Adventist Voices by Spectrum: The Journal of the Adventist Forum

On Imago Gei Halloween Special we discuss superstition and the ways it shows up in our spirituality. How do we integrate our encounters with coincidence, intuition, and bad energy with our rational minds, and do we even need to?  Spiritual Care Provider Roxan Del Valle, M.Div. is our co-host, along with yours truly, Kendra Arsenault, M.Div. In this episode, we continue our Redefine series creating bigger boxes for a bigger God. Today we explore the Salem Witch trials, the superstitious mind, and the bordering lines between spirituality and psychosis. And we end with how connection with Self, God, and Community, are helpful bridges to cross the chasm of belief and how compassion is the tie to what makes us truly human.

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This Halloween, we’re talking about spooky encounters and experiences that could be classified as supernatural. How do we determine what’s real, what’s not, and what might be a mental health condition? Spiritual Care Provider Roxan Del Valle, M.Div. is our co-host, along with yours truly, Kendra Arsenault, M.Div. In this episode, we are continuing our Redefine series, creating bigger boxes for a bigger God. Today we’re discussing the role of chaplains amid a mental health crisis and ways we can feel more empowered when confronting eerie encounters and things that go bump in the night.

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In our third conversation on the three main figures in Gil Valentine's Ostriches and Canaries: Coping with Change in Adventist 1966-1979, we focus on Siegfried H. Horn, influential archaeologist and scripture scholar who taught at the Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary from 1951-1976. In this conversation Valentine shares about how he obtained Horn's diary, the role it plays in the book, and what it reveals about the tensions between occupation preservation and commitment to truth. We also draw some conclusions about how the themes of the book intersect with today's tensions between clerical administration and academic inquiry.

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Today we’re tackling the pinnacle of faith and what it all relies on, and that is the belief in God or the belief that there is something out there bigger than ourselves. Sometimes the wounds we receive in communal spaces are so big and so traumatic that we need alternative routes for connecting with God. Picking up the Bible and attending exclusive gatherings like non-affirming churches can often be more triggering for those in the LGBTQ community because of the rejection we have experienced at the hands of religion. Finding alternative routes to God, spirituality, and a personal derivation of meaning and community might mean you blaze a trail off the beaten path. Ultimately, our goal is to give each other space to encounter the Divine at our own pace. Sometimes that might look like deriving meaning from cosmic coincidences or feeling connected to something bigger than ourselves while driving through the vast landscapes of an Arizona desert. Other times, it's simply gathering gems, meaningful pieces of insight, and treasure that we can pass on to a new generation to build a bigger box for a bigger God to dwell in. 

Welcome back to Imago Gei, a podcast dedicated to the value of Imago Dei, because equality and dignity of BIPoC and LGBTQ lives matter. This week Spiritual Care Provider Roxan Del Valle, M.Div. is our co-host, along with yours truly, Kendra Arsenault, M.Div. In this episode, we are continuing our Redefine series creating bigger boxes for a bigger God.

Happy National Hispanic Heritage month, everyone! There is so much to learn from indigenous cultures of the past and present and the ways we can validate a spirituality that is native to ourselves. Our sponsors for today are Spectrum Magazine.org and SDA Kinship.org, so if you haven’t already, please sign up for their newsletters, where you will get the latest updates on queer news and happenings or follow them on Instagram @adventistforum and @sdakinship!

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Welcome back to Imago Gei, a podcast dedicated to the value of Imago Dei because the equality and dignity of BIPOC and LGBTQ lives matter. This week Spiritual Care Provider Roxan Del Valle, M.Div. is our co-host, along with yours truly, Kendra Arsenault, M.Div. In this episode, we are continuing our Redefine series creating "bigger boxes for a bigger God. "A pillar of faith that could use some remodeling is the topic of Salvation. Today we are exploring the relational dynamic that we have with this concept, not to contend with anyone’s personal relationship with God. Rather we discuss how easy it is to transfer this Savior relationship to the relationships around us and how the pursuit of savior figures can keep us from important stages in adult development. We also discuss the importance of knowing when to ask for help. Sometimes a problem can be too big for one person to solve. We also challenge ourselves to know when to venture into the impossible and how to think responsibly about our futures.

Happy National Hispanic Heritage month, everyone! There is so much to learn from indigenous cultures of the past and present and how we can validate a spirituality native to ourselves. Our sponsors for today are Spectrum Magazine and SDA Kinship international, so if you haven’t already, please sign up for their newsletters at spectrummagazine.org and sdakinship.org, where you will get the latest updates on queer news and happenings.

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Ernesto Herrera, a music student at La Sierra University, talks about how he went from creating music in Cuba to the USA. We discuss how his Adventist faith, cultural heritage, and interest in mixing the sacred and secular inspires his art. In this special podcast, we also mix in several of his compositions, sung by the Brigham Young University singers.

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Welcome back to Imago Gei, a podcast dedicated to the value of Imago Dei, because equality and dignity of LGBTQ lives matter. This week  co-host Spiritual Care Provider Roxan Del Valle, M.Div. along with your host Kendra Arsenault, M.Div discuss the ways we can improve relationships and find community through shared values. Spiritual Care Provider Del Valle explores her spiritual evolution through the work of chaplaincy along with a few intriguing stories on how chaplaincy has forced her to bridge divides through common connections. We also continue our celebration of National Hispanic Heritage Month, exploring insights from Kat Armas' book Abuelita Faith. Our sponsors for today are Spectrum Magazine and SDA Kinship international, so if you haven’t already, please sign up for their newsletters, where you will get the latest updates on queer news and happenings.

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In the second of a three-part series, historian Gil Valentine focuses his analysis on the main characters in his book, Ostriches and Canaries: Coping with Change in Adventism, 1966-1979, (Oak & Acorn), 2022. For this conversation, Valentine explores the motivations and methods of Richard Hammill, President of Andrews University. We explore the difficulties he tried to navigate church administrator concerns about the scholarly work and beliefs of faculty.

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Welcome back to Imago Gei, a podcast dedicated to the value of Imago Dei, because equality and dignity of LGBTQ lives matter. This week we have Spiritual Care Provider Roxan Del Valle, M.Div. along with your host Kendra Arsenault, M.Div both discussing the first topic in the Redefine series, where we look at finding bigger boxes for a bigger God. This week we are addressing fundamental belief number one: the Bible is a sacred text. In the spirit of finding community through common values, we’re tackling one of the first central tenets of Christian beliefs, including SDAs, to see if we can turn this belief into a value that can be shared by both Christians and non-Christians alike. In addition to this, we are celebrating  National Hispanic Heritage month and beginning our podcast discussing our experience as Latinx LGBTQ persons of faith. Our sponsors for today are Spectrum Magazine and SDA Kinship international, so if you haven’t already, please sign up for their newsletters, where you will get the latest updates on queer news and happenings. 

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Welcome back to Imago Gei a play on the term Imago Dei because the dignity and equality of LGBTQ lives matter. This week on Imago Gei Kendra Arsenault, M.Div. and Roxan Del Valle, M.Div. host the episode Bigger Boxes, Bigger God, where we discuss the limitations of belief to bind us as communities and instead learn how we can begin to find common ground in common values. Further still, we ask how can we begin to find a resolution between our beliefs and our bodies. What do we do with cognitive dissonance, and how cognitive dissonance shows up in our spiritual practices?

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