Alberto Valenzuela

Although, strictly speaking, it is not a religious festival, Father’s Day gives us a chance to reflect on a familiar theme in our tradition. Jesus referred to God as Abba, Father. For this He chose the word in Aramaic (Abba) that implies something deeper, more direct than our abstraction (paternity). By calling God His Father,…

When I became an Adventist, I had for the first time the opportunity to read the Bible. I have been an avid reader since I learned how to read. By the time I was 15 I had read all sorts of books, from biographies to epic poetry by Homer and Ovid to Don Quixote and…

Christmas has different meanings for different people. For some in the business sector, for example, Christmas is merely an opportunity for profit. In today’s world, we’ve seen Christmas become commercial, with various businesses disregarding religion as they compete in their preparations to sell the celebration.  Individuals as well as corporations may not value the religious…

  In Deborah Stone’s book, The Samaritan’s Dilemma, the issue of a panhandler in her hometown of Henniker, New Hampshire, was brought up at a town hall meeting, highlighting the current state of our society. Sixty years ago…he would have been taken to the jail if there was one, to an inn or a private…

Of all the requests that the gospel makes of us, the most difficult are those that have to do with physical suffering. We are willing to leave father, mother, siblings, spouses, children, home, possessions, and homeland for the gospel. Somehow it makes us feel righteous to consider ourselves dispossessed for the Lord’s sake. While we…