I think at this point, you know, I've looked at the majority of the arguments that I've been able to find for the existence of God. And on the question of God's existence or not, I have to say I don't find there to be a convincing case, in my view. I don't think that God exists. I think that makes the most sense of the evidence that I have and my experience, ... I want to have a closer relationship to reality. --Ryan Bell
Read MoreChristianity Today assesses Adventists' struggle to be distinct
Christianity Today published an article called "The Season of Adventists: Can Ben Carson's Church Stay Separatist Amid Booming Growth?" by Sarah Eekhoff Zylstra in its January/February edition about the denomination's worries the church is becoming too mainstream. A picture of Ellen White and Billy Graham's faces posed opposite of each other in a venn diagram illustrates the article.
Read MoreEmergence Christianity's Impact on the Seventh-day Adventist Movement
Many people are aware of the existence of the emerging/emergent church movement, but few know that the idea of “emerging/emergent church” goes back to the early 20th century. The emerging/emergent church movement is a tangible manifestation of a new way of thinking, a new way of doing Christianity, and a new worldview increasingly referred to as Emergence Christianity.
Read MoreADvindicate readership almost doubles again
ADvindicate experienced another year of tremendous growth. An average of 13,379 people visited the site per month for a total of 160,558 in 2014. Compare that to 88,518 in 2013 and you'll see ADvindicate's readership increased by 81 percent. ADvindicate had a total of 741,657 pageviews in 2014, an average of 61,804 per month. We are nothing without our readers, so we are thankful for you and your continued prayers and support.
Read MoreTime's up! Give now
After almost two and a half years, we decided it was time to fundraise and take ADvindicate to the next level. With no money and a reliance on voluntary submissions for the first couple years, there was only so much we could offer. One of our readers approached ADvindicate president Gerry Wagoner at a convention and asked why ADvindicate wasn't covering more news. All of us at ADvindicate have full-time jobs and write and run the website in our spare time. In spite of this, God has blessed the site and we're doing well. There are many things we would have liked to cover, but due to lack of money and available writers, we were unable to deliver.
Read MorePope Francis to issue encyclical on climate change.
According to Bishop Marcelo Sorondo, the chancellor of the Vatican’s Pontifical Academy of Sciences, the Pope wants to have a direct influence on the 2015 UN climate conference in Paris, the culmination of decades of negotiations that will help determine the planet’s future.
Read MoreWho is calling?
It was nearly Christmas and a friend of mine handed me a beautiful little book she had just been given for her personal worship during the coming year. Its softly padded cover was a palette of autumn hues, blending deep earthen browns and bright tangerine. At the center was an oval, framing an out-stretched hand. The book Jesus Calling by Sarah Young, had a comforting subtitle, Enjoying Peace in His Presence. Only four by six inches, the attractive little book, perfectly sized for bedside-table use, was laid out in an easy read page-a-day format. A lovely gift!
Read MoreSanctification by faith
Many times, when I hear people talk about “1888,” there seems to be a preoccupation with a narrow explanation of the event and message. This emphasis usually comes from the more “conservative” end of the spectrum and it essentially goes thusly: the main point, and grand theme, that Jones and Waggoner brought to our attention is that we can, by faith, live completely victorious lives. We can overcome sin, attain perfection, live righteously by faith.
Read MoreToo much Jesus?
I think one would be hard-pressed to find a Seventh-day Adventist – at least one who is at all familiar with our history – who would deny this basic premise: that in the years leading up to the 1888 General Conference meetings in Minneapolis, Adventism was largely characterized by legalism and an unbalanced emphasis on the law.
Read MoreA giant among men
When I first encountered the name of Herbert Douglass, I was in derision of the concepts he taught and advanced in his books and talks. I was fresh out of a long run of giving evangelistic seminars home and abroad and in the prime of my life in my mid-twenties. For me, Adventism was about filling the pews and getting people to know the Lord and the means always justified the ends. But this talk about reflecting Jesus and living a life of victory over sin was just plain silly.
Read MoreVOLUNTOURISM: MORE HARM THAN GOOD
In August, 2013, Heather Ruiz traveled through West Africa as a journalist for ADRA. After working in development for nine months, Ruiz moved to a village in the Western Sahara to find answers for her questions about responsible volunteering and empowering communities. The following article is her insight on constructive service.
Read MoreCorrupted
The earth is many things to each of us. It is a temporary home to humanity—the native venue for our work, our relationships, and our fleeting days. And ultimately earth is the setting of a cosmic combat—its peculiar blend of cold hostility and lingering beauty reminders of what happened after the “apple.” As Isaiah said, it is “growing old like a garment” and requires a complete overhaul before we enter eternity.
Read MoreMisreading Adventism's present conflict
Put simply, Ty Gibson's article "The Old Covenant Brood" seeks to view present controversies in the Seventh-day Adventist Church through the lenses of what the author holds to be the 1888 message of righteousness by faith, and considers the rejection of that message over a century ago to be the genesis of the present theological divide in the denomination.
Read MoreTy Gibson tries to bring clarity to conflicting voices in the church
The current tensions and polemics within the Seventh-day Adventist Church are not occurring in a vacuum. We have history behind us that has created the trajectory within which we are now living. To a significant degree the spirit and content of our present dialogues and debates are shaped by a tragic theological turn we took in our journey as a people more than one hundred years ago.
Read MoreWWU President answers spiritual formation accusations
The attackers—“the accusers of the brethren,” if I may call them that—offer criticisms that are low on content and high on innuendo, half-truth, and damnation by association. They offer their accusations from afar without engaging the people they accuse (see Matthew 18:15-17). Those of us who know the people being attacked, who regularly listen to them teach Sabbath School classes and preach and participate in committee meetings, simply do not recognize the extreme caricature the attackers offer.
Read MoreI WAS AN EMERGING CHURCH CHRISTIAN
Most of my brethren don't know this, but I spent most of my 20's swimming in the waters of Babylon's "emerging church" movement. I mean, I was all in. I drank the Kool-Aid.
Read MoreSaved by works
But wait! Could there be another angle to the age-old works versus grace debate? While the Bible makes it abundantly clear that our good works, or obedience does not save us, (See Eph 2:8-9, Titus 3:5, 2 Tim 1:9, Gal 2:16, and many more) to conclude that no works, or no obedience saves us is to contradict the plainest of scriptures! Allow me to explain.
Read MoreA safe place for whom?
As much has already been said about the sermon, both pro and con, I would like to focus briefly upon the conclusion of the presentation and the appeal. Henderson’s appeal was that a safe place be established for “Adam and Steve,” at Pacific Union College. But more than that, it should not be a designated area on the campus, but rather that the college itself should be that safe place.
Read MoreParent voices concern over 'Adam and Steve' to PUC president
Unfortunately, the atmosphere [at PUC] is such that I feel I cannot, in good conscious, encourage my daughters to attend this school. Should they attend here, my concern would be that they would no longer abide by the guidance and principles I felt convicted to teach them. After listening to Pastor Henderson’s sermon, I felt the time had come to voice my disappointment and concerns and forward them to your office for your records.
Read MoreGeneral Conference 2015: Back to the Future
The conservative Ted Wilson has set up a vote that, if the conservatives lose, will give the liberals what they asked for, but if the conservatives win, will merely reiterate the 1995 vote that the liberals have already ignored with impunity. I believe Elder Wilson's heart is in the right place, but he has been completely outmaneuvered on this issue.
Read More