It's Friday! Your random thoughts needed

How was your week?

What are your Sabbath plans?

What are you reading these days?

If an Adventist was arrested, along with several hundred other Christians during a pro-peace march, would you think more or less of that person?

Comments

[Zane]

Reading Marion's "God without Being" for one of my courses.

I just read a nice thought/line in Westphal's "Transcendance and Self-Transcendence" along the same lines that is tickling my gray matter. Thought I'd share it.

"He [Dionysius) says, in effect, that so for as negative theology is concerned, all the scriptural and traditional affirmations of God are appropriate as long as we never loose sight of the way in which they are inappropriate, namely their inadequacy. Language, even biblical language, can never mirror, master, grasp, or encompass the divine reality. The proper 'how' for God talk is epistemic humility--not the Cartesian humility that admits that we do not always get it right and that even when we do we do gradually and peicemeal, but the Kantian humility that acknowledges that, strictly speaking, we never get it right. Our discourse my be appropriate, but it is never adequate to the realty it intends."

Hmmmm....Shalom Shabat!

[Johnny A. Ramirez]

I heard there was an Adventist participating in the service in the National Cathedral. If so, that is really good.

Our vigil was a lot of fun- I'm sure that the DC folks, and even (especially?) the one that got arrested, had a good time as well.
Cheers!

[Elaine]

From the March "Harper's" article on Vergil (70-19 B.C.): "Arms and the Poet," is another prophecy before Christ's birth that Christians have used:

"Two and a half centuries after Vergil, the Emperor Constantine converted to Christianity and pulled the empire along with him, he cited Vergil's curious Fourth Eclogue--which prophesies the birth of a child who will usher in a golden age of justice and peace--as a direct prefiguration of Christ's birth. This interpretation, adopted by the earliest Christians and survivng as late as the nineteenth century, was responsible for the exraordinary esteem accorded Vergil and his works through late antiquity and the Middle Ages. The "Aenid" in particular figured prominently in approved Christian reading. The church fathers invoked Vergil in support of Christian doctrine, and for more than a thousand years he was venerated equally with King David and the Hebrew prophets.

Eager to add more than OT prophecies to prove Christ's birth?

[Elaine]

Some words worth remembering:

"We must not confuse dissent with disloyalty. We must remember always that accusation is not proof and that conviction depends upon evidence and due process of law. We will not walk in fear, one of another. We will not be driven by fear into an age of unreason, if we dig deep in our history and our doctrine, and remember that we are not descended from fearful men--not from men who feared to write, to speak, to associate and to defend causes that were, for the moment, unpopular."

Edward R. Murrow

[Chelle Webster]

What a long week! Is it not a strange and wonderful truth of Adventism that the best Sabbaths are the ones that come after a long hard work-filled week, where Sabbath is a sharp contrast filled with relaxing, resetting priorities, and celebrating.

[Gary]

My week was extremely busy with the days seeming to run together.

Since being "let go" by the denomination thus no longer having to "work" on Sabbath (but working my gluteous maximus off as an adjunct faculty member on three college campuses trying to make ends meet), Sabbath has become truly a day of rest. Since the only churches locally are the ones in the district I was fired from, I have only been to "church" there twice in the last 18 months. Yet, I enjoy listening to Walter Pearson and occasionally Dwight Nelson compliments of SkyAngel satellite. I expect tomorrow will be much the same. I have time to read and relax after a hectic week.

Speaking of reading, I am reading through the Bible in the New Century Version, as well as a biography of Mark Twain and a satirical look at the life of G.W.Bush (purporting to be an autobiography titled "Destined for Destiny." What a hoot!!!

As far as the SDA being arrested for participating in the protest march, I congratulate him/her! If I could have afforded it, I would have been there myself. IMHO this is one of the worst administrations this country has seen in a very long time! And it's time to bring our troops home!

[Nic Samojluk]

I have been reading about what has recently been taking place at 3ABN. Here is a brief summary of what I have learned:

For those interested in learning the truth about what has been taking place at the 3ABN network, there is a source of a large number of documents dealing with all the allegations and counter allegations connected with the “growing number of moral, ethical, and financial” dealings by the leading individuals in charge of the Three Angels' Broadcasting Network which threatens to damage or destroy the defectiveness of this independent Seventh-day Adventist religious organization. Some individuals who are greatly concerned about the future of the network have created a website dedicated to the stated goal of saving the network from disaster.

According to the documents posted on this website, Danny Shelton, the founder of 3ABN, has exhibited a lack of fairness and equanimity in the treatment of his former wife, Linda Shelton, co-founder of the organization and former vice president of the network. An analysis of the voluminous number of E-mails exchanged between the parties seems to reveal the following:

A. Danny Shelton became jealous when his wife, Linda, sought the professional services of a Norwegian physician who started treating Linda’s son from a previous marriage. He accused her of infidelity, and insisted that she break her relationship with said doctor.

B. When Linda refused to do this, Danny secured the network Board of Directors backing, which placed her on administrative leave.

C. When Linda discovered that Danny was checking her personal belongings in search of evidence of her alleged infidelity, she decided to play a prank on him. She purchased a pregnancy test kit, knowing that he would find it and would react accordingly. He did find the pregnancy test kit and used it as evidence against her.

D. The 3ABN Board dismissed Linda from the network in spite of the fact that hard evidence of adultery was non-existent.

E. Danny remarried without any proof that Linda had been unfaithful to him, and replaced Linda with his brother Tommy as second in command at the network. He did this while brushing aside several allegations against Tommy’s repeated “sexual misconduct with men and boys over a period of many years.”

F. When fresh allegations of sexual misconduct by Tommy Shelton surfaced, Danny Shelton announced that his brother had interrupted his employment at 3ABN due to health reasons.

G. Danny Shelton has allegedly confessed that his new wife, Brenda, had been pursuing him for the last 17 years, which makes one wonder whether he divorced Linda in order to marry his current wife.

All these allegations are documented with a huge number of E-mails that were exchanged between the parties involved in this never-ending dispute. The details are extremely numerous, and it is time consuming to examine them all.

It is patently evident that mistakes were made on both sides, but at least Linda seems to have admitted that she had made them, while Danny has not. The harsh treatment Linda received both from her ex-husband and the network Board Directors seems to be in stark contrast with the benevolence shown to Danny’s brother; more so when taken into consideration that the documents seem to indicate that the accusations of infidelity against Linda have no basis on fact, while the sexual misconduct of Tommy Shelton are apparently well documented.

If you are interested in examining all these data, here is the Internet source for all this information:

http://www.save3abn.com/

[Nic Samojluk]

Sorry about the typos! I wish there was a way of editing the material after posting.

By the way, if you click on my name, you will access many other similar postins on my SDA Forum website.

[Jim Thomsen]

Are you a current or former Adventist?

Are you spiritually searching?

Are you tolerant of other points of view?

Do you have a kick-butt sense of humor?

Can you add to our "You Know You're An Adventist If ...." thread?

Want to meet funny, sincere, deep, thoughtful, slightly perverse people who share touchstones in Adventist culture? (Hey, who hasn't played pond hockey with frozen Nuteena patties, right? Or at least thought that was the best use for them?)

E-mail me ... tell me a little about ourselves. Then I'll get you into our invitation-only forum of totally cool people who love to slap Adventist issues — and Adventism, period — around.

(Something to whet your appetite: TOP TEN ADVENTIST HEAVY METAL BANDS:

10. Söy Oyster Cult

9. Led Stripplin

8. Weimarhead

7. Baboonheart

6. Masters of Dorm

5. Camelcrack

4. Androoze

3. Gleanyr

2. White Sabbath

1. Berrien Turner Overdrive)

[Pleiades]

It was most gratifying to see Doug Morgan and Charles Sandefur as an Adventist witness at the Christian Peace Witness.

That we would hear from our pulpits the courage of a Rafael Warnock pastor of historic Ebenezer Baptist Church or of a Jim Wallis as they spoke at the National Cathedral!

If the words of William Sloane Coffin are true "Justice is the very heart of religion", then we will cry aloud and spare not wherever we see injustice.

We were raised up for this very hour yet when the moment comes, where are we? So many are with the status quo instead of at the Sermon on the Mount with Jesus.

[Jared Wright]

Did you know that the following people are, were, or were raised SDA?

-Magic Johnson (NBA star)

-Little Richard (Singer)

-Prince, Artist formerly Known As (pop star)

-Brian McKnight (R&B singer)

-Jerome Fontamillas (Member of Switchfoot)

-Paul Harvey (radio personality)

See a whole bunch more famous or semi-famous sevens here.

p.s. If an Adventist were arrested in any demonstration of peaceful protest or civil disobedience, I'd respect them for it.

[John]

Nic, I have seen some proof of Linda's unfaithfulness at this url:

http://savegailon.blogspot.com/2007/08/linda-shelton-wuz-one-hundred-percent.html

Hope this will be helpful to you.

[Dr. Thomas J. Zwemer]

Yesterday, September 24, a day that will live in academic charades, we witnessed a debate between a coward and a bully. President Lee Bollinger, too cowardly to say no to his faculty and students about inviting Iranian President Ahmadinejad and to cowardly to explain his action to his Board and/or his patrons chose instead to engage in an extended litany of the boorish and cruel behavior of his guest.

A real academic leader would have sent President Ahmadinejad a letter of invitation that did at least six things:

1. Acknowledge the tension and hostility of long standing between two sovereign nations: thus the critical need for open dialogue.
2. Outline the causes of those tensions including a list of alleged hostile comments made by President Ahmadiejad against the United States, Israel, France and others.
3. Include a list of issues the University and its extended community would like addressed by President Ahmadinejad as conditions of the invitation.
4. Outline of format of the meeting:
a. A short introduction and welcome by the President that would, include the agenda outlined in the letter of invitation.
b. A 35 minute presentation by President Ahmandinejad covering the invitational topics.
c. A short 10-15 question and answer session moderated by
The Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Columbia University.

5. A five minute closing statement of Dr. Lea Bollinger which would acknowledge the willingness of President Ahmandinejad to appear and a summary of the issues candidly addressed and those that were left unanswered. Closing with the comment that a verbal exchange is far better than a nuclear exchange. The United Nations is a forum for such a continued dialogue. Hopefully this dialogue will be a start in that direction.

6. Send a copy of the letter of invitation to The New York Times and the Wall Street Journal for publication on the Op-Ed pages. Tom

[Dick Larsen]

Tom, I have this uneasy feeling that we have played into President Ahmandinejad's hand. I don't believe we will come out well by belittling and humiliating him publicly.

[Dr. Thomas J. Zwemer]

Dick

No question Ahmandinejad won in world opinion. My point was If Ahmandinejad had known the ground rules--would he have accepted the invitation? If so he could not have claimed being sand-trapped. etc. Tom

[Dick Larsen]

Whether he new and what he expected hardly matters. He's a loose cannon and a bully. You can't corner a bully, make fun of him then send him off to his nuclear power plants and think he is beaten.

[Dr. Thomas J. Zwemer]

Great Dick

This wasn't supposted to be a evangelical service. It was to be an Academic discussion. My original blog said as much. The President of Columbia Blew it big time. If he wanted to take the bully on big time--he had to have set the ground rules before hand. If not he should have let silence be the rebuke not a litany of one side offenses. The President of Columbia was the big loser. The President of Iran the big winner on the world stage. I don't think President Bulter nor President Eisenhouer both of Columbia would have been caught in such a "I gottcha trap". Tom

[Linda Wright]

I hope I get this forwarded to you, if not, please check this website http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_action=doc&p_docid=11C33AC7134D15F8&p_docnum=1 This is an article which ran in the Daily Times, a newspaper which covers a very large audience in Blount and Knox Counties, Tennessee. This young lady has had her children taken away because she is an Adventist Christian. The judge in this case is known to be from the gay community. Adventist all over the world should be offended by the treatment of Ms. White. Anything your organization can do to help call attention to this personal attack on Adventist Christians would be appreciated.
Linda Wright, a supporter of Amazing Facts
4561 Chota Hills
Louisville, TN 37777

[Elaine Nelson]

Is it worth discussing the recent news about Alzheimer's patients who've found a new love interest in their nursing homes? All of us have, or will have parents that may be suffering from dementia that robs them of their memories. How should Christians react to such situations as Justice O'Connor's husband with a new "love interest"? Personally, I believe their decision was right. For someone who has no memory of past relationships, happiness is current and not based on the past, with understanding demanded by family. WDYT?