POWER FOR FAMILIES
"Stepping In: The Positive Power of Step Families" (Sept. 19, 2002) was a magnificent description of the right way to join a family already in progress.

I am an attorney who spends all day, every day, with people at various stages of the circumstance described by Janelle Brazington; but precious few of them have any clue about how to succeed. I intend to share this article with them.

Douglas Herdman
Dayton, Ohio

BACK TO CENTER
The article by George S. Stevens ("Law and Grace," Sept. 12, 2002) was long overdue. For too long we have trained our guns on our right flank in an effort to expunge every last vestige of legalism (or what we thought was legalism) from among our ranks. In the meantime, the enemy has been pouring in from the other flank and meeting little resistance.

Stevens' article is a fresh return to balance, and a corrective to past excesses on both sides. Please make this the start of a new trend in the Review.

David Qualls
Tulsa, Oklahoma

In regards to Stevens' article, "Law and Grace," Has the pendulum swung too far in the Adventist Church?

Good points but wrong question. I prefer speaking of a "covenant of grace" that recognizes, as Paul did in Titus 2: 11,12: "For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age" (NASB).

The same grace that saves also instructs. Yet we tend to not keep each aspect of grace in its proper bounds, so we begin to think they are enemies. That's why it's so essential to distinguish our standing in grace (justification) with our growth in grace (sanctification). While "different" graces, they can never be separated except to the church's universal peril.

Consider Luther's commentary on Galatians 5:15: "It is a hard and dangerous matter to teach we are made righteous by faith without works, and yet to require works withal. Here except the ministers of Christ be faithful and wise disposers of the mysteries of God, rightly dividing the word of truth, faith and works are by and by confounded. Both these doctrines, as well of faith as of works, must be diligently taught and urged; and yet so that both may remain within their bounds. Otherwise if they teach works only, as they do in the Pope's kingdom, then faith is lost. If faith only be taught, then carnal men by and by dream that works be not needful."

Perhaps a better question is Paul's in Rom.3:31: "Do we make void the law through faith?" God forbid!

However, neither are we justified by it, except as we receive it by faith in Christ's perfect obedience to the law in our behalf.

Pat Travis, M.Div.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT
The article, "A Baby, A Vitamin, and A Choice" (Sept. 12, 2002), is, in my view, a shameful attempt by the Adventist Church to insulate themselves from legal action. The article goes out of its way to discredit a vegan diet, even though Ellen White affirmed it, over and over, as the ideal diet. She wrote in The Ministry of Healing, "Grains, fruits, nuts, and vegetables constitute the diet chosen for us by our Creator" (p. 296). Again, on page 297, "Nature's abundant supply of fruits, nuts, and grains is ample, and year by year the products of all lands are more generally distributed to all, by the increased facilities for transportation." Still more, on page 298: "When properly prepared, olives, like nuts, supply the place of butter and flesh meats."

Even when Mrs. White mentioned adding milk and eggs to the diet, she did not treat them as the ideal. On page 320 of The Ministry of Healing, she wrote, "Those who live in new countries or in poverty-stricken districts, where fruits and nuts are scarce, should not be urged to exclude milk and eggs from their dietary." I take the preceding to mean that those who have the economic means and to whom fruits and nuts are available should exclude milk and eggs; and very few of us can say we live in "new countries or poverty-stricken districts" where fruit and nuts are not in wide availability. Continuing on pages 320 and 321, White further stated her conviction that milk and eggs are not part of the ideal diet. "As disease in animals increases, the use of milk and eggs will become more and more unsafe. An effort should be made to supply their place with other things that are healthful and inexpensive. The people everywhere should be taught how to cook without milk and eggs, so far as possible, and yet have their food wholesome and palatable."

This does not sound to me like a person who suggests a lacto-ovo vegetarian as the ideal. Furthermore, White suggested in her writings that if one can't be assured that their milk and eggs are safe, that person should avoid those products. Although government agencies and laws attempt to provide us with safe foods, there is no guarantee of safety; indeed, controversy surrounds growth hormones fed to milk cows and antibiotics given to chickens that make their way into those foods.

There are also ethical issues. One reason White favored eliminating meat from the diet is the ethical dilemma of harming animals for food. In modern days, we understand this ethical issue to include domestic animals that provide milk and eggs. One can't have milk and eggs without harming cattle and chickens in our modern factory methods of providing those products. It is not a stretch to interpret White's writings as suggesting a vegan diet.

It is not at all clear to me, as the writers of this article suggests, that White recommended a lacto-ovo vegetarian diet. A diet of whole grains, fruits, vegetables, and plant-based oils is what she held up as the ideal diet. This can be seen over and over in her writings.

Though the death of the infant in New Zealand is a tragedy that may have been avoided, I think we can do better than painting that child's parents as ignorant and irresponsible like the Review article does. Those parents could have come to their beliefs from a reasonable interpretation of White's writings, the very same writings the Review uses to condemn them. I am ashamed.

Carolyn Parsons
Renton, Washington

I would like to add my voice to what I hope is a groundswell of support for Dr. Handysides and his colleagues for dealing in a definitive way with a serious issue. I hope every Seventh-day Adventist dietitian will write to support the General Conference Health Ministries Department for this courageous stand.

Too often I have heard individuals, frequently those without education or training in the field of nutrition, take statements from Ellen White out of context and twist them to mean nearly the opposite of what she was saying. The church at large definitely needs leadership in this area, and Drs. Handysides, Kuntaraf, and Landless, along with Stoy Proctor, have provided that clear voice. Thank you.

Connie I. Dahlke, R.D.
Napa, California

BAPTISM FOR THE DEAD
I'm writing about Angel Rodriguez' column about "Baptism For The Dead" (Sept. 12, 2002). Allow me to expand on what Rodriguez wrote and provide additional insight about 1 Corinthians 15:29.

My favored understanding of this text is based partly on something Pastor Rodriguez wrote: "In 1 Corinthians 15 Paul deals with the reality of Christ's resurrection in order to reaffirm the Christian teaching of the resurrection of the dead. The surrounding verses discuss the implications of denying the resurrection." That explanation is beautiful and elegant in its simplicity.

In my Bible, next to 1 Corinthians 15:29, I wrote a reference to Romans 6:3: "Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?"

My proposition is that by looking closely also at the verse preceding 1 Corinthians 15:29 (verse 28), Paul is pulling us into seeing that this is a Christ centered issue. Paul is talking about Jesus. We can surmise that if we "were baptized into Jesus Christ we were baptized into his death." So it follows that "Else what shall they do which are baptized for [Christ] the dead, if the dead rise not at all [if Christ is not resurrected]? Why are they then baptized for [Christ] the dead [who now lives]?"

This, in my view, is what Paul wanted to tell us: that we are baptized into the death of Christ, Who is now resurrected. It is lamentable indeed when other religious groups attempt to extract from a single verse a doctrine that is not Christ-centered. All true Christian doctrines properly understood and properly taught must point us directly to Christ.

Jason Livanos

ONE YEAR LATER
William Johnsson's fine article, "One Year Along" (Sept., 2002), told the story of Jorge Velasquez, killed in the World Trade Center attack. The photo you used on page 19 depicted Velasquez standing next to a man identified only as his boss. It might be of interest to readers to know Velasquez' boss was Rick Rescorla, distinguished war veteran and chief of security for Morgan Stanley, who also died that day. Survivors recall that Rescorla bouyed their spirits by singing while leading them down smoke-filled stairwells.

Rescorla was recommended for the Presidential Medal of Freedom for his actions on September 11. To set the record straight, it was Rescorla who shepherded virtually every one of Morgan Stanley's 2,700 employees down to safety from the forty-fourth to seventy-fourth floors of the south tower. There is no way to exaggerate the number of lives he saved that day. Those who have read the full account agree that not just the Morgan Stanley employees, but every single survivor from the floors above theirs owes a debt to Rescorla. By now there are countless articles on his life and actions that day. Washington Post critic Jonathan Yardley encourages further reading: "[Rescorla's] story has been told a number of times since that ghastly day, perhaps most movingly by Michael Grunwald in this newspaper. But James B. Stewart's Heart of a Soldier: A Story of Love, Heroism and September 11 (Simon & Schuster, $24) is by far the fullest account to date of this remarkable man and his remarkable life."

In Vietnam, it is said, the men in his platoon would have followed Rescorla in an assault upon the gates of hell, for he did not order, he led. Velasquez' heroism on September 11 is beyond argument, but to picture Rescorla with no more than an anonymous mention of him as Velasquez' boss does a disservice to the incredibly brave and selfless man who inspired such heroism in those who came under his command.

Those who read Rescorla's story will not doubt that he was the primary inspiration for men like Velasquez who followed him back into the tower to rescue others. Brigadier General Glenn Rieth, Adjutant General of New Jersey, summed it up well in a memorial service for Rescorla: "Who among us today, after reflecting on the life of Rick, is not moved to be a better husband, a better father, a better soldier and yes, a better American?"

Another detail: the photo, taken by Peter Arnett, on the cover of We Were Soldiers Once, and Young is of a young Lieutenant Rescorla urging his men on during the battle of the Ia Drang Valley--action for which he won medals. Entering the name "Rick Rescorla" into Google or any other internet search engine will turn up many links where readers may learn more of his extraordinary story.

Dennis Crews

I fear that early September will never be a happy time for me. Remembering the terrorist attacks of a year ago is not easy, nor will it or should it be. I find comfort in hearing messages of hope and peace on Sabbath mornings. I also find solace in reading inspiring stories in publications such as Adventist Review. It is heartening to read of how so many Adventists have directly helped America and Americans recover.

However, part of the story is missing, and I find this omission troubling. While the United States mourned its loss of many Americans, I'm sure some Adventists faced the grim reality that they were going to war. Although it is not accepted practice for Adventists to join the armed forces, some do. Last October, when the war in Afghanistan began, fellow believers stood in harm's way to bring justice to those who had attacked the United States and to prevent such attacks from happening again.

While applauding the efforts of those who have assisted here at home, let us not forget those who are far away from home, doing their part.

Jean-André Parmiter

YES, KIDS!
Kudos to the editorial staff! In my 52 years of reading the Review no issue has brought the [same] excitement and joy as Kidsview (undated special issue). This new approach to our children will surely have its good effect. God must be standing in the shadows--smiling.

Gus Brodeur
Loma Linda, California

Thank you for your service that keeps us informed.

Lyimo Innocent Mtafiti
Morogoro, Tanzania