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ever, will be void of context without firstreviewingAdventist Church history.

Seventh-dayAdventist ChurchHistory andHerstory

The Adventist Church emergedwithin the context of 19th century

revivalist and reform-conscious America.Sometimes referred to as the “burnt overdistrict,” the New England states of thenortheast provided fertile ground for suchreform. Its beginning was the result of aregrouping that occurred after the “greatdisappointment” of October 22, 1844, thedate when Baptist farmer-preacherWilliam Miller predicted Christ wouldreturn to earth4-7. After further study ofthe problem-causing Bible prophecies, oneMillerite group determined that 1844 wasnot the date of Christ’s Second Advent;rather it was the time when Christ enteredthe most holy place of the heavenly sanc-tuary and that he had yet to return to earthfrom heaven8, 9.

Feeling as though they had beenrejected by their various churches for theirconvictions over Miller’s preaching, thisgroup worshipped and studied the bible

and operates a health care system thatincludes 167 hospitals, 449 clinics, and 125nursing homes or retirement centers.Adventist educational institutions include55 nursing schools, from Costa Rica toCroatia, from Lesotho to Loma Linda,California2. Approximately 7,300 nursingstudents are currently enrolled in these pro-grams3. In addition to an estimated fewthousandAdventist nurses, there are severalthousand nurses who have been educatedor employed in an Adventist institution.The Adventist theology and traditionsinevitably have an overt or covert influenceon these nurses.What is that influence?

The purpose of this article is to exam-ine the theological foundations that informAdventist nursing. In addition to a cursorypresentation of Adventist beliefs and prac-tices, the theology that addresses the nurs-ing meta-paradigm concepts of person,health, environment (or community), andnursing (or service) will be explored alongwith its implications for nursing practice.The article will conclude with an overviewof implications for ethical spiritual care andresearch. This discussion of Adventist the-ology and its implications for nursing, how-

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GLORIFYING GOD IN OUR BODY:A SEVENTH-DAYADVENTIST THEOLOGICAL FOUNDATION

FOR NURSINGElizabeth Johnston Taylor, PhD, RNSchool of Nursing, Loma Linda University, Loma Linda, CaliforniaMark F. Carr, PhDSchool of Religion, Loma Linda University, Loma Linda, California

UPDATEMARCH 2010

L O M A L I N D A U N I V E R S I T Y C E N T E R F O R C H R I S T I A N B I O E T H I C S

Nurse, why would God let me suffer?”“Will you pray with me, nurse?”

“Will you help and pull the plug when I’mready?” Nurses have a privileged positionwhen they provide care to patients. Thisprivilege becomes especially apparentwhenpatients inquire of a nurse about spiritualand religious matters.Not only will nurses’verbal responses to such inquiries reflecttheir personal spiritual or religious beliefs,their very motivation and perspectiveabout nursing will be shaped by thesebeliefs.How these beliefs influence nursingcare, however, is poorly or never recog-nized.Consequently, these beliefs affect thenurse-patient relationship without a real-ization of their impact. Such a lack ofawareness provides fertile soil for unethicalnursing care, especially unethical spiritualcare. This article strives to curtail thispotential factor for unethical nursing careby examining how the theology of one reli-gious tradition, Seventh-day Adventism,could have an impact on a nurse.

About 14.4 million Seventh-dayAdventists live, work, and worship in 202countries around the world1. The Seventh-day Adventist Church organization owns

together7, 10. For almost 20 years, this andother basic beliefs were set out as funda-mental to the group. Along with this rein-terpretation of the 1844 event, the groupeventually settled on other significantpoints of doctrine. From the Seventh-dayBaptists, they learned of the importance ofSabbath observance on the seventh day ofthe week—Saturday10-16. These two pointsparticularly distinguished the group as theymoved away from being“Millerites” to hav-ing a new sense of identity and purpose.After no small measure of debate, thegroup settled on the name Seventh-dayAdventist5, 17. In 1863, hard-workingMillerite preacher James White (1821-1881), formerly an ordained minister ofthe Christian Connection Church, led inofficially organizing a General Conferenceof Seventh-day Adventists with 3,500church members17, 18.

Adventists came to see themselves aspart of the stream of ProtestantChristianity, sometimes thinking thatMartin Luther didn’t go quite far enough inhis reforms. Many Adventist theologiansand historians see the influence of the greatpreacher and theologian John Wesley andtheMethodism he helped create.AdventistChurch administrative structures havetended to be pragmatic, in the service of anoverarching goal of sharing the gospel viamission outreach. Church polity is a repre-sentative type of system with local church,conference, union conference, division, andgeneral conference layers of administration.

More importantly, Wesley’s theologi-cal teaching on the importance of sanctifica-tion or what he called the “second blessing”took strong hold of early Adventism.Adventist views on human nature falldecidedly in the camp of free will or self-determination. Reflecting an Arminiansense of divine election thatmaywell be lostif the believer does not continue to chooseto live inGod’s grace,earlyAdventists strug-gled over the relationship of law and gracein God’s grand scheme of human salvation.

James White’s wife, Ellen Gould

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The substantive article in this editionof Update is a collaborative effort ofElizabeth Johnston Taylor and myself.Originally drafted for a series of essaysfocused on religious traditions and howthey affect nurses and nursing care, thisessay is a modified, longer version of anarticle that will run in the journalNursingEthics. Dr. Johnston Taylor and I havebeen pleased to work together. She is a fac-ulty member of the LLU School ofNursing, albeit a distant one at this point,as she is living in Wellington, NewZealand, with her family and workingthere in a hospice facility. She is a prolificauthor and is specifically interested innursing ethics.

Here at LLU we have a combineddegree program (MA/MS) that bringstogether students in nursing with an inter-est in ethics. Those of you who followedlast year’s Claritas essay contest will recallthat one of our two finalists was a studentin nursing, Carissa Ciancci. She is one ofour newest students in this combineddegree program! Here at the center, wehave been and will continue to be excitedwith our interaction with the School ofNursing. Over the course of this academiccalendar year, I will be on sabbatical andaway from the center.As a faculty memberof the School of Religion, I am blessed to

EDITORIALMark F. Carr, PhD, MDivDirector, Center for Christian Bioethics

be able to utilize the sabbatical policy.While I am away, the center will be in theable hands of Roy Branson,PhD,whowillserve as the interim theological co-direc-tor. Dr. Branson is no stranger to the cen-ter or to Loma Linda University. He cameto LLU School of Religion more than ayear ago as our associate dean. In additionto his academic credentials, he has a richadministrative experience with the Centerfor Law and Policy at Columbia UnionCollege, now Washington AdventistUniversity, as well as some 20 years as theeditor of Spectrum Magazine, the publish-ing arm of the Seventh-day AdventistForums.

Finally, let me say that we are so verypleased to have RobertOrr,MD, join us atthe center as the clinical co-director! Infact, this is Dr. Orr’s second term in thisoffice, having held this position for manyyears back in the mid- to late 1990s. Hisexperience, publication record, and pas-sion for clinical consultation work willrichly enhance the work of the center.

Mark F. Carr, PhD, MDivDirector, Center for Christian BioethicsLoma Linda University

The Center for Christian Bioethics offers you the opportunity to receiveUpdate as abeautiful pdf file via e-mail. DeliveringUpdate via e-mail saves us printing costs, postagecosts, fuel costs (mail has to go by land or air or both), and precious global resources (i.e.,paper, energy).

We do need to knowwhere to send yourUpdate. If you would like to receive an elec-tronic version of Update, please send an e-mail to <dpgordon@llu.edu>. Please typeUpdate on the subject line and include in your message your 1) name, 2) e-mail address, and3) snail mail address.

Thank you for your participation andwe look forward tomany,many years of serviceto you, our readers.

Update • Volume 22, Issue 2 • Page 3

White (1827-1915), is undoubtedly thepersonwhohas influenced earlyAdventismthe most. When she was 17, Ellen Whitebegan claiming to have visions. Thesevisions purportedly gave her divine inspira-tion about topics ranging from what prop-erty the church should buy to the historyand future of good and evil in the universe19.A vision about health reform in 1863would add impetus to the young church’sinterest in medical missionary work20.Although the validity and/or meaning ofEllen G. White’s visions have never beenwithout challenge and controversy in theAdventist Church, they nevertheless greatlyinfluence its theology and polity, and thelifestyle of its members21. Her thinking,divinely inspired and otherwise, is recordedin numerous books. White, whose formaleducation ended in grade four, and her staffwrote a number of books during her life-time, includingThe Desire of Ages (an inspi-rational book about the life of Jesus), TheGreat Controversy between Christ andSatan, and The Ministry of Healing. Afterher death, theWhite Estate compiledmanymore books documenting her various let-ters, “testimonies,” and inspirational devo-tions; these include Counsels on Health andTemperance.

Ellen White’s health reform messagedenigrated the use of alcohol, caffeine, andother stimulants, tobacco, and drugs andquackery as then used; it promoted the useof hydrotherapy and natural remedies,simple—and lacto-ovo-vegetarian—food,fresh air and sunshine, exercise, non-restrictive clothing, and trust in Divinepower for healing. Within three years oforganizing, the Adventist Church openedthe Western Health Reform Institute inBattle Creek, Michigan, to providehydrotherapy (increasingly popular in theNortheast) following principles laid out byEllen White. The institute bourgeonedafter physician John Harvey Kelloggbecame its director in 1876 and renamed itBattle Creek Sanitarium. A schismoccurred betweenKellogg and church lead-

tion treatments and education for personswith chronic illnesses that more overtlyreflect“health reform”18.

EarlyAdventismmightwell have gonethe direction of the streamof Protestantismknown today as Anabaptism; ourArminian emphasis on free will pushed ustoward adult baptism. But the strongemphasis on health and health care thatdeveloped into modern medicine propelledus away from a traditional culture of thesort reflected by the Mennonite andQuaker communities in America andtoward a more progressive engagementwith Enlightenment thought and its associ-ated emphasis in scientific epistemology.We will have more to say on the relation-ship between science and religion below.

Fundamental Beliefs

Seventh-day Adventists accept theBible as their only creed and holdcertain fundamental beliefs to be theteaching of the Holy Scriptures. …[and]constitute the Church’s understandingand expression of the teaching ofScripture,”23 so introduces the Church’sstatement of the fundamental beliefs.When the Church first released a synop-sis of our faith (not until 1872), itcontained 25 propositions24. Subsequentiterations have produced the presentlisting of 28 key beliefs. Several of thesefundamental beliefs are pertinent tothe present discussion of Adventist the-ology and nursing and will be discussedlater.

A necessary preface for any descrip-tion of the beliefs pertinent to a specific reli-gion is that nurses must remember thatvariations exist within each tradition. Somecategorize this variation observed amongAdventists as falling on a continuum withthe conservative side often referred to as“traditional” or“historical” and the oppositeend labeled “progressive” or simply “lib-eral”25. One Adventist may interpret reli-gious doctrine in flexible andnon-traditional ways, while another may

ers, however, over whether the purpose ofthe sanitarium was only to alleviate suffer-ing or to also evangelize18.After a bitter bat-tle, the church let Kellogg take control ofthe sanitarium. Although Kellogg’s effortsin Battle Creek drew worldwide notoriety,the enterprise eventually collapsed17.

Adventists, however, did not losemomentum in their work to amelioratephysical and spiritual suffering.Around theturn of the twentieth century, numerousNorth American Adventist sanitariumsopened and trained nurses, including a fairnumber of male nurses. In 1905, theCollege of Medical Evangelists (now LomaLindaUniversity, the flagship health scienceuniversity of the Church) opened its doorsto train physicians as well as nurses22.Graduates of these programs dispersedaround the world as missionaries to usetheir knowledge about health and illness asan“entering wedge” for sharing the gospel17.Adventist evangelism in developing coun-tries included not only knowledge aboutsalvation, but practical information aboutsanitation and nutrition. Medical and den-tal careweremethods for attracting personsto the Bible lessons Adventist missionarieswanted to share. Indeed, the medical mis-sionary work explains in large part theexponential church growth that occurredoutside North America during the twenti-eth century17.

The legacy of the Battle Creek “San”lingers for both Kellogg and Adventists. Itincludes not onlyKellogg’sCornFlakes,butthe Adventist Church’s support of healthcare institutions that boast the latest tech-nologies and scientifically sound treat-ments. A trust in the ability of modernphysicians and medical science to alleviatesuffering and cure disease arguably sup-plants the distinctive use of natural reme-dies or hydrotherapy, or even extraordinarypractice of prayer. To counter this main-streaming of the Adventist Health System,several self-supporting or independentlyowned Adventist health care institutionshave developed to provide health promo-

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eations. We call this “whole-person care.”This strong assertion of holism is closelyrelated to the Adventist understanding ofthe state of the dead.

State of the dead: As non-dualisticcreations of God, humans do not possessan eternal soul that drifts away to Godupon death of our physical being. Rather,upon our death our consciousness sleeps, asit were (Matthew 9:24), until such time asGod physically resurrects the whole personat Jesus’ second coming24. Immortality thenis conditional upon God’s judgment of theperson. Those who have refused God’sgracewill not spend an eternity in a burninghell; rather in loveGodwill completely con-sume them in the circumscribed fires of thefinal judgment.

Image of God:While the theologicalimportance of the doctrine of the Image ofGod has been variously interpretedthroughout Christian history, Adventistssee the importance of this doctrine in atleast three ways. First, we value the otherbecause she or he is a creation of God.Second, we believe that human ability toreason and have relationships with others isa mark of God’s image in us. Third, theresult of this created ability to reason andrelate means we do truly have free wills; wemay choose to accept or reject God and liveour lives in positive ways because of theindwelling of God’s spirit. Furthermore,this indwelling of the Holy Spirit isenhanced when we treat our whole personsas the temple of God.

Personalism: The moral status ofhuman beings is to be held in high esteemat all times, regardless of the stage of devel-opment—be it microscopic or overweight.However, this moral status is not a straightline from conception to death. Two polar-ized views address the question of moralstatus in bioethics: physicalism and person-alism27. Physicalism holds that full moralstatus is a straight line from conception todeath. Personalism holds that full moralstatus is like a rheostat with high and lowpoints focused primarily on the capability

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rigidly ascribe to historical interpreta-tions. For example, while a progressiveAdventist may entertain views of God’screative activity on earth emerging overmillions of years, most Adventists hold toa literal six-day creation, in this case,despite what science may say.

Maintaining unity of belief in theAdventist Church,which has grown from asmall North American revivalist group to amonolithic worldwide denomination, isparticularly vexing. There has been adecided effort to avoid the type of creedal-ism that resulted in the rejection of theMillerites from their congregations.Adventists, like no other Protestant faith,cling to the idea of theological unity in theface of radically diverse cultures fromaround the world. In addition to the feltneed to remain unified in diversity,Adventists cling to the idea that we mustremain open to God’s leading in the devel-opment of our fundamental beliefs. In fact,the preamble to the Church’s statement offundamental beliefs says this:

“…Revision of these statements maybe expected at a General Conferencesessionwhen theChurch is led by theHoly Spirit to a fuller understandingof Bible truth or finds better languageto express the teachings of God’sHolyWord”24.With this in mind then, we will look

more directly into key theological notionsrelevant to nursing practice.

Religious Practices andAdventistLifestyle

The above statement regarding varia-tion in interpretation of Adventist

beliefs likely holds evenmore truth when itis applied to Adventist religious practiceand lifestyle. A liberal Adventist, for exam-ple, may enjoy a chicken salad and caf-feinated soda for lunch, while another,conservative Adventist may eat a “veggieburger” and shun even fruit juice (avoidingany liquid taken with the meal because ofcounsel from EllenWhite)26.Having made

this statement, however, it is informative toreview someof the traditional practices andbehaviors of Adventists (see Table 1).Indeed, it is this distinctive lifestyle thatoften is all that is known about Adventistsby non-Adventists.

AdventistTheological FoundationsforNursingConcepts of Person,Health,andEnvironment

What theology shapes how anAdventist nurse conceptualizes

persons, health, and environment? Whatare some of the implications that followfrom this theology?

Person: The human person, inAdventist theology, suffers the ill effects ofsin and evil in this present world.There is agreat controversy playing itself out on theuniversal stage andwe are important charac-ters in the final determination of whether ornotGod is a just and lovingGod.Wearenota pessimistic people perhapswith the excep-tion that we expect a soon-coming cata-clysmic end to the controversy. Our hope isin the presence of Christ in this cataclysm.With Christ comes our peace, our assur-ance, and the ultimate end of the GreatControversy betweenGod and Satan.

Crucial to the Adventist understand-ing of the human person are at least the fol-lowing theological assertions:

Holistic human nature: The humanperson is non-dualistic in nature.Adventists reject Attic philosophical andChristian theological assertions that ourmaterial, temporary life serves as a prison ofthe immaterial, eternal soul.Material life asGod’s creation is good and should beenhanced and celebrated with every appro-priate means at our disposal. God wantsour physical existence to be a blessing to ourspiritual lives, and he does not cause or revelin the physical suffering of his creation.While modern science delineates elementsof the human person such as psychological,physiological, spiritual, social, etc.,Adventists also seek to find ways to inte-grate and harmonize these various delin-

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to engage in relationships with others.Because Adventists highly value the factthat God created us with the ability toreason and relate, we lean toward the the-ological doctrine of personalism ratherthan physicalism27, 28. This will manifestitself in more than a few of our statementson ethical issues such as abortion andend-of-life care.

Implications: How does a theologythat conceptualizes persons as non-dualis-tic, self-determining creations made inGod’s image affect an Adventist nursingperspective? How does an Adventist theol-ogy about the state of the dead and after-lifehave an impact on nursing? Examiningsome Adventist documents will help toanswer these questions.

A non-dualistic perspective on thenature of humans contributes to Adventistinstitutions having mission statements thataddress the body, mind, and spirit in anintegrated way29. For instance, Loma LindaUniversity’s (LLU) motto is “to make manwhole.” LLU has given considerable atten-tion to this concept of wholeness, and evenmeasures it among its students to deter-mine if it is fostering students’ wholeness.This measurement, the extensiveWholeness Inventory, provides a definitionof wholeness: “Wholeness means the life-long,harmonious development of the phys-ical, intellectual, emotional, relational,cultural, and spiritual dimensions of a per-son’s life, unified through a loving relation-ship with God and expressed in generousservice to others”29.

The General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists has issued statements oncare for the dying, abortion, assisted repro-duction, human cloning, and other ethicalissues in health care. These statementsreflect the theology described above in bothgeneral institutional policy matters30 andspecific issues. For example, the 1992“Statement of Consensus on Care for theDying”31 acknowledges that “because oftheir commitment to care for the wholeperson, Seventh-day Adventists are con-

Abortion is never an action of littlemoral consequence.Thus prenatal lifemust not be thoughtlessly destroyed.Abortion should be performed onlyfor the most serious reasons.”32

These exceptional reasons are identified aspregnancy-caused threat to themother’s lifeor jeopardy to her health, severe congenitaldefect, or pregnancy caused by incest orrape. This document confirms that theChurch cannot serve as the conscience for aperson, that a person’s accountability is firsttoGod.Persons shouldmake their decisionbased on “the laws of God rather than thenorms of society.”32

Affect on nursing care:TheseChurchstatements provide examples of howAdventist theology formally affects think-ing and practice vis-à-vis health issues. Buthow might this Adventist theology aboutthe nature of persons affect the nursing careprovided by an Adventist lay person? Ofcourse, variation inevitably exists in howintegrated a nurse’s religion is in his or herlife and work. Many Adventist nurses arelikely unaware of these official statements,yet are still influenced—in varyingdegrees—by the underlying theology.Hereare some ways Adventist theology aboutpersons may manifest at the bedside:

• Patients and their loved ones will allbe treated as persons believed to belovingly created in the image ofGod. For example, the sacredness ormoral status of life is considered asdecisions about abortion and end-of-life care are made. Likewise, com-passion is shown to the indigent aswell as the rich patient.• Because of an awareness that Godcreated us with the ability to reasonand relate, the nurse will facilitaterespect for patient autonomy, self-determination in relation with oth-ers.For example, theAdventist nursewill encourage the patient to collabo-rate—and take ultimate responsibil-ity, if culturally appropriate—forhealth care decisions. Likewise, the

cerned about the physical, emotional, andspiritual care of the dying.” This statementinterprets theBible to support the followingprinciples:

a) the dying person deserves to knowabout his or her condition and, if capa-ble, should have the freedom to chooseor decline life-extending interventions(self-determination);b) end-of-life decisions are bestmade in the context of healthy fam-ily relationships after consideringmedical advice (Image of God andpersonalism);c) love does not obligate anyone tooffer or accept interventions whoseburden outweighs probable benefit(Image of God and free will);d) the goal of care when there is nocure should be to relieve suffering tothe fullest extent possible, stoppingshort of active euthanasia; Adventistssupport aggressive palliative care at theend of life (the body asGod’s temple isrespected); ande) the dying should be given care basedon their need, not their social worthi-ness (Image of God).

This document also reminds the readerthat because there is resurrection and eter-nal life to come, one does not need to pro-long the dying process or desperately clingto the last vestiges of life here on earth.

Likewise, the General Conferencedocuments about abortion, birth control,and assisted human reproduction applythese theological tenets of respectinghumans as God’s creation and balancingGod-given freedom of self-determinationwith Christian responsibility. For instance,the General Conference-issued Guidelineson Abortion state the following:

“Prenatal human life is a magnificentgift of God. God's ideal for humanbeings affirms the sanctity of humanlife, in God's image, and requiresrespect for prenatal life. However,decisions about life must be made inthe context of a fallen world.

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Adventist nurse will not providetherapies involving the control of onemind over another’s, as some formsof hypnosis require.• The Adventist nurse’s goal is ulti-mately whole-person care—care thattends to body,mind, and spirit—andrestores the patient to the image ofGod and helps him or her to seeGod’s character. Thus, an Adventistnurse will consider spiritual health asan essential aspect of health, and willlikely accept spiritual care as an essen-tial part of nursing care.• Because theAdventist nurse believesdeath is an unconscious state andthat there is an eternal after-life forthose who accept God’s love, he orshemaymake statements to comfortthe dying or bereaved that reflectthese beliefs. In an attempt to com-fort, some Adventist nurses mightstate,“Isn’t it good we have the hopeof Christ’s return and eternal lifewith Him?” or “Next thing yourloved one will see is Jesus coming inthe clouds of glory!”These implications of how Adventist

theology of the person may affect the prac-tice of a nurse will reflect broad similaritieswith other Christian traditions. Theemphasis on whole-person care because ofwhatGodhas already done in us and for us,coupled with a strong sense of the hopeChrist gives thepatient and thepractitioner,will particularly characterize Adventistnursing practice.

Health

Oneof themost well-recognized collo-quialisms within the church is the

health message30. Seventh-day Adventistsaccept that because God wants to have arelationship with humankind, and becausewemust reasonwell togetherwithGod,wemust treat our bodies well—as God’s tem-ple. The Apostle Paul is often quoted:“Doyou not know that your body is a temple oftheHoly Spirit within you,which you have

for the enhancement of the well-being ofeach and every person34.

TheGreatControversy asTheodicy:For Adventists, the problem of sin and evilis placed firmly at the feet of Lucifer, thatold devil called Satan in the Bible. Humansuffering in the face of evil is profoundlytroubling toAdventists.They aremotivatedto evangelize because they don’t want peo-ple to suffer in sin.While some Christiansbelieve God brings suffering as a means ofmoral development for humankind,Adventists believe that Satan is the cause ofhuman suffering.God,on the other hand, isthe one who makes all good things emergein the wake of evil and suffering. God isnever the cause of human suffering. God isalways the one who lifts persons out of suf-fering through loving presence—God’sown, as well as the sort of presence thatnurses provide at the bedside35, 36.

Implications:How does anAdventistnurse who desires to be a responsible stew-ard,who explains suffering in the context ofa great controversy, and who accepts thatour bodies are a temple of God needy ofweekly Sabbath rest, exhibit these religiousbeliefs at work? Of course, these beliefs canshow themselves in a variety of ways. Someof themore readily observedbeliefs pertain-ing to health among Adventist nurses willbe described.

Being a steward, for an Adventistnurse, canmeanpersonally striving to live ashealthfully as possible, following the recom-mendations of EllenWhite’s health reform.GlorifyingGodmeans not only weekly cor-porate worship, but eating, drinking, exer-cising, sleeping, relating, and so forth inbalanced and healthful ways. It is possiblethat the ideal theAdventist nurse possessesfor him- or herself will be assumed for thepatient. Being a steward also has economicimplications for health care. The Adventistnurse may be sensitive to the financial bur-den treatments place and seek to avoidaction that expends resources unjustly. Forexample, theGeneralConference statementof “Considerations on Assisted Human

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fromGod?You are not your own; youwerebought with a price. So glorifyGod in yourbody.”33 Aside from the straightforwardassertions of what the biblical text saysabout what we should or should not eat ordrink, there are several important theolog-ical truths Adventists believe that pro-foundly shape our thinking about health.

Humannature:The doctrine of totaldepravity only partially reflectsAdventism’s optimistic view of humannature. By this we mean that while webelieve there is truly nothing we can do togain our salvation, we believe we can dosomething to cooperate with God. First,we have capability to reason well; God cre-ated this capability. In submitting our-selves to the indwelling Spirit of God(justification) we open ourselves to newpossibilities for our present life. Second,with God’s help we are able to habituatepositive lifestyles and personal charactertraits. This process (sanctification)includes our positive efforts—efforts thatare energized by God’s Spirit in our lives24.

Stewardship: God calls humankindto be good stewards of all He has providedinHis creation, including our physical bod-ies24.With specific reference to our individ-ual health, this doctrine of stewardshipmeans we must use our time, energies, andresources in ways that both respect andbring glory toGod.Adventists take the bib-lical account of theGarden of Eden and thegood life that Adam and Eve enjoyed thereas a narrative of the ideal. The GreatControversy theme in theBible portrays thefact that this ideal was destroyed at theonset of sin. It is God’s purpose throughoutsalvation history to restore humankind andthe rest of his creation to this Edenic per-fection. In this process of restoration,part ofour moral responsibility is to uphold andpractice, as best we can, the ideal diet andlifestyle God intended. Adventist theologyof the Sabbath is strongly influenced by thisnotion that God’s original plan was forhumankind to enjoy a Sabbath rest, andthat this rest was, at least in part, designed

drj4k3.10

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Update • Volume 22, Issue 2 • Page 7

Reproduction” includes, as one of six, theprinciple of stewardship. The statementadvises that as some forms of technologyare expensive, couples should“give responsi-ble consideration to the expensesinvolved.”37

AnAdventist nurse’s view of the rela-tionship between sin, suffering, and a goodGodwill likely frame responses to patients’queries about “Why does God let me suf-fer?” Such a situation could prompt anAdventist nurse, who assesses that self-disclosure is appropriate, to say somethinglike: “I believe Satan is to blame; we canfind hope in knowing that good will ulti-mately triumph over evil” or “I know it ishard to understand ‘why?’ from our pre-sent perspective, but I think God is withus now and God’s love will one day prevailand end suffering.”

For anAdventist nurse,Sabbath rest isa vital ingredient for whole-person health.The nursemay practice nursing onSabbathin accord with principles identified by theGC30, 38.That is,Adventist health care insti-tutions and clinicians are encouraged toavoid routine business, non-emergencyprocedures (e.g., elective and diagnostic ser-vices), and create a Sabbath atmosphere atwork38. An Adventist nurse might createsuch a restorative atmosphere by givingeach of his or her patients a flower, spend-ing more time listening, or giving moresmiles. A visitor to an Adventist hospitalwill find the environment calmer than dur-ing week days; often Christian music issoftly played on public address systems.

Environment (Community)

While the Adventist Church hasissued statements about the call to

care for God’s creation by respecting ourphysical environment39, the theology sup-porting Christian service for the commu-nity is more appropriate in a discussion ofnursing. A recent addition to Adventistfundamental beliefs gives evidence of theo-logical concern for how we engage ourwider community. Titled “Growing in

munity inways that promote its health (e.g.,serve on the church “Health andTemperance Committee” and assist withlocal church-sponsored health fairs for theimmediate community or serve as a parishnurse for a local congregation) and mayprovide free health care during short mis-sion stints to impoverished areas aroundthe globe.Over the past several decades, thechurch has sponsored many health-pro-moting endeavors for theworld community(e.g., smoking cessation programs, vegetar-ian cooking courses, AdventistDevelopment and Relief Agency, and com-munity service centers)40; Adventist nursesoften assist with such outreach.

Nursing (Service)

Many Adventist nurses take literallyand seriously Jesus’ call to“go into all

the world and preach the gospel to all cre-ation” (Mark 16:15). For many Adventistnurses, providing health care is the rightarm of the gospel (ametaphor EllenWhiteoften used to describe the salient role ofmedical missionary work). Therefore, inthis directiveAdventist nurses find a callingto serve God by serving others. Nursing isthus understood as an intrinsically moralundertaking and a moral mandate—aform of beneficence.

Another passage in the biblicalgospel motivatesAdventist nurses to servethe sick. The passage in Matthew 25:31makes clear, according to Adventist inter-pretation, at least one thing: those whofail to care for the needs of their neighborsin themost basic of ways will in no case beallowed to inherit eternal life. Adventistsdesire to be counted among the “sheep” inthis parable; its meaning has always pro-vided impetus to serve others. Althoughsome Adventist nurses may provide nurs-ing service out of a self-centered desire tobe among those who will get to go toheaven, others will recognize such servicereally results from a personal knowledgeof God’s love.

Perhaps the most important theologi-

Christ,” a portion of it reads as follows:In this new freedom in Jesus, we arecalled to grow into the likeness of Hischaracter, communing withHim dailyin prayer, feeding onHisWord,medi-tating on it and on His providence,singingHis praises, gathering togetherfor worship, participating in the mis-sion of the church. As we give our-selves in loving service to those aroundus and in witnessing to His salvation,His constant presence with usthrough the Spirit transforms everymoment and every task into a spiritualexperience24 [p.149-50].

A theology of engagementwith communityin Seventh-day Adventism is two-fold. Itmust begin within the fellowship of ourcommunity of faith. This communal fel-lowship is where our relationshipwithGodis nourished and encouraged. And while itinherently has elements of sectarianism, afundamental premise of our theology ofrelationship with God and his churchinsists that the individual takes the turn ofengagement with the wider society.

A motivating factor for engaging thebroader community comes from whatChristians call “the great commission.”Matthew 28:16-20 gives the details of Jesuscommissioning his disciples to do certainthings in his absence. They were to spreadthroughout the world, teaching othersabout Jesus and baptizing these students inthe process of making disciples of them.This push to spread the good news of Jesuswas coupled with the idea that when thegospel was spread throughout the wholeworld, the end of time would come (seeMatthew 24:14).So, in an important sense,Adventists believe that as they engage intheir communities with the good news ofJesus and his care for others, they hastenHis second coming.

Implications: So how does a nurseimplement in practice an Adventist theol-ogy of engagement with the community?Consider a few illustrations: an Adventistnurse may support the local church com-

drj4k3.10

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missionary work the gospel is to bepreached and practiced47 [p. 144]. Let theworkers [medical missionaries] keepChrist, theGreatPhysician,constantlybefore those to whom disease of bodyand soul has brought discouragement.Point them to the One who can healbothphysical and spiritual disease.Tellthem of the One who is touched withthe feeling of their infirmities.Encourage them toplace themselves inthe care of Him who gave His life tomake it possible for them to have lifeeternal. Talk of His love; tell of Hispower to save.”47 [p. 144]

A question arises,however: Is it uneth-ical and opportunistic to provide nursingcare that is motivated by a desire to preachand practice the gospel to unsuspecting, vul-nerable patients? Some Adventist nursesmay accept this directive readily and employan approach that quickly and overtly intro-duces Jesus and the way of salvation topatients. Most others, however, temper theevangelical tone. For example, former LLUACPE supervisor Jerry M. Davis used toadmonish“there’s a lot of religion in a loaf ofbread!” In a conversation with Dr. WilAlexander, who taught LLU medical stu-dents about spiritual discoursewith patientsfor years, he stated, “God is in the patient’sroom before I enter andGod is in the roomafter I leave, and even though I knowGod ispresent with us while we visit, I may neveruse God language while I’m in the room.”48

In other words, Adventist health care pro-fessionals can attract patients to a yearningand knowledge of Christ in seemingly com-mon, but compassionate, ways. Ultimately,of course,God does the saving.

An ethical question remains.How canan Adventist (or any evangelical Christian)be true to self and his or her religious man-dates, and yet not inappropriately force per-sonal beliefs? An answer can be found inAdventist ethicist Gerald Winslow andnurse educator and researcher BettyWinslow’s ethical guidelines49 for sharingreligious practices, which propose:

cal motivation for service to others is theacceptance that Jesus is the model for howbelievers ought to treat others. Jesus’ life andministry, while here on earth, is a constantencouragement for Adventists to care forothers. Loma Linda University’s mission,for instance, is to “further the healing andteaching ministry of Jesus Christ”41, 42.

Implications: With such theologicalperspective, Adventist nurses find nursingnot just work, or even a profession.Nursingallows the Adventist nurse to heed God’scalling to serve others, to follow Jesus’ exam-ple, and to share the gospel and supportothers in gaining an awareness of God.Such a perspective is likely to have an affectonAdventist nurse“burnout.”That is, givennurses are at high risk for burnout whenthey perceive their work makes no differ-ence and has no meaning43, such a theologygives the Adventist nurse rich meaning forher or his work. For example, even in thecareful administration of a bedpan, thenurse can lovingly serve God. Conversely, iftheAdventist nurse interprets this calling tospread the gospel to require proselytizing orobservable improvements in spiritualhealth, such a calling could increase likeli-hood of nurse burnout. This very issueraises questions about how Adventistnurses, and others, can provide ethical spir-itual care.

Ethical Principles forAdventist Nursing

Seventh-day Adventists are generallyoriented toward a principles approachto health care and thus nursing ethics41.Principles-based ethics lean toward astrong rule orientation. Adventists havealways upheld the ongoing importance ofGod’s commands in scripture. A divinecommand theory of ethics would be easilyrecognizable amongAdventists. Because ofthis theological orientation, Adventistsoften reflect a principlist ethic.

Adventists also reflect a casuistry ori-entation to health care ethics. Adventiststhink that the details of a case should be the

Page 8 • Update • Volume 22, Issue 2

necessary starting point for anymoral delib-eration.While Adventists like God’s rules,they rebel against rules and regulationsthought to be of human origin. Adventistsare Protestants and proud of it. This fact,combined with a memory of having beenexpelled from churches in the wake ofWilliam Miller’s teaching, pushesAdventists away from a strong rulesapproach and toward a pragmatism of thesort seen in case-based moral reasoning.

In amore recent and constructive turn,Adventist bioethicists posit the appropri-ateness of the care ethic. The theologicalconviction that urges a close knit and strongfaith community also deeply encourages thekind of connection for which the care ethiccalls45, 46. The connection found in the faithcommunity of an Adventist nurse willencourage him or her to nurture connec-tions with patients. The compassion andempathy so important to the care ethic isthat which Adventists see in the life andministry of Jesus. Finally, moral decision-making situated in this web of communityand relationship is upheld as the ideal instatements from the General Conference.

These three approaches to health careethics inAdventism are more intuitive thanprescribed. The Adventist nurse may driftin one or more of these directions withoutmuch careful reflection.

Ethical Spiritual Care inAdventist Nursing

Although Adventist theology providesstrong motivation for including sup-

port of spiritual health in whole-personcare of patients, only recently have theethics of spiritual health care been openlyaddressed. For the Adventist, providingphysical health care presents the opportu-nity for providing spiritual health care.EllenWhite wrote:

God often reaches hearts through ourefforts to relieve physical suffering.Medical missionary work is the pio-neer work of the gospel. In the min-istry of word and in the medical

Please turn to page 9

Update • Volume 22, Issue 2 • Page 9

a) First, try to understand theclient’s spiritual needs, resources,and preferences;b) Employ religious practices withpermission; respect the client’sexpressed wishes;c) Do not prescribe or push religiousbeliefs or practices;d) Strive to understand your own spir-itual beliefs and needs, before address-ing others’; ande) When it is appropriate to employreligious practices with patients, do soin a manner that is authentic and inharmony with your spiritual beliefs.

These guidelines can easily be applied to thesharing of religious beliefs49.

Seventh-day Adventist nurse scholarTaylor43 advocates applying the guidelinesmental health professionals follow for self-disclosure to this question of how to dis-close personal religious beliefs. Some ofthese guidelines include:

a) Do not disclose to gratify yourneeds.Ask yourself,“Whose needs arebeing met when I share my beliefs?”b)When patients ask you about yourspirituality, you may find it helpful tofirst assess why they are asking. Forexample, “Before I answer, could weexplore what this means to you?”Thequestion should guide the response.c) Any time you disclose your per-sonal beliefs, follow up the self-disclo-sure with an open question orreflection of feelings. Always returnthe ball to the patient’s court. Forexample, “I wonder what is going oninside you now?”d)Use self-disclosure infrequently andkeep the disclosures short43.

These guidelines reflect the goal thatTaylorintroduced as appropriate for clinicians asthey converse with patients about spiritual-ity.Taylor proposed that when patients pre-sent their spiritual disease to the clinician,the clinician can “provide responses topatients which allow the patient to becomeintellectually, emotionally, and physically

after all a relatively young church—itwould be no stretch of the truth to saythat Adventism is an intense faith tradi-tion. Part of its intensity is the fact thatAdventists take their beliefs seriously.Adventists strongly think that how theybelieve should make a difference in howthey live—what they do day by day. In asense, whether a nurse or not, Adventistsbelieve each person lives out a vocationon this earth. All are characters in theGreat Controversy and each is called torespond to God with the entirety of hisor her person. Each has the privilege ofliving as a temple for the Holy Spirit.Such healthful living allows one to“glorifyGod in the body.”

References1. Seventh-day Adventist Church Facts andFigures [online]. 2006 [cited 2008April 21].Available from:URL:http://www.adventist.org/world_church/facts_and_figures/index.html.

2. International Seventh-day Adventist Schools ofNursing [online]. 2008 [cited 2008April21].Available from:URL:http://www.llu.edu/llu/nursing/international/sdanurse.html.

3. Jones P.“Statistics on International Seventh-dayAdventist Schools of Nursing” [online].E-mail to Elizabeth JohnstonTaylor (ejtay-lor@llu.edu) 2006Dec 11 [cited 2006Dec11]).

4.Knight GR.Millennial Fever and the End oftheWorld: A Comprehensive survey ofMillerism and America’s FascinationWith theMillennium in the Nineteenth Century. Boise,Idaho: Pacific Press PublishingAssociation,1993.

5.Maxwell CM.Tell it to theWorld: The Story ofSeventh-day Adventists, 2nd revised ed.Boise, Idaho: Pacific Press PublishingAssociation, 1977.

6. RoweDL.Thunder and Trumpets: Milleritesand Dissenting Religion in Upstate New York,1800-1850.Chico, California: ScholarsPress, 1985.

7.Nichol FD.TheMidnight Cry: A Defense ofthe Character and Conduct ofWilliamMillerand the Millerites whoMistakenly Believedthat the Second Coming of Christ Would TakePlace in the Year 1884.Takoma Park,Maryland: Review andHerald PublishingAssociation, 1944.

8. BurtMD.The Historical Background,Interconnected Development, and Integration

aware of his or her spirituality so that theycan experience life more fully”43.

Another quote fromEllenWhite sup-ports thisAdventist perspective on spiritualcare:

Christ’s method alone will give truesuccess in reaching the people. TheSavior mingled with men as one whodesired their good. He showed Hissympathy for them,ministered to theirneeds, andwon their confidence.ThenHe bade them,“Followme.”47 [p. 143]

That is, what is requisite—indeed, whatmay be the difference between evangelismand proselytization—is a sincere and deeplyrespectful relationship. An Adventist nursefollowing Christ’s method as stated here,will mingle, be beneficent, be empathic, pro-vide competent care, and win the respect ofthe patient before overtly introducing Jesusto the patient who requests it.

Implications for BroadNursing Research

Seventh-day Adventists generally per-ceive modern science as a God-givensource of truth for our time. While someindividual scientists, and perhaps evenentire branches of scientific endeavor, willperceive their work to be necessarily antag-onistic toward faith, Adventist scientistswould not hold to this view. Adventistshave always thought that religion informsscience and science informs religion.This isparticularly true in the area of health careresearch. For example, Adventist HealthStudy-2 at LLU is currently investigatingdiet and health habits that affect the riskfor various chronic diseases50. Ideally, thenAdventist nurses will practice scientificallysound nursing in harmony with theologi-cally informed concepts of God andhumankind.

Conclusion

Although Adventist theology may beslightly different from or oddly diffi-

cult to place in the broad categories ofChristian theological traditions—we are

Please turn to page 10

of the Doctrines of the Sanctuary, the Sabbathand Ellen G.White’s Role in SabbatarianAdventism from 1844-1849.Thesis(PhD)—Andrews University Seventh-dayAdventist Theological Seminary, 2002.

9.TimmAR.The Sanctuary and the ThreeAngel’s Messages 1844-1863: IntegratingFactors in the Development of Seventh-dayAdventist Doctrines.Thesis (PhD)—Andrews University Seventh-dayAdventistTheological Seminary, 1995.

10. Froom LE.The Prophetic Faith of OurFathers: The Historical Development ofProphetic Interpretation. In 4 volumes.Washington,D.C.: Review andHeraldPublishingAssociation, 1946-1954.

11. Strand KA, editor.The Sabbath in Scriptureand History.Washington,D.C.: Review andHerald PublishingAssociation, 1982.

12.Weiss H.ADay of Gladness: The SabbathAmong Jews and Christians in Antiquity.Columbia, South Carolina: University ofSouth Carolina Press, 2003.

13. Johnson RO.Free From the Rigor of the Law:Theological Challenges to the Anglo-AmericanSabbath in Nineteenth-Century America.Thesis (PhD)—GraduateTheologicalUnion, 2001.

14.Knight GR, editor. 1844 and the Rise ofSabbatarian Adventism.Hagerstown,Maryland: Review andHerald PublishingAssociation, 1994.

15.Knight GR.A Search for Identity: TheDevelopment of Seventh-day Adventist Beliefs.Hagerstown,Maryland: Review andHeraldPublishingAssociation, 2000.

16. Bradford CE. Sabbath Roots: The AfricanConnection.Washington,D.C.:MinisterialAssociation of the General Conference ofSeventh-dayAdventists, 1999.

17. Schwarz RW.Light Bearers to the Remnant.MountainView,California: Pacific Press;1979.

18.Numbers RL, LarsonDR.“TheAdventistTradition”, in: Number RL,AmundsenDW, editors.Caring and Curing: Health andMedicine in theWestern Religious Traditions.NewYork:Macmillan; 1986. p. 447-67.

19.WhiteAL. Ellen G.White.V.1. The EarlyYears, 1827-1862.Hagerstown,Maryland:Review andHerald PublishingAssociation,1981.

20. RobinsonDE.The Story of Our HealthMessage: The Origin, Character, andDevelopment of Health Education in theSeventh-day Adventist Church.Nashville,Tennessee: Southern PublishingAssociation, 1965.

21.Numbers RL.Prophetess of Health: Ellen G.White and the Origins of Seventh-dayAdventist Health Reform. Knoxville,Tennessee: University of Tennessee Press,1992.

22. CheathamWA,Weismeyer R,GaedeW,

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Jones D,ReifsnyderH,Thio P, editors.TheImpossible Dream: Railway to the Moon.Boise, Idaho: Pacific Press PublishingAssociation, 2005.

23. Seventh-day Adventist Church FundamentalBeliefs [online]. 2005 [cited 2006Dec 11].Available from:URL:http://www.adventist.org.

24.Ministerial Association,General Conferenceof Seventh-dayAdventists. Seventh-dayAdventists Believe: A Biblical Exposition ofFundamental Doctrines, 2nd ed. Boise, ID:Pacific Press; 2005.

25.Taylor E.Progressive Adventism: ANonfundamentalist Vision.Adventist Today[serial online] 2001 [cited 2006 Jan 13];9(5):…Available from:URL:http://www.atoday.com/magazine/archive/2001/sepoct2001/articles/taylor.shtml.

26.White EG.Counsels on Diet and Foods, 5thedition.Hagerstown,Maryland: Review andHerald PublishingAssociation, 2001

27.Walters JW. Is Koko a Person? College andUniversity Dialogue 1997; 9(2):15-34.

28.Walters JW.What Is a Person? An EthicalExploration. Chicago: University of IllinoisPress, 1997.

29. Loma Linda University.Wholeness Inventory[unpublished document].Available fromtheOffice of the Provost,MaganHall,Loma Linda, California 92350.

30. Seventh-dayAdventist Church.OperatingPrinciples for Health-care Institutions[Online]. 2006. [Cited 2006Dec 11].Available at URL:http://www.adventist.org/beliefs/statements/main_stat31.html.

31. Seventh-dayAdventist Church.A Statementof Consensus on Care of the Dying [Online].2006. [Cited 2006Dec 11]Available atURL: http://www.adventist.org/beliefs/statements/main_stat6.html.

32. Seventh-dayAdventist Church.Guidelineson Abortion [Online]. 2006. [Cited 2006Dec 11]Available at URL:http://www.adventist.org/beliefs/guidelines/main_guide1.html.

33. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20.The Holy Bible:Revised Standard Version. Grand Rapids,MI: Zondervan; 1965.

34.Walker CP.Making Sabbath Special: SimpleTraditions to Make the Sabbath a Delight.Nampa, Idaho: Pacific Press PublishingAssociation, 1999.

35. Rice R.Ministryhealing: Toward a TheologyofWholeness andWitness. Loma Linda,California: Loma Linda University Press,2006.

36. Sorajjakool S.When Sickness Heals: ThePlace of Religious Belief in Healthcare.Philadelphia:Templeton Foundation Press,2006.

37. Seventh-dayAdventist Church.Considerations on Assisted Human

Reproduction [Online]. 2006. [Cited 2006Dec 11]Available at URL:http://www.adventist.org/beliefs/other_documents/other_doc10.html.

38. Seventh-dayAdventist Church.Guidelinesfor Sabbath Observance [Online]. 1990.[Cited 2006Dec 11].Available at URL:http://www.adventist.org/beliefs/other_documents/other_doc6.html.

39. Statement on Stewardship of the Environment[online]. 2007. [Cited 2007 Feb 6].Available at URL:http://www.adventist.org/beliefs/statements/main_stat10.html.

40.ADRA: Adventist Development and ReliefAgency [online]. 2007. [Cited 2007 Feb 6].Available at URL:http://www.adventist.org/mission_and_service/adra.html.en.

41. Schaefer RA.“ToMakeManWhole”. InSchaefer RA,Legacy: Daring to Care. LomaLinda, California: Legacy PublishingAssociation, 1995.

42. Covrig DM.ACase Study of theOrganizational History of Loma LindaUniversity: An Examination of Contingencyand Institutional Explanations ofDevelopment.Thesis (PhD)—University ofCalifornia Riverside, 1999.

43. Tayler EJ.What Do I Say? TalkingWithPatients About Spirituality. Philadelphia:Templeton Press; 2007.

44. DuBose ER,Walters JW, editors.TheSeventh-day Adventist Tradition: ReligiousBeliefs and Healthcare Decisions. Chicago:The Park Ridge Center, 2002.

45. CarrMF.Passionate Deliberation: Emotion,Temperance, and the Care Ethic in ClinicalMoral Deliberation. Dordrecht; Boston:KluwerAcademic Publishers, Inc., 2001.

46.Walters JW.Martin Buber and FeministEthics: The Priority of the Personal. Syracuse,NewYork: Syracuse University Press, 2003.

47.White EG.TheMinistry of Healing.MountainView,California: Pacific Press;1942.

48. AlexanderW.Oral Communication,April 7,2006.

49.WinslowGR,Winslow BW. Examining theEthics of Praying with Patients.HolisticNursing Practice 2003; 17(4):170-177.

50.Adventist Health Study-2: About the Study[Online]. 2006. [Cited 2006Dec 17].Available at URL:http://www.llu/health/about.html.

Update • Volume 22, Issue 2 • Page 11

The Center for Christian Bioethicsnow resides within the School of

Religion on the third floor of theCentennial Complex, immediately adja-cent to the Center for Spiritual Life &Wholeness.

The Thompson Ethics Library isalso located in the Centennial Complexand the move has provided a much morevisible location for students, faculty, andstaff. It is a true sanctuary for studyingand learning.

Two of the three center offices havean exquisite view of the San BernardinoMountains. The interior office and thestudent area receive the benefit of naturallight thanks to the architect’s design ofwindows atop the interior walls.

If you have not had a chance to visit

the new Centennial Complex we encour-age you to do so. We will be happy toshow you our library and conferencerooms.

We have been holding many of ourprograms in the Centennial Complexbecause of the quality of the large,well-equipped amphitheaters. In additionto two 300-plus person amphitheaters,there are two smaller 90-personamphitheaters and a conference center onthe fourth floor. Parking is available.

In fact, the center took advantageof our fabulous new building by holdingthe November 7, 2009, ContributorsConvocation in the Centennial Complex.

The day began with a review of clin-ical ethics and a rousing panel discussionof case consultations. The final item on

the morning program was the reading ofthe Claritás ethics essay contest finalistessays. Upon finishing their essays, thestudents fielded questions which gave theaudience a little bit more to think about.Those in attendance were the final judgesfor the contest.

The group adjourned to the secondfloor lobby for a wonderful lunch filledwith fine food and good conversation.

Following lunch, a roundtable wasmoderated by Roy Branson, PhD, interimdirector, Center for Christian Bioethics,titled“God and theAmericanHealth CareSystem.”

Panelists include, Ruthita J. Fike,MA, chief executive officer and adminis-trator, Loma Linda University Medical

NEW BEGINNINGSat the Center for Christian Bioethics

Please turn to page 11

Center; Joan Sabaté, MD, DrPH, chair,department of nutrition, School of PublicHealth, Loma Linda University; DanielGiang, MD, associate dean, graduatemedical education, School of Medicine,Loma Linda University; and Nicholas J.

Page 12 • Update • Volume 22, Issue 2

NONPROFIT ORG.U.S. Postage

PAID

24760 Stewart StreetLoma Linda, California 92350

Change Service Requested

Kockler, PhD, assistant professor,Bioethics Institute, Loyola MarymountUniversity, Los Angeles, California.

No fear if you were unable toattend this spirited discussion of theAmerican health care system; DVDs are

available from the Center for ChristianBioethics.

The 2010 Contributors Convocationwill be held Saturday, November 6, 2010,in the Centennial Complex’s newly fin-ished fourth floor convention center.

Continued from previous page…