SAME-SEX MARRIAGES
As a Bible-believing Seventh-day Adventist, I do not support same-sex marriages. But I must respectfully disagree with the news commentary, "Will Massachusetts Redefine Marriage for America?" by Mark A. Kellner (Mar. 2004).

It is evident that the author read neither the Massachusetts Supreme Court's opinion nor the Massachusetts Senate's bill that was overturned as unconstitutional.

Nowhere in the Supreme Court's opinion does it issue a "marriage, and nothing else" ultimatum as contended by the author. The Senate's Bill 2175 of 2003 relating to civil unions created a "separate but equal" classification of domestic relationships, marriage on the one hand and civil unions on the other. Bill 2175 recommends that those joined in "civil unions" be afforded the same rights, privileges, and responsibilities as those joined in "marriages." It was this "separate but equal" status that the Supreme Court objected to.

What the Supreme Court has in reality done is to nullify Bill 2175 and give the Senate three months to either ban same-sex unions outright or issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. This is now at the heart of the emotional debate in the Senate.

The Supreme Court is not a "super legislature." I hope the Senate will ban same-sex marriages, thus becoming the thirty-eighth state in the union to do so.

Michael B. Davis


The argument over gay marriages in Massachusetts seems to be a tempest in a teapot. "Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's; and unto God the things that are God's" (Matt. 22:21).

Marriage is a holy institution. The state has no power to make anything holy; only God can do that. The only thing the state can do is to create a civil union. We have been kidding ourselves by maintaining that the state can create a marriage. The definition of marriage differs from state to state. What states have done is to drag marriage down to the level of a civil union; no state legislates God's plan of marriage. We need to let the state do a civil union and the church do the marriage; this would eliminate a lot of problems.

Rodgers Brown

UZZAH'S STORY
I was interested to read the column about Uzzah's experience with the ark of the covenant ("He Only Tried to Help," Feb. 12, 2004). The writer says that all we know about the story is from the Bible. True, but how about the story as we have it from Ellen White? Do we not accept her as a prophet from God? Why not share what she has to say? The Review is for Seventh-day Adventists, is it not? Even though we have this wonderful resource, it's not being shared. Are we, no, is the writer ashamed to say we have a prophet who has given us some wonderful insights into this story?

I hope there is some explanation for the omission of this wonderful help in understanding this and many other issues.

Herb Butterfield
Sea Isle City, New Jersey


I was a little alarmed when reading "He Only Tried to Help." I have to disagree with God being described as a killer. God's qualities are the opposite of Satan's.

Of course, I don't know the exact truth (because I wasn't there), but the article missed mentioning what was happening behind the scenes--the great controversy. Perhaps the Lord would have spared Uzzah's life, but Satan wanted to kill God's beloved child so that we would have a warped image of God and thus serve Him out of fear instead of love.

While we have full knowledge of Satan's character, the generations living during the time of 2 Samuel didn't have a full Bible to read. I'm not sure that they knew who Satan was at the time.

While the absolute truth is unknown, we must attempt to show God's unconditional love to world. Jesus is the proof of the love God has for all of us. He isn't a "mess up and I'll strike you down" kind of God.

Salina Taylor

EVIDENCE . . . OF WHAT?
I was raised in a meat-eating Seventh-day Adventist family. Using modern science, my parents taught me the importance of a low-fat diet, no alcohol, no tobacco, no recreational drugs, regular exercise, and to use safety devices such as seatbelts, hearing protectors, safety-glasses, etc. I have absolutely no doubt that the combination of these things add significantly to the life expectancy and quality of life of many people.

However a quick read of the article, "Evidence for All to See" (Feb. 2004), would make one think that the vegetarian aspect is most important. It isn't. It is mainly the other components.

Seventh-day Adventists should rethink their approach to teaching a healthy lifestyle. Instead of promoting 1850s science, it should promote the most recent, solid material. The problems facing 1890s Americans were very different from those facing twenty-first century ones. Our kids are killing themselves with cars, not with coffee. Adults in North America are killing themselves with fat and tobacco, not with meat.

If Ellen White was alive today, I am sure she would be much more concerned about seatbelts than Coca-Cola. As an Emergency Medical Technician, I am.

Bevin R Brett
Brookline New Hampshire

CULTURE MATTERS
I'm happy for the article, "Culture Matters," written by Leslie Pollard (Feb. 2004). Adventists, although knowledgeable and literate on many subjects, do not discuss this matter enough. It's time to listen and discuss what confronts us. The face of the Adventist Church has changed. In fact, according to the latest statistics, we are growing in leaps and bounds outside North America. Let's learn to be tolerant of each other. We can learn much from every culture with which we interface.

Irene H. Ceesay, M.S.W.


I'm happy to read an article appealing for better cultural understanding in our church. Leslie Pollard brings the keys to view the world not as ethnocentric, but with a cosmopolitan manner of living. Three cheers and bravo.

Michel Kordas

REALLY RADICAL
I just read "Radical Christianity," by Skip Bell (Jan. 2, 2004). It is well written and heart warming; however, I am concerned about its emphasis.

It is true that there is disappointment that Jesus has not yet come, and a lessening of the sense of urgency that used to characterize our church. This is how it used to be: Truth required defense. Time was short. Urgency was woven into the fabric of our being. The end-time was clearly our focus. Preparation for translation occupied and shaped our vision.

One young person, remembering this, responded: "I am supposed to say that we exist to prepare the world for Jesus' second coming. But somehow that isn't moving me. It just doesn't fulfill a sense of cause or purpose."

The priorities offered for activism include the following: Equal treatment for all, education and freedom for all, care for the poor, heal wounds, protect the environment, worship God through His work in creation.

This is also expressed as: "The cause of Adventism is restoring the image of God in His creation in the here and now . . . . Preparation for the return of Christ has less to do with the time of His return than with the stewardship process of the earth, His creation, in the time we live among His creation."

I suspect that all Christian churches would subscribe to these concepts. But they are not Seventh-day Adventist priorities. Adventists need to, and do, subscribe to these things. After all, we live in this world. But our priority is to give a warning message to the world. We are to preach the three angels' messages. We are to uphold God's law in a lawless world. We must warn the world of a judgment that is almost finished. We worship God as the Creator by keeping holy His Sabbath day.

I am afraid that this article will tend to crystallize the "this world" mind-set in some. It is a collection of "politically correct" issues that are good in themselves, but are not the central thrust of our church. Would not our young people respond if we again emphasized eternal realities? I think so.

Hubert F. Sturges, M.D.
Woodland, California


I read with considerable interest the article, "Radical Christianity," by Skip Bell. I was particularly interested in his statement, "The cause of Adventism is restoring the image of God in His creation in the here and now."

God has granted to the Seventh-day Adventist Church a unique knowledge of the Scriptures, as well as technical knowledge and equipment for disseminating that information to many parts of the world. Great strides have been made, for which we praise Him. But whatever it was about Jesus that caused people to want to be with Him, and to follow Him by the thousands, must be something that most of us lack.

In light of Isaiah 60:1-3, where we are admonished to let the glory of the Lord shine forth from us to a people in "gross darkness," with the assurance that the Gentiles (those who are not now part of His chosen) will come to that light, what an impact would be made in the world if some 14 million Adventists were really endowed with His image. As we read in Christ's Object Lessons, "When the character of Christ shall be perfectly reproduced in His people, then He will come to claim them as His own" (p. 69). What a glorious harvest!

Addrian R. Beman
Lyons, New York

A KEEPER
I must confess that I do not read the Adventist Review from cover to cover, as many of your readers state. I usually choose the topics that appeal to me.

However, when I received the issue, "My God and I" (undated special issue), I admit that I did read it from cover to cover. I have a busy lifestyle, and I was blessed to learn how others in similar circumstances prioritize their devotional time. My thanks for all the enlightening articles.

Marie Kelly
Lawrenceville, Georgia