24 July 2022 | Despite the traditional interpretation of a scattering of “clobber texts” that are assumed to prohibit gender nonconformity and same-sex sexual relationships, the Bible gives little to no direct guidance about how LGBTQ+ individuals should be treated by believers, and certainly does not support condemning such individuals as sinful. From New Testament […]
23 June 2022 | When famous Swedish chef Niklas Peter Ekstedt, whose greatest passions are food and health, visited Loma Linda, he was very impressed by the longevity of Adventist centenarians and even with our vegetarian dishes. However, when leaving the town he said that Loma Linda as a town was “pretty boring.” All he […]
17 June 2022 | Introduction by Mathilde Frey. The story of Cain and Abel has been invoked in the wake of mass shootings numerous times. “Cain killed Abel with a rock, and God did not take away the rock.” Yes, I have seen the billboards and the memes, and I heard this message after every mass […]
15 June 2022 | Why and how do people change their minds? Why do we forget important things and remember trivial ones? Do we remember events as accurately as we think we do? How come two people can be equally confident of different memories of the same event? And regarding prophecy, how do our minds […]
8 June 2022 | Many Adventists who identify themselves as progressive wonder if they are delusional in dreaming of a more thoughtful and open-minded church—perhaps, especially, after a week like this one when we’ve watched the top body of our church trying to chart a way forward. In this class, Dr. Charles Scriven will make […]
6 June 2022 | The Christian church is in trouble, in particular in the Western world. Many denominations see their membership decrease and experience an exodus of the younger generations. Postmoderns may still have an interest in spirituality, but they turn away from institutional Christianity. Current trends also affect the Seventh-day Adventist Church. While the […]
25 May 2022 | The Christian church is in trouble, in particular in the Western world. Many denominations see their membership decrease and experience an exodus of the younger generations. Postmoderns may still have an interest in spirituality, but they turn away from institutional Christianity. Current trends also affect the Seventh-day Adventist Church. While the […]
23 May 2022 | Because the process of changing gender-expression and outward identity is so far-reaching and consequential (especially when it takes place at middle-age and within Christian culture), I have found myself grasping a deeper reality: identity shapes hermeneutic. Who we are in context deeply affects the ways in which we read and understand […]
16 May 2022 | From a literary standpoint the parables of Jesus were like those of his contemporaries, but their purpose and effect were dramatically different. This presentation will examine the importance of the parables, the narrative technique of Jesus, and how the parables should be interpreted. Our familiarity with them and the tradition of […]
15 May 2022 | Seventh-day Adventism arose in the aftermath of the Great Disappointment of 1844. Despite numerous “proofs” culled from Scripture, used confidently to pinpoint the date of the second advent to October 22, 1844, Christ did not return. This failure of chronological calculations ensured that official Adventism would never predict a precise time […]
11 May 2022 | Please read these rabbinic parables to prepare for Dr. Johnston’s class. From a literary standpoint the parables of Jesus were like those of his contemporaries, but their purpose and effect were dramatically different. This presentation will examine the importance of the parables, the narrative technique of Jesus, and how they should […]
4 May 2022 | Please read this essay to prepare for the study by Dr. Hemmings. Much of what we say we know about Biblical interpretation is derived from what the Bible says about itself. While the Bible is right to self-identify itself as an inspired book, the problem is that several of the oft-used […]