Through the Eyes of a Woman

As the Platinum Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II approaches, people in Britain look forward to a supplementary bank holiday and various celebrations commemorating the rule of their monarch. As a young woman, Elizabeth pledged to serve her country and the commonwealth for as long as she lives and she has, indeed, become the longest-serving ruler in British history, now marking seventy years as a queen. It was, however, not a role that she had sought. Following in her father’s footsteps, the reluctant king, she accepted her calling with all it involved out of a sense of duty. Becoming the Queen changed the course of her whole life. And she is still at it at 96. Many Seventh-day Adventists (SDA) were born into their church and have accepted the faith, passed on from their parents. Generations of Adventists have served their church out of a sense of duty, instilled by the great missionary challenge. The same missionary spirit that led the Apostle Paul to give priority to service and evangelis...

Hezekiah was a king of Judah whose footsteps we can still encounter in Jerusalem. He was one of the so-called good kings who followed God. Hezekiah even experienced great divine miracles. The world at that time did not have our modern media, but news spread anyway. Thus, in faraway Babylon, King Merodach-Baladam also learned that Hezekiah had been very ill and had recovered, and sent messengers with gifts to Hezekiah to congratulate him on his recovery. In some countries, when guests come to the house for the first time, it is the custom to show them the whole house. King Hezekiah did the same. "Hezekiah received the envoys and showed them all that was in his storehouses – the silver, the gold, the spices and the fine oil – his armoury and everything found among his treasures. There was nothing in his palace or in all his kingdom that Hezekiah did not show them" 2 Kings 20:13 NLB. "Then Isaiah the prophet went to King Hezekiah and asked, ‘What did those men say, and ...

That Russian soldiers control and threaten the population in the occupied territories of Ukraine is bad, but in a war, we expect bad things. The people who live every day with the risk of being arrested, tortured, shot, raped, or abducted are terrified. Those who flee risk in feeling the very things they are fleeing from. Such traumas will accompany them throughout their lives. I have read many books about the fates of people during the Second World War. Some of it I could hardly bear, but it was about experiences that happened a long time ago. Surely such things cannot happen today? Here in Europe? We have learned that violence and wars do not solve problems, but create new ones. And then came February 24, 2022, and proved the opposite. Since then, everything is revolving around the war in Ukraine and the senseless and brutal destruction of human lives and infrastructure. Because we have lived in peace in Europe for more than 75 years, we have banned thoughts of war. We have clo...

Editor’s note: This is a CBE 2021 Writing Contest Top 15 Winner! For a long time, I have wondered if a women’s church strike would be effective in changing men’s perception of women. Such a notion would probably shock quite a few women as they would see it almost as blasphemy to fight for justice and equality in a church setting. After all, Christ is the head of the church. Some think that church organization is divinely installed. I disagree. Even though it is God’s church, it is managed by mere men. If churches followed the example of Christ, they would be much more egalitarian, respecting the gifts and participation of women like the early church did. The patriarchal structures are man-made, not dropped from heaven in a divinely inspired book of rules. The Strike at Putney: A Picture of Unity Some time ago I came across a short story by L.M. Montgomery (1874–1942) called “The Strike at Putney.” [1]   The Women’s Foreign Mission Auxiliary of the Putney Presbyterian congre...

  When it became possible to again gather in person after Covid-19 regulations were relaxed in March 2022, the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Australia published a picture of the leaders of the Union and the nine Conferences. They just wanted to show their joy at no longer having to hold consultations only by zoom. Various meetings were to be held: President’s Council, Administrators Council, Executive Committee, and Board of Directors. The board members and other leaders had come together for this. What they probably did not expect was the shitstorm that arose when the picture was commented on the Internet. There was not a single woman among the 23 leaders in the photo. Many comments were angry, some were unfair. But the picture made it clear that the SDA church is led only by men, even though more than half of the church members are women. And that is the case not only in Australia. In his book Women in the Church which Samuele Bacchiocchi wrote in 1986, he examines the rol...

In days gone by, there were clear behavioral codes. Etiquette and decorum prevailed not only in the highest circles but also in the human relations of ordinary citizens. There were exact regulations as to who was to be introduced to whom first and how to greet each other. As people moved up the social ladder, they were expected to learn polite behavior. Although most government leaders and politicians behave in a manner befitting their office, there are exceptions. We saw a U.S. president pushing his way to the front of the group at a NATO summit (2017), grinning. The same head of state greeted the wife of his French counterpart with a sexist remark saying that she looked amazingly good for her age. How is a woman supposed to behave in this, other than smiling in a friendly manner? When he refused to give German Chancellor Angela Merkel the customary handshake at the White House, she could only smile, too, although her facial expression revealed what she thought. Not even in his i...

The world is outraged at the Russian war against Ukraine. Politicians keep saying, “It’s Putin’s war!” Of course, it is. It was Putin’s decision. But he is not alone. Large parts of the Russian population support him because they believe the propaganda on the state-controlled media. Even members of the Duma believe what the media report. Well-educated, decent Russians in Moskow say in perfect English, “I don’t believe Russia is bombing Charkov. They promised to never do that. They aren’t doing it.” They do not believe in the Russian aggression in Ukraine. How could they? They are used to believing what the state media say and show. We hear of young people who live in Ukraine telling their parents who live in Russia about the onslaught on civilian targets, of the constant shelling. They are devastated that their parents do not believe them, repeating the words of state media. [1] And there is nothing else left. The last free media outlets have been banned and anyone propagating what th...