Adventist Voices by Spectrum: The Journal of the Adventist Forum

Continuing our series on community engagement, I talk with Ronald D. Williams, Jr., D.Min., pastor of the Macedonia Adventist church, Delaware Valley Area Leader of the Allegheny East Conference, and Program Director of the Chester Peace Initiative. An urbanologist, we discuss his undergrad and graduate level education in information systems, his first career in IT, and how he turned that previous work into a program to teach youth tech job skills. We also discuss his time in the Nation of Islam and how he leads in the Adventist church today. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Professor Matthew Korpman and Kendra Arsenault finish out this queer theology series on Imago Gay by discussing the absence of women in the Levitical laws against homosexuality, the broad category of sexually divergent people that Eunuchs encompass and a more inclusive theology that holds an all-embracing view of LGBTQ people in the history of faith. "I am so sick and tired of people saying that Leviticus 18 and 22 or 20:13 have to do with homosexuality because homosexuality has a definition. It is a sexual orientation that has to involve both sexes, and it has to involve much more than sex, a whole orientation, a whole sensibility. You can be homosexual and never actually have sex." See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Concluding our tripartite conversation through Dr. Richard Rice’s intellectual and publishing history, in this third episode we discuss his 2014 book Suffering and the Search for Meaning (InterVarsity Press Academic). Perhaps his most widely read work, in discussing it Rice shares brief summaries of the major contemporary theological and philosophical responses to the problem of pain. We also reflect on his life and what’s next for one of progressive Adventism’s most prolific living scholars. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this episode of Imago Gei, Randi Robertson discusses her journey as a trans woman married to her college sweetheart and working as an Air Force pilot for 22 years as well as an instructor for a Christian university. As we end Women's Month, we are going out with thoughtful consideration over gender and the implications of being a woman or trans woman both in the church and in society. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

New Upper Columbia Conference President David Jamieson shares the vision for community engagement drives his ministry. He talks about his twenty years leading the Church in the Valley’s growth through a wide range of services opportunities for members called Acts of Kindness. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

"What do I do with the mad that I feel when I feel so mad I could bite!" Mr. Rogers shared this piece of therapeutic children's music at Congress back in 1969. Today, we are still learning how to manage emotions, especially regarding the church and LGBTQ matters. So why are we all so TRIGGERED? Spiritual Care Provider Roxan and Kendra Arsenault M.Div. dive into the world of feelings, theology, and LGBTQ identities to explore what about gayness makes us so mad, scared, and grieved. We also discuss how we can all do a little better at honoring our feelings. Word of the week is Spiritual Bypassing. How have our favorite religious shortcuts, "God is good," "God would never give me more than I can handle," "In this life, we are meant to suffer to receive a heavenly reward," turned into a way of circumventing the difficult task of dealing with our humanity? Turns out, we might not be that spiritual, after all. Pastoral care for LGBTQ church members is essential. So this week, we provide practical training for pastors, elders, and spiritual leaders to help them understand and better care for the LGBTQ community. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Gail Rice, EdD, shares her story of lifelong learning and her work promoting evidence-based teaching at Loma Linda University for several decades. We discuss her early work as a nurse, her career as a professor in the School of Allied Health Professions, her love for the arts, and the pedagogical approaches she wrote about in her book, Hitting Pause: 65 Lecture Breaks to Refresh and Reinforce Learning. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In 1987 the Seventh-day Adventist church sued SDA Kinship International claiming trademark infringement for using the name "SDA". The lawsuit has had ripple effects throughout the LGBTQ community and their continued relationship with the church. After participating in a grueling trial, many left the institution never to return. Others saw this victory as a landmark that one's religious identity does not exist with the institution, but with people. On this episode I talk with Floyd Poenitz, president of SDA Kinship International regarding the history of SDA Kinship and what more we still have to learn from affirming LGBTQ lives. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Was David bisexual? Is Sodom and Gomorrah really a reference to homosexuality or something else? On this episode of Imago Gei, Kendra Arsenault talks with Matthew Korpman about his book Saying No to God and the insights he shares in his chapter "Saying No to Homophobia." There has often been controversy in the Christian community regarding whether or not Jonathan and David shared more than a strictly platonic relationship. So what would it mean if David really was bisexual? Would that change our perception of this Biblical icon? We also discuss the often referred to example of Sodom and Gomorrah, which has often is a story often leveraged against the LGBTQ community. So is Sodom and Gomorrah really a cautionary tale towards the LGBTQ community or is there another possible reading of the text? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Pastor Alex Golovenko was born in Ukraine and leads the Windsor Seventh-day Adventist church in Canada. He shares how the Russian invasion is affecting his own family and the larger Ukrainian Adventist community. He discusses the violence, the parameters of a just response, and offers some hope via his favorite scripture. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Civil rights attorney Amanda Ghannam and Kendra Arsenault discuss why LGBTQ Discrimination at religious institutions is legal unfortunately. Prosecution of LGBTQ discrimination cases in religious settings is so difficult due to First Amendment complications. So what is the history of LGBTQ legislation and what is the possibility for legislative change in the future? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Troubled by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Charles Scriven and Ron Osborn discuss violence, moral deflation, and the responsibility to protect. Both have published books exploring versions of Christian pacifism, Scriven’s The Promise of Peace, and Osborn’s Anarchy and Apocalypse. In this discussion they revisit their earlier work in light of the Ukrainian tragedy and explore despair and hope while addressing the question: how should one individually and collectively act? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Imago Gei is an affirmation of dignity for LGBTQ members, a declaration that we too are imago dei, or made in the image of God. On this episode, Kendra Arsenault interviews Matthew Korpman who is critical of the church's relationship towards LGBTQ members and makes a Biblical argument against prejudice. Discussing his book, "Saying No To God", this episode is focused on his chapter "Saying No To Homophobia." The theological emphasis of this week's episode brings insights into queer theology and builds a framework for discussing LGBTQ lives with a dignified theological perspective. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Here is part 2 of our series exploring Dr. Richard Rice’s books and biography. In this Dr. Rice talks about how he came to write Adventism’s first serious theology textbook, The Reign of God (1985), the airplane ride the prompted Reason and the Contours of Faith (1991), and students and rabbi who influenced Believing, Behaving, Belonging (2002). See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week on Imago Gei, Kendra Arsenault interviews Ari Bates, a transgender woman currently studying and employed at Southern Adventist University. After publicly coming out as transgender, she was made aware of a new policy that will be implemented on Southern's campus requiring transgender students to dress according to their gender assigned at birth. After coming out, she was placed on administrative leave. So today, we hear her story and her experience as a transgender woman, daughter and student. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Back for a second round, Benjamin Baker, PhD, covers the 20th century of Black Adventist history including the cultural and spiritual meaning of Oakwood University, the origins and value of regional conferences, and Adventist involvement in the Civil Rights Movement. Spectrum’s guest editor for February, Baker earned his PhD in history from Howard University and has authored or edited six books and 150 articles. In 2010 he created blacksdahistory.org and its accompanying YouTube channel. Baker served as the charter managing editor of the Encyclopedia of Seventh-day Adventists, the church's first online reference work. He has taught history, religion, English, Black studies, and literature at several colleges, and currently teaches at the University of Maryland. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this episode of Imago Gei, a multitude of LGBTQ voices share their stories of struggle, triumph and faith, along with their complicated relationship with the church. Understanding queer theology is more than just closing the loops in logic, it is being responsible for the impact of our theology upon LGBTQ lives. Living in the fullness of love, joy and peace starts with listening See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this first conversation in a multi-part series, I interview Richard Rice, PhD, about his biography and extensive bibliography. We discuss Dr. Rice’s early life, what he learned in graduate school at the University of Chicago, and the early 1980s controversy around the publication of “The Openness of God.” See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kendra Arsenault, Spectrum Magazine and SDA Kinship have come together to bring you the premiere episode of Imago Gei where we share the latest on queer theology, stories, and a minority perspective on faith. Today, we are easing ourselves in the conversation by posing the question: Is It Safe? LGBTQ church members are often faced with the challenging question: do I disclose my queer identity in a hostile environment or do I stay closeted until a later day when/if I feel safe? Safe spaces, safe churches, and safe people are the focus of today's topic as we learn what it means to approach difficult topics with self-energy and learn the effects of hostile church environments on the mental health of queer members. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I ask Dr. Benjamin Baker some common questions about Black Adventist history including: Why do some Adventists think Ellen White was Black? Was Sojourner Truth an Adventist? Did Adventists fight in the Civil War? Spectrum’s guest editor for February, Benjamin Baker earned his Ph.D., in History from Howard University. He has authored or edited six books and 150 articles. In 2010 he created blacksdahistory.org and its accompanying YouTube channel. Baker served as the charter managing editor of the Encyclopedia of Seventh-day Adventists, the church's first online reference work. He has taught History, Religion, English, Black Studies, and Literature at several colleges, and currently teaches at the University of Maryland. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This two-minute clip provides an introduction for a new podcast partnership between Spectrum and SDA Kinship, produced by Kendra Arseneaux. The first episode drops soon. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I talk with Agnes and Carine, two media-savvy Brazilians who served a missionaries in Bangladesh and now spend time learning and traveling in America. We discuss how they met, the role of Pathfinders in Brazilian Adventism and the ways that globalization is changing the meaning of community. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Don Casebolt talks about his "highly revisionist" new book, Child of the Apocalypse (2021), on Ellen White's formative years. Based on his extensive research into contemporaneous accounts and her own statements about her inner life, Casebolt paints a portrait of a teen girl spiritually vulnerable, captured by the certitude of William Miller, and forming her identity in a community looking for ecstatic authority. We discuss confabulation, the other Millerite prophecies White endorsed, and why this matters today. Child of the Apocalypse on Amazon and WIPF and Stock Publishers See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I talk with Ramona Hyman, co-editor of the new book, African American Seventh-day Adventist Healers in a Multicultural Nation (Pacific Press, 2021). A writer, speaker and professor at Oakwood University, Dr. Hyman is a graduate of Temple University (BA), Andrews University (MA), and earned her PhD from the University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

To kick off the new year I talk with Alex Aamodt, editor of the Spectrum website, about the top Adventist news stories and essays of 2021. We also discuss how he became a journalist and what makes for a good Spectrum article submission. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I talk with English writer and director Garth Jennings about his new family-friendly film Sing 2 currently in theaters. The films stars Matthew McConaughey, Reese Witherspoon, Scarlett Johansson, Pharrell Williams, and Bono among many others. We discuss creativity, music and nostalgia, spirituality and the importance of myth-making in our lives. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I talk music and the Advent season with Adriana Perera, Director of Worship and the Musical Arts at Loma Linda University Church. We discuss what makes Christmas music meaningful and Adriana shares her passion for diversity and inclusion. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jason Hines, PhD, asst. professor at AdventHealth University, talks about the recent pause of vaccine mandates by some healthcare institutions, including AdventHealth. We also discuss the Supreme Court, religious liberty, and the Christian concept of sacrifice. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week I interview Phanuel Hamsini, Deputy Chief Elections Officer, Malawi. We discuss how he became an Adventist, his vibrant local Adventist congregation, and why he reads Spectrum even though he sometimes doesn’t agree with the viewpoints. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Fresh from attending the Adventist Society for Religious Studies annual meetings in San Antonio, Texas, Bonnie Dwyer and I discuss the major ideas that emerged around this year’s focus on ecology. We talk animal rights, pandemics and apocalypse, and the ways that artificial intelligence and social media algorithms conflict with human spirituality. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this cursory conversation about the Biblical Research Institute’s recent publication of Biblical Hermeneutics: An Adventist Approach, I talk with Jon-Philippe Ruhumuliza, a graduate of Andrews University and Emory University’s Candler School of Theology. Ruhumuliza, who recently completed his MA in New Testament, wrote his thesis on Paul and Maps: Exegeting Acts 13-14 through the Lens of Lived Space Cartography. We discuss the problems with the book’s approach to hermeneutics drawing on Ruhumuliza’s interest in spatialized readings of Paul and other ways of constructing Adventist theology. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Put a log on the fire and sip a hot beverage as you listen to prolific writer Trudy Morgan-Cole discuss her novels about characters from the Bible and her more recent works of historical fiction set in Newfoundland, Canada. This week Spectrum Interviews Editor Alita Byrd joins me in conversation with Trudy Morgan-Cole as we explore the writing life, how Adventist stories change, and Morgan-Cole’s play, “The Mirror,” about a Newfoundland suffragette, that was performed recently. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Professor Emeritus of Biology at Andrews University, James L. Hayward, Ph.D, talks about his early life that mixed Sam Campbell, Ellen White, and tensions around creationism and science. In part one of our discussion of his book, Dinosaurs, Volcanoes, and Holy Writ: A Boy-Turned Scientist Journeys from Fundamentalism to Faith, we explore the personal and professional tensions that developed as he pursued his academic interests in biology while maintaining a connection to his faith tradition. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I talk with bioethicist Mark Carr about the social responsibility of vaccines, his spiritual connection to Alaska, and what it’s like working for a Catholic healthcare system as an Adventist. Mark earned his PhD in Religious Ethics at the University of Virginia where studied ethics in Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Philosophy, and Healthcare. His dissertation was on temperance and how it helps us manage our emotions when making difficult moral decisions. At Loma Linda University he gained the rank of Professor with tenure and directed the Masters Degree program in biomedical ethics as well as the Center for Christian Bioethics. In 2016 he returned to his native Alaska as the Regional Director of Ethics for Providence Health, a Catholic healthcare corporation. In his work for Providence he is responsible for clinical ethics for six hospitals where he focuses on ethics education, policy, and patient care consults. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week I talk again with legendary Adventist editor, pastor, college administrator, author, and longtime Spectrum leader Charles Scriven. We explore the final essay from his series “Time to Start Over” on hermeneutics and community. In addition, we weave in conversations about his time as president of Kettering College and his longtime leadership of the Adventist Forum and Spectrum. He shares his vision for koinonia, a Christocentric interpretive framework, and why fundamentalism corrupts Christianity. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

From Silver Spring, Bonnie Dwyer, editor of Spectrum, and I recap the four days of Annual Council 2021, the General Conf. executive committee meetings. We discuss various reports, the introduction of #Teds10 “theological issues facing the church,” and how we spent our Sabbath away from the GC and why it matters. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In preparation for next week’s Annual Council meetings which set up major Adventist church actions, Bonnie Dwyer, Spectrum’s editor, and I discuss the agenda. We note questions of power and compliance as well as some pending items about board make-up and proscribed duties in overseeing higher educational institutions and Union Missions. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I interview Stephen Chbosky, director of the movie version of Dear Evan Hansen about his motivations for turning the successful Broadway hit into a musical film. He famously wrote the best-selling coming-of-age novel, The Perks of Being a Wallflower (1999). We also discuss the fraught relationship between adolescence and faith and what we both love about the musical genre. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I talk with Sduduzo Blose about his graduate work at the University of Kwazulu-Natal on the book of Romans, colonialism in Africa, and institutional power in Adventism. We also discuss how opposing racism and sexism in Adventism informed his theological interests as well as how he connects his love for road cycling and ministry. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week I talk again with legendary Adventist editor, pastor, college administrator, author, and longtime Spectrum board chair Charles Scriven. We explore two more essays from his series “Time to Start Over” on “Reconceiving the Sabbath” and how our beliefs should lift us up. In addition, we weave in conversations about time in the Washington, D.C., area as senior pastor of the Sligo Church and as president of then Columbia Union College. He shares what he loved about being a pastor and his role in a major church/state legal battle and the ordination of three women. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I interview Jon-Philippe Ruhumuliza about his social media-based “Radical Adventist Project.” We discuss his education in Berrien Springs, Mich., his later punk rock days, and his recent graduate work in New Testament studies at Emory University’s Candler School of Theology. We talk about his practice of meditation and breath work, and his critical engagement of Paul through his research involving GIS mapping and social theory. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I interview Tom Stone about his new book, In the Shadow of the Pyramids: A Reflective Commentary on the Narrative of Deuteronomy, published by Westbow Press, a subsidiary of Thomas Nelson. Tom earned a BA in Theology from Newbold College and a PGCE in Religious Education from the University of Oxford. He is an ordained elder at the Newbold Church. We discuss how Tom, a young religious education teacher, decided to pursue this writing project, how this grew out of his own devotional practice, why he argues that Deuteronomy is a story of liberation with themes of social justice, and how God wants us to change our society so that we prioritize the marginalized and oppressed. In the Shadow of the Pyramids on Westbow Press - Amazon See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I speak with the legendary historian of Adventism, Jonathan Butler, PhD, about his rediscovery of an 1988 article by Malcolm Bull analyzing Ellen White’s first vision. Titled “Eschatology and Manners in Seventh-day Adventism” and first published in Archives de sciences socials des religions, Butler discusses the ideas provokes and the joy he discovered as he read it for the first time. The full article and an introductory essay by Dr. Butler are featured in the current issue of the Spectrum journal. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I speak with two young Adventist intellectuals in Brazil who publish an online magazine (Zelota) with investigative journalism and detail-rich op-eds calling out the authoritarian leadership in the South American Division. Sharing their deep Adventist roots, André Kanasiro and Elias Batista, Jr., also discuss concerns for their generation of questioning Adventists, and why they work so hard for theological and institutional reform. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this first of several Legend of Adventism conversations, I talk with Charles Scriven, PhD, about his biography while we also discuss his recent Spectrum series “Time to Start Over.” We start this multi-part series exploring some teachers from Walla Walla and Andrews who influenced him theologically and grammatically. In addition, Chuck references Bonhoeffer’s journey while expanding on what he means by “Christ without Christ,” the hermeneutical tool of and against oppression, and why close community matters. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I interview Edson Oda, the Japanese-Brazilian writer and director of the profound film, Nine Days. The story centers on a man, played by Winston Duke (Black Panther), who interviews and judges five souls to see who will be granted embodied life on earth. A fun conversationalist, Oda talks about his Catholic upbringing and how artists use spiritual metaphors to create meaning for humans. We also discuss what he likes to read and watch for inspiration and how his film uses empty spaces to open up interpretative possibilities. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I talk with attorney Stephen Allred, who also pastored for fourteen years, about his lucid new book Do Justice: The Case for Biblical Social Justice. We discuss how he artfully weaves together Ellen White and major Biblical passages with Ta-Nehisi Coates, his own story to make the case that following Jesus means caring for structural change in society. We discuss how his use of Ellen White made me excited to read more of her writings and how his focus on racial justice, economic justice, and his third section which includes very traditional Adventist interpretations of Revelation supports his overall argument that Christians have an ethical duty to be in involved in politics. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I talk with Sarah Sulton, CEO of the Adventist Musician Network about gospel music and how the internet allows artists to reach new audiences. Building on Alita Byrd’s interview regarding the Adventist Musician Network right before COVID-19 hit, I check-in on how streaming three shows online has grown the org during quarantine, how Ted Wilson’s comments offended gospel musicians, and I find out what’s next for this growing community. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We talk about the new release of Martin Luther King’s iconic talk at Oakwood University in 1962 on Dr. Benjamin Baker’s famous website blackSDAhistory.org. In addition, we address the Critical Race Theory scare, share interesting anecdotes about famous Black Adventists, and explore what’s bringing hope to historian, archivist, and educator Dr. Baker in these uncertain times. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Happy Pride! I interview Floyd Poenitz, Kinship International's next president, about the organization's multi-decade ministry creating a safe community for LGBTIQ+ Adventists. Floyd shares his story of growing up conservative and coming out and discusses the incredible number of countries that have Kinship members as more and more church members around the world grow to understand their sexual identity. We also talk about a good resource for parents from the North American Division, Kinship's current free book offer, and how Zoom in transforming LGBT+ support groups on Adventist college campuses. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.