Bill Knott's excellent article on the tragic fate of
Japanese-American internees during World War Two,
(Prisoners of Hope, September 28, 2000) deserves to be
read by all Adventists, regardless of ethnicity or nationality.
It is instructive to Americans of all races, for it
reminds us that as eloquent as the stirring words of
our Constitution are, they are of no force where
people lack the will to live up to them. In peacetime,
its requirements are easy to comply with. But in times
of hardship, pestilence, and war, we must be
determined to live up to the requirements of the law,
regardless of how "inconvenient" they may seem.
The article is of value to all Adventists, even non-Americans, because it reminds us of our higher calling
as people who choose to "stand for the right though
the heavens fall," to use Ellen G. White's words. We
as Adventists do well when it comes to standing up for
religious liberty issues, Sabbath employment problems,
union membership problems, etc.
But what of all the other issues? Have we been at the
forefront on issues of race reconciliation, literacy,
homelessness, fighting tobacco? We could, and should,
do more. Perhaps not as an official denomination. Yet
our members, in the tradition of the Old Testament
prophets, should number among those eager to see that
the vulnerable are protected and the needy are
attended to.
My husband, David, serves in the Legislature with
Representative Barbara Marumoto, who "at the
invitation of the U.S. government camped with her
family" in a California desert. When the bill was
signed into law giving her $20,000 as a surviving
internee, she gave every penny of it to charitable
causes. For her it was not about the money but about justice.
Polls show that Adventists are recognized and lauded
for our vegetarianism, our faithful observance of
Sabbath on Saturdays, and for our vast hospital
system and health work. Would that we were also known
for our unshakeable commitment to social justice.
Noemi Pendleton
Kailua, Hawaii
VATICAN STATEMENT
Thank you for keeping us informed about the Vatican
statement on primacy among Christian churches (Vatican
Declaration Receives "Not New" Comment From
Adventists, October 12, Newsbreak).
In writing questions in to Fr. Ken Ryan of Catholic
Digest I learned that the Roman Catholic position is
that only Catholics can participate in the New
Covenant because the New Covenant is confined to the
Catholic mass. This does not mean that Catholics think
Protestants must all go to hell. Rather they think we
can get in through some "extraordinary means" that is
set up by God outside of the New Covenant mentioned in
scripture.
It is no wonder that in light of the importance of the
Catholic mass, and the literal creation of Son of God
during the mass by the Catholic priest, the Catholic
church would have to be considered by its members as
supreme, as you have noted in your article.
While Adventists may consider the Seventh-day
Adventist Church to be the remnant church, we would
differ from Roman Catholics in that we do not limit
the New Covenant to Adventists. Instead we freely
declare that God saves all men who will accept His
offer of salvation under the New Covenant available to
all, Adventist or not.
Bob Strom
SABBATH AND PUBLIC LIFE
I believe Seventh-day Adventist outside the church are generally considered
people of principle. Sabbath keeping as our name suggest is one of our primary
principles ("The Sabbath and Public Life," September 14).
Standing for principles is more than following a
checklist of things you can or can't not do on the
Sabbath, but the list can be helpful. The fourth
commandment is sort of a checklist, but obviously
more than that. The challenge in Sabbath keeping
principles is dealing with issues that are not easily
catalogued. Is doing good on the Sabbath fixing a flat
of a stranded senior citizen or cutting the lawn of
that same senior citizen? I find it difficult to be
critical or judge a Seventh-day Adventist public
servant who compromises Sabbath keeping principles in
discharging their public responsibility. However,
forgive me if I'm disappointed in the example. Let's
pray for more Daniels and Josephs.
Ricardo Rodriguez
Missouri City, Texas
It was really great to look up and be able to read
your magazine all on my own. The above article was
good reading but I would like you to introduce one
more person to your list of examples of heads of
state--Sir James Carlisle, Governor General of Antigua
and Barbuda West Indies. It would be interesting to
know how many other readers inform you of other
Adventist heads of states out there.
Carol Boyd-Scobie
William Johnsson mentioned that there are three Adventists serving in the U.S.
House of Representatives. I am a Seventh-day Adventist young adult and didn't
know that there were any Adventists in such high public office. Who are these
representatives? This is of particular interest to me, because I believe that
we should be involved in our communites.
I appreciated Johnnsson's editorial overall. Indeed, being persons of principle
is of utmost importance in those seeking to serve in the public arena, Sabbath
being one example of an area of principle. "Selling out" because it is easier
is not the witness of a Daniel or a Joseph. Thanks for the thoughts.
Anita Byers
Portland, Oregon
The Adventist representatives in the U.S. Congress are Roscoe Bartlett,
Maryland; Sheila Jackson Lee, Texas, and Robert Stump, Arizona.
IF I WERE THE DEVIL
George Knight's article, "If I Were the Devil," was the best. Finally, someone
willing to stop playing the games we play and to tell it like it really is.
Bravo!! How do we contact this man?
Pam Armando Whitted
Woodbridge, California
George Knight is a professor of church history at Andrews University in
Berrien Springs, Michigan.
RUDYESQUE
I was quite appalled to see the article "Rudyesque" in
the Adventist Review, Sept. 28, 2000 issue by Kimberly
Maran. What is the purpose of printing this article? I
do not see any thing except it is a tacit approval of
trashy TV watching wasting hour after hour. Even the
secular people are advocating not to watch TV so as to
use the time more constructively. This "respectful"
Christian magazine is telling the public that the
editors watch TV, and giving the message to
its fellow Christians that it is "ok" to watch TV.
What a shameful article you have to publish in such a
precious limited magazine space!
Won H. Bae
Marlboro, Massachusetts
While I don't disagree with the point made at the conclusion of Kimberly Maran's
article, I'm still surprised that a Christian would become "hooked" on a television
program showing people who "connive and lie." The article's extensive footnotes
gave me more review than I ever expected from the Review! Nevertheless, I will
continue to pass up opportunities to view similar programming in favor of outstanding
articles in our church paper. You're doing an wonderful job!
Linda Whicker
Mooresville, North Carolina
In the on-line "Rudyesque"
sub-heading I read, "ex-Navy Seal becomes national cult hero"
and decided that should be interesting reading. What a disappointment to find
it is a Review editor critique of a popular TV series that Christians
should find unacceptable. And the article can only be fully understood by someone
who has seen the "Survivor" series - which I haven't.
Why not leave this for the tabloids and use precious Review space for uplifting
material. A young person reading "Rudyesque"
may very well have a desire to see other such programs in the future. This is
enough of a temptation without promoting it in the Review. We also get the weekly
Printed Review and appreciate it very much; but please don't put this artice
in it.
Stan McCluskey
Naches, Washington
CLOSED BANKS
My mother just informed me that you reprinted "The Day The Banks Closed", in
the August 31, 2000 issue. We have that in our file from the 1971 issue and
have used it several times. I am in New Zealand now, but run an extensive mailing
list to people all over the world, a lot of whom would not be getting the Review
(like myself).
I have just sent the URL [web address] to them so they can read the article.
However, I expect to get some requests for the text of the article in an E-mail
itself, as some people cannot access the Web. Could you send me the article
in E-mail form so that I can share it with my E-mail friends? I would certainly
appreciate it if I could. I couldn't copy it from the web site...
Rosalie Wainwright
Palmerston North, New Zealand
Anyone can get can obtain an e-mail copy of current articles on the web
site by simply going to the particular article, clicking on the "e-mail this
article" icon, and e-mailing the article to yourself.
ONLY TRUE CHRISTIANS?
Richard O'Ffill [Are Adventists the Only True
Christians, September NAD edition] pointed out the
biggest problem with the Adventist Church identity,
somehow considering ourselves a church in the same
sense as the Roman Catholic Church, the Greek Orthodox
Church, Lutheran Church, and so on. The devil could
not have done better to hinder the spread of the
message that this world's time is at the end than to
make Adventists believe and behave as if they were
indeed a new church in opposition to all the others.
The sooner we come back to the idea that the Adventist
organization is just the messenger of a specific
message to the world within the context of
Christianity, the more we concentrate on the job
specifically entrusted to us, the sooner and better we
shall accomplish the task.
George Selivanoff
Professor of Economics
La Sierra University
Riverside, California
I have to say that this was an excellent article on the subject, and I agree
with it wholeheartedly. It is interesting that we are reaffirming what our stance
is on this subject at this time, when the Roman Catholic Church has just issued
a statement which was in world news this week, that they are the only true church,
and unless we belong to her communion in some way, we cannot have salvation.
She claims to be the mother church and those communions who left and formed
the Protestant churches are defective and cannot be called "sister-churches."
It is unfortunate that the Vatican issued this declaration, because it blatantly
fulfills Revelation 17:5, and should help the people in these churches to wake
up to the fact that they are being classified as the offspring of Babylon, and
should cause them to make a total separation.
Shelley Senner
