Ryan Bell and the fall of man

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

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Christianity 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.

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Saved 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.

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A 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. 

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Gathering up the fragments

There just isn’t enough time in the day. Have you ever heard that saying? Or maybe you have been the one to utter it. Time, time, time--it seems as though we can never get enough of it. Even with all the timesaving devices on the market, this generation still appears to have less time than previous ones. We have wonderful goals and aspirations of what we would like to achieve, if only we had the time. But I have come to a startling realization in my life, and that is, there is enough time available to do all God would have us do. We just have not mastered the art of gathering up the fragments.

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Report on the International Conference on the Bible and Science

This August I was blessed to attend the International Conference on the Bible and Science: Affirming Creation, which was put on by the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists’ Faith and Science Council, with significant contributions by the General Conference Education Department and Loma Linda University Department of Earth and Biological Sciences. The 400+ attendees came primarily from Adventist unions, conferences, and educational institutions all over the world. They included scientists, theologians, graduate students, and church administrators as well as some lay members and a few guests from other denominations.

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Your investment with ADvindicate

You can help ADvindicate raise $30,000 in four months to expand its news coverage and reach. From now until Dec. 31, we will be fundraising to cover projected expenses for 2015. Over the last two years, you provided the funds for ADvindicate to establish itself as a 501(c)3 non-profit, which benefits future supporters by allowing all donations to be tax deductible. You provided the funds for the basic operation of ADvindicate, and we are so thankful. You provided funds that allowed ADvindicate to host booths at ASI and GYC. These conventions help bring greater awareness and increased readership.

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Church celebrities: assessing an old but contemporary challenge

Her name was Maria Anne Hirschmann.  I don’t even know if she’s still alive.  (Her former husband recently passed away, I am told.)  An Adventist teenager living in the German-dominated Sudetenland of what was then Czechoslovakia, she left home at the age of fourteen to receive advanced training in the Hitler Youth movement.  Soon she became a devout and passionate Nazi, leaving the faith of her childhood behind.

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Unity on the ship that will go through

Today I make an appeal to leaders and laymen at every level of the church to begin an ongoing, unceasing dialogue on how to finish the work of God according to His plans. We know that our track record regarding that message is not good and what the outcome is if that message goes unheeded: we will be spewed out. Friends, it is time to unitedly study Revelation 3:14-22 on our knees with fasting and prayer. It's time to humble our pride, put aside our prejudices, meet, pray and plan together and practice the “unity in diversity” that the Lord prayed for as He went to the cross for us.

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Moses and the origin of homosexuality

Human sexuality, along with a pleasing sexual imperative, is introduced at the very beginning of the Bible story. Mankind was created with gender. Gender was created with purpose. Compliantly, in the narrative, Adam “knew” his wife and she conceived a son, and then another, and then a third. And though we don’t have details about differing sexual orientations before the flood, it is certain that only heterosexuals were on the Ark.

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Interview with Steve Wohlberg on homosexuality and the new DVD "Coming Out"

Unless you're blind as a bat, surely you realize that the formerly 'taboo' topic of homosexuality is now being discussed on television, by media, in courts, schools, churches and in homes worldwide. Sometimes referred to as the LGBT (Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgender) controversy, it's hot, and won't go away. Over 18 countries have now legalized same-sex marriage, and that number will most likely increase.

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The hypocrisy excuse

Probably nothing galls non-Christians, and many Christians also, quite so much as the hypocrisy of the pious—be it real, exaggerated, or imagined. If one were to take a survey of the average person on the street regarding what is least liked about religious people in general, this attribute would doubtless make the top of the list.

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[UPDATE] SCC distances itself from Eric Walsh

Southern California Conference (SCC) released a statement Tuesday distancing itself from the controversy surrounding past comments made by Pasadena Public Health Director and SDA associate pastor Dr. Eric Walsh regarding homosexuals, Catholics and Muslims. SCC spokeswoman Betty Cooney said, "[H]e does not hold ministerial credentials from the Adventist Church, does not speak on behalf of the Seventh-day Adventist denomination, and as far as we know, does not represent his views as anything other than his own.”

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Adventist pastor under fire for his sermons

City of Pasadena's Public Health Director Eric Walsh, who is also an associate pastor at the Altadena Seventh-day Adventist Church, has come under intense criticism for comments made in sermons he delivered in church. Pasadena City Manager Michael Beck has placed Dr. Walsh on paid administrative leave while the city investigates his sermons.

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Homosexuality: sexual orientation or sexual preference

A very popular social columnist recently suggested that we not refer to homosexuality as a sexual preference, but rather as a sexual orientation. Until this statement, I had really never given much thought to the difference between the two terms. They seemed synonymous, but obviously to the columnist there is a difference, a clear distinction between the two terms.

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