Editorials News & Views Index
by Nic Samojluk
Bloggin on Abortion. You are probably aware that my doctoral dissertation dealt with the issue of abortion and more specifically about the shift the Adventist church took when the General Conference approved the document entitled "Guidelines on Abortion," which justified the killing of the unborn under a variety of circumstances including rape, incest, malformation, when the pregant woman is a minor, and even when the pregancy is affecting the mental health of the woman. This represented a drastic departure from the original SDA's pioneers position on this issue, who did condemn the practice of abortion in the strongest manner, and labelled the same as "murder" and a violation of the Sixth Commandment of the Decalogue. Since the time my doctoral dissertation was approved, I have been blogging on this controversial issue. What follows is a small sampling of the comments I have been posting, coupled with a few of the postings by other participants. ... Read More? Click Here!
Should Adventists Support Homosexual Marriage. It may sound strange for some commited members of the church, but there are many Seventh-day Adventists who are saying that Adventists should support gay marriage. In the event you have any doubts, please read what Jared Wright, a youn SDA Pastor wrote for the Spectrum blog, and read what a large number of bloggers have been saying about this issue. Below you will find the title of Wright's article, and a couple of paragraphs from it, plus a link in case you would like to read the rest of what he said in defense of homosexual marriage. I wish I could have posted all the comments that followed. It was not practical, but I did include my own comments, and a couple of comments from others. Here they are: Read More? Click here ==>
Is Smoking the Leading Cause of Preventable Deaths? Recently I received a communication by Email fron the ADRA office describing their support for the "World No Tobacco Day." The Seventh-day Adventist organization has a long history in the humanitarian effort of helping smokers kick the addictive tobacco habit. In this Email, which I am including below, the author claimed that the tobacco use is still the "leading cause of preventable deaths around the world." This statement surprised me a bit, since, although this was true four decades ago, the claim is no longer valid. This prompted me to write to ADRA hoping that they would clarify their claim. I received an initial response, which did not satisfy me, and I followed up with another communication citing statistics as an evidence that their claim was, according to my view, in error. I am still waiting for a follow-up response. ... Read more? Click here: ==>
The Role of Rome in Biblical Prophecy. On May 27th, 2008, Clifford Goldstein, posted a lead article entitled "Solely, Totally and Only Rome" in the Adventist Today blog. In it he argued that, based on the prophetic predictions we find in the Bible, the Church of Rome will play the role assigned to it by biblical predictions till the end of time. His posting was prompted by the story of David Pendleton, a man who graduated from Seventh-day institutions and who served the denomination in the State of Hawaii, but recently converted to the Catholic Church. These two articles inspired me to post some comments on Goldtein's blog, and this in turn generated a response from this blogger who dismissed by comments as a "red herring." Of course, I disagreed, and decided to continue the debate. I want to share with you some of the exchange of comments that took place. ... Read more? Click here ===>
Is Senator Barack Obama Pro-life? In his interview with Fox News Cris Wallace, Senator Obama stated that he would have voted for the partial birth abortion ban had it had a provision for saving the life of the mother. I am an independent voter, and have not yet decided who to vote for. I do like Obama; he is an eloquent speaker and he sounded like he was pro-life, but his position on abortion is not clear to me. Why would he support the partial birth abortion whose goal is the killing of a baby? If he is truly concerned about saving the life of the mother, then we already have a well known delivery method designed for saving the life of both the mother and the baby: It is called Cesarean Section! Can someone clarify this for me? I did write a letter to Obama and another to Cris Wallace, but have not received a response yet! Read more? Click here: ==>
Sunday Laws & the Mark of the Beast. I received an Email from a friend of mine asking me my opinion regarding the Sunday laws and the mark of the beast. He included in his electronic communication a long letter describing the subrepticious manner in which the Catholic Church allegedly is trying to advance the imposition of the observance of Sunday as a sacred day of worship. What follows is my response to his query. It represents probably not what he expeected to hear as an answer to his question, but it is what, I believe is relevant to the Adventist Church today. I hope you will take the time to read this, and you are welcome to send your comments to me about this controversial issue. ... Read more? Click here: ==>
Comments in Response to Larsons's Spectrum Article. Can I remain silent when my own church, who has from its inception labeled itself to be the God's "Remnant" church on earth with the "last message to a perishing world" and "keeping God's Commandments," has made an 180 degree turn from the example set by its early pioneers, and decided to bless what they, including James and Ellen White, did curse? Can I remain silent when, according to a survey, five Seventh-day hospitals were offering elective abortions to their clientele? Can I remain silent when, according to SDA historians, the first SDA hospital to offer elective abortions did so for financial reasons? Can I remain silent when non-Adventists protest in front of a SDA institution carrying placards reading: "Remember the Sixth Commandment!"? ... Read more ==>
Is the Adventist Church Really Pro-life?. Two and a half years ago the president of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists publicly declared that the Adventist church is pro-life. [1] My question is: Is this a factual statement? Is our church entitled to be described as pro-life? Have we been acting as truly pro-life organizations? Do we deserve the pro-life label? Could it be that the opposite is true? ... Someone may wonder whether our president had read our official Guidelines on Abortion before making the pro-life pronouncement I quoted above. I think he did, but he might have missed the fine print. ... Read more: ==>
Two Methods of Torture: Waterboarding & Abortion. Last Friday evening I decided to visit the Spectrum and an article by James Coffin entitled "The land of the free-to-torture" caught my attention. After reading it, I started thinking: If waterboarding is torture, then what about abortion? A victim subjected to the first type of torture does usually survive the ordeal, while those subjected to either poisoning or dismemberment inside their mother's womb don't. How come our church is silent on this type of torture. I decided to post my comments on said blog, and got immediately in big trouble, because I dared to compare abortion to what Hitler did in Germany half a century ago. Here is a short paragraph from Coffin's article, and the comments that followed my posting: Read more: ==>
My Letter to Adventist Today Regarding Slavery."Slavery is unfair, cruel, and inhumane, and I want to congratulate you for supporting legislation aimed at stopping this detestable crime against humanity.There is, though, a much worse crisis in our society: the practice of abortion. Slavery deprives human beings of their freedom. Abortion deprives them of life. The harm done by enslavement can be alleviated by the hope of eventual freedom. The harm done by abortion is irreversible. Adventists have always been in opposition to slavery. We cannot say the same about abortion. Our early pioneers condemned the practice of abortion in the strongest terms. Modern-day Adventists have departed from this fine tradition which served Christianity for two millennia. ... Read more: ==>
No Abortions in European Adventist Medical Institutions! I received the following E-mail communication from Dr. Ronald K. Noltze, a Seventh-day Adventist physician residing in Germany with several decades of medical experience who assured me that in our European medical institutions our physicians do not offer abortion services to their patients. This is in sharp contrast with our American SDA institutions where even elective abortions are performed in several hospitals in addition to the so called "therapeutical abortions." No doubt, such abortions are no therapy for the unborn baby, and no doctor would accept such therapy for himself. No wonder, since abortion in most cases involves dismemberment or poisoning! ... Read more: ==>
Homosexuality, Slavery & Abortion. "I understand that the Governor has signed several bills designed to force schools to promote the homosexual agenda. The positive portrayal of transsexuality, bisexuality, and homosexuality to children as young as kindergarten is a recipe for moral chaos and it will be highly detrimental to the welfare of our society. I am questioning the mental sanity of those politicians who have succumbed to the pressure from homosexuals with their deviant agenda. Can't they see that if the purveyors of this moral filth were to succeed the future of our society would be at risk? Just imagine what would happen if everybody were to accept the homosexual gospel: The aim of everybody would be to maximize pleasure and minimize responsibility for our future generations. ... Read more: ==>
Is Abortion Murder? "But is abortion murder?" Garry Wills asks the question in his new book, Head and Heart: American Christianities. ... He finds the abortion question important because it is the "wedge issue," the one that evokes absolutist claims that have political effects. ... If abortion is not murder, then what right do courts have to treat the murder of a pregnant woman as double murder? There have been many cases where this has taken place. The most notorious one was the murder of Lacy Peterson. Scott Peterson was sentenced on two counts of murder. If the unborn is not a person, and abortion is not murder, then the courts have engaged in a miscarriage of justice and the two-counts murder sentence should be thrown out! ... Read more ==>
Pro-Life Event in Loma Linda on October 13, 2007. Another pro-life event is scheduled to take place on October 13 at 9:50 A.M. at the Science & Religions Sabbath School class directed by Dr. Paul Giem at the upstairs Lecture Room of the Mortensen Hall, located on the northeast corner of Campus and University. Dr. Nic Samojluk, whose doctoral dissertation is entitled "From Pro-life to Pro-choice: The Dramatic Shift in Seventh-day Adventists Attitude Towards Abortion," will present Part II of his investigation into the role the Adventist church played in the efforts to legalize abortion in the U.S. This report will include a brief description of how Ellen White's vision for medical evangelism was derailed by the influence of two powerful leaders of the church. If you can't make it to this important pro-life event, you can access the Dissertation by using the following link: www.sdaforum.com/page100.html
The Broken Blueprint. Right from the beginning Mrs. White insisted that our schools should include practical, vocational training in their curriculum, coupled with character building instruction. The issuing of diplomas and classical studies was discouraged. According to this blueprint, the expenditure of large sums of money and expensive buildings were not required. The teaching of practical health laws was emphasized. The plan stressed practical courses of short duration in order to help students enter the work phase of their lives as soon as possible. Manual labor was required, and sports and amusements were discouraged. Initial experience demonstrated that such a plan resulted in the baptism of many of the students and there was a willingness on their part to participate in missionary activities. ... Read more ==>
Dramatic & Alarming Discoveries Connected with my Doctoral Dissertation. I have some dramatic news to share with you related to the SDA Forum and what I have discovered as a result of the investigation connected with my doctoral dissertation, which was recently finalized and approved by the doctoral dissertation committee at the Andrew Jackson University. This academic goal was reached thanks to God's grace in my spare time by distant learning. The title of the doctoral dissertation was "From Pro-life to Pro-choice: The Dramatic Shift in Seventh-day Adventists' Attitude Towards Abortion." ... Read more ==>
One Nation Under God. I want to share with you what I received from a regular contributor to the SDA Forum which illustrates the Christian foundation of the United States of America, something liberals are trying to erase from American history books. I believe that if we ignore our Christian roots, we will loose a rich heritage that lays at the foundation of our morality, religion, and laws. The good Lord did bless our nation, but if we forget the benefits we have received from him, I have no doubt that we will pay a high price ... Read more ==>
In Defense of charles Darwin. The publication of this article in this forum should not be interpreted as an endorsement of Darwin's theory of evolution. Personally, I do not see any convincing arguments presented here in support of the common descent of man. Nevertheless, in fairness to Charles Darwin, I have to admit that he might have been more advanced in his views about the abolition of slavery than the Seventh-day Adventist pioneers. Read what follows and make up your own judgment about this issue. ... Read more ==>
Who is an Unbeliever? In your article entitled "Mixed Marriages" you clarify that Paul's passage found in 2 Cor. 6:14 is not limited to marriage with unbelievers. Please consider the following scenario: A Seventh-day Adventist law student is planning to join a Southern Baptist as a law partner after graduation. Both are familiar with Paul's injunction against being "unequally yoked with unbelievers, and both have a struggle with their conscience." The Adventist because Baptists ignore the Sabbath Commandment of the Decalogue, and the Baptist because Adventists justify abortions ... Read more ==>
Who Misled Us Into This War? Since the time our American soldiers got in a quagmire in Iraq, the criticism against the president of the U.S. has been piling up like the winter snow in our northern states. Before we join the crowd of those who lay all the blame on Goerge Bush for everything that went wrong in this war, we might be wise to recall what those who supported his leadrship in this preemptive strike against said country said, as well as the statements of those who preceded him in the White House and the U.S. Congress. We need to be fair in ... Read more ==>
The Foolish Farmer. If a farmer were to spread the seeds, and then proceeded to pull out the growing wheat, arguing at the same time that he actually enjoyed spreading the seeds but was not interested in the harvest, we would agree that said individual has lost his mind. If said farmer would at harvest time turn around and buy wheat from his neighbor to feed his family, we would have no doubt that the man needed some psychological treatment in order to bring the individual back to sanity. ... Read more ==>
The Limits of Human Life. If human life is sacred and if we have the duty to protect it, then it follows that it is essential for us to know the precise limits of human life, otherwise we may be unable to do what the Lord expects from us. Let me illustrate this: suppose President Bush gives our U.S. patrol agents an order to protect our borders, but when asked where those borders lie, he responds: "The U.S. government has decided not to determine where those borders are." Would those agents be able to perform their duty? ... Read more ==>
Can the elect become the victims of deception? After a long protracted debate with a young man I greatly admire for his keen intelligence and his unswerving loyalty to the Genesis account of Creation, I wondered: Can the elect become the victims of deception? You may wonder why would such a question pop into my mind when dealing with someone apparently so loyal to the Bible story of origins. The reason is rather simple. The topic we had debated was not the origin of heaven and earth and life on earth, but rather the origin of human life ... Read more ==>
Jumping Through the Loop in the Kingdom of the Blind. Breaking news coming from the offices of the National Geographic magazine reveal that recent archaeological findings resulting from the search for Sitnalta have yielded some surprising results. Extinct language experts are currently working on some stone carvings found underwater in the Atlantic Ocean in an attempt to decipher this enigmatic archaeological treasure. Work is in progress, and the following incredible story seem to be emerging: ... Read more ==>
Is the Biblical Record Reliable? If you accept the suggestion that the Bible writers exaggerated the facts as they wrote the stories we find in the Old Testament, then why would you believe that the Gospel writers did not do the same? If this is the case, then what is your faith based on? If we can't trust the O.T. authors, please give me a reason why I should trust the evangelists! ... Read more ==>
Trouble at 3ABN. For those interested in learning the truth about what has been taking place at the 3ABN network, there is a source of a large number of documents dealing with all the allegations and counter allegations connected with the “growing number of moral, ethical, and financial” dealings by the leading individuals in charge of the Three Angels' Broadcasting Network which threatens to damage or destroy the efectiveness of this independent ... Read more ==>
Finkelstein, Darwin, and Hitler. The reader may wonder why am I associating Finkelstein with Darwin and Hitler. The reason is simple. Hitler’s meteoric political rise came at a time when the Germany’s economy was in shambles. He managed to restore Germany’s prestige and economic power, and did a lot of good. Even Americans remember him for giving Germans and the world the Volkswagen. That was the only car my dad drove until he couldn’t drive anymore. Nevertheless, the world remembers Hitler not for the good he performed ... Read more ==>
The Puzzling SDA Apathy Towards The Plight of the Unborn. Never in the history of humankind the lives of the unborn have been at risk on such a mass scale. There is no question but that the womb, the sacred chamber God provided for the protection of the unborn, is today the most dangerous place on earth (1). According to statistics provided by the Alan Guttmacher Institute [Planned Parenthood], the number of abortions performed per year in the U.S. since 1973 averages 1,560,198 (2). ... Read more ==>
Adventism & Women's Ordination. I grew up in South America where machismo is quite predominant in society. In spite of this, I believe that our ministerial ordination practices should be gender blind and neutral. If the Lord calls women for church service in that capacity, who are we to abort that call? I do not think that this issue will split the church, provided we do it without imposing women's ordination on the rest of Adventism. If we do, it will fail like Bushs's decision to impose democracy on Iraq. ... Read more ==>
How Can the 'Remnant' Church be Pro-choice? My question is: Is it right for Seventh-day Adventists to generously label ourselves as the "Remnant Church" that keeps God's Commandments, one of which forbids murder, and proclaiming the "last message of mercy to a perishing world," while at the same time oficially justifying the practice of abortion? We are concerned as a church about the deaths of innocent human beings in Iraq and ... Read more ==>
Pitcairn Island Facing an Uncertain Future! The tiny Pacific Island of Pitcairn has a population of 47, and six Islanders have been convicted of rape. If these men are jailed, the rest of the islanders might face a bleak future, since they are needed for the manning of the longboat that goes out to passing ships, and life on the island might be placed in jeopardy. ... Read more ==>
From Pro-life to Pro-choice: The Dramatic Shift in Seventh-day Attitudes Towards Abortion. The purpose of this posting is to report to you the progress made so far by me, in the writing of my doctoral dissertation thesis. The title of my dissertation is: From Pro-life to Pro-choice: A Dramatic Shift in Seventh-day Attitudes Towards Abortion. I am steadily making significant progress towards my goal, which might be reached, God's willing, before the end of this year. ... Read more =>
Was Abraham Declared Righteous by Faith Alone? I am currently reading another book written by Desmond Ford: Right With God Right Now. He cites Genesis 15:6 as proof that God declares believers righteous the moment they believe. Perhaps this is what the Lord does, but the biblical proof is flawed. Let me first quote the Scripture in question and then Ford's comments: ... Read more =>
Odds of Dying of Any Cause. While leafing through the latest issue of your magazine I noticed that your statistics showing the odds of dying of any cause in the U.S. is 1 in 5 for heart disease, 1 in 7 for cancer, 1 in 24 for stroke, and so on. How about the odds of dying of abortion? I read elsewhere that it is 1 in 3. If that is correct, then the highest cause of death would be abortion instead of heart disease. ... Read more=>
The Relevance of the Investigative Judgment. This interpretation of the investigative judgment raises some important questions. For one thing, it does not explain why this review is conducted immediately before Christ’s return. Seventh- day Adventists believe that probation closes at death; there is no further opportunity to repent. But if a person’s eternal destiny is fixed at death, it is not clear why an endtime review is needed ... Read more =>
Who is the Author of the Pentateuch?. The question of origins is being debated right now like never before, and if we want to be able to understand the issues involved in this controversy, it is urgent that we become familiar with the question posed by the title of this posting: Who Wrote the Pentateuch? After all, the first five books of the Bible are the ones dealing with the question of origins, and the first one of them is the book of Genesis. Tradition ascribes the authorship of the Pentateuch to Moses, but critics ... Read more =>
Darwin & the Spontaneous Generation of Life. Darwin came to the rescue of the discarded theory of spontaneous generation of life. You would think that after the experiment performed by Redi and Pasteur, the belief in the spontaneous generation of life would be discarded for good by scientists. It didn't happen. Erasmus Darwin's, and later Charles Darwin himself came to the rescue of the discredited theory of spontaneous generation of life. ... Read more =>
The Role of Evidence in Science & Religion. It is almost universally accepted that scientific belief is solidly based on tangible evidence, while religious conviction rests on intangible blind religious faith. Most scientists argue that science is the result of investigation, testing, experimentation, replication, and verification; and that it is subject to falsification; while religion cannot make similar claims, and that the main foundation of religious faith rests on the mystical claims of prophets, visionaries, and seers. ... Read more =>
Was Hawking Wrong About black Holes? LONDON — After almost 30 years of arguing that a black hole swallows up everything that falls into it, astrophysicist Stephen Hawking backpedaled Thursday. In doing so, he lost one of the most famous bets in recent scientific history. The world-famous author of a "Brief History of Time" said he and other scientists had gotten it wrong — the galactic traps may in fact allow information to escape ... Read more =>
Will Islam win the Cultural War? Islam will take over Europe without violent force within a few decades, said Libyan Leader Moammar Gadhafi in a speech aired on the Arab satellite network Al Jazeera. "We have 50 million Muslims in Europe," Gadhafi said. "There are signs that Allah will grant Islam victory in Europe – without swords, without guns, without conquests. The 50 million Muslims of Europe will turn it into a Muslim continent within a few decades." ... Read more =>
Evolution: Science or Science Fiction? A few years ago, Adventist Today conducted a survey among Seventh-day Adventists teachers and discovered that almost fifty percent of them believed in the theory of evolution. I never dreamed that I would see the day when I would read this kind of report. Of course, we are not alone in experiencing this kind of trend towards Darwin's explanation for origins. Many other Christians are moving in the same direction, ... Read more =>
500 Scientists Skeptical About Darwin. The more we learn about life in our universe, the less plausible becomes the theory proposed by Darwin that nature is the result of natural selection and the outcome of billions of lucky conincidences which resulted in life on planet earth. The scientific evidence is better interpreted by a common design approach instead of common descent, for which there are no scientific evidence. No scientist has ever been able to replicate in the laboratory the theory of common descent. Dogs continue to be catalogued ... Read more =>
Did These 'Feathered' Dinosaurs Ever Fly? When I first heard the claim that the evolutionary theory displays impressive predictive power, my curiosity reached an all time high. and I shared this with Dr. Sean Pitman, who advised me to take such claims with a grain of salt. Sometime after this, I received en E-mail from him with excerpts from a variety of sources describing some of the questionable and even fraudulent activities ... Read more =>
Is the Intelligent Design Theory Salvageable? Following the Dover, Pensylvania defeat by the Intelligent Design supporters, you might wonder whether there is any hope that the ID theory might somehow get rehabilitated by anyone. Well, there is someone in Loma Linda who is very optimistic about this challenge. His name is Sean Pitman, and I want to cite here a major portion of his exchange with one on the opposite end of this controversial issue. ... Read more =>
The Apparent Predictive Power of the Theory of Evolution. A few weeks ago we were discussing the Intelligent Design controversy in a Loma Linda University Church small Sabbath School group, and the apparent recent defeat suffered by the proponents of this new theory in Dover, Pensylvania, where the judge presiding on the case ruled that the Intelligent Design explanation was not a scientific theory but rather an explanation supported by religious faith. ... Read more =>
The Pacific Union Recorder Refuses to Publish an SDA Forum Paid Ad. I want to share with you a letter I sent to the publisher of the Pacific Union Recorder after a SDA Forum paid advertisement was turned down for obvious reasons. The church so far has refused to publish my views on abortion, but has no problem accepting my tithes and ... Read more =>
Intellectual Decontamination Chamber in Loma Linda. The objective of this posting is to talk to you about intellectual decontamination, and the local availability of a decontamination chamber which is located right here in Loma Linda. If you live near Loma Linda, you might be interested in the specific benefits you might derive from the use of such a facility. It is located on the campus of the Loma Linda University, and more specificly in ... Read more =>
What Does the Bible Really Say About the Holy Spirit? Have you ever wondered what the Bible really says about the Holy Spirit? Between April and June 2006, Seventh-day Adventists will be studying this topic in their Sabbath Schools around the world. This is why I thought it would be proper to take some time to analyze some of the most quoted biblical texts in support of the doctrine asserting that the Holy spirit is the third member of the Godhead, ... Read more =>
Golden Rules for the Birds. Here are some golden rules for the birds. Now, if your body is not covered with feathers, and if you can't fly, then stop. Do not read any further, because this if for the birds. Rule Number One: If you don't have a nest, by all means build ... Read more =>
No to Illegal Immigration! Yes to securing Our Borders! Dear Senator dianne Feinstein: Thanks for your Newsletter, which I read with interest. I am glad that you are doing something about immigration reform. I believe that, since we have already approximately 12 million illegal immigrants, the first priority should be to secure our borders in order to make sure no additional illegals succeed in entering the country. ... Read more =>
Former Religious Liberty Leader Still Defends Abortion. On August 20, 1990, The Pacific Union Recorder published an article written by John V. Stevens Sr., the Pacific Union Conference Public Affairs/Religious Liberty Director, titled Abortion Answers and Attitudes, in which he adamantly defended the women's right to abortion. His arguments were mainly based on human freedom. I will insert here a few quotes to illustrate his position: ... Read more =>
Is Darwin Moving to Loma Linda? On January 28, 2006, charles Darwin seems to have paid a visit to Loma Linda, and based on the reports I hear, he may be considering making this small California town his new home. No wonder, because the Loma Linda University Church offered him a forum, and I think that he must have enjoyed the red carpet welcome he received from the community. The main celebration took place in the afternoon with a presentation dealing with the dating of ice cores, ... Read more =>
Will the Western Civilization Survive? Consider also the application of this simple common sense principle to the current Moslem war against the West. The West is killing a large numbers of future members of their own ethnic and philosophical group. In Europe, the low birth rate, coupled with the practice of abortion, is decimating the population. Instead of a population explosion, there is currently a population implosion. The same is true about America ... Read more =>
"To Make Man Whole": How About "To Keep the Baby Whole? Loma Linda University, owned and operated by the Seventh-day Adventist Church, proudly displays its moto To Make Man Whole in the Loma Linda University Medical Center main lobby and in many of its publications, thus declaring the high ideals of service to humanity, ... Read more =>
Showers of Blessings! We were visiting my parents who lived in the city of Riverside at that time. It was a terribly hot day, and it had not rained in a very long time. My parents did not have air conditioning in their home, and we were perspiring heavily due to the unusual hot season. My mother, who has always been a person of a strong spiritual faith, suddenly said: It is really hot, and we need some rain. Let us sing "There shall be showers of blessings." ... Read more =>
What About the Islamic Caricature Controversy? The cartoon controversy should be viewed within its proper perpective. I would suggest the following guidelines:
A. Westerners who respect their Golden Rule, should refrain from offending members of other religious persuations. If we want our sacred objects to be treated with respect, if follows that we need to treat with the proper respect that of others. Nothing is gained by offending those who already hate our guts! ... Read niore =>
How Findamental is a Six-day Literal Creation Week? What is the source of Moses' creation account? If you are surprised by my question, your reaction will not surprise me a bit, since for half a century I did assume that Genesis 1 and 2 were the result of a direct revelation by God to Moses. You might think that I am about to introduce a heresy here, but bear with me! Why am I suggesting that the creation story might not have been the result of a direct revelation? To answer this question I need to take you to another biblical book: Luke. ... Read more =>
What My Kitchen Floor Taught Me. I want to share with you the following anecdotal experience: One day, I thought I had spotted a couple of stains on our kitchen floor. I was lazy, and did not want to look for the mop for just a couple of tiny stains. I picked a wet rag, and knelt down to take care of the problem. The moment I knelt down, I discovered other spots on the floor, and it dawned on me that, being slightly nearsighted, I had been unable to see clearly until I knelt down for the task. ... Read more =>
Biblical Resurrection Statistics. The Biblical record reveals four resurrection incidents in the Old Testament, and four in the New. That makes a total of eight people who were resurrected after death. The estimated earth's cumulative population since creation is approximately eighty billion. This means that your chances of getting resurrected is 0.0000008. Would you buy a lottery ticket if your chances of winning were 1 in ten billion? You can place your faith in statistics, or else in the One who said: "I am the Resurrection and the Life." ... Read more =>
The Catholic Dogma of the Trinity. What is the origin of the Christian doctrine of the Trinity? The issue goes back to 325 when at the Council of Nicaea the Catholic prelates decided that Jesus Christ and God the Father were coequal in power and authority. Half a century later, in 381 A.D., at the Council of Constantinople, the leaders of the church determined that the Holy Spirit was a third member of the Godhead, possessing the same attributes of power and authority within the Divinity. ... Read more =>
How to Protect Women's Abortion Rights! Today, the day Samuel Alito was confirmed by the Senate Judiciary Committee, I received an E-mail from California Senator Dianne Feinstein explaining why she voted against the confirmation of Samuel Alito for the Supreme Court. In it she included one of the main reasons for her no vote: ... Read more =>
Designing a Home with the Church in Mind. Following the funeral of my brother-in-law, who had devoted his entire life to the work of a literature evangelist, I began to reminisce about the time, many decades ago, when my sister asked my dad to design their future home. They had acquired the building lot, and my dad accepted the unusual challenge of designing a home with the church in mind. How do you do that? Dad was a builder, ... Read more =>
The Coming social Security Crisis. The notion that privacy can be more sacred than the life of the unborn is a dangerous myth. It has caused the death of 45 million unborn babies. Now a social security crisis is looming on the horizon, since an entire generation [45 million] are missing from the pool of young workers, and the constant inflow of both legal and illegal immigrants is a rather poor altenative to the shortage. ... Read more =>
Our SDA Silence on Abortion. Sometimes I get very low and feel like bailing out and join, in reality the true Church who believes in the sanctity of human life from conception on. I could still stay with the Sabbath and keep it holy! Yes, now we are spending 7 million to renovate this monster church building, and my question is this: For what? To keep silent while unborns are slaughtered by the thousands, even by Seventh-day Adventists for the sake of convenience? ... Read more =>
When Does Human Life Begin? After reading the article authored by Zuccarelli and Winslow in their latest issue, I must commend the editors for reopening the dialogue about the beginning of human life. The authors cite in their article the argument that until day fourteen of human development, science is unable to ascertain individuality and personhood, since there is the possibility "for the embryo to split into two or more monozygotic offsprings." ... Read more =>
Is Human Life Less Sacred Than Holy Time? Historically, we have been more concerned about the sacredness of holy time than human life. The same thing happened when Hitler began his genocidal program against the Jews. We SDA's turned a blind eye to the plight of the innocent. We were more concerned about making sure Christians were warned about the dangers of worshipping God on the wrong day of the week. ... Read more =>
If You Choose That Profession I Will Cry! It was Crisly PenaFlora first year assignment as a junior high school teacher, and her students were behaving like any typical students of that age group. One morning she was helping her Canadian students navigate their career choice assignment, and she enumerated to them the many professions and occupations open to them, when one of the students expressed his dream of one day becoming a pimp. ... Read more =>
The Magic Key. We had returned from a long trip, and it was midnight by the time we drove into our driveway. We were very tired, it was a winter cold night, and our three children were eager to get into our home and their own beds. Suddenly I realized that we had lost the key to our home. What could we do at 12:00 PM? Spending the night inside our vehicle in cold winter was the last thing we wanted. ... Read more =>
The Omega of Evolution! Is Biblical Christianity compatible with evolution? I think not. I currently am a member of two Sabbath Schools at the Loma Linda University church. One of them is directed by Dalton Baldwin, Jim Walters, and Richard Rice. In this group, we are finishing a book authored by Harold J. Morowitz, a scientist who is an admirer of Teilhard de Chardin, ... Read more =>
The Big Bang & Creation: One Event or Two? If the universe had a beginning, then perhaps the Genesis record is supported by the recent scientific discoveries; nevertheless, we have the problem of timing. The sacred record suggest an extremely short chronology, while the Big Bang requires billions of years. How can we account for the discrepancy between God's Holy Book, and the book of Nature? ...Read more =>
A Corporate Apology by the SDA Church. Noting the sixtieth anniversary of the end of World War II, Seventh-day Adventist church leaders in Germany and Austria have released a declaration saying they "deeply regret" any participation in or support of Nazi activities during the war. The church bodies "honestly confess" a failure "in following our Lord" by not protecting Jews, and others, from that era's genocide, widely known as the Holocaust. ... Read more =>
Where Was God When Katrina Hit New Orleans? What can we say about the so called "Acts of God," which in fact should be rather labeled as "Act of Nature"? Is God is reponsible for them. Does He arbitrarily send them as punishment for people who are worse sinners than the rest of humanity? Does the Devil also play a role in these incredibly destructive acts which leave sometimes hundreds or even thousands dead? Can we blame those acts on "Climate Change" resulting from human activity? ... Read more =>
Right to Life Vs. Free Speech. Responding to the terrorist attack on British soil, plus the failed terrorist attempt that followed, Prime Minister Tony Blair has decided that the right to life of British citizens trumpts the terrorists right to free speech. If adopted, the new policy would allow Great Britain to deport anybody who engaged in inciting hatred and violence on British soil. Common sense dictates that the right to life of British civilians is more sacred ... Read more =>
A People of Peace & Compassion. Yes, we are a people of peace and compassion, but this compassion seems to be limited to those who were lucky to be allowed to be born. The lives of almost fifty innocent individuals were slaughtered in London, and we took time out of a busy General Conference Session to express our compassion for the families of those who died. The same week, three thousand innocent babies were slaughtered inside the abortion clinics in the U.S. alone, but we did not even notice this tragedy. ... Read more =>
What Really Happened in 1844?. On October 22, 1994, the 150th anniversary of the Great Disappointment, a large group of SDA believers met at the William Miller Farm, in Low Hampton, N.Y., to commemorate the event. In his address, Robert Folkenberg, the president of the General Conference of SDA, had some harsh words for those SDA holding a divergent interpretation of what happened . ... Read more =>
Nathan Christian's Dilemma. Nathan Christian is not his real name, but he prefers to remain anonymous, and I respect his preference. He is currently faced with a moral dilemma, which he has agreed to share with the readers of this forum with the hope that somebody might help him resolve his mental conflict. He was born a Catholic. His mother was a devout religious woman until the last day of her life. Not so his dad, who went to church only for special occasions, ... Read more =>
How to Respond to Suffering & Loss? I received an email from a friend of mine asking for help. He is a member of a small Christian church and he was asked to preach this Sunday at his church because the pastor will be out of town, and there is nobody else to replace him in his absence. He was asked to talk about the proper Christian response to suffering and loss, because there is a special person in his group who experienced the loss of two loved ones, ... Read more =>
Bad News for Good News Fans. Ever since Luther challenged the Catholic dogma, Christians have been repeatedly confronted with their apparent lack of assurance of salvation, and challenged to embrace the notion that they should focus their attention exclusively at what Jesus did for them on the cross twenty centuries ago, instead of looking at what God was doing in them through the sanctifying work of the Holy spirit. This shift of emphasis has been trumpeted as the true good news of the gospel. ... Read more =>
Origin of the Creation Story. Another Faith and Science Conference sponsored by the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventist is over, and the reports I have heard so far do not seem to indicate that we have come closer to solving the dilemma posed by the apparent conflict between science and religion. Those who participated in this historic event state that on one occasion, the attendees had a chance to examine at close inspection the ice cores documenting the weather patterns going back 600,000 years. ... Read more =>
A Stigmata Case in Loma Linda? "How long have you had these stains on your hands?” My devout catholic friend inquired.
I told him I had noticed them at least a decade ago, and I added that their size and coloration had become more conspicuous with the passage of time, especially on my right hand. ... Read more =>
In the Name of the Lord! If you don't believe in miracles, please bear with me as I attempt to recreate what took place approximately a decade ago. We experienced with my wife the following: We had at the time a Cutlas Ciera Oldsmobile that was due for retirement. We had the unusual courage to drive the car to ensenada, Mexico, located an hour drive from Tijuana, where our physician had recently set up a clinic, with most of his patients coming from California. ... Read more =>
Mind if I Smoke? I am borrowing the title of this article from the latest issue of the "AIMS Journal,"the official publication of the "Adventist International Medical Society," which dedicated the entire issue to the topic of smoking cessation program sponsored by the church for many decades. The editors of this prestigious publication, of course, borrowed their title from a book published by the eminent nonagenarian Harold Shryock, a former dean of the Loma Linda ... Read more =>
The Origin of the Preemptive Strike Doctrine. The origin of the idea of a preemptive strike against Iraq was rooted in the reaction of George Bush against the unexpected terrorist attack against the World Trade Center and the Pentagon three years ago, which engulfed in a ball of fire and smoke the Twin Towers that had graced the New York skyline for many decades; leveled the proud symbol of western civilization and the free world to the ground; cut short the lives of three thousand innocent civilians, policemen and firemen; ... Read more =>
Is the Big Bang Theory Wrong Perhaps? I want to share with you some arguments by scientists who do not believe in the big Bang theory. I am not an expert in physics, which limits my understanding of everything presented in the website pages I will be including later on, but I jotted down a few reasons for rejecting the Big Bang theory I discovered from my reading: ... Read more =>
Is Biblical Inerrancy Biblical? Members of the Evangelical Theological Society issued a document explaining the reasons for their belief in the biblical inerrancy doctrine which they espouse. I believe that a plain reading of the Bible provides ample evidence that we are dealing not with a single book, but rather a wide collection of documents, some of them claiming to be the result of visionary experience, while others being the result of careful research. ... Read more =>
Then a Miracle Occurs. I received this letter written by one of the Forum members addressed to Dr. Bryan Bull. I thought it was very important since it raises a challenge to Dr. Bull's favorite and well publicized ideas about the real meaning of biblical miracles. This is why I decided to post it ... Read more =>
Who is the antichrist Today? The Bible describes the Antichrist as a persecuting power, killing the innocent children of God. In the Middle Ages, the Catholic church fulfilled this role through its infamous Inquisition. More recently Communist Russia and China persecuted and killed millions of innocent human beings. Likewise, Hitler annihilated six million innocent Jews? The question is, who plays this role today? Who is persecuting and murdering the innocent ... Read more =>
The Scientific & Religious Obscurantism is Alive & Well. What did the defenders of religion do when Galileo publicized the Copernican discovery that the earth was not the center of the universe and that the earth rotated around the sun? They opted to dismiss the scientific evidence. They knew that it was the sun that circled around the earth because there were numerous Biblical references to "sunrise" and "sunset," which was in agreement with the long-term popular belief that it was the sun and not the earth that moved. ... Read more =>
The Creation Story & the Big Bang Myth. In this article published by Spectrum, George P. Saxon, a retired geophysicist, makes some interesting comments about the theory of the Big Bang; which, according to most scientists, marked the beginning of the universe. The Bid Bang concept is deduced from the notion that galaxies are moving away from each other, and that those furthest away seem to be moving most rapidly. If this is the case, then there must have been a point in time, allegedly 15 billion years ago, ... Read more =>
Tell It Not in Gath!Tell it in Jerusalem! In his August 2004 Adventist Review editorial, William G. Johnson made reference to the principle that has guided the coverage of the publication he is in charge of. He stated that church "members have a right to know" not only the good news, but the bad news as well, because readers prefer to learn the bad news from the Review instead of the public press. "We believe that our members can handle bad news; the one thing they cannot abide is cover-up. ... Although we don't withhold any news that members need to know, we don't print everything we know." ... Read more =>
Islam Denounces Terrorism! We all know that following the terrorist attack against the United States on 9/11/2001, George Bush stated that the Taliban had hijacked a great religion, the religion of Islam. In spite of this, there has been a strong conection in the minds of most Americans between terrorism and the Moslem religion. In order to dispel this erroneous assumption, American Islamic representatives denounced terrorism in clear and unambiguous terms. ... Read more =>
The Most Dangerous Place on Earth. I grant the fact that Kashmir is an extremely dangerous place on earth right now; nevertheless, I am convinced that the most dangerous place on earth today is not Kashmir, but rather being inside the womb as an unborn. This is the place where a human being runs the greatest risk of being either poisoned or dismembered before he/she has a chance of seeing the light of day for the first time in his/her life. ...Read more =>
The Smoking Gun Controversy. You may have read the article I wrote back on November 1, 2002 entitled "The Smoking Gun," published on this internet site. I just finished reading it one more time, and it refreshed my memory as to the thinking that led President Bush to take the bold initiative to declare war against Iraq. When Bush surprised the entire world with his new doctrine of pre-emptive strike, I thought that this was a rather scary proposition. ... Read more =>
Do We Need Stem Cell Research? California voters overwhelmingly approved the initiative that will set aside $3 billion to the stem cell research program. The sponsors of this initiative hope to be able to find a cure for certain illnesses that have plagued humanity for ages. The Federal government does not forbid this type of research, but it won't allow the use of Federal funds for the destruction of incipient human life for research purposes. ... Read more =>
Why Did Jesus Die? After reading Ivan Blazen's article entitled Why Jesus Died in the Spring 2004 issue of the Spectrum magazine, I decided to ask the author the following question. I hope he takes the time to respond so that the readers of the SDA Forum may benefit as well from his unique insight into this profound theological topic. ... Read More =>
Will There be Another 9/11? I have heard people ask whether there will be another 9/11. The dramatic event that took place back on September 11/01, when the Twin Towerof the World Trade Center collapsed following the impact of two airplanes loaded with fuel that had been hijacked by Muslim extremist, has dealt a terrible blow to our pride and complacency. ... Read more =>
Powell's Mission Impossible! Following many days of soul searching, and prompted by mounting criticism from home and abroad, George Bush decided to send Colin Powell on what many consider an impossible mission of peace to the Middle East. Why did he do it? Is this an exercise in futility? Does Bush really think that he has any chance of solving this intractable problem? Can he succeed where the British failed half a century ago? ... Palestinians admit that the mission is as difficult as reversing the downward flow of the Jordan River? ... Read more ==>
A Minute of Silence! Following the September terrorist attack on America, in which nearly three thousand unarmed civilians representing over sixty nationalities perished in that incredible inferno, I received many e-mail communications from individuals outside the United States, in which they attempted to depict the reaction to the tragedy by those whose sympathies lie not precisely with America, but rather with the victims of what they consider to be American aggression against other nations. The following is an illustration of what I am referring to. ... Read more ==>
An Appeal to President Bush. Approximately three weeks ago, I sent an e-mail to President George Bush, in which I shared my concerns and reflections about the current war against the Taliban regime. I sent a copy of said e-mail communication to a small number of friends and acquaintances. Mr. Dennis Hokama, the former News Editor of Adventist Today, an independent SDA publication, responded with some comments, which generated a lengthy exchange of e-mails between me and him. Here is the unabridged version of said exchange: ... Read more ==>
Is America Like the Taliban? A few decades ago, the United States fought a very unpopular war in Vietnam, and there were no heroes welcome for the soldiers who returned at the end of the conflict. How different is the situation today as we proceed with our war against the Taliban and as we make plans to expand our war against terrorism elsewhere. Probably never before in the history of our country the display of American flags has been so widespread. There are no visible anti-war protests, and everywhere we see ample evidence that ... Read more ==>
The Military Tribunals Solution. Following the unexpected attack on America by the terrorists, George Bush vowed that they would be brought to justice. As time went on, Americans began to wonder what kind of justice he had in mind. Would it be similar to the justice offered to O.J. Simpson, who was able to hire the best lawyers in the world, the Dream Team, and thus get out of jail, in spite of the trail of blood that led investigators from the crime scene all the way to his personal mansion? Would the President allow terrorists ... Read more ==>
A New Kind of War. What would you say if your history teacher had told you that immediately following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, our airplanes started dropping thousand of food packages on enemy territory? You would probably have questioned your teacher's mental sanity! What if he had told you that feeding the enemy has been the standard response of every nation to an unexpected attack by an enemy? You would have dismissed such statement ... Read more ==>
Another Day of Infamy. When New Yorkers woke up on September 11/01, they did not have the slightest suspicion that said beautiful morning would suddenly turn into the worst nightmare ever experienced by them, a day that would be forever etched in their memory, and thus become another day of infamy in the U.S. history books reminiscent of the attack on Pearl Harbor by Japan over half a century ago, the "bloodiest day since the civil war." The surprise and horror on the faces of New Yorkers was undeniable as they watched the incredible sight: the World Trade Center Twin Towers enveloped in heavy smoke and a ball of fire ... Read more ==>
The Stem Cell Debate. When Dr. James Thomson of the University of Wisconsin succeeded in isolating human embryonic stem cells in 1998, he probably did not suspect that his unusual discovery would fan the flames of a new facet of the never-ending debate over the sacredness of human life. His unique research laid the foundation for a new frontier in the perennial fight against disability and disease, thus opening a window of hope for sufferers of spinal chord injury, diabetes, Alzheimer, Parkinson, as well as many other ailments affecting a large segment of humanity. The reason for the intense interest in this type ... Read more ==>
Uncle Sam's Many Wars. In spite of the fact that the Cold War is over, the war mentality has persisted after the disappearance of the Soviet Union, and Uncle Sam is still fighting many wars, one of which is the war against the smoking habit. President Bush inherited this conflict from the previous administration, but the White House has recently declared its intention of settling its pending "multibillion-dollar civil lawsuit against the tobacco industry." This is understandable, since the current Attorney General, John Ashcroft, ... Read more ==>
The Right to Kill. A month ago the U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft announced that he might "consider seeking the death penalty for Robert Hanssen, a former FBI agent" charged with the crime of passing extremely sensitive documents to Russia. Does Ashcroft have the right to take the life of another human being? As an individual, he does not possess said right, but, invested with the authority society has granted him, he does have the legal right to seek this "ultimate sanction" against one who has compromised the security of our American personnel, whose life might have been placed in jeopardy ... Read more ==>
Banning Mother's Day. Believe it or not, but an upscale New York private school decided to ban the celebration of Mother's Day starting this year. Yes, the students at the Rodeph Sholom Day School, where tuition ranges between $ 15,000 and $ 20,000, will not be participating in the remembrance of Mother's Day anymore, according to Cindi Samson, their elementary school division principal. The reason for this strange action? "Families in our society are now diverse and varied ... There may be two fathers, two mothers, the mother may not have custody, it could be a grandmother ... We need to recognize the emotional well-being of all the children in our school." Evidently, this school principal has decided that honoring a mother has become a serious threat to the emotional integrity ... Read more ==>
