanied three feature articles. 4½ print pages were devoted to 8 short student interviews of “people around us—the people we see only periodically, on a surface level.” Interview questions included, “What makes you happy?” “What did you want to be when you grew up?” “Describe your perfect day.” The answers given were necessarily superficial. Of the remaining 21 pages, only 14½ were devoted to “contemporary issues”.
Happily, those 14½ pages were worth reading. I also enjoyed the ADVENTIST CARICATURIST’S 1½ pages, and the 2 pages awarded to Marcel Schwantes’ 7 QUESTIONS for Tami and Jeff Cinquemani and ADVENTIST MAN.
COMMENTS
Andy Nash, it seems to me that you should also be careful while TREADING ON HOLY GROUND. While “plumbing the riches of the Living Word”, you argue that Christ’s reference to Adam and Eve and Daniel the prophet validates their physical existence. You go on to disparage “thought leaders” who believe that some biblical texts “no longer pertain to our day”.
Christ uses the word “hell” 12 times. Consider Christ’s account of the Rich Man and Lazarus in Luke 16; I would argue that in this case, and others, Christ is making a literary allusion to make a point, rather than establishing proof that biblical characters and actual places exist.
Alex Bryan argues that the Adventist Church in America is in critical condition. In THE END OF AMERICAN ADVENTISM? Bryan offers as critical conditions: loss of membership, an aging membership, and local churches that “lack a vibrant worship environment”. His prescription: tell the truth, i.e. “bad news can drive us to the gospel faster than platitudes.” Re-claim the local church as THE church. “Hospitals and colleges and publishing houses are only important as the [local] churches are alive.”
And finally, SDA educational institutions must prepare “young 20-something graduates who are prepared, upon graduation, to flood local congregations with energy, spirituality, relational passion, and missional skill. . .Every collegiate (and possibly) high school Adventist diploma ought to mean that the young person. . .
[has] served a full year in domestic or international mission. I’m talking Peace Corps or Mormon mission-type service.”
Alden Thompson warns of THREE ADVENTIST DANGERS: fearfulness “of everything without the Adventist label”, embarrassment that “kills evangelism”, and the “raw bid for power”.
ORDINATION IS NOT THE ISSUE: REFLECTIONS OF A FEMALE PASTOR by Bonita Joyner Shields provides the biblical and historical argument that “it takes both male and female to accurately reflect the image of God”. J. David Newman’s WHY MEN SHOULD NOT BE ORDAINED provides a persuasive rational and biblical argument for not ordaining men. Consequently, “If we give up ordaining men, we solve the problem of whether or not we should ordain women.
Vol. 17, No.1
GENERAL COMMENTS
“Adventist Today brings contemporary issues of importance to Adventist Church members.” That’s what the editors proclaim, and that’s why we subscribe. In this issue, there were 29 interior pages in which these issues could be discussed. 3½ pages were devoted to very large, albeit beautiful, pictures that accompanied three feature articles. 4½ print pages were devoted to 8 short student interviews of “people around us—the people we see only periodically, on a surface level.” Interview questions included, “What makes you happy?” “What did you want to be when you grew up?” “Describe your perfect day.” The answers given were necessarily superficial. Of the remaining 21 pages, only 14½ were devoted to “contemporary issues”.
Happily, those 14½ pages were worth reading. I also enjoyed the ADVENTIST CARICATURIST’S 1½ pages, and the 2 pages awarded to Marcel Schwantes’ 7 QUESTIONS for Tami and Jeff Cinquemani and ADVENTIST MAN.
COMMENTS
Andy Nash, it seems to me that you should also be careful while TREADING ON HOLY GROUND. While “plumbing the riches of the Living Word”, you argue that Christ’s reference to Adam and Eve and Daniel the prophet validates their physical existence. You go on to disparage “thought leaders” who believe that some biblical texts “no longer pertain to our day”.
Christ uses the word “hell” 12 times. Consider Christ’s account of the Rich Man and Lazarus in Luke 16; I would argue that in this case, and others, Christ is making a literary allusion to make a point, rather than establishing proof that biblical characters and actual places exist.
Alex Bryan argues that the Adventist Church in America is in critical condition. In THE END OF AMERICAN ADVENTISM? Bryan offers as critical conditions: loss of membership, an aging membership, and local churches that “lack a vibrant worship environment”. His prescription: tell the truth, i.e. “bad news can drive us to the gospel faster than platitudes.” Re-claim the local church as THE church. “Hospitals and colleges and publishing houses are only important as the [local] churches are alive.”
And finally, SDA educational institutions must prepare “young 20-something graduates who are prepared, upon graduation, to flood local congregations with energy, spirituality, relational passion, and missional skill. . .Every collegiate (and possibly) high school Adventist diploma ought to mean that the young person. . .
[has] served a full year in domestic or international mission. I’m talking Peace Corps or Mormon mission-type service.”
Alden Thompson warns of THREE ADVENTIST DANGERS: fearfulness “of everything without the Adventist label”, embarrassment that “kills evangelism”, and the “raw bid for power”.
ORDINATION IS NOT THE ISSUE: REFLECTIONS OF A FEMALE PASTOR by Bonita Joyner Shields provides the biblical and historical argument that “it takes both male and female to accurately reflect the image of God”. J. David Newman’s WHY MEN SHOULD NOT BE ORDAINED provides a persuasive rational and biblical argument for not ordaining men. Consequently, “If we give up ordaining men, we solve the problem of whether or not we should ordain women.
Reviewing the Adventist Review
January 15, 2009
Vol. 186, No. 2
GENERAL COMMENTS
Roy Adams’ editorial, On The Right Side of History? Argues that the election of Barack Obama and those that celebrate his election are on the right side of history. Reader Elden Walter believes that recent history indicates that our Church is Headed for Trouble. “I don’t think I’m out of touch, but I plead guilty to a feeling of distress and anxiety over the direction we are headed toward liberal/progressing/socialistic politics, and postmodern/politically correct theology and church culture.” Which side of the argument are you on? This edition of the Review provides readers on both sides of this issue something to think about.
“In an article in Newsweek’s online edition for November 15, 2008, Lisa Miller tells how “apocalypse watchers” have come to the conclusion that Barack Obama is the antichrist—sentiments fueled by former Saturday Night Live personality Victoria Jackson, who reportedly wrote on her Web site that Obama “bears traits that resemble the anti-Christ.” One apocalypse watcher from Illinois thought it highly significant that “one of the winning lottery numbers in the president-elect’s home state was 666.”
Not for a moment should Adventists be found on the side of those advocating such harebrained piffle. It’s the wrong side of history.” Roy Adams
ADRA Scores Charitable Recognition. “For the forth consecutive year, ADRA was a warded a top four-star rating by Charity Navigator, America’s leading charity evaluator, for a high level of financial accountability and transparency. This rating is granted to less than 6 percent of US charities.” The Better Business Bureau and the Chronicle of Philanthropy also give ADRA exemplary ratings. Reported by ADRA
The Molding of a Musical Mission is the story of the New England Youth Ensemble that has traveled the world for thirty-eight years restoring “faith in American Youth”. Virginia-Gene Rittenhouse
Changing Lives One Word at a Time chronicles the work of the Southern-Asia Division’s Women’s Ministries. “Currently, the division has established 200 learning centers in six provinces in the southeastern region of India. Most are in remote villages. About 20 students ages 15 and older attend each literacy center.
“A common saying in India is ‘If you educate a man, you educate a person; but if you educate a woman, you educate a family. . .The family’s health improves because wives and mothers can explore available medical care programs such as immunizations for their children and family planning options. They can fill out the application forms for the old-age pension, and because they can now sign their names, they can receive additional dry food rations, apply for small government loans, and open their own bank accounts. More job opportunities are available to them, which results in a higher standard of living. They learn to manage their personal finances and can help their children with their homework; therefore, they become more valued by their children, their husbands, and others in the community. Just being able to read the bus signs, which allows them to travel freely from one village to another, greatly improves a person’s quality of life.” Sandra Blackmer
No More Delays. “We are on the verge of something, and that the Holy Spirit’s fingerprints are all over it. I’ve never seen so many people who are so open to spiritual conversations; people of diverse religious backgrounds—Christians, Jews, Hindus, Muslims—the list goes on. It seems as though you can strike up a spiritually oriented conversation on the spot, and people are open to talk.” Fredrick Al. Russell
When asked the question, What Are You? “non-Adventists can’t point out an Adventist with the speed I usually can, [but] they can certainly recognize a Christian!” Patty Froese Ntihemuka
Responding to an Impression, I handed Doug Batchelor’s book, Broken Chains, to Ambassador William Burns during his farewell reception at Soaso House, the U.S. Ambassadors Residence in Moscow, with the comment, ““It’s a survival guide to Washington.” Andrew McChesney, a Russian journalist,
Calling God’s Bluff? “Many today are proud of their immorality. They frame their sins and flash them as ID cards. They trumpet them on highway billboards for all to see, hold placards in the streets, protest on national television. We praise the immoral, make movies about them, elect them as government officials and church leaders, and pass laws in their favor. We challenge God in every way. We are conceited, proud, wicked, arrogant, irreverent, unloving, brutal, reckless, treacherous, selfish, pleasure-seeking, money-loving—and proud of it all! Describing our situation, Paul says: “They invent new ways of sinning. . . . They refuse to understand, break their promises, are heartless, and have no mercy. They know God’s justice requires that those who do these things deserve to die, yet they do them anyway. Worse yet, they encourage others to do them, too (Rom. 1:30-32)” Sam Belony
For about seven years I've been part of a navy that ensured open shipping lanes for Ghana’s commerce. In The Last Ask, he was “with my mate John in Liberia when we were ordered to cross over into war-torn Sierra Leone. It was a cold midnight. Under the cover of ECOMOG tanks, we rolled over the Liberian border and entered Sierra Leone, altering for the better the lives of terrified millions who were caught up in the mayhem of war.”
John was mortally wounded in an early morning attack by rebels, but before he died, John and I both discovered “the way to heaven”. Israel Banini, Frontline Reporter
Vol. 186, No. 2
GENERAL COMMENTS
Roy Adams’ editorial, On The Right Side of History? Argues that the election of Barack Obama and those that celebrate his election are on the right side of history. Reader Elden Walter believes that recent history indicates that our Church is Headed for Trouble. “I don’t think I’m out of touch, but I plead guilty to a feeling of distress and anxiety over the direction we are headed toward liberal/progressing/socialistic politics, and postmodern/politically correct theology and church culture.” Which side of the argument are you on? This edition of the Review provides readers on both sides of this issue something to think about.
“In an article in Newsweek’s online edition for November 15, 2008, Lisa Miller tells how “apocalypse watchers” have come to the conclusion that Barack Obama is the antichrist—sentiments fueled by former Saturday Night Live personality Victoria Jackson, who reportedly wrote on her Web site that Obama “bears traits that resemble the anti-Christ.” One apocalypse watcher from Illinois thought it highly significant that “one of the winning lottery numbers in the president-elect’s home state was 666.”
Not for a moment should Adventists be found on the side of those advocating such harebrained piffle. It’s the wrong side of history.” Roy Adams
ADRA Scores Charitable Recognition. “For the forth consecutive year, ADRA was a warded a top four-star rating by Charity Navigator, America’s leading charity evaluator, for a high level of financial accountability and transparency. This rating is granted to less than 6 percent of US charities.” The Better Business Bureau and the Chronicle of Philanthropy also give ADRA exemplary ratings. Reported by ADRA
The Molding of a Musical Mission is the story of the New England Youth Ensemble that has traveled the world for thirty-eight years restoring “faith in American Youth”. Virginia-Gene Rittenhouse
Changing Lives One Word at a Time chronicles the work of the Southern-Asia Division’s Women’s Ministries. “Currently, the division has established 200 learning centers in six provinces in the southeastern region of India. Most are in remote villages. About 20 students ages 15 and older attend each literacy center.
“A common saying in India is ‘If you educate a man, you educate a person; but if you educate a woman, you educate a family. . .The family’s health improves because wives and mothers can explore available medical care programs such as immunizations for their children and family planning options. They can fill out the application forms for the old-age pension, and because they can now sign their names, they can receive additional dry food rations, apply for small government loans, and open their own bank accounts. More job opportunities are available to them, which results in a higher standard of living. They learn to manage their personal finances and can help their children with their homework; therefore, they become more valued by their children, their husbands, and others in the community. Just being able to read the bus signs, which allows them to travel freely from one village to another, greatly improves a person’s quality of life.” Sandra Blackmer
No More Delays. “We are on the verge of something, and that the Holy Spirit’s fingerprints are all over it. I’ve never seen so many people who are so open to spiritual conversations; people of diverse religious backgrounds—Christians, Jews, Hindus, Muslims—the list goes on. It seems as though you can strike up a spiritually oriented conversation on the spot, and people are open to talk.” Fredrick Al. Russell
When asked the question, What Are You? “non-Adventists can’t point out an Adventist with the speed I usually can, [but] they can certainly recognize a Christian!” Patty Froese Ntihemuka
Responding to an Impression, I handed Doug Batchelor’s book, Broken Chains, to Ambassador William Burns during his farewell reception at Soaso House, the U.S. Ambassadors Residence in Moscow, with the comment, ““It’s a survival guide to Washington.” Andrew McChesney, a Russian journalist,
Calling God’s Bluff? “Many today are proud of their immorality. They frame their sins and flash them as ID cards. They trumpet them on highway billboards for all to see, hold placards in the streets, protest on national television. We praise the immoral, make movies about them, elect them as government officials and church leaders, and pass laws in their favor. We challenge God in every way. We are conceited, proud, wicked, arrogant, irreverent, unloving, brutal, reckless, treacherous, selfish, pleasure-seeking, money-loving—and proud of it all! Describing our situation, Paul says: “They invent new ways of sinning. . . . They refuse to understand, break their promises, are heartless, and have no mercy. They know God’s justice requires that those who do these things deserve to die, yet they do them anyway. Worse yet, they encourage others to do them, too (Rom. 1:30-32)” Sam Belony
For about seven years I've been part of a navy that ensured open shipping lanes for Ghana’s commerce. In The Last Ask, he was “with my mate John in Liberia when we were ordered to cross over into war-torn Sierra Leone. It was a cold midnight. Under the cover of ECOMOG tanks, we rolled over the Liberian border and entered Sierra Leone, altering for the better the lives of terrified millions who were caught up in the mayhem of war.”
John was mortally wounded in an early morning attack by rebels, but before he died, John and I both discovered “the way to heaven”. Israel Banini, Frontline Reporter
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
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