Comments of the Week May 26-June 1
Comments of the Week May 26-June 1
Comments on PTSDA, Is This Religious Persecution?; SATIRE: Wilson Confirms Retirement, Promises Not to Manipulate GC Session Nominating Committee; Evangelist Says Prayer & Petition Redirects Winds at WAU; ARE Christians Guilty of Political Opportunism?; Aunty, why is there such backbiting and hurtful relationships in the church?; SATIRE: Wilson Blames Loma Linda Bankruptcy on the Shaking
“Abuse happens. It can be sexual, physical, spiritual and emotional. It can happen in the homes of SDA (Seventh-day Adventist) members, and the homes of SDA clergy. Marriages can end as abused people married to SDA members and clergy begin a journey to wholeness and spiritual/emotional health. In general, SDA clergy are ill equipped to deal with such people searching for recovery. Just one of the reasons that people depart from the SDA Church. God understands, as we do not.”
Is This Religious Persecution?
“Hostile or intrusive evangelism that frightens or abuses people does not need protection. It needs to go. Sharing faith effectively means prioritizing kindness and a non-coercive approach. The council did what they honestly felt was in the public interest.“
–Bjorn Karlman
“There’s a certain type of Christian that loves to annoy, harass and bother people; and then when the people push back they cry ‘persecution!!’ A number of public parks and squares have been ruined by street preachers with megaphones and loudspeakers, disturbing the peace. I once had a subway ride ruined by a subway preacher who thought he was doing a good deed disturbing everyone’s early evening commute. And then when local officials take steps to restore order and civility making such actions fineable, they lie, claiming that they are being ‘persecuted’ for praying or for preaching the ‘word’. No – they are being fined for disturbing the peace, not for the content of their message.”
–Theodore Johnson
SATIRE: Wilson Confirms Retirement, Promises Not to Manipulate GC Session Nominating Committee
“Does GC stand for Great Conclave??”
–George Tichy
“I have much skepticism when it comes to such affirmations. There is no evidence that the prayers caused God to change the weather. I remember a campmeeting in Quebec a couple decades ago when high winds caused a tent to collapse – there were injuries, one of them rather serious. Was it that the Quebec Seventh-day Adventists were less fervent in their petitions? Perhaps God was busy with other stuff that weekend. Perhaps God remembered that he messed up in Quebec years ago and wanted to make sure he didn’t mess up this time? We’ve seen many cases where God couldn’t be bothered to divert a hurricane, arrest a tornado, hold back an earthquake or a tsunami – yet we are to believe he changed wind patterns because some people asked him to. Was it that those who perished in tornadoes didn’t pray properly?”
“You will hear this ringing message here on Adventist Today, but you won’t read it in the Church’s journals, at least not so far. Why? Fear of retribution? Fear of a divided church since so many Adventists vote the MAGA agenda? Cowardice? We love to claim a prophetic voice, but it’s all about dates and prophecies and future predictions. The true prophetic voice of Old Testament prophecies was all about dishonesty, injustice, cruelty of people to other people, etc. (Reread the ‘minor’ prophets.) But our Church doesn’t seem to want to get its hands dirty with the troubling stuff of humanity on earth, just three noisy angels flying in the sky. C’mon, Ted. Say something meaningful about the present.”
“Years ago, when I was about 10, life was simple and delicious. Saturday mornings were sacred—reserved for cartoons and Oscar Mayer hot dogs. I didn’t know it then, but I was living the dream. That is, until The Great Conversion—the day our family joined the Seventh-day Adventist Church.
