“Married,
but Alone on the Sabbath” (Nov. 21, 2013), Katherine Carey’s article about
living with an unbelieving spouse, brought back vivid memories of my childhood.
My mom, brother, and I felt a stigma because my father was not an Adventist and
we children did not attend church school.
However, we were blessed to belong to a
loving and inclusive congregation where we were made to feel as important to
the church family as if there had not been a husband/father missing when we
went to church and church events. Instead, those precious times were oases in
our lives with an unbeliever who was also abusive.
I can say with certainty that I would not be
an active member of the church today had it not been for the love, acceptance,
and encouragement I received from the saints in the Grand Prairie, Texas,
church.
Carey made an important point about compromise.
There will necessarily be areas where the family of an unbeliever must
compromise in order to make home as pleasant and peaceful as possible, and that
means different things in each family, and for each member of the family. No
one has the right to judge families that are forced to adapt to circumstances
that are far from ideal. Instead, we should do all we can to make time at
church a loving and accepting experience for the parent and each child who
attends.
–Carla Baker
Laurel, Maryland
Thank
you for the excellent articles “1888: What happened? And why should you care
125 years later?” (Oct. 10, 2013) and “What on Earth Happened in 1844?” (Oct.
17, 2014); pertinent articles to help our people understand the history of the church
and some of these important issues.
I also commend Kim Peckham for “Growing up
with Guide” (Oct. 24, 2013). When I was elected as an associate Youth director
of the General Conference in 1970, John Hancock gave me the Junior Ministry of
our church, and I had the privilege to work with Pathfinders and camping.
Lowell Litten and Penny Estes-Wheeler gave me free access to the magazine, and
we were able to communicate with our young people. Quite often I still stumble
across articles and stories that I hope inspired our young people to serve and
love the Lord.
A lot of things have changed, but juniors are
still eager to read good stories. Just recently I was contacted to reprint a
story about seven dogs that happened to my wife’s grandfather! Congratulations,
Guide and the new staff for the good job! As my wife said, “Guide is obviously
a kind of child evangelism.” Let’s continue to lead our boys and girls to
Jesus!
–Leo Ranzolin
Estero, Florida
I’ve
just read the October 10, 2013, Adventist
Review. I am deeply impressed. This edition is a solid balance, captures
the essence of many opinions and perspectives (personal, theological,
prophetic) on this topic, and is wonderfully closed by Lael Caesar’s warning
against “disunity” in “The Genius of Disunity” as being a danger greater than
heresy to the overriding theme of Christ Our Righteousness for current
Seventh-day Adventist identity and mission.
Well done. I am humbled, and deeply
appreciated both the breadth and brevity of scholarly/biblical counsel about
current disunity over the themes of “final generation” theology, “universal
legal justification,” and the “nature of Christ.”
I found my heart “strangely warmed” at the
respectful prose that captured the various perspectives portrayed. Having
studied most of the supportive references quoted by all the authors noted, and
being acquainted with several personally, it is my conviction that this issue
of the Review was blessed by the Holy
Spirit from topic, design, execution, and now, through delivery.
May Jesus increase, and may we each decrease
in our corporate pride; bending our ego as easily as the knee at this final
moment when poised on eternity’s door.
–Jay Neil, Jr.
Via E-mail
Congratulations!
Great job on the new and modern look of Adventist Review on-line. The articles
are timely and a great source of global information appropriate for sharing.
I
am not on social media so you will not see my “tweets” or Facebook page, but I
enjoy every word of Adventist Review. Success and blessings.
–A. O. Shaw
Takoma Park, Maryland
