Adventist Heritage Center

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1 Adventist Heritage Center From: Sent: To: Subject: Adventist Review on behalf of Adventist Review Monday, June 27, :18 PM Adventist Heritage Center Monday Trending Video: The Brexit and Prophecy? Trans-European Division Responds to Brexit Vote No Rational Grounds? 1

2 ADRA Delivers 52 Tons of Aid in Drought-Stricken Colombia 200 Deaf People Seek Bible Studies After Online Series in Brazil Copyright 2016 Adventist Review, All rights reserved. You are receiving this because you opted in at our website. Our mailing address is: Adventist Review Old Columbia Pike Silver Spring, MD Add us to your address book Want to change how you receive these s? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list 2

3 Login Search Subscribe Menu Raafat Kamal, pictured earlier this year, says division officers are studying the implications of the vote on the division. (TED) Next Generation in Witnessing: the Paper USB Drive Want protein and lower mortality? Look at plants, new study says Samuele Bacchiocchi s Widow Dies of Apparent Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Adventists, Suffering in Portuguese Fires, Reach Out to Others Human Trafficking Today Edward Zinke Is on a Mission to Point Adventist Educators to the Bible The Bible scholar and philanthropist emphasizes the importance of a biblical foundation in Adventist education. SUBSCRIBE+NEWSLETTER+ IN THIS ISSUE+NEWS+ARCHIVES+ READER RESPONSE+MEDIA PARTNERS+ SCREENING ROOM+GRACENOTES+ PHOTO SUBMISSIONS

4 Trans-European Division Responds to Brexit Vote Church leaders call for unity, love, and commonwealth among all people. POSTED JUNE 25, 2016 O, communication director, Trans-European Division n Thursday, June 23, the British people voted by a margin of 3.8 percent to leave the European Union. With a turnout of 72 percent, 51.9 percent of the electorate made the historic decision, changing 43 years of European history since the United Kingdom joined the European Community in Many students of Bible prophecy see Brexit as a fulfilment of the prophecy of Daniel 2:43, which predicts that the various nations of Europe shall not cleave one to the other. This was well expressed by an Adventist Review TV special released Friday. However, while it is prophesied that Europe will have both strength and weaknesses, and while attempts to bring unity as under the Roman empire will never succeed, Ian Sweeney, president of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in the United Kingdom and Ireland, said that this does not relieve us of our responsibility to promote unity, love, and commonwealth among all people. The prophecy of Daniel 2 does not mean that we should not fight against divisions that are borne of racism, prejudice, self-interest and the like, Sweeney said. Jesus once said that the poor will always be among us (John 12.8). However, this was not to say that we should just accept poverty without working to relieve it. Following the exit vote, David Neal, Stewardship Ministries director for the Trans-European Division (TED), said: The honest, Bible-believing Adventist is conflicted. For sure, the prophetic word stands. But neither can he or she be ready and willing to stand with those who are fearful of the other, whose actions in word and deed border on xenophobia. As valid as Daniel 2 is, without question, Christ s parable of the Good Samaritan is of equal consideration. The Brexit campaign completely ignored this value. In an impassioned plea, Sweeney, whose parents were themselves migrants in the 1970s, said: Europe will always be divided in one or another. However, we Nenad Jepuranovic, treasurer for the Trans-European Division. (TED) have a Christian responsibility to show our love for all people who in political debates are depersonalized and labeled as migrants, economic refugees. etc. We may not share the language, culture, and ethnicity. However, every man woman and child are our brothers and sisters who Christ loves and died to save. Trans-European Division president Raafat Kamal said division officers were studying the implications that this vote will have on the operation of the TED office in achieving our mission in Europe. There will be clearly financial and operational implications for us to consider, he said. He equally noted that the Trans-European Division is not just multi-lingual but multicurrency. "The composition of Europe has changed over the years both inside and outside the church, Kamal said. The two European divisions have equally changed several times

5 in terms of size and structure during their history. Change of itself is not a problem. We must simply find the best way to react to the change. In Europe, the Adventist Church is represented by the Trans-European Division and the Inter-European Division. It may even be that in such times of uncertainty people may look more to faith based solutions a security that as Adventists we can certainly provide, Kamal said. Uncertainty within the various financial markets may cause some issues for church mission, said Nenad Jepuranovic, treasurer for the Trans-European Division. He saw the biggest financial risk as the fluctuating exchange rate between the 12 different currencies used in the 22 countries that make up the Trans-European Division. "Over the past few years, our tithe income in local currencies has been steadily increasing," Jepuranovic said. "However, the economic turbulence in the European markets in the last two years has meant that we have borne the brunt of adverse exchange rates that have reduced our tithe income in British pounds by 9.6 percent. This has been balanced in part by U.S.-British exchange rates, he said. What of the future? The latest predictions for the European markets are at best uncertain, but over the past few years the TED has built up sufficient reserves to cover economically volatile periods such as those that we may encounter in the next few months, Jepuranovic said. Nevertheless, Jepuranovic is searching for ways to improve our efficiency and effectiveness to best serve the needs of our territory. Victor Pilmoor, who will retire shortly as treasurer for the church in the United Kingdom and Ireland, wrote in his monthly blog that he was concerned about issues of fraternity. Whether one looks at the goal of inclusiveness among the nations of Europe, the freedom of partygoers in Orlando, and goodwill in the Yorkshire town of Batley (where a member of parliament campaigning for 'remain' was cold-bloodedly murdered), our societies are clearly fragmented, Pilmoor wrote. The arguments that rage, dwell on fear and the forces of self-interest. This, he said, has led to a loss of fraternity, an unwillingness by many in society to take the abundant view that there is room for all of us, that life is not a game of winners and losers. Uncompromising fear-ridden fundamentalism has filled the hearts of many to the point where self-preservation has become the object of national and religious influence, he said. His conclusion is a positive mantra for mission. By contrast we could offer a world view that acknowledges the generosity of God offering grace and sustenance for all, he said. A perspective that our lives are to honor what God gives us, to steward the abilities and powers with which we are endowed for purposes greater than ourselves. Perhaps an Old Testament prophet is the one to finally guide us in our way forward. He has shown you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you, but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God? (Micah 6:8 NKJV). News & Features Subscriber Access About Departments Resources Current Adventist News Online Exclusives Gracenotes Events Subscriptions Renew Account Forgotten Password Report Trouble Update Mailing Address Issue Archives Our Roots and Mission Staff Writer's Guidelines Advertising Adventist World Reader Response Photo Galleries Prayer Requests Partners Contact Free Newsletter Photo Submissions Downloads Sunset Calendar Church Locator RSS Feed Copyright 2016, Adventist Review. All rights reserved worldwide.

6 Login Search Subscribe Menu When the author enjoyed a ripe, sweet mango for breakfast, the inconsistencies of evolutionary theory became clear Next Generation in Witnessing: the Paper USB Drive Want protein and lower mortality? Look at plants, new study says Samuele Bacchiocchi s Widow Dies of Apparent Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Adventists, Suffering in Portuguese Fires, Reach Out to Others Human Trafficking Today Adventists Asked to Pray After Nepal Bans Evangelistic Outreach The Adventist leader in Nepal says a new approach i needed to share the gospel. SUBSCRIBE+NEWSLETTER+ IN THIS ISSUE+NEWS+ARCHIVES+ READER RESPONSE+MEDIA PARTNERS+ SCREENING ROOM+GRACENOTES+ PHOTO SUBMISSIONS

7 Cliff Goldstein is editor of the Adult Sabbath School Bible Study Guide. He is working on a book tentatively titled, Baptizing the Devil: Evolution and the Seduction of Christianity. No Rational Grounds? Once there, at faith, we have more than enough rational grounds to justify belief, whatever inevitable questions remain. recently read the assertion that there are no rational grounds for admitting any religious truth.... I No rational grounds for admitting any religious truth? Please! In the story of the paralytic let down from the roof by his friends, Jesus said to the religious leaders in attendance: Why do you reason about these things in your hearts? Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, Your sins are forgiven you, or to say, Arise, take up your bed and walk? But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins He said to the paralytic, I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house. (Mark 2:8-11). And when the man arose, took his bed, and went to his house what more rational grounds for belief could these religious leaders have been given than by Jesus, who showed them that He could not only read their thoughts but exercise the raw power of God, too? When Jesus raised Lazarus, or when He healed the boy blind from birth talk about rational, logical grounds for faith. And with Christ s own resurrection, after which, according to Paul, he was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep (1 Corinthians 15:6) powerfully logical reasons for belief have been given for anyone not too metaphysically straight-laced to see it. Read the apologetics of William Lane Craig, Lee Strobel, or N.T. Wright for overwhelming logical evidence for the resurrection of Jesus. Or, ironically enough, marvel at Gerd Ludemann and John Shelby Sprong s ad hoc, bizarre and sorry efforts to deny the logical evidence for Christ s resurrection. No rational grounds for religious faith? Daniel 2 alone, with its accurate depiction, not only of ancient history but of modern Europe today, presents logical and rational reasons for faith so powerful that higher criticism s unflagging attempts to neuter those reasons fail, and miserably so. One morning, as I was devouring a thick, juicy and sweet mango, the preposterousness of current scientific dogma that this mango arose through billions of years of random mutation and natural selection stuck me with stark clarity. The taste, the smell, the texture, the nutrients, everything about it screamed with the logic of an algebra equation about the loving Creator who made it. Few things, if you really think about it, are more illogical and unreasonable than what science backed up by reams of peerreviewed papers tells us about how life on earth was created. Now, take this quote from the doyen of the idea that science, not faith, is reasonable. Evolution, wrote Richard Dawkins, is a fact. Beyond reasonable doubt, beyond serious doubt, beyond sane, informed, intelligent doubt, beyond doubt evolution is a fact. The evidence for evolution is at least as strong as the evidence for the Holocaust, even allowing for eye witnesses to the Holocaust. It is the plain truth that we are cousins of chimpanzees, somewhat more distant cousins of monkeys, more distant cousins still of aardvarks and manatees, yet more distant cousins of bananas and turnips... continue the list as long as desired. Meanwhile, in a TV interview, in the context of how the universe began, Richard Dawkins said the following: Lawrence Krauss, my colleague, we did a film together called The Unbelievers. And he has written a book called A Universe From Nothing. And

8 he produces a physical theory, mathematically worked out, to show that you can get something from nothing. That nothing and nothing in some strange way cancels itself out to produce something. And quantum theory allows that to happen. Well, I m humble enough to say I don t understand it, and I am not arrogant enough to say that because I don t understand it, it can t be right. Richard Dawkins all but equates with Holocaust deniers those who don t think humans are distant cousins of bananas and turnips, but sees no reason to deny the theory mathematically worked out, mind you that nothing and nothing in some strange way cancels itself out to produce something, i.e., the universe? And we are the ones called unreasonable? You can t make this stuff up! Of course, one could argue that it s rich for someone like me, who had a radical bornagain experience and who s probably the only GC guy to have astral travelled to talk about rationality and reason in faith. But that argument conflates two separate things: discovery and justification. How one comes to believe in something, to discover it, can be radically different from how that person, over time, justifies what he believes, regardless of how he or she first came to believe it. Sure, Paul came to faith in Jesus en route to Damascus, hardly the most logical and rational of experiences, but little of his later justification for this belief rested on that experience alone (Galatians 1:1; 1 Corinthians 15:3-4; Romans 1:18-20;Acts 17:23-30). It doesn t matter how someone comes to faith, whether spoon fed it since cradle roll or getting zapped on the road to Damascus; but once there, at faith, we have more than enough rational grounds to justify it, whatever inevitable questions remain. News & Features Subscriber Access About Departments Resources Current Adventist News Online Exclusives Gracenotes Events Subscriptions Renew Account Forgotten Password Report Trouble Update Mailing Address Issue Archives Our Roots and Mission Staff Writer's Guidelines Advertising Adventist World Reader Response Photo Galleries Prayer Requests Partners Contact Free Newsletter Photo Submissions Downloads Sunset Calendar Church Locator RSS Feed Copyright 2016, Adventist Review. All rights reserved worldwide.

9 Login Search Subscribe Menu Hundreds of people collecting bags of food during a five-day relief effort led by ADRA in Colombia's La Guajira region. (Photos: IAD) Next Generation in Witnessing: the Paper USB Drive Want protein and lower mortality? Look at plants, new study says Samuele Bacchiocchi s Widow Dies of Apparent Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Adventists, Suffering in Portuguese Fires, Reach Out to Others Human Trafficking Today Adventists Asked to Pray After Nepal Bans Evangelistic Outreach The Adventist leader in Nepal says a new approach i needed to share the gospel. SUBSCRIBE+NEWSLETTER+ IN THIS ISSUE+NEWS+ARCHIVES+ READER RESPONSE+MEDIA PARTNERS+ SCREENING ROOM+GRACENOTES+ PHOTO SUBMISSIONS

10 ADRA Delivers 52 Tons of Aid in Drought-Stricken Colombia Volunteers come as far away as Hawaii to provide relief to the people of La Guajira. POSTED JUNE 27, 2016 T, with Inter-American Division staff he Adventist Development and Relief Agency has delivered 52 tons of humanitarian aid to a remote region of Colombia where severe drought has killed hundreds of children over the past five years. Colombia is suffering the worst drought in its history that scientists have blamed on the weather phenomenon El Niño. The country's hardest-hit region is La Guajira, located at the northern end of South America in a peninsula between Colombia and Venezuela. ADRA, which previously delivered aid to hundreds of families in La Guajira in September 2014, returned to the area amid reports that 29 children had died of malnutrition during the first five months of 2016, said Gabriel Villarreal, Colombia country director for ADRA. The crippling drought combined with the closure of the border between Venezuela and Colombia has greatly affected this area, Villarreal said. It really concerns us. Just to think that many of the young children in La Guajira have never seen rain is astonishing. Some 75 volunteers coming from Columbia s capital, Bogotá, and as far away as the U.S. island of Hawaii made a five-day visit to five towns in La Guajira earlier this month, distributing food, clothes, and shoes, offering medical care and free medicine, and providing haircuts and recreational activities to thousands of families. Local authorities in the towns of Uribia, Jujurá, Alta Guajira, Kamushino, and Puerto Nuevo expressed gratitude for the assistance. We are very grateful for the health impact that ADRA has brought, said Nayla Sierra, a representative of Uribia s health department, which joined ADRA workers in providing relief. The city of Uribia is thankful for the humanitarian work you have been providing in different places where it s difficult to enter. Many communities in La Guajira, Colombia, have not seen rain in five years.

11 A Historic Project The project is historic for the Adventist Church and ADRA because it involved all 17 of the church s conferences and missions across Colombia, Villarreal said. Each church entity collected funds and nonperishable items to benefit those in need in La Guajira. Villarreal said ADRA held several initial meetings with La Guajira authorities to identify the needs of the communities and then met with church leaders and volunteers to coordinate, transport, and deliver the goods. He said the preliminary goal was to assist 2,400 families, or 12,000 people, but ADRA managed to distribute nonperishable food to 2,600 families, or 13,020 people. It also provided 956 medical consultations, 54 dental procedures, 3,966 free medical items, recreational activities for 640 children, and 1,000 clothing and shoe items to 1,900 children. Many people left their homes before dawn to line up to receive medical attention and other assistance. This means so much to us, thank you for helping us, said Lucia Fuentes, who is from a family of 15 and was among 773 families who received aid in Jujurá. In addition to food, she and her family received free medical screenings and haircuts. Without volunteers, the project would not have been possible, Villarreal said. Among the volunteers was Jenny Bonilla, a psychologist in Bogotá, who signed up after seeing a flyer in her daughter s school. She initially wasn t sure if non-adventists could participate, but ADRA s Bogotá office approved her application and she bought a ticket to La Guajira. While in La Guajira, she fell ill and spent four days in the hospital. But she said God healed her. He wanted me to be here to serve and learn how so many of us are blessed, Bonilla said. Lack of Smiles Colombian native Angelica de Jesus traveled from Hawaii, where she is stationed with the U.S. military. I had been looking for a while for opportunities to serve, and when I found out from a friend back home in Colombia about this ADRA project, I did everything I could to come, said de Jesús. The greatest gift is to see the smiles on the faces of these people who we are helping, she said. It s really the best payment that we could receive for what we are doing here. Smiling is not common in Puerto Nuevo, said Josefina Palmar Pushaina, a Wayuu woman who is nine months pregnant with twins. She was accompanied to the ADRA distribution center by her three children, husband, and mother. There s no happiness here, she said. What we have here is a need for help. We are thankful to ADRA Colombia for the help, but we need more. We need water, food, and work. She said not a drop of rain has fallen in Puerto Nuevo in five years. The land is not good for planting, and there s no work anywhere, she said. She dreams for her children to have a better future. ADRA does not see this as simply a second humanitarian effort, Villarreal said. He said ADRA was looking to turn this month s project into a rehabilitation project and later a development project. Water supply and basic sanitation projects are at the top of ADRA s list of priorities. Efforts to make sure children are properly nourished and to establish economic development projects for craftswomen and men will follow. We are happy to provide this aid in time of emergency, but we also want these communities to return to their normal lives when there is no drought, Villarreal said. News & Features Subscriber Access About Departments Resources Current Adventist News Online Exclusives Subscriptions Renew Account Issue Archives Our Roots and Mission Reader Response Photo Galleries Contact Free Newsletter

12 Gracenotes Events Forgotten Password Report Trouble Update Mailing Address Staff Writer's Guidelines Advertising Adventist World Prayer Requests Partners Photo Submissions Downloads Sunset Calendar Church Locator RSS Feed Copyright 2016, Adventist Review. All rights reserved worldwide.

13 Login Search Subscribe Menu Adventist pastor Douglas Silva, who is deaf, lead the Evangelibras series. (All photos: Jefferson Paradello / SAD) Next Generation in Witnessing: the Paper USB Drive Want protein and lower mortality? Look at plants, new study says Samuele Bacchiocchi s Widow Dies of Apparent Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Adventists, Suffering in Portuguese Fires, Reach Out to Others Human Trafficking Today Adventists Asked to Pray After Nepal Bans Evangelistic Outreach The Adventist leader in Nepal says a new approach i needed to share the gospel. SUBSCRIBE+NEWSLETTER+ IN THIS ISSUE+NEWS+ARCHIVES+ READER RESPONSE+MEDIA PARTNERS+ SCREENING ROOM+GRACENOTES+ PHOTO SUBMISSIONS

14 200 Deaf People Seek Bible Studies After Special Online Series in Brazil The Adventist Church expands it work with the deaf community in South America. POSTED JUNE 27, 2016 A, South American Division ll eyes focused on computers, tablets, and smartphones as thousands of deaf people across Brazil watched a special Seventh-day Adventist evangelistic series livestreamed on Facebook and YouTube. The number of viewers soared to 31,489 for the second annual Evangelibras (Evangelism in Sign Language) event, which aims to both share the gospel message and undergird the Adventist Church s commitment toward the deaf community, organizers said. Last year 3,239 people watched the program, which was only aired on YouTube. Adventist pastor Douglas Silva, who is deaf, led the series from the headquarters of the church s South American Division in Brasilia and answered videotaped questions submitted by viewers in Brazilian sign language, known as Libras. After the series, more than 200 people requested Bible studies. This is only the beginning, said Edison Choque, coordinator of Evangelibras and director of special needs ministries for the South American Division, which covers eight countries. "Five years ago we had 49 meeting points for Adventist deaf members and today we have 170, but it is still not enough, Choque said. Our challenge is for every big city and every region to train new interpreters and multiply this dream. The Adventist Church has about 1,400 members who are deaf in Brazil. Watch the Evangelibras (Evangelism in Sign Language) event Douglas Silva speaking with Evangelibras participants. Everyone involved in the program was deaf. Choque said the challenge now is to provide Evangelibras viewers with the requested Bible studies. Viewers have been directed to local Adventist congregations with members who specialize in working with the deaf. Jackeline Mennon, who has advised Choque on his work with the deaf community for the past eight years, emphasized the importance of producing resources and placing them in the hands of the deaf.

15 They feel valued because someone, in this case the Seventh-day Adventist Church, is concerned about teaching them in their mother tongue, Mennon said. She said deaf people from other faiths are studying the Adult Sabbath School Bible Study Guide and other Adventist materials in sign language because of a lack of such resources in Brazil. Although we are walking timidly down this road, we already have more resources aimed at the deaf than many other denominations who have worked with deaf people for longer periods of time," she said. Orleans Ribeiro, who is deaf and leads the church s deaf ministry in Brazil s capital, Brasilia, and the surrounding region, said he was thrilled with the growing amount of deaf resources released by the church. People are excited to learn about the content we share, he said. And later they want to know where they can find a Seventh-day Adventist Church. Today we have DVDs, some books, many things online, and this helps us pass the gospel from person to person across Brazil. Silva, who led the Evangelibras series from June 15 to 18, dreams about sharing the Adventist message with the more than 9 million people who are deaf in Brazil. For that to happen more quickly, he said, more deaf people need to attend the seminary and become pastors. It is important for you if you are deaf, reading this article, and interested to study theology so we can reach out to more people, he said through a sign-language interpreter. News & Features Subscriber Access About Departments Resources Current Adventist News Online Exclusives Gracenotes Events Subscriptions Renew Account Forgotten Password Report Trouble Update Mailing Address Issue Archives Our Roots and Mission Staff Writer's Guidelines Advertising Adventist World Reader Response Photo Galleries Prayer Requests Partners Contact Free Newsletter Photo Submissions Downloads Sunset Calendar Church Locator RSS Feed Copyright 2016, Adventist Review. All rights reserved worldwide.