Book Review: Beyond Ellen White

For those of us growing up Adventist in Australia, Avondale College was our mecca. I can remember, as a child, always hearing about how Avondale was the place to go to develop spiritually, physically — and find a life partner! In my younger days, I had the opportunity to briefly visit Avondale a couple of times and remember feeling awe at walking on such "sacred" ground. But, it hasn't come as a surprise that this was a very romanticised picture. Avondale is a human institution run by flawed humans and, despite the alleged supernatural circumstances around its establishment, the human has played a major part in its evolution. Contributing to our understanding of this evolution is Michael Chamberlain's deeply scholarly book, Beyond Ellen White: Seventh-day Adventism in Transition.

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It’s Really All About God

Review by Nathan Brown

In our increasingly pluralistic societies, one of the most urgent questions facing Christianity—and Adventism—is how we relate to those who believe differently. Too often, the traditional approach seems to have been to dismiss these others—anyone and everyone who does not believe as we do. But our increasing interaction with those of other faiths forces us to re-examine these assumptions. Life is often not as black-and-white as we might like it to be.

Samir Selmanovic is one voice who can help Christians—and particularly Adventists—wrestle with these issues. Writing overtly as a Seventh-day Adventist Christian and pastor, his book It’s Really All About God is published by a large mainstream press, Jossey-Bass, but highlights a number of distinctly Adventist contributions to Christian faith and how these also connect beyond Christianity.

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Book review: The Promise of Peace

by Nathan Brown

According to Charles Scriven, the journey of “becoming Adventist” is and must be a continuing reality for both the church and each of its members. “As understanding and commitment advance, the practice of hope advances too,” he urges in The Promise of Peace. In his overview, that process and practice should always be advancing and growing as we live corporately and individually “between our dreams and disappointments.”

The Promise of Peace traces this journey of “becoming” across the spiritual and organisational history of what has become the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Beginning with a burning hope and stinging disappointment, Adventism has grown in ways that could never have been imagined by its earliest members. With an expanding understanding of its hope, Adventism has grown in its wholism and worldwide impact, offering a hope that makes a difference in the world today as well as promising a world fully restored and renewed.

But Scriven also traces this thread through the biblical narrative. From the covenant with Abraham that God would bless him “so that you will be a blessing” (see Genesis 12:1-3), The Promise of Peace follows the recurring call of God for His people to be good for the world, to enact a “covenant of peace” (see Ezekiel 34:25) and to be “peacemakers” (see Matthew 5:9). Scriven also points out the regularity with which the gospel is described as a message of peace (see Isaiah 52:7; Ephesians 6:15; and Revelation 1:4).

Through both biblical and Adventist history, Scriven urges, these themes should call us to seek how better to live out our faith and to ensure it is a faith that is a blessing to those around us. That is what we should be always “becoming,” finding real ways to contribute to “human flourishing.”

Having worked as a church pastor and college lecturer, Scriven is currently president of the Kettering College of Medical Arts, an Adventist institution in Ohio. As such, his argument is particularly fitted to explaining, exploring and extending the theology that underpins the church’s wellbeing and medical work around the world.

But The Promise of Peace should not be sidelined as a handbook for the health-focused. It provides an interesting and worthwhile contrast to George Knight’s recent The Apocalyptic Vision and the Neutering of Adventism. Knight also works to strip away the cultural layers and “compromises” of Adventism, recounting the passion of the early Adventist believers. But his brief book tries to make up for its lack of argument with an excess of passion—although a harsher critic might describe it as bluster. He calls Adventism back to its apocalyptic vision and evangelism as well as the core of Christianity, but offers little by way of practical expressions of this faith.

Scriven also calls us back to the theological roots and vision of Adventism but offers a larger, more practical and ultimately more attractive vision of the Adventist hope—“just when your hope for a new world is most intense, you engage the present world. Just then you busy yourself, the best way you can, with the healing of the here-and-now.” While not forgetting the importance and necessity of the Second Coming, Scriven describes a group of people animated by this great hope who would dare to change the world.

Scriven has a lyrical style of writing, which takes a little getting used to but soon settles into a rolling lilt. As a writer who obviously loves words, he returns to the earliest formulations of Adventist belief as first adopted in 1861. In line with his description of “becoming,” he adds to and refines this statement at key points of the book, offering the following pledge of belief as the climax of his work: “Thanks to the gift of grace, and for the purpose of blessing all, we take up the peacemaking mission and join together in keeping the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.”

The Promise of Peace calls us to the best of Adventism. Perhaps it is a useful second volume to Knight’s robust call; perhaps it is the book that should have been heavily promoted and distributed in place of Knight’s. Whatever the case, The Promise of Peace is a significant contribution to our thinking about what it means to be Adventist and how we can better live out that hope.

Cross-posted from Adventist Today.

Christian Music...Gross!

by Leslie Foster

What do a mysterious terminal illness, a pastor's kid headed for hell, and contemporary Christian music have to do with each other? Absolutely everything when it comes to the film Jesus People. Directed by Jason Naumann and written and produced by Dan Ewald and Rajeev Sigamoney, (full disclosure: I'm currently developing a film with Sigamoney) the film explores the lengths to which a father will go to save his son.

Sigamoney, who attends the Hollywood SDA Church (known to its members as The Purple Church), recruited dozens of church members to serve as extras in several scenes; and even to serve on the crew, including Christina Attiken, Susan Nwankpa, and Nathan French--who served as production coordinator, assistant property master, and production assistant respectively.

Shooting the film over a patchwork of weeks in order to accommodate the cast and crew's busy schedules, Naumann, Sigamoney, and Ewald crafted a provocative and funny story in which a good man, in his own misguided way, will stop at nothing to save his child. Believing his son is succumbing to worldly influences and having recently been diagnosed with a strange illness that his doctor warns is irreversible, Pastor Jerry decides to create a Christian pop group to win back his son before it's too late. Wading into the weird, alternative universe that is CCM, Pastor Jerry recruits a washed-up Christian singer and three unknowns to his band "Cross My Heart."

Those who enjoy the work of Christopher Guest or have been fans of the recent crop of mockumenary-styled television shows such as "Arrested Development" or "The Office" will immediately feel at home in the universe Sigamoney and Ewald have created, with its painfully awkward and self-concious moments. The film doesn't shy away from poking at Christian stereotypes and attitudes, but manages to pull it off with surprisingly little cynicism and, dare i say, lovingly.

There are most definitely uncomfortable moments and something squirm-worthy for everyone watching. Most people will leave offended by at least one thing in the film. In both the screenings I have attended, there have been moments of dead silence punctuated by a few nervous giggles several times throughout the movie. Does this detract from the film? It will for some, but it will keep them talking about Jesus People for days to come and I suspect the filmmakers had that outcome in mind.

Despite or perhaps because of its moments of uncomfortable truth, the mockumentary is the perfect format to explore the insular world of contemporary Christian music and in fact, the very insulated lives many of us who are Christians live. Jesus People manages to wrap dealing with death, fear of selling-out, hypocrisy, romance, and much more into a tight, very entertaining film. It is a rare commodity in its ability to mock the oddities of Christian life while respecting the characters at which it pokes fun. It is filled with laughs and more than a few gentle moments that will take viewers by surprise.

"Truth Led Me Out"

Dale Ratzlaff. He is no longer a Seventh-day Adventist. But he should be of significance to Adventists. At the 2005 Ellen White Summit, Jud Lake, professor of preaching and Adventist Studies at Southern Adventist University called Dale Ratzlaff "the fountain head" of all who criticize the SDA denomination.

Dale Ratzlaff is the originator, publisher, and major contributor to Proclamation! magazine which is mailed free to an alleged 10,000 former, current, inquiring, Adventists and Evangelicals. The magazine is currently edited by Colleen Tinker, herself a former Adventist.

Dale Ratzlaff is obviously a controversial figure. If we go by the letters to the editor published in Proclamation! magazine, people either love him or hate him. And he has written a number of books arguing against Adventist theology. The two most significant are The Cultic Doctrine of Seventh-Day Adventists: An Evangelical Resource and an Appeal to Adventists which provides an incisive critique of the doctrines of the Investigative Judgment and Ellen White's inspiration; and Sabbath in Christ (an earlier edition was called Sabbath in Crisis) which argues that the Sabbath is no longer a requirement for Christians. In fact, this book played a significant part in the Worldwide Church of God giving up the Sabbath and commemoration of feast days.

I have always enjoyed reading about the spiritual journeys of people. And I have often wondered how individuals move from one belief system to another. How does someone like Dale Ratzlaff, originally a conservative, fourth generation Seventh-day Adventist who studied in Adventist schools, graduated from the Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary, and taught Bible in an Adventist school for seven years — how does someone like this come to make such a major shift in their understanding of the Bible and leave behind a system of belief? Wouldn't it be good if someone like Dale Ratzlaff shared with us his journey from one place to another?

Well... Ratzlaff has done just that in his new book Truth Led Me Out. It is a short book (only 156 pages including appendices) and yet provides a very useful insight into the process of one man courageously following where he believes the evidence leads.

In the preface, Ratzlaff explains why he wrote the book. According to Ratzlaff, he is

... continually being accused of leaving because I wanted to live in open sin. When I respond that I left because of thorough Bible study and a desire to be true to my conscience, I am often met with a blank, questioning stare. For many this is simply incomprehensible. How can one leave "the truth" and not go into error? (p. 9)

Ratzlaff offers three reasons for writing this book:

1. It is his life story.
2. He wishes to answer the many questions that he has received about the details of 'his exodus'.
3. It may motivate some to do their own study to find truth for themselves.

Truth Led Me Out uses, as its "launching pad" an email Ratzlaff received from an Adventist pastor crying out for help as he 'desperately sought God's will.' (p. 11) He shares the email with the reader and then begins his story of his upbringing within the Adventist denomination. He shares the way in which he struggled with serious theological questions from an early age, his discovery of the gospel, secret meetings that occurred as part of the theological turbulence within Adventism as fundamental doctrines were challenged, and the challenging decisions he had to make as he left the denomination and established his ministry to ex-Adventists as he believed God was calling him to do.

There are a number of reasons this book is worth the time to read:

1. It provides an insight into the real reasons that some people leave the Adventist denomination. Within Adventism, there is only one term that is used to label those who have left: apostate. The term implies some moral fall no matter what the reasons for leaving. For many Adventists, leaving the denomination is equivalent to losing salvation. Very few that I have talked to would imagine these individuals have left because they actually don't believe certain doctrines anymore. And often there is no consideration that they may still remain Christian. For many, leaving Adventism is the end of the road as far as salvation is concerned.
   
   It is important that we listen carefully to the stories of people who leave and accept their stories as their stories. It seems clear, from Ratzlaff's story, that he is deeply committed to God, believes he is following God's will. It is important to hear stories about the courage that others have to follow their conscience no matter what the cost.
   
2. This is the first book I have read related to the theological controversy within Adventism where the author names names. Often, claims are made by critics of Adventist theology that Adventist scholars, administrators, and pastors don't really believe certain doctrines but we never get to know just who they are talking about. Well, Dale Ratzlaff tells us who. He provides the names of people who had discussions with him, suggested that he minimize the truth about what he believed, or keep them to himself, and so on. Ratzlaff wants to counteract what he believes is the traditional practice of '... Adventism and how its leaders have either tarnished or rewritten the history of those who have made public its errors.' (back cover)

Despite the value of reading about Ratzlaff's journey, I am a bit disappointed that it stops at the point it does and doesn't explore in more depth some of Ratzlaff's thinking. For example, there is his experience with John Wimber and Ratzlaff's speaking in tongues; his 'Encounter with the Holy Spirit' where he claims to have received direct revelations about others. I would love to read more about how Ratzlaff has incorporated these experiences into a theology of the Holy Spirit and how these relate to his previous understanding of Ellen White's ministry.

In addition, if you read Proclamation! you will find that Ratzlaff has adopted other beliefs held by most (but not all) Christians. For example, he now believes in the traditional Christian beliefs on death and hell and fundamentalist understandings of inspiration and the nature of the biblical text. Clearly, the end of Truth Led Me Out is not the whole story. I would have liked to be able to read how these journeys into other areas inconsistent with Adventist theology occurred.

Truth Led Me Out is an adequate, informative book about Ratzlaff's journey out of Adventism. It is simply told in straightforward narrative form. Although it makes reference to the broader context of the theological and political context of Adventism and the theological crisis that correlated with his journey, the story lacks a breadth and nuance that these would have brought if considered in more depth.

In addition, the suggested resources at the back of the book are all, except for one, critical of Adventism. In my view, when providing resources for people to think through an issue, both sides of the argument should be provided. So if you are looking for both sides of the debate on Adventist ideas and theology, then you will need to explore outside the resources suggested.

If you wish to gain some insight into Dale Ratzlaff and why he is one of the most significant critics of Adventism, then you will want to read this book.

Pitcairn: Paradise Lost

Seventh-day Adventists have had a longterm interest in Pitcairn Island. It has been presented as a model case of the Adventist life. Pitcairn Island has also fascinated the wider society for over 200 years. Way out in the middle of nowhere in the South Pacific, it was discovered by the British in 1767, and populated in 1790 by a group of mutineers from HMS Bounty and a number of Tahitian men and women led by Fletcher Christian. Alcohol, murder, disease, and a range of other nasties killed off most of the population. John Adams began reading the ship's Bible and the Church of England's Prayer Book. The islanders converted to Christianity and constructed 'a new and peaceful society' that has become legendary. They later became Seventh-day Adventists. Here is what Sir Charles Lucas wrote in Pitcairn's register book in 1829:

Many notable cases of religious conversion have been recorded in the history of Christianity, but it would be difficult to find an exact parallel to that of John Adams. The facts are quite clear. There is no question as to what he was and did after all his shipmates on the island had perished. He had no human guide or counsellor to turn him into the way of righteousness and make him feel and shoulder responsibility for bringing up a group of boys and girls in the fear of God.

He had a Bible and a Prayer Book to be the instruments of his endeavour, so far as education, or rather lack of education, served him. He may well have recalled to mind memories of his own childhood. But there can be only one straightforward explanation of what took place, that it was the handiwork of the Almighty, whereby a sailor seasoned to crime came to himself in a far country and learnt and taught others to follow Christ. (cited in Ford 2008, emphasis supplied)

Idyllic, exotic, Christian, peaceful, crime-free, away from the rest of the sinful world, 'the handiwork of the Almighty'. Wouldn't you just love to live there?

Until recently, you might very well have wanted to. The problem is that, in 2000, a police investigation began that was to uncover widespread, decades-long, multi-generational child sexual abuse that probably goes back to the beginnings of the island. Almost every man on the island is implicated and almost every girl who lived there has been a victim of this abuse. The ensuing trials have torn this small community apart and the romantic mythology around Pitcairn Island is forever gone.

Kathy Marks was one of only six journalists allowed on the island during the trials. Her book Pitcairn: Paradise Lost tells the sickening tale of the generations of abuse, the trials, and the aftermath down to its conclusion in 2007. Well — the conclusion as far as legalities go. The women who suffered at the hands of the incredible evil of men, who were allowed to perpetrate these crimes, suffer on as these pedophiles and abusers are "punished" with sentences that are minimal compared to what they would receive in Australia or New Zealand.

Marks's book is agonising to read. Her story is divided into two parts. The first part is on the island itself as she describes Pitcairn's 'surreal little universe in the middle of nowhere'; the romantic mythology that has developed around Pitcairn — now completely shattered; the courage of one girl who finally speaks out about the pervasive abuse; the wielding of power by a few men who are free of the normal legal accountability of most decent societies; the duplicitous propaganda spread by even the women on the island who try to rationalise away the perverse behaviour of even their husbands and sons; and the trials that were frustrated by women and girls often manipulated to retract statements or withdraw from being witnesses.

In Part 2 of the book, the author "steps back" from the island and views 'Pitcairn from a distance'. How did the myth of Pitcairn develop? What role did politics and power play in the events on Pitcairn? And he silence and collusion of women and visitors who worked on the island. The story is heartrending as Marks documents how these little children were abused and raped as young as 3 years old. The men (and women) on Pitcairn Island accepted that 'this is just the way it is' on Pitcairn. While the image of a Christian society, free from crime, was perpetuated by those living on Pitcairn and authorities that interacted with the islanders, men were brazenly forcing young girls into the forests of the island and destroying their innocence and scarring them for life.

For those of us looking from the outside, it is hard to believe that such perverted evil could go on for so long with noone doing anything about it. It is also difficult to believe that denominational leaders could not have known. The Adventist Church has always had a resident pastor and nurse on the island (SPD Staff/ANN 2001). How could they not know?

Kathy Marks documents a number of people who either suspected or knew of the ongoing abuse and the attitudes of the islanders. These individuals never said anything or, if they did, were dismissed by those in authority. It is reassuring that at least one of the people mentioned in the book, a friend of mine and who lived on Pitcairn for some time in a professional role, was one of only a couple of people who spoke out about what they were observing on Pitcairn.

Pitcairn: Paradise Lost reveals an incredible litany of evil on a little island we thought was paradise. That paradise has been lost as we have realised that it never was. Kathy Marks's book Pitcairn: Paradise Lost lays bare the real hell of that imaginary paradise — at least what we know. Who knows what else will be uncovered in the future (there is emerging evidence of the oppression and abuse of adult women and child-to-child sexual abuse).

Simone Weil has written that '[w]e must prefer real hell to an imaginary paradise.' Pitcairn was an imaginary paradise. We must have the courage to confront and acknowledge the real hell of Pitcairn. The 'handiwork of the Almighty'? I don't think so.

References

Ford, H 2008, Pitcairn Island & Pacific Union College, Pacific Union College, viewed 15 February 2009, <http://library.puc.edu/pitcairn/studycenter/pit_puc.shtml>.

SPD Staff/ANN 2001, Turning Point for Historic Adventist Community on Pitcairn Island news.adventist.org, viewed 15 February 2009, <http://news.adventist.org/data/2001/0991166375/index.html.en>.

Doubt vs Certainty

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Doubt and certainty. These two have been at war with each other as long as humans have been discussing religion and faith. Many Christians see doubt as the enemy of belief and faith and do everything they can to eradicate it. Someone once wrote that '[d]oubt digs the grave of faith.'  Frederick William Faber wrote: 'For right is right, since God is God,/ And right the day must win;/ To doubt would be disloyalty,/ To falter would be sin.'

Others see doubt as a necessary part of faith and growth in understanding. Robert Browning believed that the person '[w]ho knows most, doubts most.' And Rene Descarte, in his Principles of Philosophy argued that,

[i]f you would be a real seeker after truth, it is necessary that at least once in your life you doubt, as far as possible, all things.

At the very beginning of John Patrick Shanley's new movie, Doubt, Father Brendan Flynn (Philip Seymour Hoffman) preaches a sermon to his congregation where he asks the question: 'What do you do when you're not sure?'

There are two answers to this question: You could acknowledge doubt, exploring it as best you can, accept that there may be things we can never know, and live with the ambiguity that so often is a characteristic of human life. Or you could retreat into a dogmatic certainty, suppressing any doubts, and act forcefully to live as though your understanding is the absolute truth — sometimes wreaking great evil in the process. This choice between certainty and doubt is the theme of Doubt. And what a profound movie it is!

Father Flynn (Philip Seymour Hoffman) is the parish priest of St Nicholas Church School in the Bronx during the autumn (fall) of 1964 just after Vatican II which called for priests to see themselves as 'part of the family' of their parishioners.

The principal of the school, Sister Aloysius (Meryl Streep) is an old-school nun who commands the respect of her staff and students through fear. She is ruthless and rigid. Sister James (Amy Adams) is a new teacher at the school who wants to motivate her students by inspiring them to learn because it is exciting and liberating. Sister James is innocent and naive and struggles to adapt to the governance of Sister Aloysius and is often troubled by her approach to disciplining of the students.

One of the students is the school's first black student, Donald Muller (Joseph Foster). Sister Aloysius begins to suspect that Father Flynn is taking an inappropriate interest in Donald. Her response is swift and ruthless. Sister James is caught up in Sister Aloysius's campaign when she is recruited to keep an eye on Father Flynn and report any suspicious behaviour she might witness.

The problem with Sister Aloysius's conclusion is that the evidence is ambiguous. But that does not deter Sister Aloysius who is totally convinced of the guilt of Father Flynn. So the story becomes a battle between doubt and certainty as the fate of Father Flynn resides in the outcome.

Doubt is an absolutely brilliant film for a number of reasons. Firstly, Shanley, the writer and director,  has sustained ambiguity throughout the story forcing us, as viewers, to come to our own conclusions about what is happening. As the narrative progresses, we must consider new information and perspectives and grapple with doubt and certainty in our own thinking.

Secondly, Shanley has refused to collapse into a predictable Hollywood ending. Those who must always have a satisfying resolution to all their stories may (will?) be disappointed. This is cinema at its best — it treats us as intelligent. To watch this movie is to be forced to think for ourselves about the issues and consider our own relationship to doubt.

Thirdly, there are the actors. Meryl Streep is superb as Sister Aloysius. She inhabits her role to such an extent that we forget that it is Meryl Streep. And Philip Seymour Hoffman could not have been better in portraying Father Flynn. The occasions we see these two great actors on the screen together are tense and electrifying. And Amy Adams, Joseph Foster, and Viola Davis (who plays Donald Muller's mother) offer us subtle and powerful performances.

Doubt is the most thoughtful movie of the year so far. It's provocative portrayal of doubt and the potential evil of certainty is timely, penetrating, and deeply provocative. Doubt is a must-see movie — and I am completely certain about that!

Movie Review: Religulous (2008)

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The latest anti-religious documentary to hit cinema screens is Bill Maher's Religulous. The word "religulous" is a neologism (made-up word) that combines religion and ridiculous. That pretty much sums up what Bill Maher thinks of religion.

Religulous is ostensibly a documentary that surveys current religious beliefs and practices in the world today. Unfortunately, it's actually about how "smart" Bill Maher is at ridiculing and mocking religion using the worst possible cases of Christian, Islamic, and Jewish fundamentalism he can find. On the rare occasion it is slightly humorous and ironic (for example, the Muslim rapper who believes in freedom of speech and tolerance for himself but not for anyone who disagrees with Islamic beliefs). There are also the couple of absolutely delightful and intelligent Roman Catholic priests, one of whom is a scientist and the other a high official in Rome.

Bill Maher is a controversial comedian, actor, writer and producer who is most famous (apparently) for a US late night show called Politically Incorrect. You will note that theologian doesn't appear in this list of qualifications and Religulous proves that Maher knows nothing about religion than some sort of school yard version that is naive, primitive, and completely lacking in any nuance.

Perhaps one of the reasons for the obvious ignorance that Maher displays about religion is his clear lack of ability to listen. Sure, most of the people he "interviews" are complete nut cases or blind fanatics. In the entire 101 minutes, he only "interviews" two or three people that sound remotely intelligent or informed about their own beliefs. Even so, if you are going to interview someone, there should probably be more of the interviewee speaking than the interviewer. In Bill Maher's case, he clearly thinks he is smart and funny and condescendingly interrupts with mocking comments and questions that I think are supposed to impress the viewer.

By the end of Religulous, we come to realise that Bill Maher is as dogmatic and myopic as the people he has interviewed. The film ends with him ranting against religion with apocalyptic images flashing on the screen suggesting that the world will end because of religion.

In addition to the self-opinionated, self-congratulatory Maher, according to the Internet Movie Database, while the movie was being made it was called A Spiritual Journey so that interviews could be arranged with religious leaders without them knowing the type of "documentary" being made. Until Bill Maher arrived for the interviews, people did not know he was involved in the film. Clearly, Maher was setting his interviewees up so that he could control what happened and capitalise on their confusion to make them look stupid. So his whole approach is premised on deception from the beginning. That, along with a highly selected sample weighted toward the fanatic or self-deluded, results in a film that is not really of much value at all.

Please understand — I think religious fundamentalism is dangerous. But when Maher's Religulous is put alongside other productions like Andrew Denton's God On My Side, Religulous pales into complete insignificance. The alleged humour is not even funny. Even Richard Dawkins's Root of All Evil? which I heartily criticised is better than this! Even Michael Moore is better!!

Religulous is little more than a slightly amusing promotion of Bill Maher as he uses (often ill-informed, uneducated, dogmatic, fundamentalist) people to have us all look at him and think how clever he is. Don't watch it to learn anything. Actually, don't bother to even watch it for entertainment.

Note: The entire movie can be viewed online by clicking here.

Book Review: For the Sake of the Gospel

Des Ford is passionate about the gospel. So much so, that he has been prepared to sacrifice much for the sake of it. He has been vilified, defrocked, and now worships outside of Adventism — the denomination he loves and has tried to move forward in its thinking about a cherished doctrine that he believes obscures the gospel. Hundreds of others have also sacrificed jobs and friends for the sake of the gospel. Now, Des Ford, collaborating with his wife, Gillian, in their book For the Sake of the Gospel: Throw Out the Bathwater, but Keep the Baby tells the story of the theological controversy that decimated the Adventist denomination through the 70s and 80s and whose effects are still felt even to this day.

For Ford, the bathwater is the doctrine of the Investigative Judgment. The baby is the gospel of justification by grace alone through faith alone. In a series of somewhat disjointed chapters, Ford pleads for the Adventist officials to come clean and confess the wrongs perpetrated on the members. As far as Ford is concerned, almost no scholar in the denomination believes in the Investigative Judgment anymore and it is time to jettison it completely.

In the first chapter, Des provides the transcript of a talk he gave in 1997 at the Sydney Chapter of the Association of Adventist Forums entitled My Vision for the Seventh-day Adventist Church. His vision is

that the true church will arise and proclaim the true gospel to the whole world. It's an objective historical gospel, revealing the love of God in such a way as to break the hearts of rebels so that they might hate sin, learn the purity of Paradise, that sin is insanity, and that life commends what Christ commands. It's a church teaching these things that will lighten the world with the glory of the gospel, not one fixated by dates that don't compute. Seventh-day Adventism has an opportunity and a privilege to preach the Pauline gospel. (p. 7 - emphasis in original)

Moving on from this vision, Ford reviews 22 illicit assumptions that support the Investigative Judgment, the outdated year-day principle, the question of when forgiven sins are blotted out, the New Testament's view of the Day of Atonement, the real meaning of Revelation 14:6-7, the way the Investigative Judgment has been "reworked" since its establishment, a critique of the view that the United States appears in prophecy, and the real meaning of Daniel 8:14.

Ford then surveys the politics around the denomination's understanding of the gospel including the way men who disagree with the church's official positions abandon conscience and follow orders to not saying anything about their views and who have to suffer cognitive dissonance.

Gillian Ford provides an interesting history on How a Seventh-day Adventist Scholar in Biblical Eschatology Found His Denomination's Prophetic Traditions Wanting and his rediscovery of the apotelesmatic principle.

There are articles on the Glacier View trial of Des Ford (rather than the examination of Ford's views — what Glacier View was supposed to be about). Appendices include "positive" presentations on the Sabbath and the Covenants for which the Fords hold traditional Adventist positions.

The above is a partial list of themes covered — hopefully giving a sense of what the book contains. By their own admission, the

'... book has been negative for obvious reasons. One cannot vote for dangerous errors which threaten the joy and well-being of the children of God. Neutrality in a religious crisis is the worst form of cowardice. (p. 195)

As I have indicated above, For the Sake of the Gospel is somewhat disjointed. Des Ford's aphoristic style is not always easy to read. But the flaws in the writing are more than made up for the following:

1. Des Ford has, obviously, been at the centre of the controversy surrounding the Investigative Judgment doctrine (although he is not the first). To hear from someone with firsthand knowledge and experience, including friendships with many of the key players in the history, provides an essential perspective.
2. Ford's passion for the gospel consistently shines through. In the end, Ford is not primarily concerned with controversy. He wants to see the gospel as the primary focus of our attention. In his view, dealing with the Investigative Judgment is essential because it obscures the gospel and robs Adventists of their true freedom in Christ and their assurance of salvation.
3. If it is by their fruits that we know the character of someone, then Ford is a genuine Christian man. The way he has consistently and graciously dealt with his adversaries and his refusal to engage in legal battles with his beloved denomination demonstrate the fruits of the Spirit in such a way that his credibility is enhanced.

For the Sake of the Gospel is an important book because it deals with important themes, written by an important "player", during an important part of Adventist history that we are still living. For the Sake of the Gospel, read this book.

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Shameless plug: Nemesis Train

Review by Karen Collum

Nemesis Train is a complex, multi-faceted and understated novel by Australian author and regular "Wheel" contributing writer, Nathan Brown. It enters the territory of literary fiction, yet still retains an authenticity that would appeal en masse. Quirky, left of centre and at times almost random, Nemesis Train teeters on the edge; there were moments when I was close to abandoning my journey with the wanderer, the clerk, the veteran, the musician, the child, the driver and Jed. The intricacy of the characters and their seemingly unrelatedness took me into the realms of frustration; the descriptions of the mundane left me puzzled and at times, unfulfilled; but it also kept me reading to the very end.

The literary devices the novel employs are well suited to the atmosphere he creates. A variation in point of view is refreshing. The intimate and relaxed first person interludes provided a sense of relief and allowed my mind to rest momentarily before I was immersed once again into the detached, unemotional, observer third-person mode he does so well. There are some playful word choices—gems hidden among the ordinariness of the lives portrayed—that are still resounding with me long after the last page was read. The sparsely placed repetitive phrases helped me maintain a sense of continuity, even though I had no idea where I was headed for the vast majority of the book.

Perhaps one of the most impressive aspects of Nemesis Train is the novel’s dignified treatment of the major theme—that of wanting to make a difference in the world. There are some humorous moments in Jed’s noble quest to change the world, and we are reminded that not everyone needs or indeed wants to be rescued. There is no preaching, no induction of guilt. And it is clear that there is no magic bullet.

The crowning glory of Nemesis Train is the ending. After ploughing through the quagmire of intricate details of unexceptional characters, the ending for me was a masterpiece. It was truly unexpected. That in itself is remarkable. True to form, the novel manages to weave the subtle threads into a recognisable portrait that is profound because of its simplicity. There are no bells and whistles, no neat bow tied around an awkward situation. Just an acknowledgement of the way life is.

Nemesis Train is not an easy read. I didn’t totally abandon myself or throw caution to the wind. It was, however, a refreshing and intelligent one that required commitment, intentional thought and a dose of perseverance. But my effort was more than rewarded. It really is worth a read—and for me, even a re-read.


Visit the Nemesis Train blog or the book can be ordered directly from the publisher Ark House Press.

Review: God's Great Missionaries

by Nathan Brown

So much is written about evangelism and mission these days that it’s refreshing to take these many discussions back to the source. Beginning with the stories of Jesus, the early church and other assorted Bible characters, God’s Great Missionaries takes a fresh and credible look at what it means to be part of the mission of God in the world today.

Born to missionary parents, first-time author Gary Krause is now a director of mission for the Seventh-day Adventist Church worldwide. He brings this extensive experience of church mission activities around the world to his reading of familiar Bible stories.

God’s Great Missionaries is the companion book to a series of Bible-study guides and, in just a couple of places, the book slips and shows its Bible-study-lesson origins, taking angles that do not strictly fit with the Bible-story sources or the flow of the book. But on the whole, the book gains strength from its solid Bible-study foundations. The Bible stories are treated with respect and depth, at its best when focused on the practical ministries of Jesus and Paul. At the same time, this is not merely a head-in-the-book Bible study—indeed the subject matters demands it not be.

A book on engaging meaningfully with the world must itself engage with the realities of that world. God’s Great Missionaries is poignantly aware of the need for God and the hope He offers to our world—a world that simply can’t save itself—but also for the need for the message and presentation of the gospel to be adapted to language, culture and obvious needs of the people with whom it is being shared. Krause draws on stories of mission from around the world, Adventist mission history and personal experience, as well as citing contemporary events, voices and trends, to demonstrate that gaining a hearing for a message is as much about listening and responding as it is about preaching.

Easy reading but significant thinking, God’s Great Missionaries’ vision is active, global, inclusive, faithful, urgent and transformative. The book passionately challenges the church to think bigger in imagining how God can use us as His people to build His kingdom in our world: “We need to tear down those church doors and rip them off their hinges.” And it must also challenge us individually as to the role we play in our lives, churches and communities.

Book Review- LifeStyles of the Remnant

I recently traveled to PA to sing/speak at a women's retreat weekend in Gettysburg. The topic of my seminars was 'How to Overcome Approval Addiction'. Awesome time! While in the area, I visited my Father-in-law who is a Pastor with healthy perspectives. He handed me one of the most amazing books I've read this decade. It's a masterpiece of balanced wisdom! When I saw that Keavin had been involved in the 'Black Hills School of Evangelism', I was a bit nervous- as some very stringent, dogmatic people we know were also there and I wasn't sure what brand of theology is emerging from that school.

However, I tend to give every viewpoint consideration. So began my hours long journey through the book. WOW- couldn't put it down until I had finished! Fabulous thoughts, solid evidence and a fluid writing style. Though I tend to shy away from "remnant talk"- as I feel this often leads to snobbery and exclusivism within our churches, Keavin is truly at the forefront of forward thinking and a grace-based theology. He valiantly upholds both the Bible and the writings of EGW, while exposing the grace and freedom, so abundant in BOTH. Whether you hold Ellen White to be a prophet or simply a growing Christian lady who had a special relationship with God, I believe you would be refreshed by reading this book! :o)

Click here to read sample chapters or to purchase this title.