READER'S DIGEST BIBLE

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Humans often spend their entire lives building castles—or at least we think we do. But what we are really doing is throwing up sand piles as fast as we

can before the next big wave comes in and washes them all away.

SAND CASTLES DON'T LAST

0 ne afternoon in Paris my senses tried to absorb the Cathedral of Notre Dame,

that beautiful Gothic structure built in the Middle Ages. There was so much to enjoy aesthetically: the altar appointments, the smell of candles, the feel of old polished wood, the great rose windows, the awesome grandeur of the organ sounding through the massive building . . . It could have been a

Roger Palms is the editor of Decision magazine and author of several books, including Upon a Penny Loaf. He and his wife, Andrea, have two children and live in Bloomington, Minnesota. From: The Pleasure of His Company. Published by Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. © 1982. By Roger C. Palms. Used by permission.

BY ROGER C. PALMS

memorable and serene experience. It turned out to be memorable, but it wasn't serene.

In front of me, darting quickly here and there with cameras rapidly clicking, were dozens of tourists scurrying through the cathedral. They had only a few minutes before returning to their waiting tour buses for a fast drive to some other historic spot where they would click their cameras some more. Pushing, past other people, they raced first to one side, then to the other, frantically working their cameras. Then they were gone, only to be replaced—to my exasperation—by another busload of tourists all bent on doing the same thing.

I had made no other plans for that afternoon. Meditation in that historic place, quiet prayer, and the enjoyment of the beauty were what I had wanted. But I couldn't shut out the confusion around me.

Finally I left. On the way out I walked behind an American couple. The man had a checklist in his hand. As they stepped into the sunlight, the man asked his wife, "Was that the Cathedral of Notre Dame?" She answered that it was. With that confirmation, he took out his pencil, ticked off that item on his tour list, and they hurried away. They will probably tell their friends that they have seen Notre Dame. Unhappily, they didn't really see it at all.

2 THESE TIMES / FEBRUARY 1983

Photographs from Sand Castles (Doubleday and Company). © 1979 by Marshall Harrington,

Man seems desperate to experience, yet he really doesn't experience anything. He goes through the act of looking, but rarely knows the joy of seeing.

It is as if all of us are on an ocean beach called Earth. We are frantic. We build castles or at least we think we do. But what we are really doing is just throwing up sand piles as fast as we can before the next big wave comes in. And that wave is coming. We can't run from it; there's no escaping it. We will stay on the beach building our castles higher, bigger, more elaborate. We won't enjoy them. There will be no time for that. The wave is coming.

There have been other waves; tides have risen and ebbed. This is our time. Our little shovels flash in the sun as we dig in the midst of other frenzied diggers, each trying to heap more sand before the end.

deeper fear, a fear based on emptiness. And that hideous emptiness causes us to clutch to ourselves what has always given security and pleasure before.

So we are desperate and don't even know what we are desperate for. We are in a frightening world and do not understand it. We have lost our grip on society, on culture, on family, on stable value systems, and with our fingernails torn, our finger tips bleeding, we feel it all slipping from our grasp. We want. We don't know what it is that we want, but we want something, and we want it now.

What is happening to us? We have done more than spawn a generation caught in the mind-set of self. We have created a human religion that is insatiable in its thirst, with great yearnings, yet with no way to satisfy those

usually agree on the data about it. For even before the early energy crisis hit, before credit costs skyrocketed, before inflation and unemployment mounted, optional pleasures once called "extras" were gorged upon.

At first, newspaper advertise-ments called it "the good life." We were told "to grab for," "you deserve," "like it, charge it." And in our "there-is-no-tomorrow" mentality, that is what we did. The results are easily traced now: consumption, depletion of natural resources, physical stress, emotional breakdown, family and marital discord, crime. And sadly, we pretended that we were happy—or soon would be. We pretended that we controlled our madness. We didn't; we don't.

Happiness quotient. Recently, in a test given by a popular magazine

We want. We don't know what it is that we want,

but we want something, and we want it now.

Never mind the next person's castle; never mind the next person at all. Just build. Dig, dig, dig. Keep an eye on the wave . . . a few more seconds. It's coming—grab one more bit of sand . . .

Look at those fistfuls of sand. What is that sand that runs through fingers, that won't pack down, won't hold? Things, maybe; that's always the start of the grabbing. Pleasure, usually; that's the drive. Grabbing things and pleasures, tangible and sensual, is our attempt to get more of what has always given us security. But they don't any longer.

The social confusion, the sex exploitation, the deterioration of family and home, and the end of cultural stability are all exploding around us. We do all we know to do. Afraid to be left behind, we grasp for even more. And the deterioration quickens.

Logic would tell us that if the end is coming, there is no need to grab for things and pleasures, because they're temporary. But we aren't logical. What we face is a

yearnings. We are junkies overdosing on ourselves even though we know there isn't a high in it anymore. Nothing satisfies. So we try harder, push farther, and grasp for still more, for whatever might give some hope that our emptiness will be filled.

People have always built sand castles, and those castles have always crumbled. There have always been those who grabbed for things that break. But now it is like the beginning of the end, like the first moments of a stock market crash, and the scramble is on. And even as the social commentators begin to write about the cultural phenomena of these times, as psychologists give their explanations and theologians theirs, the frustration of wanting and not finding is already so much a part of the way people think that it is difficult for any to be objective in their analysis: these interpreters of us are on the beach too, grasp-ing their own handfuls of sand.

The experts can't agree on the reasons for our sand-castle mentality, of course, but they

on people's "happiness quotient," it was shown that people have crossed the line from trying to make themselves happy to just plain racing to grab for anything that they don't now have. A few years ago The New York Times counted 3,000 diet books, 2,000 self-improvement books, at least 1,000 sex manuals on the market. Bookstore owners said that people were looking for answers. And when religious leaders started promoting self-help and self-transformation books, we knew that even Christians had crossed a line. Self-help was charted by publishers, simplified by writers, and swallowed up by readers. As Christians, we learned how we could lose weight, enjoy sex, be assertive, or negotiate so that anyone could be a winner. God in His wonder, majesty, and strength was to be utilized: to love Him was self-loving as we "sensitized" ourselves to His wonder, majesty, and strength. We tried to have Him shaped, packaged, wrapped, marketed, and consumed.

THESE TIMES / FEBRUARY 1983 3

And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not,

shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:

Pathetic? Yes, it is. And with the increase in what are sometimes little more than Christian roadshows, the availability of the media to them, and the willingness of churches to be booking agents for any new act that comes to town, more and more people started asking for the unusual and exciting rather than the Answer. We found people exploiters to tell us that life should be a miracle every minute with a continuous feeling of ecstasy and joined the rest of the desperate people building their sand castles on the beach.

Like a dog chasing its own tail, we chase after what is always eluding us. What we want is always just out of reach, never quite within our grasp, yet always in sight—the back end of something going away that we must catch before it disappears.

John Bunyan, the seventeenth-century tinker-turned-preacher, described people like us as boys who chase butterflies:

Behold how eager our little boy Is for this butterfly, as if all joy, All profits, honors, and lasting

pleasures, Were wrapt up in her—or the

richest treasures found in her—When her all is lighter than a

feather.

He halloos, runs, and cries out, "Here, boys, here."

Nor doth he brambles or the nettles fear.

He stumbles at the molehills; up he gets,

And runs again, as one bereft of wits,

While all his labor and this large outcry

Is only for a silly butterfly.

This little boy is much like those Whose hearts are wholly at the

world's dispose. The butterfly does represent to me The world's best things, at best but

fading be. All are but painted nothings and

false joys,

Like this poor butterfly to these our boys.

His running through the nettles, thorns, and briars

To gratify his boyish fond desires; His tumbling over molehills to

attain His end, namely his butterfly to

gain, Plainly shows what hazards some

men run To get what will be lost as soon as

won.

Men seem, in choice, than children far more wise

Because they run not after butterflies,

When yet, alas, for what are empty toys

They follow them, and act as beardless boys.

It is a frantic chase when we run after butterflies as little boys do. We go first here, then there; we can't rest as long as we see anything that glitters in the sun. We dart along our zigzag courses,

THESE TIMES (ISSN 0040-6058) is a monthly (except June and July, when semimonthly) publication of the Seventh-day Adventist denomination. Price US$18.95 per year. Second-class postage paid at Hagerstown, Maryland. © 1983, Review and Herald Publishing Association (6856 Eastern Avenue NW., Washington, D.C. 20012, U.S.A.). Volume 92, No. 2, February, 1983.


And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house;

and it fell: and great was the fall of it. MATTHEW 7:26-27

trying to catch that elusive, pretty thing. But our chasing only tires us.

To one degree or another, the "hurry up and grab, then run for more" people are addicts, and these addicts seem to be everywhere, including the church. Chasing butterflies has become so commonplace that some have even stamped it "approved" by Jesus. He never did approve it. By the measure of Scripture, He never will.

Originally, the race was run toward happiness. Now the race goes on only for the sake of the race. We should have known that it would be that way, because the obvious mark of a truly happy person is that he needs nothing more, and so many of us act as if we need more of everything. A happy person has mastered his conflicts, but this quest that was once a quest for happiness is now itself the cause of conflict. The happy life is a pleasant life, yet our lives are filled with neuroses.

There are no age limits to this sickness. We have taught our

"religion" well. In a newspaper interview, a 17-year-old boy admitted: "I worry a lot. I'm running at a 90-mile-an-hour pace. I feel like I've lived 19 or 20 more years because of that feeling of 'I've got to get to work now."'

An 18-year-old high school boy said, "I want to be comfortable. I just want to be happy and have money to do the things I want to do." And several in a group said, "Give us comfort, and give us money to buy it with."

One 17-year-old said that failure is not having a job that gets you enough money. Teens use money for clothes, food, entertainment, cars, and stereos, in that order. A high school English teacher commented that in 18 years of teaching she has never seen students who are so materialistic. Then she added: "The whole nation is going that way." And as this grabbing occurs, teen-agers scream at their parents, "You've used yours; you've taken the resources. We want ours too, before it's all gone." The frenzy spreads.

The passion changes, or appears to, by the gyrations of the economy or the threats of war—and war itself. It changes by the influence of films, advertising, and books. And yet it doesn't really change; it continues to build with a collective madness.

We face the consequences now. What started with the "me" decade is now part of the destruction of people labeled "snapping," a falling out of awareness. People are lost. Maybe they know it's happening; maybe they don't want to know it.

A. H. McNeill, in his book Discipleship, tells us, "There are multitudes of people who seldom or never think. Their life is like the thinnest of rafts, floating upon an ocean of infinite mystery; and they hate to be asked to look over the edge. They are very busy decking out their raft with everything which can make it feel like a permanent home. . . . They never realize that they are on a raft and not a rock, until one day an illness or an accident or a war flicks them


off into the ocean, where they have never learnt to swim."

Even the traditional obedience to societal structure or family, which might have taught us a larger view of ourselves, has disappeared. Any inner hint that true meaning might be found outside ourselves is dismissed or denied and leaves people sad, pathetic, anguished. There is no frame of reference or justification for our being, other than to take and use more. We have successfully eliminated all controls, and have shed ourselves of responsibilities.

This is man's religion. Even those who never quote the creed have come to live by it. For it isn't only the secular man who is caught; many who wear the label "Christian" have been snared too. Many who speak of being made alive by God really have no idea how satisfying that life in God can be. They're too busy looking elsewhere to find out. Like the characters in Russell Conwell's famous lecture "Acres of Diamonds," they're always looking over someone else's fence for the gems.

They have tried, along with everyone else, to make some sense of their existence. They have looked for the action, gotten involved, given themselves to causes, traveled inward, entered analysis, meditated, tried health foods—anything that might give them what everyone else seems to be chasing. They have gone sermon-tasting and liturgy-hunting, seeking answers from pulpits and prayer groups like so many door-bangers on a pub crawl. They have joined Christian political groups, partied at Christian night spots, hastened to seminars for the latest spiritual word from whoever is currently big on the Christian circuit. But all they have discovered is that none of us can get what he wants that w ay.

We are, as the rest of mankind is discovering, far more complex than we thought. We are more than a soul to be "sensitized," more than an ego to be stroked, more than a mind to be taught. We are wonderfully put together into a self, and with all of our

searching we have not been able to make sense of it all. We still cry out for something.

Our needs become a search, and our search becomes a further need, but even that need is undefined and unmet. And in our exhaustive quest, there is no exposure to the true and living God. For just as the hardened secularist can't point to God, the religious verbalist can't either. He points only to a concept. For God is beyond, outside, and separate from us, hidden by the wants we see within ourselves. We are turned inward, and He is not there. We don't know that Omnipotent Other. We have, at best, only a poor sampling of Him, filtered through a me-centered sighing that says, "This is what God means to me."

We have made Jesus to be our Jesus, and we are so accustomed to responding to "our" Jesus that we have forgotten how to respond to the Son of the living God.

His teachings have been taken with the pragmatic view of "getting it together," not followed because we must obey and can do nothing less. His words have been diluted by such diverse therapies as EST and transcendental meditation so that all we know to respond to is a "feel-good" deity, a piece of religious plastic that we label "God."

We have found that even adding the adjective "Christian" doesn't change the noun, if the noun is "humanism." When we baptize the beliefs and practices of secular man, when we hold to them with the embrace of the committed, then nothing can change the fact that the ruling Lordship of Jesus Christ is missing from our actions and our thoughts.

For someone to reject God out of hand is one thing, but to acknowledge Him and then live as if He is neither Lord nor God is a horrible existence. Then all we have left is sand.

God is ready to rescue us from ourselves, but that outstretched hand clutching at the sleeve is brushed aside with the scream "Get your hands off me." God's Word replies, "0 taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is

the man that trusteth in him" (Psalm 34:8). But we do not hear.

Yet because we can still think, we can still be healed. Life—real life with freedom—can still be found. We can still have friendship with God. We can still have the full life. But it must be a committed and disciplined life on God's terms.

God expects us to be disciplined. It is not the unnatural but rather the natural thing to be. We were created to be disciplined, put on this earth by God at this time and in this place, not for personal gain or personal pleasure, but for His purpose.

The "I've only got one try, so I will go for it" syndrome, like any other orgy, is a suction into meaninglessness, and the vacuum from it draws in any who come near—even many who once acknowledged the words of Jesus, "Ye cannot serve God and mammon" (Matthew 6:24).

But we still have ears to hear, if we will. For into this scene comes Jesus saying, "A man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth" (Luke 12:15).

"Do not be anxious for your life, as to what you shall eat; not for your body, as to what you shall put on. For life is more than food, and the body than clothing" (verses 22, 23, N.A.S.B.).*

"Do not seek what you shall eat, and what you shall drink, and do not keep worrying" (verse 29, N.A.S.B.).

"But seek for His kingdom, and these things shall be added to you" (Luke 12:31, N.A.S.B.).

"Sell your possessions and give to charity; make yourselves purses which do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near, nor moth destroys" (Luke 12:33, N.A.S.B.).

God is here in our world now. He has been all the time. He calls to scrambling, grasping people like us through the words of Jesus Christ. He says, "Come unto me."

It is time for us to do what He asks. Tr

* Scripture quotations credited to N.A.S.B. are from the New American Standard Bible, The Lockman Foundation 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, and are used by permission.


GIFT FROM A TEEN-AGER

Though I looked reasonably presentable

on the outside, I arrived on my hostess's doorstep in a state of mental disarray. In fact, that seems to be a rather chronic condition with me lately. My mind bubbles with lists of unfulfilled tasks, projects still in the planning stage, plots for books that never materialize, concerns for our children, and on and on.

But this evening Eunie had invited a group of old friends for a summer picnic on her breezeway, and I welcomed the outing as a respite from the frantic scurryings of my days.

We ate salads around card tables and caught up on the news since last we'd met. We were a group of writers, but we didn't talk shop in the beginning, not while we ate. We talked about sons and daughters soon to enter second grade and college, for we were all ages. We talked about vacations and weddings. About food and whether the nasturtiums decorating the deviled eggs were edible.

Shirley sat across from me in a lacy white blouse and gathered denim skirt—the kind of outfit my daughters wear. There's a sweet graciousness about this young woman that springs,

June Strong, of Batavia, New York, is a lecturer and author of the books Journal of a Happy Woman,

Mindy, Where Are We Running? and Project Sunlight. She enjoys people, writing, gardening, and sewing.

I've always felt, from her Christianity. Somehow she seems to have escaped the pressured pace.

"How's your summer been?" she asked, sipping punch and shivering a little in the early evening breeze.

"Hectic," I replied. "Some really nice things have been happening, but I can't seem to slow down long enough to savor them."

"That's exactly how I feel," she said, a little startled as though she'd glanced into a mirror. "So

many demands on my time. Mostly things I enjoy doing, but too many of them. I try to slow down, but can never quite pull it off."

So, her calm demeanor only masked a frustration not unlike my own. I had a feeling that if we had taken a poll, we'd have found it a chronic affliction in the group—in the world, for that matter. We have somehow lost leisure.

After a tour of Eunie's gardens, we adjourned to her living room, where she

announced that before we settled into the business of the evening, her son would perform on the piano for us. Now Steve is a teen-ager and a very talented one. We knew we were in for a treat. He sat down at the piano with a delightful lack of self-consciousness—a sort of "I'm doing this for Mom" attitude that would have been very appealing even if he had been merely a mediocre pianist. But when Steve's young fingers touch the keys, one dismisses the word mediocre. He's good.

I didn't recognize the melody, but it was lovely, and somehow eased my hurried and harassed soul into something close to peace. I sensed it was possible to live forever in a moment. To drink deeply and derive nourishment for all the barren places, past and future.

I looked about at my fellow scribblers, realizing how rich I was in friendship. We'd shared more than manuscripts. We'd lived a large hunk of life side by side. Rejoicing together. Sorrowing together. Creating together.

Steve had enabled me to experience at a deeper level. To feel the sweetness of relationships blended with an almost sensuous joy in the music. I was not giving anything. Nor doing anything. Nor planning anything. I was taking. Taking healing from a teen-ager who didn't even know he was giving. Nor did he know how exquisite was his gift. Nor how needed. Thank you, Steve.

Illustration by Nancy Urbanski/Eucalyptus THESE TIMES / FEBRUARY 1983 7

Spiritual Gifts Your Opportunity

for Ministry BY MARVIN MOORE

The Bible lists 21 spiritual gifts. Is one of them something God has given you?

I wish you could meet Kathy Vasek. Kathy works for the Dallas Power and Light

Company; she drives some 90 miles round trip each day from her home in Keene, Texas. Like most of us, she's quite ordinary. But to me, she's very special. You see, I'm Kathy's pastor, and there are certain things happening in our church that never could happen if it weren't for Kathy.

Some time ago I remarked in church one morning that it would really help if someone kept track of missing members. Kathy came to me after the service. "Pastor," she said, "I'd like that job."

"Great!" I said, and I gave her a few ideas on how to proceed. The next week she was back with a form all made out. On the left side of the sheet were the names of all the church members, and across to the right were five vertical columns on which to check attendance each Sabbath morning. Kathy recruited three other women to help her mark down in the proper column all the members that they could spot in church on a given Sabbath. No mark by a name at the end of the service meant that person had probably been absent.

Marvin Moore—pastor, lecturer, and free-lance writer—lives in Keene, Texas. © 1983 by Marvin Moore.


At first Kathy collected all the sheets and collated the information at home. More recently, she's been getting together with the other ladies to collate the information right after church so that they know immediately who missed church that day.

During the past several months we've organized a group at our church called the "Pastor-Shepherds." This group's major responsibility is to call on missing members. The first Sabbath a member is absent, he or she (or the family) receives a telephone call from one of the pastor-shepherds, who says, "I missed you at church. I hope everything's OK." Usually it is. The family attended another

church that day or spent the weekend out of town, or someone was sick.

If the same member or family is absent the next week, the pastor-shepherd visits in the home. After the third absence the name is turned over to an elder who visits, and if there is a fourth absence the pastor calls on the family.

Have you ever heard someone say, "I was away from my church for a whole year and nobody missed me"? Or "We joined this church ten years ago and nobody has ever come to see us"? That's not happening at my church anymore. Kathy's record keeping, together with the follow-up by the pastor-shepherds and the elders, takes care of that.

Photography by Dave Sherwin

Photos 1 and 2 (facing page). Kathy Vasek (on the right in the photo) has the gift of "helps," and assists in her church by keeping a record of the missing members. Dave Batchelor (bottom photo) conducted a series of meetings in a nearby town.

Photo 3 (at left). Ken Wallace has the gift of teaching. He loves to study with people, making sure they are well grounded in the Bible's teachings.

The Bible mentions 21 spiritual gifts, one of which is the gift of helps. That's Kathy's gift. She doesn't feel comfortable calling on people in their homes. She'd much rather keep track of the absent members. The gift of helps includes the ability to perform routine church work cheerfully so that others have more time to exercise their spiritual gifts. If Kathy didn't keep the attendance record, then those with the gift of pastoral visitation would have to do that too, and this would cut down on the number of people they could visit.

Please notice this next point carefully: If Kathy didn't exercise her gift regularly, every Sabbath morning without fail, our church's entire program for following up absent members would collapse. It's one thing to have a spiritual gift; it's quite another thing to do something with it regularly. I see many Christians with dormant gifts. Those gifts are doing neither them nor the church any good. To build up the church, each member must turn his gift into a ministry—something he does regularly for God.

Notice what Paul told Timothy: "Neglect not the gift that is in thee" (1 Timothy 4:14). Paul said, in effect, "Timothy, do something with your spiritual gift. Put it to work. Turn it into a ministry."

Ministry is a Biblical term, so let's study it from the Bible. In the New Testament, the word ministry is often a translation of the Greek word diakonos, which means "a servant." In Ephesians 4:11 Paul mentions several spiritual gifts, and he says that these gifts are "for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry" (verse 12).

The way the King James Version translates this verse, one would get the idea that the purpose of spiritual gifts is (1) to perfect God's people, and (2) to help the ministers do their work. But that's not what Paul means at all. The phrase "for the perfecting of the saints" is more properly translated, "To equip the saints." To equip them for what? "For the work of the ministry"—for diakonia: service, or ministration. Ephesians 4:12 ought to read, "To equip God's people for works of service," or "To equip God's people for the work of ministry."

A lot of people think that church work is to be done by the paid, professional ministers while the members sit back and watch. But the New Testament word for minister in the sense of full-time, paid professional is diakonos—the same word that Paul applies to every Christian in Ephesians 4:12. Ministry is not something reserved to just a few. It is the

responsibility of every Christian. You are called to be a minister in God's church. Your spiritual gift is simply the area of ministry to which God has called you.

In his book Your Other Vocation Elton Trueblood said, "If in the average church we should suddenly take seriously the notion that every lay member, man or woman, is really a minister for Christ, we could have something like a revolution in a very short time."

I've found most church members to be very curious about their spiritual gifts. When I first started talking about them, most of the people in my church had heard very little about them, and everyone was curious about what his or her spiritual gifts might be. So I conducted a number of spiritual-gifts seminars to help them find out. Unfortunately, after they discovered their spiritual gift, many people's curiosity was satisfied and they never did anything more about it. But God didn't give spiritual gifts merely to satisfy our curiosity. He gave them to us to use in building up His church.

I'm glad that Kathy has turned her gift into a ministry. I don't have to prod her every week or so to keep at her job. She just does it. It's the same with the pastor-shepherds and the elders. I


don't remind them each Sabbath morning to "get out there and make those calls this week." They feel a deep concern for missing members, and they just do it.

The gift of visitation. Keith and Patti Morelan are a good example. From the time I became pastor of

this church four years ago, I've always known I could count on Keith and Patti to visit members who are spiritually weak. Sometimes they'll come to me and say, "Pastor, we called on so-and-so, and there's a special need in that home. Perhaps you ought to visit." But more often, rather than call on me to minister in a home, Keith and Patti take care of the problem themselves.

I wouldn't do without Keith on my board of elders. Recently, the elders divided the church list, with each leader taking about 15 names. Keith and Patti have now started calling their list of people "our little church." I don't have to prod

them into visiting church members. They just do it. I didn't tell them to call their list of names "our little church." It came from them. That's the surest sign of a spiritual-gifts ministry at work.

Then there's Doug Batchelor, a ministerial student in a nearby college who attends my church

and who has the gift of evangelism. Recently, Doug held a series of evangelistic meetings in a town near our church, and as a result we now have six new members and four or five more who are planning to become members soon. Doug took a very personal interest in each family who attended his meetings. I didn't have to remind him to visit in their homes. He just did it.

Ken Wallace has the gift of teaching. He loves to study the Bible with people, being sure that they are well grounded before joining the church. I don't have to remind Ken to keep those weekly appointments. He's always there.

Gift of hospitality. If you attend our church someday, chances are that Jerrine Seery will invite you home to lunch. It's a rare Sabbath that she doesn't have eight or ten people around her table at noon, and most of them were visitors in church that morning. Jerrine has turned her gift of hospitality into a ministry. I never call Jerrine and ask whether she's ready to entertain guests on Sabbath. She just always is.

Florence Smouse has an extremely useful way to exercise her gift of helps. Each Sabbath morning she checks the bulletin for committee announcements,

Photo 4 (at left). The gift of visitation is illustrated through Keith and Patti Morelan, who visit members needing spiritual encouragement.

Photo 5 (below) Jerrine Seery enjoys inviting church visitors to her home for dinner after church. She possesses the gift of hospitality.

I have found most church members to be very curious about their spiritual gifts. Most of the people in my church had heard very little about them and

were curious about what their spiritual gifts might be.


A Summary of Spiritual Gifts

Below is a description of several of the spiritual gifts mentioned in the Bible (plus three of my own at the end). Study the list and see which one you think you have. You may have two or three.

Prophecy. The gift of prophecy is the ability to convey a message from God to His people. The Scriptures indicate that this gift would play a significant role again in earth's final days.

Teaching. The gift of teaching is the ability to explain God's Word in such a way that others understand its meaning clearly. A teacher must have the skill to involve others in discovering Bible truth for themselves and to lead in a group discussion.

Exhortation. The gift of exhortation is the ability to speak words of counsel and encouragement to others in such a way that they find the solution to their problems and/or feel comforted in their distress.

Giving. Every Christian should share his material blessings with God and the church. The gift of giving is a special willingness to give wherever the need arises.

Leadership. The gift of leadership is the ability to set goals for the accomplishment of God's work and to inspire others to work together for their achievement.

Mercy. The gift of mercy is the ability to feel compassion for people in need and to meet those needs in a way that helps people to feel uplifted rather than as mere objects of charity.

Wisdom. The gift of wisdom is good judgment—the ability to understand the best solution to a problem and the most tactful way to implement it.,

Knowledge. The gift of knowledge is the ability to accumulate information and to analyze and clarify it so that it helps others to grow spiritually and to make wise decisions.

Faith. The gift of faith is vision—the ability to discern with confidence the will of God for the future of His work, and the ability to convey that faith and vision with enthusiasm to the rest of the church.

Healing. The gift of healing is the ability to restore to health those who are physically, spiritually, or mentally ill. This restoration may occur supernaturally, or the person with the gift may impart to the sick special confidence in the power of God to bring healing through medical treatment.

Miracles. The gift of miracles is the ability to intercede with God for the bringing about of events that to all human appearances seem impossible.

Discernment. The gift of discernment is the ability to perceive the abilities and the motives of others so that God's work will be helped by those who have a contribution to make and protected from those who would tear it down.

Tongues. The gift of tongues is the ability to speak easily in a foreign language. It may come

supernaturally, or it may be the ability to learn foreign languages quickly through study.

Apostle. The gift of apostle is the ability to lead out in the establishment of God's work in a new territory. It is also the ability to lead a group of churches in the cooperative accomplishment of a task.

Helps. The gift of helps is the ability to assist others with the details of their work so that they are free to spend more time in the exercise of their gifts.

Administration. The gift of administration is the ability to understand the goals established by the body of Christ and to make and carry out plans for the accomplishment of these goals.

Evangelism. The gift of evangelism is the ability to share the gospel with others so that they are led to accept Christ as their Saviour and to become responsible disciples within the body.

Pastor. The gift of pastor is the ability to uplift members of the church spiritually.

Hospitality. The gift of hospitality is the ability to welcome others into one's own home, to provide them with food or lodging, and to make them feel at home rather than as intruders.

Missionary. The missionary gift is the ability to use spiritual gifts in a culture different from one's own.

Prayer. The gift of prayer is the ability to experience unusual answers to prayer, beyond the normal.

and then during the week she calls committee members a few hours ahead of time to remind them of their appointment. It's made a tremendous difference in our committee attendance. When our church first asked Florence to take this responsibility, I called her the first few times to remind her of an upcoming committee. Her response: "Most of the members will be there, but so-and-so is sick and can't come" or "I think you'd better cancel tonight's meeting because it's a holiday weekend

and nearly everyone's out of town." I quit calling to remind Florence.

I wish I could tell you about Faye Hill, our church treasurer, and Dee Kinter, our clerk. I wish we had enough space to tell about the Sabbath school teachers and departmental leaders, the superintendents and youth directors, and all the other people in this church who do their work faithfully each week without anybody having to remind them. Their spiritual-gifts ministries are

bringing growth to our church—not just numerical growth but spiritual growth as well.

Paul said that spiritual gifts are "to equip God's people for works of service for the building up of the body of Christ." Spiritual-gifts ministries are truly building up our church.

Would you like to help build up your church? Discover your spiritual gift, and then turn it into a spiritual-gifts ministry—something you do regularly for God. Tr


Having survived a risky operation for a massive tumor, I began to wonder

whether death might not have been the greater blessing.

The Day I Almost Died

Raymond Burroughs (above and at right) at his real-estate development firm in Lake Jackson, Texas. BY RAYMOND L. BURROUGHS

I'm Raymond Burroughs. I'm an architect, a dreamer, and an eternal optimist. I'm also a Christian. I've seen the miracle of God's healing grace. Let me tell you a fantastic story about the power of God.

Six years ago I was operated on for the removal of an acoustic neuroma, a monstrous tumor at the base of my brain that was an immediate threat to my life. I was 33 years old, the same age Christ was when He was crucified.

Less than 48 hours before the operation, the neurosurgeon who was to be God's instrument in saving my life spent several agonizing hours trying to impress on my wife, Pat, and me the impact of the medical ordeal about to befall us. Several times during the conversation he paused to

Raymond Burroughs is owner of a highly successful architectural planning and real-estate development firm in Lake Jackson, Texas, approximately 50 miles from Houston on the Gulf Coast. © 1983 by Raymond L. Burroughs.


question whether we understood or not. He was concerned by the calm, almost matter-of-fact way we were accepting the death sentence he was predicting for me. Death or worse were the words he used.

He didn't know that the peace he saw on the outside merely reflected God's strength we felt on the inside. We were scared, and the fact that we might soon be separated by death made us feel sad, but we also knew that God was on our side, and regardless of what happened, we would sooner or later be together again.

Please don't misunderstand; the grace of acceptance of God's will does not come easily. For several months, since first learning of the tumor, we passed through all the normal phases that individuals facing death seem to experience.

First came disbelief and defiance, then anger and frustration, followed by self-pity and the "why me?" syndrome, then mourning and grief at the

idea of our passing, and finally acceptance of the fact that the matter was no longer optional or in our hands.

During those weeks, in a vain attempt to crowd as much living as possible into my remaining days, we did everything for the last time. We went to the beach for the last time, watched each sunset as though it were the last, went fishing for the last time, made love for the last time (many times), and did all the other earthly things that suddenly become so precious when you realize you are about to lose them.

We also began to find strength in prayer, and the Christian training of our youth began to pay dividends. Our family drew closer, became more aware of each other as individuals and of the beauty and value of all that was around us.

And then the miracles began, subtly at first, and then with

Photography by Dave Sherwin

growing momentum throughout the entire experience.

The first miracle was that we discovered the tumor in time to do something before it was too late. During a routine hearing test, a local doctor noticed I was also having balance problems. He ordered further tests in Galveston. The diagnosis: acoustic neuroma! The prognosis: eventual painful and lingering death.

We turned to a lifelong friend in Houston, a radiologist from our hometown, to help us evaluate the alternatives.

The miracle: A newly invented machine, a computer-controlled X-ray called a CAT scan, had just been installed at Methodist Hospital. It could map the brain and within minutes reveal the location and extent of the tumor.

Bad news: the massive tumor was pressing on my brain stem. Only a short time to live. Maybe days, maybe weeks—inoperable with conventional techniques.

The miracle: In a conversation with an associate, our friend

learned of a neurosurgeon in California who had developed a technique of microsurgery that allowed him to meticulously remove such a tumor. Great risk, but a shred of hope.

Our friend contacted the doctor and introduced me to him over the phone. He was sorry, but he was scheduled to leave on the following day for Europe where he would be married and spend a six-week honeymoon. I told him I would be dead when he got back.

The miracle: He postponed his wedding plans and called back.

We arranged to go to California the following week. Had it not been for the wedding plans, his surgical schedule would have been full for the next two months.

We wondered what to do with our children, Ramona, 8, and Robert, 3. We would be gone for two or three months if I survived.

The miracle: Less than six months before, we had invited Pat's mother to come live with us. She had been ill, and we were going to take care of her. Now she was in

good health, and ready and able to take care of our kids.

But could she do it alone? The miracle: She didn't have to.

About the same time she had come to live with us, we had moved from an indifferent Houston to Lake Jackson—a small town where people know and care what happens to their neighbors. Individuals from the church, business associates, and others we hardly knew took it on themselves to take care of our family when we could not.

And finally, we needed more courage, more stamina, and more faith than we could ever muster by ourselves.

God responded to our needs on a day-by-day basis as our prayers were joined by others in our community, in our hometown where we grew up, and finally throughout the nation and the world through a worldwide network of prayer.

Although I was beginning to feel the effects of the tumor, and all of us were suffering from the strain,

The Burroughs family includes (from the right) daughter Ramona, Raymond, son Rob, and his wife, Pat.

the greatest pain came the day Pat and I left for California, and I had to tell Ramona and Rob goodbye, knowing in my heart that it might be for the last time. But they were brave, and we were brave, and somehow we managed to leave without a major outburst. But even with the conviction that we had God's support, I cried all the way to the Houston Airport.

On October 9, 1975, I placed my fate totally in the hands of God. As the nurses rolled me toward the operating room, I told Pat I would see her again, not knowing whether I meant after the operation or after the resurrection.

What should have been a seven-hour operation turned into a sixteen-hour marathon against death or total physical and mental devastation. On three occasions my heart stopped completely, and during the last hours of the operation my breathing was so shallow it had been impossible to monitor.

Less than an hour after it was over, I awoke and began


responding to the doctor's questions. My vision was inverted, my heartbeat ran wild, and I felt exhausted, but I remember the moment I woke up as clearly as though it happened only this morning.

The tired and bloodshot eyes of the neurosurgeon, the one doctor in the world God had endowed with the ability and know-how to save my life—were peering deeply into my own. At first I thought I saw an angel, or maybe even God Himself, but then it dawned on me that I was still alive, and still on earth, in a wonderful hospital in downtown Pasadena, California. And it felt good to be alive! My joy was so great I felt like laughing out loud! We had won—God and I, and Pat, and all the thousands of other people who were praying for us.

"Raymond, Raymond," he said, "do you know who I am?"

"You sure ain't no angel," I responded. Seeing first the surprise and then the broad smile on that great man's face, I knew

everything was going to be all right. Then, no longer able to cope with the pain, I passed out and spent the next three days on the borderline of life and death.

During that time an amazing story began to unfold. The doctor, who operated primarily on patients with little or no hope, told Pat how they found that tumor to be totally entangled with my life-monitoring brain stem. It was a situation so delicate even his skill and sophisticated equipment were not enough. Each time he tried to work in that area, my heart would stop. And he too would stop, trying to decide whether to give up or go on at the risk of my immediate death. On the first occurrence, when my heart started back up, he knew he must continue to try. On the second occasion, he had already been working four hours longer than the operation should normally last, and he decided he could go on no longer, that it was no use.

Once the heartbeat was restored, he ordered his assistants to close up. But as he turned to walk away, he said he felt a surge of new strength, new courage, as if some power outside himself had willed that he go on.

An hour and a half later, when the heart stopped again, he merely paused until the heartbeat again showed on the monitor, and continued with renewed strength, fully confident that it was God's will that the operation be a success. "You should have died," he later told, me. "It's a miracle that you are here."

Over the next few months each member of that seasoned surgical team testified to Pat and me that they felt the very presence of God in that room that October day, and that never in their entire association with the neurosurgeon had they seen him perform with such strength and precision. Each of them had wanted to quit, to collapse from the strain, at one point or another, and each of them had experienced a resurgence of courage and strength and an infusion of the power of God that caused them to perform above and beyond their normal capabilities.

Several days after the initial crisis had passed, we realized it would take as much courage to go on living as it had to face the earlier threat of death.

The frustrations that followed the operation often seemed greater threats to our well-being than the operation itself. Pain and mental depression took turns attacking my body and mind.

I was a cripple, incapable of standing erect. The left side of my face without feeling and incapable of moving, had collapsed. I was in danger of becoming blind in my left eye, for the tears could not flow. I was deaf in my left ear.

But worst of all was the psychological impact of losing my physical identity. Not only did I feel ugly, I couldn't even kiss my wife or smile at my children should I ever see them again. My ego shattered, my dreams scattered, and my strength sapped, I began to wonder whether death might not have been the greater blessing.

In the days that followed, Pat became God's physician as she patiently and lovingly stayed by my side, giving me the courage and the encouragement to learn to walk again, to swallow without choking, to talk again without drooling, and all the other simple tasks of life we take for granted.

Pat also made it possible for me to cope with the reality that life would never be the same again. At that time, the song "The Way We Were" hit the music charts. Every time I heard it, I would have an emotional breakdown. One day when I was already well on my way to physical recovery but still in the throes of an identity crisis, I again began crying as that song was played. Suddenly Pat asked me point-blank, "Raymond, was it really all that good before?"

And then the greatest miracle of all occurred: I suddenly came to grips with the fact that I, through the grace of God, was still here on earth. And that if I was willing, life could be better than it had ever been before.

I reevaluated my life and the

impact it had on others and determined to live every day as if it were my last. For more than 20 years, since I had become a Christian, I had been trying to prove that I didn't need Christ or anyone else to accomplish my goals in life. I had chased dreams of wealth, success, and superiority—missing many of the true values that make life worth living. My wife, my children, my family, my friends, my country, even my Christianity had taken a back seat so I could pursue what I wanted and what I believed to be of value to me. I was Raymond Burroughs, the great American hope, and anything I wanted was there for the taking.

And then it all vanished—the good looks, the confidence, the

ability to sell a refrigerator to an Eskimo, the dominance, the strength, and the clout and financial reserve built up over a dozen years of hard work and bluff.

A turning point. I realized the operation had become the turning point. I began to reorder my life, to establish new priorities, and to respond to the goodness and the help that the whole world had been holding out to me all along. I made a pact with God that from then on He would be Chairman of the board, and that every decision I would make from that day forward would be after consultation with Him.

We came back to Lake Jackson, and the people opened their arms to us. Within weeks I was in business for myself, within a year we had a nice home for our family, and for the first time in my life I found doing for others brought as much joy as doing for myself. Now we are back in the mainstream of the community, and everywhere is the presence of God, and miracles

for the seeing on a daily basis. And the more I ask of God, the more He responds, and the more I give, the more I receive.

A number of individuals and groups did many special things for us during those trying times, but one particular item stands out in my mind. Not long after we returned following the operation, a member of my church, a beautiful young Christian woman, brought a special gift to me. It was a small plaque, and on it were the words "Today is the first day of the rest of your life." It had and still has, great significance to me.

And God still has a purpose for me. You know, it's quite possible that this opportunity to tell you about the miracle of God in my life is a part of that purpose.

For more than 20 years I had chased dreams of wealth, success, superiority—missing many of the

true values that make life worth living.


The New Reader's Digest Bible

How Good Is It? BY RALPH BLODGETT

THE READER'S

DIGEST BIBLE

Condensed from the Revised Standard Version

A committee of eight editors worked nonstop for three years to condense the Bible, slashing a third of a million words

from the original version. Is the final result something we would recommend to purchase and use?

Holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost," and when

they had finished speaking (and writing and recording), they had compiled a formidable library of 66 books and Epistles—a collection we today call the Holy Bible.

But many people (including perhaps more churchgoing Christians than some would care to admit) find the 800,000 words that they wrote cumbersome, repetitious, and difficult to read completely from beginning to end. Modern readers frequently stumble over the pages of "begats" in Genesis and Chronicles, trip on the detail of ritual law in the Pentateuch, and more often than not, give up on their attempts to read the whole Bible through.

This problem finally led to the inevitable question: Could the authors of the Bible have benefited, like other writers today, from a word-by-word, sharp-penciled editing?

Verily, saith the editors at Reader's Digest. And on September 23, 1982, they brought forth a book made in their own image—The Reader's Digest Bible, the world's first true condensation of the Scriptures.

Doing what the Digest editors have become famous for doing the past 50 years, the editors blue-penciled out half of the Old Testament and one fourth of the New Testament in preparing their 40-percent smaller, 767-page edition (down from the 1,290 pages of the Revised Standard version, on which it was based).

All this, of course, was done to provide an easy-to-read introductory Bible, not one to take the place of the full-text volumes we now utilize. But it does not take a lot of foresight to realize that as soon as this monumental work gains widespread acceptance, many users will turn to it rather than the "older," more wordy version.

Therefore, it is proper that we examine the product, to see how faithfully it reproduces the original. Is it something we can

Ralph Blodgett is associate editor of THESE TIMES. © 1983 by Ralph Blodgett.

use with confidence? Is it a book we would want to purchase for others—for a birthday or Christmas present? And how exactly did the editors of Reader's Digest scissor out one third of a million words from the original 800,000-word volume?

A controversial project. From the outset, the undertaking plunged the Digest into unaccustomed criticism and controversy. An early test-market mailing to Digest readers, in fact, revealed that few wanted to purchase a condensed Bible. And hundreds of others wrote complaining about editors slicing up the Word of God and attributed their efforts to the work of the devil.

"To condense something that God has written gives unusual powers to human beings," said Jerry Falwell, leader of the Moral Majority. "I would suggest that they stick to condensing books by men." But other leaders disagreed, praising the project:

"The Reader's Digest is to be congratulated for bringing the Book on which our country was founded to the attention of the population in this reverently innovative manner," declared Dr. Norman Vincent Peale, minister, Marble Collegiate Church, New York City.

"The Reader's Digest Bible is a very successful shortening of the text while presenting intact the full content of the Biblical material," added Dr. James I. McCord, president of Princeton Theological Seminary. "The result is to be highly commended."

"I'm confident that, once introduced through this Reader's Digest Bible, millions of people will fall in love with the Book of books!" said Pat Boone.

How the project began. Of course, these favorable reactions were what John Beaudoin, head of the Digest Condensed Book division, sought when he gave the go-ahead for the project back in 1975. They immediately elected veteran Digest editor John Walsh to head the committee of eight editors who would be working nonstop for three years on the condensation (or twenty times the

effort required to shrink a similarly sized book of fiction).

The committee immediately recruited Dr. Bruce M. Metzger, professor of New Testament language and literature, Princeton Theological Seminary, and chairman of the revision committee for the Revised Standard Version, as general editor of the new Bible.

After rejecting The Jerusalem Bible as the basic text (because it is "too Catholic"), the committee finally settled on the Revised Standard Version—because of its wide usage, familiar "sound," contemporary language, its incorporation of the latest scholarship, and because it responds well to condensation.

Many virtues. Admittedly, the new book does have many favorable features to its credit. After spending much of a week and two weekends immersed in its pages, I find it above all a highly readable product.

This is due not only to the removal of "excess verbosity," but also to the elimination of the familiar double-column format and the chapter and verse numbers that interrupt one's flow of thought. (More about that later, though.)

The text resembles that of a novel, with page-wide paragraphs and an easy-to-read type style and size. Each book begins with its own crisp introduction, and the volume itself concludes with a useful 31-page index.

Gone are the awkward "begats" of Genesis, 1 Chronicles, and Matthew (in fact, I couldn't find a single begat anywhere in the whole volume). Gone also are the center-column lists of parallel texts and bottom-of-the-page footnotes.

At first glance a typical first-time reader of the Bible might assume that the editors did indeed achieve their stated goal: "a text significantly shortened and clarified, yet which retains all sixty-six books, carefully preserv[ing] every incident, personality, and teaching of substance, and keep[ing] as well as the true essence and flavor of the language" (The Reader's Digest Bible, preface, p. ix).

Photograph by Dave Sherwin THESE TIMES / FEBRUARY 1983 17

The following excerpts from the original R.S.V. and the Reader's Digest Bible illustrate how the RD editors condensed a passage from Acts into half its original length.

Acts 6:5-10

R.S.V. Original

And what they said pleased the whole multitude, and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nico-laus, a proselyte of Antioch. These they set before the apos-tles, and they prayed and laid their hands upon them. And the word of God increased; and the number of the disciples multi-plied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were obedient to the faith. And Ste-phen, full of grace and power, did great wonders and signs among the people. Then some of those who belonged to the synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called), and of the Cyrenians, and of the Alexandrians, and of those from Cilicia and Asia, arose and dis-puted with Stephen. But they could not withstand the wisdom and the Spirit with which he spoke.

(147 words)

Reader's Digest Condensation This pleased the whole multi-tude, so they chose the seven and set them before the apostles, who prayed and laid hands upon them. One of the seven was a man named Stephen. Full of grace and power, he did great wonders and signs among the people, and also disputed with those who belonged to the synagogue of the Freedmen, and others. But none could withstand the wisdom and the Spirit with which he spoke.

(74 words)

"Nothing has been changed," Dr. Metzger points out in the preface, "nothing added to or removed from the text that in any way diminishes its spirit, its teachings, or the familiar ring of its language. . . . The work has been thoroughly objective, without bias toward or against any particular set of beliefs."

Nothing missing? But as I studied the book, doubts regarding Metzger's statements began to raise their ugly heads. In slashing the Old Testament by 50 percent and the New by 25 percent, has indeed "nothing . . . been removed from the text that in any way diminishes . . . its teachings"?

True, the critic's jokes in the press and pulpit regarding the Six Commandments, the five last plagues, and the 4.2 days of Creation did not materialize after all (the more popular passages like the Ten Commandments, the Beatitudes, the Lord's Prayer, and the twenty-third psalm the editors left untouched).

But what about some of the Scriptures' key doctrinal passages? And which books received the most cutting? The least?

Among the least shortened books I found Mark (15 percent cut), John (20 percent), and Revelation (22 percent) to head the list. But books cut substantially included Hebrews (46 percent), Genesis (53 percent), Exodus (58 percent), Daniel (59 percent), Isaiah (61 percent), Leviticus (70 percent), and 1 Chronicles (74 percent).

Of the original 150 psalms, only 79 remain (Psalm 23 is now the thirteenth psalm). And although Revelation survived reasonably intact, Daniel, in the Digest edition, ends with chapter 7, an omission that will alarm virtually every fundamentalist and rapturist in the land. (Without the seventy-week prophecy of Daniel 9, Hal Lindsay could never have written his best seller The Late Great Planet Earth.)

Regarding the question of missing or altered doctrinal passages, I decided to conduct an experiment. Having given literally thousands of Bible studies and sermons over the years, I prepared

a list from my own Bible of 125 key doctrinal texts or passages. These included passages that describe such topics as Christ's incarnation, the Trinity, life after death, hell, judgment, Christ's second coming, the millennium, Satan, salvation through Christ, baptism, Bible promises, et cetera.

Then I compared these 125 pivotal passages with The Reader's Digest Bible to see how many had survived the editors' scissors.

Of the 86 key doctrinal texts in the New Testament, I found 19 (or 22 percent) missing or changed significantly so as to destroy their meaning. And in the 39 doctrinal Old Testament passages, I found 14 or (36 percent) missing or changed significantly.

With one out of five key New Testament doctrinal passages missing or altered, and one out of three in the Old Testament, one wonders how Metzger can confidently claim that "nothing has been . . . added to or removed from the text that in any way diminishes . . . its teachings."

What kinds of texts? True, "one out of three" and "one out of five" sound alarming. But what kinds of passages are we talking about?

Take the question of inspiration of the Bible. In the Digest edition the passage in Hosea (12:10) about God speaking to the prophets and giving them visions cannot be found (all of chapter 12 is missing, in fact). Likewise, the statement in


Revelation 19:9 about the words in Revelation being the "true words of God." (The editors also deleted, quite understandably, the warning in Revelation 22:19 against removing words from the Book.)

Paul's affirmation that "the saints will judge the world" (in 1 Corinthians 6:2) is missing, as is Christ's assurance that He came "to give his life as a ransom for many" (Matthew 20:28).

In The Reader's Digest Bible one cannot read that the Son "found the earth in the beginning, and the heavens are the work of [His] hands" (Hebrews 1:10).

Also, the passage in 1 Corinthians 3:16, 17 (which states that we are God's temple, where the Spirit dwells, and that we are not to destroy this temple) is absent, as well as the warning (in Proverbs 20:1) that he who is deceived by wine is not wise.

Regarding the great passage about the mystery of the Incarnation in 1 Timothy 3:16—"He was manifested in the flesh, vindicated in the Spirit, seen by angels, preached among the nations, believed on in the world, taken up in glory"—we find not a hint. And why snip out that beautiful promise of forgiveness in Hebrews 8, "For I will be merciful toward their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more."

A number of other texts suffered irreparable alteration. For example, the severe warning that "homosexuals" will not inherit the kingdom of God (1 Corinthians 6:9, 10) has been changed to "sexual perverts." (The terms are not synonymous; homosexuals do not usually consider themselves sexual perverts, and sexual perverts are not all homosexual.)

Sabbath worship? We could, of course, include other similar passages (such as Hebrews 1:6, 8, about Christ's deity), but the ones that bothered me the most, being a Seventh-day Adventist, were the texts that supported the Bible's teachings on such topics as the proper worship day, the state of the dead, and eschatology.

True, the Ten Commandments did escape the scalpel unscathed. But the editors altered and changed other passages. For

example, they changed the statement in Isaiah 42:21 that Christ would magnify the law when He came ("law" is now "teaching"). Ezekiel 20:20 (about the Sabbath being a sign) is gone, as is Hebrews 4:1, 4, 9-11 (about the Sabbath as a rest day for Christians).

In Luke we no longer discover that it was Christ's "custom" to attend church on the Sabbath (4:16). And in Acts the K.J.V. statement "And Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, and three sabbath days reasoned with them out of the Scriptures" (17:2) has become "three weeks" (an alternate reading, explained in an R.S.V. footnote).

In fact, the description in Revelation of God's last-day people as "those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus" (14:12) has been likewise excised.

Regarding the state of the dead, which the Adventists believe the Bible teaches is like a deep sleep without any thoughts until the resurrection (see John 11:11-13), a number of key Bible passages have disappeared or been altered unnecessarily. To illustrate, Psalm 146:4 (about all thoughts ceasing at death) is missing, as is Ecclesiastes 9:6 (about those who die not possessing love, hate, or envy in death). An overall rating. Space, of course, does not permit us to list all the omissions or alterations of the basic text. What has preceded is merely a sample of an inexhaustive textual survey. But it does serve as a guideline to what the editors deleted or modified in the Bible's teachings.

The new book deserves high ratings on readability, the page-wide textual format, the elimination of verbosity and repetition, and the smoothly flowing narrative and expository portions.

The book introductions, while fresh and generally informative, reveal a liberal theological bias that dates many portions much later than conservative Christians would accept. (Genesis is attributed to several authors hundreds of years after Moses, part of Leviticus to the sixth

Dr. Bruce M. Metzger

century B.C., and Daniel to 168-165 B.C. Metzger also calls Hebrews an "anonymous treatise," stating that it is "traditionally ascribed to the apostle Paul, [but] features of style and vocabulary show that it was written by some other leader in the early church.") These biases earn the introductions a low grade overall.

A serious flaw in the Digest edition, I believe, involves the complete omission of any book chapter numbers whatsoever (not even in tiny type in the center margins). This volume is next to impossible to correlate with almost every other Bible text available, except with the brief index. (I hope the Reader's Digest editors include some small-print, unobtrusive chapter numbers, perhaps at the bottom of the pages, in future editions.)

Now we come to the main drawback—the omission of material that contains scriptural teachings. Obviously, from what we have discussed, doctrinal omissions and alterations have occurred. The Digest editors need to consider constructive criticisms along this line in future editions of this work, so the book can be more useful in its intended objective—to present the true message of the Bible in an easy-to-read format.

Until these omissions and deficiencies are corrected, it would be difficult for fundamental and conservative Christians to give this book a rating above the poor-to-mediocre range—even for its intended audience of first-time readers.


A

s an exchange teacher in West Germany, I eagerly anticipated the conference

on Christian unity to be held on the campus of Marienhoehe Seminary. Since one of our reasons for spending a year in Germany was to gain some insight into that Christian unity that transcends national boundaries, this conference offered tantalizing possibilities.

The sponsors of the event, a group of West German Seventh-day Adventists, had assembled an impressive list of speakers, which included a representative of the Vati-can in Rome and a well-known Lutheran profes-sor. The presentations were frank, the discus-sions lively. The largely Protestant audience lis-tened uneasily as the Vati-can representative can-didly outlined the Roman Catholic position: The "Mother" church was quite willing to welcome her erring children home. Several speakers addressed the role of the World Council of Churches. Vigorous and sectional applause revealed sharp divisions in the audience as the speakers defended various alternatives: observer status, membership, or total nonparticipation. Paradoxically, the discussion of Christian unity seemed to result in discord rather than harmony.

One event stood out, however, as a striking exception to the prevailing dissonance. It began innocently enough as just another address. Yet this speaker bore different credentials than the others. Since his home was behind the iron curtain, he had to obtain special permission from his government to attend the conference. And now he was describing what it meant to live as a Christian in a land where the official government line declared God to be dead.

His experience seemed so different from ours. Freedom as we would define it seemed almost nonexistent in his land. Yet

Christianity continued to thrive. The strictly secular stance of the Communist government had buried every trace of a state church. The result was a different kind of freedom in Christ. Though Lutherans were still Lutherans, Adventists still Adventists, and Baptists still Baptists, believers of all kinds had become one in their

Lord. The word Christian had become a new and precious word to them.

As the speaker unfolded his experience, I sensed something happening to the audience and to me. Hearts began to throb in unison. Faces once stoical and well-disciplined were now streaked with tears. We too had become one in Christ. Banqueting together for that one memorable hour, we had tasted and seen that the Lord was good (Psalm 34:8).

For some of us, the experience had deeper roots. We had met the speaker in his homeland just a few months before when the Marienhoehe Seminary faculty as a group had visited Friedensau Seminary, the Adventist sister institution in East Germany. As Americans, my wife and I had never really grasped the agony of a people divided. Here was a case

not of nation divided against nation, but of one nation divided against itself—by walls of human devising. Families and friends had been torn apart.

Before the walls went up separating East from West, some churches had been virtually emptied as members fled seeking freedom. In one area alone three

fourths of the members had escaped to the West. But now twenty years had passed since the last chink in the wall had been sealed up. Those who remained behind have had to carry on the work of the Lord with decimated families and aching hearts.

During that brief visit our emotions had battered us back and forth between a frustrated anger and a sense of total helplessness. Yet the courage of those believers infused us with hope. Their faith strengthened ours, and we found ourselves praying with great fervor, "Thy kingdom come" (Matthew 6:10).

With that experience etched deeply on my soul, I sat listening to my

Christian brother talk about "unity in Christ." But I was not hearing mere words. He was sharing the very essence of his life, his passion. And it was becoming my life, my passion.

The desire to be one with God and man is not unique to Christians. Many faiths speak of the Fatherhood of God, and even atheists feel keenly about the brotherhood of man. Yet in a curious sort of way, the human longing for unity has often led to war instead of peace. Even Christians have sometimes pursued unity with a vigor that has left others only the agonizing choice between conformity or annihilation.

A forced unity, however, is not the unity that one finds in Christ. Force is a tragic byproduct of sin, mutilating instead of healing. It can separate, but never unite.

COD'S C HURCH A BODY CONTAINING MANY PARTS

BY ALDEN THOMPSON

"For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body. . . .

For the body is not one member, but many" (1 Corinthians 12:13, 14).


Scripture uses a great variety of symbols to illustrate the kind of unity that believers find in Christ and His church. Two of the more popular symbols picture God's church as a building and as a human body, imagery that offers rich possibilities for exploring the nature of Christian unity.

Paul develops both symbols in his letter to the Ephesians. In describing the body of believers as a building, Paul declares that both Jews and non-Jews have come together in Christ, forming one "household of God, built upon the foun-dation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the corner-stone" (Ephesians 2:19, 20, R.S.V.).* This structure Paul describes as a "holy temple" into which the various members are inte-grated, resulting in a "dwelling place of God in the Spirit" (verses 21, 22, R.S.V.).

In chapter four, Paul earnestly pursues the topic of unity, admonishing the believers: "Be always humble, gentle, and patient. Show your love by being tolerant with one another. Do your best to preserve the unity which the Spirit gives by means of the peace that binds you together" (Ephesians 4:2, 3, T.E.V.).t He then follows with his famous list of unifying elements: one body, one Spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one God and Father of us all (verses 4-6).

Yet the unity that Paul goes on to describe sounds more like the richness of an orchestra rather than the piercing tone of a bugle. God has given "gifts" to build up His church, the "body of Christ." Some are endowed with talents that enable them to be evangelists. Some are pastors, others teachers (verse 11). This diversity does not bring dissension and discord, but graceful and harmonious growth in love: "By speaking the truth in a spirit of love, we must grow up in every way to Christ, who is the head. Under his control all the different parts of the body fit

together, and the whole body is held together by every joint with which it is provided. So when each separate part works as it should, the whole body grows and builds itself up through love" (verses 15, 16, T.E.V.).

In his first letter to the church at Corinth, Paul playfully develops the image of the "'body of Christ"

as a means of emphasizing diversity in unity. He strikes up mock arguments between parts of the body. What if the foot were to complain that it were not a hand? And the ear to grumble that it were not an eye? Would that make them less a part of the body? How could the whole body simply be an eye or an ear? The eye wouldn't dare tell the hand to get lost. Nor would the head have any right to amputate the feet (1 Corinthians 12:14-26). Clearly the body needs all its parts—properly labeled and working.

And the diversity within the body of Christ embraces much more than simply the differences in personal talents or national origins. Different members of the body bring a great variety of personal and emotional traits into God's community. In a merely human organism, such variety

could easily be a source of irritation. But in the body of Christ, variety means balance, enrichment, completeness.

The men Jesus selected to be His disciples provide an excellent illustration of unity through diversity. Up-front Peter is balanced by his behind-the-scenes

brother Andrew. The impulsiveness of Simon the Zealot is countered by the methodical tax man, Matthew. Honest Nathanael, doubting Thomas, and a couple Sons of Thunder, James and John, were all selected by our Lord as part of the foundation for His church. Conversion did not submerge their personalities or obliterate their differences. The Christian menu does not simply list homogenized milk—cream or skim milk can still be had for the asking.

The world is composed of all kinds of people. If God's church is to meet the needs of the world, calling it to a unity in Christ, it will take the concept of the body

of Christ seriously. That means accepting diversity as an essential ingredient in unity. But it also means clearly recognizing its common message and common task. The church is called to share the good news of a Saviour who brought us together in Himself and who is coming again to establish a new community where peace will reign forever.

As difficult as it sometimes may seem in a torn and twisted world, our Lord has asked us to begin building such a peaceful community now—while we wait for His return. His church is to build bridges between people. This was Paul's message in his letter to the Galatian believers: "For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus"

Unity in the Body of Christ The church is one body

with many members, called from every nation, kindred, tongue, and people.

In Christ we are a new creation; distinctions of race, culture, learning, and nationality; and

differences between high and low, rich and poor, male and female, must not be divisive among us.

We are all equal in Christ, who by one Spirit has bonded us into one fellowship with Him and with one another; we are to serve and be served

without partiality or reservation. Through the revelation of Jesus Christ in the Scriptures we

share the same faith and hope, and reach out in one witness to all.

This unity has its source in the oneness of the triune God, who has adopted us as His children. (Psalm 133:1; 1 Corinthians 12:12-14; Acts 17:26,

27; 2 Corinthians 5:16, 17; Galatians 3:27-29; Colossians 3:10-15; Ephesians 4:1-6; John

17:20-23; James 2:2-9; 1 John 5:1.)


(Galatians 3:27, 28, R.S.V.). Note that the unity in Christ

that Paul describes does not obliterate all differences.

BY BILL LOVELESS

To help you get the most out of THESE TIMES, we offer "Reflections," a guide to deeper understanding of individual articles. Actually, we'd like to challenge you to probe these issues that can enrich your life and make them more fulfilling. Please read each article first, then consider Bill Loveless' suggestions. Bill is a master at inspiring people to think—and what is even more amazing—to enjoy doing it.

Spiritual Gifts—Your Opportunity for Ministry page 8 1. Make a list of the tasks to be done in your church. Which ones

challenge you the most?

2. How does your church keep track of missing members? 3. From the list at the conclusion of this article, identify your gifts.

If you are in doubt, ask a Christian who knows you to help you identify your gifts.

4. What is the meaning of the Biblical term ministry?

5. What would happen in your church if everyone took seriously the notion that every member is a minister for Christ?

6. What would happen in your life if you took seriously the notion that you are a minister of Christ?

New Reader's Digest Bible page 16 1. How many words are in the original Bible? 2. By how much has the new Reader's Digest Bible reduced the

original text? 3. What are the strengths of the Reader's Digest Bible?

4. What are the flaws of the Reader's Digest Bible?

5. Which of the flaws do you consider most serious (omissions of textual matter, theologically biased introductory material, omission of chapter numbers)?

If you have found "Reflections" helpful, we offer one more suggestion: We have available an expanded version of "Reflections" called "Discussion Guides." These guides are designed to act as aids for study groups. Perhaps your church or community club would find these guides a perfect catalyst for sprightly conversation and continuing study. Certainly they are worth trying.

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In our own church's experience, an awareness of the vital interplay between unity and diversity has been heightened by fellowship with believers in other cultures. Having lived in both Britain and Germany for a time, we have seen certain "typical" national characteristics thrown into bold relief. Yet we have also gained a deeper appreciation for the contribution such traits can make to a world community. The polite and helpful Britishers, the generous and thorough Germans, have just as important roles to play as enthusiastic and pragmatic Americans.

The one who holds us together is our Lord. He has given us our vision and our hope. And when we meet together to celebrate that common meal commemorating His death and the promise of His return, the bread and the wine symbolize all that He did to break down the walls that would otherwise separate us from one another.

I have shared that meal with brothers and sisters whose culture, background, and language were not my own. Yet the Lord had linked our hearts together with an inseparable bond. It was in the common language of the heart that we heard the promise of our Lord and yearned for its fulfillment: "I tell you I shall not drink again of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom" (Matthew 26:29, R.S.V.).

We who were once far from one another had been brought near in the blood of Christ. He had become our peace and had made us one, breaking down every dividing wall of hostility (see Ephesians 2:13, 14).

' Scripture quotations in this article marked R.S.V.are from the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyrighted 1946, 1952 © 1971, 1973.

t Bible texts in this article credited to T.E.V. are from the Good News Bible—Old Testament: Copyright © American Bible Society 1976; New Testament: Copyright © American Bible Society 1966, 1971, 1976.

Alden Thompson is professor of religion at Walla Walla College, Walla Walla, Washington. © 1983 by Alden Thompson.


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The School Prayer Amendment

THANKS FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART

A though I am not of your ..faith, someone years ago sent my name in to receive your magazine, and I really am sorry I haven't written you and complimented you on such a fine, uplifting publication. I would also like to thank from the bottom of my heart the kind, generous person who sent my name in so long ago. I particularly enjoyed the October, 1982, issue.—Mrs. Peter M. Swart, Holland, New York.

Dave N. Port Enterprises

Thank you for the article "Three Magic Words That Can Turn Tragedy Into Victory" in the October, 1982, issue. I have started to use those three words in my own life—"It doesn't matter." It really is up to me whether I allow irritations to discourage me.

As for the money that the author and her husband lost in the "Dave N. Port Enterprises," I liked her attitude about the matter. God is in control. Everything belongs to Him. God can give, and He can take.—David H. Knapp, Crossville, Tennessee.

We're surprised that more of our readers didn't catch that subtle illustration (on page 14).—Editors.

I'm Free in Prison I'm in Florence (Arizona

State Prison), and I ran across your October, 1982,

Address all correspondence for this column to: Letters to the Editor, THESE TIMES, 6856 Eastern Avenue NW., Washington, D.C. 20012.

issue. I enjoyed it very much. It really brightened my day. Praise the Lord. Since I have found the Lord I will always be free, no matter how high the prison walls are around me. I have 21 more years to do here at central unit, but walking with the Lord, I will be free every single day. I pray daily that people on the street will come closer to the Lord so they too will find true freedom.

I thank God for opening my eyes before it was too late. I accepted His Son as my Lord and Saviour and asked Him to forgive me for my sins. After reading "Superwoman of the Bible" and how many times Mary Magdalene fell before she was saved, I will pray especially hard that I may not fall even once. As long as I keep my eyes on Jesus, I won't. Praise God.—Joe Lardner, Florence, Arizona.

A Most Helpful Magazine

Thank you for sending me THESE TIMES magazine. It is most helpful, and I enjoy it very much.—Nannie

Howard Osborne, Raleigh, North Carolina.

Fact or Fiction? I received your October

issue a few days ago and was touched on reading the article about Mary Magdalene—"Superwoman of the Bible." But after I read it the second time, my admiration turned to puzzlement. In the opening paragraph the author states: "How she [Mary] got that way is an interesting detail of the New Testament story." However, much of his account is not the New Testament story but appears to be his own fiction.

I have read such books as The Robe and Ben Hur, and I enjoyed them knowing they were fiction. I do think I would have enjoyed Wieland's story more if it had been labeled "A fictional tale based on the Bible account." But to say this is an "interesting detail of the New Testament story" seems a bit mislead-ing.—J. W. Patterson, Carver, Minnesota.

A Wholesome Publication

I am not an Adventist. However, I do keep the Sabbath. Your magazine, THESE TIMES, has much I am in accord with, and it is a wholesome magazine with many inspirational messages. I want to thank you now for the issues I've already received.—Georgia J. Ripley, Perry, Oklahoma.

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God Has Blessed Us Your magazines have

come to us at a very good time in our lives. God has blessed us.—Margaret Counassl, Wattsburg, Pennsylvania.

Mostly True I have enjoyed reading

THESE TIMES. As a born-again believer and a fundamental Baptist, I have found most of your articles true to the whole truth of the Bible and very enlightening.—Kathy McCreadie, Owosso, Michigan.

Proud to Share It For the past several years

I have been the fortunate recipient of THESE TIMES. The stories and news articles, which are both informative and unbiased, contain meaningful messages. Not only are the illustrations appropriate and attractive, but the paper and print are ideal for a senior citizen. I await the arrival of each issue with joyful anticipation. Because of its wholesomeness, I'm proud to share it with my friends. God bless the Christian who makes it possible for me to receive THESE TIMES.—Ruth Thomaschefsky, Green Bay, Wisconsin. 'Pr


I definitely do believe in reverence, but some of my most memorable occasions involve moments when the unexpected elbowed its way into worship and gave

the audience a chance to chuckle and laugh.

Even the Angels Must Laugh Sometimes

BY JAN S. DOWARD

somehow it never seemed to me that for all his wisdom Solomon caught the full

significance of an out-of-sync time for laughter. In his famous comment about the seasonal things of life, he simply stated there's "a time to laugh." But it's a lot more hilarious when it's not time. It always seems funnier when humor comes at right angles to a solemn, worshipful situation.

I think I first came to this realization after choking and crying as I desperately tried to

Jan Doward is a free-lance writer living in Crestline, California. © 1983 by Jan S. Doward.


suppress my laughter during a church service several years ago.

It happened in a small country church—one of those compressed sanctuaries in which the pulpit and pews fit tightly together, not so much for good eye contact, but merely to crowd in more people. It was a hot summer day, and all the windows stood open for the sorely needed cross ventilation. The staid Scandinavians who made up the bulk of the congregation sat impassively listening to their favorite old-time lay preacher intoning some sure and comfortable theology.

In the midst of his sermon, Mr. Swanson sagely asked a rhetorical question. I can't recall what he actually queried, but I distinctly do

remember that as if in answer, a cow mooed right on cue. The bovine sound effects came through the open window behind the pulpit.

This set me up. I put my hand to my mouth, but more was to follow. Swanson, hard of hearing as he was, only leaned forward in the pulpit and cupped his ear.

"How's that again, brother?" he asked seriously.

I couldn't hold it! Grabbing my handkerchief, I stuffed it in my mouth. My wife nudged me. But it was no use. I knew she had better control and would somehow save her laughter for later when she could have a good belly laugh at home. Not me. I suffered intense gagging and tears. My head grew

Illustrations by Tom Dunbebin

hot, and I sensed my face was red from the effort of holding in check the happy sounds I wanted so much to make. What made it worse was the fact that all the saints sat soberly looking straight ahead, sedately listening as if nothing had ever happened.

Since that time I've been on the lookout for others who have experienced similar moments when laughter has irreverently elbowed its way into worship. I've asked evangelists, pastors, and churchgoers in general all over the country to share with me. Laughter knows no denomina-tional barriers, but I have always hastened to add in my quest that I definitely do believe in reverence. It's just that I have a sneaking

hunch even the angels sometimes must bend over in laughter over the unexpected.

My own family knows I'm on the prowl for true, unpublished accounts. One day my youngest daughter phoned.

"Dad," she laughed, "you'd have cracked up today in our church. During a baptism one of the older ladies lost her wig, and the pastor picked it up like some drowned rat and handed it to her as she stepped out of the water. We had to sing about two dozen hymns before she'd come out to meet the congregation. It was a gas!"

I imagined it was! Baptisms, I've discovered, have a special built-in

mechanism for potential humor. I can only visualize what I

would have suffered had I been attending the little Southern Baptist church in back-country Georgia during a morning they had scheduled a husband-and-wife immersion.

From what I was told, it was one of those cozy arrangements in which the deacons have to move the pulpit and lift the floorboards to expose the baptistry. Sheets were hung over wires to form a "dressing room" on each side of the baptismal tank. The husband had already been baptized and returned to change into his clothes when his overweight wife descended the rickety stairs to the water. But the last step cracked


and collapsed on her. As she lunged forward staggering past the pastor, her arms wildly flayed out for something to grasp. She caught the sheet on the opposite side and tore it down, exposing her shocked husband to the whole congregation. As he stood there without his robe, he made a quick and stunning decision. Diving headfirst into the baptistry, he disappeared for safe hiding.

I don't know how many hymns they had to sing to bring the congregation back into line after that performance.

But lest someone may suggest that small country churches have a corner on potentially humorous situations, let me share something

that happened recently in a plush suburban setting. This was one of those churches that had installed a glassed-in section in the lower part of the baptistry so the congregation could witness the underwater activity during immersion. Apparently bubbles and bloated faces are more meaningful for many folk, adding a dimension to the sacred rite. But this time the whole congregation was afforded far more visual excitement than originally scheduled.

The first man baptized arose from the water totally confused and headed up the stairs to the ladies' dressing room. By the time he realized his mistake, another candidate had taken his place in

the water. He patiently waited behind the curtain for the right moment. Just as the next party slipped under, he went into action. But the audience never saw the baptism. Their wondering eyes beheld only a black-robed body desperately swimming underwater across the font!

Sleeping during religious services has always carried inherent humor. A variety of actual occurrences have filtered through to me, but the one I like best happened during a large evangelistic tent meeting in southern California.

Without any typical snoring an old man quietly snoozed on the front row, totally oblivious to his


surroundings. But while he slept a fuse blew, plunging the audience into darkness. Only the public-address system remained on. The evangelist never lost a beat.

"So long as you can still hear my voice, I'll keep right on preaching," he explained. "M attendants will get the lights fixed shortly."

He wasn't far along in his darkness discourse when the old man awoke. Hearing the preacher's voice but seeing nothing aroused all his dormant energies.

"Oh, pray for me! I've gone blind!" he shouted loudly.

Two teen-age girls seated behind the old man got so tickled at the

blessings because they allow the whole audience to laugh spontaneously without fear of frowns. These accidental transpositions of sound always seem funnier when said at some large assembly. Maybe it's because there's more people laughing and it takes longer to settle everyone down.

A great ecclesiastical gathering in the Midwest a few years ago had a keynote address speaker begin with, "Puke and weany men that we are . . . I mean, weak and puny men . . ."

It's doubtful anyone remembered much of anything else that evening.

But a simple word or phrase blunder can be just as devastating.

It took more than 30 minutes of singing to bring that congregation back to some semblance of a prayerful attitude. Each time it seemed the proper moment had arrived, a ripple of laughter would begin somewhere, and off they'd all go again. Truly a great moment to remember!

The toughest test of self-control, though, occurs when everyone is watching. I was asked to be guest speaker at a Statewide religious meeting in Iowa a few years ago. The meeting took place in a high school auditorium where the stage backdrop composed of long, colored burlap strips hung from the ceiling. It actually did resemble solid paneling.

The student body has long since scattered, but whenever any of them chance to meet, they still howl when recalling what happened at the

college testimonial meeting years earlier.

sudden interruption they quickly slipped to the ground and crawled under the tent wall to laugh it off outside. I'm afraid if I had been there I'd have had to join them.

Public-address systems often amplify far more than singing or sermons, though. An evangelist friend of mine consistently wears a transistor lapel mike during his meetings. Once, however, he forgot to turn it off when he recessed for the men's room during the song service. Interspersed throughout the singing could distinctly be heard through the speakers the sound effects of whistling, the urinal flushing, washbasin filling, and paper towels pulled from the holder and crumpled.

When my friend returned to the platform, he whispered to one of his associates, "How's it been going?"

The associate pointed toward the lapel mike and whispered back, "You ought to know; you were on!"

Spoonerisms are such great

A classic case I have on file occurred in a Christian college testimonial meeting. A tearful freshman concluded his personal testimony with a memorable request.

"Please pray I'll not be found sleeping with the five foolish virgins when Jesus comes," he sobbed.

The student body has long since scattered, but whenever any of them chance to meet, they still howl when recalling that choice moment.

But the one that has always ranked the highest on my list happened during an Oregon Conference Seventh-day Adventist camp meeting. There were more than 20,000 people present. On the platform was a church official name Elder Belleau (pronounced "Bellow"), who was slated to offer the morning prayer. But the nervous ministerial intern, whose only job for the occasion was to introduce the church leader, got up before that great concourse of people and solemnly announced, "Elder Pray will now bellow."

Just as I was introduced, I happened to glance toward the left-hand wing. At that precise moment a stage attendant tried to lean against what he thought was the wall. He flopped clear out of sight. All I could see were two feet sticking out from under the burlap. It was like a typical Hollywood stunt gag. Suddenly I was on! Nobody in the audience saw the accident except those in the balcony to my far right, and they were in stitches, which didn't help a bit. Just glancing toward them almost triggered a spasm of laughter for me. What to do? I adjusted my notes and then spied the grain of wood on the podium. Oh, how I studied that wood! Concentrate! Every ounce of my energy was momentarily diverted to that wood!

Later when I could reflect on the occasion, it occurred to me to make a slight personal adjustment to Solomon's wise words. "When it's not time to laugh but it's funny anyway, concentrate on something else." Sometimes it's the only way out. Tr


NES

SCIENTIFIC REPORT LINKS DIET AND CANCER

.. panel of scientists working under the

auspices of the prestigious National Academy of Sciences has come to a preliminary conclusion that supports what THESE TIMES has been saying for years—proper diet can lower cancer risks.

Even though the evidence remains sketchy, Dr. Clifford Grobstein, University of California biologist and chairman of the NAS panel that released the report, feels that the time has come to inform the public about the kind of diet that can help prevent cancer. "We should try to put what is learned to use as soon as possible to avoid any unnecessary delay in taking preventive action," he states.

The report, entitled, "Diet, Nutrition, and Cancer," is the result of a two-year study commissioned by the National Cancer Institute in 1980. For years American mothers have told their children "Eat your carrots," "That broccoli is good for you," and "Don't put so much butter on your bread." Now, for the first time, a scientific body is seconding Mom's good-sense advice.

The academy's National Research Council committee report advises that people should eat less fat, very little smoked, pickled, and salt-cured food, and eat more fruits, vegetables, and whole-grain cereals. Although the evidence is not in yet, the 500-page report expresses the clear conviction that people can

reduce their risk of cancer by following these specific recommendations: Fat level in diet: High fat intake has the most solid evidence linking it to cancer of all the dietary components the committee studied. Average American intake of fat in the diet is 40 percent of total calories.The report suggests that this should be reduced to 30 percent or less. THESE TIMES recommends less. Vitamins A and C: Americans need to eat more fruits, vegetables, and whole-grain cereals, particularly those that contain vitamin A (for instance, green and yellow vegetables) and vitamin C (citrus fruits, broccoli, and tomatoes). Both substances are associated with lower cancer incidence. Eating foods that contain vitamin C lowers risk of stomach and esophageal cancer. How-ever, the report warns against using supplemental vitamins. High doses of vitamin A can be toxic. The best way to get these vitamins is through eating adequate amounts of fresh fruits and vegetables. Cruciferous or mustard-family vegetables: Consumption of such vegetables as cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, kale, and Brussels sprouts is associated with a reduced incidence of stomach, colon, and rectal cancers. Salt-cured, smoked, and pickled foods: These foods, including such items as sausages, smoked fish, and bacon, should be avoided. In Japan, China, and Iceland, where people

frequently eat salt-cured, smoked, and pickled foods, a greater incidence of stomach and esophageal cancers have been noted. Selenium: Although the evidence is limited, selenium in the diet may protect against cancer, the committee reports. Food additives: The committee recommends efforts to minimize contamination of foods with known carcinogens from any source. Alcohol: Some studies have linked excessive beer drinking with colorectal cancer. There is also some evidence that alcohol consumption can be linked with liver cancer. When alcohol is combined with cigarette smoking, it seems to increase the risk of some cancers. High protein intake: Although a possible link between high protein intake and increased cancer risk is suggested, the report concludes that there is insufficient data at this time to make cutting down on excessive protein a firm recommendation.

Four years ago our sister publication Your Life and Health published a special issue entitled "Diet, Nutrition, and Cancer." Copies of that special issue can still be purchased through our office for $1 per copy. That issue listed the following Ten Commandments for Cancer Prevention:

1. Keep up your resistance: A. By a good diet—one that is neither deficient nor excessive in calories or nutrients.

B. By proper exercise. C. By adequate rest. D. By learning to cope with stress. E. By avoiding known injurious substances (carcinogenic chemicals, alcohol, et cetera).

2. Avoid tobacco. This applies especially to cigarette smoking.

3. Keep your weight down. Avoid not only obesity (20 percent or more overweight) but any excess weight.

4. Avoid a high-fat diet. Especially animal fats.

5. Use whole grains. This will provide the needed fiber in your diet.

6. Eat foods in the natural state as much as possible. This practice avoids questionable food additives and foods processed by either factory or animal, provides a diet with adequate fiber, and avoids foods with mold or decay.

7. Avoid alcohol. 8. Women should examine

their breasts for lumps every month.

9. Adult women should have a yearly pap smear.

10. Know the seven signs or symptoms of cancer and see your physician without delay should any appear.

These recommendations make even more sense in the light of the National Academy of Sciences' report on the link between diet and cancer.—Guest editorial by Leo Van Dolson. Tr


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Over the past 20 years or so, the Christian world has witnessed a veritable deluge of new Bibles—translations, paraphrases, adaptations, amplifications, abridgments, selections, and modernizations—nearly all intended to make studying and/or reading the Word of God easier for the typical man and woman in the street. Consequently, today we have (take a deep breath here) The Amplified Bible, The Holy Name Bible, The Living Bible (a paraphrase), The Jerusalem Bible, The New American Bible, the New American Standard Bible, The New English Bible, The New International Version, the Good News Bible (Today's English Version), New Testaments by Beck, Phillips, Moffatt, and others, and—most recently—The New King James Bible and The Reader's Digest (condensed) Bible.

However, the latter item—The Reader's Digest Bible—represents the first time ever that the complete Bible has undergone what is said to be a true condensation of the entire Scriptures. In the preface to their new edition, the Reader's Digest book editors explain the differences between a condensation and other methods of reducing the length of a text, such as abridgment: "Condensation concerns itself with every individual word of the text, every phrase, sentence, paragraph, and chapter. . . . Infinite care is taken to leave the essential fabric intact. By contrast, abridgment merely eliminates whole books or sizable sections of books, or brings together selected passages."

Unfortunately, as one examines the end result of the Reader's Digest editors' monumental three-year effort, he finds this clean-cut distinction between condensation and abridgment not as clear and apparent as the producers of this new book would have us believe.

In fact, in many areas one would have to lean toward the word "abridgment" when talking about the new Reader's Digest Bible ("abridgment merely eliminates whole books or sizable sections of books"), particularly in regard to major portions of the Old Testament, such as the Psalms.

But the new condensation does exhibit several noteworthy qualities, which makes an overall analysis and critique all the more difficult. Therefore, we invite our readers who have wondered about this latest addition to the religious book market to read what we feel are some of the strengths and weaknesses of this new volume. The article begins on page 16 and is titled "The New Reader's Digest Bible—How Good Is It?"


The Letter Sent in Time

Mom's battle with cancer had ended in early summer. I knew Daddy's

aloneness would be difficult. I had spent the last part of the summer with him, but I felt I had to go to graduate school that fall.

I found leaving difficult. He had hugged me tight and wept as he prayed for a safe journey.

At other times I had resisted hugging him. I'd been hurt deeply in a fractured romance, and for a while it was hard for me to relate to any man. But God brought emotional healing, and now I appreciated Dad's strong character.

Before I was born, Dad had surrendered a secure job as a chemist in the State of Washington to move to southern California where doctors said Mom's chronic asthma would improve. Although a college graduate, he sold kitchen pans and vacuum cleaners until he could find skilled work.

He insisted on being the family's sole provider. He encouraged Mother in her sewing and art hobbies, even helping her tie quilts and mark hems. He had a giving spirit and often helped widows with minor home repairs.

I saw more of his tender heart as cancer drained away Mother's life. At her deathbed, he read from Psalm 116—"Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His godly ones" (verse 15)*—and faithfully held her swollen hand until his head dropped in exhausted sleep.

Now he faced probably the loneliest day of his grief. I wanted to tell him I loved him and that I was thankful for him.

I'd been reading through Paul's letters in the New Testament. Over and over, the apostle had expressed thanks:

"I . . . do not cease giving

Jeanne Doering is a free-lance writer living in Wenatchee, Washington. © 1983 by Jeanne Doering.


thanks for you" (Ephesians 1:15, 16). "I thank my God in all my rememberance of you" (Philippians 1:3). "We give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you" (Colossians 1:3). "I thank God . . . as I constantly remember you in my prayers night and day" (2 Timothy 1:3).

If Paul could tell his spiritual children how thankful he was for them, why couldn't I tell my dad? Many times, of course, I'd told Daddy that I loved him. But now he needed to know why. And so I wrote that letter. "Dear Daddy,

"I know this will be a very lonely September 29 for you without Mom. I wish I could be there to comfort you. I greatly miss her too, and as I write this the tears are coming so fast I have to blot my face every few words. I don't know what it's like to celebrate an anniversary with one you love. Though I would desire to be married, God has not granted that privilege. But He did grant it to you and Mom, and along with it He sent the sorrows and joys that stretched you, refined you and perfected you.

"I wasn't there, only a plan in God's mind, when Mom's health necessitated the move to California in the early 1940s. But I look back on that move as one illustration of a man who despite the fragile uncertainties of the future—honored his commitment to love and care for his wife. That takes a special man.

"The Lord, knowing Mom's needs, was infinitely wise when He brought you two together and assigned Mom's care to you (and your care, likewise, to her). And that is hardly the beginning of the story, because as He filled your quiver with two arrows (named Judith and Jeanne), He deemed you worthy of caring for them, too.

"I can't help believing that the Lord has more tasks for you as you have now greater resources in abilities and time than ever before. And He will show you what those tasks are to be.

"But while we wait—either for the hope of His calling or (maranatha!) the hope of His coming—we can wait confidently that neither death nor life . . . things present or things to come . . . anything . . . in fact, nothing, 'shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord' " (see Rom. 8:38, 39).

"I love you in a deep way and God loves you infinitely. Jeanne."

I learned later that he cried when he got it and shared it with a few close friends. Ten weeks later he died of a heart attack.

Dropping out of school to take care of affairs, I faced the huge task of cleaning out the family home. As I dumped drawers and sorted the piles of mail, I remembered the anniversary letter. Had he kept it?

Or had the letter upset him so much that he destroyed it?

January passed, then February as I slowly sorted out his and Mother's personal belongings. I found old birthday cards, my grade school papers, and letters ten and fifteen years old. But not that letter.

Then in March I got to the closet where luggage was stored. In the pocket of the suitcase he used on a trip the week before his death, there it was.

He had kept it with him! I opened it and cried again,

thankful I'd written when I did. Each sentence had been hard to

put down, for I had hidden my gratitude too long. Now I thank God that He prompted me to send that note of love—in time. Ifi

" Scripture quotations in this article are from the New American Standard Bible, C The Lockman Foundation, 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, and are used by permission.

BY JEANNE DOERING

"Daddy, I love you." Those words were hard to say. But now I'm glad I said them.

Photograph by Luis Ramirez

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READER'S DIGEST BIBLE

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