Reading Through Adventist Glasses · Adventism report that by laying aside their ~dventist...

Reading Through Adventist Glasses

Inside Adventist :foCIay.

As a youth I learned to read the Bible through Adventist glasses. The "little hom" in Daniel 7was the papacy. The "Lord's Day" of Revelation was Sabbath, not Sunday; the message to thechurch in Laodicea applied uniquely to my church. Adventism gave me a distinctive interpre-tation of the final chapters of Ezekiel and a particular view of "Michael the Archangel."

Adventism even influenced my harmonization of the synoptic gospels. When I read about MaryMagdalene I "knew" she was the woman who anointed Jesus at Simon's feast and that she had been exor-cised seven times after getting involved in prostitution with Simon as one of her customers.

In recent years this "Adventist hermeneutic" has come under fire. Many people with deep roots inAdventism report that by laying aside their ~dventist glasses they've discovered a whole new world in theBible. These children of Adventism have found that you won't necessarily find the investigative judgmentin the Bible unless you're reading with P::aventist glasses. ules regarding lifestyle matters--dress codes,dietary rules, Sabbath regulations-are all seen to be at least as much the creation of the Adventist com-munity as they are the dictates of Scripture. (And that's stating the challenge in the mildest possible lan-guage.)

I agree that there is great value in learning to read the Bible through otherglasses. However, I emphati-cally disagree with the notion that we make any significant spiritual advanc discarding the glasses ofAdventism.

There is no untinted vision of the Bible. Evangelicalism, Gatholicism, i eral Protestantism- eachoffers a distinctive way of reading the Bible. Each nasits own glasses. SCholars in each community are pre-pared by the convictions and history of their community to see more keenly in some matters and less so inothers. None is more objective than Adventism. l'hey are at nest merely different.

In spite of our weaknesses and defects, the Adventist "whole Bible" approach has great strengths. Whilethe insights of Ellen White are not infallible, they are hardly negligible. But we deprive ourselves when welimit our reading to Adventist authors and our understanding of the Bible to the "Adventist view." Andwe deprive ourselves and our children if we fail to speak clearly about what we see through our Adventistglasses.

What we see includes:• Love and justice as hermeneutical principles: Biblical statements that appear to support outrageous

doctrines such as eternal hell and absolute predestination are reinterpreted on the basis of passagesmore congruent with love and justice.

• God's high regard for human bodies: He delights in human cooperation with his ministry in theworld. This truth is expressed in Adventist health care ministries and Adventist rules regarding dietand drugs. One consequence of this perspective is the documented Adventist increased longevity anddecreased morbidity.

• God's law: The Adventist appreciation for law brings us the benefit of Sabbath keeping in the face ofmodem frenzy. It assigns more than psychological meaning to the crucifixion. It argues for the ulti-mate intelligibility of God's ways. (God is not arbitrary nor hopelessly inscrutable.)

• Christian maturity: Adventism helps me move beyond an obsessive concern with my own escapefrom damnation to concern for discipleship and the honor of my Savior.

• Creation: Because of my Adventist glasses I've learned to commune with God through Creation inways that I do not find supported in most Christian traditions.

• Judgment: The Adventist doctrine of the judgment speaks of hope for suicidesand for people who have lived beyond the geographic reach of Christian witness.

I treasure the insights I've received while reading the Bible through the glasses ofQuakers, Catholics, Baptists, Methodists, Presbyterians, etc. They've helped me seetruths I likely would never have learned in Adventism. In tum, with eager confi-dence I offer others a look through my Adventist glasses. If they look, they'll seesomething good-something too good to miss.

John McLarty, editor

ADVISORY COUNCILKen & Jo Abbott

John & Susan AdamsKen & Diana Bauer

Robert & Kelli BlackGary & Jeanne Bogle

Antonius & Lilia BrandonTodd & Ginny BurleyRon & Anita CafferkyGreg & Dana Carlson

John & Charlotte CassellKeith & Judy Colburn

Ronald & Patricia CapleJames & Kathryn Dexter

Merlyn & Rosemary DuerksenJames Dunn

Douglas and Patricia EwingDonald & Beverly Farley

Gary & Sharon FraserGary & Annette FrykmanBrent & Karen Gardner

Richard GreenRichard & Kathi Guth

P. Edgar & Patricia HareLyndon & Linda Harder

Bruce HeinrichJim & Jackie HennebergDennis & Jolene HilliardRussell & Sally Hoenes

Wayne & Susan JacobsenJohn & Judy JacobsonBrian & Erika JohnsonJim & Averille KaatzElton & Marga Kerr

Dean & Dolores KinseyFrank & Helen KnittelRichard & Janis Larsen

Yung LauBerryl & Ralph LongwayKen & Florence Lorenz

Don & Penny MillerRichard Morda

Rick MurrayAdele & James Nelson

T. Clint & Elaine NelsonThaine Price

Gary & Ruthe-Marina RainesJudith Rausch

Phil & Joyce ReisweigGordon & Judy Rick

Richard & Missy RouheGlenn & Cherie RouseDoug & Sandy SchultzDon & Ursula Shasky

Jeff StevensWalter 1. & Lula Ann Stilson

James & Maryan StirlingErvin & Marilynn Taylor

Bob & Karen TorreyJohn & Nancy Vogt

David Van PuttenJames & Priscilla WaltersJames & Betty Webster

Tim & Stephanie Welebir

RAYMOND F. COTTRELLENDOWMENT BOARDDouglas Ewing, Board Chair

Frank Knittel, SecretaryJames Walters, Treasurer

Ron Cafferky

FOUNDATION BOARDDoug Schultz, Board Chair

Elwin Dunn, Secretary/TreasurerGreg Billock

Virginia BurleyKeith Colburn

Raymond CottrellReni Dupertuis

Diana FisherEdmund JonesJames Kaatz

Frank KnittelJohn McLarty

Lourdes Morales-GudmundssonDon ShaskyJohn SicklerErvin Taylor

David Van PuttenJames Walters

2 May-June 1999 ADVENTIST TODAY

NEWS AND ANALYSIS -------------------------------

Cover by Richard Tinker

Contents

Headlines from school papers give a sense of theturmoil that is happening on some AdventistCampuses.

DEBRA FOOTE

Whither, Robert D. Brinsmead? RAYMOND F. COTTRELL

Where is Robert Brinsmead? LARRY PAHL

Adventism: Fat Lady or Beautiful Bride? ERIC BAHME

a1bday Website: An Interview JIM WALTERS AND GREG BILLOCK

4 The FOlkenberg Issue5 Publisher's Response6 Adventist Ethos6 Institutional Memory6 "Sligo Church In Turmoil"6 Keep the Stories in Print6 Problems in Atlanta6 Great Interest

7 Proposed Name Change Triggers WWC Student Sit-In COLLEEN MOORE TINKER

8 Supreme Court Rules in Dennis's Favor

9 NAD Considering Changing Higher Education Salaries LARA BEAVEN

24 La Sierra University Navigates Rocky Spring Quarter COLLEEN MOORE TINKER

22 A Real Family

LETTERS

SOUNDINGS

FEATURES

J\QVENTiSTToDAY

VOL. 7, NO.3MAY. JUNE 1999

PUBLISHER:

James Walters

EDITOR EMERITUS:

Raymond Cottrell

EDITOR:

John McLarty

MANAGING EDITOR!

NEWS EDITOR:

Colleen Moore Tinker

ART DIRECTION AND DESIGN:

Richard Tinker

AsSISTANT EDITORS:Gayle FosterCherie RouseJames H. StirlingSusan G. Walters

EDITORIAL ADVISOR:Steve Daily

OFFICE MANAGER:Hanan Sadek

Adventist Today reports oncontemporary issues of importance toAdventist church members. Followingbasic principles of ethics and canonsof journalism, this publication strivesfor fairness, candor, and good taste.

Unsolidted submissionsare encouraged. Payment is camper,itive. Send a self-addressed, stampedenvelope for writer's guidelines.

Annual subscriptions:$24 ($40/2years) for individuals$18 for students$35 for institutions(Payment by check or credit card. Add $10 foraddresses outside North America.)

Telephone: (800) 236-3641Fax: (909) 785-1595E-mail: [email protected] site: www.atoday.com

Adventist Today (ISSN 1079-5499) ispublished bimonthly for $24 per year($18 for srudents, $35 for institutions) byAdventist Today Foundation, CalkinsHall, 225, La Sierra University, Riverside,CA 92515. Periodica~ postage paid atRiverside, Califomia, and additional mail-ing offices. POSTMASTER: Send addresschanges ro Adventist Today, PO. Box8026, Riverside, CA 92515-8026.

Copyright @1999 by Adventist TodayFoundation, a nonprofit organizationdedicated ro fostering open dialoguein the Adventisr community. ~

ADVENTIST TODAY May-June 1999 3

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.atoday.com

AT. ReadermMyHomeSt-HomotoI'mvIll",CA

Letters to the EditorAdventist Todayp.o. Box 8026Riverside. CA 92575-8026

The article is, in my view, unethical,

carte-blanche to anyone at the centralwheels of power. That will also disrupt theadministrative hold on ministerial protest.We ought, as a church, to have learnedsomething from the unending series ofdebacles that started with the Davenportaffair. We may have learned. We seemnot to care enough to act. Shouldn't we?

FRANK AND JULIE R. LEMONVIA THE INTERNET

I have been a subscriber toyour magazine for some timenow and have generallybeen impressed with thequality of the articles. Untilnow. I can hardly believeyou would let an article like"Folkenberg Business DetailsRevealed" pass for journal-ism and be printed. Thearticle is, in my view, uneth-ical, unprofessional, andgrossly unfair. With articlessuch as this, you might wellrename your journal, after

the manner of the well-known gossip rag,Adventist EnIJuirer.

I count no less than twenty referencesto eleven different anonymous sources,all of whom stand as paradigms ofcourage for their willingness to spreadunsubstantiated stories so long as theirname is withheld. (Only one of these;rumors had a back-up source.) At thevery least, good and fair investigativejournalism demands that the accused becontacted for comment. No sentence inthe article reflects that this most elemen-tary requirement was met.

In Judaism, gossip is one of the veryworst sins, with excellent reason. Aman's reputation is worth more to himthan anything except possibly his life.To murder a man's reputation is verynearly on a par with murdering hisbody.

be healthier than many of us are accus-tomed to acknowledging." I am notimpressed. If they had acted in '91 to con-front both Folkenberg and McClure, thenI would have been impressed.

As a church we do not believe theLord Acton axiom ... ("power tends tocorrupt and absolute power corrupts

absolutely") could possibly apply to ourpeople "in the Lord's work" .... We canprotect our leaders, and our church, fromthe disease only by some form of a "twoterms and you're out" policy for ministersin administrative leadership and by theuse of continual systems of accountabilitythat are "made to work."

What in fact happens to the fewprophetic ministers in the system who callleadership to account and to change?More often than not, they are shown thedoor crudely and abruptly .... What thischurch badly needs is an unvariableaccountability of all leaders, at any time,to duly constituted church wide (mem-bers and ministers) authority. It could begenerally helped, with some inevitablelosses for the sake of preserving integrity,by a policy that disrupts the ol'boy clubby refusing a lifetime political

manner of the well ..known gossip rag, .

Adventist Enquirer.

unprofessional, and grossly unfair.

With articles such as this, you might

well rename your journal, after the

The Folkenberg IssueThe last issue of Adventist Today

(March-April 1999) might well be called"the Folkenberg issue" due to its preoccu-pation with the latest GC presidentialmisconduct. However, from almost allwriters, in this and other SDA journals,there has been virtually no comment onthe corporate failure of wethe church to mind thestore and its bosses whomwe have allowed. Electedwould be the wrong word.We have so little to dowith "election." And it isour fault that we have solittle to do with it, for theconstitutions of our variousdivisions, conferences,institutions, et ai, generallymake it fairly clear thatultimate authority is in thehands of the membership,the "constituency."

Why do we not act in atimely manner? For manyreasons, most of them without merit.Apathy. Frustration. Low priority in busylives-"if it ain't broke, don't fix it." Notuntil crisis, if then, do we inquire aboutthe political and policy health of ourchurch. Our church! God's church ofwhich we, not just "they," are supposed tobe the stewards.

A few of us wrote letters and button-holed board and committee members in'91 when the news leaked out thatFolkenberg and McClure were surrepti-tiously ... taking money from a privatedonor to support their Washingtonlife-style .... This is, in church politics, aform of political "soft money." The "tak-ing" was predictive of present events.

McLarty has found it hopeful that the"leadership core of the GeneralConference" confronted one of its own-suggesting to him that "our church may


... it is extremely difficult to provide

the evidence that a writer would like

to have in support of the actions of

RSF described in your article, when

all of the eyewitnesses are too fearful

to provide their personal testimony of

such conduct.

My disappointment in Adventist Todayover this article is deep. I see a real needfor members to know of current events inour church, both positive and negative.We clearly need a greater "glasnost" inthe higher echelons of our church's powerstructure. We must work for that. Butuntil it happens, we cannot fill the gapwith rumor and hearsay. To do so risksbringing just condemnation upon our-selves for sins far worse than anything theaccused may have committed.

jANINE GOFFARLOMA LINDA, CALIFORNIA

Here is a brief account of certain mat-ters about RSF which will help to confirmthat those you referred to in your RSFarticle who were fearful of his use ofauthority, had every right to be fearful.

About a year or so before RSF waselected GC president in 1990, an articlewhich he had authored onchurch organizaton and itsleadership had been pub-lished in Ministry ....

By purest coincidence Iwas fortunate to have twogood clergy friends of manyyears, each of whom hadserved several years under,and with, RSF in theInter-American division,and who had retired a fewyears earlier. I telephonedthem to renew our acquain-tance and to ask themabout the article authoredby RSF, who was unknownto me at that time. It waswith keen disappointmentthat I learned the followinginformation from my friends in separatetelephone calls with each of them.

1. Each of my clergy friends had readRSF's article in Ministry, and assured methat he did not practice what he waspreaching about church leadership in hisarticle. They described him as a verydomineering person who at times couldbe arrogant with those serving under him.

2. They had become aware from firsthand information that RSF was engagedin highly questionable business ventures

outside of his ministerial and divisionleadership responsibilities that were not inthe best interests of his ministry nor thechurch.

3. RSF was a very vindictive personwho retaliated whenever he could againstthose who had warned him about thesequestionable activities outside of his min-isterial responsibilities.

4. RSF also retaliated against anyonehe could who would differ with his plansand policies, even when it was clear thatthey should have been established bycommittee decisions rather than by exec-utive fiat [and] he was more feared thanrespected .

5. After RSF's election as GC presi-dent in 1990, I called each of my twofriends again to ask them about theirreaction to this development. They weresickened by the event. But what reallysurprised me was their reluctance to dis-

cuss the matter with me because they feltthat now he was GC president he mightbe able to use the power of that office insome way to retaliate against them if hewere ever to learn of any negative thingsthey had said about him. My efforts toassure them otherwise were to no avail.However, I did learn from each of themthat they felt those in leadership positionsin the Inter-American division who wereabout to retire, or who had recentlyretired, and who had first hand knowl-

edge of RSF's problems, should haveopposed his nomination in the nominat-ing committee ....

This reaction by my friends is interest-ing because despite the fact that they hadalready been retired for several years, eventhey did not want to say much because offears of retaliation by RSE So how couldthey have reasonably expected others tospeak out against his nomination withoutfear of retaliation especially since RSF waschairman of the GC nominating commit-tee in 1990?

The point I'm trying to make is that itis extremely difficult to provide the evi-dence that a writer would like to have insupport of the actions of RSF described inyour article, when all of the eyewitnessesare too fearful to provide their personaltestimony of such conduct. My informa-tion, not only from my two retiredfriends ... but others as well, leads me to

believe that those in yourarticle who were fearful ofRSF as a GC president, hadevery reason to fear him ...For now I commend you onyour article on RSF, which Iam sure was difficult towrite given the reluctanceof eyewitnesses to providetheir testimony.

BRANTLEY JOHNSONVIA THE INTERNET

Publisher's ResponseCriticism of our

"Folkenberg BusinessDetails Revealed" is under-standable because of thehigh number of unnamedsources used. Knowing our

story harbored this unusual feature, thestory included the explanation that in ourinterviews with many persons who haddealt personally with Robert Folkenbergand James Moore, we "encountered highlevels of fear, and most of these sourceshave asked us not to reveal their namesand professions. We believe that the fearand distrust of Falkenberg and Moorewe've encountered is a significant ele-ment in the overall picture ...." We standby that explanation.


status of persons, but they can easily

become sociopaths in society without

Church corporations have the legal

the crucial functions of memory and.conscIence ...

Keep the Stories inPrint

Please keep the Dennisand Folkenberg stories inprint. If you stop we will alljust forget and things will goon as they are.

HUEY CAMPBELLVIA THE INTERNET

which always broadcasts Sligo's serviceslive, ran pre-recorded sermons for a cou-ple of weeks in order to avoid broadcast-ing a possible disruption." WGTS 91.9did decide not to air the service March 6because of several calls about disruptionsand the threat against Pastor Osborn. Itdid air a sermon by Pastor Oxentenko inthe place of the live service.

The March 13th live service was notaired by mutual agreement by SligoChurch and WGTS 91.9, not because ofdisruptions, but rather because the ser-mon would deal with specific issues that

were not relevant to a largenon-Adventist listeningaudience that tunes intoSligo Church.

I have to say you did agreat job providing balancedinformation on the situation,and even the correctionabove is nothing big.

JOHN KONRADWGTS GENERAL MANAGER

Problems in AtlantaA similar situation as that at Sligo is

occurring at the Berean church inAtlanta.

WM.MURRAINVIA THE INTERNET

Great InterestI read the efltire issue (Jan.-Feb. 1999)

with great interest. I would like for you tosend the issue to a special friend.

ESTELLE TACHENKOFAIRFIELD, NORTH DAKOTA

Adventism," (AT March-April 1999)provides important insights, both for ourleaders and laymen. Leaders too oftentend to gather about them sycophantswho tell them what they want to hear,when they really need objective and hon-,est counselors who are given the freedomto tell them the truth in an openChristian environment. Critical, honest,Christian historians and ethicists, forexample, could provide invaluable help toa church corporation. If they are notbrought into the organization directly, atleast they should be consulted on a regu-

lar basis and their insights and advicegiven due weight. Critical professionalhistorians have been at the leading edgeof progress and renewal in the churchduring the last few decades, providing uswith honest institutional memory andprophetic voices helping us to learn fromour past history, if we will. Church corpo-rations have the legal status of persons,but they can easily become sociopaths insociety without the crucial functions ofmemory and conscience, functions withwhich historians and ethicists can providevaluable assistance, in addition to prayerand Bible study.

ARLIN BALDWINVIA THE INTERNET

Because of the importance of givingfuller information on the Folkenberg-Moore dealings and related issues, wemade the editorial decision to run thestory despite the unnamed sources.However, we were convinced that therequest for anonymity was reasonable,given the nature of Adventist politics andgovernance. Further, our sources werepersons of high repute, first-hand witness-es, and much of their information wasoften only corroborative. We remind ourreaders that the respected Washington Postrelied primarily on only one unnamedsource in its Watergatereporting.

JAMES W. WALTERS,PUBLISHER

Adventist EthosI finished reading the

latest issue of AT yester-day and as always found itto be timely and informa-tive. You and your staffare doing excellent work.I read Jim Walters' articleon the "Adventist Ethosand Forgiveness" withtotal interest. TheAdventist Ethos in thepast has produced a kindof dumb stare in manychurch leaders when complex financialwrongdoing was exposed. Often, theirfirst reaction was to "cover up" lest thegood name of the church be draggedthrough the mud. Then, when the skele-tons wouldn't go back in the closet, the"Ethos" tempted them to believe that for-giving and forgetting are virtues whichshould be practiced even though unde-served. Untrustworthy men have beendismissed from one denominational posi-tion only to tum up employed in another.The dismissal of Elder Folkenberg is areassurance that our moral and ethicalstandards are improving.

ELDER ROCKNE W DAHLVIA THE INTERNET

Institutional MemoryI feel the article by Michael Scofield,

"Institutional Memory and Dissent in

"Sligo Church In Turmoil"There is a sentence in the article about

WGTS 91.9: "Local radio station WGTS,

LETTERS TO THE EDITORAdventist Today, P.O. Box 8026

Riverside, CA 92515-8026E-mail: [email protected]


mailto:[email protected]

News and Analysis

Proposed Name Change TriggersWWC Student Sit...InCOLLEEN MOORE TINKER

Chronic tension between theNorth Pacific UnionConference (NPUC) andWalla Walla College (WWC)

spilled into the student body this springand, on May 10,1999, culminated in apeaceful sit-in reminiscent of the '60s. Theevent that catalyzed the demonstrationwas a proposed name change for WWc.

Since Walla Walla College meets thecriteria for being considered a university,the board of trustees, chaired by NPUCpresident Jere Patzer, began a process a fewweeks earlier to recommend a namechange to the WWC constituency. Finalauthority in this matter lies with the con-stituency.

To initiate the naming process the boardfirst voted on whether the new nameshould include the word "Adventist." A15-10 vote resulted in favor of includingAdventist in the name. This vote, howev-er, did not account for the votes of fourpeople on the board of 29 members.

Next the board discussed whether torecommend the name Walla WallaAdventist University or NorthwesternAdventist University. After deciding toretain Walla Walla in the name, the boardunanimously voted to recommend thename Walla Walla Adventist University(WWAU) to the constituents for theirconfirmation.

In its public announcement of the pro-posed name, the NPUC stated the boardhad unanimously voted to recommendWWAU as the new name.

Not UnanimousEd Schwiso, student editor of the cam-

pus newspaper The Collegian, ran extensivecoverage of the controversy triggered bythe NPUC's recommendation. News writerCory Thomas gave voice to many people'sobjection to the NPUC's claim of unanim-ity by pointing out that only 15 of the 29board members had initially voted toinclude the word Adventist'in the new

name. Only after a close vote in favor ofinclusion did the board achieve a unani-mous vote, and that vote reflected a desireto retain Walla Walla in the name ratherthan changing to Northwestern.

The name Walla Walla AdventistUniversity, however, met with strong oppo-sition from faculty, students, and alumni.

On Monday, May 10, Jere Patzer metwith a group of more than 300 students oncampus for a discussion of their concerns.Prominent in the discussion was the pro-posed name change, and several studentsvoiced their concern over having thename Adventist on their diplomas. Theyfear the word may cause graduate schoolsto consider their degrees to be moreparochial than professional.

"Adventist means excellence to thegeneral public," Patzer replied. "Qualitygoes in the name."

Library Site of Sit-InAbout 10:30 that same night nearly 300

students gathered in the PetersonMemorial Library to participate in a peace-ful expression of eight grievances rangingfrom dissatisfaction with library hours tochanging the name of the school. Collegepresident W.G. Nelson attended, alongwith John Brunt, vice president for acade-mic administration, Victor Brown, vicepresident for admissions and marketing,and several faculty members.

For the next three hours the admihi6-'trators met representative students to dis-cuss their concerns. Six issues receivedattention. First, administration assured thatstudents involved in the sit-in would notbe punished for violating curfew.

Next the students and administratorsagreed to a four-week trial of extending thelibrary hours to midnight instead of 11:00P.M. If the trial proved successful, the newhours would become policy for the 1999-2000 school year.

The third issue addressed the student'sdesire to have a student representative onthe college Board of Trustees. They agreedto draft a proposal of request to the board.

Fourth, students discussed the issue ofInternet censorship on campus followed byexpressing concern over Collegian censor-ship by an administration-appointed edito-rial board.

Last the students requested a list of theconstituents who would be voting on theproposed name change on May 25. Theywished to send them survey results show-ing that a majority of students, faculty andalumni polled were opposed to the nameWalla Walla Adventist University.

When the discussions ended at 1:30A.M. the administrators, faculty, securitypersonnel and most of the students left thebuilding. When the sit-in officially endedat 5:00 A.M. 30 students were still in thelibrary.

A History of TensionsEngineering faculty member and WWC

alumnus Carlton Cross has given some his-torical perspective to the emotionally-charged events which transpired in May.The name change, he says, is only a symp-tom of tension between the college andthe NPUC. Subtle hints of distrustbetween the college and Patzer date backto Patzer's presidency of the UpperColumbia Conference

A pivotal event, Cross says, grew out ofthe WWC theology faculty's well-receivedseries of seminars in Portland, Oregon,funded by the Institute of Biblical Studies.Sometime after Patzer's election as presi-dent of the NPUC, a group formed inSpokane, Washington-the home of theUpper Columbia Conference office-andinvited the theology faculty to give a simi-lar seminar there.

In Spokane, however, the theology fac-ulty fell into a trap. Local pastors attendingthe seminar on October 12, 1996, askedthe faculty pointed questions about theirsupposed lack of adherence to Adventistdistinctives. Unprepared for the grillingand unsuspecting of the questioners'motives, the faculty admits they gave weakanswers to some of the questions.

School of Theology dean Ernie Burseyis quoted as saying, "It was not our finesthour."

The pastors attending the meetingcopied the tape recording they had made,disseminated the tapes, and wrote letters ofcomplaint to Jere Patzer. A flurry of accu-


News and Analysis

Court of Appeals Rules Against GC

sations and rumors, some totally absurd,ensued.

The college requested a meetingbetween the theology faculty and Unionofficials. The subsequent meeting held inPortland, Oregon on January 27, 1997,apparently failed to mend the misunder-standings between the faculty and theunion. Local conference presidents inattendance voiced concerns based onanecdotes and assertions. (See AdventistToday, January/February, 1997.)

This meeting led to a specially appoint-ed commission to study the theology facul-ty. This commission ultimately presented areport which exonerated the faculty of allspecific charges and called for reconcilia-tion between the college and the union. Italso made recommendations to the religionfaculty for hiring more theologically con-servative faculty members and for inculcat-ing more traditional Adventist beliefs (seeAdventist Today, January/February, 1998).

Steve Payne was the chairman of thefaculty response committee which wrotethe document responding to the commis-sion's report. When the board received theresponse they praised it and had no criti-cisms. Steve also submitted a document tothe North Pacific Union Gleaner whichsummarized the recent events betweenWWC and the NPUC and the faculty'sresponse. Steve Vistaunet, assistant forcommunications to the president at theNPUC, worked closely with Payne to editthe article for publication.

When the article was finally pub-lished, according to Cross, it was printed

GeneralConferencechiefauditorDavidDenniswasfiredin December,1994,forallegedsexualmiscon-duct.Dennis,in tum, suedthe GeneralConferenceforwrongfultermination,arguingthat hisfiringfollowedhisrevelationofseveralinstancesofmisuseorques-tionableuseofGeneralConferencefunds.

Afterprotractedcourtordealsin whichtheGeneralConferencearguedfirstamendmentrights,the MarylandCourtofSpecialAppealsruledstronglyon December17,1998,in the GeneralConference'sfavor.

Earlythisyear,however,Dennis'sattomeyfiledanappealin the CourtofAppeals,Maryland'shighetstcourt.In hisbrief,oneargumentstatedthat the court


under the Walla Walla College banneron the page reserved for material fromthe college. Payne's name did not appearin the byline although Vistaunet's did,and the article had both omissions andadditions which were not in the finalcopy produced by Payne and Vistaunet.No one, according to Cross, will admitresponsibility for the changes in the arti-cle. One of the most glaring omissionswas leaving out the commission's urgingof the involved parties to set aside thetemptation to tell unsubstantiated storiesabout each other and to use Matthew 18to guide them in making peace.

Offensive Student PaperOn April 1, 1999, Cross reported, The

Collegian staff produced an issue of thepaper with a cover mimicking the style ofthe National Enquirer and satirizing tradi-tional church art. The night they finishedthe cover the advisor had gone home sick,and the staff had not passed the finishedart before the advisor before going to press.

Cross acknowledges that he was one ofmany faculty who found the cover offen-sive.

When the Board of Trustees came totown a few weeks later they arrived alreadyinformed of the offending Collegian.

"The first thing they did was to have apunitive tantrum," Cross states.

He admits there was just cause for theboard to be upset. But, he says, the news-paper staff are just kids. "They're here tolearn, and we share their mistakes."

The board spent its first three hours,

ofspecialappealshadno jurisdictionoverthe casebecauseit madeitsrulingbeforethe lowercourthadpasseditsverdict.

The superiorcourtremandedthe casebackto thelowercourtin Mayofthisyear.ImmediatelytheGeneralConferenceattomeysfileda motionwiththesuperiorcourtpetitioningthat it reconsider.One oftheGC'sargumentsclaimedfirstamendmentprotectionbecauseDennisisstilla memberofthe church,thusnullifyingthe rightofa civilcourtto intervenein theintemalaffairsofa church.

On June25the superiorcourtsent itsresponse,"MotionDenied."

Bothsidesarenowpreparinganewfortrial.

Cross reports, discussing the ill-fated newspa-per and calling for the staff to be expelled.

Finally, he said, president Nelson was"pushed into a comer" and said that if thestudents were to be expelled, the boardwould have to find someone else to do it.

The next item on the agenda was theschool's new name. Patzer introduced thesubject, Cross said, with a 20-minute talkadvocating the inclusion of the wordAdventist in the name of the school.

The faculty had recommended and theboard approved that Walla Walla Collegewould become a university. The talks endedwith the vote to recommend Walla WallaAdventist University to the constituents forratification as the school's new name.

Name RejectedApproval for the new name requires a

two-thirds majority vote of the 300-mem-ber NPUC constituency.

On May 25, after receiving letters andpoll results from WWC student leaders,the constituency failed to ratify the name.Now the name is in limbo. The school isofficially a university without a name toreflect that change.

I!) a posting on the Adventist Today webpage discussion forum, Jere Patzer wrotethat Walla Walla's name is not the moun-tain on which he wants to die.

"Future steps [regarding the namechange], if any, will be discussed at theSeptember board meeting," Patzer toldAdventist Today.

Reports have circulated recently thatPatzer considers the theology faculty tobe significant factors in preventing adop-tion of the new name.

Patzer said, "The opinion of sometheology faculty against having the wordAdventist in the name is a position theywere entitled to have. However, myunderstanding, according to the chair ofthe department, is that they had a differ-ence of opinion even within the depart-ment. I do not, nor have I ever believedthat the theology department played arole in the name change issue."

Meanwhile, Walla Walla College enjoysuniversity status while waiting indefinitely fora new name to reflect its true identity. ~

Many details of this story came from reportspublished in the campus newspaper The Collegian.

News ana Analysis

North American Division ConsideringChanging Higher Education Salaries

The remuneration would not be more than

the 50th percentile of that at the local

Christian colleges.

LARA BEAVEN

The North American Division isconsidering a controversial pro-posal to change the pay scalefor college and university facul-

ty in an effort to bring it more nearly inline with Christian, non-Adventist highereducation pay scales in NorthAmerica. The division's HigherEducation Cabinet has recom-mended the proposal, but thesuggested system still faces a voteat the division year-end meeting.

The move to reconsider thecurrent remuneration system-inwhich administration and faculty are onthe same scale as pastors-stems from thedifficulty that colleges and universities arehaving in recruiting and retaining faculty,according to college presidents.Additionally, higher education officials saythat many Adventist higher educationinstitutions have deviated from the currentwage scale in spirit if not in fact.

One of the problems listed in the pro-posal is that a limited faculty pool--espe-cially in the fields of business, computerscience and medical professions-has ledto an unhealthy competition or "cannibal-ism" among colleges and universities asthey seek to attract and keep professors.Further, the small spread in the salary scalegives little incentive for a faculty memberto stay in an institution very long unlessthere are other strong factors such as loyal-ty, positive working conditions and familyfactors.

"Virtually all [higher education institu-tions] in the North American Division arehaving to find creative ways to work withthe [current] policy," said MalcolmMaxwell, president of Pacific UnionCollege and a member of the task forcethat developed the proposal.

"We could not attract; we could notretain" under the current system, he said."I think that enough institutions havedeparted sufficiently from the [current payscale] that if we don't make a change, it

makes it an almost impossible situation forthose that are trying to abide by the payscale," said David Smith, president ofUnion College.

Among the violations in spirit of thecurrent church wage scale are special dealsand packages such as non-taxable profes-sional growth allowances and reduced

teaching loads, according to the task forcereport.

Under the proposed plan, which is basedon a 1998 recommendation from theSeventh-day Adventist College/UniversityBusiness Officers, administrative and facultyremuneration would be based on the pay ofsimilar-sized Christian institutions near theAdventist campuses. The remunerationwould not be more than the 50th percentileof that at the local Christian colleges.

"The task force opted going with the[business officers'] recommendationbecause using the NAD Wage Scale wouldcontinue to perpetuate the 'game playing'that is currently taking place," the taskforce's report to the Higher EducationCabinet said. "The task force recognizesthe difficulty in selling a new approach butfeels the following recommendationswould be more honest and open."

In addition to tying faculty salaries toregional norms, the proposed plan recom-mends support staff remuneration andemployee benefit plans be in harmonywith local parity. Adjustments to remuner-ation would be based on performance stan-dards and accountability. Funding for suchadjustments would be derived from exist-ing revenue sources. And the institutions'boards would receive an annual report ofsalaries and benefits for each employee.

In the past, pastors and college teachershad similar educations, but that has

changed, Maxwell said. "We're increasing-ly different," he said, noting that healthcare and publishing have created remuner-ation approaches that differ from the pas-tor-teachers' wage scale. Medical-orientedcolleges and universities like KetteringCollege of Medical Arts, Florida Hospitaland Loma Linda University have alreadybroken from the current higher educationscale, he said.

The task force's report notes that pastorsgenerally go to work straight out of collegeand receive sponsorships for attending theSeventh-day Adventist Seminary. They

receive maximum pay very quick-ly. Professors, on the other hand,may work on doctorates for severalyears with no financial help,resulting in "large debts running ashigh as $150,000 and in feweryears of service due to the lengthof time required to earn some doc-

torates," the report said. "Only about 30percent of all faculties achieve maximumsalary by attaining a full professor position."

But the possibility of severing the tiebetween higher education salaries andthose of pastors and K-12 teachers hasraised spme concerns, even among thosewho agree the current system is not work-ing. ''I'm concerned that this might affectthe service-oriented ethic" college and uni-versity faculty currently have, Smith ofUnion College said. There is also thepotential for a "domino effect" to reconsid-er pastors and K-12 salaries, he said. Andat the practical level, each college or uni-versity board retains significant autonomy;there is no guarantee that the boards willembrace the new plan, he said. The pro-posed plan "will ngt be a panacea" for col-leges and 'universities wage issues, he said.

The task force acknowledged the possi-bility that the proposed system could cre-ate problems. "If the disparity between thehigher education wage scale and pastorsbecomes too great, pastors, who generatestudents and the tithe that provide thesubsidy, may become disenchanted withAdventist higher education," the reportsaid. "Local conferences, unions, and K-12schools are having similar problems in get-ting qualified individuals to serve," itadded. "Changing higher education remu-neration could create a self-destructive rip-ple effect for the entire church." ~


News ana Analy.sis

La Sierra University Navigates RockySpring Quarter

CONTINUED FROM BACK COVER

.for student affairs, prevented the Criterionfrom printing a student's letter complain-ing about CORE. Excerpts from the

.banned letter appear below:"I have just been informed that the

CORE classes, here at La Sierra, are anattempt to help the students think morecritically. Having gone through the first

.. year of CORE, I was unaware of this pur-pose. It is my impression that CORE is anexercise in politically correct cultural sensi-tivity, aimed at curing all incoming stu-dents of a supposed racist perspective ....Under the pretense of supporting LaSierra's motto, 'From Diversity toCommunity,' the CORE classes haveemphasized the study of the cultures ofboth ourselves and our fellow students. Forthis study of culture we were required toresearch our [own] culture. I however, takeissue with this approach. First of all, if youhave to research it, it may be your her-itage, but [it] is certainly not your culture.Secondly, nothing is served by taking stu-dents of different races who have grown upin the same region and culture and instill-ing in them various different cultures. Thiscreates the 'diversity' making it more diffi-cult to come together as a 'community'."

Enrollment DropsMeanwhile, after four years of relatively

good enrollment, LSU began losing stu-dents. In the fall of 1997 LSU enrollmentdropped by about 80 students. Again in thefall of 1998 enrollment dropped by about100 students. At the same time enrollmentat the University of California at Riversideand California Baptist University inRiverside are at an all-time high. As ofJune 21 LSU had 123 fewer applications fornext fall than it had at this time last year,but Adeny Schmidt said she doesn't believethere will be a drop in enrollment becauseapplications and admissions are higher thissummer than they were at this time lastyear.

Schmidt points out that 30 studentsserving overseas as student missionaries


accounts for part of this deficit. Pre-healthprofessional students transferring to LomaLinda University, she says, also contributeto this decline. President Geraty says thatno one cause is responsible for this drop, buthe admits that there is anecdotal evidencethat some students don't come back becauseof CORE. He adds, however, that "increas-ing numbers of students say they've come[to LSU] because they like the rigorous pro-gram." He also points out that, based onstudent evaluations, core classes are "gettingbetter every year." Now, he says, three out ofseven classes are evaluated as "very good."

Questionable PetitionThe students, however, continue to be

upset. On May 18, 1999, the Criterion pub-lished the results of a survey of 110 stu-dents. This survey indicated that while 89percent believed CORE made them com-petitive with students at other schools, 81percent of students perceived CORE asdisorganized and 93 percent would like tosee CORE abolished. Sixty-nine percentsaid they believe CORE affects LSU'senrollment.

In the middle of May, 1999, students cir-culated a petition against CORE. Studentsreport that one of the CORE teachers sawthe petition in the classroom and confiscat-ed it. Geraty says the petition was circulated"under cover," and he doesn't believe it wasthrown away, as students claim it was.

According to Clark Davis, however,many students who signed the petitionwere pressured or misled and did notunderstand what the petition was actuallysaying. Further, he said, many of those whosigned had never had a CORE class,including the student primarily behind thepetition, Monte Bridges. Monte, Davissaid, was a senior who transferred to LSUfrom Southern University.

Students Contact Secular PressRecently a new complaint has gotten

the administration's attention. Geraty sayshe had not heard this complaint prior to

this spring. Students are concerned thatCORE classes are humanistic and opposedto traditional Christianity in general andAdventism in particular. This concern wasone which eight student representativestook before the LSU Board of Trustees onFriday, May 21, 1999.

At this meeting, to which they invitedKaren Joseph, a reporter from theRiverside daily paper The Press-Enterprise,the students said that 300 students signeda petition in which they objected to thesix CORE classes because they "misrepre-sent the Christian God, and contain sub-versive attacks on Christianity and one-god beliefs," reported Joseph. In an articlein the Saturday, May 22, issue of ThePress-Enterprise, Joseph further reportedthat student Monte Bridges said, " 'Ourbiggest opposition is that it attacks whatthe school was founded on, which is theBible. It says, in essence, that all religionsare paths to the same truths.' "

Joseph further reported that the stu-dents clarified that they did not want aBible college. Rather, they said they want-ed to see their faith given equal time withothers.

President Geraty said that the eightstudents handled themselves professionallywith the board even though they weremisinformed. He said he talked with eachone personally in the days following theboard meeting and addressed their con-cerns. He asked them for a copy of thepetition they mentioned to the board, andthey promised him a copy, which he hasnot yet received.

Some faculty and administratorsbelieve the students acted inappropriatelyby complaining to the board. They alsobelieve that campus chaplain Steve Dailybecame a "point guard" for the studentswho complained.

Geraty and Davis agree that the stu-dents should have voiced their complaintsto the faculty and administrators responsi-ble for CORE instead of to the board andthe campus chaplain.

Geraty said, however, that in responseto the students' concerns, appropriatecommittees are looking closely at eachCORE class to determine whether or notit needs to be revised to reflect a moreChristian/Adventist viewpoint. Alreadythe school has revised its religion require-

News and Analysis

Steve Daily became a "point guard" for the

students who complained.

They also believe that campus chaplain

ments to reflect a more structured Biblecurriculum.

According to reporter Joseph, Geratysaid that "next year's CORE courses willhave more emphasis on the Seventh-dayAdventist viewpoint, but the course topicswon't change."

Geraty also told Adventist Today that,in response to the students' concerns,next year's classes will have no more thantwo teachers on each teaching team.Additionally, the administration has re-categorized the classes so the credits arelargely transferable, and they can acceptthe credits of incoming students andassimilate them into CORE without theirhaving to take the CORE classes theymissed.

Campus Chaplain: Central orPeripheral?

One event which stirred heat-ed response during this pastspring quarter was the termina-tion of campus chaplain SteveDaily. Daily, who is in his mid-40's, has been the LSU chaplainfor nineteen years, and the LSUchaplain's office has been recog-nized as one of the best and mostproductive in the denomination.Daily says his termination came withoutwarning. As recently as last school year,he says, Geraty urged him to tum down anattractive call to another campus.

His termination, Daily says, is officiallybecause he is "out of touch with the stu-dents," "burned out," and the "age gap hasbecome too great" between him and thestudents. Lennard Jorgensen told him inan email message that the "most impor-tant element" in his termination is his"inability to nurture this generation of stu-dents." Residence hall deans, faculty, staff,and a large number of students, however,strongly dispute this assertion.

Although as a chaplain Daily is a con-ference employee, not a universityemployee, he believes that his removalwas politically motivated and is directlytraceable to administrators who areunhappy with the fact that he has vocallysupported the students in their efforts toget the administration to act on theircomplaints regarding CORE. Further, hehas questioned the terminations of several

other faculty members and staff during thepast two years and has addressed his con-cerns regarding certain classes which hebelieves are teaching non-Christian beliefsand values.

Some faculty believe that the reasonthe student outcry against CORE becameso intense this spring was because Dailyinappropriately sympathized and instigatedstudents to complain. In the words of onefaculty member, Daily "whipped them intoa frenzy this year" after he learned he wasleaving campus.

Further, some faculty say Daily was thereason the students became upset thisspring about the perceived antireligioustone of CORE.

Daily contends that he became con-cerned over the religious content of cer-tain classes (not all of them CORE class-

es) only when students came to him andcomplained.

Daily further says that his terminationwas not handled in a Christian or ethicalmanner, and it violated basic employeerights.

Students initiated a petition process ask-ing the administration to reconsider Daily'stermination, but Daily asked them not topursue their course so as not to contamic-.nate the larger issue of the core petition.

Standards RaisedGeraty says that La Sierra has been

raising its standards for both students andfaculty. Now, he says, when LSU facultywrite recommendations for students toprofessional and graduate schools, theirrecommendations will mean somethingbecause the faculty will be known for theirwriting and publishing. Furthermore, stu-dents will no longer be able to depend oncertain classes for "an easy '1\," he says."Now they will find they have to readbooks and write papers."

Clark Davis confirmed that a numberof faculty have recently joined La Sierrabecause of the attraction of teaching theinterdisciplinary curriculum. He also saysthat the student evaluations of the COREclasses have been consistently improving.

The long-term plan for La Sierra,Geraty says, is for it "to be a loyalAdventist institution" that explores whatthat commitment means. For most of itshistory, he remarks, LSU has been knownas progressive. It has the freedom toexplore how Adventists interrelate withthe world.

The school's strategic plan calls for theLSU student body to include from 30-40percent non-Adventists and 60-70 percentAdventists. This ratio is in keeping withthe university's motto, "From Diversity toCommunity," Geraty remarks.

"We believe in educationwith diversity," he says. "It pre-pares people for living in the realworld.

"We didn't think the univer-sity could exist if it dependedsolely on Adventist students,"he continues. "We're looking for

. students from Christian acade-mies and high schools. This isnot an attempt to water down

our religious content or curriculum," heexplains; "we want to find students sym-pathetic with our lifestyle and beliefs andinclude them in our school. Thirty toforty percent is not a majority," Geratyadds; "it's not enough to compromise ourreligious tone; it's just enough to add'flavor!' "

Meanwhile, the LSU administration iscommitted to making CORE work.

"We're constantly looking for ways toimprove," Geraty says; "everybody told uswe~dhave problems until the studentswho were here when we inaugurated thecurriculum left and new students camein," he explains. "We hired a couple ofnon-Adventist Ph.D. consultants; weformed focus groups; we've interviewedpeople and had anonymous evaluationsfrom all students.

"Based on all our feedback and infor-mation, we've made adjustments, andwe're continuing to study the classes andto make improvements in the program,"Geraty says. ~


FEATURE

eschatology forced him to this position because of its insistenceon a pre-Advent judgment.

But he insists that he has 8een miscnaracterized by those whoaccuse him of raw perfectionism in what was called "the awaken.-ing" in the 1960s. Brinsmead said nis ..insistence on perfection intI-lehere and now was grounded in the thorougHly evangelicalnotion of forensic justification. "I taught sanctification by atone-ment, not by attainment."

In this "perfectionism" Brinsmead's theology was no differentthan that of many conservative Adventists today. One differencemay be the singular strength with whieri he presented it' at thetime. As one who has known him for a long time said, "Bob wasintense and driven."

Larry Pahl left newspaper reporting and a corpo-rate marketing position to do financial consult-ing. He's taking advantage of what Einstein calledthe eighth wonder of the world: compound inter-est. His writings on Bible prophecy are availableat httj)://www.bibleprophecy.net.

The 1960sThough Brinsmead was disfellowshipped from Adventism in

1961 while still a student at Avondale College, he continued to The 1970shover around the church for two decades. His core tHeology His theological odyssey took what many considered a radicalremained essentially Adventist. The writings which got him tum in the ~Os.He clung to a thorough Reformational emphasis

-disfellowshipped rode on a chassis of "perfectionism,!' his theme ant! put Adventist eschatology far in the background. "Lookingfor the 1960s. Brinsmead insisted that perfection had to be back, I should have let go of the investigative judgment and all the~-----..•",,-obtained in this life, before the Lord's return. He said A'dventist Adventist eschatological baggage, but I wasn't ready for that psy-

chologically at that time."At this time Brinsmead wrote an essay to show that "righteous-

ness by faith"-an expression from Ellen White often used inAdventism-is wholly justification by faith. A debate ragedbetween Brinsmead and his fellow countryman Desmond Ford onone side and the editors of the Review and Herald on the other. TheReview editors insisted in a special issue entitled "Righteousness byFaith" that righteousness included justification and sanctification,in contrast to Brinsmead's insistence on justification alone.

LARRYPAHL

he name of Robert D. Brinsmead was once capable ofevoking strong emotion and division in the Adventistcircles brave and informed enough to discuss his con-

troversial ideas. Brinsmead shifted theological gears in the 60s,- 70s, 80s, and now radically on the verge of the Twenty First

Century. Because. of his decade-long silence in the 90s, itwould have been easy to conclude that he had taken nis placein the Adventist scrap pile with the likes of Conradi,Ballenger, A.T. Jones, or Walter Rea. The recent radical~veryradical-rebirth of his pen invites a renewed look at this inde-pendent thinker.


http://httj://www.bibleprophecy.net.

Brinsme daims that the Je ishChristians, as e idenced by thepocryphal . ritings, the pr.mitive

Paul, and the apostles' did not acceptthe virgin birth nor the Trinity.

Brinsmead, in typical high confidence, quipped "we won that argu-ment hands down."

In the 1970s Ford and Brinsmead spearheaded what would bethe beginnings of an evangelical Adventism, centered on justifica-tion by faith, not Adventism's uniqueness. The movement wasstrongest in Australia and was supported mainly by youngAdventist pastors, seminarians, and laymen, and a good number ofAmerican Adventist scholars.

Brinsmead was in the U.S. during part of the 1970s, and whilehere he tried to motivate both Adventist theologian EdwardHeppenstall and Ford to write the work which would repudiate thetraditional Adventist doctrine of the investigative judgment.Brinsmead, after "extensive study and thinking," said that sincethe book of Hebrews puts Christ in the most holy place after thecross, long before 1844, he began to question 1844 and its corollar-ies. But he said he hesitated "blasting this theology because Ithought someone from within Adventism should do it."

Ford and Heppenstall refused his challenge, so Brinsmead wentback to Australia and wrote 1844 Reexamined. In the book hechallenged the investigative judgment, the sanc-tuary doctrine, 1844, and the shut-door theologyof the early Adventists.

The 1980sThe decade of the 80s was epochal again for

Brinsmead. He focused on the cuItic nature, notjust of Adventism, but of all religion. His studiesled him away from the Sabbath. In Verdict, themagazine he published in the 80s, two of his titlesreveal the direction of his work: "SabbatarianismReexamined," 1981, and "Myths About the TenCommandments," 1982. Brinsmead's scholarshipturned, some would say, liberal. He came tobelieve that the Bible must be interpreted fromthe context of its cultural setting. He studied less and less from theperspective of grammar and original languages and more and morefrom the sociological and historical perspective. He left hisReformational view of the Bible.

These studies led him to see two churches coexisting in earlyChristianity, the Jewish Church and the Gentile Church. Thesetwo churches differed on the status of the Jewish law and the sta-tus ofJesus. Brinsmead had riot touched the status ofJesus in the80s, but only the argument over the Jewish law. Brinsmead claimsthat the Jewish Christians, as evidenced by the apocryphal writ-ings, the "primitive Paul," and the apostles did not accept the vir-gin birth nor the Trinity. He said the doctrine of the virgin birthwas the primitive church's attempt to establish the uniqueness ofJesus. He claims the doctrine of the virgin birth is not true biologi-cally, but is a theological construct placed upon the text.

This historical approach which Brinsmead adopted led himaway from any kind of strict Sabbath observance. His argumenta-tion in "Sabbatarianism Reexamined" revolves around five keypoints. First, the Ten Commandments are not eternal. They weremade or created (Mark 2:27; Gen. 2:2,3). Since they were "madefor man" there could be no Sabbath before the creation of man.The negative framework of the commandments shows they were

written for fallen man, and thus will be rather irrelevant when allis made new.

Secondly, the Ten Commandments are not all-inclusive. Theydo not speak to every setting and practice without stretching orspeculation. Third, the commandments contain cultic elements.Most of us, for instance, do not keep donkeys and we were nottaken out of Egypt by a mighty hand. These elements are not uni-versal.

Fourth, the letter of the Ten Commandments should notalways be kept. The law is spiritual. Therefore sometimes it isimpossible to keep the spirit of the law without breaking the letter.There are examples of this throughout the Bible, Brinsmead says.

Finally, the Ten Commandments are no longer under the min-istration of Moses. Since the Sabbath (as part of the TenCommandments) is no longer in the hands of Moses, we must fol-low Jesus' lead in Sabbath observance. Brinsmead says the burdenis on Sabbatarians to prove that Jesus and his apostles continuedto interpret the Sabbath commandment according to its Judaisticletter.

Brinsmead's anti-Sabbath arguments were very convincing tomany members of the Worldwide Church of God (WCG) andtheir leadership. The leaders sent copies of Brinsmead's"Sabbatarianism Reexamined" to the entire WCG ministry. Thischurch took the momentous step of removing the Sabbath from itsdoctrinal platform.

Brinsmead's historical scholarship brought him face to face withthe two early Christian churches, dwelling side by side, yet sepa-rate. The Christianity of the apostles was conservative. They werecommitted to a Jewish way of life. They ate kosher food, keptSabbath, went to temple, even offered sacrifices (for instance, theyurged Paul to have a sacrifice offered on his behalf. ..Acts 21:26)On the other hand the Gentile Christians were never sabbatarian,either Sunday or Sabbath. A large proportion of them were illiter-ate and slaves.

Brinsmead says one of the great goals of Paul's ministry was tounite these two branches of Christianity. "He never succeeded,"Brinsmead said. Brinsmead gives the book of Romans as evidenceof Paul's effort. He says that in Romans 14:5-7, Paul is speakingdirectly to the historical situation of the Roman church.Brinsmead says, "This became to me the most certain thing I everfound. I'm more sure of this point than any other fact of the New


Testament. Paul's message of justification insisted that there wasno difference in God's eyes. He is saying to Jewish Christians,'Accept the Gentile Christians who don't observe the Sabbath.'To Gentile Christians he says, 'Don't judge the strict JewishChristians and their rigorous Sabbath-keeping.' The real thrust ofjustification is how to find a Christian neighbor."

Brinsmead uses another argument to make his case. Adventistshave often said that Paul's silence on the matter of Sabbath obser-vance is a proof of the ubiquity of its practice. Since all earlyChristians were keeping and believing in the seventh-day Sabbath,there was no reason for the New Testament to speak to the issue.Brinsmead would say instead that Paul never exhorts the Gentilechurches to keep Sabbath because it is not part of the newcovenant.

The 1990sBrinsmead's "discovery" here set the stage for a new direction in

his life, the Brinsmead of the 90s. During this period he gave 3,000volumes of his library to Avondale College ("I'm not going to readthem again.") He did not lift his pen to write a theological dis-course for almost ten years. He ran for and was elected to publicoffice. He put renewed energy into his family fruit and avocadofarm, which is an international tourist attraction. His prodigiousefforts in circulating petitions nationwide on behalf of SDA LindyChamberlain, who was falsely accused of killing her daughterAzariah-a trial which was the most publicized in Australian his-tory-were instrumental in the reopening of the case and heracquittal. He even rethought his own lifestyle.

He had been living, he says, as a "Jewish Christian," that is, aconservative Seventh-day Adventist. He was a temperate vegetari-an, a Sabbath-keeper, a shunner of worldly amusements. But sincehe saw these simply as cultural choices, he began thinking that if Iam really to put my neighbor first I must, like Paul, "become allthings to all men ... "

He wrote an essay entitled "The End of Adventism," in whichhe says, "I urged Adventists to get rid of all the religious garbageand come join the human race." Brinsmead was entering a newtheological universe.

Just as it had taken Brinsmead a decade to dispose psychologi-cally of 1844 and the investigative judgment, it would take as longto deal with the humanity of the non-vertical, non-virgin bornJesus. Brinsmead said "I wasn't prepared to take the next step. Iwent farming and said nothing."

Brinsmead immersed himself in business and local politics foreight years and wrote nothing until 1998, when he again publishedthe magazine Verdict. His provocative issue titles indicate it's a newradical Brinsmead: "No God Above;" "No Home Except Jesus, theItinerant;" "No Atonement;" "This Man and the ChristianReligion Are Not Compatible."

Brinsmead has entered an area where there is no law. "Scriptureis not a law book; it is meant to be a witness of Christ. God's jus-tice is not a legal justice, its a new kind of justice. I don't believein a doctrine of blood atonement, nor am I preoccupied with adying victim. That whole notion comes from pagan notions of agod who needs to be appeased. This great turning point is a resur-rection theology, a whole new life of freedom and play. Judaism


was the religion of a book. Gentile Christianity was not the reli-gion of a book, but that of a person."

Brinsmead does not believe in the story of the creation andfall-he is an evolutionist. He says there was no perfect world, nofall, no offended God separated by a gulf, requiring salvation, nohell. "These are all reworked pagan myths," says Brinsmead. "Jesuswas not pre-existent. God does not have a son any more than Hehas a wife."

"It's a hell of a myth. It all starts when the Creator of 400 bil-lion galaxies caught a newly created couple (who had no timeeven to form a character) in this speck of a planet committing amisdemeanor-which was daring to ask a few questions! He hadthem expelled, sentenced the whole race to eternal punishment,and finally slew his own son to save them from it so that theywould love and serve him forever."

Brinsmead's essay "No God Above" relates his new vision ofreality: "Religion doesn't count. There is no religious test.

.Whether one believes in baptism by dunking, baptism with awater pistol or none at all is irrelevant. Neither good opinionsconcerning religion or bad opinions have any bearing on the mat-ter of admittance or exclusion. Aside from the one evil of notbeing human (forgiving, caring, compassionate, giving, etc.) thereis no sin. The ben Adam (Jesus) society has one mission state-ment: it is to live and die in the service of humanity, to workunceasingly for the liberation of every oppressed human being."

When I asked Brinsmead, the old master of the forensic natureof.justification, how a person is "justified" in his new scheme ofthi~gs he responded, "A man is judged-justified-by doing theright thing." In the next breath he mentioned all the "unlearning"we have to do because of the "presuppositions we got from ourmothers' milk."

We will certainly have to unlearn all that Brinsmead taught inthe past. Brinsmead's journey has led him back, full circle, to rawperfectionism. The new Brinsmead requires that we become "for-giving, caring and compassionate, doing the right thing"--certain-ly the marks of a perfect man. But the 1960s Brinsmead at leastgave a standard for perfectionism: The Ten Commandments. Thenew perfectionism gives no written guide, speaks with no clarityabout what the right thing really is, other than that it has to dowith shedding traditional orthodox Christian doctrine. The doc-trine.of the new Brinsmead is a total repudiation of his 1970s insis-tence on the centrality of justification.

In the several interviews I had with Brinsmead for this article,he seemed to take every question I was asking as if I were 'anadversary. He must be growing used to similar challenges from somany traditional Christians who, no doubt, find it hard to takeseriously the most recent tum of his theology.

I tried to assure him that I was asking in honesty and sincerity,trying to understand his new position. To help toward this end, Isaid, "Bob, a young man comes to you for guidance. You sense he ishonestly seeking. He wants to know more about God, about life,about reality. What do you say to him to help him in his seeking, hisstruggle?What do you say to him to help him down the road of life?"

Here is what Brinsmead said:"God is a spirit and he is everywhere. He is the Spirit of life

and he's not far from anyone of us. Reading the Bible or some

Whither, Robert D. Brinsmead?RAYMOND E COTTRELL

Cognitive maturation is a processof mental growth from a primi-tive, subjective, piecemeal col-

lage of facts and supposed facts, hopefullytoward an ever more accurate, symmetricalunderstanding of objective reality. Duringthis process additional relevant facts arediscovered, irrelevant opinions are discard-ed, and a wise person learns to monitorhis/her thought processes and to base con-clusions on the weight of evidence.

At each stage of this process a wise per-son will recognize his/her immature under-standing and be modest with respect tohis/her opinions. That spirit of modestywill remain even when a person hasattained to an objective, symmetrical, andreasonably complete understanding.Humility with respect to a person's opin-ions is one evidence of a mature mind;dogmatic insistence that his/her opinionsconstitute ultimate reality is unmistakableevidence of immaturity.

Robert Brinsmead's repeated and mutu-ally contradictory positions over the years,together with his dogmatic public insis-tence on each of them successively, is clearevidence of immaturity. One cannot helpbut wonder if the present one is final, or if

it is-like the others-ephemeral and willbe followed by others.

Brinsmead first came to the attention ofthe church in North America in the earlyspring of 1961, when he submitted severaldocuments he had written to the GeneralConference for consideration. These docu-ments came to the desk of W. R. Beach,then Secretary of the General Conference,who asked me to evaluate them. Havingserved as a teacher in the religion depart-ment of Pacific Union College for severalyears, as a writer and editor of the SDABible Commentary, as currently an associ-ate editor of the Adventist Review and amember of the General ConferenceBiblical Research Committee, that was notaltogether an illogical assignment.

With a desire to be completely objec-tive and to evaluate the documents ontheir merits, I devoted careful considera-tion to each of them and drew up a cri-tique of each, which I submitted to ElderBeach some three weeks later.

A few weeks after that Robert and hisbrother John appeared in person at theGeneral Conference and requested a hear-ing. A representative committee, of whichI served as a member, was appointed and

met with them for two days in the GeneralConference board room. A cordial atmos-phere prevailed. Most of the time wasdevoted to listening to Robert and Johnpresent their opinions, with an occasionalrequest for clarification. At the close wecommented on things to which we sug-gested that they give further study. Weparted as friends.

On a return visit to North America yearslater Robert Brinsmead was accorded anopportunity to speak one Sabbath afternoonin the Campus Chapel of the UniversityChurch in Loma Linda, for which I was pre-sent. By that time he had repudiated his for-mer perfectionist concept of salvation andwas advocating Reformation-style forensicjustification with equal vigor. An evangeli-cal background with respect to justificationand sanctification led me to conclude thathe had made progress from his former legal-istic perfectionism, but that his view of sal-vation still fell short of that presented by theApostle Paul.

As Robert Brinsmead has moved far-ther and farther away from the orbit ofAdventism and seems to be immune tofurther rational dialogue, I have felt con-strained to let him go his own way and dohis own thing. I do agree with him, how-ever, that some of our concepts related toChrist's ministry in the heavenly sanctuaryneed further study, clarification, and prob-ably revision.

other book may help you, but God reveals himself, as a Spirit,by the things he has created, including human life.

"We can see the face of God. There is a spirit of life. If wesurrender to it, obey it, we have the spirit that is for life. Tohelp, to save, to restore, to be compassionate and promotelife-that is the spirit of God working in us and through us ...

"He who loves his fellow man has seen the face of God. Tobe truly human is supernatural. There is something transcen-dent and awesome about love and being in the kingdom ofGod. Appreciate that. When you meet other people be quick torecognize the spirit of God working through them in their kind-ness. Wake up; don't be stupid. God is on display. The kingdomof God is at hand ...You can live in self-forgetfulness. You neednot be preoccupied with whether God is around. In him we liveand move and have our being. God is accepting. God is in allthings and through all things. He is not offended, needingblood atonement as the pagans believe. He shows himself byexpression ... by being a writer or horticulturist."

I then asked Bob, "What happens to the wicked, to thosepeople who don't live with this view of life?"

To this he replied, "I would be inclined to think they die likean animal."

He expanded, "I hesitate to be a universalist. Maybe Godhas a way of reaching the utterly recalcitrant. The gift of beinghuman is a gift that God so utterly gives .. .I have to entertainthe possibility that if one rejects the spirit of life, I don't seewhy God wouldn't give him what he has chosen."

After I told Brinsmead that someone had asked me if he(Brinsmead) was saved, he laughed heartily. He ended our longinterviews with this response: "Here's the real point of thewhole conversation: The question should not be, 'Is he saved?'But, 'Is he human?' (as opposed to inhuman?)"

I told Brinsmead that he was indeed human, and he said hetook that as the best of all compliments. He is currently 65years old.


FAT LADY or

While Adventist Today recognizes that there have beensome chronic concerns about the church's use of titheand offerings, it also recognizes that tithe and offeringspaid to a central storehouse result in unique advan-tages: equal pay for pastors; corporately funded mis-sions; and subsidies for church schools, to list a few.This article expresses one pastor's opinion about tithesand offerings. It does not necessarily reflect the viewsof Adventist Today.

Eric Bahme is the pastor ofNew Life ChristianFellowship in Woodinville,Washington (formerly NewLife Congregational SeventhDay Adventist Church).

ERICBAHME

n 1991 Dr. George Knight, professor of church history at Andrewsniversity, wrote an article for the Adventist Review entitled "The

Fat Lady and the Kingdom." Four years later, this article became thefoundation for a new book bearing the same title. Desiring to be

consistent with the images of Scripture, Dr. Knight compares theSeventh~day Adventist Church to a "fat woman returning from ashopping spree." Her size is indicative of the fact that she hasbecome "rich, and increased with goods," and has "need of nothing"(Revelation 3:17). She is a woman of favor-a lady who is not onlyaddicted to a lifestyle of luxury, but also suffersfrom an inability tocontrol her spending. Encumbered with a load of "structure andinstitutions," she has "become addicted to packages and package

holding." Dr. Knight paints a picture of Adventism in 1991 as anorganization whose institutions have overshadowed her sense of mis~sion, plunging Adventism into the "degenerative process" of an"aging church" leaving it teetering between institutionalism and dis~

integration. Prophetically, Dr. Knight sounds the warning cry:"Wake up, fat lady, before it's too late!" (pp. 15~20).

. 16 May-June 1999 ADVENTIST TODAY

Eight years later, there can be little doubt that Dr. Knight'sprophetic predictions are coming to pass. While it may not be rec-ognized as prophetic by leadership, God is trying to get our atten-tion. The question is: "Who is listening and what should be doneabout it?" Like carefree crewmembers on the TItanic, Adventism isembroiled in conflict and an all-out effort to preserve its dysfunc-tionallifestyle, while remaining confident that the "ship is unsink-able." This point is played out over and over again in the publica-tions of Adventism. From the Far Eastern Division Outlook to theNorth Pacific Union Gleaner and the Lake Union Herald, all ofAdventism's publications are declaring: "Yes,we have a problem,but don't panic! We don't need to get in the lifeboats-just staycalm." Of the 457 articles in the Adventist Periodical Index on thesubject of church conflict, 335 of them have been written in thelast 8 years. These include titles such as "Can We Stay Together?""How Do We Respond?" "How Much Diversity Can We Stand?""Holding On To Your Faith In A Splitting Church," "What'sGoing On?" "The Church Under Attack," "Congregationalism:The Wrong Shaking," "When the Family Splits" and "MyAllegiance to My God and His Church." Recognizing a problem,William G. Johnsson, editor of the Adventist Review, published hisbook in 1995 entitled The Fragmenting of Adventism. The coversays it all: "Ten Issues Threatening the Church Today; Why theNext Five Years Are Crucial."

Tithe Outnumbers GospelAs our "Fat Lady" fights to maintain her lifestyle, she says some

interesting things such as: "I'm changing; things will be differentnext time; I won't do it again; it's not as bad as it looks; I can con-trol this;" and "we really don't have a problem." She is worriedthat her codependent family may seek help and is concernedabout what implications this might have upon her indulgentlifestyle. Another look at the Adventist Periodical Index reveals 312articles written under the subject of "TIthe," while nothing hasbeen catalogued under the subject heading of "The Gospel." Toher credit, however, the Church has written 722 articles on thesubject of salvation, but in comparison this is still below the 769articles written on church conflict and tithe combined. Dr.Knight states:

"Nearly everyone seems to agree that radical administrative andinstitutional reorganization, consolidation, and reform are impera-tive, but few appear to be willing to put their best judgments intoaction. The result is that a great deal of money and effort isexpended in defending the existence of the status quo when theseresources might better be used to develop new structures andmethodologies to reach the movement's original goals." (The FatLady and the Kingdom, p. 32.)

The church has said that it will change, but the reality is feware listening to the respected voices of warning among us. Rather,the dysfunction of the bride has intensified in the last few years;she no longer teeters on the edge of disintegration, but has fallenheadfirst into it. Dr. Knight describes what this disintegration lookslike. Listen carefully:

"Its chief characteristics are overinstitutionalism, formalism,indifferentism, obsolescence, absolutism, red tape, patronage, andcorruption. In addition, the institutional machine's lack of respon-

siveness to the personal and social needs of members causes loss oftheir confidence.

"During this stage many withdraw into new sects or drift with-out any formal church membership. Many of those who remain infellowship with the parent body often ignore it in practice or con-form to its teachings only halfheartedly. Meanwhile the denomina-tion continues, supported by a leadership with vested interests andby a membership with emotional attachments." (Ibid. pp. 29-30).

If only we would have listened eight years ago.

Dysfunctional "Mother"So what can be done? I believe that there is only one option left

for the Seventh-day Adventist who has longed for change withinthe church, but has loved her too much to leave. It is time to behonest about the codependent condition of our family and to recog-nize the dysfunction that exists. The first step to recovery is recogni-tion of our true condition. We can't expect "Mom" to move beyondher denial, and we must admit that we have contributed to herhabits. Our own actions have made things worse, even though ourintentions have been worthy. We defended her in bad times, wepromoted her in good times, we nurtured her with our resources,and encouraged her in her addiction-and we did it in love. Andshe responded. She educated us and allowed us to get good jobs.She afforded opportunities for travel and sheltered us from theworld around, and all of it made us feel good about ourselves. Thiswill be the greatest challenge Adventism faces now-honesty aboutits condition. No greater pain is felt than the pain of recovery andself-discovery. Most will avoid this process. Many will run. Few willlook into the mirror. And the church will do everything in herpower to keep this from happening, because she's addicted to herlifestyle, and she can't do anything differently; however, you can.

Once you recognize the condition of your family you can dosomething about it. It won't be easy, but in the end it is the mostloving thing you can do. It is time to intervene. The "Fat Lady"must be placed on a diet. Her caloric intake must be limited. If youare an Adventist who has uttered the words: "I want the church tochange, therefore I'm not leaving her;" then you have only onemoral choice left-stop feeding her! It is time for Adventistseverywhere to stop giving their tithe through the Conferencechannels, but rather to seek God for his direction on where thefunds are to be sent. The work of God is starving locally, while the"Fat Lady" dines in lavishness.

Call to HonestyScripture admonishes us to "watch," "hear," "inspect," "exam-

ine," "study," "test," and "prove." While we are not to judge peo-ple's hearts, we are to be "good fruit inspectors," and if the fruit isbad we need to know it and have nothing to do with it (Matthew7:15-20). We are not to blindly follow the mandates of man butto "test everything" (I Thessalonians 5:21). Paul, himself instruct-ed the Corinthians to "examine yourselves" to see whether youare in the faith; test yourselves" (2 Corinthians 13:5). It was theappeal of Jeremiah that we "examine our ways and test them, andlet us return to the Lord" (Lamentations 3:40). Scripture informsus that it is a good thing to be honest about our true conditionand the condition of our church.


Scripture informs us that the tithe is not optional; it is to befaithfully returned (Malachi 3 :6-10). But did such faithfulnessalways require the believer to bring the tithe to the temple? Dowe as believers have an obligation not to blindly foster dysfunc-tionalism?

In I Corinthians 9, Paul responds to the question about hiscredentials and his right to financial support from the people,asking: "If others have this right of support from you, shouldn'twe have it all the more?" (vs. 12). He goes on to say: "Don't youknow that those who work in the temple get their food from thetemple, and those who serve at the altar share in what is offeredon the altar? In the same way, the Lord has commanded thatthose who preach the gospel should receive their living from thegospel." (vs. 13, 14). There can be little doubt that Paul is refer-ring to the tithing system. Paul is saying that Christian evange-lists who preach the gospel should be supported by tithe, andthey could hardly be described as "temple employees." The mainqualification for receiving tithe, according to Paul, is whether thegospel is being preached.

In Galatians, however, Paul makes a statement so bold thathe must repeat himself for emphasis: "But even if we or anangel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the onewe preached to you, let him be eternally condemned! As wehave already said, so now I say again: 'If anybody is preachingto you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eter-nally condemned!'" (Gal. 1:8,9). It is unlikely that Paul wouldparallel "eternally condemned" to mean "support them with thetithe." Even though they "preached the gospel," it was thewrong gospel. Need we remind ourselves that there is only onegospel?

Multiple GospelsYet, I wonder what Paul would say about Adventism? William

Johnsson, in his book The Fragmenting of Adventism, briefly discuss-es the Adventists' view of the gospel and admits that there is con-fusion as to what the gospel is within the church. He says, "Howcan we take 'the everlasting gospel' to all the world, as Revelation14:6, 7 mandates, if we aren't clear on what the message really is?"There are "major differences" in the interpretation of the gospelamong "prominent Adventists," Johnsson points out. We have thegospel according to Graham Maxwell, George Knight, JackSequeira, Morris Venden, and Ralph Larson (pp. 93-94). The ques-tion I pose is: What about the gospel according to Jesus Christ, andhow does Paul's counsel to the Galatians affect us? This in itselfshould cause great consideration.

Seldom do I quote extensively from Ellen White, because I real-ize that Adventism has become polarized on this subject. For some,the mere mention of her name will cause you to exclaim "falseprophet," and you'll read no further. For others, you are glad that Ifinally have arrived at the "truth" and you'll want to send me morequotes. Whatever your personal belief regarding the propheticministry of Ellen White, there is no debate about the pivotal roleher words have played in crafting church policy. Since her wordshave been cited as authority for the policies we now have, it is rea-sonable that we consider her statements that call into questionthose very same policies.


Ellen G. White stated, "God does not lay upon you the burdenof asking the conference or any council of men whether youshould use your means as you see fit to advance the work of Godin destitute towns and cities, and impoverished localities. Thatthe right plan has been followed, so much means would not havebeen used in some localities, and so little in other places wherethe banner of truth has not been raised. We are not to merge ourindividuality of judgment into any institution in our world. Weare to look to God for wisdom, as did Daniel." She goes on to say,"Do we individually realize our true position, that as God's hiredservants we are not to bargain away our stewardships; but thatbefore the heavenly universe we are to administer the truth com-mitted to us by God? Our own hearts are to be sanctified, ourhands are to have something to impart as occasion demands ofthe income that God entrusts to us." (Pamphlets in theConcordance, Volume II, p. 467).

Ellen G. White Directs Her Own TitheEven in her own example, she "appropriated" her own tithe and

the tithe of others to impoverished and "neglected" areas of theministry. She also encouraged and supported those who were led todo the same. In fact, she counseled Elder Watson, the President ofthe Colorado Conference, to leave the matter alone, saying: "Iwish to say to you, be careful how you move. You are not movingwisely. The least you have to speak about the tithe that has beenappropriated to the most needy and the most discouraged field, themore sensible you will be." (Spalding-Magan's UnpublishedManuscript Testimonies of Ellen G. White, pp. 215-216).

Ellen White felt that God-was the One who should direct theuse of our tithe, and that we each have an individual responsibilityfor our stewardship

"God grant that the voices which have been so quickly raised tosay that all the money invested in the work must go through theappointed channel at Battle Creek, shall not be heard. The peopleto whom God has given His means are amenable to Him alone. Itis their privilege to give direct aid and assistance to missions."(Ibid, p. 177).

"Divine wisdom must have abundant room in which to work. Itis to advance without asking permission or support from those whohave taken to themselves a kingly power. In the past one set ofmen have tried to keep in their own hands the control of all themeans coming from the churches and have used this means in amost disproportionate manner, erecting expensive buildings wheresuch large buildings were unnecessary and uncalled for, andleavingneedy places without help or encouragement ....

"For years the same routine, the same 'regular way' of workinghas been followed, and God's work has been greatly hindered. Thenarrow plans that have been followed by those who did not haveclear, sanctified judgment have resulted in a showing that is notapproved by God.

"God calls for a revival and a reformation. The "regularlines" have not done the work which God desires to seeaccomplished. Let revival [and] reformation make constantchanges .... Let every yoke be broken. Let men awaken tothe realization that they have an individual responsibility."(Ibid. pp. 174-176).

"When we see the regular lines are altered and purified andrefined, and the God of the heaven's mold is upon the regularlines, then it is our business to establish the regular lines. But whenwe see message after message that God has given has been accept-ed, but no change, just the same as it was before, then it is evidentthat new blood must be brought into the regular lines." (Remarksat a meeting held in Battle Creek College Library, GeneralConference, April 1901, Ibid., p. 163).

The time has come when we can no longer stand idly by; theissue has escalated to a moral choice. If we continue to fosterand support the addictive behavior of the "Fat Lady," we will beguilty of her sin. Confronting addictive behavior is a matter oflove. We place our pets on diets, our children on diets, and our-selves on diets. When those whom we love are addicted, weconfront them, and at times place them in the care of compe-

Thank You for Your Gifts

tent professionals who can help. Should we not do as much forthe church? "But what if she dies?" you ask. "What if enoughpeople withhold the nourishment that she needs?" AsAdventists we have always believed in the power of resurrec-tion, and with resurrection comes new life. The church willeither become the lean, beautiful woman that God intendedher to be-coming up out of the wilderness "leaning on herlover" (Songs of Songs 8:5)-or she will die through thisprocess. In the end, however, God will rebuild his church.There are so many areas of the Body of Christ that have beenstarved for years. It is our duty to begin to care for theseneglected parts on a local level where God has placed us and totrust him to lead us individually. Your dollar is the only voteyou have left. It is now time for you to wake up and cast yourvote before it really is too late. ~

There are many worthy charitable organizations that are in need of your support. That's why we are especially thankful foryour gifts to Adventist Today and want to acknowledge your generosity. .

In addition to saying thank you, we would like to share information that can help assure the maximum benefits fromyour gifts. By spending a few minutes carefully considering the form and timing of your gifts, you may find that you can

have an even greater impact now and in the future of Adventist Today.

Considering the Future •.••.Your generosity is an essential ingredient to the success of Adventist Today, both now and in the years to come. If you would be

interested in making a gift of ongoing significance, the ideas below may be of interest to you.1. Since an endowment is penna- .r------------- ••nent, your cash gift to the Adventist

Today Endowment Fund will continue to I Ves.' Ibenefit into the long-term future. 1. C Please send me more information on gift and estate planning ideas.

2. A gift included in your will or I I am most interested in the following: Iliving trust is one way to establish alasting legacy. I 0 I

3. A gift of retirement assets, suchas pension plans or Individual I 0 IRetirement Accounts (IRAs), mayallow you to give more than you 0thought possible, while eliminating I Itaxes that may otherwise largely con- 0 .sume these assets. I ~ ~--"""'1 • <1r.;-. I

4. Consider gifts of life insurance. I 0 Gif~~St'i9n:a'tA

pro\j~ae tax,--inc,!~.mr:3':;..a?9T\rf~{erfbiri.ancialbenefitsGifts of policies or proceeds you may ~~ \ I

-.~:'t:~nCi%~~::::;::~'~:::~:':,~~n.I N"ue '.,.,~", ~ -- ~~. Ito replace assets given away, thereby I AddreJL . ,"-.~~~ A.~ .~providing for loved ones in addition to ~.t I""~l ~.,,~j / Iyour charitable interests. I City/State/ZIP __ '_..,-.,-1-. 1__ :-I, l._---;-~_-=;;;:- -Y _

5. A life income gift can be a tax- ~~ Ieffective way to provide you and/or Phone (optional) _someone you designate with regular I Ipayments for life. 0

Gifts in any of these forms can be I I would like to talk confidentially about my giving options. Imade in memory or in honor of specialloved ones. I Cut out or photocopy form and mail to: I

I Adventist Today, P.O. Box 8026, Riverside, CA 92515-8026 I

INTERVIEW

Greg Billock

ADVENTIST TODAYOn the WEBJim Walters Interviews

Greg Billock,. WebmasterJim Walters

As we all know, the Internet is changing the way welive. It is changing Adventism. How would you describehow it's changing our church?

I think the Internet is primarily an accelerator forchange. Trends identified in society and the church canoften progress faster on the Internet. One primary way theInternet is accelerating change in the church is by facilitat-

ing the increasing availability of infor-mation. Information which previouslytook weeks or months to reach peopleis now accessible within hours. It is .easier than ever before to providedetails about church affairs to thoseinterested, and to keep the widely sep-arated parts of the church informed.

Also, the Internet is providing avenue where church members are

becoming aware of the differences in viewpoints Adventistshold. Being able to communicate with people from all overthe world enlarges our communities and makes these differ-ences, which may have been masked before by geography,jump out at us. This facilitates either further insularity, asindividuals have the opportunity to seek out pockets of like-minded people, or openness, as exposure to different view-points brings positive experiences and relationships withindividuals with whom one's differences are otherwise large.

How many "Adventist" web sites would you estimatenow exist? How do you describe an Adventist site?

I'd describe an Adventist site as one that identifies itselfas affiliated with, or operated by someone affiliated with,the church. There might be 5000 or so web sites fittingthat description.

What are the top Adventist sites, in terms of activity?While site traffic can be difficult to estimate, it seems to


me the top SDA sites must include the official GeneralConference site; SDAnet, the oldest organized SDA pres-ence on the Internet; TAGnet, a service which providesfree web hosting for Adventists; and aToday, the AdventistToday site.

Could you briefly describe these sites?The GC page provides up-to-date press releases, infor-

mation on church programs and structure, and informationon events of interest to Adventists.

SDAnet is identified primarily with the SDAnet mail-ing list, although other web-based services are also impor-tant to the site.

TAGnet operates over a thousand accounts for SDAministries, churches, schools, and organizations, from smallto large.

The aToday site has a broad mix of content: all backissues of the magazine are on-line and content-searchable.We also host popular and active dis-cussion forums, polls, news updates,and provide information about themagazine. AIR (an index to theAdventist web) is also present, andcovers over 1000 web sites currently.We also feature devotionals by JohnMcLarty.

These four sites (and their con-stituent areas) provide a wide range ofcontent to Adventists interested in extending their experi-ence onto the Internet. Opportunities range from the high-ly interactive to the more research-oriented and meditative.

You have been the webmaster of aToday from thebeginning. How did you get interested in the Internet?And please tell us about yourself-your family, educa-tion, etc.

-

for the site, all the people who assist in managing theforums including J.R. Layman, George Tichy, Tom Norris,Elaine Nelson, Dolf Boek, and Teri Strickland.

I think our website is yet another great way the support-ers and subscribers of Adventist Today have given a valuableaddition to the SDA church community.

You have added the AIR feature to your web page.What is AIR, and what is your goal in this project?

AIR stands for Adventist InternetResources, and our eventual goal is toprovide a directory to the entireAdventist Internet. The index tracksvisits to the various indexed resources,so Net surfers who use it can tellwhich resources are the most popu-lar-and which may be hidden trea- $(}'t>S(fibf' IIt)wl

sures.What is your dream about where

aToday could be in a couple of years?I would like to see aToday expand on its present base of

content. We could use a more aggressive news reportinginfrastructure with reporters in all areas of the churchreporting on events oflocal or general interest. I'd like tosee our discussion forums develop into many parallel "chan-nels" offering high-quality discussions in a wide variety ofareas of interest to visitors. I'm interested in exploring newideas for interactivity on our site, as well as using thearchive of Adventist Today articles as a base to build a broadresource for Adventist research and study.

And how realistic is this dream? What would need tohappen for it to come off?

In light of our past experience, I think this dream isquite feasible. In the spirit of the development of Internet(and church!) projects, I think this dream will be realizedby utilizing the talents and interests of more people who arewilling to get involved and interested in developing an areathey think important, or creating a whole new area theybelieve would be useful.

If a person desires to help in termsof page management, who shouldhe/she contact?

We are always on the lookout forindividuals interested in helping withthat management of the site! AnyAdventist Today reader with an interestin this area can contact me usingemail: [email protected].

If a person wants to help finan-cially, who should be contacted?

Financial support is always useful! The Adventist Todaycommunity can be proud of the resource to which they havealready contributed in the magazine's sponsorship of aToday.We are currently asking for donations to cover our budgetfor operations in the last half of 1999. Anyone interested incontributing can visit the website itself, or contact theAdventist Today offices at (800) 236-3641. ~

I became interested in Internet technologies whilestudying engineering at Walla Walla College (where I metand fell in love with my wife, Christy). I've participated inthe Adventist Internet for a number of years, and helpingwith the aToday site is a great way to continue thatinvolvement. I'm currently a graduate student in theElectrical Engineering department at California Institute ofTechnology.

How did aToday get started?John Vogt, who's long been a supporter of Adventist

Today, became interested in facilitating a website for themagazine and extending its reach into that medium.During the summer of 1998 we met and settled on somegoals for the website, and subsequently Rachel Cafferkyand I put the site together. We were able to open inAugust, 1998.

How much traffic did you have as of the first of 1999?The first few months we grew slowly as we added con-

tent to the site and as awareness of us gradually increased.By January, 1999, we had close to a hundred visitors a week.

How much traffic do you have now?Now our traffic is closer to 3000 visitors every week.Why the difference?A major jump in our traffic occurred with the breaking

awareness of the Folkenberg legal problems. aToday keptup with the breaking news on the story, which appealed to

many, many people. Another majorchange to the site was the adoption ofa much more robust discussion plat-form, which facilitated the emergenceof one of the most active discussiongroups in the Adventist Internet.

What was the largest number ofhits that aToday received over aweekend at the height of the

Folkenberg fiasco? And how many persons visiting thesite does that represent?

Traffic estimates can be difficult, even when looking atgood numbers. aToday was receiving some 20,000 hits perday, corresponding to well over 5000 unique visitors perweek.

What have emerged as the most popular features ofthe site?

Different people have different interests. Certainly ourdiscussion forums are one of the most popular parts of thesite. Others like our fully-available back issue archive, orthe John McLarty devotionals. I hope that, with thebreadth of available content and opportunities for interac-tion on the site, there will be parts which fit the tastes oflarge numbers of Adventist Today readers.

How much work does it take to manage a site such asaToday? Do you have help?

During the design and debugging phase, it took a lot ofwork! The site certainly owes thanks to many people:Colleen Tinker and others who have written news stories,John McLarty's willingness to provide frequent devotionals


mailto:[email protected].

Soundings

DEBRA FOOTE

W'e stood by baggage claim, trying tomatch the picture in my hand to ablond girl who would turn fourteen at

midnight. No one looked like her. I was fightingback the tears at the thought of a girl given awayon her birthday. Luckily, I was the only redheadthere, so she found us. She chattered excitedly.

I was fig' hti rig' back thetears at the thol.lg'ht of ag'irl g'iveri away ori herbirthday"

Once in the car, Cindy said she was hungry.We found a Pizza Hut open at almost midnight.Happy 14. She talked non-stop all the way home.

The next morning was a Saturday. We thoughtit best to have some time alone to get to knowher. Cindy wanted to see snow, and it was March,that in-between season. Our snow was gone, butthere were eight-foot drifts two hours north inresort country. She had only seen snow once,when she was three. She couldn't wait-could wepull over and let her touch it? She ran down theditch and sank halfway out of sight. She came uplaughing, dove back in, and made angels, andsnowballs, and snowballs, and snowballs ...

On the lake, the big toboggan run was set up.Over and over again she flew down and thenraced back into line. There were Malamutedogsleds and people skating. The next thing Iknew, Cindy had talked a woman into letting herborrow her skates. Later when we went to arestaurant she ate more than my husband and I

Debra Foote, trained as a teacher, lives with herphysician husband in upper New York state where theycare for foster teenagers.


put together, and she secured the water boy'sphone number. She got lots of refills; we got none.She was a beauty.

Living with ADHDThat night there was a party at the church.

Cindy's sanguine personality never turned down achance to be with people, and she came away withinstant friends.

That week we attempted to get medical andschool records-quite a feat when one has beenmoved around so much. We set up appointmentsto see the local Christian school as well as ourdenominational school. Since Cindy already knewthe kids, because of the party, she chose thedenominational school. The first day of school shesmeared clay all over the paper towel dispenser inthe bathroom. Three days later I got a call from amother who wanted Cindy pulled out because shewas so disruptive. I asked for more time for her toadjust to the new school. Cindy was extremelyhyperactive and had no attention span.

I knew little about Attention Deficit andHyperactivity Disorder, but I believed she had it,so I attended a seminar. There I saw movies ofhow pharmaceutical intervention had helpedADHD kids calm down and focus, and I heard sta-tistics about kids who do not receive intervention.Ritalin used properly does not drug kids into sub-mission; rather, it brings the dopamine level up tothe normal levels most of us have. To my surprise,Cindy called it by the scientific name, saying shehad been on it since she was seven. The doctorshe saw for her school physical emphaticallyagreed that she needed it, saying that she was anextreme case.

Still, the almost daily 3:15 p.m. call from herteacher became a joke at work. The teacher wouldnot read any of the information I gave her onADHD and just wanted Cindy gone. She talked allthe time, the teacher reported, even though sheknew it would mean a chore when she got home.

The first misbehavior we worked on was thetantrums. Then we tackled the foul language thatshocked the cloistered ones. People began sayingthey saw changes. During first quarter, everyone

of the study and social items on her report cardwas checked "needs improvement." By secondquarter, all were satisfactory.

Keeping Up with CindySince she treated a sliver like a life-threatening

illness, we didn't overreact to hurts. That explainshow I managed to send her to school with a con-cussion. Not long after she arrived, my husbandtook her skiing. Somehow she hit her head on herski and insisted on being taken down on the sledby the "cute" ski patrol. The next day she had aheadache. Since she had many ailments to avoidschool, I told her if she felt worse later, I wouldpick her up. I made it to the school in record timewhen the teacher called and said that she wasfeeling dizzy and sick to her stomach.

Cindy said that before her father had becometoo ill, he lived in one side of their house, and shelived in the other. She said that when it was timeto eat, he would pound on the plywood nailed upthat divided the house. We believed the story; shehad to be forced to take a shower, brush her teeth,use tableware, wash her hands, and put dirtyclothes in the wash.

Cindy's appetite was immense. She ate morethan my husband but weighed only 105 pounds.Many times I found myself in the grocery store at11:00 p.m. Keeping food in the house seemed like"Mission Impossible."

Gradual ImprovementWhen Cindy arrived in March she took an

achievement test. Her rank was in the sixth per-centile. Ninety-four percent of seventh graderstaking the test did better. So I tutored her twohours a night, and for two months in the summer,I tutored her in English. In September she wastested again. Her rank had jumped to the 16thpercentile. In most cases, children should be ableto study on their own. But she was so far behindand lacking in the basics, help was necessary orshe could not pass.

In the summer Cindy went to camp for a week,had a great time swimming in the pond that welive on, learned to water-ski and knee board, andwent canoe-camping with us and our friends.

With eighth grade came a veteran teacher: akind, patient, and gregarious man. Cindy thrivedand had a B- average. She was at theThanksgiving party at the school when the callcame. We did not know that her mother had toldher that her father had cured his AIDS with hap-piness. When she got home, we had her sit on thesofa between us as we told her that her father haddied. She screamed "No!" and cried for a long

time. Then she asked if she could go to a friend'shouse whose stepfather had AIDS. While she wasgone, we booked a flight for the funeral.

Cindy had only been back two weeks when shegot another call. Her favorite cousin had beenkilled in a four-wheeling accident. I had her sitdown on her bed. I tried to talk, but no wordswould come out. I finally choked out her cousin'sname. A look of terror came over her. She said, "Isshe dead?" and all I could do was nod.

Real FamilyThe week Cindy's father had died, suddenly her

mother "missed her terribly." She had not missedCindy terribly before. In fact, she had not calledor written once in the eight months we had hadCindy. But now that Cindy's father had died, thesocial security payment for Cindy's support hadbeen raised from two hundred thirty a month toover six hundred. Additionally, if her mom couldconvince Cindy soon enough to return home, shewould also get the death benefit that was due usfor the flight (she did). We already had theChristmas picture cards of the three of us ready toaddress. But all kids want to believe that their par-ents love them. And the $200.00 a month

......she tc)ld Ollr .fc)ster SC)flthat we were the Oflly"real" farnily that she hadever had..

promised for allowance, along with the lie of beingflown back to us each school holiday weekend,convinced her to return. Dec. 18 she left for hermother's. It didn't last long. As before, she got inher lesbian mother's way. Soon she was shipped toher 21-year-old sister. That didn't last either, soback to Mom she went.

Last Christmas, Cindy spent her vacation withus. In front of us, she told our foster son that wewere the only "real" family that she had ever had.

Would we risk it again for another? Is it worthit? It's not worth it in terms of tears. But the long-term rewards are another story. Because the kidsalways come back. Sometimes it's months, moreoften years-but they always come back.

Because where there is love, there is a realfamily. ~

ADVENTISfTODAY May-June 1999 23

As We Go to Eress

CONTINUED ON PAGE 10

Student ComplaintsThe" students, on the other

hand, have complained thatCORE decreases their electivechoices and gives them creditsthey can't transfer to otherschools. They further state thatthe cross-disciplinary, team-teaching format has been chaotic

and disorganized and the classes are toohard. They also state that CORE has toomuch emphasis on sociology, and the cur-riculum's religious emphasis is not clear.

As the months have progressed, thestudents' loudest concern has been theirperception that the administration refusesto consider their complaints. This lastMarch Lennard ]orgensen,vice-president

Adventist Christian teaching. They fearthat students will learn philosophies differ-ent from what their parents believe theywill learn.

The third category comes primarilyfrom the students. CORE, they have com-plained, is unwieldy. They have beenunhappy with the classes' team teaching,unhappy with what they perceived to beCORE's nontransferable credits, and somehave been unhappy with their perceptionthat CORE was nonreligious.

Gilbert Abella, director of library ser-vices, confirms that several Ivy Leagueschools have instituted core curricula. Healso states that during the first three tofour years after initiating such curricula,many of these schools report they hadproblems as they worked to implement theclasses, but these problems disappeared asthe students and teachers became com-fortable with the classes.

The problems with CORE at LSU,according to some faculty members, result

from the level of abstract think-ing the classes require. Some fac-ulty believe that the coursesmight be more appropriate forgraduate students than for stu-dents just out of high school.

(f)....J«~ooa:wQ..

categories. The first category reflects theopinion of theologically conservative peo-ple who say the curriculum is secular andopposes Christianity and Adventism.

The second category reflects the con-cern of those who say the curriculum ishumanistic and is antithetical to thephilosophy of La Sierra University.Constituents, these critics say, have a rightto expect that LSU will offer traditional

CORE ComplaintsStudents and some faculty, on the

other hand, have criticized the COREprogram. The complaints fit into three

leader for the sophomore CORE classExploring American Culture, is part of anational movement. Andrews Universityhas also implemented a core curriculum,and Walla Walla College, he says, is mov-ing toward establishing one.

The CORE "stamp" is intended toenable students to "think broadly andcoherently about life in the world of the21st Century. CORE classes are designedto emphasize analytical reading, criticalthinking and effective communicationboth orally and in writing," wrote AdenySchmidt in the aforementioned article.

nonreligious.

credits, and some have been unhappy

with their perception that CORE was

They have been unhappy with the classes'

team teaching, unhappy with what they

perceived to be CORE's nontransferable

For the past three years theadministration and the stu-dents of La Sierra University(LSU) have struggled with a

new General Education curriculum. Atthe center of this curriculum are 29 unitsof required classes commonly referred to asCORE.

Adeny Schimdt, vice-president of aca-demic affairs, wrote in the May 18, 1999,issue of the campus newspaper Criterion:"Three years ago the University imple-mented a General Education curriculumintended to prepare students for produc-tive careers as responsible Christians inthe 21st Century ... .The UniversityStudies program is the Faculty's answer tothis challenge. The CORE cours-es are intended to focus the dis-cussion of contemporary societalissues in the light of Christianvalues, but more specificallyAdventist values."

The concept behind theCORE classes, says universitypresident Lawrence Geraty, isan old tradition of academia.Until this century many of themost respected universitiesrequired core classes that "pre-pared the students for theworld." These classes taughtthinking and conceptual skillsthe graduates would need in order tofunction in educated circles.

This century, Geraty says, cores gaveway to more class choices for students.They demanded, and universities gave,greater numbers of classes from which stu-dents could choose to complete their gen-eral education requirements.

Today, Geraty asserts, "there is a trendamong the nation's best institutions to goback to core requirements. At La Sierrawe always want to be at the cutting edge,so we've put in place a core program toput a stamp on our students."

LSU's core program, confirms ClarkDavis, history faculty member and team

COLLEEN MOORE TINKER

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