WILLIAM G. JOHNSSON

hat concerns do Review readers have on their minds as they write to us in a never- ending stream by e-mail and regular mail? Here are three areas that surfaced in recent weeks.

I don't understand why the Review would waste space on articles dealing with nudity and Sabbath observance. We all know the answers to these questions.
Several correspondents raised this matter. They have in mind articles by Ed Christian that appeared in our February 20 and March 20 issues ("So What About Sabbath Pleasures?" and "Is It OK for Christians to Be Nudists?").

Ed's column runs in the Cutting Edge Edition, the third issue of the Review each month (remember, the Review comes out weekly), which focuses on young people and young adults. He calls it Tales From State U, and in it he shares experiences from his classes at Kutztown University of Pennsylvania. Ed teaches in the English Department, but by offering the Bible as literature he is able to introduce college men and women to the Scriptures. And they pack in to learn from him.

Picture it: a secular campus, but eager young minds working through the Bible text, even discussing the Sabbath and how we should keep it today. I think what Ed is doing is wonderful and an example for all Adventists.

Most readers of the Review aren't asking questions about nudity, but young people in Ed's classes are. His column can instruct all of us, however: it shows us how to interest young people in the Bible.

Why didn't the Review take a strong stand supporting the war in Iraq? Saddam Hussein was an evil man, and you should not have kept silent. Why didn't you give greater coverage to the Adventist soldiers in the war?
I had no love for Saddam Hussein, who was a thug and a dictator. But the Adventist Review is the church paper for Seventh-day Adventists everywhere, not just for those in the United States, Britain, or Australia, the countries that came together to fight against Saddam Hussein. Our church has members in Iraq itself, with a congregation of about 200 in Baghdad.

Further, Adventists did not agree on this war. We received articles advocating involvement in the war and others advocating participation in demonstrations against the war. Feelings ran high in these materials.

We could have stirred up a great deal of controversy by publishing these articles. But the Review is not about controversy. The world is polarized, and the devil would polarize the church, too. As the paper for the worldwide Adventist family the Review seeks to build unity, so we refrained from taking a stand pro or con.

We salute the Adventist men and women of the military who put their lives on the line in Iraq. We respect their conscience and thank them for their service. At the same time we felt the need to reaffirm to Adventists everywhere that the position of our church, going right back to Ellen and James White at the time of the Civil War, is cooperation with the authorities through a noncombatant role.

Why do you spoil the Review by using cartoon illustrations like the "When Shepherds Become Wolves" cover?
The Adventist Review is blessed with outstanding designers. Bill Tymeson and Bill Kirstein are professionals, but more-they love the Lord and His church, and give their best to make the church paper look the best. Their work is frequently recognized by awards from the Associated Church Press.

Every issue of the Adventist Review begins with a cover committee, where editors and designers pray and plan together for the most effective protrayal of our message. We want the Review to be beautiful and uplifting; and we want it to be read.

I myself prefer photography, but literal photography does not always "work." This is especially the case when we seek to portray an abstract subject. The cover for "When Shepherds Become Wolves" (Feb. 27) isn't a cartoon treatment: it employs a photo of the Bible and a mask as a thematic graphic.

When the cover committee decides that an illustration will work best to convey the theme, the designers select an illustrator.

Other Adventist magazines, such as Liberty and Ministry, use such illustrations from time to time. As, of course, do the journalistic "biggies," such as Time and Newsweek.

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WILLIAM G. JOHNSSON, is the editor of the Adventist Review.