When I was just a child

My life was, oh, so simple

And the ways of the great world

Seemed strange and funny.

Then when I was a young man

I learned of that machine

That turns out all those bales of precious money.

—James Taylor, “Money Machine”

I suspect you’ve participated in this game, especially if you grew up in the Seventh-day Adventist church, for it’s a favorite of Adventist adolescents. It’s the “what famous person used to be a Seventh-day Adventist?” game.

The first chuckle I had at the new Pope’s expense came from my friend Jeff, who quipped on Facebook, “The Jesuits have finally admitted that they’ve infiltrated the Catholic Church!” He added, “I just figured I’d join the ‘Jesuits have infiltrated everything under the sun’ club.”

Recently a friend (who, like me, grew up in an extremely Seventh-day Adventist family) and I were talking about the legalization of marijuana in Washington State, where both of us have lived. Something that was presented to us as instantly life-destroying can now be purchased in a store! The way our parents and teachers had taught us, marijuana wasn’t just something to avoid, but something that if used once would destroy you forever.

To point out instances where we human beings don’t practice consistent values is easy. Things that should be important aren’t, and things that aren’t important get elevated to the status of “central to life”.

Los acontecimientos que han tenido lugar en la reunión del Concilio Anual como reacción a que varias uniones hayan dado inicio a la ordenación de la mujer, no deberían sorprender a nadie. Las organizaciones jerárquicas siempre se aseguran de que la cúspide de la jerarquía tenga la última palabra. Pero eso es normal, y no entiendo por qué algunos esperaban otra cosa.

I’ve been a Seventh-day Adventist my entire life, and three generations of family before me. I’ve been to Adventist schools (two religion degrees from Adventist universities), and have read all the important Adventist books. I rather pride myself that I know the Seventh-day Adventist faith.

On the day the Waco standoff came to a climax, I was on my way to a class with a dozen other pastors of various denominations for my doctoral program at the San Francisco Theological Seminary. Naturally, everyone was talking about it when I arrived. I remember the teacher turning to me as I walked in and saying, “Loren can tell us about these Waco people. They’re Seventh-day Adventists.”

The events at the recent Annual Council meeting in response to a few unions initiating women’s ordination shouldn’t have surprised anyone. Hierarchical organizations will always make sure the top of the hierarchy gets the last word. But that’s normal, and I’m not sure why anyone would have expected anything else. Neither should we be surprised at the steady magnetic draw that these leaders feel toward the least adventurous option, nor their reluctance to trust fully a democratic system. We must expect that, too.

A few months back I wrote here, as evidence of the dynamic nature of Adventist theology, of the apparent disappearance from our teachings of Turkey as the country represented by Daniel 11’s King of the North.