Our
Vision Our Philosophy
Who
We Are
We
envision a body of Christ in which members from diverse backgrounds truly exemplify the love of God in their
relations with each other -- loving unconditionally without demanding
proof that others are "worthy" of love. For God loved us
unconditionally, as unworthy as we are.
We believe that our understanding of the character and
nature of God has a profound influence on the way we treat each other.
Therefore we wish to foster understanding and
dialogue to help reduce the misunderstandings prevalent about the
nature and character of God. [back
to TOP]
As Christians we recognize that we are all broken by sin and become whole only by
experiencing the healing love of Christ. We are saved through faith by
His grace alone and not by anything we do or refrain from doing. Thus
we have nothing in ourselves of which to boast, for all that we have
-- whether in possessions, talent, or character -- is from Him.
We
believe that the unconditional love of God draws us to Him and
empowers us to change more effectively than exhortation or
condemnation. And we believe it is God's purpose for His church to
exemplify the unconditional love of Christ in a society that is
performance-oriented.
Just as God drew
near to people in a fallen society in the past, so we believe He deals
compassionately with us in our fallen condition today. And so should
we treat each other with love and compassion, because only as we
experience human love do we begin to understand the unconditional love
of the Savior -- the only One who can meet the love-hunger of the
soul.
We are not
qualified to judge what is sin in another person's life because
sin is a matter of the heart (James 4:17) and only God can see what is
in a person's heart. God does ask us to witness to the power of His
love in our own lives, and we can thus encourage each other in drawing
closer to Him who is our strength. In faith, we will trust Him to
guide each of us in the way that He knows is best for us.
John the Beloved
tells us that God is love. Nothing we do can
put us outside of His love. And we believe that experiencing God's
love transforms our lives from the inside out. Thus it is our desire
to communicate God's Love through this internet
initiative of Speaking Well of God. [TOP]
Who We
Are
The Speaking Well of God site is the particular project
of Inge Anderson, with help and support from various other students of
the Bible. The views expressed here are in harmony with the teachings
of the Seventh-day Adventist
church, though not all authors are necessarily Seventh-day
Adventists. Since Adventists see themselves as carrying on the
heritage of the early Christians in their striving to be true to the
gospel of the Scriptures, they share the vision of much of mainstream
Christianity and are indebted to their brothers and sisters who upheld
the purity of the gospel throughout the history of the Christian
church.
Inge Anderson is solely responsible for the overall tone and content of
Speaking Well of God. Her wide involvement with Christians of various faiths has given
her a
vision that reaches far beyond the borders of their own Seventh-day
Adventist church, to all who long to know that they are beloved by
the Creator who cared enough to become one with us. She is fortunate
to have the backing and involvement of her family whose members contribute time and effort in suggestions, designing and critiquing,
besides giving up large chunks of their spouse's or mother's
time in the process. This project would not exist without
them.
Special thanks goes to my beloved former professor, Edward W. H.
Vick, who has graciously permitted me to use as the title of this web
site the same title he earlier used for his excellent book, Speaking
well of God : A
Statement of the Christian Doctrine.
[TOP]