Yearly Archives: 2016

For such a time as this . .

 

A few weeks ago I reread the Bible book of Esther. It is a novella that has all the ingredients of a good story: beautiful women, power, treason and a happy ending, when the bad boys are eliminated and the people with courage triumph. At the same time it is a very unusual story. In a Bible book we would expect to see the name of God, but in the Esther saga God is never mentioned, at least not directly. And Esther may be the heroine of the story, but that does not take away from the fact that she agrees to participate in a beauty contest and to become part of the royal harem, before she receives the status of queen.

But there is more in this fascinating story. A high official (Haman) almost succeeds in pushing the king to satisfy his anti-Semitic sentiments and to rid the Persian Empire of all Jewish inhabitants. However, Mordecai and Esther find a way to prevent this. That requires great courage. Esther must approach the king and confess to him that she, in fact, is also Jewish. And she is to tell king about the evil plans of Haman. Mordecai instructs his niece and he suggests that events went the way they did so that Esther would get the opportunity to do something really important. He says: ‘Who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?’ (Esther 4:14).

It seems to me that this text fits perfectly with the beginning of a new year. We live in a time that is no less exciting than that of Esther. That raises the question: ‘How then should I live in ‘such a time as this’?  Will we be clear about our Christian identity at moments when it really counts? Do we dare to show the same courage as Esther did, and make it crystal clear where we stand?

Many countries will hold their national elections in 2017—the Netherlands is one of them. Do we make our political choices ‘in a time such as this’ on the basis of our Christian worldview and values? And will we be courageous enough in our daily life and our activities in society to show that we are inspired and led by our Christian beliefs?  And do we, also within our faith community, have the guts to follow our biblically informed conscience, even if that will not be appreciated by all? How do I live my Adventist Christian faith in 2017—‘in such a time as this?’

In short: How do we profile ourselves as followers of the Lord Jesus Christ in 2017—‘un sich a time as this?’ This is not just a general question—it is a question that I must also personally respond to.

 

Hopes and plans for 2017

 

Of course, I, first of all, have my personal wishes for 2017: health and personal happiness for my loved ones and myself. 

As far as the world around me is concerned, I sincerely hope that world leaders will be able to agree on ways to reduce war, sickness, poverty, and misery. I hope that we will see fewer outburts of populism, and less polarization, and that somehow the Trumps of this world will listen to the more reasonable voices in society.

I hope that in 2017 my church (the Seventh-day Adventist denomination) will be able to get on with its mission—playing its important role in bringing the message of Christ to an ever more secular world—without being distracted and disrupted by radical conservativism. I hope that, more than in the recent past, church leadership will focus on a hopeful and inspiring future, striving for unity in diversity, rather than placing its emphasis on selectively re-creating nineteenth century Adventism.

2017 is now around the corner. I have a habit of making to-do lists in my black Moleskin notebook. Usually, at the beginning of a month I write a to-do-list for the major projects I hope to be working on for the next 4-5 week: sermons, articles, chapters in book, sections of translations, meetings to attend and people to visit. But I also list the topics of lectures that will be coming up in the next 4-6 months, so that  I can start thinking and reading about these. I do not always succeed in doing everything that is on the list, and things sometimes get pushed to the next month. But the system works for me, and by-and-large- keeps me ‘on schedule’, while I am flexible enough to adapt if necessary. However, by working in this way I hardly ever have to struggle to meet a looming deadline.

But at the beginning of the year I also make a list of the major projects I hope to realize in that coming year. My mission with the book FACING DOUBT – A Book for Adventist Believers ‘on the Margin’ will continue. Work is under way on French, Danish, and Russian editions. There may be possibilities for German and Czech translations. (And, by the way, we are also looking for someone who would be able and willing to translate the book into Portuguese! Suggestions are more than welcome).

Most likely I will be working on some translation project for a non-SDA publisher. In the spring of this year Wm. B. Eerdmans (Grand Rapids, MI) will publish the English edition of a rather substantial book (782 pages), written by two theologians of the Free University in Amsterdam:  Gijsbert van den Brink and Cornelis van der Kooi: Christian Dogmatics. I spent many hours on the translation of this book from Dutch into English. It feels good to see in the publisher’s announcement that is hook ‘is written in a student-friendly tone and is expertly translated!’

A major new project I hope to undertake in 2017 is writing a thorough, yet easily accessible, book about an issue that figures quite prominently in current Adventism: Last Generation Theology. Although it has never been recognized as the church’s official teaching, it has its roots in traditional Adventism and has the support of large groups in the more conservative segment of the church and also among today’s top church leaders. I am convinced that the LGT is based on a number of false premises and has some serious implications. Whether or not I will be able to complete this project in 2017 remains to be seen. I have begun thinking and reading about the topic. I have a lot of relevant material in my own book cases and much is available on line,  but I realize that I will also need to spend at least some weeks in a good Adventist library.

And what else? There promises to be a fair amount of travel in the next twelve months, also outside of the Netherlands.  A dozen or so appointments for study conferences, lectures and sermons are already either fixed or being considered. However, when all is said and done, I do also plan to read—for my own spiritual nourishment and for entertainment—and there are museums to be visited! And there must be time for family and friends . . . and fun.

I realize that all plans are tentative—depending on good health and many other factors. Therefore, I end this blog with the same words that I put at the end of my previous blog—Deo Volente!

I wish all my blog readers blessed Christmas days and a good 2017!

 

Looking back: 2016

 

Once we have passed the middle of December, we reach the moment when we start looking back on the year that was. For me this looking back always has three dimensions: the world, the church and my personal life.

Well, what can I say about the world at the end of 2016? Our world has not become any better. We live with the enormous uncertainty of what the coming Trump-era will bring us. And nobody can predict what the Brexit will mean for Europe. In many places in the world we see a disastrous degree of polarization that totally divides nations and population groups . The move towards ‘the right’ and the populistich trends are, to my dismay, factors that increasingly determine the Dutch political arena. And names like Aleppo, Mosul and IS have dominated the international landscape.

And what about the church? The crisis in Christianity continues, and this is also true for the crisis in worldwide Adventism. The Adventist Church continues to be successful in recruiting millions of new members, but at the same time experiences an unprecedented exodus of people who no longer feel a home in Adventism. Church leadership at the highest level has in 2016 done what it could  to call rebelling church entities (as for instance the Netherlands Union) to order. The world leaders are obsessed with the idea that these ‘illegal’ ordination of female pastors must stop. But gradually this war begins to develop into a rearguard action. Yes, top leadership may still count on a numerical majority in crucial votes to push their ideas–due to the large non-Western support. But the authority of the General Conferences is gradually diminishing elsewhere in the world and it appears to me that in 2016 we have been gradually moving towards a situation in which the ‘rebellion’ will be grudgingly tolerated, without any concrete disciplinary actions.

And how was 2016 for me personally? First of all, I am thankful that I can look back on a years in which I have remained reasonably healthy and energetic. And I realize that I cannot take it just as a matter of course that, after having now been married for 52 years, my wife and I are still able to enjoy life together and to do lots of things together. I have remained quite active in many church activities. I have preached almost every week, given many other presentations, and my pen (i.e. Apple notebook) has been intensely used. I crossed the Dutch border many times in response to invitations. At times this was together with my wife, as for instance when we spent a month early this year in Australia, and on trips to Sweden, England, Belgium and Germany. But in most cases I went alone, as the inviting organizations will normally send just one ticket! Already quite a few things are lined up for 2017.

The publication of my book FACING DOUBT: A Book for Adventist Believers ‘on the Margins’ and its Dutch edition, have to a major extent put a stamp on the second part of the past year. Some people have felt that the book clearly shows that I no longer have the right to call myself a ‘real Adventist, and that I should hand in my ministerial credentials. But I have received so many positive, and often moving, comments from readers in the Netherlands, the United States and the United Kingdom, and from dozens of other countries, that I have the sense of having provided an important service to many people. And, therefore, I will with conviction continue to promote the book and to prepare editions in other languages. I continue to count on the support of many kindred spirits (especially through their social networks). And I will try to respond as well as I can to the many reactions—even if that consumes a major portion of my time.

In 2016 I have been focused especially on the theme of ‘doubt’. This has not harmed my faith. Better than before I have been able to define more precisely what I, in actual fact, believe. And it has given me increased peace of mind to have bidden farewell to many earlier ideas and convictions. It has given me a clearer view of what is really crucial in my relationship to God, and to my church and fellow-believers. This makes my commitment to support others who go through a similar process stronger rather than weaker. This a an important gain in 2016, for which I thank my Lord.

In next week’s blog I want to mention a few things that I hope to be involved in in 2017. However, I keep in mind what used to be an important slogan in conservative Christian circles in the Netherlands: Deo Volente.

 

 

UPDATE JOSHUA

 

A few months ago a project was started to help a Kenyan student—Joshua Ondari Mugere—to fulfill his dream.

Joshua is the son of Rebecca and her husband Moses. Moses is the administrator of an Adventist school in Kenya. A few years ago Rebecca took the courageous decision to embark on a theological study, with the aim of becoming a pastor. This meant that she would, for months at a time, be separated from her family in Kenya, to pursue her studies in the (much cheaper) country of Uganda, at the Adventist Bugema University. That is where I met her when I taught there for a number of weeks as a guest lecturer. It was at a moment when she had great financial difficulties. Thanks to a Dutch sponsor she was able to complete her studies and even to continue her studies in Kenya where she successfully studied for a Masters degree. She is now employed by a Kenyan conference as a pastor.

In my frequent contact with Rebecca, I learned that her son Joshua might have to give up his studies because of financial difficulties. Together with mr. Klaas Man, the treasurer of the Adventist church in the small Dutch city of Harderwijk, a campaign was initiated to raise 14.000 euros. That would make it possible to subsidize Joshua during four years to the tune of 2.000 dollars per semester. Joshua is studying dental surgery at the Adventist university in the Phlippines.

So far almost 9.000 euro has been received or promised. This is great, but it also means that the project needs a further push. If you want to help, you can do so in two ways. You can send a one-time gift to the Adventist Church in Harderwijk, or make a commitment to send a small monthly amount during the next three-and-a-half-years to this church. The account number of the SDA Church in Harderwijk is: NL88INGB0003572110, gemeente ZDA, Harderwijk. It should be clearly indicated that it is a gift for the Joshua project. [If you want to send a small amount on a monthly basis, please notify mr. Klaas Man, so that he knows what to expect in the coming period. His e-mail address is: klaasman01@gmail.com.

Do you want to get better acquainted with Joshua? Watch the You Tube video that he sent to say thank you to his sponsors and to wish all of us a happy festive season and a blessed 2017. The link is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fg5i6rTTYnA&t=20s

For a regular update re the project, see the special FaceBook page: @Joshua studeerfonds.

 

Once again: Kuitert

 

In my previous blog I was quite enthusiastic about the biography of Harry Kuitert (b. 1924), by Gert J. Peelens. I have now finished the book and my enthusiasm has gradually become mingled with a sense of tragedy.

Peelen paints a very fascinating picture of Kuitert and gives a clear description of his development as an ethicist and a theologian. His career is, in fact, a triptych: Kuitert’s academic career shifted from theology to ethics and, after he retired, back to theology. In his advanced age Kuitert produced a number of theological books for a broader public. Some of these have become real bestsellers.

It is not strange to detect a development in someone’s thinking—and that is certainly true for a theologian. But in the case of Kuitert we are faced with a man who began his career as a fundamentalist pastor in the small Christian Reformed Church in Scharendijke, a conservative village in the Southwestern part of the country, and who, some six decades later no longer believes that God really exists (i.e. as a Reality outside us), and who no longer expects a life after death.

His complete turn-around has probably been best expressed in two of his famous one-liners. In 1974 he stated that everything we say about ‘above’, comes from below. In 2002 he told his readers that at first there were human  beings, then there were gods, and then came God. And not the other way around,

As the years passed we notice a consistent line in Kuitert’s thinking. He becomes more and more convinced that we cannot read the Bible as history. The Bible stories did not really happen in the way they were written down. They are stories, myths. At first he was mainly concerned about he lack of historicity in the first three chapters of the Bible: we cannot accept the stories of creation and of the Fall as literal. But as he became older—and this is especially clear from his more recent books—little of the biblical story remains. He is more and more convinced that, when we speak of God, we do not refer to a Reality outside of us (to a Referent, as philosophers would say). God is the product of our imagination. And this does not just apply to God, but to all aspects of our faith. This does not make the Christian faith completely worthless, even though many of his readers think so. Ever more frequently people accuse Kuitert that he has robbed them of their faith.

I agree with Kuitert in many of the things he says. When we use God-talk and faith-talk, we can only do so with human language—with human metaphors and literary models.  This is often forgotten and leads almost inevitably to a caricature of God. But I am not prepared to follow Kuitert in eliminating the possibility of divine revelation. There are, I think, at least as many arguments for the existence of God (as an Eternal Reality outside of us) as there are reasons to deny God’s existence. If we are prepared to recognize the fact that God exists, it seems logical to assume that this God makes himself known to us, gives us information about himself and what he does for us andexpecs from us.  If that is true, it follows that not all God-talk originates in our human imagination. Something from above is received here below and can be known to us. That is something that encourages me, even though we must remember that in our thinking and speaking about God we will always be handicapped by our creaturely limitations.

Kuitert has a defense against the accusation that he has taken the faith of many people away, that we cannot simply dismiss. The panic among believers, he says, is the result of the fact that most theologians have too long remained silent about their discoveries and they carefully kept their conclusions in their own small circle. When at last, like Kuitert, they began to speak and write about their opinions, some felt liberated but many felt betrayed and frustrated. This is also a lesson for Seventh-day Adventist theologians. Among them we also notice tthe tendency to keep quiet about the developments in their theological views, afraid that they might confuse the members in the pew (or lose their job). This is unfortunate and dishonest. And in the long run it causes immense problems.

A denomination has to gain a great deal by being open, also when the basic elements of its theology are at stake, as well as the ways in which these impact on the faith community.