AT: Observations of a Black Seventh-day Adventist American

APF Board member and pastor Mark McCleary has recently begun writing for Adventist Today. His first article is titled, “Observations of a Black Seventh-day Adventist American.”

The themes in this portion stood out to me:

Christianity is not exempt from racism. It has absorbed racist norms, and the Christian church and its Adventist subculture offer a truncated version of Biblical egalitarianism. I am reminded of H. Richard Niebuhr’s book, Christ and Culture, where this noted Christian theologian and ethicist posits that the Christian Church is challenged to either emulate secular society’s elitism or model Christ’s kingdom.

Black SDA’s reacted to White SDA racism by accepting the latter’s suggestion to establish Regional Conferences in 1944. Since then, Black SDA’s have turned the other cheek, while White leadership has winked at the practice and impact of racism within the Church.

In my opinion, the nature of the comments people have made in reaction to his article point out the necessity of his voice and demonstrate how difficult it can be to foster positive and healthy dialogue online.

To improve online communication and to improve our understanding of racial issues, may we each be quick to listen and slow to speak (James 1:19).

See the complete article here.

Adventist History Podcast: Civil War, Part 1

Matthew Lucio, host of the Adventist History Podcast, recently posted an episode on the American Civil War (episode linkFacebook link).

Episode 19: The War Between the States

In this episode, we learn about how the new Seventh-day Adventist Church coped with the American Civil War.

An important part of the early story was an editorial James White wrote about the draft. I was glad to hear Lucio cover this aspect of the church’s struggle. One meaningful reaction against White’s argument — which was to follow the state’s orders because the moral blame lies on the government that commanded it — was someone who pointed out this was the exact logic the church was arguing against in the context of Sunday laws. Clearly, there were good reasons to oppose James’ early views on the topic.

The amount of debate demonstrates that there were mixed views in the early group about how Adventists should respond to war and the draft. However, the denomination’s official stance became clear:

May 17, 1865… While we thus cheerfully render to Caesar the things which the Scriptures show to be his, we are compelled to decline all participation in acts of war and bloodshed as being inconsistent with the duties enjoined upon us by our divine Master toward our enemies and toward all mankind.

(GC declaration quoted from Douglas Morgan, “The Beginnings of a Peace Church: Eschatology, Ethics, and Expedience in Seventh‐day Adventist Responses to the Civil War,”Andrews University Seminary Studies 45, no. 1 [Spring 2007]: 36.)

That this pronouncement was prescriptive and not entirely descriptive is most certainly true.

For more on Adventists and the Civil War, see these resources.

Adventist Author Using Kickstarter to Fund Book on Social Justice Advocate

Adventist author Debbonnaire Kovacs has launched a KickStarter campaign to fund a children’s book about John G. Fee.

Kovacs describes Fee:

Fee was an astonishing man for his time. In the 1850s, when race and slavery issues were heating to the boiling point that would set off the American Civil War, Fee was working hard to educate both black and white students, and both male and female (another taboo of his time) together. He was a staunch abolitionist, anti-racist, and anti-sexist–and he lived below the Mason-Dixon line that separated slave states from free states. He started a school and a church on a wooded ridge in central Kentucky, which have grown into world-famous Berea College, the Church of Christ, Union, nicknamed Union Church, a second church called First Christian Church, and ultimately, Berea, Kentucky, itself.

To learn more about both Fee and Kovacs’s campaign, click here.

Walla Walla University Opens Race and Ethnicity Studies Center

Walla Walla University has opened the Donald Blake Center for the Study of Race, Ethnicity, and Culture—named after one of the first black tenure-track faculty members to be hired by an Adventist college or university. The center will promote research through an annual conference, and encourage student involvement in matters of social justice.

The center also will offer pedagogy workshops on curriculum inclusiveness and multiculturalism, and it “will aim for excellence in thought, generosity in service, beauty in expression, and faith in God through the promotion of research, the provision of pedagogical resources, and the encouragement of student-led acts of service that relate to race, ethnicity, and culture.”

Read the full article in the Adventist Review.

In War-weary Colombia, Adventists Look Ahead to Post-Conflict Challenges

On March 30 of this year, both sides of the decades-long Colombian conflict (the Colombian government and the largest rebel group known as the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Columbia) “announced an agreed framework for [peace] talks aimed at ending the conflict.”

Around the same time, “A two-day peace forum held last month at the Adventist Church’s South Colombia headquarters in the capital, Bogotá”—and organized by Gabriel Villarreal, country director of Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) Colombia—“brought together religious leaders, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), academics, and others, to discuss strategies for supporting post-conflict reconciliation and rebuilding.” The International Religious Liberty Association and the Seventh-day Adventist Church supported the forum.

“The main goal of this forum was to develop a deeper understanding of the basic elements of the post-conflict phase in Colombia and the peace-building process,” explained Villarreal. He said the presentations focused on ways that NGOs and religious groups could contribute to peace efforts, while also helping to support vulnerable populations in Colombia. Villarreal said that, when peace comes, it is vital for the Adventist Church and ADRA Colombia to be prepared to make substantial contributions.

Read the full story from the Adventist News Network.

Unlocking Revelation and U.S. History

In church this past Sabbath, I listened to a sermon about the United States in biblical prophecy. The sermon was part of a prophecy series (Unlock/Unlocking Revelation) that is being preached across the Lake Union Conference, not just in our single congregation (Media: WNEM5MLive). I was told there are over 170 locations running the series simultaneously.

I like our local pastor. I respect him. My frustration with the sermon is not about him (I don’t believe he wrote the sermon). My frustration is about a very white-centric view of U.S. history. For context, the pastor is white, I’m white, and the majority of the small congregation is white (more so now than when we began attending three years ago).

After writing an initial draft of this blog post, I shared it with him so he could comment before I posted it. I’ve made a few revisions based on that hour-long conversation.

The basic theme of the sermon—and this is an overly simplified summary—was that the U.S. started as a good Christian nation, but now our laws are becoming bad, which is clear since we are losing our Christian freedoms. The breakdown of the family and laws that allow this were the key example of the current problems. Presumably this related to same-sex marriage, but this wasn’t stated outright. This degradation was paralleled with the second beast of Revelation 13, the one that has horns like a lamb but speaks like a dragon.

So what the sermon was really saying by describing a fall from good to bad was that slavery did not discredit the early great Christian version of America. The U.S. was still godly. But today U.S. laws don’t support a certain version of Christian ideals relating to the family, so now we’re falling. However, this disregards the generations of families in slavery who were ripped apart as they were bought and sold (more than 10 million ^arrived^ in the New World, plus those born here; besides all those who died or were killed while crossing the Atlantic). How’s that for “Christian family values”? The abuse of those families didn’t invalidate the great Christian start to this country, but gay marriage does?

If our biblical interpretation demands that we disregard the violent injustice experienced by millions of people, then based on the centrality of justice to God’s Word, I propose that we reconsider our interpretation, or at least add a bit of nuance.

If one accepts the overall Adventist understanding of Revelation 13, then I propose a simple alteration of the sermon’s message: understand both features (lamb-like horns and dragon-like speech) throughout its history instead of saying one was earlier and the other was later. That is, at its start the U.S. had an appearance of godliness (lamb-like appearance), but it spoke like a dragon (slaves not treated as humans, at best counted only as three-fifths human). Injustice in word and action despite a religious appearance have continued in different forms ever since, and these require a persistent critique. To this end, I shared a small book with the pastor—Howard Zinn’s A People’s History of the United States.

This approach is in line with early Adventist views (not that early is necessarily right or best, but merely demonstrates that my proposed interpretation is hardly novel). Adventist historian Doug Morgan writes about those Adventists:

Challenging the prevalent postmillennialist conception of the United States as an instrument of progress toward the millennium, they asserted that apocalyptic Scripture cast the Republic as a persecuting beast. They pointed to slavery and the Protestant establishment’s intolerant treatment of dissenters as evidence of the fulfillment of prophecy. (Adventism and the American Republic, 2001, p. 11).

After our conversation, the pastor decided his interpretation could have been kept in place while being supplemented with the admission that the ideals expressed in the nation’s founding documents are the key point while also admitting we have not done a good job of living up to those ideals.

This racial issue was my main disagreement with the way U.S history and God’s values were portrayed, but there were three other points that were less central to the sermon’s main arguments. First, and I don’t remember the exact wording, the violent entrance of Columbus and the conquistadors was greatly minimized (something like: they joined the people already here).

Second, yes the Bible says there will be persecution, but I’m frustrated when American Adventists accept the view that American Christians are being greatly persecuted today. Allowing gay and lesbian couples to marry is not persecuting Christians; Christians are still free to worship however we like. There is a difference between being persecuted and simply not being able to force one’s values or morals on others. We want our civil and religious freedoms, so let’s extend that concern to all others as well.

Third, the quick rise of U.S. power was described as a blessing from God. I cringe a bit when I hear this argument because I believe slavery was a key factor in our economic development. Later military dominance became another unjust tool for economic expansion. For starters, consider Smedley Butler,*John Perkins, or the case of the United Fruit Company in Guatemala (WikiGWU). To say that growth of the U.S. economy and our subsequent place of power in the world is simply because of God’s blessing is to sweep too much history under the rug.

In conclusion, if the Adventist interpretation of prophecy is correct, then surely it can be presented in balanced and meaningful ways that don’t (a) ignore gross injustices such as slavery and imperialism and (b) accept popular definitions of Christian victimization in the U.S. that ring hollow compared with true persecution seen in other times and also in other places today.

– – –

*My favorite Smedley quote: “I spent 33 years and four months in active military service and during that period I spent most of my time as a high class muscle man for Big Business, for Wall Street and the bankers. In short, I was a racketeer, a gangster for capitalism. I helped make Mexico and especially Tampico safe for American oil interests in 1914. I helped make Haiti and Cuba a decent place for the National City Bank boys to collect revenues in. I helped in the raping of half a dozen Central American republics for the benefit of Wall Street. I helped purify Nicaragua for the International Banking House of Brown Brothers in 1902–1912. I brought light to the Dominican Republic for the American sugar interests in 1916. I helped make Honduras right for the American fruit companies in 1903. In China in 1927 I helped see to it that Standard Oil went on its way unmolested. Looking back on it, I might have given Al Capone a few hints. The best he could do was to operate his racket in three districts. I operated on three continents.”

Adventists in Côte d’Ivoire Host Peace Summit Following Terrorist Attack

Five days after a jihadist attack at the seaside resort of Grand-Bassam, the National Forum of the Religious Confessions of Côte d’Ivoire hosted a peace summit on March 18, “calling for a unified response to violence carried out by Islamic extremists.” Representatives from many different faith backgrounds attended the summit, which was held at the Seventh-day Adventist Church’s West-Central African headquarters in the capital city of Abidjan.

The vice president of the National Islamic Council, Imam Mahamadou Dosso, read out a prepared statement that included:

No religion should lead somebody to kill his or her fellow beings. May God help us to overcome this evil.

Read the full story on the Adventist News Network.

Walla Walla University Peacemaking Week: Civil Discourse & Civil Rights

By Emily Muthersbaugh, Student Life Manager, Walla Walla University

This year, Walla Walla University’s sixth annual Peacemaking Weekend extended to a full week and focused on civil rights and civil discourse, promoting peaceful discussion and interaction during a politically charged time.

The week extended from January 18 to 23 and began with the national holiday celebrating the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in order to honor King’s commitment civil discourse and civil rights. Rising tension in the political landscape during this election year called for a continued discussion of issues particularly central to Dr. King’s work: civility.

Peacemaking Week began on Monday with WWU’s weekly campus-wide assembly called CommUnity. The program featured choral music, a video depicting the legacy of King, a singing of “We Shall Overcome”, and a presentation by Dr. Ricardo Graham, president of the Pacific Union Conference. Graham presented: “A King’s Dream.” Monday evening, WWU joined Whitman College and the Walla Walla community in a march to honor the life and legacy of MLK that extended from Whitman’s campus to the main plaza in downtown Walla Walla. The WWU choir performed gospel songs during the march.

On Tuesday of Peacemaking Week the Amnesty International Club served warm beverages and encouraged those passing by to take a moment and discuss a heated topic civilly with a stranger. The event “Peace Drinks” lasted three hours and received significant interest on campus. On Wednesday, the Social Work Club challenged the campus to engage in a day of intentional listening. They passed out pins with the phrase “The Future is Listening” on it and those who took the pins were asked to be more intentional about listening to others in conversation, rather than dominating discussion.

Walla Walla University’s David Bullock (chair of the Department of Communications and Languages) and Montgomery Buell (professor of history) delivered a presentation Thursday evening: “Making Peace with Uncivil Campaigns.” Bullock started the discussion by presenting about some of the least civil presidential campaigns in United States history and Buell discussed where the concept of “civil discourse” came from. There was significant interest from the audience in the topic as the current election is seen by many as more partisan than ever.

Friday evening continued the tradition of a candlelight vigil and march honoring lives lost in efforts to promote peace. The vigil began outside the University Church immediately following the vespers program and was led again by the Amnesty International Club. After a scripture reading and prayer, participants marched with candles around the perimeter of the campus, ending in the Student Activities Center where students practiced civil discourse in debate.

Saturday morning featured a panel discussion: “Making Peace with Uncivil Friends” where panelists considered how we can engage with each other more civilly every day, particularly when discussing controversial topics. Panel participants included Loren Dickenson, Brooklynn Larson, Cendra Clarke, Alden Thompson, and Emily Tillotson as moderator.

The Peacemaking Weekend Committee is now working in collaboration with the Chaplain’s Office, Martin Luther King Jr. Day Committee, and the Office of Diversity on preparations for next year’s Peacemaking Weekend, with a commitment to promoting ongoing peaceful discourse in the Walla Walla Valley.

Church responds to terrorist attack in Brussels

On March 22, the Adventist News Network put out two articles regarding the three coordinated bombings that took place in Brussels, Belgium that day. A statement from the EUD Public Relations department reported that no Adventist church members had been affected, but encouraged members to “draw close to all who are suffering, in these times of great anguish.”

On terrorism, the statement read:

Firm and unconditional is our condemnation of all acts of terror, violence and oppression. May weapons, hate and violence cease! No religion is responsible for terrorism. People are responsible for violence and terrorism. We are all brothers and sisters, children of one same Father.

See the full article here.

Seventh-day Adventist World Church President Ted Wilson also issued a statement in response to the the bombings:

Our hearts and prayers go out to the people of Brussels who have sustained terrible explosions causing death and destruction. One of those blasts was very near our Seventh-day Adventist headquarters for that region. I have prayed for the people of Belgium and for our church members who can be a spiritual strength to others in this very difficult time. We thank our youth for having encouraged many in the city,  including the police station, this last Sabbath on Global Youth Day....may our youth and members continue to provide Christ’s ministry of love and compassion  in Total Member Involvement during this traumatic situation. Today, during our General Conference committees, we will earnestly pray for the country of Belgium, our church members and the families affected by this terrible tragedy.

See original statement here.

Lincoln Peacemakers pledge 10,000 acts of peace toward worldwide effort

Chris Blake is an Associate Professor of English and Communication at Union College. He’s also the Chair of Lincoln’s Interfaith Peacemaking Coalition, an organization which—in celebration of their 30th anniversary—has pledged to lead their community in committing “10,000 acts of peace.” This goal was set in support of a ten-year international initiative, “One Billion Acts of Peace,” led by the PeaceJam Foundation. To learn more about PeaceJam, Lincoln’s peacemaking goal or their upcoming event, read the full article from the Lincoln Journal Star.

Renewed Heart Ministries Podcast

Pastor Herb Montgomery, through his ministry Renewed Heart Ministries, deals with many themes relevant to Adventist peacemakers. For starters, check out his recent podcast that draws on the notable work of Walter Wink -- Renouncing Rights (more podcasts).

His earlier series on nonviolence is quality as well: "The Active, Nonviolence of Jesus" – Part 1Part 2Part 3Part 4Part 5Part 6Part 7, Part 8, Part 9.

Contest: Name the New APF Podcast

The Adventist Peace Fellowship will soon launch a podcast, and it needs a name. What do you think would be a great name for it? Here's how the contest will run:

  1. Participants submit ideas via the APF Contact page.
  2. The deadline is Sunday, February 7, 2016.
  3. The APF Board of Directors will select the winning podcast name.
  4. The winner will receive a copy of Do Justice (Brown and Darby, 2015), and they will also be mentioned in the first podcast.

Thanks for sharing your creative ideas with us!

Walla Walla University—Peace Week 2016

Walla Walla University will be hosting another peacemaking week, which will coincide with Martin Luther King Jr Day (Jan. 18-23). See the flyer below for more details (and click here to read about WWU's 2015 peace week).

Screenshot (70)

You may also download the flyer -- Peacemaking_MLK Poster (PDF).

Jackson Calls for Support of Refugees

Pastor Dan Jackson, president of the Seventh-day Adventist denomination in North America, has released a strong statement calling for the support of refugees -- Adventists Respond to the Call to Care for Refugees (Huffington Post, 9 Dec 2015). Jackson begins by declaring, "To close the door to refugees cannot be an option."

Further down in the article, Jackson shares what the Adventist Church is doing:

The Seventh-day Adventist Church is responding and meeting the needs of refugees. The Adventist Development and Relief Agency, the humanitarian arm of the church has collected more than 25 tons of relief supplies in Macedonia for Syrian refugees. Here in the United States, our church has an established ministry that assists refugees seeking a better life for their families. Our Refugee Ministries team is ready to assist Syrian and Iraqi refugees.

Jackson's message addresses both terrorism and refugees:

Make no mistake, the Seventh-day Adventist Church in North America unequivocally condemns the terrorist actions of extremists that claimed innocent lives in Paris, Beirut, Iraq, Mali and other places around the world. We mourn with and pray for the families of all the victims of these senseless crimes against humanity.

Resorting to violence in the name of God or Allah is wrong.

But to deny innocent women, children, and men who are fleeing war, hunger, and disease refuge because of fear and prejudice is just as wrong.

To read the entire article on the Huffington Post, click here.

University Campaign to Counter Anti-Muslim Rhetoric

It has been brought to our attention that the editors of Sojourners have posted a signature campaign for students -- College Students of Faith Say 'No' to Falwell's Anti-Muslim Rhetoric. The post begins:

An alarming wave of Islamophobia is sweeping our nation, and we are troubled by the participation of Christians. Just last week, the president of Liberty University called for Christian students to carry guns to "end those Muslims before they walked in" and "teach them a lesson."

The campaign asks students to pledge the following:

We pledge to challenge Islamophobia whenever and wherever it occurs, including on our own campuses — to foster relationships with Muslims based on friendship and not fear, and to serve the common good by maintaining a firm commitment to racial and religious diversity.
To read the complete campaign description, click here. Adventist students are invited to sign the pledge if they support the campaign.

AR: Politicians or the Word of God?

Jarod Thomas has published a story in the Adventist Review that speaks to war in general and ISIS in particular--Courage to Set the Table (Nov 16). Thomas shares a striking sentence from his child's devotional: "Peace never comes through war." After recounting the story of Benhadad, Thomas turns to the present world:

It is not an easy thing to apply this story to our current predicament in the United States. With ISIS on the rise, and a multitude of refugees fleeing for stable countries, there is always concern that terror will creep in. But perhaps a greater concern is that politicians, jockeying for votes during a heated election cycle, are more influential in our thinking than the Word of God. When states in the “Bible Belt” begin closing their doors to some of the most needy and desperate people on the planet*—people who have nowhere else to turn—a greater crisis in the Western, Christian world begins to emerge. It is the grave concern of which Jesus warned us, stating that, “because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold (Matthew 24:12).” In the scope of eternity, the lack of Christ-like love in the heart of Jesus' professed followers is a greater problem than the threat of suicide bombers.

The entire article can be read here.

Sweeney Issues Statement on Cycle of Violence in the Middle East

On December 2, Ian Sweeney, president of Seventh-day Adventist Church in the UK & Ireland released the following statement about violence in Iraq and Syria.

A CALL TO END THE CYCLE OF VIOLENCE

2nd December 2015

The increasing levels of violence and numbers of displaced people resulting from atrocities in Iraq, Syria and other war torn parts of the world fill our hearts with sorrow. We stand in solidarity with those who have lost loved ones, livelihoods and homes. Our fervent prayers are with all those who suffer.

Today (2 December), the UK Parliament has voted for our armed forces to engage in air strikes in Syria. While there is full recognition that the issues surrounding the fight against terrorism are complex and nuanced, the Seventh-day Adventist Church is nevertheless committed to pursuing and exhibiting peace.

As a Church we express our grave concern about the ongoing violence in Syria which continues to bring loss of life, misery and suffering to innocent men, women and children and the displacement of some 3 million Syrians.

We call on all sides engaged in the Syrian conflict to cease military activities and resort to peaceful methods of resolving the conflict. It is our belief that dialogue and negotiations, however difficult, are preferable to violence and war.

While we understand that peace cannot be found in official statements, we will nevertheless seek to bring some measure of peace, wherever we can, to those whose lives have been touched by war.

The belief that violence should be repaid with violence is against our Christian biblical understanding and does not deliver the intended results. We endorse the sentiments of the late Dr Martin Luther King Jr when he said,

"The ultimate weakness of violence is that it is a descending spiral, begetting the very thing it seeks to destroy. Instead of diminishing evil, it multiplies it. Through violence you may murder the liar, but you cannot murder the lie, nor establish the truth. Through violence you may murder the hater, but you do not murder hate. In fact, violence merely increases hate. So it goes. Returning violence for violence multiplies violence, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that."

SEE ALSO: 2003 Adventist World Church statement on the War in Iraq. Pray for Paris, Pray for France.

ASRS Releases Statement on Refugee Crisis

The Adventist Society for Religious Studies (ASRS) recently released the following statement on the refugee crisis in the Middle East and Europe:

Statement on the Refugee Crisis Adventist Society for Religious Studies November 21, 2015

In light of the present refugee crisis engulfing the globe, we as a body of religion scholars who are committed to the full gospel of Jesus Christ who said, “I was a stranger and you took me in” (Matt. 25:38); and who take seriously the Word of God in Deut. 23:9 that we must not oppress the strangers “because we were strangers in the land of Egypt” (cf. Lev. 19:34), the Adventist Society of Religious Studies asserts the following:

  • As sojourners and pilgrims ourselves, we recognize that we are all expatriates who have been called to manifest the principles of God’s eternal kingdom in all of our decisions.
  • As people with patriotic sympathies, we understand the power of the type of fear that saps human compassion, but we believe that we ought to always practice the perfect love that casts out all fear.
  • As creatures of national cultures, we acknowledge that we are comfortable with the familiar; however, our commitment to Christ compels us to reject xenophobia, outright racism and competitive religious extremism.
  • As members of the human family, we accept all men and women as our siblings, regardless of their religious confession or country of origin.
  • As followers of Christ, we will be the Good Samaritan to the victims of war; we will willingly clothe the naked, feed the hungry, care for the sick, visit the imprisoned and receive the refugee. We invite others to do the same.