Andy Hanson

Andy Hanson is a professor of Education at California State University, Chico, and graduated from Pacific Union College in 1963. Hanson is a blogger most famous for his regular reviews of Adventism's major periodicals including the Adventist Review, Adventist Today, and Spectrum Magazine. Hanson shares his perspectives at Adventist Perspective (that's the name of his blog) and claims sole responsibility for what is posted there. I think that is because he is the only one who posts there.

But that is not the only place he posts - Hanson also contributes to Re-inventing the Adventist Wheel and Spectrum Magazine. And for some reason or another, he's wearing Hawaiian shirts in nearly all photos of him. Most importantly, Andy Hanson shares an appreciation for the lighter side--he posts cartoons regularly that have religious, sometimes Adventist, themes. Hooray for humor!

*Look closely at the image - you'll see that it is a digital painting. What you won't see is that I made it with Microsoft Digital Image Pro (that's only because I can't afford professional grade digital drawing software right now...but some day!).

Sherman Haywood Cox, II

Sherman Haywood Cox, II. That's the longest name of any person featured on this site thus far! And the name could not apply to a more dynamic preacher / author/ blogger. Cox is a graduate of Vanderbilt University and shares all sorts of helpful homiletical stuff at his web site. It's called Sherman Haywood Cox Ministries (surprise!). He's also got lots of materials celebrating preaching in the black tradition at SoulPreaching.Com. Check it out!

Listen to his preaching, his philosophy on selecting texts to preach from, which version of the Bible to use, how to create a sermon and a whole lot more.

Sherman commented on the previous post (about some negative feedback on this blog):

Well I for one hope that one day I will see myself as worthy of being caricatured...LOL...one day we will say...'you know you made it when you been caricatured on the Caricature blog...' lol....God bless..."

To which we said, a caricature of Mr. Cox? Sure, man! (You made it)

Alternate version - Sherman's other site, the Sabbath Pulpit:

Sad news and some negative feedback (finally)

Well it was only a matter of time before someone who cares about this sort of thing noticed that the Caricatures of Adventists banner contained something that looked pretty similar to the SDA Church logo.

I received an email message from Dionne A. Parker, legal counsel for the GC, informing me that while she is not offering any opinion about the content of the blog, she does have to request that I remove the offending image. Sad news is that I'll have to remove that lovely banner that I spent a lot of time making.

But seriously now folks, is the Adventist Church's logo, identity, mission, message to the world, etc. really in danger of being diluted by my image? I didn't think so, but obviously my thoughts on the matter are secondary to the thoughts of the legal counsel. Oh well. New banner on the way that will not water down the church's logo.

--------------------------------------------

In other news this week, I finally received some negative feedback! The response to this blog (by those who have bothered to comment) has been quite positive. But I have JoAnn to thank for bringing me back to earth. At the Spectrum blog, JoAnn responded to my mention of a caricature of Doug Batchelor and Neil Nedley (Amazing Facts + Weimar). She said:

"Caricature as an encouragement? Wierd. 'Adventists of many faces' by a man of many faces? I understand backhanded compliments -- remember, I have been in public school teaching for over 30 years with union tactics aplenty which included caricatures to push their viewpoints about administration/parents/government/conservatives in a 'I am nice' way portraying caricatures as "nice." Caricatures are not nice."

She then went on to say,

"Caricatures are like acid -- not good for digestion. An entire site devoted to indigestion. That's a wow. I may have to go to Weimar for help with the indigestion -- and take Amazing Facts training while I'm there. Sounds fun to me. My nephew, who has found the Adventist health message a great help, wants to vacation at Weimar. He is a dirt biker who could lift most Adventists with one arm. So, new people are coming in with more zeal than those who have been in the church for centuries -- hum, that sentence . . . seems like I have seen it somewhere before . . .
JoAnn ;)"

The thing that impressed me most about JoAnn's comments was how caricaturish they were. "An entire site devoted to indigestion..." A wonderful caricature of this blog! A dirt-biking nephew that can lift most Adventists with one arm? That's a great caricature!

See, everyone loves a good caricature. I guess that's the good news!

Dionne Parker [Adventist Women]

I received an email today that began, "Hello: I am one of the attorneys in the General Conference Office of General Counsel..."

Dionne A. Parker, Associate General Counsel for the Seventh-day Adventist® World Headquarters recently left a high-intensity job at a Washington D.C. law firm to serve the General Conference as human resources and intellectual property matters czar for the General Conference, ADRA, Pacific Press, Review and Herald, North American Division, and Adventist Risk Management.

Part of that job is sending emails to bloggers like me and David Hamstra informing them that they are not allowed to use the church's logo or name. They're copyrighted, trademarked, registered, and protected by tanks and helicopters.

In an interview with the Adventist Review (reg. required), Parker stated that she became serious about law at Columbia Union College, and went on to receive a law degree from George Washington University.

Dionne Parker's position as protector of the copyrighted corporate church name is evidence that the church has come a long way from the Adventist pioneers who opposed organization and finally agreed to take an official name only to assure that members of the Adventist community could be pacifists with legal protection by belonging to an official organization opposed to war on moral grounds. As I've said, we have come a long way.

Ella Simmons [Adventist Women]

Dr. Ella Louise Smith Simmons, former provost at La Sierra University, is the first woman ever to hold the title of vice president of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists. Hers is the highest position ever attained by a woman in the Adventist Church. While many in the church hailed the day when administration at the highest levels became more inclusive, others have responded with ruffled feathers.

In talking with Adventist media, Simmons said, "I think that the church really is ready for women, at all levels, and in all roles, to fully accept God’s call on their lives, and to function in those roles, officially sanctioned by the Church."

Great Controversy dot Org (which describes itself as "a positive place on the web for the three angels’ message") called the statement "troubling" and "apparently defiant". The folks at Great Controversy evidently feared a church-wide rush to ordain women, a right exclusively granted to men at present. Women cannot become president of the General Conference because the president must be ordained, and women are not ordained.

Concerning women and equality, Great Controversy (dot) org states: "God still has His hand on His church. If this is a trial balloon for Women’s Ordination, then let it be shot down." So much for a positive place on the web...

Nevertheless, we join those who welcome the election of Dr. Ella Simmons as vice-president of the General Conference!

Robert Folkenberg

Robert S. Folkenberg was president of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists from 1990 - 1999. Folkenberg was born in Puerto Rico and attended school in Cuba. He studied at Atlantic Union College, Andrews University, and Newbold College. Pretty International chap, which is a good trait in a General Conference president. A less good trait is getting mixed up in allegations of financial impropriety. Folkenberg resigned as president because of allegations, though his resignation had to do with not wanting to mar the reputation of the church by cooperating with an investigation. His resignation did not include an admission of guilt.

Folkenberg today is very involved in worldwide evangelism. He is director of Global Evangelism for the Carolina Conference of SDA.

This is a digital painting of Robert Folkenberg I've been working on for a while. I may decide to touch it up more later if time allows it.

Valdis Zilgalvis

Valdis Zilgalvis is the president of the Baltic Union Conference of Seventh-day Adventists. Did you know there is a Baltic Conference? I didn't. Until now. And Valdis Zilgalvis is its president. That's all I know about Valdis Zilgalvis except that he is also a pastor.

This is a digital painting of Zilgalvis I've been working on for a while.

Zippy the (SDA) pinhead

Tip o' the hat to Lance for pointing out this funny little strip.
(Click to enlarge)


From Zippy the Pinhead.

Missing the Boat [Editoon]

Recent editoon for Spectrum. A bit of role reversal in Adventism vis-a-vis the larger society. We may not be speaking prophetically, but at least we're not legalist anymore, right? Right?

Weimar and Amazing Facts Join Forces

Amazing Facts and Weimar College have made buzz online recently with the announcement that they will join together. Weimar, in Northern California, closed its doors after dealing with financial inviability. Amazing Facts stepped in and gave Weimar a Fannie Mae / Freddie Mac-like bailout. Pastor Doug Batchelor, head honcho at Amazing Facts, recently announced that Dr. Neil Nedley, a relatively well-known Adventist doctor would assume the role of president of the newly reincarnate Weimar College.

Commenting on Nedley's acceptance of the Weimar presidency, Batchelor said, "I can’t imagine a more thrilling development for the future of Weimar! His addition to this new partnership between Amazing Facts and Weimar is a match made in heaven."

Where Adventist Theology Comes From

Ángel Manuel Rodríguez

Adventist Gothic

Adventism's First Couple, Ellen and James White.
(see also Grant Wood's American Gothic)

Nancy Vyhmeister [Adventist Women]

You know the way to tell if someone is a prolific writer or not? Do an internet search of that person, and if the top 40 hits that come back are links to books, that person is a prolific writer. Nancy Vyhmeister is a talented woman and a prolific writer! Nancy W. Vyhmeister.

The people at Adventist Affirm don't necessarily like Nancy Vyhmeister all that well. That's because Nancy Vyhmeister advocates strongly for the acceptance of women in ministry and the ordination of Adventist Women. But at Adventist Affirm, they have a book full of counter-arguments. They think that women belong in the kitchen, I think.

The people at the Association of Adventist Women like Nancy Vyhmeister. They named her a woman of the year in 2007! She has lived all over the world and speaks several languages. Vyhmeister is one of the principal translators of the SDA Bible Commentary into Spanish.

I like her most because of her great name! Say (VEE-mice-ter). Vyhmeister, Vyhmeister, Vyhmeister. Now you try it.

Caricatures of Adventists EVERYWHERE!

Suddenly and very unexpectedly, Caricatures of Adventists has hit some major media outlets and has become a nation-wide phenomenon! Here are some of the sites that have recently featured this blog --

Adventist Church Website

National Public Radio WebsiteBill O'Reilly's WebsiteThe White House Website

Justin Wright (1981-2008)

Justin Wright was an Adventist, an artist, and an inspiration to many people. A graduate of Pacific Union College, Justin dreamed of working for Pixar as a storyboard artist, a dream that was realized after two attempts. His work for Pixar included Ratatouille and this summer's box office hit, Wall-E.

Wall-E was dedicated to Justin, who died of heart failure prior to the film's release. Justin had lived with numerous heart conditions since birth, and he finally succumbed in March of 2008.

His life was in many ways a quick sketch, an unfinished drawing never afforded the opportunity to become a fully realized masterpiece. And yet from the many reports of the friends and family members who Justin leaves behind, his life seems to have been incredibly full of passion and promise.

As a fellow Adventist artist, Justin's passing leaves a large vacancy in the lives of those he knew and worked with, as well as in the Adventist community. Warmest wishes to the family and friends of an undoubtedly incredible and inspiring person!

Justin Wright's blog.

A touching review of Wall-E and tribute to Justin Wright by Daneen Akers at the Spectrum Blog.

Here is a tribute by Ted M., storyboard supervisor at Pixar.

Fellow Pixar artist Ronnie Del Carmen's tribute along with a sketch of Justin.

Pacific Union College's tribute to Justin.

Brief report on the Pixar blog.

Captain Spectrum (Alexander Carpenter)

If it's a contemporary issue, and it has to do with Adventism, Alexander Carpenter has probably written about it. Carpenter is a blogger extraordinaire for Spectrum Magazine. In fact the burgeoning Adventist blogosphere owes at least some of its success to his prolific posting on the Spectrum blog for the past year-and-a-half, or something like that. His rallying cry is "community through conversation", and consequently, Spectrum invites a broad range of Adventist (and non-Adventist) views. While the blog itself leans toward the left-of-center side of the Spectrum, views across the ideological continuum may find a voice there.

Alexander also attends Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California, where he is pursuing an M.A. degree. He spends his spare time with Interfaith Power and Light and the Regeneration Project, offering a uniquely religious response to environmental crises, and particularly climate change.

Evidently (I just found this out) Alex Carpenter is also part of the faculty at Pacific Union College. Cool!

And word on the street is that Mr. Carpenter looks great in a leotard and cape!

"Getting Up"

That's what graffiti artists call it when they get their peices up on walls or in other prominent public places. While Caricatures of Adventists is not about tagging or bombing, this little blog has been "getting up" lately in the world of Adventist e-journalism and forums.

Thanks to the following outstanding Adventist publications for their recent features on the artwork of this blog.

Interview and images of "Caricatures of Adventists" by






Interview and images from "Caricatures of Adventists" also at



(and here)

Next, watch for a feature on the caricatures here in the Adventist Review! Or not. But there is much more good stuff coming soon on this blog. Stay tuned for coming images of Alexander Carpenter (by popular demand), Robert Folkenberg, Nancy Vyhmeister, Jaime Jorge, Kendra Haloviak and many more.

So many great Adventists, so little time...

James White

James White had a sort of doughy face. That comes through better in clay.

Happy Independence Day from James and the gang!

Shawn Boonstra

Shawn Boonstra is from Canada. He is a Canadian evangelist, eh? But he is the speaker / director for It Is Written, which is based in the United States. Boonstra's face has been on Television screens around the world.

Shawn Boonstra is really serious about the gospel going to ALL the world. According to the It Is Written website, "upcoming efforts include a major effort in Los Angeles in 2009, continued outreach in the Arctic, Kalahari and other remote locations."

This guy spends big bucks to get to those hard to get to places. No Eskimo or Bushman left behind! His motto is "speak softly, and wear a loud tie."

[Requested by fellow Frisian, David Hamstra - one stra to another, eh?]

Dr. Samuele Bacchiocchi

If you've been in Adventist circles long enough, you will have heard paranoid rumors of Jesuits infiltrating Adventist institutions to do whatever it is that Jesuit infiltrators would do. Samuele Bacchiocchi, an Adventist scholar born in Roma, Italy turned the tables by becoming the first non-Catholic to attend the Pontifical Gregorian University. His courageous act of infiltration made him a hero to many Adventists who would undoubtedly love to do the same thing.

Bacchiocchi taught history and theology at Andrews University for several years and has written volumes on the evils of rock music, ordained women, Sunday worship, immodest apparel...the list goes on. Dr. Bacchiocchi became embroiled in something of a scandal when representatives of the Catholic church disputed his use of his credentials (incorrectly, they alleged) and his use of the Pope's imprimatur on his doctoral thesis on the change from Sabbath to Sunday (Sabbatarians love it). There was also disagreement over whether Bacchiocchi graduated summa cum laude or magna cum laude.

[Caricature requested by Interfaith Power and Light]

Now Taking Requests [updated]

Which Adventist great or small would you like to see rendered as a caricature? Now's your chance to see it happen. Leave your requests in the comments section below. Requests will be taken in the order they are received.





An astute reader suggested that this profile looks something like Ron Whitehead. Presumably this Ron Whitehead (The Andrews University guy) Not this Ron Whitehead (the beat poet).

Dr. Ben Carson

Dr. Benjamin Carson is a highly gifted Seventh-day Adventist pediatric neurosurgeon. In fact, you can read all about his giftedness in his autobiography entitled "Gifted Hands" (what else?). Carson became the Director of Pediatric Neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore Maryland when he was only 33 years old. Carson achieved world renown in 1987 when he became the first doctor to successfully separate conjoined (Siamese) twins joined at the head.

In 2008, Ben Carson received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President George W. Bush, which put him in very good company (if you don't count Dick Cheney). We're so proud that he's Adventist! Aren't we?

Marvin Moore

Marvin Moore does many things with his time. He gives the SDA party line its distinctive sound as the editor of the Signs of the Times, and in his spare time, Moore explains the future. But his most profound contribution to modern Adventism may be his preserving of the James White-esque beard that is somewhere between Amish, leprechaun, and Fighting Irish. Which is what makes Marvin Moore so endearing as a caricature!