Peace Messenger

T.R.M. Howard - Adventist Physician and Civil Rights Activist

Black Maverick: T.R.M. Howard's Fight for Civil Rights and Economic Power
by David T. Beito and Linda Royster Beito
University of Illinois Press / 2009

From the Publisher's Description: He was a mentor to civil rights activist Medgar Evers, a nemesis of J. Edgar Hoover, and a target of the Ku Klux Klan. He also played a key role in the search for truth in the Emmett Till murder case. As a trained medical doctor, he kept the secrets of the white elite, and although married to one woman for forty years, he had many personal peccadilloes. His life was often in great peril, and his home was protected by armed guards around the clock.

But T. R. M. Howard's impressive accomplishments and abilities vastly outshone his personal flaws and foibles. He was a dynamic civil rights pioneer and promoter of self-help and business enterprise among blacks.

"Black Maverick's wonderfully told story about an important personality sadly unknown to most students of the Civil Rights Movement is a more than welcome corrective. Dr. Howard's life and accomplishments need to be better known!"--Julian Bond, chairman of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People

Dr. Howard was a graduate of Union College and the College of Medical Evangelists at Loma Linda. The North American Informant described him in 1966 as "a physician, civic leader, and humanitarian" who "has long been associated with, and has been a friend of Seventh-day Adventists" (Mar.-Apr 1966, p. 5).

The Promise of Peace

The Promise of Peace: Dare to Live the Advent Hope
by Charles Scriven
Pacific Press / 2009

Charles Scriven's eagerly-anticipated book, The Promise of Peace, is now off the press! Scriven, president of Kettering College of Medical Arts and an APF advisor, tells us what the book is about in this excerpt:

"In the space between our dreams and disappointments, we have needs and wants, so promises matter. And no promise could be better than one that assures a day when high dreams surmount obstacles, when the best of human hopes comes true and everyone can flourish.  Just such a promise - the Great Promise, you might say - is what makes Adventists Adventist. According to the Bible, God has promised to bless humanity and to conquer death and renew all things. Finally, in other words, peace will prevail. Finally, a single 'pulse of harmony and gladness' will beat 'through the vast creation.'

"The pages that follow are about being and becoming Adventist - being and becoming someone who sees all of life in the light of the Great Promise and makes that promise the key to both attitude and conduct. The promise of peace is about how to become more fully alive precisely in the space where dreams meet disappointment. I am going to show you how the assurance of final blessing enables us all, despite our difficulties, to live in the here and now with confidence and passion..." (12).

Order the Promise of Peace through Peace Pursuits, APF's Amazon-linked online store.

CPWI Report at Adventist Activism

See Jeff Boyd's excellent report on the recent Christian Peace Witness for Iraq worship and witness in Washington, at Adventist Activism.

Adventist Activism is a relatively new effort by Adventists "collectively committed to continuing the work Jesus started while walking this earth — spreading the good news of the Kingdom by serving, healing and teaching (1 Corinthians 12:27; Mark 10:45; Mark 3:10; Acts 1:3)."  The web site offers "a collection of our stories and thoughts regarding this work of spiritually motivated social action."

Below, a clip from Tony Campolo's powerful speech.  More at the CPWI site.

Surprised by Hope - 10

2009 Readings in Christian Social Thought Discussion Series, Week 10 (concluded) Reading: N.T. Wright, Surprised by Hope, Chapter 15 and Appendix

 

Throughout Surprised by Hope, N.T. Wright's purpose has been to heal a "long-term schizophrenia" in the church, and I suppose that one reason I find the book so appealing is that I struggle with a form of the disorder.  The "schizophrenia" takes the form of a "split between saving souls and doing good in the world," which, as Wright has demonstrated reapeatedly from varying angles, "is a product not of the Bible or the gospel but the cultural captivity of both within the Western world" (265).

It should not be a product of Adventism, either, but rather the reverse, given our "medical missionary" heritage.  Yet because evangelism, as generally understood and practiced in

2009 Readings in Christian Social Thought Discussion Series, Week 10 (concluded) Reading: N.T. Wright, Surprised by Hope, Chapter 15 and Appendix

 

Throughout Surprised by Hope, N.T. Wright's purpose has been to heal a "long-term schizophrenia" in the church, and I suppose that one reason I find the book so appealing is that I struggle with a form of the disorder.  The "schizophrenia" takes the form of a "split between saving souls and doing good in the world," which, as Wright has demonstrated reapeatedly from varying angles, "is a product not of the Bible or the gospel but the cultural captivity of both within the Western world" (265).

2009 Readings in Christian Social Thought Discussion Series, Week 10 (concluded) Reading: N.T. Wright, Surprised by Hope, Chapter 15 and Appendix

 

Throughout Surprised by Hope, N.T. Wright's purpose has been to heal a "long-term schizophrenia" in the church, and I suppose that one reason I find the book so appealing is that I struggle with a form of the disorder.  The "schizophrenia" takes the form of a "split between saving souls and doing good in the world," which, as Wright has demonstrated reapeatedly from varying angles, "is a product not of the Bible or the gospel but the cultural captivity of both within the Western world" (265).

Custodianship of Creation - An Adventist Mandate

From: Allan R. Handysides, "A Plastic-Polluted Planet," Adventist World-NAD (April 2009)

Plastic is only one among the myriads of waste products our consumer world is producing. With spreading industrialization worldwide, the amount of waste products is accelerating. Just the debris from our “obsolete” computers is massive. Carbon dioxide is warming the planet as it befouls the atmosphere. Radioactive waste that has a half-life of thousands of years is still being produced.

Isn’t it time to think seriously about the part each of us plays in the trashing of the earth? Surely, as custodians of the planet, we need to learn to consume less, conserve more, and care better for the handiwork of God.

In Revelation 11:18, the Bible speaks of Jesus coming to destroy those who destroy the earth....

As the planet becomes “shrink-wrapped” in plastic, all life is squeezed and distorted. As the world becomes more and more like a trash heap of pollution, God must look with horror at our ways. Once more we are frantically engaged in “cure,” having disdained prevention.

 

It might be easy to say, “Oh, Jesus will someday make it all right,” but I don’t want to be among those who make it all so wrong! Surely, we respect God enough to honor His handiwork.  Full article

 

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