Good friends of mine, people I love and respect, have suggested that the best way to end the strife is to let the various sectors of the church follow their own convictions on the issue. Based on Scripture and history, I believe this is the wrong approach. But before I tell you why, let me first share two things that are not motivating me.
Read MoreGalatians 3:28 is the magna carta of humanity?
Galatians 3:28 has been styled the “magna carta of humanity” (Paul Jewett, Man as Male, 142) by some egalitarians. They say “this verse shows that the church has, in past generations, maintained unbiblical support of a paternalistic church and family order. This has kept Christian women from rising to their God-ordained place of equality of position and authority alongside men in the leadership of the church and in the family."
Read MoreRethinking Uriah Smith's assessment of Laodicea
A friend recently posted the excerpt below from Uriah Smith’s renowned commentary on the books of Daniel and Revelation. Smith unwittingly fulfills the Laodicean prophecy of Revelation 3, claiming that Seventh-day Adventists have actually received all that they need, they just need to use or apply it better.
Read MoreEd Reid entreats Adventist Review to correct misinformation about women's ordination
In the following letter, G. Edward Reid appeals to Adventist Review Editor in Chief Bill Knott to correct "egregiously inaccurate" details in Dave Gemmell's article “Ministry is Ministry—Changing views about women pastors” published in Adventist World's March edition. The article is absent from the online version.
Read More'Coming Out' Ministries conference canceled in London after LGBT outcry
'Coming Out' Ministries released a video on YouTube today called "Aren't we free to choose?" in answer to their Holy Sexuality Conference being canceled in London, which was scheduled to occur next week. The local LGBT community collected over 40,000 signatures, calling for the denial of visas for the speakers. South England Adventist Conference canceled the meetings.
Read MoreThe illusory refuge of complexity
In a cover article of the Adventist Review called “Jesus Claims the Center: Between Sadducees and Pharisees" by Gerald A. Klingbeil, a popular paradigm through which many persist in viewing current Adventist controversies is again being promoted.
Read MorePharmakeia: prescription for global deception
War has always been present among different philosophies throughout history, and in the realm of medicine this is certainly no exception. But man can turn to a Source whose passages will enlighten the earnest seeker of truth for a correct understanding of healing methods.
Read MorePreparing for the Harvest meetings discuss righteousness by faith
On Friday, April 17, Sacramento Central SDA church will begin hosting a weekend of presentations on righteousness by faith. The presentations begin 7 p.m. Friday and continue all day Sabbath until 7:30 PM. Presenters include Dennis Priebe, Mike Lambert, Larry Kirkpatrick, Christian Berdahl, Allen Davis, and others. Bring something to share for fellowship lunch. Children’s program Sabbath afternoon. Book, CD, and DVD sale after Sabbath. For more information call the church office at (916) 457-6511.
Read MoreAnimation on women's ordination goes viral in Adventist circles
In an eight-minute animation released Thursday, producer Charles Lawson of Blue Orion Media advocates for a bible-based perspective on the issue of women's ordination and not a culturally driven one. The animation was viewed over 22,000 times in three days.
Read MoreMars Hill Christian
The first time I talked with somebody who didn’t agree with me about who Jesus was, hands-down, I was right and they were wrong! But in my “rightness,” I was obnoxious—and wrong. I won the argument but lost an opportunity to make a friend, and more important, lost an opportunity to use apologetics in order to have a continuing discussion with that person about what Jesus wanted to do in their life.
Read MoreCan America's Religious Freedom be Restored?
This is a very revealing moment in our national life. The intolerance of the “gay rights movement” has been laid bare, and it is ugly. If gay activists were interested in mutual toleration, in “live and let live,” there are plenty of bakers, florists and photographers who would be thrilled to take their money. Instead gay activists are seeking out people with moral objections to same-sex marriage, to punish them, to publicly ruin them, and thus to make them an example for anyone else who might step out of line.
Read MoreNAD defends racially separated conferences
In a March 25 statement the North American Division (NAD) defended the need for regional conferences, despite concerns this structure promotes racial separation. The statement responded to requests made March 7 by the Andrews University chapter of the Adventist Peace Fellowship, in collaboration with the Andrews University Student Association and Black Student Christian Forum and 10 other student campus groups, asking the NAD to explain the separation of church conferences along racial lines.
Read MoreLove necessary for spiritual health
One the most powerful books I read in my life was Viktor Frankl’s Man’s Search For Meaning. Within the narrative Frankl chronicles his struggles to survive in Nazi prison camps. Despite horrific treatment by the concentration camp system directed at him and other prisoners, Frankl manages not to succumb to hatred towards his guards and internment staff. As he observed life taking place inside the death camps, he came to many insightful conclusions concerning what motivates individuals under extremes of emotional, physical and psychological trauma.
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