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2 Dialogue 14:1 2002
Regional Representatives
AFRICA-INDIAN OCEAN DIVISION@ 22 Boite Postale 1764,
Abidjan 22, Cote d’Ivoireu Japheth L. Agboka
EASTERN AFRICA DIVISION@ H.G. 100, Highlands, Harare, ZimbabweuHudson E. Kibuuka
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107589 Moscow, Russian FederationuHeriberto Muller
INTER-AMERICAN DIVISION@ P.O. Box 140760,
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NORTH AMERICAN DIVISION@ 12501 Old Columbia Pike,
Silver Spring, MD 20904-6600, U.S.A.uDon Hevener
[email protected] Richard Stenbakken
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uDavid S. F. [email protected]
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[email protected] Woolford
Essays
5 Through grief and beyondUnderstanding human suffering and pain in the light of Calvary.
— Dwight K. Nelson
8 Keepers of the garden: Christians and the environmentHow should we respond, as responsible stewards, to the ecological crisis
we face today?
— John T. Baldwin
12 The mystery of lifeProbing the secret of life leads to an all-wise Creator.
— George T. Javor
17 The stones still cry out!How biblical archaeology continues to confirm the historicity of the
Bible and broadens our understanding of it meaning.
— Gerald A. Klingbeil
Editorial 3 Kedging the future
— Richard O. Stenbakken
4 Letters
Profiles20 Barbara Reynolds
— Jonathan Gallagher22 Francisco de Araujo
— Lincoln Steed
Logos24 No reserve! No retreat! No regret!
— Bruce Campbell Moyer
Open Forum26 Adventist styles of worship
— Bert B. Beach
Action Report27 “The work
that must be done!”— Samuel Koranteng-Pipim
28 Dialoguebrings two together— Abraham Acosta
Books30 Adventism and the American Republic:
The Public Involvement of a MajorApocalyptic Movement (DouglasMorgan)— Gary M. Ross
30 The Christian and Rock Music—A Study on Biblical Principles of Music(Samuele Bacchiocchi)— Turibio J. de Burgo
31 Community of Faith:The Seventh-day Adventist Churchand the Contemporary World(Russell L. Staples)— Gosnell L.O.R. Yorke
For Your Information32 An Adventist Statement
on Family Violence
First Person35 Serving while we can, where we are
— Heidi Ryan
Insert Interchange
Contents
3Dialogue 14:1 2002
WAn international journal of faith, thought,and action, is published three times a yearin four parallel editions (English, French,Portuguese, and Spanish) by theCommittee on Adventist Ministry toCollege and University Students (AMiCUS)of the General Conference of Seventh-dayAdventists: 12501 Old Columbia Pike;Silver Spring, MD 20904-6600; U.S.A.
VOLUME 14, NUMBER 1.Copyright © 2002 by the AMiCUSCommittee. All rights reserved.
DIALOGUE affirms the fundamental beliefsof the Seventh-day Adventist Church andsupports its mission. The views published inthis journal, however, are the independentthoughts of the authors.
Editorial BoardEditor-in-chief: Humberto M. RasiEditor: John M. FowlerAssociate Editors: Alfredo García-Marenko,Richard StenbakkenManaging Editor: Julieta RasiSenior Consultants: James Cress,
George ReidCopy Editor: Beverly RumbleEditorial Secretary: Esther RodríguezInternational Editions: Julieta RasiInternational Copy Editors: Corinne Hauchecorne and Louise Geiser (French) César Luís Pagani (Portuguese) Julieta Rasi (Spanish)Editorial Correspondence:
12501 Old Columbia Pike;Silver Spring, MD 20904-6600; U.S.A.
Telephone: (301) 680-5060Fax: (301) 622-9627E-mail: [email protected] or
AMiCUS CommitteeChairman: Leo RanzolinVice Chairmen: Baraka G. Muganda,
Humberto M. Rasi, Richard StenbakkenSecretary: Julieta RasiMembers: John M. Fowler, Jonathan
Gallagher, Alfredo García-Marenko,Clifford Goldstein, Bettina Krause,Kathleen Kuntaraf, Vernon B. Parmenter,Gerhard Pfandl, Virginia L. Smith, GaryB. Swanson
CIRCULATION INQUIRES should beaddressed to the Regional Representativelocated in the area where the reader resides.See names and addresses on page 2.
SUBSCRIPTIONS: U.S. $12 per year (threeissues, airmail). See coupon on page 11 fordetails.
Dialogue has receivedcorrespondence from readersin 113 countries around theworld.
Kedging the future hen I first ran across the term kedging, it was an entirely new word and
concept to me. Being a “landlubber,” nautical terms are not familiar to me at all. I’m more of a terra firma kind of person. But, the concept ofkedging is fascinating, not only to sailors, but also to the rest of us who need tonavigate everyday life. Here’s the dictionary definition: “kedge: to move (a ship) bymeans of a line attached to a kedge dropped at the distance and in the directiondesired.” The dictionary clarifies by telling us that a kedge is “a small anchor usedin kedging.”
So, there you have it! A new word and a new concept! Isn’t education wonderful?“Well, OK,” you say. “So, how does this wonderful knowledge help me today?” Per-haps an illustration will help. When ships had to rely on the wind and waves tomove them, there was always the risk of running into a sandbar and getting stuck.Most of us, at one time or another, have gone through that hidden sand-bar experi-ence where we are sailing along smartly, then suddenly...CRUNCH! We get stuck.We can all relate to that “being stuck” situation in myriads of ways.
The sailors would get unstuck by rowing out in the direction they needed tohave the ship go, drop the anchor out there, then winch the ship off the sand-barinto the deeper and better sailing water. The anchor was used to move the shipahead, not to tie it in place! The function of the anchor is to “hold fast.” But in thisunique use of the kedge, the idea is to use the “hold fast” to move ahead.
Trusted, tried truths and values are life’s solid anchors. We all need them. Oneunique use of those truths and values is using them to move us ahead, into thefuture. We can use the past to assist our progress into the future. Anchors can helpus live from the past rather than in the past. Kedging keeps us sailing ahead, keeps ussalient, current, and futuristic. Without values and virtues we are, literally, danger-ously adrift.
Some of my “anchors” are:Jesus: He teaches me the true value of self and others.Sabbath: It keeps me balanced and braced against burnout.Creation: I (and others) are much more than primordial slime.Scripture: There is a trustworthy map to guide me around the rocks!What are your anchors? How can you use them to help you live into the future,
not in the past?
—Richard O. Stenbakken, Associate Editor
Editorial
4 Dialogue 14:1 2002
Write to us!We welcome your comments, reac-tions and questions, but limit your let-ters to 200 words. Write to DialogueLetters: 12501 Old Columbia Pike; Sil-ver Spring, MD 20904; U.S.A. You canalso use fax: (301) 622-9627, or E-mail: [email protected] selected for publication maybe edited for clarity or space.
A global networkEach issue of Dialogue offers plenty of
stimulating material on which to re-flect. It also allows readers like me toplug into a global network of Adventiststudents. Thank you.
Sandrine ChatenayTrinite, [email protected]
On telling the truthAfter reading the article “Should we
always tell the truth?” by Ron du Preez(Dialogue 13:2), I would like to ask somequestions:
1. Does the author acknowledge thepossibility of a dilemma—a situationwhere one can opt for the “lesser evil”?
2. Adventist morals are actually builton consequentialistic ethics. A large partof the education of my child is teachingher the consequences of her actions. Itry to teach her that the reason for nottaking drugs is the consideration of thedire consequences of using them. Oneday she may be forced to make someextremely difficult ethical decisions,perhaps even when life is at stake. Is sheto forget everything I taught her andnot look at the consequences of herchoice?
3. The author gives the example of agodly woman who, when a Nazi soldierburst into her house where she hid aJewish girl under the bed, just quicklysat down to read her Bible and pray. Sothe soldier turned away. Was that truth-telling? While I believe her prayers were
fervent, her intention was to make thesoldier believe that he was interruptinga personal devotion that had been goingon before he came, and had nothing todo with his search of the girl. Would theauthor not consider this clever side-tracking from the truth a lie?
Duty and obedience, as the history ofmy country has shown, were the bricksconcentration camps were made of.
Dennis W. MeierHamburg, [email protected]
The author responds:Unfortunately, in retelling the story of
Mrs. Knapiuk, I failed to make clear thatwhen she “opened her Bible, and started toread and pray,” she did this with the expresspurpose of turning to the Lord for deliver-ance, and with no intention of deceiving thesoldier.
True, much education is built on conse-quential reasoning. This method is useful inamoral areas, as in calculating fuel con-sumption, resale value, etc. when purchas-ing a car. However, in moral matters, Ad-ventism holds that consequences are incon-sequential, for we are to be “faithful untodeath” (Revelation 2:10, KJV). For instance,when introducing the Sabbath truth, wehave rightly challenged interested individu-als to demonstrate loving loyalty to God re-gardless of results. Moreover, consequencesare impossible to calculate, since only Godknows the future.
Admittedly, situations may arise where all
assumed results appear undesirable. But, byGod’s grace, every trial can be borne. Never-theless, regarding ethical issues, Scripture in-dicates that humans always have a choicebetween right and wrong, and that God willprovide a solution. The choice is never limit-ed to only two wrong morals option—the so-called “lesser evil”; for this would imply thatpeople must sin, that it is impossible to obeyGod, and that His law should be changed.
Sadly, some have elevated blind patrio-tism above loyalty to God. Thus, forgettingto “obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29,KJV), they have perhaps unintentionally fol-lowed a misguided sense of “duty and obedi-ence.” But such a misconstrual should nevernegate the truth that uncompromising com-mitment to Christ is the very essence of disci-pleship.
Ron du PreezLima, [email protected]
Timely masterpieceUntil this year, I never knew that Di-
alogue existed and that it was availablefree to Adventist students in public col-leges and universities. The first issue Ireceived helped me solve a serious di-lemma. I was about to make a choice ofmy life companion when I read “Themathematics of marriage” (Dialogue11:1) and found it a timely masterpiece.God sent you to bless me just in time.Thank you!
Georges Tennyson NguA.T.b.u-Bauchi, NIGERIA
Pontius’ Puddle
I think that cloning raisesserious ethical questionsand usurps the authorityof God.
Perhaps, butI’d like asecond opinion. Ditto.
joel
kau
ffm
ann
@ao
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Letters
5Dialogue 14:1 2002
W
Through grief and beyond
by Dwight K. Nelson
Understanding human
suffering and pain in the light
of Calvary.
ill the pain ever go away? For weeks now, our television screens have been rewindingand replaying all the numbing shock,wrenching emotion, and suffering painof September 11’s terror in New YorkCity, Washington, D.C., and Pennsylva-nia, and its aftermath in the UnitedStates, Afghanistan, and the world. Wehave blended our tears with those whohave unashamedly and sometimes un-controllably wept before the camerasover their heartbreaking loss.
On the Thursday night after thatTuesday of terror, I was visiting my sonKirk in his apartment. And there on thetelevision we saw them lining up,clutching photographs of their lovedones who were inside the ill-fated WorldTrade Center when the towers werestruck and then collapsed—men andwomen, young and old, who sobbedinto the camera for any information re-garding the whereabouts of missingspouses and fiances, brothers and sis-ters, and parents and children. I don’tknow how the reporter could standthere so calmly and hold the micro-phone to those weeping faces. Even theU.S. President on camera choked upwith emotion over the immensity ofsuch an horrific tragedy.
Will the pain ever go away?Months later we have learned—have
we not?—that within a matter of sec-onds—diabolically coordinated simulta-neous split seconds—life as we know iton this planet can be irrevocablychanged and permanently altered.Events and conditions we once thoughtimpossible—or at best, implausible andimprobable—we now know can be set
upon an irreversible course. And noth-ing and no one can stop them. In thisjourney through national grief and be-yond how immense the loss and howbitter the lessons!
For the Christian survivor, a long andsilent gaze into the dramatic September11 photograph of that orange ball of ex-ploding jet fuel and office glass out thebackside of the second twin tower raises10 compelling issues of: (1) divine love;(2) human hate; (3) the character ofGod; (4) the salvation of the world; (5)the state of the church; (6) vengeanceand retribution; (7) forgiveness and par-don; (8) the end of the world; (9) thesecond coming of Christ; and, (10) thehuman inability to solve our deepestand most vexing problems. Ten compel-ling issues that after all these days arestill perplexities for even the Christianinquirer.
Where was God?Perhaps the most pressing question
of all remains, Where was God on Septem-ber 11?
In seeking an answer, consider thewords of an ancient prophet, here pref-aced with an incident from old China.Long ago, a group of poor Chinese set-tlers came upon a sprawling valley floor,strategically lying between the rockyslopes of a nearby mountain and thesalty shores of the China Sea—a flatlandof earth that seemed perfectly suitablefor the planting and farming of rice.And so it was decided that the settlerswould build their village high up on aflat rocky promontory from whencethey could gaze down upon that newfarmland in the valley and beyond it to
6 Dialogue 14:1 2002
the azure waters of the sea.The village was built above, and the
rice was planted below. And at long last,life was harvesting for them new prom-ise and hope.
One late summer afternoon whenmost of the village had trekked downthe slope to the fields below, one of thewomen who remained in the villagehappened to glance up from her workand squint toward the sea. Her eyes me-andered out farther and farther to thedistant sea horizon, when with a start offear she recognized the ominous surgeof the sea—what their Japanese neigh-bors called a tsunami—a tidal wave. Afaraway seismic tectonic shift in theocean bed had created this gatheringmassive wall of water that appeared tobe silently thundering toward theirshoreline.
For a moment she froze, realizingthat nearly the entire village was oblivi-ously harvesting their grain along theshoreline—unaware that their worldand their lives were facing impendingdisaster and imminent death. The in-coming tsunami would obliterate allwho were toiling in the farmland be-neath the afternoon sun—unless shecould warn them.
She cried out to the few villagers whohad remained up the mountain withher. In panic they began to yell andwave and scream to their family andchildren and friends below. But it waswasted effort—they were too far away.With the racing tsunami, there was notime for them to stumble down therocky slopes to the valley below. Theymust get their attention instantly—orall below would be lost!
It quickly became apparent that theyneeded something catastrophic toarouse their endangered families below.The woman and her companions knewwhat they must do. It would be a terri-ble price to pay. But if the doomed vil-lagers were to be saved, the price mustbe paid.
And so quickly, seizing firebrands
from their cooking fires, the remainingmountainside villagers with the womantorched their own thatch-roofed homes.One by one the houses of the moun-tainside village erupted in orange flamesand billowing black smoke. And one byone the bent-over heads of the villagersbelow jerked upward. Seeing the plum-ing smoke of their burning village, theentire valley floor of villagers raced backup the mountain to save their burninghomes.
When in panting fatigue they arrivedabove, they were met by the womanand her neighbors, who solemnly point-ed back out to sea. The villagers turnedin shock to watch the roaring wall ofwater obliterate the farmland they hadminutes before been harvesting.
It took something catastrophic towarn of an even greater destruction im-pending.
Now consider the words of the an-cient prophet Isaiah: “In the path ofyour judgments, O Lord, we wait foryou; your name and your renown arethe soul’s desire. My soul yearns for youin the night, my spirit within earnestlyseeks you. For when your judgments arein the earth, the inhabitants of theworld learn righteousness” (Isaiah 26: 8,9, NRSV).
“When your judgments are in theearth, the inhabitants of the world learnrighteousness.” Which being interpret-ed means—when Your judgments are inthe earth, the inhabitants of the worldare pointed to safety and salvation. Be-cause there are desperate times when ittakes something catastrophic to warn of aneven greater destruction impending.
A warningWhat are you suggesting? you ask.
Do you really believe that those hijack-ers were on some sort of divine mis-sion—that Almighty God sent them as ajudgment against the United States? Notat all!
Only twisted thinking would seek toattribute the cause of this crisis to the
loving God and Father of humankind.Jesus was absolutely right when He in-toned, “An enemy hath done this”(Matthew 13:28, KJV). Not an enemyfrom across the seas, but a dark and evilenemy from across the chasms of time.A fallen archangel—known by the ap-pellations of Lucifer and Satan and theold serpent called the devil. These weekslater let us give credit to where credit isdue. In the words of the mighty Apoca-lypse: “‘Woe to the earth and the sea,for the devil has come down to you withgreat wrath, because he knows that histime is short!’” (Revelation 12:12,NRSV).
From the very beginning, the devilhas known that his time is short—abrief span of insanity upon the radarscreen of eternity. And from the verybeginning in the untouched and unmo-lested Garden of Eden, this dark andfallen archangel has hurled his war notonly against heaven but also againstEarth. And you and I and New York Cityand Washington, D.C., and the wholeworld are his victims! That much thepoliticians and media commentatorshave right: We are in a war!
A cosmic warBut for the Christian let it be clear
that it is not a war against Arabs or Islamor Afghanistan or foreigners or even ter-rorists. We Earth inhabitants are caughtin the bloody crosshairs and crossfire ofa cosmic war whose terrible dimensionsare truly universal: “And war broke outin heaven; Michael and his angelsfought against the dragon. The dragonand his angels fought back, but theywere defeated, and there was no longerany place for them in heaven. The greatdragon was thrown down, that ancientserpent, who is called the Devil and Sa-tan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, andhis angels were thrown down with him”(Revelation 12:7-9).
And on September 11, 2001, the dev-il and his angels declared war—as it
7Dialogue 14:1 2002
were—against all of us all over again!We are in a war—a cosmic war for theallegiance and loyalty of all of earth’sinhabitants.
Then where was God when we need-ed Him on September 11? The sameplace He was on that fateful Friday—mantled in the darkness of Calvary,standing beside His Son as He died feel-ing all alone. He was wrapped in chok-ing darkness, as were the thousandswho perished on September 11. Only,they did not die alone. For beside themthe same brokenhearted Father of Cal-vary stood in the mantled dust and ex-ploding fire of September 11’s diabolicalattacks. Calvary tells us that God everstands beside the victim.
But so committed is God to our hu-man freedom of choice that He allowsour choices—in this case, the free choic-es of a small band of evil men—to becarried out, sometimes (as it was thistime) to their destructive and tragicends. Of course God could make everyhuman a robot that could only obey Hisorders. But automatons cannot loveHim back. And the heart of infinite lovethirsts for love in return.
And so He must grant us not only theright to say Yes to Him, but also theright to say No.
And as a consequence on September11 a band of men said No to Him. Andmonths later America still suffers andstill mourns. Just as God the Fathermourned beside the cross of His dyingSon, who Himself perished to secure theright for every human heart to say Yesto the Saviour and No to the diabolicalterrorist Lucifer.
Let us not lay the charges for thatawful Tuesday in September at the feetof the God of Good Friday. For thosefeet today are still nail-scarred—the verynail-scarred feet that came striding outof the tomb on Sunday, thus forevergranting God the right to have the lastword. And He will! For Earth’s sufferinginhabitants, God will yet have the lastword. Sooner perhaps than we ever
thought before September 11. The re-turn of Calvary’s victor—the secondcoming of Jesus Christ—may be soonernow than we ever realized before!
But let us return for one more mo-ment to Isaiah’s words. The New LivingTranslation ends Isaiah 26:9 in this way:For only when Your judgments are inthe earth “will people turn from wicked-ness and do what is right.” Because therecome desperate times when it takes some-thing catastrophic to get our attention andwarn of an even greater destruction im-pending. Even as it was for the Chinesevillagers in the valley below.
Could it be that we, too—and I’m notthinking about America right now, rath-er I wonder about you and me—could itbe that we, too, play and study and la-bor utterly oblivious to the impendingdisaster that is about to come upon thisEarth? Could it be that on the distanthorizon there is an approaching andpotentially imminent cataclysm thatwill destroy all the Earth—an impend-ing catastrophe that today can only beseen by the One who from His divineheights knows and sees all? Could it bethen what we hear—I think of you andme now—above the din and noise ofthis terrible calamity is the crying,pleading voice of One who desperatelyseeks to get our attention, to awaken usfrom our oblivious stupor, to warn us ofan impending end? One who essentiallyhas had to set His own house on fire inorder to get our attention?
But could it be that the God who isnot willing that any should perish (see 2Peter 3:9) is also not willing to let thisinsanity go on until all have perished?Could it be that houses that burn on theside of the global mountain are but adesperate cry from One who is passion-ately warning us to flee the approachingdestruction?
God’s callGod’s calling us. All this time, the
operative metaphor has been that wecall Him in desperation. But could it be
this time He is in desperation calling tous? Because maybe—could it be?—thetowering wall of roaring oblivion ismuch closer than we ever thought be-fore!
“My soul yearns for you in the night,my spirit within me earnestly seeks you.For when your judgments are in theearth, the inhabitants of the world learnrighteousness” (Isaiah 26:9).
It is no wonder God cries out thewords He does just pages later in Isaiah:“‘Turn to me and be saved, all the endsof the earth! For I am God, and there isno other’” (Isaiah 45:22, NRSV). Abovethe cacophony of your frenetic life andacademic pursuits, do you, too, hear thecry of God to you? “Turn to me and besaved!” Will you?
One of our students at Andrews Uni-versity where I pastor is taking a year ofstudies at a university in Jerusalem. Theday after the September 11 tragedies, heemailed his parents back at home in myparish a letter they shared with me. Inhis email Isaac Oliver described thesomber mood in Jerusalem: “Today inclass we sang ‘May peace come uponus.’ The teacher said that when prob-lems like this happen here, they say‘May Messiah come’—because when Hecomes there will be peace.”
The teacher is right. But Isaac endshis email with the recollection of a tourhe and his mother and some friendstook this last summer at the Pentagonbefore the September 11 attack. He re-called how his mother had been worriedabout her safety in that sprawling mili-tary complex, even though it was thePentagon. When she asked their guidehow safe the Pentagon really was, theofficer swung around and with smilepronounced: “Ma’am, you are in the saf-est place in the world!”
But then, who could have knownback then?
September 11’s gaping hole in thecrippled side of the Pentagon is a som-
Continued on page 16.
8 Dialogue 14:1 2002
Keepers of the garden:Christians and the environmentby John T. Baldwin
How should we respond, as
responsible stewards, to the
ecological crisis we face today?
G od created the earth “to be in- habited” (Isaiah 45:18, NIV). This means that our earthly hab-itat is not a fortuitous accidental phe-nomenon of little worth, but rather, it isone to be highly valued and preserved.1
Unfortunately, because of wrongfulinteractions by human beings with theenvironment, an ecological crisis is un-derway. Some scientists suggest that “weare living on borrowed time, and tragi-cally, we are borrowing the time fromcoming generations.…The longer thiscurrent generation puts off coming toterms with the carrying capacity of thebiosphere—living sustainable—the hard-er it will be for future generations tomake it.”2
How should we as Christians respondto the ecological crisis we face today?How should we be responsible stewardsof our divinely designed home? An ap-propriate step would be to understandthe biblical basis of ecology, the realityof the ecological crisis, and some posi-tive measures we can adopt.
Biblical bases of ecologyThe biblical doctrine of creation
helps the Christian to understand thetrue significance of the world in order todeal with the environmental crisis. Be-cause Christ is the Creator (John 1:1-3),He is the Lord of creation, rendering theenvironment of the Earth very precious,even in its fallen condition.
The first angel’s message in Revela-tion 14:7 carries significant environ-mental implications. The angel calls allinhabitants of Earth to “worship himthat made heaven, and earth, and thesea, and the fountains of waters”(KJV).
The specific items mentioned here referto realities created on the second andthird days of creation.3 This means thatthe angel is focusing specifically on thecreation of the original Earth habitats,namely, the atmosphere (Genesis 1:6-8),the sea basins, and the-land forms (Gen-esis 1:9, 10).
According to Genesis 1, after creatingthe land, God calls the Earth “good”(Genesis 1:10). In other words, the life-sustaining habitats are indeed good, andshould be so considered by all Chris-tians. God fills the habitats by callinginto existence the great forests, plants,and fruit trees, and then calls this vege-tation “good” (Genesis 1:12). It is neces-sary, therefore, for us today to considerour forests as “good” and valuable, andto care properly for them. Later theGenesis account describes God as fillingthe sea basin habitats with aquatic crea-tures of all kinds, and the atmosphericenvironment with birds, all pronounced“good” (Genesis 1:20-25). God com-pletes the work of filling the land envi-ronment by creating animals and by Hiscrowning work, the creation of humanbeings who display His image (Genesis1:26). God declares all of these to be“very good” (Genesis 1:31).
The Genesis narrative provides an ad-ditional, environmentally significantinsight with its instructions to the firsthuman pair: “God blessed them, andGod said unto them, Be fruitful, andmultiply, and replenish the earth, andsubdue it: and have dominion over thefish of the sea, and over the fowl of theair, and over every living thing thatmoveth upon the earth” (Genesis 1:28,KJV). Human beings were to “rule” over
9Dialogue 14:1 2002
the subhuman world in the same lov-ing, tender, faithful way as God ruledover human beings.
Moreover, God Himself planted agarden and gave it to Adam and Evewith the environmental instruction “todress [or to maintain, cultivate] it and tokeep it” (Genesis 2:25, KJV). Here iswhat we might call the very first Envi-ronmental Protection Act, stated byGod Himself.4 This kind of care was ap-propriate not only for the garden, butalso for the wider world. Because thefirst pair serves as the example in God’sWord for all succeeding generations, allhuman beings are in some sense to be“keepers of the garden,” i.e., good stew-ards of our planet home.
Later God told the Israelites that theEarth must be given opportunity to re-new itself; hence the observance of anannual Sabbath every seventh year (Lev-iticus 25:2-8). In this way, each Israelitewas responsible for helping to maintainthe vitality of the soil.5 Charles Bradfordsummarizes the implications of this forChristian responsibility for Earth care asfollows: “The stewardship of the earth,which God entrusted to Adam and Eve,still belongs to their descendants. Wewho inhabit the planet are responsiblefor its care. In the final judgment, the‘destroyers of the earth’ are destroyed(Revelation 11:18).”6 Using the same Bi-ble text, Miroslav Kis refers to the “prin-ciple of protection of the earth” and ob-serves that Christians will refrain fromcareless destruction of the environ-ment.7 An end-time command recordedin Revelation affirms: “Hurt not theearth, neither the sea, nor the trees . . .”(Revelation 7:3, KJV). These words indi-cate that God cares about the preserva-tion of the Earth, water, and the forestsof the planet, and that destroying themis regarded as harming them.
Kis unpacks another biblical princi-ple relevant to the stewardship of na-ture, which he calls the “principle of sim-plicity.”8 This principle would curb theextravagant lifestyle of many inhabit-
ants of the affluent countries, which is amain culprit responsible for the bleakfuture of this planet. He also points outthe benefits of a simple lifestyle as po-tential sources of feeding the hungry,saving money and resources, conservinggas, electricity, and water.9
The reality of the ecological crisisAccording to Bernard Nebel and Ri-
chard Wright, four basic principles areessential for achieving a sustainable eco-system, the goal of the environmentalmovement. They are: (1) recycling ele-ments in order to dispose of wastes andreplenish nutrients; (2) using solar ener-gy; (3) maintaining the size of consumerpopulations to prevent overgrazing; and(4) maintaining biodiversity.10 An eco-logical crisis exists when any of theseprinciples are compromised.
Consider, for example, some well-publicized compromises in the thirdand fourth principles. The deforestationof the rain forests is a good illustrationof over-harvesting by human beings.More than 40 million acres of tropicalrainforests are being lost annually to de-forestation.11 This reduction of valuablebiomass generates serious environmen-tal concern, in light of scientific consen-sus that the tropical rain forest belt isresponsible for about 40 percent of theworld’s supply of oxygen.12
Overgrazing is also frequently prac-ticed by poor people in many parts ofthe world as they pick the hillsides barein their search for firewood. A Zimba-bwe newspaper reported that “a lot ofvillagers in the area were cutting downtrees randomly for burning their home-made bricks, usually near water sourceslike dams.” The article commented: “Weare concerned because a lot of peopleare now preferring to build their housesusing bricks than mud and a lot of treeshave been destroyed near dams andboreholes. We hope that a better way ofburning the bricks should be lookedinto.”13
Titus Matemavi writes concerning
biomass overgrazing on the African con-tinent: “It is disheartening to note thatabuse of nature in Zimbabwe is appar-ent in several ways. First, there is a lot ofcareless cutting down of trees and un-necessary burning of grass. Trees areused as poles to build wooden huts andstorage places, in addition to being usedas firewood. In rural areas or communallands, firewood is the main source ofenergy for cooking and warming housesduring winter. It is also the source oflight during the night. As a result, manyplaces in the rural areas which wereonce thick forests (the pride of Africa)have now been reduced to semi-desertareas.”14
Compromises in maintaining eco-di-versity balance illustrate the importanceof the fourth principle of ecosystem sus-tainability. Acid rain, an atmosphericpollutant, is one of the serious environ-mental impacts of burning fossil fuelsuch as coal. Coal-burning power plantsemit sulfur dioxide and nitrous oxidegases, which mix with water vapor inthe atmosphere, hydroxyl radicals, andsunlight, resulting in a so-called “soup”of sulfuric and nitric acid compounds.15
These acids fall to the ground either in“dry fallout” or in precipitation knownas “acid rain.”16
Burning fossil fuels contributes to an-other environmental problem. When ig-nited, these fuels release carbon dioxideinto the atmosphere, which contributesto the condition known as global warm-ing, due to the greenhouse effect. Thisproblem is noted in a recent Seventh-day Adventist statement on environ-mental issues: “Scientists warn thatthe gradual warming of the atmo-sphere as a result of human activitywill have serious environmental con-sequences. The climate will change,resulting in more storms, more floods,and more droughts.”17
As a final illustration of the ecologi-cal crisis, the debated ozone hole overAntarctica, while still under discussion,may present serious environmental con-
10 Dialogue 14:1 2002
cern. The ozone shield surroundingour earth absorbs ultraviolet radiationwhich, if unfiltered, could destroymost life on Earth.18 Studies show thatin humans, ozone depletion can causesuppression of the immune system, skincancer, and cataracts.19
These few cases represent only asmall percentage of the environmental
problems that we face, but they help toillustrate the need for positive action.
Positive environmental stepsThe concerned Christian’s imagina-
tion is the only limit in creating positiveways of nurturing the habitat divinelyentrusted to our care. Perhaps first of allwe can declare our strong personal sup-
port of Earth care as a sacred, centralduty, and privilege of all Christians.
Second, church bodies can makestatements affirming the need for envi-ronmental sensitivity. In 1992, the An-nual Council of the Seventh-day Adven-tist Church voted a document entitled“Caring for Creation,” which outlinesthe church’s position on stewardship ofthe Earth. According to Seventh-day Ad-ventist understanding, the preservationand nurture of the surrounding world isintimately related to the service of theCreator. (See sidebar.)
In addition to formal statements, in-dividual Christian actions do make adifference. The key is, Will we by thegrace of God reflect the true image ofthe Creator in dealing with this life-sus-taining Earth habitat? Just as we canglorify God by the care we give to ourbodies, so also we can glorify God bythe care we give to our environment.Like any truly successful business, goodmanagement is crucial. As goes themanagement, so goes the enterprise. Asgo the human stewards, so goes ourplanet.
Changes in personal lifestyle practic-es can help. We can use compost for gar-dens. Recycling can become a part ofour conscious effort. Alternate methodsof transportation can be adopted wherepossible. In Tokyo most people do notown a car, but ride bicycles to train sta-tions in order to utilize efficient meansof getting to work. We can support qual-ity environmental organizations such asthe Nature Conservancy, the Interna-tional Union for the Conservation ofNature, the World Wildlife Fund, theAudubon Society, the John Muir Society,and many others. Authors, professors,and preachers can utilize their pens andvoices with lectures, articles, and ser-mons on eco-justice, a biblical themeshowing that God is good both to hu-mans and nonhuman earthly realities.20
Learning to think environmentallycan lead to a love of nature and thus toits preservation. Dennis Woodland, of
The world in which we live is a gift oflove from the Creator God, from “Himwho made the heavens, the earth, thesea, and the springs of water” (Revelation14:7; 11:17, 18). Within this creation Heplaced humans, set intentionally in rela-tionship with Himself, other persons, andthe surrounding world. Therefore, as Sev-enth-day Adventists, we hold its preserva-tion and nurture to be intimately relatedto our service to Him.
God set aside the seventh-day Sab-bath as a memorial and perpetual re-minder of His creative act and establish-ment of the world. In resting on that day,Seventh-day Adventists reinforce the spe-cial sense of relationship with the Creatorand his creation. Sabbath observance un-derscores the importance of our integra-tion with the total environment.
The human decision to disobey Godbroke the original order of creation, re-sulting in a disharmony alien to His pur-poses. Thus our air and waters are pollut-ed, forests and wildlife plundered, andnatural resources exploited. Because werecognize humans as part of God’s cre-ation, our concern for the environmentextends to personal health and lifestyle.We advocate a wholesome manner of liv-ing and reject the use of substances suchas tobacco, alcohol, and other drugs thatharm the body and consume earth’s re-
Caring for CreationA Seventh-day Adventist Statementon the Environment*
sources; and we promote a simple vege-tarian diet.
Seventh-day Adventists are committedto respectful, cooperative relationshipsamong all persons, recognizing our com-mon origin and realizing our human dig-nity as a gift from the Creator. Since hu-man poverty and environmental degrada-tion are interrelated, we pledge ourselvesto improve the quality of life for all peo-ple. Our goal is a sustainable develop-ment of resources while meeting humanneeds.
Genuine progress toward caring forour natural environment rests upon bothpersonal and cooperative effort. We ac-cept the challenge to work toward restor-ing God’s overall design. Moved by faithin God, we commit ourselves to promotethe healing that rises at both personaland environmental levels from integratedlives dedicated to serve God and humani-ty.
In this commitment we confirm ourstewardship of God’s creation and believethat total restoration will be completeonly when God makes all things new.
* This statement was adopted onOctober 1992 by the delegatesattending the Annual Council of theSeventh-day Adventist Church. Forother statements on the environmentcheck the website www.adventist.org
11Dialogue 14:1 2002
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Announcing...The Fourth InternationalCongress on VegetarianNutrition to be held at LomaLinda University, in SouthernCalifornia, April 8-11, 2002.
To register for the meetingor to obtain furtherinformation, visit theconference's web site:www.vegetariannutrition.org
Andrews University, gave the followingadvice to students: (1) Become energy-use conscious; (2) Become an eco-con-sumer when you shop; (3) Begin recy-cling domestic waste; (4) Encourageyour institution to make its campus anarboretum; (5) Label campus trees to en-courage care and appreciation of God’sgreen earth; (7) Support local conserva-tion groups; (8) Spend more time in na-ture; (9). “Think globally, act locally.”21
Christians should no longer be cap-tive to the assumption of much of mod-ern culture, which severs God from thecreation and subjects the creation tohumanity’s arrogant power. We need toembrace the cosmos as the creation ofJesus Christ. Taking this vision to heartpermits us to praise God daily, as byfaith we discern new instances of Hissuperb workmanship and wonderfulcare in nature surrounding us. It enablesus to wend our way with hope throughthe mixed signals we see in nature as it“groans and suffers…until now” (Ro-mans 8:21), although, it “will be set freefrom its slavery to corruption” (Romans8:20). God’s redemptive work, throughChrist, includes the natural world in thesense that it is honored by being re-cre-ated in the eschaton. In view of this,how important it is for Christians tohonor and care for nature here andnow—to be faithful keepers of the gar-den.
John T. Baldwin (Ph.D., University ofChicago) teaches theology at the Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary, An-drews University, Berrien Springs, Michigan.His e-mail address: [email protected]
Notes and references1. An expanded version of this article was
presented at the dialogue meetingbetween the World Alliance of ReformedChurches and the General Conference ofSeventh-day Adventists, at Jongny,Switzerland, in April 2001.
2. Bernard J. Nebel and Richard T. Wright,Environmental Science: The Way the WorldWorks, 4th ed. (Englewood Cliffs, N.J.:Prentice Hall, 1993), p. 552.
3. William Shea, “The Controversy Over theCommandments,” in Journal of theAdventist Theological Society 11 (2000)1-2:227.
4. For more on environmental legislation seeGregg Easterbrook, A Moment on the Earth:The Coming Age of Environmental Optimism(New York: Viking Penguin, 1995), p. xv.
5. Charles E. Bradford, “Stewardship,” inHandbook of Seventh-day Adventist Theology,ed. by Raoul Dederen (Hagerstown, Md.:Review and Herald Publ. Assn., 2000), p.662.
6. Ibid.7. Miroslav Kis, “Christian Lifestyle and
Behavior,” in Handbook, p. 704.8. Ibid.9. Ibid.
10. Nebel and Wright, p. 85.11. Ibid., p. 430.12. Personal interview with Dennis
Woodland, June 10, 1997.13. “Villagers Accused of Environmental
Damage,” The Herald (June 24, 1996), pp.9,10.
14. Letter to the author, June 10, 1997.15. Nebel and Wright, p. 361.16. Payson R. Stevens and Kevin W. Kelley,
Embracing Earth: New Views of OurChanging Planet (San Francisco: ChronicleBooks, 1992), p. 125.
17. “GC Votes Statement on Dangers ofClimate Change,” Adventist Review (March28, 1996), p. 7.
18. Nebel and Wright, p. 377.19. Stevens and Kelley, p. 118.20. See Dieter T. Hessel, For Creation’s Sake:
Preaching, Ecology, and Justice(Philadelphia: Geneva Press, 1985), p. 15.
21. See Dennis W. Woodland, “ChristianEnvironmental Stewardship,” Lake UnionHerald (December 1996), pp. 12, 13.
12 Dialogue 14:1 2002
The mystery of life
by George T. Javor
Probing the secret of life leads
to an all-wise Creator.
he study of living matter is at the center of all current scientific efforts. Recent triumphs include the clon-ing of Dolly the sheep and acquisitionof the complete sequence of three bil-lion nucleotides of the human chromo-somes.1 But strangely, life itself is notthe object of much study. Scientistsseem to take the existence of life forgranted. It is difficult to find any ex-tended discussion on the essence of lifein currently available monographs ortextbooks. These publications explainwell how living matter is put togetherand how its components function. Butsuch information is not enough to ex-plain life because the constituents of liv-ing matter themselves are lifeless.
Suppose we take apart the living mat-ter, and then recombine the isolatedcomponents. The work will yield an im-pressive collection of inert substances—but not life. So far, science has not creat-ed living matter in the laboratory. Is thisbecause living matter contains one ormore components that cannot be sup-plied by the chemist? The answer, as de-veloped in this article, will suggest animportant point regarding the origin oflife.
What is the origin of life?More than 100 years ago Louis Pas-
teur and others proved the folly of abio-genesis—the spontaneous transforma-tion of non-living matter into living or-ganisms. Biologists now simply say, “lifecomes only from life.” Nevertheless, sci-entists generally accept the concept thatlife developed abiologically on a primor-dial Earth. By doing so, they conve-niently assert that conditions on a “pri-
mordial world” were conducive to gen-erate life spontaneously.
Others theorize that perhaps life wasimported to Earth from outer space. Butwhile Earth is covered with millions ofdifferent species of organisms, there isno evidence of life anywhere in the so-lar system. And beyond it, there is threeand a half light years of empty space un-til the nearest star, the Alpha Centaury.
The last logical option for the originof life is creation by a supernatural Cre-ator. But science, in its attempt to ex-plain everything by natural laws, rejectsthe creation option as being outside thescientific realm.
Life not a tangible entityLife is not a tangible entity. It cannot
be put into a jar or handled. We only see“life” in association with unique kindsof matter that have the capacity to growand divide into replicas, are able to re-spond to various external stimuli, andutilize light or chemical energy to ac-complish all of these things.2
The term life has different meanings,depending on whether it refers to an or-ganism, an organ, or a cell. Human or-gans may continue to live after a per-son’s death if, within a certain time,they are transplanted into another liv-ing person. Survival of a transplantedliver, kidney, or heart means somethingquite different from human “life.” Fur-thermore, the life of each organ de-pends on the vitality of its cells.
All manifestations of life depend onliving cells, the most fundamental unitsof living matter. When a live cell is tak-en apart, a collection of very complex,but lifeless sub-cellular structures re-
T
13Dialogue 14:1 2002
Table 1
Components of Escherichia coli Cells
Component Percent Number of molecules Number of differentof total weigh per cell kinds of molecules
Water 70 24.3 billion 1
Proteins 15 2.4 million 4,000 approx.
Nucleic acids 7 255 thousand 660
Polysaccharides 3 1.4 million 3
Lipids 2 22 million 50-100
Metabolic intermediates 2 many millions 800
Minerals 1 many millions 10-30
main: membranes, nuclei, mitochon-dria, ribosomes, etc.
Is there an unbroken continuum be-tween living and non-living matter, assome would assert? If so, the question ofthe origin of life becomes moot. Movingfrom one state to the other would besimilar to other chemical transforma-tions. Examples of organisms that sup-posedly bridge the chasm between liv-ing and non-living include viruses, pri-ons, mycoplasmas, rickettsiae, and cla-midiae.
In fact, viruses and prions are biolog-ically active but non-living entities. Theterm “live virus” is a misnomer, eventhough a virus is a biologically activeagent that infects living cells. Prions areunique proteins that have the capacityto alter the structures of other proteins.3
The newly changed proteins in turn ac-quire prion-type activity, creating adomino effect of protein alteration. Thisproperty of prions renders them infec-tious. For reproduction, prions, like vi-ruses, need living cells.
Rickettsiae, chlamidiae, and myco-plasmas, on the other hand, are amongthe smallest known living organisms.The first two have serious metabolic de-ficiencies, and can only exist as obligateintracellular parasites. There is a wide gapbetween living and non-living matter.This is best reflected in our inability to bringlife to non-living matter in the laboratory.
The composition of living matterStructurally, living matter is com-
posed of a combination of water and oflarge, fragile, lifeless molecules, proteins,polysaccharides, nucleic acids, and lip-ids. Table 1 lists the gross chemical com-position of a typical bacterial cell, Es-cherichia coli.
Water serves as the medium in whichall chemical changes occur. Proteins andlipids are the principal structural com-ponents of cells. Proteins also control allchemical changes. Without chemicalchanges, life cannot exist. How proteinsinteract with chemical changes is cen-tral to understanding the chemical basisof life.
The structure of proteins:An analogy from language
Proteins come in thousands of differ-ent forms, each with unique chemicaland physical properties. This diversity isdue to their size: Each protein can con-tain hundreds of amino acids, and thereare 20 different amino acids. What eachprotein is capable of doing depends onthe order in which its amino acids arelinked. To understand this feature of bi-ology, consider the analogy of writtenlanguage.
In any language, the meaning ofwords depends on the sequences of let-ters. In English, for example, we have 26letters. Out of these we make words. An
estimated 500,000 different combina-tions of letters are recognized as mean-ingful words. With some effort, wecould produce another 500,000 or morenonsensical combinations. Similarly,the millions of different proteins repre-sent but a tiny fraction of all possiblecombinations of amino acids.4
When words are misspelled, theirmeaning is garbled or lost. Likewise, forproteins to function properly, their ami-no acids must follow one another in thecorrect order. The results of alterationsin the amino acid sequence can be dras-tic. The oxygen-carrying protein inblood, hemoglobin, is built from fourchains of more than 140 amino acidseach. In sickle cell anemia, an inheriteddisease, an altered amino acid occurs inthe sixth position of a specific sequenceof 146. This change causes distortion ofthe red blood cells, resulting in anemiaand many other problems.
Genetic informationand amino acid sequences
How does the protein-building appa-ratus know the correct amino acid se-quences for each of the thousands ofproteins? The chromosomes of each cellare libraries filled with just such infor-mation. Each volume in this library is agene. When the cell needs a particularprotein, it activates the protein’s geneand synthesis begins. The details of thisprocess can be found in any current bi-ology or biochemistry textbook. Here itis sufficient to note that more than 100separate chemical events have to occurfor protein synthesis to happen.
All manifestations of life depend onchemical changes. These changes hap-pen when atomic clusters (molecules)gain, lose, or rearrange atoms. A class ofproteins, enzymes, bind specific mole-cules and facilitate their chemical trans-formations. In E. coli, there are about3,000 different types of enzymes, facili-tating 3,000 different chemical changes.
Enzymes speed up reactions enor-mously. This could be a huge problem,
14 Dialogue 14:1 2002
because once the reaction is completed,its end point—known as equilibrium—is reached and no further chemicalchanges occur. Because life depends onchemical changes, when all reactionsreach their end points, the cell dies.
Amazingly, in living matter none ofthe reactions ever reach equilibrium. This isso, because the chemical transforma-tions are interlinked, so that the productof one chemical change forms the start-ing substance of the next. If biologicalmolecules were represented by capitalletters of the alphabet, a typical se-quence of chemical conversions wouldlook like Figure 1.
Such a sequence, or “biochemicalpathway,” resembles a factory assemblyline. The end product of this particularpathway, substance F, is utilized by thecell, therefore it does not accumulate. Inliving matter, every one of the millionsof molecules (Table 1) is kept track of.Any shortage or excess immediately re-sults in adjustment in the rates of chem-ical transformations.
Figure 2 shows that in a live cell mat-ter is organized into successively morecomplex hierarchies. The arrows repre-sent biochemical pathways, leadingfrom simple to complex substances. Theinterdependence among cellular com-ponents in the vertical direction paral-lels the logical relationships of writtenlanguage among letters, words, and sen-tences all the way to the level of a book.
However, the degree of tolerance forerrors is much smaller in biology. Mis-spelled words, garbled sentences, ormissing paragraphs may not render adocument useless. But given the tightfunctional interdependence of its com-ponents, cells would be in big trouble ifthey lack a full complement of parts.
There is horizontal complementationamong cell components as well. For ex-
ample, proteins cannot be manufac-tured without assistance from nucleicacids, and nucleic acids cannot be madewithout proteins. From a chemical evo-lutionary perspective, this problem re-sembles the classic “chicken and egg”problem. (See Figure 2.)
Each biosynthetic pathway feeds intosuccessively more complex levels of or-ganization of matter. Every pathway isregulated so that its output is appropri-ate for the needs of the cell. The life ofthe cell depends on the harmonious andnearly simultaneous operation of itsmany components. During balancedgrowth, a steady state exists; that is,there are only minimal perturbations inthe flux of matter through the path-ways. Since none of the reactions is per-mitted to reach its end point, each of the
Figure 2
Organization of Matter in the Cell
Level number Components An analogy
1. Precursors Carbon dioxide, water, ammonia 1. Letters
2. Building blocks Amino acids Monosaccharides Nucleotides Fatty acids + glycerol 2. Words
3. Polymers Proteins Polysaccharides Nucleic acids Lipids 3. Sentences
4. Supramolecular assemblies Enzyme complexes, ribosomes, etc. 4. Paragraphs
5. Organelles Membranes, nuclei, mitochondria, etc. 5. Chapters
6. Cell Cell 6. Book
Figure 1
enzyme 1 enzyme 2 enzyme 3 enzyme 4 enzyme 5A B C D E F
15Dialogue 14:1 2002
thousands of inter-linked chemical reac-tions is in a non-equilibrium, steady state.
Chemical evolutionary effortsIf there are forces in nature that bring
about life, we should search diligentlyto discover and harness them. If abio-genesis is possible, it could be harnessedto restore dead cells, organs, and evenorganisms to life. Who would argue thatcreating living matter, or reversingdeath, would not be humanity’s mostsignificant scientific achievement?
However, the history of biochemistrysuggests that this is unlikely. In the1920s, when Oparin and Haldane firstproposed that life originated spontane-ously on a primordial Earth, biochemis-try was in its infancy. The concep itselfwas an elaboration of Darwin’s idea thatlife arose in some warm pond.5 The firstmetabolic pathway was described onlyin the 1930s. The structure and functionof the genetic material began to be un-derstood in the 1950s. The first aminoacid sequence of a protein, insulin, wasmapped in 1955 and the first nucleotidesequence of the chromosome of a livingorganism was published in 1995.
As the chemical basis of life began tobe understood better, it turned out to befar more complex than originally imag-ined and the early abiogenetic sugges-tions should have been reconsidered.Instead, science embarked on a half acentury long journey to demonstrateexperimentally the plausibility of spon-taneous abiogenesis.
The first experiments suggesting theplausibility of chemical evolution weredone by Stanley Miller, who in 1953 re-ported the synthesis of amino acids andother organic substances under simulat-ed primordial conditions.6 Subsequentlya sub-discipline emerged, which provid-ed laboratory evidence of the produc-tion of 19 of 20 amino acids, and four orfive nitrogenous bases needed for nucle-ic acid synthesis, monosaccharides, andfatty acids, all under varying hypotheti-cal primordial conditions.7 All of these
substances are the components fromwhich the large biopolymers are made,projecting the possibility of the primor-dial production of biopolymers.
However, actually demonstrating thelinking of building blocks into chains ofpolymers could not be accomplished.Every link between building-block typesubstances requires the removal of wa-ter. This is next to impossible in theaqueous environment of the hypotheti-cal primordial oceans. Furthermore, thesequences in which amino acids arestrung together in proteins, or nucle-otides in nucleic acids, are what deter-mine the function of these biopolymers.Outside of living matter, there are noknown mechanisms to ensure meaning-ful, reproducible sequences in proteinsor nucleic acids.
Under simulated primordial condi-tions protein-like matter has been madeby heating powders of amino acids tohigh temperatures. However, these“protenoids” were amino acids random-ly linked by unnatural bonds8 and havelittle resemblance to actual proteins.
Nucleotides, the building blocks ofnucleic acids, have not yet been synthe-sized under simulated primordial condi-tions. This is a formidable task, whichrequires attaching a purine or pyrimi-dine base to a sugar and that to a phos-phate. The challenge here is not onlythe removal of water, but that thesethree components may be linked to-gether in dozens of different ways. Allcombinations but one are biologicallyirrelevant. Needless to say, nucleic acidshave not been synthesized.
But this has not stopped many scien-tists from postulating that the earliestliving cells contained primarily ribonu-cleic acids. This “RNA world” hypothe-sis gained popularity after it was discov-ered that certain RNA molecules hadcatalytic activities. Until then, it was be-lieved that catalysis was the exclusiveprovince of proteins.
Even though it is not possible tomake biologically useful biopolymers
under simulated primordial conditions,we can obtain them from once-livingcells. Mixing these isolated biopolymersshortcuts chemical evolution, making itpossible to test whether life will startfrom such a mixture. But in such prepa-rations everything is at equilibrium.Since life happens only when all chemi-cal events within the cell are in a state ofnon-equilibrium, the best that can beaccomplished by this method is the as-sembly of dead cells.
How to make living matterWe know exactly how to create living
matter: First, design and synthesize afew thousand different molecular ma-chines that are capable of convertingsimple substances, commonly availablein the environment, into complexbiopolymers. Second, make sure thatsuch devices are capable of precise self-reproduction. Third, ensure that theseunits can sense their environment andadjust to any changes in it. Then it isonly a matter of starting hundreds ofbiochemical pathways simultaneously,maintaining the non-equilibrium statusof each chemical conversion by ensur-ing availability of a continuous supplyof raw starting materials, and providingfor the efficient removal of waste sub-stances.
A minimum requirement to createsuch complex biological devices is anabsolute familiarity with matter on theatomic and molecular level. You willalso need to have great ideas regardingthe uses to be made of these complexliving machines, hopefully in propor-tion with the effort expanded in creat-ing them. Fashioning living cells re-quires absolute control over every mole-cule, large and small. This is a capacitythat science does not have. Chemistscan manipulate large numbers of mole-cules from one form into another, butthey cannot transport selected mole-cules across membranes to reverse con-ditions of equilibria. This is why we can-not reverse death.
16 Dialogue 14:1 2002
ber reminder that, in fact, the safestplace in the world is not a place at all. Itis a Person. “Turn to me and be saved,all the ends of the earth!”
The One who spoke those words iscoming soon. Which means, if ever therewere a right time to turn to Him…or re-turn to Him…it surely would have to beright now. Wouldn’t you agree?
So will you?
Dwight K. Nelson (D.Min., AndrewsUniversity) is the senior pastor of PioneerMemorial Church on the campus of An-drews University, Berrien Springs, Michi-gan, U.S.A.
Grief…Continued from page 7.
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So how did life originate on Earth?This article has revealed the great dis-crepancy between the biochemistry ofliving matter and of the claims of thosewho would explain its origins by spon-taneous abiogenesis. Fifty years of bio-chemical research has shown unequivo-cally that under any conditions, sponta-neous abiogenesis is an impossibility. Itis only a matter of time before the edi-fice called “chemical evolution” willcollapse under the weight of facts.
For the believer in the Creation ac-count of the Bible, the assertion thatonly the Creator can make life is not anargument for the “God of the gaps”. Wehave a pretty good idea of what it takesto create life, only we cannot do it. It isan affirmation that life cannot existapart from God. Indeed, life itself be-comes an evidence for an all-wise Cre-ator who chose to create life and share itwith us.
George T. Javor (Ph.D., Columbia Uni-versity) teaches biochemistry at Loma Lin-
da University, Loma Linda, California. Hise-mail address: [email protected]
Notes and references1. S. Lander and 253 others, “Initial
sequencing and analysis of the humangenome,” Nature 409 (2001):2001. See alsoJ. C. Vent and 267 others, “The sequenceof the human genome,” Science:291(2001):1304.
2. Such an analysis of life may seem toomaterialistic to many who perceive thatthe Bible teaches a different view oflifestyle—one which does not insist that itbe associated with matter. While theremay well exist larger realities of lifeinaccessible to us, so far as science isconcerned, we experience life on Earthonly in association with matter.The Bible supports the notion that life aswe know it on Earth is associated withmatter. Says Genesis 2:7: “The Lord Godformed man of the dust of the ground,and breathed into his nostrils the breathof life; and man became a livingsoul”(KJV). A combination of the breathof life and the dust of the ground gaverise to the living person. Similarly, aperson dies when “his breath goeth forth,he returneth to his earth; in that very dayhis thoughts perish” (Psalm 146:4, KJV).The “return to earth” marks the end pointof human existence. While one canspeculate on the meaning of the “breathof life” and of the person’s “breath,” it isclear that life as experienced on Earthdoes not continue after death. The Bibledoes not mention anything about adisembodied form of life. To embrace thematerial basis of life on Earth, therefore,does not make one a materialist.
3. S. B. Prusiner, “Prion Diseases and the BSFCrisis,” Science 278 (1997): 245.
4. The number of possible differentsequences for a 100 amino acid-longprotein is 1.2 x100130, or 12 followed by129 zeros!
5. F. Darwin, The Life and Letters of CharlesDarwin (New York: D. Appleton, 1887), II:202. Letter written in 1871.
6. S. L. Miller, “A Production of Amino AcidsUnder Possible Primitive EarthConditions,” Science 117 (1953): 528.
7. C. B. Thaxton, W. L. Bradley, and R. L.Olsen, The Mystery of Life’s Origins (NewYork: Philosophical Library, 1984), p. 38.
8. S. W. Fox and K. Dose, Molecular Evolutionand the Origins of Life (New York: MarcelDekker Publishing Co., 1977), secondedition.
17Dialogue 14:1 2002
The stones still cry out!
by Gerald A. Klingbeil D
How biblical archaeology
continues to confirm the
historicity of the Bible and
broadens our understanding
of its meaning.
ust, yes. Heat, plenty. Heated dis- cussions, couldn’t be more. But these are not what makes biblicalarchaeology exciting and challenging. Itis the pursuit of meaning, the compre-hending of an entire culture, and lettingthe Bible come alive that turns the dustof the digging into a castle of under-standing. A piece of ceramic, some bro-ken and decayed bones, a portion of awall, or the defaced inscription on acoin—these and more out of the rubblesof the past cry out, and often confirmthe historicity and authenticity of theScriptures.
The early beginnings of archaeologi-cal research were characterized more byreckless adventurers than by cool-head-ed, analytical scientists.1 Later thismindset was replaced by careful strati-graphical analysis and a focus uponmethods instead of artifacts. This re-newed methodological discussion hascharacterized the work of experts in thefield during the past 20 years. One as-pect of this debate has been the chal-lenge of William Dever, professor at theUniversity of Arizona, to both the ar-chaeologists and the theologians to re-define the relationship between thefaith community and the scientific ar-chaeological community.2 As a result,the adjective “biblical” has beendropped from “archaeology” and hasbeen replaced by the geographical mark-er “Syro-Palestinian.” This controversyover “mere names” demonstrates thechallenges the discipline faces, rootedmore in philosophical presuppositionsthan in difference of methods. We canobserve similar developments in other
areas of research, perhaps as a result ofpostmodernism’s assault upon the abso-lute.3
How do these developments affectthe Bible-believing Christian readingcommentaries, journals, and books thatcontain references to recent archaeolog-ical finds? Is it still true that the spadeconfirms the Word or is this somethingfor a lesser age, where a positivisticworld-view based upon the foundationof creedal Christianity determined theresearch agenda for biblical archaeolo-gy?
To answer these questions, considerthree areas in which 21st century bibli-cal archaeology can make a contribu-tion to our understanding of God’sWord. Note how biblical text and arti-facts need to come together to form auseful whole.4
Historical events and personalitiesFirst, archaeology confirms specific
historical events and personalities men-tioned in the biblical text. A recent ex-ample is the Tell Dan inscription.5
The Tell Dan inscription.
18 Dialogue 14:1 2002
On July 21, 1993 an excavationteam at Tell Dan6 discovered an in-scribed basalt stone. The find set inmotion a great deal of writing by bib-lical scholars and confirmed the bibli-cal narrative.7 The stele (a type ofstanding stone block with an inscrip-tion, often used to mark a border orcommemorate an important event inthe life of its creators, e.g., a militaryvictory) was part of a wall, dated bythe excavator, Prof. A. Biran of He-brew Union College in Jerusalem, tothe middle of the ninth century B.C.Thus it would be contemporary withKing Ahab of Israel or King Je-hoshaphat of Judah. The exciting partof this discovery concerns the contentof the stele, which mentions “Israel”and—for the first time in extra-bibli-cal material—“the house of David”which was most probably preceded bya reference to a specific king (in line 9of this inscription). Some additionalfragments found in 1994 suggest thatthe stele refers to the killing of Jeho-ram of Israel and Ahaziah of Judah byHazael (see 2 Kings 9). The referenceto the “house of David” is clear andbeyond discussion. In the Old Testa-ment the “house of David” refers notonly to the actual family (or peopleliving under the roof) of King David(1 Samuel 19:11; 20:16), but also tohis descendants who sat on thethrone in Jerusalem and reigned overJudah (2 Samuel 3:19; 1 Kings 12:19,20). It seems reasonable to argue thatthe “house of David” is a reference tothe kingdom of Judah and that themere reference to David—outside theBible—clears the field of numerouschallenges to the historicity of kingDavid.8
Daily life in ancient timesSecond, archaeology tells us about
daily life in ancient times, making ourpreaching, and teaching of God’sWord real and meaningful. That is
one of the reasons why modern exca-vation teams include a wide variety ofspecialists in anthropology, biology,palaeozoology/botany, architecture,etc. However, few archaelogical find-ings establish a direct connectionwith the biblical text. The inscriptionmentioning a king known from Scrip-ture is the extraordinary event. A sealinscribed with the name of a court of-ficial mentioned in the biblical recordis the delightful exception. However,the less glamorous (and more dustyside) of archaeology, helping to re-construct daily life in ancient times,represents a major contribution inour quest for meaning in God’s Word.
A good example of this type of re-search is the work of Øystein S. LaBi-anca, an anthropologist at AndrewsUniversity and one of the co-directorsof the Madaba Plains Project, cospon-sored by Andrews University, La SierraUniversity, Walla Walla College, andCanadian University College. LaBian-ca’s main focus has been the study offood systems as a barometer of localsocial organization.9 That researchagenda may sound rather dry and ir-relevant to the student of the Bible.However, when we start to thinkabout the many times the Bible men-tions “eating and drinking”10 and theimportance connected to the commu-nal meal, the significance of water ac-cess, land use and settlement patternsand the important role that agricul-ture in general played in Old Testa-ment times, we immediately realizethe significant work undertaken inthis area. Here are two examples:
1 Kings 18:41 adds an interestingtwist to the story of the encounter be-tween the LORD and Baal (as repre-sented by Elijah and the priests ofBaal) when the prophet speaks to kingAhab after the fire has come downfrom heaven: “Go up, eat and drink;for there is the sound of abundance ofrain (NKJV).” Why suggest to the an-
tagonistic king a feast during adrought and after the sad perfor-mance of his favored priests? “Eatingand drinking” is another buildingblock of the story, anticipating thecovenant features of a communalmeal. It is another invitation to enter(again) into a covenant with theLORD of Israel (as can be seen in Exo-dus 24:11 where eating and drinkingis part of the covenant ritual). God isnot only sovereign to send down fire,but He truly is the one in charge ofnature. He will bring rain and withrain come the blessings of a harvest,relief, and renewed vigor. The refer-ence to the meal is both the final dec-laration of victory over Baal by God’sprophet as well as the last-minute ef-fort of a loving Creator God to drawclose a wayward and lost child, i.e.,king Ahab.
Ruth 1:1 describes a famine in Be-thlehem, which ironically means“house of bread.” Elimelech and hiswife Naomi and their two sons haveto find food someplace else and in adesperate attempt to beat the odds(and against good biblical reason)they move to neighboring Moab onthe other side of the Jordan valley.The journey does not take long, per-haps a couple of days when travelingwith children and the entire house-hold equipment. But in terms of theinternal dimension of this decision,the journey can be just as well thou-sands of miles. The physical famineexperience in Bethlehem apparentlyis avoided in Moab, although the Bi-ble does not describe the material cir-cumstances of the move. However,the spiritual dimension of the faminebecomes even more apparent whenone reads further in the story ofNaomi and Ruth. In a literary timewarp Elimelech dies, the two sons dieand now there are three widows.Noemi expresses this desolation whenshe advises her kinfolk on their return
19Dialogue 14:1 2002
to Bethlehem that she should becalled “Mara,” which means “bitter,”since “the Almighty has dealt verybitterly with me” (Ruth 1:20, NKJV).The Bible makes two importantpoints: firstly, famines seemed tohave occurred locally and not alwayson a grand scale. A famine could havebeen caused by a local pest invadingthe fields of Bethlehem and destroy-ing the entire crop and seed for thenext year. A famine destroyed lives,cutting down options, something thatcan barely be appreciated by a readerof Scripture sitting in the U.S.A. orEurope at the beginning of the 21stcentury. However, I guess, someoneliving in sub-Saharan Africa or theMiddle East can easily connect to thisreality. Secondly, the economical in-teraction between regions can be ap-preciated in a better way. Israel wasnot an isolated, protected, island-likeenclave. It had (ever-changing) bor-ders, real interaction with close-by re-gions and with this interaction alwayscame the religious challenge of keep-ing focused upon Yahweh instead ofever-present fertility deities. Does thischange our view of the story of Ruth(or of Elijah and Ahab for that mat-ter)? It helps us to connect real lifewith Biblical characters. One of themain points that the authors of theOld Testament (and the New Testa-ment as well) made when they de-scribed God’s acts in history is this:God is an active God, not far re-moved. He intervenes directly in hu-man history and is in control.
Religious realitiesFinally, archaeology helps us to un-
derstand religious realities better. Inthe culture of the Ancient Near East,religion, politics, and daily life werenot as well compartmentalized asthey are now in our western culture.To illustrate: Consider an importantfind from Bethsaida (et-Tell), a site
which Bible readers mostly connectwith the ministry of Jesus. However,as recent excavations have demon-strated, the place existed already dur-ing the time of the divided monarchy(what archaeologists describe as IronAge II).
In June 1997 archaeologists fromthe University of Nebraska, Omaha,found an iconic stele (a stele with animage engraved on it) right next tothe entrance of the city gate.11 Thestele sat on some type of podium(about 1 meter high) together with abasin and three incense cups. Accord-ing to the editors of the primary pub-lication, the deity on the stele repre-sents the moon god.12 The construc-tion definitely had a religious charac-ter and I think it provides a good il-lustration of a frequently overlookedtext in 2 Kings 23:8.13 The text in-forms us that when Josiah began what
would be the final religious reform inJudah, “he broke down the shrines atthe gates” (New Jerusalem Bible) aspart of a list of reform measureswhich also included the destructionof other high places. As a matter offact, it is quite surprising that archae-ologists have not found many moreexamples of these gate shrines,14 be-cause in ancient Israel the gate wasone of the focal points of city and so-ciety. We are talking of the placewhere things happened, where deci-sions were made, and where great re-forms started—at the threshold ofpublic society. It is precisely this con-nection theology and archaeologyneed to make.
When I was excavating with theMadaba Plains Project in 1996, I spentone unforgettable evening with Will-iam Dever, one of the great dons ofmodern Syro-Palestinian archaeology.We lay in our bunks in a dormitoryroom, chatting about archaeology,theology, texts, and artifacts, when hetold me: “You Adventists do a greatjob. Keep digging, keep having abroad vision of the connection be-tween real life and the biblical text.Keep reading the Bible in the light ofarchaeology.” And to this I can onlyadd a hearty Amen.
Gerald A. Klingbeil (D. Litt., Universityof Stellenbosch, South Africa) is professor ofOld Testament and ancient Near Easternstudies at Universidad Adventista del Plata,Entre Ríos, Argentina. His e-mail:[email protected]
Notes and references:1. See, for example, the description of the
methods of H. A. Layard, who excavatedNiniveh, in P. R. S. Moorey, A Century ofBiblical Archaeology (Louisville:Westminster/John Knox Press, 1990), pp.8, 9. Another good summary can befound in S. Schroer and T. Staubli, DerVergangenheit auf der Spur. Ein Jahrhundert
Continued on page 34.
Bethsaida iconic stele.
20 Dialogue 14:1 2002
Barbara ReynoldsDialogue with an Adventist
Education Program Officer at UNICEF
hen she was 6, Barbara’s father died, leaving her mother with six children and one on the way. But Mrs. Reynolds was a mother with strong faith and firm commitment. She and her husband were schoolteachers, and she knew that she had to live and give the very best for her chil-dren. Six years later, something dramatic entered the Reynolds’ home: theAdventist faith that challenged the family to greater heights, not only in spiri-tual life but also in intellectual pursuits. The teaching commitment of the par-ents stuck to the children, and all seven Reynolds children turned out to be edu-cators.
But for Barbara the route to education was somewhat accidental. Allthrough high school, she dreamed of becoming an urban planner, but when shewas baptized toward the end of high school, she realized that the Adventist col-lege in her native Guyana did not offer any such course. The only option shehad was to go for education—a decision that she does not regret. Armed with aMaster’s degree in curriculum and instruction and a doctor of education degree(Columbia University) in international educational development, Dr. Reynoldsis aptly qualified for her world responsibilities in her present office as deputyrepresentative of field operations for the United Nations Children’s Fund inLagos, Nigeria. Before she joined UNICEF 12 years ago, she had spent most ofher professional life in education as a high school teacher in Grenada andGuyana. Her UNICEF responsibilities have taken her to several countries, in-cluding Liberia, Zambia, Angola, and China.
As a committed Seventh-day Adventist, she brings to bear upon her profes-sional responsibilities the great qualities her faith has instilled in her: respectfor the dignity of human personhood, love of people as a principle of life, and aparticular commitment to the welfare of children. “The best sermon is the ser-mon lived,” Dr. Reynolds says. “In my work, I hope that I am able to share anunderstanding of what being a Christian means in practical terms.”
W � That sounds like a very big responsibility.Does it weigh heavy at times?
It does. I remember when I was inAngola in 1991, I was sitting in my of-fice one day after a meeting with theMinister of Education, and it dawned onme that here I was, a relatively youngperson, helping to shape policies andprograms that would affect children forthe next five years—and it was very so-bering.
� Please share with us something aboutyour background, your original plans andideals.
I’m from Guyana, a small country inSouth America, with less than a millionpeople. I grew up as a child of twoteachers—I think that’s the most impor-tant thing that has shaped my life. All ofus children have become teachers orhave taught at some time in our lives.My father died when I was 6, and hisdeath certainly changed our lives. Itmeant that my mother had to assumeall responsibility for our family.
We were Anglican when my Daddied, but my Mom became Adventistabout six years later. Eventually the fouryoungest children, including myself, be-came Adventists. My mother saw in Ad-ventism something with concrete prac-tical applications of what she knew the-oretically. Adventism brings religioninto your everyday life. It’s not a weeklyliturgy that you participate in. It expectsyou to change the way you live and howyou relate to people. That’s what wasmeaningful for my Mom, and that’swhat she passed on to us.
� Tell us about yourself, Dr. Reynolds.Well, I’ve been an Adventist for 24
years and I’m committed to the chal-lenges and rewards of being an Adven-tist. I work as an Education Program Of-ficer with UNICEF, the United NationsChildren’s Fund. I help governmentsand civil societies in the countrieswhere UNICEF works. I help plan, devel-op, monitor, and evaluate educationprograms.
Profiles
21Dialogue 14:1 2002
Continued on page 34.
� Growing up in that environment, wereyou thinking about how things would go, orwere you just happy and carefree?
Very happy and carefree! I was thelast of the four sisters to become Adven-tist. I was the holdout! I actually becamean Adventist in my penultimate year athigh school. It was a decision that tookmany years. For me, Adventism spelledrestrictions, because that was what waspresented to me. You couldn’t do cer-tain things. Negatives. It took a whilefor me to make the decision, and when Imade that decision, it was a very ratio-nal resolution. I thought about it, andweighed the pros and the cons. I under-stood the commitment I was making.
� So how did you come to the United Na-tions, to UNICEF, and why would you wantto be there as an Adventist?
Let’s go back a bit. In high school Itook economics, history, and geogra-phy. My dream was to become an urbanplanner. But no Adventist college of-fered that program. And because I want-ed to study at an Adventist college, Itook education—the only programavailable for me. I taught for three yearsin Grenada, I taught at home, and thenI came to the U.S. to do my Master’s. Ifinished in 1989, and was going to NewYork to look for a teaching job, but mysister said to me “Why don’t you go toUNICEF”? And if you know West Indianculture, when your older sister tells youto do something, you do it!
I applied to UNICEF in Septemberand began working the next month,and have been with them ever sinceapart from time off to do my doctorate.I am very much committed to the workof the UNICEF—protecting children’srights and future.
� As Adventists, of all people, we should beemphasizing the importance of children andthe privilege of working for them.
Exactly. Between what UNICEF doesand what the Adventist Church does in
education and health, there is much incommon. UNICEF concentrates on edu-cation, and we have a wonderful educa-tion message of the head, the heart, andthe hand. UNICEF has an “education forall” objective that focuses on ensuringthat every child has a good quality ed-ucation. UNICEF does a lot of work inhealth—immunization, maternal health,infant care—and we Adventist have afabulous health message, too. UNICEF isvery much involved in water and sanita-tion, and we are also through our Ad-ventist relief work. Then over the past10 years, we have the challenge of HIV/AIDS to face.
� We as Adventists should be taking a lead-ing role in this, wouldn’t you say?
Yes, we should. It’s a question of edu-cation. It’s a question of lifestyle. It’s aquestion of health and nutrition. Butthe bottom line is that it’s a question oflife and death. That’s our message.
� We have a moral imperative as well,which comes in—
Yes, there’s a moral imperative.When I was in Zambia in 1995, I foundin the church people affected by HIV/AIDS. When we look for answers in thechurch we have to find something that’svery concrete—spiritual but also practi-cal. What is our response to our brothersand sisters who are dying, and/or bury-ing parents and children? We have toreflect on this, and go back to first prin-ciples. What is there in the Good Bookthat will help us understand this phe-nomenon—the spiritual aspect, themoral aspect, and the practical aspect?We need to get this message out.
� In all these things we’ve been talkingabout, including AIDS, there’s a spiritualmessage. Do you have opportunity in yourwork to make a spiritual impact on thosearound you?
Yes, but not in the traditional Adven-tist way. At the UN we have a code of
conduct that we as UN employees arenot there to preach. You are in a multi-cultural society, and you respect othercultures and religions. In the same way Iwant others to accept that on Friday af-ternoon I want a cut-off point, then Ihave to respect others’ practices.
But back to opportunities to witness.The best sermon is a sermon lived. Thisis not a cliché, but a call to reality. Howwe live our lives is important. If you’reaccurate at work, dependable, account-able for the things you have been askedto do, that’s as much a sermon as any-thing else. For me, part of my witness isjust that.
On an average day at work, my reli-gion hardly enters the consciouspsyche. In fact, working as I do for theUNICEF, mandated to promote and pro-tect the rights and well-being of all chil-dren, I want to be religion-blind. Theworld is filled with so many human-made barriers—race, gender, ethnicity,language, socio-economic status, cul-ture, education level—that are obvious,and we should not add another—reli-gion.
But we all wear our religion—or lackthereof—on our sleeves. It’s what de-fines who we are, what we think andfeel, how we react in times of pain andpleasure, crisis and conflict. It defineswhat we read and write, what we eatand drink, what we wear and how wewalk. And so it is, even in this non-reli-gious, apolitical organization, religionmatters. It’s what drives—albeit unseenand unstated—the discussions, disagree-ments, negotiations, and compromisesat the heart of the work I do every day.
� And they ask questions about what youdo?
Yes, and that gives you the opportu-nity to say what you believe. My formersecretary in Angola just called me andasked me to come to her wedding. She
22 Dialogue 14:1 2002
Francisco de AraujoDialogue with an Adventist conductor, producer,
and artistic director
he business card barely hints at what Dr. Araujo is about: Associate Di- rector for Advancement and Director of Pro Arts International, at Atlantic Union College, in South Lancaster, Massachusetts. Of him, a WashingtonTimes editor wrote, “He’s worth watching, that is if you don’t mind watching agenius.” That comment followed a 1981 Araujo performance of a Passion Playon the Mount of Olives. Amazingly for that land of religious minefields, it was agrand success, with front-page coverage in the New York Times and the releaseof a Doubleday religious art book based on the presentation.
Araujo has always worked with music on a world stage. Music is his vehiclefor evangelization. He established the Choral Arts Society of Japan and thentoured the United States with this critically acclaimed group of young people.Alan Gershwin, son of George Gershwin, heard them perform at the New YorkTown Hall and arranged for them to give a concert at the United Nations.
After serving as a missionary in Japan for seven years, Araujo returned tothe U.S. and established the Washington National Chorus, an Adventist choralgroup that he wanted to function like the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. It was abig dream, and in the late 1960s it made a considerable impact for the church.
Araujo took his music into the maelstrom of international events. He was in-vited by President Anwar Sadat to guest conduct Egypt’s National Orchestraand Chorus in a gala concert to celebrate the second anniversary of the peaceinitiative with Israel. In 1994, with his Camerata Nuove Singers and Orchestra,he led out in a televised performance of the Messiah from the Church of the Na-tivity in Jerusalem. Two days later, they were “across” in Jordan giving a con-cert to open the king’s birthday celebrations.
In 1996, Araujo visited Jordan again and led a performance of Beethoven’sNinth Symphony to celebrate the newly signed peace treaty with Israel. Whilehe was there, Chairman Arafat asked him to perform a “Peace for Palestine”concert at Bethlehem University.
Testimonials are stock-in-trade for performers, but some comments made byYoni Fighel, then military governor of the West Bank after the 1994 Messiahtour go to the heart of what Araujo does with music: “You have no idea whatyou have accomplished here tonight. For nearly 50 years our politicians havetried in vain to bring these people together. In one single night you have broughttogether, in this holy place, Jews, Christians, Moslems, Palestinians, all praisingone God as they stood during the ‘Hallelujah Chorus.’ The influence of thisnight will long be felt here.”
T � Dr. Araujo, how did you get into musicevangelism?
I was a farm boy. My father andmother were immigrants to the U.S.from the Portuguese Azores. There wereno grandiose designs for my life. I wasone of seven children, and it was toughfor my parents just to put food on thetable. Dad wanted the best for us, but Iwas the only child who went to college.All the others wanted to go out to work.I had this inborn passion for music. Oh,I didn’t really know what music was. Ihad never heard a symphony or any-thing like that. Still, I knew that I want-ed to be involved in music.
After high school, I chose AtlanticUnion College (AUC). And that waswhere I met Dr. Virginia Jean Ritten-house, who became first a mentor andthen a good friend as we cooperated onmany projects over 50 years. She gaveme a vision for mission service.
My dad sold his house to put methrough AUC and then lived the rest ofhis life in an apartment. His dream wasnot for me to be a musician—but to be apastor. And then mom used to say, “Wealways wanted a missionary son.” Well,I did go to Japan as a missionary.
� So what are some of the significant mem-ories of your early music career?
While I never had any grand designsfor my life, I will always remember whatH.M.S. Richards, Sr., told me when Ibrought the Japanese choir on tour tothe U.S. He said “God has put His handon you, Brother, be careful.” It kind ofshook me, kind of scared me, but I havealways believed in Ellen White’s counselthat the highest rung of the ladder is
Profiles
23Dialogue 14:1 2002
what God expects of us. I have neverbeen attracted to fame outside of thechurch, although I have received manyaccolades. Unwittingly or unexpectedlyit has been one of the by-products ofmaking music. One of my greatest joyshas been the opportunity of taking achoir of young people to the SkyDometo sing to 50,000 people at a GeneralConference Session. The music organiz-ers told me we couldn’t sing there. Wewere too late. No space left, they said. Iremember saying to the organizers, “Weare going to sing for the General Confer-ence. It may be by the toilets or on thestage. But we are coming, and we aregoing to sing.”
I have always told my choir membersthat we should never limit God. Howcan you limit Him? When He puts a fin-ger on you and says, “I want you to dowork for Me,” how are we are going tolimit this? You can’t limit it!
During my seven years in Japan, Iwatched young people come out of Bud-dhism into Christianity. I watched thembecome members of the church, work-ers in the church. Today as I look back,the head of our work in Japan was achoir member, the head of our hospitalwas a choir member, and the head ofthe television station was a choir mem-ber.
The work in Japan today is being runby those I had an influence on, andthat’s very satisfying.
� Music has been your life. But did it comeeasily at first?
When I went to Atlantic Union Col-lege I was at the bottom of the ladder.Every time I went for piano lessons withDr. Rittenhouse I came to my room andcried. I said “It’s over, I can’t do this, thisis not for me!” This struggle went onweek after week. Finally I went up onthe roof of the boys’ dorm and said,“Lord, we are having it out, You and me.I will not leave here until You bless me.Until You tell me that I am doing whatYou want me to do.” That struggle went
on all night. By dawn I felt I had theanswer—that I should just stay thecourse.
I have never really regretted it. I havenot become rich, but I have been rich inblessings that God has given me. I don’tknow what it is about young peoplesinging together, but it has touched myheart and given me fulfillment.
� Which piece of music has touched youmost?
There are so many wonderful piecesthat I have performed, so many, manytimes. But I love the Hallelujah Chorusthe most. The first time you hear it youthink that you are going to the throneof God. With that said, I must add thatit is very hard to choose a piece of musicand say this is it. But the one piece thatstands out in my conducting is the lastchorus of Bach’s St. Matthew’s Passion.It’s the chorus where Jesus lies in thetomb and two choirs accompanyingtwo orchestras sing “Rest in Peace”—theingredients of that piece are beyond hu-man experience.
Mendelssohn said it well: “This mu-sic did not come from man, it camefrom God.” I have taken the St. Mat-thew’s Passion and made it into a moral-ity play. In the very last scene, the disci-ples take the body of Jesus and lay it ona marble slab. As they say good-bye toJesus, the chorus sings in deepest grief. Ithink probably that is one of the great-est musical experiences of my life.
� Does it make any difference whether a be-liever or a non-believer sings the Messiah? Isit enough to have a well-trained profession-al? What role do you see for personal faith incommunicating through music?
The most important thing for a sing-er is to provide a spiritual touch—andthat must come from the singer’s ownexperience. If spirituality is displayed inthe life, it is going to project throughthe music.
� Do you have any special advice for young
people today?For a growing young person, nothing
can replace the value of Christian edu-cation. I believe our young peopleshould be in Adventist colleges. That’swhere they should get their grounding.Nothing can replace the value, the spiri-tual and the social education our colleg-es offer. But where this is not possible,they must find a fellowship situationthat can nurture their faith and chal-lenge their Christian commitment.
The Lord has a work for every youngperson. He has a definite plan for eachof us, and we have to discover this, andwork toward making it a reality. We canhave as big a vision as we want, but ifthat vision has no room for God and Hischurch, to that extent it is vain.
Interview by Lincoln Steed
Lincoln Steed is the editor of Libertymagazine and associate director of PublicAffairs and Religious Liberty for the NorthAmerican Division of Seventh-day Adven-tists in Silver Spring, Maryland, U.S.A.
Dr. Francisco de Araujo may be contact-ed by e-mail: [email protected]
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Do you wish to see Dialogue availablein the library of your public college oruniversity so that your non-Adventistfriends may also have access to the jour-nal? Contact the librarian, show him orher a copy of the journal, and suggestthat they request a free subscription toDialogue, writing on an official institu-tional paper. We will take care of the rest!
The letter should be addressed to: Dia-logue Editor-in-chief; 12501 Old ColumbiaPike; Silver Spring, Maryland 20904; U.S.A.
24 Dialogue 14:1 2002
No reserve!No retreat! No regret!An invitation to apostolic passion in mission and witness.
by Bruce Campbell Moyer
W illiam Borden knew he would be an heir to a large estate. And when wealth came hisway, he also knew he would give thou-sands of dollars to missions. In 1904, atage 16, he graduated from high schooland took a year off to travel around theworld. It was during this trip that hispurpose in life jelled, and his vision forthe future took a sharp turn: He accept-ed God’s call to be a missionary.
A little later, Bill’s father died whilehe was still in college. The family hopedBill would take over the family business.But he had already made up his mind.He was willing to give up wealth andfortune—even fortune that could beused to God’s glory—in order to followGod’s call. Decision made, he wrote onthe flyleaf of his Bible, “No Reserve.”
When Bill graduated from the semi-nary his friends and family suggested analternative. Why not stay in the UnitedStates and serve God as a pastor? Surelyas a pastor he could make a big differ-ence, and train and send out many oth-ers as missionaries. “Why throw your-self away on a foreign field?” theypleaded. Bill prayed, and added to theinscription in his Bible, “No Retreat.”
Bill’s constant prayer was that God’swill might be done in his life. He left forEgypt with his family’s blessing. “Wewere all so sure he would have a longand useful ministry,” said his mother.But within four months of his arrival inCairo, he became sick and died.
Some of you who read this articlehave responded to the call to serviceright where you are. Some of you arestill waiting to hear God’s call. Some ofyou may be running from, or avoiding,
God’s specific call. The reality is that allof us are called, in one way or another,to the apostolic task, the task of plant-ing Christians and churches where thereare neither, of taking the gospel of JesusChrist to every nation, tribe, tongue,and people.
As William Borden knew, this is theessential task of the church. Everythingthat we do as Christians must focus onand make possible this apostolic task.
Ministry of grace and mercyIn 2 Corinthians 4:1-14, Paul re-
minds us that all ministry is a matter ofgrace and mercy. None of us has any-thing of which to boast. We are all castin the role of “‘worthless slaves...[who]have done only what we ought to havedone!’” (Luke17:10, NRSV). In spite ofour usual high self-esteem, God doesnot really need us. But His mercy en-ables us to be involved in His calling.The fulfillment of the apostolic task isnot our responsibility, but God’s, andwe can be continuously amazed thatGod is willing to use people such as weare. He never calls any of us to be suc-cessful, only to be faithful. Success is Hisresponsibility, not ours.
So we have nothing personal to de-fend, only Jesus to proclaim. Like Will-iam Borden, we can be swept up in anapostolic passion for unreached peoplesthat matches the apostolic task.
The original conditions of missionswere very rigorous. Commitmentmeant, as Dietrich Bonhoeffer remindsus, readiness to lay down life. Missioncemeteries around the world are mutewitness to this. Occasional furloughswere subject to international turmoil
and unpredictable transportation. Peo-ple worked in frontier conditions, withno established compound or station, noradio contact or phones. Communica-tion could take three to six months, andfew, if any, locals spoke the missionar-ies’ language. There were few or none towelcome them and soften the blows ofarrival.
Mission conditions today are far dif-ferent. Most missionaries have pleasanthomes and are frequently surroundedby other missionaries. They have e-mailand other forms of instant communica-tion, and there is considerable ease andspeed of return to the home country.The improved conditions do not neces-sarily mean improved commitment.Some of us have lost the sense of apos-tolic passion, the deliberate, intentionalchoice to live for the worship of Jesus inthe nations—being committed to thepoint of death to spreading His glory;being on fire for Jesus, dreaming of thewhole Earth being covered with the glo-ry of the Lord.
Developing apostolic passionFloyd McClung reminds us that “Hu-
man enthusiasm cannot sustain apos-tolic passion. When God invests Hispassion in you, you must develop whatGod has given you in order to have Hisname glorified among all people.”* Fourthings will help:
Apostolic abandonment. Too many ofus want the fruit of Paul’s ministry with-out paying the price the apostle paid.This strong-willed messenger of the gos-pel knew that he must die to self. Heknew that in his flesh he couldn’t gener-ate the revelation of Jesus, couldn’t sus-
Logos
25Dialogue 14:1 2002
tain the heart of Christ. So he died toself and surrendered his life completelyto God’s will. We live in a world of com-peting passions. If we do not die to selfand fill our lives with the consumingpassion of the worship of God, we willend up with other passions.
Apostolic focus. The greatest enemy ofthe mission to see Jesus worshiped in allthe nations is a lack of focus. We canrun around expending energy on allsorts of good ministries, and not get onestep closer to the nations. God’s peopleare involved in many projects and min-istries around the world, and these min-istries are important. But the church hasa specific apostolic mission. God hascalled us to a particular mission to thenations. Upon this we must focus, or wewon’t be obedient to the true mission.
Apostolic praying. We may get intoheaven without a lot of prayer. We canhave a one-minute quiet time every dayand God will still love us. But we won’thear a “well done, good and faithful ser-vant” from one-minute, hasty, conver-sations with God. We can’t make it onthat kind of prayer life in the hard plac-es where Jesus is not known or wor-shiped. Mission to the nations requiresdeep, abiding, continuous, intercessoryprayer life. An absence of prayer life is asure guarantee of a failure in missions.
Apostolic decision-making. This step re-quires a passion for God’s glory in thenations, then asks: “Where shall I serveyou, Lord?” Most people do the oppo-site. They ask the where-and-whenquestions without a revelation of Hisglory in the nations. All kinds of lesserdesires can be holding us captive. Wemight never realize it. Gordon Mac-Donald is right when he states that hehas learned to say “No” to many goodthings so that he can say “Yes” to whatis excellent.
Loving, lovable missionMuslims, Buddhists, and Hindus
need kind, loving, and lovable Christianneighbors. Think what might happen if
hundreds, even thousands of lovingChristians moved to countries withinthe 10/40 Window, took employmentand remained there, simply being lov-ing, compassionate, and forgiving, dem-onstrating Jesus in their daily, observ-able lives, living as deliberate, inten-tional Christians, praying for their non-Christian neighbors and co-workers.
Long before our Muslim, Hindu, andBuddhist neighbors will ever seriouslymeet Jesus, they will have to meet atleast one genuine, believing, loving, andlovable Christian. And sharing Jesuswith Muslims will never be accom-plished fully by technology or evenwith the written word. The barriers aretoo high. The animosities are toostrong. The misunderstandings andemotional wounds are too deep. It isimperative and essential that Christianswork first to heal the wounds, to replacethe animosities with genuine friend-ship, to dismantle the walls erected overthe centuries.
Pray for non-Christians! Pray fervent-ly for them! But be prepared to puthands and feet on your prayers and per-sonally engage the world of Islam, Bud-dhism, and Hinduism both where youlive and in their homelands.
Enjoy their friendship. Spend timetogether. Do things together. Work to-gether for the good of the communityor the world. Have fun together! This iswhat friends do.
Share your faith. Do it easily. Do it asquestions are raised. Do it without in-sisting upon instant agreement. Do it asyou understand clearly that what youbelieve is of life-and-death importanceto you. Do not do it as a preconditionfor continued friendship. Friends don’tdo that!
William Borden’s corpse was put in apine box, his Bible laid on his chest, andthe coffin sent home to his family inChicago. In the Bible his family saw hisinitial response to God’s call, “No Re-serve”; then his commitment, “No Re-treat”; and finally, his resolve—the day
before he died, Bill had written, “No Re-grets.”
That’s serving God with apostolicpassion—a life with “no reserve,” “noretreat”, and “no regrets.”
Bruce Campbell Moyer (STD, San Fran-cisco Theological Seminary) teaches worldmission at the Seventh-day Adventist Theo-logical Seminary, Andrews University, Ber-rien Springs, Michigan, U.S.A.
* F. McClung, “Apostolic Passion,” in R. J.Winter and S. C. Hawthorne, (eds.),Perspectives on the World ChristianMovement: A Reader, 3rd. edition.(Pasadena, CA: William Carey Library,1999), pp. 185-187.
An invitationJoin the global partnership and ex-
perience the joy of world missions.Global Partnerships is operated byand for the Seventh-day AdventistChurch to support people committedto living abroad for the purpose ofwitnessing, using their job as ameans for evangelism, discipling,and church planting. It encouragesthese cross-cultural workers to createtheir own businesses or to find a localjob or to link them with available jobopportunities in areas not easily avail-able or closed to traditional mission-aries. Global Partnerships will trainthese “tentmakers” for cross-culturalsoul winning and will nurture themwhile they are in the field. For infor-mation on this unconventional mis-sion opportunity contact Global Part-nerships at Andrews University; Ber-rien Springs, Michigan 49104; U.S.A.Phone: 616-471-2522. Fax: 616-471-6252. E-mail: [email protected] our web site at http://www.andrews.edu/partners
26 Dialogue 14:1 2002
Adventist styles of worship
H
2. Adventist worship is contextual. Theform of worship adopted in anygiven locality will incorporatecomponents from the local cul-ture. Great care must be taken toensure that this contextualizationdoes not include elements that areincongruous to the gospel of sal-vation. At the same time, it is im-portant to place the gospel andChristian worship in the contextof the culture in which they oc-cur. Some theologians use theterm incarnation to describe thisprocess. Whatever the term, wor-ship should not adapt to culture,but should adopt helpful elementsin a culture to aid in the communi-cation of the gospel.
3. Adventist worship is counter-cultur-al. What this means is that wor-ship must not conform to theworld, but must transform theworshipers and their culture.While worship is not necessarilyanti-culture, we must realize thatthere are components of culturethat are contrary to the Christian
As I become acquainted with different cul-tures, I am intrigued by the broad variety ofAdventist styles of worship. I expect thatthese varieties will increase as the Seventh-day Adventist Church grows steadilyaround the world. Are there any principlesthat can guide us in connecting culture withworship?
istory shows that culture greatly influences worship. While the community of faith in its wor-ship is not to be of the world, thechurch, nevertheless, exists in the worldand that worship takes place in a cultur-al setting. In that context, we may takeinto account five principles regardingAdventist worship and culture:
1. Adventist worship is transcultural.Christ and the eternal gospel tran-scend culture. While the Christianmessage is preached in a culturalsetting, it must overcome the set-ting and transcend the limitationsof culture. The gospel is eternal,but culture is tied to time. Thegospel is “ecumenical”; that is, itmust reach the whole world.
norm and mandate, and thereforemust be rejected. Where such isthe case, the church and her wor-ship may have to speak againstcertain cultural practices and issuea call to “come out” of culturalBabylon.
4. Adventist worship is cross-cultural.Christianity cannot be limited toone cultural expression, to one na-tion, to one ethnic group, or toone language. It is counterproduc-tive to refer to a church as “Ameri-can,” “suburban,” “Latin,” or anyother such limiting prefixes. Cul-ture is limited by space, but thegospel in worship knows no longi-tudes or latitudes.
5. Adventist worship is multicultural.Even in its local setting, thechurch need not be identifiedwith one given culture, language,or economic stratum of society.The church must be multiculturaland provide a worship that servesvaried cultural backgrounds. Thebetter the church accomplishesthis, the more effective will be herevangelistic and service outreach.After all, the Lord of the churchHimself emphasized that Hischurch was to be “a house ofprayer for all peoples” (Isaiah56:7, NRSV).
Bert B. Beach (Ph.D., University of Par-is, Sorbonne) is the director of inter-churchrelations at the world headquarters of theSeventh-day Adventist Church. His address:12501 Old Columbia Pike; Silver Spring,Maryland 20904; U.S.A.
”We’d like to thankthe choir for thatrousing number.”
From Clip Art Cartoons forChurches, Group Publishing,Inc. Used by permission.
Open Forum
27Dialogue 14:1 2002
“The workthat must be done!”Campus Ministry at the University of Michigan
M
Some of the students and campus missionaries who pioneeredthe recent work at the University of Michigan.
Key Adventist student leaders at the University of Michigan.
by Samuel Koranteng-Pipim
ore than 100 years ago, Ellen White appealed to target the University of Michigan, at AnnArbor, for evangelism. Students, shewrote, “should enter [public] colleges,and live the truth, as Daniel and Pauldid. Each one should study to seewhat is the best way to get the truthinto the school, that the light mayshine forth.” But “the youth who goto Ann Arbor,” she warned, “must re-ceive Jesus as their personal Saviouror they will…be swept away.” “Iscarcely dare present this method oflabor…but this work must be done,and it will done by whose who are ledand taught of God” (Selected Messages,book 3, pp. 233, 234).
That call is the active motivator forwhat is being done today by a dedi-cated band of Adventist students at
the University of Michigan. The Cam-pus HOPE Seventh-day AdventistChurch meets every Sabbath on thecampus. What started as a core groupof about 25 students has grown to ashigh as 60 to 70 on a typical Sabbath.The worship services are complement-ed by inspiring sermons and Bible lec-tures at the midweek “Tuesdays WithJesus” meetings. There are also theregular Monday and Thursday morn-ing (7:30 A.M.) prayer meetings, aswell as the vespers program on Fridaynights. In addition, several student-led weekly FAST teams operate oncampus, encouraging group Biblestudies and Scripture memorization.To see this level of commitment at aschool as academically challenging asthe University of Michigan is a mira-cle!
But this miracle is the result of de-liberate efforts by the Michigan Con-ference Public Campus Ministries de-partment, whose objective is to mobi-lize Adventists on secular campuses tobecome part of “a Bible-based revivalmovement in which every student is amissionary.” It is to this end that theCenter for Adventist Ministry to Pub-lic University Students (CAMPUS) hasbeen established near the Universityof Michigan, Ann Arbor. CAMPUSseeks to (1) train committed Adventiststudents and others to become mis-sionaries on public campuses, (2) de-velop highly effective resource mate-rials for those engaged in this line ofministry, and (3) conduct frequentweekend and week-long campus min-istry leadership retreats for those whogenuinely want to do the work “that
Action Report
28 Dialogue 14:1 2002
must be done” on secular campuses.“We have been given very clear di-
rections as to the caliber of studentscalled to this kind of work,” says DanVis, director of the FAST ministry, adiscipleship training movement thathas sprung up in the past few yearsaround the country, and is currentlyheadquartered in Ann Arbor (check itsweb site, www.fast.st). He adds, “Onlythose who are ‘established, rootedand grounded in the truth, should en-ter these institutions of learning asstudents.’ Only ‘those who have thetruth wrought into their very being,should be encouraged to enter [these]colleges’” (Selected Messages, ibid.).FAST, with its emphasis on Scripturememory and personal application, is aperfect match in the development ofCampus HOPE, the missionary train-ing program directed at the CAMPUS.“Imagine the impact of dozens of stu-dents sprinkled throughout the cam-pus, living out and sharing the mem-orized Word!”
A major milestone in the campusministry work at the University ofMichigan was the purchase in the fallof 2001 of two housing facilities inAnn Arbor. These facilities provide ahome base to full-time missionaries
who have enrolled in the one-yearCampus HOPE training program.(HOPE is an acronym for HelpingOthers Prepare for Eternity.) Now inits third year of existence, the CampusHOPE training program provides inten-sive courses in such topics as herme-neutics, ethics, evangelism, Christianleadership, personal discipleship, Adven-tist Heritage, and contemporary issues.Student missionaries also spend twodays a week doing evangelistic can-vassing to help cover expenses for theprogram. More important, each is giv-en extensive opportunities to plug inand interact with students at the Uni-versity of Michigan.
As one current missionary expressedit, “It’s been a great blessing to be herein the Campus HOPE training program.The Holy Spirit is working activelyhere…I’ve seen the lives of many stu-dents changed by the Word of God. It’sexciting to see the hearts of the non-Adventist students touched by thetruth in the Bible and the loving atti-tudes of our students. This centertaught me what it meant to be a trueChristian.”
Plans for 2002 are even more ag-gressive. Randy Skeete, until recentlya staff counselor and Director of Aca-
payments. For several years he had beena faithful Seventh-day Adventist. Hewanted to get married and raise a goodAdventist family, but just could not findthe right person. That was 1996.
Maybetth Patricia Fernández lived inChile, at the far end of the South Amer-ican continent. She, too, was a faithfulSeventh-day Adventist, training in theChile Adventist University to be a teach-er. She, too, was single. One could be inthe midst of hundreds of young people,but still find falling in love as elusive asit is mysterious. She prayed and waitedfor the right partner to come along.
Maybetth was a regular reader of Dia-
L
Dialoguebrings two togetherby Abraham Acosta
uis Martínez Benítez was young, am- bitious, and energetic. But he was single and lonesome. He lived inhis native Cuba. Although he wastrained in food technology, the eco-
nomic conditions in his homelandmore or less decided what job he wouldget. He ended up working for the CubanElectric Company, and his duties in-cluded house-to-house collection of
demic Enrichment for Student Pro-grams at the medical school of theUniversity of Michigan, will be con-ducting a major campus-wide evange-listic campaign. Currently part of theCampus HOPE team, his lecture seriesis being designed to offer an intellec-tually credible and spiritually uplift-ing presentation of the Adventistmessage. CAMPUS is also hoping torecruit an even larger task force ofcampus missionaries for the fall of2002. Those who would like to be apart of this exciting movement, andare willing to take a year off for cut-ting-edge, hands-on training in publiccampus evangelism, or those interest-ed in attending one of the regularcampus ministries leadership retreats,may contact Campus HOPE for addi-tional information, by visiting its website at www.campushope.org.
Samuel Koranteng-Pipim (Ph.D., An-drews University) is the director of CAM-PUS, the Center for Adventist Ministry toPublic University Students. He is also theDirector of Public Campus Ministries forthe Michigan Conference (Office Address: P.O. Box 19009, Lansing, Michigan 48901).His e-mail address is: [email protected]
29Dialogue 14:1 2002
logue. From the journal’s Interchangesection, she found a pen pal in MartaPerdomo, an Adventist woman in Cuba.Their correspondence became lively andregular. The two women shared much—their faith, hope, and what theythought was God’s will for them. Martainvested much of her energy in mission-ary outreach.
One day, Marta heard a knock on herdoor. The man from the electric compa-ny was there to collect the power dues.Marta knew Luis rather casually. Bothattended the same Adventist church,but now suddenly a thought flashedthrough Marta’s mind. That day, alongwith her electric payment, Marta gaveLuis a copy of Dialogue. “Read it,” shesaid, “and who knows, you will find lifeno longer lonely.”
Luis took the magazine home, and inthe Interchange section found severalnames of young women seeking corre-spondence. He had heard that a youngCuban Adventist man and a youngMexican woman had found their matchthrough Interchange. “Well, this may beGod’s way of telling me what I shoulddo,” Luis said to himself, and wrote toseveral young women from that one In-terchange section. All of them replied,but one’s response was special. Shespoke of her faith. She talked of her vi-sion. She revealed an Adventist commit-ment to the future.
In Chile, thousands of miles away,Maybetth had been surprised to get aletter from a stranger. “But not really astranger,” she thought. “After all, he is aSeventh-day Adventist, and we belongto the same family. And moreover, myfriend Marta introduced him to me.”
The mail between Cuba and Chilebecame more and more regular, moreand more magnetic. Some 18 monthslater, on Luis’ birthday, his telephonehome rang, but Luis was not there. Thecall, he was told later, was from Chile.For the first time, he had an opportuni-ty to hear the voice of the one whoseletters has been reading for so long, and
he missed it. But later that day, anothercall came, and the disappointment van-ished as the two talked of a possible ap-pointment. “Maybetth gave me twobest birthday presents that day. One wasthe call itself. Two was an acceptance ofmy invitation for her to visit Cuba.”
“It was not easy for me to travelabroad, and so this was the best way tosee each other,” Luis recalls. “Soon May-betth was in Cuba, staying with myfriends. Our first encounter at the air-port was unforgettable. I was nervousoutside, but joyful within. We spenttime together regularly; got to knoweach other. My family liked her verymuch. The two weeks we spent togetherwere like a day. Maybetth was very openand lively. Before she left for Chile, Iproposed, and she accepted.”
Maybetth´s family was supportive oftheir plans. However, some of her ac-quaintances raised questions about cul-tural differences. After all, Chile was notthe same as Cuba. Two different cul-tures, although both shared much,seemed to stand between them. Dis-
tance and space across the continentraised their own questions. Luis decidedhe would seek counsel, and he wrote tothe source that had brought them to-gether—to Dialogue. Silvia Sicalo, thethen editorial secretary of the journal,opened the letter, and passed it on toHumberto Rasi, the chief editor. Dr. Rasiasked Silvia to answer the letter. “Afterall,” he told her, “you are perfectly qual-ified. You got married recently, and youknow what it means to make adjust-ments in marriage.” Silvia’s clear andencouraging reply resolved the issuesfor both of them.
Maybetth flew back to Cuba, and thetwo were married on May 19, 2000 in acivil ceremony. Unfortunately, Luis’sdocuments were not ready on time andMaybetth had to return to Chile alone.Five months later he also flew to Chile,where a happy Adventist wedding cere-mony sealed their union.
Six years of prayer on the part ofboth, one Adventist journal committedto serve the motivated youth of thechurch, and the fellowship of so manyfriends led to the creation of a lovelyAdventist home. Luis and Maybetth arenow blessed with a daughter. Luis is tak-ing nursing training at Chile AdventistUniversity, and soon both hope to beworking wherever God calls them. “It isHis purpose and will that governs ourlives,” says Luis with a happy smile.
Maybetth and Luis told their story to Dr.Abraham Acosta who, at the time, was rec-tor of Chile Adventist University.
Looking foranswers to life’sBig Questions?
Check the web at
Bibleinfo.com
30 Dialogue 14:1 2002
Books
R
The Christian and Rock Music—A Study on Biblical Principles ofMusic,edited by Samuele Bacchiocchi (BerrienSprings, Michigan: Biblical Perspectives,2000; 384 pp.; paperback).
Reviewed by Turibio J. de Burgo.
ock music may have begun as a musical fad in the United States, but it is now a major cultural influence worldwide. Its impact can be seen and heard not only in pop musicbut also in the generation of new musical styles that have pro-gressively invaded concert halls and churches. These newstyles have created controversy in many churches today, andarguments have been presented both in favor and againsttheir use.
The Christian and Rock Music–A Study on Biblical Principles ofMusic adds some new ideas to this ongoing debate. Dr. Sam-uele Bacchiocchi, principal author and editor of the book, is awell-known theologian, writer, and speaker, who taught reli-gion at Andrews University, before his retirement. The bookincludes seven chapters by musicians–scholars from the Unit-ed States and around the world, and is based on biblical stud-ies and extensive research in the field.
Adventism and the AmericanRepublic: The PublicInvolvement of a MajorApocalyptic Movement,by Douglas Morgan (Knoxville: TheUniversity of Tennessee Press, 2001; 269pp., hardbound).
Reviewed by Gary M. Ross.
R eceived wisdom portrays corporate Adventism as histori- cally unengaged in the public arena. There was no timefor other concerns (Christ’s imminent return required atten-tion to individual souls) and no hope for other concerns(Christ would not return to a positively transformed Americabut rather to a fatally flawed power in alliance with false reli-gions). In sum, a premillennial theology of history riveted toScripture (Revelation 13 and the attribution of the secondbeast to the United States), embarrassingly immobilized hu-man institutions and actions vis-à-vis the world around them.
Not so, writes Douglas Morgan. In the first full-lengthstudy of its kind, a different and (at least to some readers)more encouraging picture emerges. With nuanced argumentsand felicitous writing, Morgan contends that the AdventistChurch never consistently followed “the logic of premillenni-alism in regard to American public life.” Pessimism about thefuture did not generate passivity. Rather, the church found away to become—temporarily, warily, selectively, and withoutever shifting over to the realm of postmillennial optimism—prophetic, activist, engaged. The church preached the immi-nent demise of the republic and with equal zeal worked todelay that demise.
Exactly what trumped the quietizing implications ofpremillennialism? The short answer is that diverse influencessupplemented the stark apocalypticism. For example, AnsonByington, elder brother of the first General Conference presi-dent, advocated a “taming” of the republic by use of the Con-stitution to achieve justice—a widely circulated position thattime eventually favored. Ellen White rebuked radical separa-tionism and encouraged the church to do good in the world.Black and Latino Adventists and young academics and profes-sionals began pushing in nonapocalyptic directions.
Justified in such ways, public involvement characterizedthe Adventist Church from the mid-19th century onward.The church opposed slavery, advocated prohibition, minis-tered to the cities, and—belatedly—deplored the injustices ofsegregation. On one issue, religious liberty, Adventists becamerelentless champions. “By defending their right and that ofothers to be different,” Morgan says, the church achieved “itsmost vigorous public involvement and greatest cultural im-
pact.” It campaigned against Sunday closing laws and teacher-led prayers in public schools; defended the religious rights ofworkers in the secular arena; and voiced deep (although notunanimous) skepticism toward government aid to parochialschools.
Readers thus encounter a “complex combination of politi-cal passivity and selective activism.” Some may regret thischeckered story, hoping for a less ambivalent one. Others maychallenge the church’s stance on particular issues. But few willchallenge Morgan’s construction of the record. Apart fromminor slips, it is richly documented and soundly interpreted.
Two things remain that the author does not attempt: astudy of the church’s religious liberty work overseas; and astudy of religious liberty at the level of the local parishioner.In the latter he would find precisely the paralysis that corpo-rate Adventism apparently surmounted.
Gary M. Ross (Ph.D., Washington State University) is Assistant to the
President at Andrews University and Director of its International Centre on
Government and Religion. Earlier he was Associate Director of Public
Affairs and Religious Liberty of the General Conference and its Congres-
sional Liaison.
31Dialogue 14:1 2002
Community of Faith: TheSeventh-day Adventist Churchand the Contemporary World,by Russell L. Staples (Hagerstown,Maryland: Review and Herald Publ. Assn.,1999; 157 pp.; paperback).
Reviewed by Gosnell L. O. R. Yorke.
O ver the years, Russell Staples, as professor of mission at Andrews University, has had to think and talk about theSeventh-day Adventist Church globally as it interfaces withthe world while trying to come to grips with its various localexpressions and experiences. Perhaps it is this cultivatedsensitivity to the whole and its parts that motivated him,in spite of the all-encompassing tone of the subtitle of hisbook, to alert the reader, up front, that “the challengesand specific issues addressed as regards personal experi-ence and corporate witness are largely shaped in terms of
The book’s historical overview looks at the role of rockstars like the Beatles, Madonna, and Michael Jackson. It ana-lyzes the physical and mental effects of rock upon the individ-ual, and goes further to probe its spiritual implications. Theauthors attempt to show how “rock and roll as a religious ex-perience” is opposed to biblical truth. For example, Bacchioc-chi begins with the thesis that the music we use in the churchmust reflect our understanding of the nature of God and ourvision of worship, and so “the music, words and the mannerof singing should conform to the Biblical principles of wor-ship music.” Hence his conclusion: rock is unfitting as a me-dium for worship or for preaching the gospel, because “themedium affects the message.”
One contributor, Dr. Calvin Johansson, expands the debateto include religious pop music. He contrasts the values andobjectives of pop music with those of the gospel, showingthat they have opposite purposes. Other contributors discussrelated issues like ethnic implications on church culture, mu-sic, and morality. A personal testimony by a former rock starcloses the book.
Although the book’s approach is conservative at times, TheChristian and Rock Music raises legitimate concerns thatshould be seriously considered by all involved in church mu-sic and leadership.
Turibio J. de Burgo teaches at the Centro Universitario Adventista de São
Paulo, Brazil. He is currently working on a doctoral degree in music
education at Florida State University.
the issues faced by the churches in the West” (p. 12).Judged on those terms, the book makes for both informa-
tive and provocative reading. In 13 short chapters, the authortouches on issues having to do with the past, the present, andthe future.
Under the rubric of the past, Staples rightly reminds us thatthe New Testament is replete with “terms, metaphors, images,and analogies of the church” (p. 17). After listing seven ofthese metaphors, he focuses our attention on the “body ofChrist”; on Paul’s distinctive contribution to ecclesiology.
As one who has written on the subject myself (1991), I canbecome rather picky and pedantic about an issue or two, suchas his repeatedly juxtaposing the body metaphor and theheadship of Christ as though, together, they constitute oneintegrated anatomical whole. However, I will not quibble,since we seem to be in fundamental agreement.
Under the rubric of the present, Staples explores some ofthe contemporary challenges confronting the AdventistChurch: the demographic shift of the center of gravity of thechurch to the “two-thirds world” of Africa and elsewhere; thephenomenal increase in world population in which the“Christian fraction” is diminishing instead of increasing; therampant secularism and materialism now blighting the West;urban sprawl, and the concomitant creation of multiethniccities in the Western world and the ever-increasing ranks ofthe urban poor and slum dwellers in developing countries;and the renaissance of Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, and Afri-can primal religions.
Under the rubric of the future, the author shares with ushis vision of how “we can best prepare ourselves and ourchurch community for service in the new Christian millenni-um” (p.154). He calls for a covenant renewal which, in practi-cal terms, will have implications for: (1) how we, as a multi-ethnic community, will choose to worship in spirit and intruth (i.e., liturgy); (2) our having to place greater emphasison experiencing the faith rather than settling for a mere expo-sition of it; and (3) our having to engage in a sustained readi-ness to become joyful and grateful members of the soon-to-be-fully-realized heavenly family.
Pastors and other theologically trained persons should findthis book useful; and so should those who are trained in otherdisciplines. It demonstrates compellingly that it is possible tobe astutely critical of a church we all love and serve while re-maining stubbornly committed to it—as the author undoubt-edly is.
Gosnell L. O. R. Yorke (Ph.D., McGill), for the past four years, has been
seconded by the General Conference to serve as a translation consultant for
the United Bible Societies—currently responsible for Angola, Botswana, and
Mozambique. His mailing address: P. O. Box 3768, Kempton Park, South
Africa. E-mail: [email protected]
32 Dialogue 14:1 2002
For Your InformationAn AdventistStatementon Family Violence
F
iolence among members of the same family is a scourge that affects the physical and emotional lives of children and adults around the world. Re- search and statistical data reveal that no society is free from this painfulreality—not even Christians.
Family abuse and violence are words that Seventh-day Adventists have rarelyused. However, painful victim accounts and the appeals from medical and men-tal-health professionals compel us to acknowledge that Adventist members andhomes are not immune to incidents of abuse and their devastating effects.
After long and careful study of the issues involved, the General Conference ofSeventh-day Adventists voted the following statement at its 1996 Annual Coun-cil. The statement is offered here to our readers for information and reflection.
V
of physical coercion and violence with-in the marital sexual relationship, or thethreat of violence through the use of in-timidating verbal or nonverbal behav-ior. It includes behavior such as incestand the mistreatment or neglect of un-derage children by a parent or anotherguardian that results in injury or harm.Violence against the elderly may be seenin physical, psychological, sexual, ver-bal, material, and medical abuse or ne-glect.
The Bible clearly indicates that thedistinguishing mark of Christian believ-ers is the quality of their human rela-tionships in the church and in the fam-ily. It is in the spirit of Christ to love andaccept, to seek to affirm and build oth-ers up, rather than to abuse or tear oneanother down. There is no room amongChrist’s followers for tyrannical controland the abuse of power or authority.Motivated by their love for Christ, His
disciples are called to show respect andconcern for the welfare of others, to ac-cept males and females as equals, and toacknowledge that every person has aright to respect and dignity. Failure torelate to others in this way violates theirpersonhood and devalues human be-ings created and redeemed by God.
The apostle Paul refers to the Churchas “the household of faith” which func-tions as an extended family, offering ac-ceptance, understanding, and comfortto all, especially to those who are hurt-ing or disadvantaged. Scripture portraysthe Church as a family in which person-al and spiritual growth can occur as feel-ings of betrayal, rejection, and grief giveway to feelings of forgiveness, trust, andwholeness. The Bible also speaks of theChristian’s personal responsibility toprotect his or her body temple from des-ecration because it is the dwelling placeof God.
Regrettably, family violence occurs inmany Christian homes. It can never becondoned. It severely affects the lives ofall involved and often results in long-term distorted perceptions of God, self,and others.
It is our belief that the Church has aresponsibility—
1. To care for those involved in fami-ly violence and to respond to theirneeds by:a. Listening to and accepting
those suffering from abuse,loving and affirming them aspersons of value and worth.
b. Highlighting the injustices ofabuse and speaking out in de-fense of victims both withinthe community of faith and insociety.
c. Providing a caring, support-ive ministry to families affect-ed by violence and abuse,seeking to enable both vic-tims and perpetrators to ac-cess counseling by Seventh-day Adventist professionalswhere available, or other pro-
amily violence involves an assault of any kind—verbal, physical, emo- tional, sexual, or active or passiveneglect—that is committed by one per-son or persons against another within afamily, whether they are married, relat-ed, living together or apart, or divorced.Current international research indicatesthat family violence is a global problem.It occurs between individuals of all agesand nationalities, at all socioeconomiclevels, and in families from all types ofreligious and non-religious backgrounds.The overall rate of incidence has beenfound to be similar for urban, suburban,and rural communities.
Family violence manifests itself in anumber of ways. For example, it may bea physical attack on one’s spouse. Emo-tional assaults such as verbal threats,episodes of rage, deprecation of charac-ter, and unrealistic demands for perfec-tion are also abuse. It may take the form
33Dialogue 14:1 2002
fessional resources in the com-munity.
d. Encouraging the training andplacement of licensed Seventh-day Adventist professional ser-vices for both church membersand the surrounding communi-ties.
e. Offering a ministry of reconcili-ation when the perpetrator’s re-pentance makes possible thecontemplation of forgivenessand restoration in relationships.Repentance always includes ac-ceptance of full responsibilityfor the wrongs committed, will-ingness to make restitution inevery way possible, and changesin behavior to eliminate theabuse.
f. Focusing the light of the gospelon the nature of husband-wife,parent-child, and other closerelationships, and empoweringindividuals and families togrow toward God’s ideals intheir lives together.
g. Guarding against the ostracismof either victims or perpetratorswithin the family or churchcommunity, while firmly hold-ing perpetrators responsible fortheir actions.
2. To strengthen family life by:a. Providing family life education
which is grace-oriented and in-cludes a biblical understandingof the mutuality, equality, andrespect indispensable to Chris-tian relationships.
b. Increasing understanding ofthe factors that contribute tofamily violence.
c. Developing ways to preventabuse and violence and the re-curring cycle often observedwithin families and across gen-erations.
d. Rectifying commonly held reli-gious and cultural beliefs whichmay be used to justify or cover
up family violence. For exam-ple, while parents are instruct-ed by God to redemptively cor-rect their children, this respon-sibility does not give license forthe use of harsh, punitive disci-plinary measures.
3. To accept our moral responsibilityto be alert and responsive to abusewithin the families of our congre-gations and our communities, andto declare that such abusive be-havior is a violation of Seventh-day Adventist Christian standards.Any indications or reports ofabuse must not be minimized butseriously considered. For churchmembers to remain indifferentand unresponsive is to condone,perpetuate, and possibly extendfamily violence.
If we are to live as children of thelight, we must illuminate the darknesswhere family violence occurs in ourmidst. We must care for one another,even when it would be easier to remainuninvolved.
The above statement is informed by principlesexpressed in the following scriptural passages:Exodus 20:12; Matthew 7:12; 20:25-28; Mark9:33-45; John 13:34; Romans 12:10, 13;l Corinthians 6:19; Galatians 3:28; Ephesians5:2, 3, 21-27; 6:1-4; Colossians 3:12-14;1 Thessalonians 5:11; 1 Timothy 5:5-8.
Learn English–Plusthis Summer in the U.S.A.!
Six weeks of English language instruction plusAdventist History and American cultural study tours.
June 24—August 1, 2002
20 hours of English instruction per week.
The English Language Instituteat Atlantic Union College
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ResourcesThe Family Ministries Department of
the General Conference has producededucational materials that deal withthe prevention and detection of familyviolence as well as with the restorationof those affected by abuse. The bookPeace and Healing: Making HomesAbuse-free, by Karen and Ron Flowers,is currently available. The departmentcan be contacted by mail: 12501 OldColumbia Pike; Silver Spring, Maryland20904; U.S.A. Fax: 301-680-6155.E-mail: [email protected]
Interested individuals may also ob-tain materials through the Family Min-istries Department website: http://familyministries.gc.adventist.org
34 Dialogue 14:1 2002
The stones…Continued from page 19.
ReynoldsContinued from page 21.
Archäologie im Land der Bibel (Zürich:Freunde des Schweizer KinderdorfesKirjath Jearim in Israel, 1993), p.11.
2. See W. G. Dever, “Retrospects andProspects in Biblical and Syro-PalestinianArchaeology,” Biblical Archaeologist (1982)45:103-107; and “What Remains of theHouse that Albright Built?” BiblicalArchaeologist 56 (1993)1: 25-35.
3. See A. E. McGrath, “The Challenge ofPluralism for the Contemporary ChristianChurch,” Journal of the EvangelicalTheological Society 35 (1992) 3: 363; also R.McQuilqin and B. Mullen, “The Impact ofPostmodern Thinking on EvangelicalHermeneutics,” Journal of the EvangelicalTheological Society 40 (1997) 1:69-82.
4. For a more in-depth discussion of therelationship between text and artifact seemy chapter entitled “Methods and DailyLife in the Ancient Near East:Understanding the Use of Animals inDaily Life in a Multi-DisciplinaryFramework” in R. Averbeck et al, eds.,Daily Life in the Ancient Near East to bepublished by CDL Press in Bethesda, MD.
5. For a detailed discussion of thesignificance of the find of Tell Dan, seemy article “La ‘casa de David’ y laarqueología reciente: o ¿qué vieneprimero, las piedras o nuestra fe?,” RevistaAdventista, September 1996, pp. 30, 31.
6. Tell Dan is a city in the Northern Daniteterritory, modern Tell el-Qadi or Tell Dan,near one of the sources of the Jordan. Itsearlier name was Laish (Judges 18:29;called Leshem in Joshua 19:47), appearingas Lus(i) in Egyptian texts of c. 1850-1825B.C. It was the most Northern Israelitecity, hence the phrase “from Dan toBeersheba” (e.g. Judges 20:1). The shrineestablished here under the priesthood ofMoses’ grandson Jonathan and hisdescendants (Judges 18:30) was elevated(along with Bethel) to the status of anational sanctuary by Jeroboam I (1 Kings12:29f.), and so remained until “thecaptivity of the land” under Tiglath-pileser III.
7. See A. Biran and J. Naveh, “An AramaicStele Fragment from Tel Dan,” IsraelExploration Journal 43(1993)2/3: 81-98,and also their article, “The Tell DanInscription: A New Fragment,” IsraelExploration Journal 45(1995)1:1-18.
8. See, for example, N. P. Lemche and T. L.Thompson, “Did Biran Kill David? TheBible in the Light of Archaeology,” Journal
for the Study of the Old Testament 64(1994): 3-22. The article maintains thatthe biblical account of David (and Saul,Solomon, and all the other historicalfigures) is not a historical account, tellingus about the life and experiences of thesemen, but rather ideals of Israel whichwere created by some (very creative andindeed ingenious) scholar some time afterthe exile.
9. Ø. S. LaBianca and R. W. Younker, “TheKingdoms of Ammon, Moab and Edom:The Archaeology of Society in LateBronze/Iron Age Transjordan (ca. 1400-500 BCE),” in T. E. Levy, ed., TheArchaeology of Society in the Holy Land(London and Washington: LeicesterUniversity Press, 1995), pp. 399-415.
10. Compare the important article by A. W.Jenks, “Eating and Drinking in the OldTestament,” in D. N. Freedman, ed.,Anchor Bible Dictionary, 6 vols. (New York:Doubleday, 1992), 2:250-254.
11. M. Bernett and O. Keel, Mond, Stier undKult am Stadttor. Die Stele von Betsaida (et-Tell), OBO 161 (Fribourg/Göttingen:Universitätsverlag/Vandenhoeck &Ruprecht, 1998).
12. Ibid., pp. 34-41.13. Similar constructions and practices are
described also in Ezekiel 8:3-5 andperhaps in Psalm 121:8
14. There are, however, several examples fromTell Dan and other sites in Palestine. SeeBernett and Keel, Mond, Stier und Kult amStadttor, 47-66.
was not an Adventist when I was there;she became one after I left. When I wasin Angola I invited her to church. Sheworked very closely with me. As a secre-tary she knew me better than anyoneelse knew me, so I feel there was somepassing on of the message to her. That’sthe kind of witness, with answering thequestions about what you do and why.You also have the opportunity to be so-cial—to go out and not to have a beer!And that you don’t like swearing. Andthat you don’t dance! And that you’rewilling to accept them. I hope thatsomething that I’ve done stays withthem and that through the associationthey understand what being a Christianmeans in practical terms.
� What would you say to a young Adventistwho says, “I’m thinking about joining someinternational agency like UNICEF or anotherUN organization”?
I would encourage them to look foropenings and apply! These internationalagencies offer opportunities to do goodwork for a good cause. No one is going toprevent you from living your beliefs. Youdo have an opportunity to make a differ-ence: to the people for whom you workand your co-workers, and that’s a wit-ness. You also have other benefits—youhave the opportunity to go to places youwould not otherwise go, to meet peoplefrom other cultures. Human beings arethe same everywhere: We think the sameway, we enjoy the same things, we laughabout the same things, we cry about thesame things. We relate to each other invery similar ways. That’s a very impor-tant lesson to learn. There’s a lot of vari-ety. When we say that God loves every-one, and He made all of us, it bringshome to you so much better that in allour variety what a wonderful world Godcreated. When you have to accept youare just a tiny part of this phenomenonof human beings, it’s a humbling experi-ence. You appreciate so much more theway you’ve been blessed.
As you know, I lived in China with its1.2 billion people. That puts into per-spective the fact that God loves each ofus and even the hairs on our head arenumbered, and that when you pray, Godis looking out for you as well as for them.
Interview by Jonathan Gallagher
Jonathan Gallagher (Ph.D., Universityof St. Andrews, Scotland) serves as associ-ate director of the department of Public Af-fairs and Religious Liberty at the GeneralConference of Seventh-day Adventists. Heis also the United Nations Liaison Directorfor the General Conference. His e-mail:[email protected]
35Dialogue 14:1 2002
First PersonServing while we can,where we areby Heidi Ryan
uring the 2000-2001 school year, I had the opportunity to work as a student missionary in Kenya.As my plane touched down at the Nairo-bi International Airport I knew that mylife was about to change. I didn’t knowwhat my job description was, who wasgoing to be there to meet me, or whenmy work started—but I did know that Iwas in for an adventure.
As I came out of Customs, with mybaggage on a cart, I looked here, there,everywhere, for signs of anyone whocalled out my name or held up a paperwith my name on it. A very tannedwoman with curly black hair finallycalled to me. Debbie Aho, the accoun-tant for Outpost Centers Inc. (OCI) andthe wife of my boss for the next 10months, rode with me for 13 miles or sountil we arrived at the small town ofUtung Rongai. Dirty shacks and hun-dreds of little plastic bags waving in thewind were the first sights to greet me. Itreminded me of the poverty I had seengrowing up in some parts of Asia. Icould already see that there was much
to do and many to help in this country.For the next few months, I worked invarious locations within Kenya doingconstruction projects and helping outwith mission groups. In the process, Ilearned many things: cooking, buildingtrusses, mixing cement, and driving anold army truck with entirely too manygears and a very touchy clutch. Mostimportantly I came to know the Africanpeople around me.
I mostly worked with the Masai. Oneof my jobs was to teach gardening. Thiswas difficult because their rival tribe ofmore than 2,000 years, the Kakuyus, areknown for their farming skills. Now Iwas teaching the Masai skills similar tothose of the Kakuyus.
Since there was a drought and theMasai livestock were dying, it becamemore and more necessary for them tolearn how to work the soil. So, slowly,painfully, I taught the village kids togarden while they tried to teach meSwahili. It was a long process both ways.Through it all, I learned that this life onEarth is temporary. God taught me a few
D things while I was in a strange place faraway from home. He taught me to lookaround. My comfortable home, my won-derful family and friends are a minority.Many people of the world out there aresuffering, living in cardboard boxes, andyet some people live as though time willlast forever. Not me. Not anymore.
Millions of people haven’t heard theGood News yet. But the message isspreading quickly. I am thankful I hadthe opportunity to go to Africa as a stu-dent missionary. However, to be a mis-sionary for Christ, one does not need togo very far. I know people in my neigh-borhood who still need God desperately.Look around. I’m sure that there aresome in your neighborhood, too. Christis still looking for those that He can takewith Him. There is little time left. Whynot use it?
Heidi Ryan is a second-year student atColumbia Union College, Takoma Park,Maryland.
OCI e-mail: [email protected]
36 Dialogue 14:1 2002
37Dialogue 14:1 2002
Expand YourFriendshipNetwork
dventist college/university students and professionals, readers of Dia- logue, interested in exchanging cor-respondence with colleagues in other partsof the world.
AYamis Jova Abrahantes: 23; female; sin-
gle; teaches arts and theater to children; in-terests: exchanging views with people wholove plastic arts and making new friends;correspondence in Spanish. Address: CalleHeredia #620 A, entre Pepe Alemán y PadreLas Casas; Cruces, Cienfuegos; 57500CUBA.
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dence in Spanish.E-mail: [email protected]
Josie Elaine Toledo Braga: 22; female;single; completing a degree in nursing atCentro Universitario Adventista; interests:sports, travel, and making new friends; cor-respondence in Portuguese. Address: Chac-ara Advir; Caixa Postal 311; BragancaPaulista, SP; 12900-000 BRAZIL. E-mail:[email protected]
Walter Castillo: 25; male; single; study-ing toward a degree in physical education;hobbies: collecting fossils, working withpathfinders, nature, and camping; corre-spondence in Spanish, Portuguese, or En-glish. Address: Universidad Adventista delPlata; 25 de Mayo 99; Libertador San Mar-tín, Entre Ríos; ARGENTINA. E-mail:[email protected] Tragedy Chingola: 23; male; single; pursu-ing a degree in humanities; hobbies: tour-ism, singing, drama, and listening to theradio; correspondence in English orFrench. Address: University of Malawi;Milewa Hall, Chancellor College; Box 280;Zomba; MALAWI.E-mail: [email protected]
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Talia Greta Dueñas: 28; female; single; a
Insert A
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38 Dialogue 14:1 2002
chemical pharmacist; interests: painting,photography, singing, learning about othercultures; correspondence in Spanish, En-glish, French or Italian. Address: Calle 3,Mza. D, Lte. 4, Urb. Resid. Surco; Surco,Lima 33; PERU. E-mail: [email protected]
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Charles Frienderson Kankuzi: 28; male;single; pursuing a degree in earth scienc-es and environmental studies; hobbies:jogging, gospel music, cycling, and learn-ing about other cultures; correspondencein English. Address: University of Malawi;5 Khondowe Hall, Chancellor College;Box 280; Zomba, MALAWI. E-mail:[email protected]
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Gabriela López G.: 36; female; single;
holds a degree in biochemistry; interests:collecting postcards, religious music, read-ing about bacteriology and parasitology,and making new friends; correspondencein Spanish or English. Address: Apdo. Pos-tal # 97, Sucursal F; Cd. Universitaria; SanNicolás de los Garza, N.L.; 66450 MEXICO.
Solange Sampaio Mantuan: 37; female;single; completed a degree in accounting;interests: reading, music, travel, andmaking new friends; correspondence inPortuguese. Address: Rua Sen. Felicio dosSantos, 230 Ap. 83; Aclimaçao, São Paulo,SP; 01511-010 BRAZIL.E-mail: [email protected]
Aljean Adante Mapusao: 21; female; sin-gle; pursuing a degree in elementary educa-tion; interests: playing the piano, reading,travel, and collecting stamps; correspon-dence in English or Tagalog. Address: NagaView College; P.O. Box 6078; Naga City;4400 PHILIPPINES.
Danielys Durán Martín: 30; female; mar-ried; completed a degree in electrical engi-neering at Universidad Central de Las Vil-las; interests: correspondence with otherChristians, getting materials to educatechildren, travel, and nature; correspon-dence in Spanish. Address: EusebioHernández # 243 A, entre Víctor Torres yAlberto Nadarse; Colonia Matanzas; CUBA.E-mail: [email protected]
Juan Manuel Martínez: 21; male; sin-gle; pursuing a degree in music and voicein Argentina; interests: playing the pi-ano, exchanging postcards, serving God,and making new friends; correspondencein Spanish or French.E-mail: [email protected]
Anthony O. Melchizedeck: 24; male; sin-gle; studying to become a teacher at Adven-tist Training College; hobbies: football, bas-ketball, reading, and music; correspon-dence in English. Address: P.O. Box 6486;Kumasi, Ashanti; GHANA.
Orchid Htang Dim Mek: 24; female; sin-gle; pursuing a master’s degree in educa-tion; interests: collecting photographs andstamps, making new friends; correspon-dence in English. Address: No. 68 UwisaraRoad, Dagon Township; P.O. Box 11191;Yangon; MYANMAR.
Yolanda Mendoza: 32; female; single; acomputer technician; interests: Christianmusic, good books, and learning about
Insert B
39Dialogue 14:1 2002
other cultures; correspondence in Spanish.Address: Barrio Riguero, Talleres Modernos,2 c. arriba, 2 c. al sur; Managua; NICARA-GUA. E-mail: [email protected]
Solomon Muganda: 29; male; single;working as a metallurgical engineer; in-terests: nature walks, travel, cultural ex-change, and photography; correspon-dence in English or Shona. Address: P.O.Box 114; Redcliff; ZIMBABWE. E-mail:[email protected]
Charles W. E. Mwanbene: 29; male; mar-ried; a teacher; hobbies: football and read-ing novels; correspondence in English. Ad-dress: P.O. Box 10l Nyungwe, Karonga;MALAWI.
Nkem Nnaji: 27; male; single; studyingelectrical engineering at University of Nige-ria; hobbies: music, travel, sports, and mak-ing new friends; correspondence in En-glish. E-mail: [email protected]
Flavio Cesar Franco Nascimento: 20;male; single; studying geography atUNESP-FCT; interests: singing, drawing,and ecology; correspondence in Portu-guese, English or Spanish. Address: VielaSete No. 20, Jd. Paulista; Martinopolis,SP; 19500-000 BRAZIL.E-mail: [email protected]
Larisa Navrichevska: 46; female; di-vorced; completing a diploma in dance in-struction; interests: reading, listening tomusic, gymnastics, and knitting; corre-spondence in Russian, Ukranian, or En-glish. Address: vul. Fevraljska 229-19; Meli-topol 72316; UKRAINE.
Adair Sergio Nazareth: 26; male; sin-gle; pursuing a degree in mathematics;interests: making new friends, collectingphone cards, and religious literature; cor-respondence in Portuguese, English orSpanish. Address: Estrada de ItapecericaNo. 5859; Bairro Capao Redondo, SãoPaulo, SP; 05858-001 BRAZIL. E-mail:[email protected]
Milagros Novas: 25; female; single;teaching social sciences at an Adventistschool in the Dominican Republic; inter-ests: reading, music, and collecting post-cards and coins; correspondence in Span-ish. E-mail: [email protected]
Venance P. Ntiyalundura: 27; male; sin-gle; pursuing a degree in economics at theUniversity of Dar-es-Salaam; interests:reading, learning about other cultures, na-
ture, and sports; correspondence in En-glish. Address: P.O. Box 72244; Dar-es-Sa-laam; TANZANIA.
Tapiwa Uchizi Nyasulu: 23; female; sin-gle; pursuing a degree in philosophy anddrama; correspondence in English; hob-bies: field hockey, gospel music, andswimming. Address: University ofMalawi; 16 Mulunguzi Hall, ChancellorCollege; Box 280; Zomba; MALAWI. E-mail: [email protected]
Stephen Christopher Odhiambo: 27;male; single; holds a diploma in comput-er science; interests: gospel music, play-ing the guitar, travel, and nature; corre-spondence in English. Address: P.O. Box105; Pap-Inditi; KENYA.E-mail: [email protected]
Minnie Waithira Okonya: 28; female;married; working as a computer operator;hobbies: Bible reading, documentaries,spending time with little children, and mu-sic; correspondence in English or Swahili.Address: P.O. Box 53; Maralal; KENYA.
Jack Odhiamo Okullo: 22; male; single;pursuing a degree in civil engineering; in-terests: drawing, reading, music, andworking on the computer; correspon-dence in English. Address: JKUAT; P.O.Box 62000; Nairobi; KENYA. E-mail:[email protected]
Rogerio Izaul Ramos de Oliveira: 28;male; single; a biologist, doing group re-search on deafness at Universidade deCampinas; interests: sign language, sports,and collecting telephone cards; correspon-dence in Portuguese, Spanish, English orGerman. Address: Rua Natalio Tauhyl, 87;Porto Feliz, SP; 18540-000 BRAZIL
Ogalo Stephen Omondi: 28; male; sin-gle; completed a degree in civil engineer-ing at Jomo Kenyatta University of Agri-culture and Technology; interests: gospelmusic, exchanging postcards, photogra-phy, and adventure; correspondence inEnglish or Kiswahili. Address: P.O. Box30670; 00100 Nairobi; KENYA. E-mail:[email protected]
Denisse R. Ortega: 23; female; single; astudent; interests: travel, learning otherlanguages, vegetarianism, and making newfriends; correspondence in Spanish, En-glish, or Swedish. Address: Hospitalgatan24 A; 602 27 Norrloping; SWEDEN. E-mail:[email protected]
Carolyn Lhudz Patrick: 22; female; sin-gle; pursuing a degree in English; hobbies:reading, collecting notebooks, and camp-ing; correspondence in English. Address:Mission College - Muak Lek; P.O. Box 4; Sa-raburi 18180; THAILAND.E-mail: [email protected]
Kyei Patrick: 29; male; single; a teacherat Hospital Road Adventist Primary School;hobbies: singing hymns, sharing my faith,travel, and flowers; correspondence in En-glish. Address: Akora Manu Enterprise; P.O.Box TL 1224; Temale, Northern Region;GHANA.
Douglas S. Peña: 20; male; single; pursu-ing a degree in industrial engineering atUniversidad de Sonsonate; interests: Chris-tian music, travel, poetry, and learningabout other cultures; correspondence inSpanish. Address: Lotificación Los Angeles,Block G, Nr. 4; San Antonio del Monte,Sonsonate; EL SALVADOR.
Ana Claudia Rocha Pereira: 22; female;single; completing a degree in social com-munication at Universidade Federal do Ma-ranhão; interests: singing, giving Biblestudies, travel, and reading; correspon-dence in Portuguese. Address: Rua Damardo Desterro No. 90; Fatima, São Luis, MA;65030-390 BRAZIL.
Beth C. Relos: 25; female; single; com-pleted a degree in business administrationat Gregorio Araneta University Founda-tion; interests: strolling, eating, sports, andmaking new friends; correspondence in En-glish or Tagalog. Address: #1142 BambiAve, Tanada Subd; Valenzuela City; 1440PHILIPPINES.
José Elías Rivas: 25; male; single; com-pleted a degree in marketing; interests: Bi-ble doctrines, literature, and languages;correspondence in Spanish or English. Ad-dress: Urbanización Cleofe Andrades (LosCerrajones), Sector 1, Casa 22; Barquisime-to, Estado Lara; VENEZUELA. E-mail:[email protected]
Nelly Rivera: 23; female; single; com-pleting a degree in systems engineering atUniversidad Tecnológica de El Salvador; in-terests: singing Christian music in a sextet,natural medicine, and the outdoors; corre-spondence in Spanish or English. E-mail:[email protected]
Paula Leticia Rodrigues: 20; female; sin-gle; studying nursing at Centro Universi-
Insert C
40 Dialogue 14:1 2002
tario Adventista; interests: camping, sports,religious music, and animals; correspon-dence in Portuguese or Spanish. Address:Rua Comandante Carlos Ruhl, 186 A; VilaSolange-Guiamases, São Paulo, SP; 08410-130 BRAZIL.
Soribel de la Rosa: 33; female; single;completed a degree in accounting andmanagement; interests: reading, makingnew friends, music, and playing the gui-tar; correspondence in Spanish. Address:Calle Apolinar Perdomo #6; Barahona;DOMINCAN REPUBLIC.E-mail: [email protected]
Hanillyn A. Roxas: 21; female; single;pursuing a degree in education; interestedin sports; correspondence in English. Ad-dress: Nazareth 11021 Street; Cagayan deOro City; 9000 PHILIPPINES.
Yudelsy Ruiz Osorio: 29; female; a singlemother with a 6 year-old son; an econo-mist; interests: poetry, photography,church activities, and making new friends;correspondence in Spanish. Address: Calle90 #5, entre 95 y 86; Rpto. Edificios;Manatí, Las Tunas; 77100 CUBA.
Atta K. Samuel: 26; male; single; study-ing to become a teacher; hobbies: reading,music, and exchanging ideas; correspon-dence in English. Address: S.D.A. TrainingCollege; P.O. Box 18; Asokore-Koforidua,Eastern Region; GHANA.
Kyei Adoma Samuel: 26; male; single;pursuing a degree in educational psycholo-gy at University of Cape Coast; hobbies:making presentations on radio, music,reading magazines, and table tennis; corre-spondence in English or Akan. Address:Mail Box 857; Sunyani, Blale; GHANA.
Rosa Maria Silva Santos: 35; female; sin-gle; completed studies in nursing and phys-ical education; served as missionary in Afri-ca; now working at Hospital Adventista Sil-vestre; interests: Christian music, sports,travel, and communicating with peoplefrom other cultures; correspondence inPortuguese or English. Address: Rua Fortu-na, No. 23, Apto. 202; Rio Comprido, Riode Janeiro, RJ; 20251-061 BRAZIL. E-mail:[email protected] [email protected]
Damaris Santos Zimmermann: 25; fe-male; single; completing a law degree atUniversidad de Tarapacá; interests: reading,travel, Christian music, and making new
friends; correspondence in Spanish or En-glish. Address: Pob. Guañacagua II; Psje. 2,No. 1778; Tarapacá; COLOMBIA. E-mail:[email protected]
Simon Sivakumar: 31; male; single;completed a degree in theology and amaster in education; beginning to workas a pastor and teacher in India; interests:sharing the gospel, travel, and makingnew friends; correspondence in English.E-mail: [email protected]
Iván Smith Palacios: 24; male; single;studying civil engineering at UniversidadTecnológica de Panamá; interests: sports,aircrafts, and learning about other cultures;correspondence in Spanish. E-mail:[email protected]
Ruth I. Sowder: 40; female; divorced;working in medical records at a family clin-ic; interests: singing, travel, the outdoors,and making new friends; correspondencein English or Spanish. Address: 1133 SouthLittle Creek Rd., Lot #43; Dover, Delaware19901; U.S.A. E-mail: [email protected]
Cryton Tambala: 30; male; single; study-ing toward a diploma in education; hob-bies: music, reading the Bible, hiking, andweight lifting; correspondence in English.Address: P.O. Box 49; Domasi; MALAWI. E-mail: [email protected]
Manuel Daniel Tapia: 25; male; single; aliterature evangelist; interests: sharing myfaith and encouraging others to knowJesus; correspondence in Spanish. Address:Avenida Azolas 1112; Arica; CHILE. E-mail:[email protected]
Virginia Tavares: 32; female; single;teaching English at Colegio Adventista deSalvador, planning to study law; inter-ests: foreign languages, sports, travel, andmusic; correspondence in Portuguese, En-glish or Spanish. Address: Rua AfonsoSertão, No. 26, 2o. Andar; Ribeira, Salva-dor, Bahia; 40420-220 BRAZIL.E-mail: [email protected]
Arleen Toledanes: 29; female; single; ateacher; hobbies: volleyball, cooking,swimming, and religious music; correspon-dence in Filipino or English. Address: c/oRoyal Valley Adventist Elementary School;Km. 7 Bangkal; Davao City; PHILIPPINES.E-mail: [email protected]
Rosemary Vieira: 20; female; single;pursuing a degree in nursing at CentroUniversitario Adventista, São Paulo, Bra-
zil; interests: basketball, cooking, readingabout obstetrics, and establishing friend-ships with dynamic people; correspon-dence in Portuguese or Spanish. E-mail:[email protected]
Violy Visto: 40; female; single; a teacher;interests: Christian music, camping, hik-ing, and writing; correspondence in En-glish. Address: Royal Valley Adventist Ele-mentary School; Km. 7, Davao City; PHIL-IPPINES. E-mail: [email protected]
Mahi L. Waga: 20; female; single; pursu-ing a degree in education and working as acomputer encoder; interests: sports, travel,camping, collecting stamps and postcards;correspondence in English. Address: #247Lapaz II; Colambog Lapasan, Cagayan deOro City; 9000 PHILIPPINES. E-mail:[email protected]
Danny Hernán Zambrano: 23; male;single; completing a degree in mechani-cal engineering in Perú; interests: camp-ing, music, football, and drawing; corre-spondence in Spanish.E-mail: [email protected]
Insert D
If you are an Adventist college/universitystudent or professional and wish to belisted here, send us your name and post-al address, indicating your age, sex, mar-ital status, current field of studies or de-gree obtained, college/university you areattending or from which you graduated,hobbies or interests, and language(s)in which you would like to correspond.Provide also your e-mail address. Sendyour letter to Dialogue Interchange:12501 Old Columbia Pike; SilverSpring, MD 20904-6600, U.S.A. Pleasetype or print clearly. You can also usee-mail: [email protected] will list only those who provide allthe information requested above. Thejournal cannot assume responsibility forthe accuracy of the information submit-ted or for the content of the correspon-dence that may ensue.