5 June 2024 | In the increasingly polarized world we inhabit, freedom is often carelessly portrayed as individual agency or the right to “do whatever you want.” Philosopher and Jewish scholar Abraham Joshua Heschel famously argued that “the opposite of freedom is not determinism, but hardness of heart.” In this seminar, Jody Washburn will explore […]
22 May 2024 | Since the 2022 Dobbs ruling removed federal protection for abortion access, the US has been reeling with the fallout. The change has shaken healthcare, as well as law and politics. How should Adventists respond? What is “present truth” for a world which is always more complicated than our political slogans let […]
16 May 2024 | Lao Tzu, the father of Taoism, suggested that our thoughts become words, become actions, become habits, shape our character, and become our destiny. On this ATSS journey, we will explore tools that help us harness our thoughts, hack our brain to increase efficiency, productivity, creativity, and possibly spirituality. We will do […]
8 May 2024 | Misused and Underused: Revelation’s Untapped Potential Teacher: Sigve K. Tonstad is Research Professor of Biblical Interpretation and Assistant Professor of Medicine at Loma Linda University. He has worked as a physician and pastor and since 2007 as a faculty member at the School of Religion at Loma Linda University. His books in […]
1 May 2024 | We all read the Bible through the lens of our knowledge and experience. As a geneticist and biologist, I have often discovered that texts that were otherwise baffling come to life when applying some of the things I know about genetics. One of the most obvious examples involves the deal that […]
24 April 2024 | Human history is a gallery of the birth of religions as well as a graveyard of vanished religions. Some religions died in antiquity and others have flourished. At the macro level, how do religions perpetuate themselves? Are there specific elements that contribute to the endurance of a religion in changing times […]
17 April 2024 | What is the essence of a community? Or more specifically, of a faith community? It is, first of all, a group of believers, where faith is lived in a daily commitment to Christ, to our brothers and sisters in the faith, and the people around us who need us. How does an Adventist congregation […]
10 April 2024 | TRIGGER WARNING The topic of sexual abuse in the Christian church has not abated after being brought to greater public attention in the twentieth century. With the legal system involved in cases of abuse, light has been shed on the suffering of both adults and children based on their traumatic experiences. […]
4 April 2024 | In recent years, renewed attention has been given to the role of the Old Testament Apocrypha for Ellen White and early Adventism in general. It turns out that many Adventists, including Ellen White herself, believed those non-canonical books contained in the middle of their KJV Bibles were important and even inspired. […]
27 March 2024 | In recognition of March as Women’s History Month, it is worthwhile to look at the earliest biblically recorded women’s rights movement and the culture which, to this day, affects attitudes, policies, and the experiences of many women. The daughters of Zelophehad asserted their rights, and Moses, under God’s counsel, honored their […]
20 March 2024 | Some Bible stories are so familiar that we not only know them by heart, we know the lessons we’re supposed to take from them. The stories of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are some of the more familiar. In re-reading these stories a few years ago, I came across a character whose […]
14 March 2024 | When suicide happens, people are shocked. There is disbelief, if not outright denial. While this true for almost any news of death – it is part of a natural grief reaction — in cases of suicide the reaction appears to be stronger, deeper, and far more difficult to handle. Suicide is […]