David C. Jarnes

We live in the "me" generation. Our age has seen the acceptance of such farsighted wisdom as "If it feels good, do it." Current popular psychology suggests that guilt is an emotion to be avoided at all costs. If we experience guilt…

When Matthew Henry, the well-known churchman and commentator of eighteenth-century England, was robbed by highwaymen, he wrote in his diary: "Let me be thankful, first, because I was never robbed before; second, because although they took…

Just the other day our editorial associate, Rex D. Edwards, received a letter accusing him and the General Conference staff at large of incipient Catholicism. The letter came in reaction to an editorial, "Outward Structure, Inward Faith,"…

I appreciate the Epistles to Timothy and Titus. Directed originally to ministers in the early Christian church, they seem to have been preserved especially to encourage and counsel all who minister. These Epistles uphold the central place…

A modern apocryphal story pictures a man bemoaning the results of his visit to a photography studio. "These pictures don't do me justice," he laments. The photographer replies, "You don't want justice. What you're asking for is mercy!…

The Christian leaders of the first few centuries A.D. considered practicality an important criterion for the use of Scripture. ¹ They believed every part of the Bible should speak to the needs of people in their day. Some of them…

Being somewhat precocious and a natural born worrier I entered my mid-life crisis shortly after I turned 30. The trauma that birthday brought was quite unexpected. Ten years have now passed. I "celebrated," a bit more apprehensively, my fortieth…

The spiritual life of the flock—either congregation or family—tends not to rise higher than that of its leader. One of the most important things you can do to strengthen your ministry is to maintain a strong devotional life. The Bible must…

Pastor, I'm dying!" Mrs. Carter's* voice came over the phone in a hoarse semi-whisper. She wanted me to leave the church social I was attending and come to her home right away.

Not knowing what to do, I spoke to John Palmer, a doctor.…

When I was 8, my father accepted a call to a district that had no church school. Because I was ready for second grade and my brother to begin first, Dad started a school. It consisted of a teacher and 10 students who met in an old roadhouse…

Those who have recently become Adventists are often the most successful in bringing others to the Lord and the church. Their friends relatives make the best "prospects" for our evangelism; our message has a fresh appeal to many of them. But…

A portion of a conversation I had with a couple of seminarians a few years ago has lingered with me since that time. One of them, who had pastored a church for a while before entering the seminary, said that an older member of the congregation…

At times I have wondered about the role God plays in the world—where can we see Him at work? People have viewed Him—some still do—as what J. B. Phillips called the "god of the gaps." When…

How many ordinances do Seventh-day Adventists observe?

I faced this question recently when I was filling out a survey on our beliefs and practices. (The man who sent the survey is writing a book comparing the different denominations…

Some people speak of "foxhole Christians," those who turn to God when facing disaster—life-threatening situations, illness, financial problems, and such like. But I've noticed my feelings about my relationship with God rise…

In Psalm 51 David made a statement that I have a hard time accepting at face value. Asking God's forgiveness concerning the Bathsheba affair, he prayed, "Against thee, thee only, have I sinned" (verse 4).

Come on, David!

I'll…

Last November Loma Linda University's Center for Christian Bioethics convened a conference entitled "Abortion: Ethical Issues and Options." During three packed days the 150 to 300 of us who attended listened and responded to 35 papers representing,…

Are you satisfied with the validity of the Veltman study? Do you have any questions about the methodology Veltman used?

I am totally satisfied with this study. No one could have done a better…

I spent the middle of April this year on St. Vincent in the Caribbean. It was neither an official, work-related trip nor a vacation—at least not in the traditional sense of the term. With my teenage progeny I was…

Anger is one of the traditional seven deadly sins. Paul includes it in his lists of evils that Christians should avoid (Eph. 4:31; Col. 3:8). Consequently, many Christians fear anger, denying that they feel it and…

Two articles in the October 1989 Psychology Today reminded me again of the strong link between one's mental state and one's physical health.

The first says that "scientific evidence is beginning…

I'd heard it said one too many times. The line goes something like this: "In the areas of the world where each pastor must care for many churches, we're baptizing many more people than we are in those areas where pastors have only one or…

Last week Bill Neely, an associate pastor of the church to which I belong, spoke at a couple of the morning worships here at the General Conference. One of Bill's worship talks focused on being a father, calling my thoughts again to the metaphor…

In chapter 17 of his book Inspiration: Hard Questions, Honest Answers Alden Thompson points out the difficulty of determining where the literal leaves off and the symbolic begins in some passages of Scripture. He notes that Adventists,…

During a church service a few weeks ago, someone read from ,a King James Version Bible a passage from the book of Romans. As I followed along in my New International Version, I was struck by the contrast between what I was hearing and what…

A little more than a year ago we published an article by Tim Poirier that provided some valuable help in understanding the much-discussed topic of Ellen White's views on Christ's human nature. Poirier framed the question in these terms: "Did…

Evolutionary theory probably has as many different varieties as Heinz has products! Today the two major types of evolutionary thought are "phyletic gradualism'' and "punctuated equilibrium. '' The basic difference is whether evolution…

During his hearing before the Diet of Worms, Martin Luther spoke the now-famous words "Unless I am convicted by Scripture and plain reason. . . my conscience is captive to the Word of God. I cannot and I will not recant anything, for to go…