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Acclaimed Jazz Trumpeter And Composer, Dies At 94 http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2015/02/22/388240099/clark-terry-acclaimed-jazz-trumpeter-and-composer-dies-at-94?utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=news

24 Cheshvan Yahrtzeit of Baron Edmond de Rothschild (1845-1934). A member of the Rothschild banking dynasty, he preferred to pursue artistic interests, acquiring an important collection of drawings and engravings that he bequeathed to the Louvre. In 1882, Rothschild became a leading proponent of the Zionist movement, buying land throughout Israel and subsidizing Jewish settlements. He financed the first new Jewish town, Rishon Letzion ("the first of Zion"), as well as Zichron Yaakov, Caesarea and some 30 other settlements. He also established Israel's wine industry when he helped Russian Jews flee pogroms in the 1880s and plant vineyards in Israel. In 1954, Rothschild's remains were re-interred to Israel. To honor his memory, his son paid for the construction of the Knesset building in Jerusalem.

Sometimes, we think too big when we think "exotic vacation abroad." Why not look a little closer to home for your next international vacation? We give you eight reasons to put Canada at the top of the list for your next trip. http://www.smartertravel.com/photo-galleries/editorial/reasons-why-canada-should-be-your-next-international-vacation.html?id=968&all=1

“Circumstances alter cases.” The phrase was often used by Ellen White. A positive example can be found in Testimonies for the Church, Volume Six (339:2), “While we present methods of work we cannot lay out an undeviating line in which everyone shall move, for circumstances alter cases. God will impress those whose hearts are open […] The post Thoughts on Ordination and San Antonio (GC Session) appeared first on Jon Paulien's Blog. View the full article

More than 2,000 Seventh-day Adventist youth took to the streets in Central Jamaica to share the love of Jesus during a district-wide impact in several communities in Manchester on February 22, 2015. View the full article

Chaim Yankel rushed to Harry's jewelry store soon after the doors opened one morning and said he needed a pair of diamond earrings. Harry showed him a wide selection, and Chaim Yankel quickly picked out a pair. When Harry asked him if he wanted the earrings gift-wrapped, Chaim Yankel replied, "That’d be great. But can you make it quick? I forgot today was my anniversary, and my wife thinks I’m taking out the garbage."

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/yearwithoutgod/2015/02/17/when-criticism-becomes-harmful/ All that being said, there is another kind of criticism (if I can even call it that) that is libelous and damaging to others. On January 1, the flagship magazine of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, Adventist Review, published an article about my experience under the painfully condescending title, “Concern, Compassion, and Hope for Ex-Adventist Pastor Who Left God.” The article is badly conceived, poorly written, and lacking in basic logic, but what concerns me more than anything is the potential harm that the author and others like him can do to other unsuspecting individuals who might trust themselves to his care. It recently came to my attention again because apparently the editors of Adventist Review deemed the article worth of putting in the print edition of the magazine. In the piece, Don Mackintosh says he’s concerned for me because my “journey, while couched in religious jargon, shows all the signs and symptoms of a person struggling with major depression. ‘If God exists,’ say those who are depressed, ‘where is He? Why doesn’t He reveal Himself?’” We who have left our faith get this a lot. We’re told that we’re just mad at God for not coming through for us or we’re depressed and blame God for our lot in life. But that’s not even what bothers me. Mr. Mackintosh, whose byline says he is a “spiritual counselor at the Nedley Depression Program and director of NEWSTART Global at Weimar College (where I graduated with my BA in Pastoral Ministry, interestingly enough), has never met me. We’ve never spoken by phone or corresponded in any fashion. So this is rather remarkable. Without ever meeting or speaking with me he diagnoses me with “major depression” simply on the basis that I questioned the existence of God. Major depression, in case you’re not familiar, is a clinical diagnosis. According to WebMD, symptoms include, Fatigue or loss of energy almost every day Feelings of worthlessness or guilt almost every day Impaired concentration, indecisiveness Insomnia or hypersomnia (excessive sleeping) almost every day Markedly diminished interest or pleasure in almost all activities nearly every day (called anhedonia, this symptom can be indicated by reports from significant others) Restlessness or feeling slowed down Recurring thoughts of death or suicide Significant weight loss or gain (a change of more than 5% of body weight in a month) The first and most important thing to say about Mr. Mackintosh’s diagnosis is that this is a serious mental health challenged faced by millions of people. Major depression affects about 6.7% of the U.S. population over age 18, according to the National Institute of Mental Health. Overall, between 20% and 25% of adults may suffer an episode of major depression at some point during their lifetime. [ WebMD ] Frivolous diagnoses like this make light of the seriousness of this disease which claims the lives of tens of thousands of people every year. Secondly, I’ve looked high and low for any indication that “questioning the existence of God” is indicative of major (or even mild) depression and I have not found it. If you know more about this, please point me to this information in the comments below. Finally, Mr. Mackintosh, and others like him who have pretend qualifications and claim to treat serious medical conditions, are endangering the public and should be stopped. I’m personally nonplussed by his illogical and passive aggressive attack on me, even though it’s ironic that a person posing as a mental health professional would publicly expose another person allegedly suffering from depression. But whatever. My concern is much greater. Who else is he “diagnosing?” The Nedley Depression Program may indeed be remarkable, but if Mr. Mackintosh’s article is any indication of how he thinks or how he treats other “patients,” he is a danger to those under his care and should be stopped before he seriously hurts someone. What is the danger is here, is the lack of thinking allowed by the SDA church! And the lack of qualified councelors when issues like this come up. Count me out, and please remove my account from this forum, as I this is more evidence that the church has not changed. It is nothing but the cult I thought it was and will continue to think it is. There is no God in this none at all, just more accusations for those of us who have a brain and use it! Give me the theories of Buhhdism any day over those of the SDA/Christian churches. They at least show kindness!

California Bill Would Eliminate Religious Belief Exemption to Vaccines Today, Cal­i­for­nia law­mak­ers intro­duced leg­is­la­tion (SB 277) that would elim­i­nate the “per­sonal belief” exemp­tion for par­ents who choose not to vac­ci­nate their children. http://religiousliberty.tv/unintended-consequences-california-bill-would-eliminate-religious-belief-exemption-to-vaccines.html

Earlier, I established a thread on The One Project--San Diego. That thread has morphed into a general discussion. I was a big contributor to that. For future posts, please keep the San Diego thread to that and for general posts on TOP, please post them here. Thanks. As you will note, I have moved a number of posts from the San Diego thread to this one.

This question was probably answered on another thread, and if so perhaps someone could just give me that link. NIV John 3:13 No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven-- the Son of Man.1 (Joh 3:13 NIV) Also “No one has seen God at any time (John 1:18). and Not that anyone has seen the Father, except He who is from God; He has seen the Father” (Jn 6:46). God the Father dwells in "unapproachable light whom no one has seen or can see" (I Tim 6:14). Enoch, Elijah, and Moses could have been translated to "heaven" but still not have entered that light, or have "seen God". How do we answer folks who say that Enoch, Moses and Elijah did not go to heaven? Who say that Enoch and Elijah were just transported to another location on the earth, and later died like everyone else. Like Philip was transported in the NT. If "no one has ascended" - at least at the time Jesus spoke those words, that would mean that those three men were/are still sleeping in death. There is a clue in Romans where Paul said, "death reigned from Adam to Moses" (Rom 5:14). Something involving death changed with Moses. If death no longer reigned supreme and unchallenged that sounds like a resurrection to me. Of course, I've always had a question concerning just who buried Moses. Why would Michael bury him, if he planned to resurrect him right away? I think I understand why only Moses and Elijah came to speak with Christ prior to His ordeal. According to the law, only two witnesses were required. Thanks - in advance - for any input Rachel

I shall not quote chapter, verse nor give credits BUT....... for the first time I have read a sideways glance at Ben Carson's view on Evolution and in the same paragraph mention that he is a Republican and a Seventh-day Adventist. I wonder what's next?????? Nuff Sed

KJV Matthew 24:14-15 14 And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come. 15 When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:) This is the ONLY instance where our Savior specifically referred to the book of Daniel to where He linked the main events shortly before His Second Coming: 1. Preaching of the Gospel to the whole world (v14) 2. Setting up of the abomination of desolation (v15) 3. Start of the great tribulation or time of trouble (v21) 4. Unusual celestial phenomena (v29) 5. Second Coming (v30) Had the gospel Jesus wanted preached to the world just before He comes again been proclaimed? What gospel did Christ preach? Mark 1:14-15 14 Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, 15 And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel. His gospel concerns the kingdom of God. In that coming kingdom, Isaiah saw in vision (Isa 11:6-9) little children playing with lambs, leopards, lions, snakes, etc., harmful animals now, but there, all are harmless. The fact that there will be little children in that coming kingdom tells us that these little ones will be allowed entry into the heavenly portals. In Revelation, only those whose names are in the book of life will be allowed to enter there (Rev 21:27). It necessarily follows that the names of the little children in the kingdom of God are in the book of life, in harmony with the words of Jesus that the kingdom of heaven is for the little children and those like them (Matt 18:4; 19:14). But the gospel popularly being preached teaches people that only those who had believed will be saved, indirectly telling people that the writing of a person's name in the book of life can only happen after the person believes. And so, the names of little children who died before the age of reason, having not yet believed, are indirectly taught as not yet written in the book of life. It's about time that people need to be told the Gospel that Jesus wanted preached to the world before He comes again. Since we all - Christians and non-Christians - had been little children, all our names were written in the book of life, all because of God's grace given us in Christ Jesus before the world began (2 Tim 1:9). With our names in the book of life - the registry of the citizens of heaven, we are heaven-bound. We don't work our way to heaven, we are already headed there, unless a name is blotted out at death for not overcoming evil while alive (Rev 3:5). Following the proclamation of the Gospel into all the world, the abomination of desolation (AoD) will be set up. The setting up of the AoD will trigger the start of the great tribulation, so great that unless God intervenes to cut it short, no flesh shall remain alive. But for the sake of the elect who are to remain alive till He comes, the great tribulation will be cut short. And immediately after the great tribulation, the unusual celestial phenomena of a solar eclipse by day and a lunar eclipse at night will transpire. There never was an account that a combined solar and lunar eclipses on the same day had occurred since the creation of this earth. And following the meteoric swarms and the shaking of the powers of heaven, Jesus will come.

The Assassination of Scott Walker By The Coward Liberal Media Matt Vespa We all knew this was coming: liberal attacks on Gov. Scott Walker for not having a college degree. In 1990, Walker decided to drop out of Marquette University during the spring semester of his senior year - a decision that’s mystified the political left. But then there’s former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean, who–as Dan wrote–basically questioned Walker’s intelligence: "This is a particular problem for Scott Walker which has not been an issue yet, but it will. Scott Walker, were he to become president, would be the first president in many generations who did not have a college degree. So the issue here is not just the issue of dancing around the question of evolution for political reasons, the issue is, how well educated is this guy?" This is emblematic of the politics of condescension and elitism that’s fraught within American liberalism; that one is not qualified for any public office lest he be a college graduate (preferably from an elite school) and has acquired a lexicon that shocks the masses. Dean is a Yale alumnus. So, what do we know about Walker’s years in college? Well, the Washington Post noted that he was active in student government. He won a senate position his freshman year and worked frenetically to combat wasteful spending. He ran for student body president his sophomore year and lost. After the loss, his influence on student politics waned. By the way, as the Media Research Center's Tim Graham wrote, the Post devoted a 2,223-word story about this whole ordeal. Oh, and they never devoted a single piece to Barack Obama’s undergraduate years prior to the 2008 election, but we digress. The Post mentioned that Walker seemed more concerned about his student government work than his studies, often interrupting French class by arriving late. He also didn’t seem interested in his politics classes either. By the time he hit the spring semester of his senior year, he vanished. Mr. Walker had decided to get a job with the American Red Cross; that’s it! That’s the shocking revelation of why Walker left college. Walker left in good standing with Marquette–and is 34 credits short of earning his Bachelor’s Degree: Walker’s disappearance from campus became a mystery that his political rivals seized on. As recently as 2013, the state’s Democrats were still alleging that he might have been kicked out for election-related misdeeds. They dropped that after Marquette officials told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that Walker had left “in good standing.” What friends remember is that Walker got a good job, at the American Red Cross office near campus. Some also remember hearing that one of his parents had a health problem or about financial stress on the family. A spokeswoman for Walker’s political committee declined to comment about those suggestions. “I think I need to take this opportunity,” [Mary] Riordan [Walker’s college friend] remembered Walker saying. “I don’t think he ever said to me, ‘I’m not going to finish school.’ I don’t think that was his intention.” At the time, the Journal Sentinel found, Walker was not close to graduating. After four years, he was at least 34 credits short — about one-quarter of the required total away from earning his degree, according to its report. Walker’s political spokeswoman said she would not contest that finding. He still has not found the time to finish. A spokeswoman for Walker’s state office said he is interested in a new University of Wisconsin program — begun during Walker’s tenure — that lets older students get academic credit for things they’ve learned in life. But he’s not taking courses now. Walker has won three elections in four years; one of which carries the historical note of him being the first governor to survive a recall election in American history. The debate about college degrees is ongoing, but certainly it’s not THEprerequisite for public office. We also have to understand that even the highly educated have driven this nation into disastrous situations. Kennedy and Johnson surrounded themselves with the smartest folks in the country when they built their administrations–Johnson mostly kept Kennedy’s people after his assassination–and they got us into Vietnam. A war–regardless of the reasons–that damaged America’s reputation abroad and the military–as an institution–at home. It wasn’t until we won the Gulf War that such issues were resolved. Relating to the rule of law, we had Robert H. Jackson and Stanley Reed serve as Associate Justices on the U.S. Supreme Court. Both men never graduated from law school, and as far as I can tell; the institution still functions today. Yet, I think the National Review’s Charles Cooke has a better explanation of why this whole college dropout business is absurd: This being a democratic republic, it is dangerous in and of itself for our elites to condemn as unsuitable for office those they consider to be “less educated” than themselves. But it is downright repugnant to watch certain members of the journalistic class meditating on the question of whether a man who has been infinitely more successful than themselves should be deemed ineligible for want of their preferred credentials. It is difficult, too, not to divine a touch of caste-system snobbery in the initial inquiry. As higher education becomes increasingly fetishized, those who do not possess the right letters after their names will be increasingly in danger of marginalization — even, it should be said, when they are successful and happy and full of self-assurance. If Scott Walker is the nominee, there is no doubt his detractors will play as subtly but as brutally as they can on his being a “dropout,” nor that the professional class that determines the shape of the debates will mutter in irritation that he is not one of them. If he has any sense about him, he will refuse to entertain the premise. “Sure I didn’t finish college,” he will say. “But look where I am now. This is America, goddamnit.” This narrative–and his recent punt on a question about evolution–will sadly only confirm such biases within elite media and political circles. Walker was on a trade mission in London when he was asked about his belief in the theory of evolution. "I'm going to punt on that one as well," Walker said. "I'm here to talk about trade, not to pontificate about other things," he said. When asked about foreign policy, Gov. Walker rightly stated, “I just don't think you talk about foreign policy while you're on foreign soil…I don't think it's wise to undermine your own president." The latter response is completely understandable. The former elicited the typical liberal “we’re pro-science, my gosh how dumb are Republicans” response that you’d expect. All of this despite the fact that affluent liberals in California are mostly responsible for the measles outbreak because–wait for it–they didn't get their kids vaccinated. In all, any rational person shouldn't really care about one's personal feelings about evolution or creationism. Then again, we're talking about the liberal media; they love this stuff. If you want to watch some serious trolling on Twitter about this, just read how The Federalist’s Sean Davis asked Ben White of Politico and Amanda Terkel of theHuffington Post if they knew about the dynamics of evolution when they mocked the Wisconsin Governor for his remarks.

Does anyone have or used an Andrews study Bible? If so, what are your thoughts on it and how does it compare to other study Bibles?

...and when it does happen, we can be assured that blame will be leveled against the media as implied by the title of this topic.

I did the cover story as well. Interested in feedback about Ethiopia It was NOT what I expected at all. http://www.adventist.ca/3dissue/messenger/84-3/index.html

I suspect Ben Carson v Ben Carson is more accurate. When he flames out - and he will - it will be something he says.

If Moses and Elijah were DEAD at the time of the transfiguration, then what was Jesus doing - talking with dead people!! That was a death penalty offense - according to the Law. And if this was simply a "vision" - then why did He take three witnesses with Him - Peter, James, and John. There is not an incidence in Scripture of four men, simultaneously having the SAME VISION. I think that Moses and Elijah were ALIVE - and are still alive.

Over 650 young Muslims have volunteered to guard Oslo Synagogue on Shabbat in support of the Jewish people. http://www.aish.com/ci/s/Muslim-Ring-of-Peace.html

I don't think the LDS church is known much at all in matters that affect political office... I suppose someone could try to make an issue about that, but I think it might be difficult to make it of great import.. I disagree. I don't think there would be much more than someone who is Catholic or LDS. I personally don't think that's such a big issue at this time, but I realize some might. perhaps... perhaps not.. (looking at war and defense of the US within a historical context would lead me to think not..) why would this be more of an issue for Dr. Carson? why would this be more of an issue? (other than the fact that some SDAs get histrionic about anything having to do with the Catholic church... I highly doubt that Dr. Carson would be kissing the Pope's ring...)

by contrast, did the LDS church get discussed extensively by the media when Mitt Romney was running for office? I may be wrong, but to my recollection, the LDS religion wasn't much of an issue... why would religion be more of an issue for Dr Carson than it was for Mitt Romney? (or Catholicism and JFK?)

I really hope Scott Walker gets the nomination.

NKJ 2 Corinthians 10:12 For we dare not class ourselves or compare ourselves with those who commend themselves. But they, measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise. Scriptures are clear. 1. The Father is NOT the Son. Jesus, the Son, said: "My Father is greater than I" (John 14:28). If Jesus is also the Father, then His statement may well be: "I am greater than myself". 2. The Son is NOT the Spirit. Scriptures say that Jesus is the child of the Holy Spirit (Matt 1:18). If Jesus is also the Spirit, then Jesus is the child of His own self. 3. The Father is NOT the Spirit. Jesus said that He will send the Spirit from the Father (John 15:26). If the Father is the Spirit, then Jesus would have said, He will send the Father.

I think that Scott Walker stands head-and-shoulders above the herds that surround him.

Woody, "They can have a ministry and we can acknowledge it." Here's my vote.

I was one of at least 4 people I know of who wrote thoughtful comments on the Review site challenging the author of the article on some of the points others have raised in this thread. None of those comments was accepted for publication. The Comments section looks like a litany of agreement... but that's due to censorship and selection, not to what readers actually said and thought.

Rachel: You have raised a good question, which had not previously occurred to me. My initial, off the cuff thought: The context is one in which Christ is telling Nicodemus the He (Christ) is the only one who has come from heaven to Earth to teach humans about God. In verse 2, Nicodemus calls Christ a RAbbi sent from God. In the next few verses Christ is teaching Nicodemus. Nicodemus then asks Christ how those teachings can be truth, verse 9. Christ in essence responds by telling him that the truth in the matter lies in the fact that Christ has been in heaven and has come to earth teach people about God. No other has gone from Earth to heaven and then returned to teach people. I do not claim that this is a perfect answer, but it is my initial thought.