16 May 2022 | Dear Aunt Sevvy: I just recently read Aunt Sevvy’s response to a person who had issues with having a drug addict attending church with them. I have a related question. How should the church handle a person addicted to pornography, masturbation, or illicit sex? The church manual lists these as issues […]
9 May 2022 | Dear Aunt Sevvy, Is Jesus white, and are we black people a cursed race? Signed, Puzzled African Dear Puzzled: The short answer is an emphatic no, to both questions. Jesus was a Jew of the Levant, and though artists pictured him for centuries with European features, he undoubtedly had dark skin, […]
2 May 2022 | Dear Aunt Sevvy, Is detaching the Ukraine Union from the Euro-Asia Division and attaching it directly to the General Conference a good thing? What impact will the change have? Just Curious Dear Curious: According to the press release, “a 21-member Ukrainian Union Conference Oversight Committee, chaired by GC general vice president […]
25 April 2022 | Dear Aunt Sevvy, I’m a ministerial student. I have been urged that I should have a wife to get a call. Why won’t anyone date me? Signed, Lonely wannabe pastor Dear Lonely, When Aunty was in college, she remembers ministerial students being told that they needed a wife before they’d be […]
18 April 2022 | Dear Aunt Sevvy: We all know that Africa has seen the most growth of any region in the Seventh-day Adventist Church in the entire world. Why, then, do we see so many fewer Africans representing and speaking for the church? For example, though I know there are many African theologians, I […]
Dear Aunt Sevvy: Is oral sex a sin? Signed, Consenting Adult Dear Consenting: Aunt Sevvy has addressed this before. You can read her response here. But since this keeps coming up, let me say again that the simple answer is no. The Bible doesn’t say anything about it either way, and what consenting spouses enjoy […]
4 April 2022 | Dear Aunty Sevvy, My 10-year-old (at the time) daughter was raped on her way from school by unknown men. We were born-again Christians and had been members of the Adventist church for over 18 years. I had specifically prayed and trusted God for my children’s protection every day. Since then, whenever […]
28 March 2022 | Dear Aunty: I want to marry an Adventist man. How can that happen? Signed, Someone to Share my Faith Dear Someone, You are not alone! There are many young (and not-so-young) people who want a spouse who shares their beliefs. Especially after a person has left formal Adventist education, the dating […]
20 March 2022 | Dear Aunt Sevvy, Is Ted Wilson a bad person? Signed, Kinda Don’t Like Him. Dear Kinda Don’t, In the movie The Wizard of Oz, Dorothy says to the Wizard, “Oh… You’re a very bad man!,” and the Wizard replies (truthfully), “Oh, no, my dear! I’m a very good man! I’m… just […]
14 March 2022 | Dear Aunty, Why do church leaders and pastors suddenly develop courage and speak up on critical issues as soon as they retire? Signed, Suddenly Brave, Dear Suddenly, While this is undoubtedly true of the church, it is true of all professions to some extent: the job of a leader in an […]
7 March 2022 | Dear Aunty, Please help me. I am confused about hair plaiting (braiding). I am an African woman, and here some preachers preach strongly against plaited hair. If I leave my hair without plaiting, maintenance becomes a problem. I don’t know whether plaiting is really prohibited in the Bible or not. Signed, […]
28 February 2022 | Dear Aunt Sevvy: Why are our congregations often racially segregated? Signed, Concerned Dear Concerned, Your question is one that is often asked. Aunty asked one of AT’s excellent African American writers, Christopher Thompson, to address it. “The simple answer is that we are naturally drawn to people with whom we have […]