Essential Ruts
[Regarding Martin Weber’s article “Sacred Ruts,” May 2014] There has been a concerted effort to disconnect Adventism from its spiritual roots. Things our spiritual ancestors could not have imagined are taking place with blinding speed, and the leadership at all levels seems paralyzed and speechless. Perhaps … it is time to go back and take another look at those old "ruts" and see if some of them were not essential to our very survival as a people. — Doug Lumen, Coquille, Ore.
Doctrine Is an Issue
[Regarding Martin Weber's articles on "Why Children Leave the Church," June and July 2014] From personal experience with my own family and other friends none of the topics listed fit their situations. All I know have left over doctrines and beliefs as taught by the church. Certainly [Ellen] White is an issue. Most are still very dedicated Christians, just no longer Seventh-day Adventist Christians. With the available Internet it is not hard to find a large volume of negative material about our church or Mrs. White. I feel we are doing little to counteract that material. — Myron Whiting, College Place, Wash.
A Release From Guilt
[Regarding Martin Weber's article "Why Children Leave the Church: Part 1," June 2014] You have made me feel so much release from Satan's arrows thrown at me for years. I have three adult children, whom I raised in the church and sent to church school. Two of them left the church barely before the end of their teen years. One chose to stay and is a teacher in our school system now. I have borne the guilt of feeling like a terrible parent that my other two have gone into the world on a grand scale. But under all that guilt I still felt that it was their choice and not mine to leave the church and leave God. As you pointed out, "at the end of the day, even prayed-for children get to decide for themselves about being saved." Thank you, Martin Weber, for those words that have bolstered me up today. — via Internet, name withheld
Persecuted Hits the Mark
[Regarding Greg Hamilton's feature "Persecuted," June 2014] Unfortunately many Adventists have bought into the popular evangelical cry that we need to resist secularism and "get back to our Christian roots." The swing back to orthodoxy will be destructive to our religious freedoms and end the delicate balance that has made this country so unique. Keep writing and preaching the message of this piece! — Rich DuBose, El Dorado Hills, Calif.
And Hits it Again
Thanks for an important article by Greg Hamilton ["Persecuted," June 2014]. I hope our people will heed the warning and open their eyes. I have long warned of the peril from the religious right. — Roland Blaich, College Place, Wash.
