SAU Freshman Receive "Mark of the Bietz"

HAPPY VALLEY, TENNESSEE - At the start of the new school year for incoming Freshmen at Southern Adventist University, a mixer welcoming new students brought a strange new ritual.

"Dr. Bietz gave us different color stickers that we were supposed to put either on our foreheads or the back of our hands to put us into different groups for the game," said Freshman film major, Junius Ortiz. "To tell you the truth, I took my sticker off my forehead to check whether it had a barcode or anything on it. But it didn't, so..."

Almost immediately after students began to receive the stickers from university president Gordon Bietz, students started calling the dots "The Mark of the Bietz."

Some parents who came to help their children settle in to university life were not pleased.

"This seems like a harmless little game, but it's not a laughing matter really," said one concerned mother who asked not to be named.

"This is a direct fulfillment of Bible prophecy that in the Last Days there would be scoffers. Well, here they are getting the 'Mark of the Bietz' and treating it like some joke. This is serious stuff!"

A university relations spokesperson issued a statement on behalf of the university the following day, saying,

We take seriously the concerns expressed by parents and constituents of the university. We want to assure all those with concerns that what students received was not the actual Mark of the Bietz. The real Mark is a red, hand-shaped mark on the forehead resulting from repetitive face-palming brought on by all the false crises, students "gifting" the president magazine subscriptions as a prank, and fake news stories on the Internet with which the president must contend.

Asked whether the statement did enough to alleviate concerns, the un-named mother said, "Kinda, not really."

Delbert W. Baker, Ph.D.

Delbert Baker has way too much going on to mention all of his accomplishments here. He is a prolific writer, a minister, and currently serves as president of Oakwood University. That's right, University. It's not Oakwood College anymore. 

Baker has done as much as or more than any other Adventist to promote racial and ethnic unity amid Adventism's rich cultural diversity. For more biographical information, visit Dr. Baker's Wikipedia page.

Kendra Haloviak [Adventist Women]

Kendra Haloviak, Ph.D., is a professor of Greek and New Testament studies at La Sierra University. She completed a doctoral thesis in Apocalyptic Literature (focusing on Revelation) at Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California. She pastored at the Kettering Seventh-day Adventist church in Ohio, the All Nations Church at Andrews University, and the Sligo Adventist Church in Tacoma Park, Maryland.

And get this: Haloviak was the first woman since the days of Ellen White to have an entire week of Spiritual Emphasis and the Sabbath Sermon at a General Conference session! She is a dynamic preacher and a scrupulous scholar.

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!).

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."

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]

Julius Nam

Julius Nam teaches Adventist History at Loma Linda University. Among many other things. He is a Korean-American pastor turned educator, and ministered in Korea, Michigan, and California before entering the world of Adventist Academia.

The best way to describe Julius Nam in two words is "Progressive Adventist", which happens to be the title of a blog that he maintains. Well, almost. The blog is entitled Progressive Adventism.

Nam helped organize the 50 year reunion party for the Questions on Doctrine conference, which if you are an Adventist, and have lived in the last 50 years, is a big deal. Whether you are aware of it or not.