7 February 2024 | For the past 180 years, the Seventh-day Adventist church has published a notably high volume of journals: over 1.3 million pages containing valuable clues about both official and grass-roots theology, culture, and anxieties. Official theology has changed through the years (as should be expected). Indeed, in spite of official doctrinal pronouncements, […]
3 February 2024 | Recently, prompted by a couple of friends, I read a book titled Sacred Earth, Sacred Soul, by John Philip Newel. The book is a survey of a number of theologians in the Celtic tradition. The book offered a vision of being Christian that resonated with my own experience. I am not […]
24 January 2024 | Why have the leaders and theologians of the Seventh-day Adventist Church refused to reckon with the failure of our founding prophecy? No one can argue that two millennia have passed since the apostles said Jesus was about to return, or that it’s been almost two centuries since Adventists renewed the claim. […]
17 January 2024 | Of the many types of literature found in the Bible, narrative or story predominates, making up about forty percent of the entire Bible. The reason for this is that the Bible is the product of the Israelite or Jewish mind. And the primary mode of discourse used in that culture when […]
10 January 2024 | Samson was a good example of how not to be a leader: narcissistic, morally weak, impulsive, sociopathic, and unpredictable. His story in Judges (13-16) is a classic example of biblical tragedy, and shows how human frailty cannot thwart the will of God. This presentation uses Aristotle’s profile of a tragic hero […]
3 January 2024 | We are told that we may address the Creator of the universe as “Our Father. ” At the same time, he is described as “in heaven.” These two descriptions are in contrast. On one hand, we have a God who is supposed to be as intimate as a parent. On the […]
27 December 2023 | Chaplains in hospitals, hospices, the military, and law enforcement all have one goal: to facilitate shalom. Such is God’s purpose for us all. This week for Christmas we celebrated the birth on earth of Jesus, heaven’s “Prince of shalom” (Isaiah 9:6). The true spirit of Christmas goes beyond exchanging gifts with […]
21 December 2023 | What does the incarnation mean? The gospels give us four different answers. Join the conversation about this and the different meaning it has for each of us. Jim Wibberding Department Chair Professor of Applied Theology and Biblical Studies Pacific Union College Theology Department You may have heard about a new term […]
13 December 2023 | We usually state it in the negative: “Why don’t people go to church?” or “Why have people stopped coming to church?” We can view the other side of the coin by stating it in the positive: “Why do people go to church?” Those who have experienced the hemorrhaging of young people […]
6 December 2023 | Jonathan Butler and Laura Wibberding discuss the October 22 conference on Ellen White’s role in light of recent scholarship. Adventist Today has published two pieces about this conference, that you can read here in preparation for the class: Scholars Appeal for Re-examination of Church’s Relationship to Ellen White “Ellen White for […]
30 November 2023 | The average Christian (among whom are even seminary-trained Christians, as I have come to discover) assumes that the term “Christ” is a religious term unique to the religion of Christianity. Biblically, this is not the case. This assumption may hinder any realization of the radical spiritual calling that is in Christ. […]
23 November 2023 | Change is a biblical concept. Change happened in Bible times. The world around us is changing. It seems to many of us that the church must change if it wants to remain relevant and to be successful in its mission. Not everyone agrees. Some imagine a church of the past—the church […]