ATSS

30 October 2024  | Without the court-protected, faith-based, healthcare corporations of modern America, our healthcare non-system would collapse. So how do faith-based healthcare corporations manage the necessary conflicts between their religion’s doctrinal stance and caring for a diverse public? Since Roe v. Wade was overturned, a new era of approaching women’s reproductive rights and health […]

23 October 2024  | “As the pessimism and despair of Orthodoxy fades away, like the darkness before the rising sun, it leaves us in a world containing a nobler religion, a grander God, a more hopeful man, a more comprehensive Bible, a better Church, and a more inspiring destiny.” So wrote the Rev. Minot Savage, […]

17 October 2024  | At least in the United States, church and state are held separately to prevent the interjection of the government into the free exercise of religion. However, does that mean the church is to remain neutral in all matters of politics? We will explore some of the historical episodes of the Adventist […]

9 October 2024  | When people look at a photograph, they may accept what they see at face value. But if a person is a photographer, many issues come to mind: a particular angle or perspective was chosen; some things in the picture may be in focus, while others are not; the picture may be […]

1 October 2024  | The disciples asked Jesus, “Whose sin caused the man to be born blind – his or his parents?” (John 9.1-12).  On another occasion, Jesus asked the disciples whether a tower fell and killed eighteen people because they were more sinful than themselves (Luke 13.1-5).  Jesus asked whether one should do good […]

18 September 2024  | Many people do not consider the book of Jonah worthy of serious attention. It might provide wonderful images for use in children’s Bibles—a huge fish swallowing and then regurgitating a prophet fascinates everybody—but this simply underlines that the book cannot be taken seriously. Those who pass that kind of judgment are […]

11 September 2024  | In Romans chapter 9 Paul talks about various Old Testament individuals and how God chose to use them for his purposes. This chapter makes it sound like God has predestined certain individuals to play specific roles in history, with no choice on their part. This led theologians such as John Calvin […]

28 August 2024  | That Adventist doctrines have developed to some degree over time is obvious and widely accepted. Less agreement exists regarding the quality, extent, and timing of these changes. There are several widespread notions and hypotheses—advanced in the past by leading Adventists—in this regard that do not stand up to the historical facts, […]

28 August 2024  | You and I are concerned about our personal reputation. What do people think of us? Are we making a good impression? Are we thought trustworthy, wise, and likable by others? But we should also be be concerned about God’s reputation, as reflected in us and our church. It’s not hard to […]

21 August 2024  | Given all we have learned in the last half century (from 1970 until now) about Ellen White’s writings—how they were written, what sources she used, how they were edited and compiled, and how she and the church explained and defended her inspiration—how might our Fundamental Belief on the gift of prophecy […]

14 August 2024  | In this class I will use scripture both to make a critique of leadership as it is in Adventist life, and to set forth a better way. I will discuss how Christian leadership matters by using James Davison Hunter’s Democracy and Solidarity: On the Cultural Roots of the American Political Crisis, […]

31 July 2024  | What does getting older mean? What is ahead: burdens or blessings? Length of life or quality of life? A time for growth and exploration Putting your house in order Living with hope. Teacher: Reinder Bruinsma lives in the Netherlands with his wife, Aafje. He has served the Adventist Church in various […]