Babel/Babble The Great “Spiritual Formation” Kerfuffle Responses to the Andrews University Statement on Biblical Spirituality The Cosmic “Phew!” Reflections on the One project Inclusivity, Exclusivity, and the People of God The Angry Believers VOLUME 40 ISSUE 1 n winter 2012 SPECTRUM is a journal established to encourage Seventh-day Adventist participation in the discus- sion of contemporary issues from a Christian viewpoint, to look without prejudice at all sides of a subject, to evaluate the merits of diverse views, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED COPYRIGHT © 2012 ADVENTIST FORUM and to foster Christian intellectual and cultural growth. Although effort is made to ensure accu- rate scholarship and discriminating judgment, the statements of fact are the responsibility of con- tributors, and the views individual authors express are not necessarily those of the editorial staff as a whole or as individuals. Editor Bonnie Dwyer Editorial Assistant Midori Yoshimura SPECTRUM is published by Adventist Forum, a Copy Editor Ramona Evans Cover and Inside Art: nonsubsidized, nonprofit organization for which Spectrum art director Design Laura Lamar Laura Lamar created these gifts are deductible in the report of income for pur- Subscriptions Manager Acacia Mojica word collages, which were poses of taxation. The publishing of SPECTRUM generated by an online Media Projects Alexander Carpenter algorithm at www.wor- depends on subscriptions, gifts from individuals, Spectrum Web Team Alexander Carpenter, Rachel dle.net/create from a list of and the voluntary efforts of the contributors. supplied keywords. The Davies, Bonnie Dwyer, Rich Hannon, David R. Larson, program, Wordle, allows SPECTRUM can be accessed on the World Wide Jonathan Pichot, Wendy Trim, Jared Wright the user to experiment Web at www.spectrummagazine.org with different fonts, colors, shapes, and orientations. EDITORIAL BOARD Juli Miller Users can post their Editorial Correspondence masterpieces to an online Marketing Communication gallery or export them Beverly Beem Consultant Direct all correspondence and letters to the editor to: for other uses. English Sun Valley, Idaho Walla Walla University Wordle was created by Richard Rice SPECTRUM Roy Branson Theology Jonathan Feinberg P. O. Box 619047 (©2011), an employee of School of Religion Loma Linda University IBM Research. While at Loma Linda University Roseville, CA 95661-9047 IBM, Feinberg developed Charles Scriven the core algorithms for Alita Byrd President laying out and displaying Writer Kettering College of tel: (916) 774-1080 Atlanta, Georgia Medical Arts words, then developed fax: (916) 791-4938 the Wordle website on his own time. More about Sharon Fujimoto- Gerhard Svrcek-Seiler [email protected] the creator and those who Johnson Vienna, Austria also contributed to this Writer/Graphic Designer project can be found at Sacramento, California Norman Young Letters to the editor may be edited for publication. www.wordle.net/credits. Cooranbong, Australia Fritz Guy Theology ISSN: 0890-0264 La Sierra University David R. Larson Subscriptions and Advertising Religion [email protected] Loma Linda University (916) 774-1080 Gary Land History Andrews University winter 2012 n VOLUME 40 ISSUE 1 SPECTRUM contents Editorials 2 Spiritual Formation and the Culture of Adventism | BY BONNIE DWYER 3 Should Revival Begin at the Top? | BY CHARLES SCRIVEN Noteworthy: from the Spectrum Blog 5 About the One project | REPORT BY SAM NEVES 7 Blog Comments: S Styrra, Ron Osborn, David Read, Pam in Seattle, PrBigKev, Zane Yi, G Lacourse, Chris Blake, Kevin D. Paulson Bible: The People of God 12 A Nation Without a State: Inclusivitiy, Exclusivity, and the People of God | BY DONN LEATHERMAN 20 Identity, Exclusivity and Inclusivity | BY STEPEHN BAUER 29 “The Remnant” and “the Others” | BY ROLF POHLER 37 The Angry Believers | BY LOREN SEIBOLD Spirituality 44 The Great “Spiritual Formation” Kerfuffle | BY DAVID E. THOMAS 50 Andrews University Statement on Biblical Spirituality 55 Commenting on the “Statement on Biblical Spirituality” | BY HARRI KUHALAMPI 59 Affirming “A Statement on Biblical Spirituality” | BY RACHEL DAVIES 63 Four Spiritual Pathways | BY JOHN R. JONES 68 The Cosmic “Phew”: Stages experienced in humankind’s individual and collective religious search | BY CHARLES TEEL, JR. 72 Writing Your Spiritual Story: A Key to Spiritual Health | BY MARY MCINTOSH Poetry back cover Babel/Babble | BY BRUCE FORBES WWW.SPECTRUMMAGAZINE.ORG 1 EDITORIAL n from the editor Spiritual Formation and the Culture of Adventism | BY BONNIE DWYER n 2008, Autumn House Pub- encouraging report on the One project spearheaded by chap- lishing, a division of Review lains at several institutions of higher learning. Focusing as it I and Herald Publishing, does on Christ alone, some people see it as an answer to our released a book by Jon L. cultural quarrels. Naturally, there are those who aren’t so sure. Dybdahl with the title Hunger: “Babel/Babble,” the poem that completes this issue on Satisfying the Longing of Your Soul. the back cover comes to my mind frequently these days as Based on the popular (then titled) I think about Adventist online culture. The wonderful spiritual formation seminary class that Dybdahl has taught technology that brings us together for conversation with at Andrews University for the past ten years, the book fellow church members from around the world also has addresses the hunger that even religious people can have the effect of dividing us, as individuals lash out in for communion with God. It is an introduction to the anonymity against ideas and people with whom they dis- Christian spiritual disciplines. agree. In our Spectrum web team discussions, we regularly Dybdahl originally wrote it for the non-Adventist mar- ponder how to address the anger within the Adventist ket, but when the Review learned about the manuscript, community. But the anger in Adventism existed before the their editors asked to publish it through their Autumn Internet exaggerated it, before the kerfuffle over spiritual House division where it could be sold in more than just formation. Loren Seibold describes it well in his piece Adventist bookstores. Dybdahl agreed. However, when “The Angry Believers.” the book came out and found a hungry audience within Chuck Scriven prescribes humility from top to bottom Adventism, he faced harsh criticism from some Adventists to help us deal with it. for not including more Adventist sources like Ellen G. Honest prayer, the most basic of the spiritual disci- White. With the criticism came controversy. plines, could help, too. In his Hunger book, Dybdahl says, Some of the controversy over Dybdahl’s book was gen- “prayer is a time for complete honesty.” To illustrate he erated by another book—Rick Howard’s Omega Rebellion points to the frustrated prayers of Jeremiah, Habakkuk’s that was first published by Remnant Publications before theological questioning of God, David’s advocating of vio- being picked up by the Review. Now it is out of print. In lence in the Psalms, and Jesus’ own prayer of “My God, it, he attacked the very idea of spiritual formation. And my God, why have you forsaken me?” (p. 45). those two words have been flipped within Adventism from My prayer today is that The Word Made Flesh will something positive to something negative. tame our criticisms of each other, give us generous, under- For fans of both books, the presence of the other marks standing hearts, and turn our denunciations into blessings what they perceive to be problematic shifts in Adventist of love and acceptance. n culture. What are we to make of this duality in our midst? Dave Thomas provides background on this “kerfuffle” in Bonnie Dwyer is editor of Spectrum magazine. this issue. To bring greater understanding of how spirituality is taught in Adventism, we have materials from both Andrews University and La Sierra University to share. Plus, we have an 2 spectrum VOLUME 40 ISSUE1 n winter 2012 from the forum chairman n EDITORIAL Should Revival Begin at the Top? | BY CHARLES SCRIVEN With your forgiveness, O God, wash away my self-deception. and faults without fear of rejection or reprisal. I recently asked a Sabbath School class about the wrote that prayer on May 8, 1989. At the time I was contrast, in Galatians, between “works of the flesh”— attending to a Bible verse or two each morning—a enmities, strife, jealousy and the like—and “the fruit of idiscipline I have mostly failed to keep up—and that the Spirit,” which includes love, patience, and generosi- morning my focus was the beginning of Psalm 32. ty. What might Paul’s message mean for us? A woman “Happy are those whose transgression is forgiven, whose exclaimed, “Don’t be an angry Adventist!”—and the class sin is covered,” the Psalmist declares, and then: “Happy broke into laughter. Her maxim had exposed an open are those to whom the LORD imputes no iniquity, and secret about our own pathology. in whose spirit there is no deceit.” Ted Wilson knows this pathology himself. Someone This was an amazing juxtaposition: forgiveness on the recently circulated a copy of an e-mail message meant one hand, and release from self-deception on the other. I for him, and it popped up in my inbox. The joint was trying back then to consolidate my thoughts through authors accused Elder Wilson—I am not making this prayer, and my journal records the outcome: “With your up—of supporting (!) the spread of “Roman Catholic forgiveness, O God, wash away my self-deception.” Spiritual Formation” in Adventism. It was one accusation The prayer mattered to me then. It still does. And if you among several. The e-mail message was shot through tweak it to say, “O God, wash away our self-deception,” it with loopy, self-righteous vituperation, and it was seems fitting for all of Adventism. Why it fits is painful to signed, “In Christian love.” contemplate; retreating into fantasy is easier.