The Second Coming, Wirelessly

"Surely the day is coming; it will burn like a furnace. All the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble, and that day that is coming will set them on fire," says the LORD Almighty. "Not a root or a branch will be left to them. But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings. And you will go out and leap like calves released from the stall." Malachi 4:1,2 (NIV)

The tension in the world was unbearable. For months the three rogue nations had played their games threatening to test or detonate much of their nuclear arsenal. People of faith everywhere had started taking prayer and fasting seriously for once.

If the end of the world was days or weeks away I wanted to be on the roof with my laptop, taking pictures and short video feeds with the cellphone. Every day after work, what work could still be done in the mounting disorder that the world experienced every day, I took to the roof to document what I saw all around me. The forest smoldered in the distance as the end-of-life mobs set anything they could find that wasn't fireproof.

Last night all the lights went out for 21 minutes and I was able to see a star that shone with a different type of light. It was pulsating as nothing I'd ever seen. When the power came back on, there was too much light all around me on the roof to see the strange star anymore. The next night the lights went out again for 21 minutes and the star was visible again, but this time it was larger. How could anything in the sky that pulsates from so far away get larger 24 hours later?

This pattern continued night after night until one night, the sun came out at midnight. Except it wasn't the same sun we knew. It was three times the size. Even the darkest sunglasses made it difficult on the eyes. I took my videos and pictures and wrote what I saw and how I felt about it and published it for anyone who was still connecting to the worldwide wireless hub for continuity or information.

The next night when the sun came out again I noticed that the fires were burning brighter. The only difference was alarming. The fires that had been lit up till now were the familiar red, yellow and orange flames that one was used to. These fires were green, blue and violet. The fires were not being set from below, but from the very skies. The world we had known had ceased to exist with the arrival of the giant midnight sun.

The next night the most alarming sight took hold of me as I saw in the not too distant cemetery what seemed like huge birds darting up from the trees in the woods surrounding the park. The figures were so distant and multicolored that I wondered what type of bird could change its color so randomly as it flew higher and higher. I photographed the distant figures and posted them for anyone to see and try to comment on it, for I could not.

When the city was almost ablaze, I noticed that the couple on the roof next to mine that had come out every night, as I had done, were strangely hovering six feet above the roof. I knew the Chinese had experimented with personal hovercraft platforms, but how anyone could have a prototype in their possession in this country was beyond me. I photographed them and with only a word or two, I posted it on my blog.

After an hour or two I realized that the enterprising Chinese had sold more prototypes to eager Americans than I had thought possible. Here and there in the buildings surrounding me I saw other couples hovering six feet above the roof. It seemed as they were waiting for something. With instant phone detection, no doubt, they were able to contact each other and coordinate whatever they were planning as they hovered six feet above the roof of their high rise buildings.

In a flash the sky exploded in blinding light of emerald and blue shades of undulating waves of color and sound. I was about to send a quick note and publish it when I noticed that much to my surprise I was no longer standing on the roof. I too was hovering six feet above the roof. I didn't know what this could mean as I had no expensive Chinese hovercraft, for sure. In a panic I wrote my last message and clicked the orange "Publish" link in my blog program. Nothing else needed to be said. My last message went out to anyone who was still connected, as I dropped my laptop and looked at the One who was seated on the throne in the middle of the giant sun.

(8th-Day) Adventist Futurism: A Manifesto

"... However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?" Luke 18:8 (NIV)

1. Adventist Futurism builds on 7th-Day Adventism. In some ways it is a continuation of the original movement. In others it is the next phase or development. All of the richness and history of 7th-Day Adventism is admired, cherished and built upon. Some may see this as a heretical development. Some already think the same of progressive Adventism as well as Postmodern Adventism. Imagine how Methodists and other proto-Adventist influences must have felt when 7th-Day Adventism grew out of those movements.
2. Christ Jesus, Lord and Savior, is as important as He ever was in Proto-Adventist Futurism (7th-Day Adventism.) Additionally, all the 28 fundamentals are respected and cherished however confining they may appear to some. In some ways, the principles of Adventist Futurism are a virtual 29th fundamental. If a 28th has been added in the recent pass, no doubt one day a 29th and a 30th may also be added.
3. Emphasis is still on present truth, but as present truth becomes past truth the minute it is conceived, Adventist Futurism focuses on Future Truth which by its nature is forward leaning and always thinking of the changes of the future, both near and far.
4. It would be inconceivable for 19th Century Adventists to imagine what 21st century Adventism could ever be like. The social, cultural, scientific and technological changes that separate two centuries of Adventism are no doubt as great from those that separate 21st century Adventism (Adventist Futurism) from 22nd century Adventism. It would have been unthinkable to 19th century Adventists that the movement would see the year 2007. It is equally unthinkable to many living today that 22nd century Adventism will one day have its day.
5. (8th-Day) Adventist Futurism is future- oriented for many reasons. It is said that it is unwise to live in the past or to live only for today. Adventist Futurism lives for today, respects its rich 7th-Day Adventist history as much as possible, but lives with tomorrow's emerging realities ever in mind.
6. All of Ellen G. White's writings are treasured for any and all spiritual guidance that they can still provide in what today is a world that she never imagined would ever come to pass. While some of her writings have to be understood in their cultural setting, every attempt is made to build on, and not tear down Mrs. White's useful writings.
7. The Bible in its entirety is treasured. In the same way that the New Testament refined the Old Testament's principles, equally so does (8th-Day) Adventist Futurism refine and build on both the Bible and the writings of Ellen G. White, as well as many of the serious thinkers, pastors and teachers within historical Adventism. Special thanks is given to the following authors though by mentioning them, we in no way ally them with us nor do we ally ourselves with their body of published work or unpublished discourses or sermons. These are the men and women that have influenced in some degree, however transitory, the principles of (8th-Day) Adventist Futurism: Ellen G. White, James Londis, Jack Provonsha, Sakae Kubo, John Wood, Ronald Lawson, Ottilie Stafford, George Rice, Lynn Sauls, Ann Parrish, Margarita Merriman, Jon Robertson, Eli Siegel, Morris Venden and Jack Sequeira.
8. Adventist Futurism respects the 7th-Day Sabbath, but as the latter is locked in time and is the only commandment that is kept only for one 24-hour period, once a week, Adventist Futurism focuses on the spiritual dimension of the Sabbath day as opposed to its literal 24-hour manifestation. As technology, scientific discoveries and space exploration change our conception of time and space, e.g., the Internet, virtual reality, the decoding of the human genome, space exploration, etc., the Sabbath commandment's importance in 7th-Day Adventism is admired, but it is cautiously considered because of the strong legalistic element it has traditionally brought to Adventism. Additionally, Adventist Futurism believes that the beauty of the 7th-Day Sabbath is enhanced and celebrated by observing the Enhanced Sabbath which includes the 24-hour "Jewish" Sabbath (sundown to sundown), but adds the hours after sundown on Saturday night and ending with daybreak on Sunday morning. We also speak of the post-7th-Day-Sabbath morning to commemorate the ending of Christ's rest in the tomb. Other Adventist Futurists focus on the observance of the Endless Sabbath by virtually carrying the beauty and joy of the 7th-Day Sabbath all through the week, in effect celebrating the Sabbath day, if only virtually, seven days a week, 24 hours a day. The regular Sabbath beginning on Friday at sunset then becomes the actual command performance and not the rehearsal of the previous six days.
9. If humanity's expansion continues beyond our world, as it seems to be doing, then the spiritual nature of the 7th-Day Sabbath will be more and more important. Celebrating the Sabbath on the Martian colonies in the next century, or in this one, will be 37 minutes longer than it is observed on Earth. If humanity has to find refuge underground because of the instability that terrorism continues to have on our planet, then sundown-to-sundown will have a new meaning and will only be observed by mechanical means of time measurement.
10. Just as Protestantism didn't cease to be Christianity when it broke away from Catholicism, and just as 7th-Day Adventism didn't cease to be Christianity when it grew out of the Methodist church and other groups, in like manner, (8th-Day) Adventist Futurism does not cease to be a continuation of both Christianity or 7th-Day Adventism.
11. Even though some members of society may not be welcomed in 7th-Day Adventism, or in other Christian or Jewish congregations, (8th-Day) Adventism welcomes all without condoning every aspect of certain member's life practices. Additionally, some may want to attend and feel welcomed, but not join Adventist Futurism formally. We welcome traditional, modern, liberal, mainstream, postmodern Adventists, as well as others who find something of worth in (8th-Day) Adventist Futurism. These include, but are not limited to the following groups: divorcees, cultural Adventists, intersexuals, transgender individuals, monogamous homosexualists (gays & lesbians and their children), bisexuals, common-law couples, domestic partners, persons struggling with controlled substances or other addictions (sexual, alcohol, gambling, etc.). Again, in order to not cause traditional 7th-Day Adventists to feel disrespected, we offer non-traditional inclusiveness for these groups mentioned. (8th-Day) Adventist Futurism becomes a safe haven for sinners and imperfect people, and not just a colony of morally upright and semi-perfect people.
12. Regarding life's origins, we welcome both literal creationists, as well as intelligent design believers, and, of course, Darwinian Adventists or Christians. We all believe in one God, however He created us.
13. Unlike some traditional 7th-Day Adventists, and this is said with the utmost respect and appreciation, we do not discourage the ministry of the Holy Spirit. We do not intentionally seek to speak in tongues, but if this wonderful gift returns in a valid and useful manifestation, we would not discourage its return. We foster more and more study, focus, and anticipation of the gifts of the Spirit and the fruit of the Spirit, Love and it's manifestations: joy, peace, self control, etc.
14. We worship the ineffable Father God who in His wisdom sent both Jesus Christ, His son, and his Spirit, the Spirit of Christ, the Holy Spirit. For all his countless blessings and gifts we are thankful.
15. We seek to understand and promote the beauty and importance of the Crucified, Risen and Glorified Christ. We seek His return, but if He delays 25, 50 or 100 years, as well as 250, 500 or 1000 years, we continue seeking Him and his daily return into our soul temple through His Holy Spirit.
16. We seek to honor proto-Adventist Futurism's past (traditional 7th-Day Adventism), but we also wish to change its future because of the danger within two or three generations of Adventism disappearing for the most part in the affluent and developed world. As the third world slowly catches up with the developed world, this danger will also become apparent in time to most of the 7th-Day Adventist body.
17. We welcome the real possibility of the prophetic gift reappearing in our midst and guiding us through the unforeseen challenges and dangers of the ever-changing future society that is already upon us because of terrorism, advancing scientific developments (cloning, virtual reality, cybernetics, etc.) and space exploration.
18. We realize that because of modern society's challenges, increasing terrorism, global warming, and other complex factors, worship may soon be only in private, local safe havens, and via the World Wide Web or it's replacement in the years to come.
19. We encourage a more democratic and less centralized church structure with adequate racial, ethnic, non-male and cultural representation of the church's worldwide membership, as well as, to a partial degree, it's informal membership (the marginalized groups previously mentioned.)
20. We extend an open door to former Adventists, as well as other spurned groups, that have grown out of traditional 7th-Day Adventism (Adventist Kinship, Branch Davidians, Shepherd's Rod, etc.). We only ask that you treat us with the same respect and consideration that we are offering you.
21. We welcome the future: all its mysteries, all its challenges, all its discoveries, all its blessings. We don't want to be locked in history, we want to make history, to change it, to improve it, to actively and creatively influence our future.

Other relevant posts:

Creating an Ideal World: Adventist Futurism
Mars Sabbath
Fear of the Holy Spirit

Beyond Christianity

... Seek and you will find. ... For ... he who seeks finds; Matthew 7:7,8 (NIV)

As good as Christianity and the Bible are, for years I've thought that so much depends on what you bring to both that makes a world of difference. Not only what you bring to the Christian life and the reading of the Bible from your past, but also what you keep on bringing or adding to your life as you willingly continue adding to your perception of them.

For example, if you never experienced a lot or any affection from either one of your parents, you might have a hard time relating to how God the Father is like a loving father or parent. Luckily the marriage relationship, it is said, can also substitute, when one lacks a parent of either sex, to give one a close proximity of the fullness and richness of a relationship with God. For those who lack all the above, the concept of God, no matter how wonderful it is portrayed in the Bible, must either be pretty meaningless, since it has no human model to compare it to, or one has to take it on faith, that such great, perfect love exits some where by a perfect being who also directs all of that love towards you, the penitent believer. Of course, a really good friend might substitute for a lack of a parent of either sex, or a life partner, as someone to help you undertand God, your ultimate Friend.

Getting back to the previous matter of what one continues adding to Christianity, I was delighted to come across an article in the New York Times this week about positive pscychology. Of course, the approach or asides in describing one's journey toward experiencing "flow" may potentially conflict with the Christian life (sex, drugs and chocolate as ways of tapping into this marvelous "flow", the writer keeps alluding to.) I myself would substitute music, poetry and film as safer alternatives to lead one to this "flow" that's so essential. Nevertheless, there is so much positivity and hopeful solutions to the problems that confront us, whether Christian or non-Christian, that I was grateful to find yet another field of study to use in order to enhance my life and make it all that it can be.

It's a shame that Christianity, the Bible, and the Spirit of Prophecy are not all you need in order to enjoy life to the fullest. One was always told that if you had access to these fountains of blessings, everything else didn't matter. Things would take care of themselves. You need not look further. You had found all the answers you ever would be in need of. Unfortunately for some if not all, there are obstacles sometimes and one needs approaches to life that ensure that one can avail oneself effectively of these three enriching and "spiritual" means to a meaningful, happy and eternal life.

One often needs something else. One needs to be reminded over and over again that one needs this "something else." One needs other positive agents or influences that enable one to renew one's inner vision. But of course, the Bible properly experienced, is a source of infinite blessing for it points beyond anything a finite or ephemeral solution such as art or learning of any kind can provide.

Why Did Christ Have to Die?

Yesterday I saw Apocalypto. The violence was unpleasant, but the total impact of the film was worthwhile. The one scene that set me thinking without warning was the most detailed and graphic depiction of human sacrifice I've ever seen on film or ever want to see again.

The shocking thing was that I thought of what made humans feel they had to appease their gods so much that a periodic supply of sacrificial victims was necessary. Human life is always precious. Those sacrificed were captured members of other tribes also trying to survive in the Mayan forests.

There was prayer throughout by the different tribes and the protagonists for their particular god or gods to protect them from the terrors and tragedies of their fight or die existence. One was made to feel that at least those not doing the sacrifice were more noble people. It was not clear that the sacrificial tribe had also a penchant for human sacrifice.

The thing that shocked me was that I briefly remembered the article I've linked at the top. (Please click on the title of this post if you wish to read that article.) A vague memory of a sentence the author made in that Adventist Today article about how Christ's sacrifice wasn't needed to appease God. Traditional Adventists or Christians say that it was the violation of the Law that had to be resolved. Of course, it bothers me at times that the Law is not a separate entity from God Himself. I say that with all respect.

I wish to continue to believe in God, so I dealt with these perplexing and unpleasant thoughts by deciding that since God sacrificed Himself He was appeasing his own need for wholeness as regards His own demands regarding his moral Law. He paid the ultimate sacrifice in that He sacrificed Himself. No one can pay a greater price.

The reason that I found all this unsettling, and I have to study, ponder and pray about this more is the following. Why is there so much blood and victims and sacrifice in the Old Testament and in God the Son's sacrifice? Why so much suffering? Why this obsession in ancient cultures as well in the Judaeo-Christian culture with blood, and victims and sacrifice and pain and loss of life? What is it about ancient man and man's perception of what the word of God says about sacrifice to appease gods or God Himself? I'm missing my own point here a bit. It eludes me because it is so uncomfortable and mysterious.

Why does anyone, ancient mankind (humankind) or God, Himself, have to sacrifice others or Himself in order to have peace? Don't get me wrong. We serve a wonderful God, but again, what is all this perplexing obsession and need for blood and more blood. I speak of more blood, or the ultimate blood loss of the Son of God, God Himself really, as the “more blood."

It almost sounds slightly unsophisticated or unnecessary, this obsession or this great need for blood or sacrifice of life. But who am I, a mere mortal and an imperfect one, at that, to disapprove of the "without blood there is no appeasement." The good thing is that we are not required to sacrifice our own children or our own selves to have peace with God.

Why oh why, Lord God, did you have to suffer so much? Couldn't you have shown us you loved us in a different way? I'm mortified that you had to suffer so much for us, and for me.

As I am wont to say often, I'm missing something here. I don't have all the pieces of the puzzle. There had to have been other solutions, other ways of saving man and womankind. But, whatever the reason that our God felt it absolutely necessary to sacrifice Himself that we might live at peace with Him, I am grateful. I hope to understand and love this God who suffered so much and who continues to suffer with us.

Does anyone out there have a solution to this unease I felt while watching so much human sacrifice and why God Himself had to sacrifice Himself, as well, for us? Yes, I know what the Bible says, but why does it say it? Why does it say it so often and so obessessivley. There has to be more to humanity's story than blood shedding and/or blood shedding or sacrifice as a means to resolution of past wrongs or of Original Sin. What am I missing here?

Instead of evolution: faith

“… Have faith in the LORD your God and you will be upheld; have faith in his prophets and you will be successful." 2 Chronicles 20:20 (New International Version)

I pray daily that God strengthen my faith in the inspiration of the Bible, especially the book of Genesis. I have to choose consciously to continue believing that God exists, that the Bible is the Word of God and not the Word of wise men. I have to want to continue believing. Sometimes the only proof that God exists is how he’s changed my life and continues to change my life from the self-centered and vain existence I’ve lived on and off for most of my post-childhood experience.

Sometimes in my moments of doubt, or low-brow intellectual posturing, I have to fight against the nagging suggestion that Moses is the only one responsible for the entire book of Genesis. What I mean is, in weaker moments I’ve wondered if this ancient genius, who was a byproduct of an advanced civilization, Egypt, didn’t himself synthesize much or all of Genesis from his great education, as well as his original mind.

If this were the case, it explains much of the supposed problems with the two creation accounts, the beginning of sin, and why we are here. It also, of course, creates other problems: if we’re alone in the universe, then it’s up to us and no one else to solve all or some of the problems we’ve inherited and which we’ve created. If humankind fails and blows up planet earth some day, and if it turns out, we were the only intelligent life in the universe to begin with, then how pointless it all would have been. We evolved from single-celled organisms. We lived, we loved, and we died as a species. Perhaps somewhere else in the universe, the miracle of life would come into miraculous existence again. Or perhaps, after the Big Crunch, there would be a new Big Bang and the entire miracle of life just might happen again? Or perhaps we’re only one in an infinite number of universes. Perhaps somewhere in one or more of those other universes there are intelligent beings or will someday be intelligent beings who will ask the same questions we’re asking now.

I personally hope and pray that Moses didn’t originate the Torah all by himself and in effect --because of a need to create a new system of thought and culture-- the entire Judaeo-Christian belief system that has been handed down to us. I hope instead that God gave Moses all or the more essential elements of the Torah. Perhaps faith is really about not believing what you'd like to believe, but what you need to believe in order to live a meaningful life.

Blackbird Raining Skies

After seeing Pedro Almodovar’s Volver starring Penelope Cruz, without warning, my mood felt lighter than it’s been in a while. The afternoon was brighter than I had remembered it from previous sunnier-than-gold afternoons. Chigago’s Transit Authority album blared from my car stereo and matched the windy and cool South Florida afternoon.

Feeling so good, I thought why not go to Friendly Seas, the restaurant I used to live in years ago & enjoy a tall glass of cool orange blossom tea, as well as one of their garden burgers or Buffalo burgers. I might even meet another friendly solitary diner who was looking for company if only while she or he was in the outdoor patio. I decided at the last minute not to turn left, but to turn right and keep on going home. It was almost as if someone else was doing the driving. I thought it odd that I no longer could decide whether to turn right or to turn left. Why complain? Perhaps it was better that some unseen force was turning the wheel for me, or at least, with me. I had to feed Callisto, my golden retriever, and perhaps after I had taken care of that detail I’d still be fired up and roaring to go out again into the elegance of a bright afternoon.

I almost made it safely out of my black car when I looked up at the sky & saw hundreds of black birds flying east & southeast in what seemed like chaotic patterns of flight or gliding pleasure. The sky was still light but overcast with smoky cloud wisps taped onto purer white cottony cloud formations. Willingly trapped in my slightly warm car I couldn’t stop gazing at the sight of those relentless flocks of black birds trapped in oceans of air. Surely it would only be a minute or two then the birds would all fly away & I’d be able to resume my walk upstairs to feed Callisto. The blackbirds continued to swirl in ever-increasing numbers. How long could I stay in my car? What if neighbors wondered what I was doing in my car so long? Who was I waiting for? Why didn’t I take off or go upstairs? I decided not to be concerned with what others might think of me looking toward the western skies at what other people, no doubt, thought was an empty sky. Perhaps it was empty to them, but to me it was full of possibilities.

I thought of Wallace Stevens’ Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird. In that poem it was winter in the Northeast. In my blackbird experience it was an early summer-like winter in South Florida. Had the blackbirds kept on flying all afternoon long, I probably would have stayed in my black car looking at the endless arrival and departure of hundreds of sky birds in black. It wasn’t only the blackbirds that entranced me. It was a sense of well-being and of wonder that coincided with the blackbird phenomenon. I almost thought that perhaps this enhanced sense of being, of contentment, of simple acceptance of things-as-they-were and not things-as-they-should-be was how my life would be from this moment on.

I thought that it would be nice to have someone by my side in the car to point out the blackbird reverie, but then I remembered that Wallace Stevens’ wife could not relate to the nature-drenched poetry that others read and analyzed in introduction-to-poetry classes in the 70s. She just didn’t get why anyone would want to contemplate for such lengths of time, realities that were best noted, then ignored. If no one else was there to join me in the silent symphony of blackbird flight, then at least God was taking note of the contemplative moment with me. I didn’t dwell too much on how it was there because of Him, but I’m glad He turned my head upward ever so gently and coincidentally in order not to miss the invasion of winged things in the slowly darkening skies.

This had to have a coda, this endless symphony of flight & I looked in amazement as yet another movement started quietly then grew louder & more enjoyable as the next wave of blackbirds continued heading east and southeast. I had to look higher and more to the southwest in order to see a fading flock of blackbirds continue the silent symphony. I thought I’d never leave my car till night erased the silent music from the blackbird clouds.

The birds decided to finally end their 20-minute chance-like symphonic dance and I gathered my cd and excess time and headed upstairs to feed Callisto & to await another pre-Sabbath Friday night at home.

The Truth about Life's Origin

It is impossible for God to lie (Heb. 6:18).

The word of God says “in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth (Gen. 1:1).

Evolutionary theory says that life created itself from lightning interacting with amino acids, which through eons evolved into all the species that have ever lived on earth, including humankind. It does not include any outside assistance from a supernatural force. Life in a sense, it seems to infer, created itself out of nothing, or at least out of the simpler elements found on primordial earth.

Evolution is therefore a lie. No matter how logical and scientific it claims to be. It is no matter that the fossil record indicates that simpler life evolved into more complex life. Actually Stephen Jay Gould’s Wonderful Life: The Burgess Shale and the Nature of History states that there was more complexity and variety in the earlier evolutionary stages than in later stages. Evolution makes no mention of God. It is a Godless scientific theory. It does not lead to God, but rather, away from God. Anything that leads away from God is not good for your spiritual health, as well as your mental or physical health.

Belief in evolution does more harm than it does good.

God give me faith, hope and love to believe in what the word of God says and not the lie that evolutionary theory claims about how life began on earth.

Creative Approaches to Sabbath Keeping

Then he said to them, "The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath." -- Mark 2:27 (New International Version)

I once heard an elderly man years ago say that Friday Sabbath nights were the loneliest nights because he couldn't turn on the television to keep himself company. He got so depressed with the silence of his apartment that he decided that once he had read his bible for a meaningful amount of time, he would then watch situation comedies. This was told me in the late 80s. Perhaps situation comedies were more family-oriented then than they are today, or perhaps he watched reruns on TBS or Nick at Night.

Yes, of course, one can always seek out a congregation where they have Friday night meetings, but that isn't always possible, or desirable depending on one's personality or travel requirements or the danger present in big cities late at night when taking mass transit. Even those with a car can make a wrong turn and find oneself in an undesirable neighborhood. So much for a restful Sabbath evening.

I am not making excuses for wanting to turn on the television on Friday nights or Saturday afternoons after you come home from church. Sometimes there are no afternoon programs and you are not in the mood to visit hospitals, prisons, hand out literature, etc. Additionally, not everyone is allowed to install a satellite dish in their condo apartment or rented apartment for the Hope channel or similar religious programming.

In the end it depends on one's conscience and what interferes with your Sabbath connection with God. Sometimes on the Discovery channel or the History Channel or on PBS there are great programs that are of a scientific, cultural or religious nature which provide meaningful content for the non-secular Sabbath hours.

Some of what I'm saying might even apply to people who live with a significant other or family. After a while even your mate or children are talked out and are itchy to do something else other than engage you or be engaged in conversation.

The bottom line is, if you feel that the only things to do are read the bible, the sabbath school lesson, the Spirit of Prophecy or sing hymns all night till its time to go to bed or time to have vespers on Saturday night, but you don't want to do only those things, what does that mean? How do you handle the desire to do more creative things? I've sometimes thought, especially in the beginning of my Sabbath keeping experience, that if it feels disagreeable to keep on singing, or reading the bible, watching the Passion of the Christ or other religious film for the hundredth time, by continuing to do so, you are not really keeping the Sabbath & you are not enjoying your life very much on a Friday or Saturday afternoon.

On the other hand, if you naturally and eagerly continue reading the bible or singing hymns or doing the other spiritual, non-secular activities I've mentioned here, then it's natural and truly the result of a live connection with the Lord Jesus Christ. But even the latter reach a point when they do long for a change whether that same day or the following week. The Sabbath, after all, keeps on coming at you week after week. Sometimes it seems like it's the same Sabbath you kept a week or a month ago, or at any rate, a continuation of the previous Sabbath day. This is both a lovely thought as well as a challenging one, especially for those of us who live alone, whether out of necessity or by choice.

My suggestions are as follows: read the bible, sing or listen to spiritual music, but when you've had your fill of those activities, do other things. Redefine what constitutes spiritual music for you. I find little time to enjoy most of my orchestral music collection during the week. Sometimes a little Mahler or Satie or Bartok on a Friday night or Sabbath afternoon adds a transcendent element to an otherwise non-eventful segment of hours. Be as creative as the Lord had made you in your life. Don't start watching the Lord of the Rings on a Friday night unless you really discern all of the spiritual and mythic-religious themes in Tolkien's work. If you're watching it just to pass the time, or to be merely entertained, it probably won't be conducive to a meaningful Sabbath evening.

Mars Sabbath

From one New Moon to another and from one Sabbath to another, all mankind will come and bow down before me," says the LORD. -- Isaiah 66:23 (New International Version)

24 Hours, 37 Minutes is the length of the Martian day. 687 Earth Days is the length of the Martian year.

The Sabbath is kept from sundown to sundown. It follows that this method of observing God's special day (creation & deliverance from slavery or sin) would be based on the setting of the sun on Mars after 24 hrs and 37 min. If you add up the extra 37 minutes, at some point the Sabbath day on Earth will have passed in relation to the one kept on Mars. For the Martian colonists, Adventist or Jewish, the Sabbath day would be as meaningful even if it lasts 37 minutes more than it does on Earth. Given enough time though, the weekly seventh-day cycle would be so out of sync with the actual 24-hour Sabbath and seven-day week on Earth, that the Martian colonists would, in effect, be keeping something appropriate to the time and place in which they find themselves, however far removed from the actual 24 hour day and seven day week as it exits on Earth. As more and more weeks, months and years pass by, the two Sabbath "days" would be farther and farther apart in time though not in intent.

What does this mean for us who are not yet on Mars, though our descendants may well live there some day?

As a child most of the Adventists I knew kept sundown calendars so they could begin and end the Sabbath exactly when the sun set on Friday and Saturday. Sometimes it was perplexing when we couldn't find the calendar and had to keep on looking at the sky to see if it was dark enough yet. It sounds vaguely legalistic to me. It didn't bother me that much at the time.

Yesterday, it rained all day. I showered late and never got to do much of anything on my day off. I have not used the calendar method of beginning or ending the sabbath for eons now. My dilemma was there was a lovely piece of secular music I wanted to hear all day. The sky looked vaguely pre-sunset though it was hard to tell as the rain and overcast quality of the sky had made it dark all day. I took my chance with a tinge of Sabbath preparatory anxiety. I enjoyed my 3 minute secular song on cd, "The Day that it rained forever" by Nick Heyward. I then remembered who I was sitting with when last I heard that song. I enjoyed the coziness of the music and the swirling string arrangements as well as the power of simple song craft to renew one's inner vision. The song ended and I waited for the Bible to open itself to the accidental, or perhaps not so accidental text, something in Ezequiel about how "The End had come." It was interesting but a bit too severe for a vesper text so I tried my usual Sabbath author Isaiah. Anything near chapter 53 is usually appropriate for me.

The ethereal music I had experienced during the pre-Sabbath day, the insularity of the rain-flecked "green architecture" windows, and the momentary shock of Ezekiel's "End of the World" prophecy brought to mind my past meditations on the Sabbath day and how to find meaning and sustenance in an enhanced version of the Sabbath. I thought of future Adventists or Jewish believers who would have the financial ability and, perhaps, vision to escape Earth's violence, global warming and overcrowding to settle on Mars 100 years from now.

I was then reminded again of my unusual attempts to enhance the Sabbath by extending the hours of reflection & meditation till the sun rose on Sunday morning. A month ago when walking the dog at midnight on a Saturday night, or early Sunday morning, I briefly meditated on the enhanced Sabbath day it is my habit to observe since the spring of this year. Yes, it's not biblical, but some would say the same thing about the Investigative Judgment or, at least, the "pre-advent judgment," depending on whether you are a traditional modern Adventist or a post-modern or "progressive" believer. Once or twice I felt a bit of guilt for wanting to extend the Sabbath meditation beyond Sunset on Saturday night. Guilt is a two-edged sword. It can cut away the wrong things we do, but it can also limit the creative and new things or new ways to think about things that are normally possible.

In the end the important thing is the spiritual blessing you derive from the Sabbath. It may be the traditional sunset to sunset 24-hour Sabbath. It may be an enhanced conceptual sabbath. Or it may be, someday, a 24 Hrs, 37 Mins Sabbath day on the Martian colonies in the 22nd century.

Real but not "in-your-face" Real

What would reasonable people think of you if you told them you’ve been talking to and learning about and thinking about three people since you were a little child, but had never actually seen or heard or touched these three people? It sounds a bit unsettling, does it not?

There are people who have done just that, but don’t think of these three people in the same way as they do, say, their close friends, husband or wife, children or parents. They think of these three people as being, somehow, “other.” Yes, of course, they will tell you these three people are real, but in a way, not as real as their other significant others, the ones they can see, touch and hear.

The other day, it dawned on me how I have spent an entire lifetime mostly thinking about these three people as “other,” and not as very real, in-your-face real. It made me think how I could have thought so much about them, for decades now, but somehow categorized them in an alternate, less real and tangible reality, that of the spiritual. Even though I’ve never seen them, touched them or heard them as you hear a child’s laughter, they are just as real and inhabit a very real world or realm.

I hoped at times that they had decided to make themselves “in-your-face” real, instead of physically removed, audibly unheard, tactilely unperceived. How different and yet familiar it would be for each of them, or at least, one of them, to appear when I wanted to see, hear or touch that person. That would make a world of difference. Of course, that was not how they wish my encounters with them to be. Historical accounts tell of a time when one of them was heard audibly by thousands of people and still, hours or days later, the “in-your-face” encounter might just as well not have happened. Then, of course, there are the various accounts of one of them walking, talking and touching and being touched by hundreds, and yet, hours, days or weeks later, the “in-your-face” encounter might just as well not have happened. So I’m left with the perplexing reality that seeing, hearing and touching a very real person does not guarantee you have a valid, lasting and significant relationship with that person. I’ve heard, seen and touched people I thought I’d hear, see and touch as long as my life should last, and they have since disappeared into the shadows of time and emotion.

Still, how uncanny and unbelievable to be so obsessed and to spend so much of my waking and dream life focused on the three in question: God, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit.