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By Jeff Gang, September 20, 2009 11:32 am

Jan Paulsen

Ryan Bell and I were having a discussion last week with some friends about whether or not the General Conference President of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, Jan Paulsen, is a former student of Jürgen Moltmann. We’d heard rumors that Paulsen attended Universität Tübingen in Germany where Motlmann was a professor for many years.

We now have confirmation. Yes! Yesterday Ryan sent me an article he found by Paulsen, titled “Christ’s Healing in a Changing World”, where the president writes:

Quite simply, we cannot express our faith—our desire to imitate Christ—in seclusion; our values and our beliefs find their true meaning only within the context of human relationships. In the words of my former teacher Jürgen Moltmann, “Likeness to God cannot be lived in isolation. It can be lived only in human community” (J. Moltmann, God in Creation, p. 222). [italics mine]

You can read the entire article Adventist World. It’s worth the read.

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By Jeff Gang, September 16, 2009 11:25 pm

Earlier this evening I attended the dedication service for Loma Linda University School of Religion’s new home. They moved across campus this past week to the newly completed Centennial Complex. It’s a state of the art facility. Check it out if you are in town.

As an adjunct professor for the School of Religion, it was an honor for me to be there among some of the brightest minds in the Seventh-day Adventist Church, especially my former seminary professor, Dean of the school, Dr. Jon Paulien.

During the service, former professors, Dr. Wil Alexander and Dr. Louis Venden led us in a responsive reading they wrote for the occasion. It can easily be adapted for blessing a house, a church, coffee shop, or another sacred space.

Out of wood and concrete,
out of dreams and sacrifice
the School of Religion is building a home
Out of the work of their hands
and hearts and minds
the School is fashioning a symbol and a reality.
Continue reading 'Blessing a New Home'»