ADRA RESPONDS TO FLOOD cRISES page 9 - RECORD.net.au

SouthPacificEDITORIALOfficial news magazine of theSouth Pacific DivisionSeventh-day Adventist ChurchABN 59 093 117 689Vol 117 No 4Cover credit: John Kosmeier“ADRA volunteers flew to flood-affected areasof NSW with Adventist Aviation.”Acting Editor:James StandishEmail: editor@record.net.auAssistant Editor:Jarrod StackelrothAssistant Editor:Kent KingstonSales & Marketing:Dora AmuimuiaCopyeditor:Tracey BridcuttGraphic Designers:Loopeck LimLetters: editor@record.net.auNews & Photos: news@record.net.auNoticeboard: ads@record.net.aurecord.net.auMail: Adventist Media NetworkLocked bag 1115Wahroonga, NSW 2076, AustraliaPhone: (02) 9847 2222Fax: (02) 9847 2200Subscriptions:Record mailed within Australia andNew Zealand$A43.80 $NZ73.00Other prices on applicationPrinted fortnightlysubscriptions@record.net.auExecutive PublishersSenior Consulting Editor:Dr Barry OliverDirector of Communication:James Standishtwitter.com/RECORDadventistFear and self-loathingJames StandishDo you remember Bobby Fischer? He was arguablythe best chess player in history. But it wasn’t just thathe was an extraordinary talent—winning the “gameof the century” at the tender age of 13 and outstripping his opponents by legendarymargins—it was that he was the West’s answer to Soviet chess dominance at the heightof the Cold War.The concept of a chess celebrity today may seem like an oxymoron. But in 1972,when Bobby Fischer of the USA squared off against Boris Spassky of the USSR forthe global chess championship in Iceland, the world was transfixed. And when BobbyFischer walked away with the title, it was cause for unbridled gloating in America. Hewas welcomed home to New York City with a celebration generally reserved for footballchampions or returning astronauts.But Bobby Fischer’s personal life was even more complex than his brilliant chessstrategies. Although his mother was Jewish, Bobby became an outspoken anti-Semitein his later years, blaming Jews for a broad array of world ills, tragedies and atrocities.Most extraordinarily, he claimed Jews were responsible for the Holocaust itself.The case of Bobby Fischer’s anti-Semitism is, sadly, not unique. Indeed, Dr KennethLevin, a psychiatrist at Harvard, has made a study of the phenomenon of Jewish anti-Semitism. In discussing its underlying causes, Dr Levin explains that Judaism is not alonein producing some community members who are consumed with self-loathing:“On a communal level, the same dynamic is seen again and again in populations undersiege. The phenomenon of segments of the community embracing the indictmentsof the besiegers and seeking relief through self-criticism . . .[1]”Increasingly our community–the Adventist community–may be exhibiting elements ofthis behaviour. I am surprised by the sweeping negative generalisations about our communitythat periodically appear in pieces submitted to the RECORD; generalisations thatperfectly echo the constant barrage of negative stereotypes Christians face in the media.But are they justified?Certainly we as a community are far from perfect. As an open community in a fallenworld, we face all the problems that are present in the general community. But as I’veread the frequent, unsupported statements about various negative attributes or attitudes“most” Adventists exhibit, I wonder if healthy self-analysis is degenerating into negativeself-loathing. Is it possible that we are in danger of becoming anti-Adventist Adventists?It’s hard to draw a line between healthy self-analysis and destructive self-loathing,but maybe a good place to begin is objectively questioning the negative stereotypes wehear about Christians in general, and Adventist Christians in particular.(continued page 12)CONTENTS1114News3 Adventist lifestyle under the microscope7 Church called to revival by God’s Word8 Bible challenge adventure for students9 ADRA responds to flood crisesFeatures11 Giving up my best friend14 Laying down the law17 Could this be your church?