Monte: Well said. could not have been more timely. The easiest move I can make is to encourage the young to do something special for someone. And they love the attention and the love the opportunity. Connecting the heart with the mind is our biggest challenge for one without the other soon peters out.  Cheers, Herb

Monte: I am more amazed at your comment!  It may be that most responders to these blogs are more interested in their subjective wishes and the joy of sharing opinions then in simply thinking about what good can be done by real people and not by just becoming a member of some actiong group. Don't be discouraged. Cheers, Herb

In my view, the controversial issues are sometimes important but the long-term health of our little branch of Christianity and the real contribution it makes to real people's lives is going to be based not on contentious theological disputations but the kinds of behavior that Monte highlighted.

Hey guys - certainly, controversy courts comments.  The tragedies recounted by Monte are likely to be viewed with varying levels of inspiration and depression by many, including myself. 

On the one hand, I find it praiseworthy that our church mission inspires people to commit their lives to God in extraordinary ways.  Aside from those who have been blessed with the rare gifts to become preachers, regular folk are turning out in droves to further the work of God. 

On the other hand, I fret when I see John Donne's sonnet to death play out in modern life - "soonest our best men with thee do go..."  The tragedy of losing a young person to senseless violence, in spite of their good deeds and the many fervent prayers for God's guiding hand and protection, shakes my faith, especially when I am weakened.

As much as I understand that suffering is a consequence of sin, and that God's plan isn't always revealed to man, these situations seemingly fly in the face of cosmic justice. 

Erv: Ithink your tongue is in your famous cheek!  Whatever you mean by "contenteious theological disputations" is the stuff that determines where and how long youthful spurts of enthusiasm may go. Of course, most of the "disputations" are mere opinion-making and that may satisfy many, but when we face simply life facts, those theological contours do indeed matter. Which you know for sure. Cheers, Herb

Herb:

Be sure ones sins will find one out! I guess I used irony once too often in earlier postings. This time I was being entirely serious in my last posting.

I really believe that “controversial issues are sometimes important but the long-term health of our little branch of Christianity and the real contribution it makes to real people's lives is going to be based not on contentious theological disputations but the kinds of behavior that Monte highlighted.”

It seems to me that the development of positive and helpful behavior is the only objective validation of any religious tradition—“by their fruits, etc.” The problem comes when some in the tradition want to focus on the myths and make them more and more concrete. Then “contentious theological disputations” result.

Perhaps I should have explained at the outset that it seems to me that every religious system I know anything about has to create a set of theological myths—or as you say, “theological contours,” to motivate us humans to do positive and helpful things for other people.

Adventism has validated itself by the series of medical institutions it has created and nurture and the work of ADRA. To secure the funds to do these important things, it needs to maintain the allegiance of many in its ranks.  To do this, it feels that it has to advance certain theological concepts that, among other things, satisfy a need for certainty for some that they belong to the right church which knows what is going to happen in the future, etc. etc.. We thus generate such concepts as the remnant church and sanctuary myths.

As a system matures, we can hope that it can slowly ignore by benign neglect some of these myths that got it going and maintained it in its infancy and adolescence. However, the Adventist version is having a hard time moving from adolescence to maturity and might continue to have difficulty with this for many generations to come given the high number of converts that we currently attract.

Also, if something sets off a major retrogressive reaction and a retrogressive element gains political power, then an organizational split might occur. But let’s hope we mature fast enough to avoid that.

From now on, it appears that I will have to leave some type of specific code in my future postings to alert the reader when I am using irony and when I am not. 

Erv,

I find that I am in agreement with your perspective of the importance of our "fruits" as being far beyond the "distinctive Adventist doctrines."  They have no meaning to those who were not taught them as children nor do I find that the younger generation could even identify or explain their meaning.

If we cannot give evidence to our faith by our actions so that the world can see, as the song goes:  "They will know we are Christians by our love" all the 28 or 100 (given more time there will undoubtedly be more added), are nothing but tinkling brass and clanging cymbals.  Does anyone really believe that the "world" cares anything about the sanctuary or the coded number 1844 that was so dear to the earliest Adventists?  No, and why should anyone today?  What possible relevance could it have on anyone's life today when it was originally a time set for the Second Coming, and "revised" when it was seen as a gross error?

Erv and Elaine: Not easy trying to talk about these core matters with sound bites. Some of the thoughts above remind me of Jack Provonsha's thesis in A Remnant in Crisis. His thoughts therein are still relevant. Of course, if we move away from a common grasp of the purpose for Jesus coming to this world and then leaving, then the magic aesthetic of just plain thinking could use up time--but I really don't believe that any of us are there.  As for me, after I became an Adventist and kept learning, after years and libraries full of how philosophers and theologians have thought for millennia, I became more convinced that the GCT that defines distinctive Adventism is the only reasonable, logical and relevant metanarrative that human beings can understand and believe.  IMO, Cheers, Herb

The theme of the GC is only an adaptation that the Jews discovered during their Babylonian Exile from Zororastrianism:  the light and dark, good and evil, and the Chinese call it "Yin and Yang."

Prior to that time, as you well know, the Bible writers believed that everything came from God:    good and evil, as reflected in their Scripture. They did not conceive of two distinct entities of complete good and complete evil (if there is such a thing).

The GC theme is far from unique in Adventism and originated more than 2500 years earlier.  The SDA concept was tweaked to give it the distinction that they needed to proselytize other Christians.  How do Non-Christians, especially those in third world countries where Adventism is growing at a much faster rate, understand or preach the GC theme which includes 1844 and the IJ?   (are they treated separately?)  How vital is this concept  for one's salvation and how does it affect our lives simply to know or even understand it?  Who, in Adventism originated this GC theme?  When was it first preached?    Was it one of the original doctrinal themes or later?

Elaine: First time I have heard that the Jews discovered the GCT while in Babylonian captivity, You perhaps are thinking of Zoroastrianism (Light/Dark, etc) but that is hardly a tributary. What did they contribute? Of course, we have many notions such as Good/Evil, Right/Wrong, God/earth, etc. All small pieces of a once-known truth. I would like just one reference as to where Ellen may have picked up her general, synoptic, interactive GCT. Hastings will not give us a clue. Give me a better metanarrative of the Big Picture--I have been searching for anything that would even come close and that's why I am glad to have become an Adventist. Am I clear enough? I keep working on saying it better. Help me. Cheers, Herb

The theme of the GC was never known by the OT writers, nor was the anti-Christ mentioned until the first century A.D.  Prior to that, the OT writers, in numerous places attribute both good and evil to God.

Paul uses the term "man of lawlessness" and "son of destruction."  Both Judaism and Christianity inherited Persian dualism from sixth century Zoroastrianism.

Perhaps you will be willing to give us the background of the GC theme.  When and where did it originate if it is unique to Adventism?   What are the texts that Adventists use to reach this conclusion?  Are they the only Christian group who promote this GC concept?  If it is absolutely essential to the entire Adventist doctrine, what biblical background supports this?

My reply to yours yesterday was withheld for reasons unknown.  I will only ask if Ellen was original with the GC theme, from what scripture did she arrive at that position that no Bible scholar before had seen?

" I would like just one reference as to where Ellen may have picked up her general, synoptic, interactive GCT."

 Where did that theme originate?  From what Bible texts was it discovered?

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Thanks for asking the right questions, Elaine.The GCT begins with Genesis 3:15, providing the unity and coherence tdhrough the Bible, ending with Revelation. Of course, get the "behind the scenes" in Rev. 12. I highly value Eph 1 and Col 1. The life and death of Jesus provides the awesome drama. I could go on and on. Wrote an article for Ministry in the 80s, on GCT without using EGW. But God gave her much illumination as she tied all the Bible together, esp in the Conflict series. But her Signs articles are a gold mine. Joyful Christmas to you, Elaine. Cheers, Herb

Monte, I wholeheartedly agree with your prescriptive statements.  But there is no need to be a scold about those who were not prompted to an immediate verbal outpouring in response to your blog. Many find that words are quite inadequate in the face of tragedy and evil. And in this forum, words are all we have. I am bemused at how reflexively the Adventist Left, which prides itself on dissociating guilt and shame from the Church's message of Christ, defaults to those very same motivators in advancing its own gospel priorities.

Without in any way attempting to diminish the personal tragedy of those who have been the victims of random violence in overseas service, canonizing them as faith martyrs may do a disservice to those who have knowingly and deliberately exposed themselves to great risk for the cause of Christ.  Most SDA young people go to relatively safe, underserved areas for both adventure and service. They anticipate enriching their lives, not sacrificing them. They do not significantly alter their risks of torture or imprisonment by doing so. They do not belong in the same moral category as Christians serving and witnessing in Darfur, North Korea, China, Cuba, Muslim states, or other parts of the world where Christianity is brutally suppressed.

It is of course tempting, in an age that seems to produce so few characters of integrity and moral courage, to find moral significance in the deaths or injuries of innocent victims of random acts of violence. Whether or not an untimely death has transcendent moral significance has little impact on the enormous loss suffered by those who are personally touched by the tragedy. But we should be careful, in drawing moral lessons from tragedy, to maintain moral clarity and perspective. 

Monte, your prescriptive statements stand on their own.  Whether mission service during college actually bears fruit in terms of setting the trajectory of young lives, I do not know. It would be interesting to look at the Mormons' experience to see what impact we might expect from such service. I just don't see how the tragedies you recount lead to any particular moral conclusions, except to remind us of the ubiquitousness of evil. They simply don't intuitively strike me as "profiles in courage", much as I would like to find such meaning. By the way, my wife and I have done precisely what you recommend for some time, and my wife, as an educator, has gone on multiple mission trips with young people, including Jamaica, Africa, and Peru. Our daughters served in Malawi and Brazil, as well as tutored inner city kids, during college. 

On this Christmas eve, let me express appreciation, Monte, for stimulating thought, and trying to focus Christian priorities through your blogs. Let me also thank the commenters - particularly Statefarmsteve, my favorite interlocutor - for at least trying to keep me intellectually honest, and for challenging my faith. 

Nathan, The brutal repression of Christianity in China makes a good fund raising scam. Beyond that, from what I have seen and experienced over the past 6+ years, there's not much truth to it.

A very excellent book "Jesus in Beijing" written by David Aikman in 2003, gives a relatively recent report of Christianity in China. While it does document some oppression, it also documents some wild and wacky behavior by "Christians' including kidnapping and murder. 

Bibles are freely available. Churches meet without any oppression. I attended the public baptism of three friends a couple of years ago. In the old city of  Dali in Yunnan, on a main street, there is a church open daily. It includes a large reading room full of various Bibles, Gospel music, and Christian literature.

In another large city in central China, an elderly pastor showed me the baptistry built into the floor of his church.

People with an attitude who insist on adopting Western models of "church" may run into trouble. That's the fault of the "missionaries" who, eager to buff up their resume for a paid position back home, insist on worship models which are bound to lead to problems for their converts. If such situations  do exist and lead to problems, the missionary can return home as a persecuted victim for the gospel, perhaps drawing an even higher salary. The people in China whose lives he trashed? Aaah.

I'm unaware of any law in China which proscribes either Christian faith or informal, casual meetings for Christian fellowship. If such laws exist, at least here, they are not enforced.