Seventh-day Adventist Church
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The Seventh-day Adventist Church is a Christian denomination which, as its name suggests, is most well known for its teaching that Saturday, the seventh day of the week, is the Sabbath. The denomination, which was officially established in 1863, grew out of the Millerite movement in the United States during the middle part of the 19th century. Seventh-day Adventists are also known for their teachings regarding diet and health, and are set apart from other Christian groups by their beliefs in the unconscious state of the dead and in an "Investigative Judgment" said to have commenced in 1844.
The church grew rapidly, developing publishing houses aimed at utilising the print medium to spread the Gospel message. In 1874, the organization sent its first overseas missionary, J. N. Andrews to Switzerland, and in the same year founded its first higher education institution, Battle Creek College, which is now known as Andrews University.
Origins
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/75/James_and_Ellen_White.jpg/200px-James_and_Ellen_White.jpg)
The Seventh-day Adventist Church was born out of the Millerite Movement of the 1840s, which was part of the wave of revivalism known as the Second Great Awakening. The Millerite movement is named after William Miller, who, during his early adulthood, became a Deist. After fighting in the War of 1812, Miller bought a farm in Low Hampton, New York, (now a historic site owned and operated by Adventist Heritage Ministry), underwent Baptist conversion, and began attending a local Baptist church. Here he applied "common sense" reasoning, such as the year-for-a-day principle, to the prophecies of Daniel and Revelation. His application of these techniques to the "2300-day prophecy" of Daniel 8:14 led him to conclude that the second coming of Christ would occur "about the year 1843." The Millerite movement culminated with the "seventh month movement", which taught that the "priestly ministry of Christ" would culminate with the cleansing of the earth, pinpointing the second coming of Christ on or before October 22, 1844. When He did not come, this became known as "the Great Disappointment."
A small number of Millerites believed that their calculations were correct, but that their understanding of the sanctuary being cleansed was wrong, and they began to teach that something else happened in 1844. Their Bible study led them to the conviction that in that year Jesus had entered into the "Most Holy Place" of the heavenly sanctuary, and began an "investigative judgment" of the world: a process through which there is an examination of the heavenly records to "determine who, through repentance of sin and faith in Christ, are entitled to the benefits of atonement" after which Jesus will return to earth. According to the church's teaching, the return of Christ may occur very soon, though they are determined to never set dates for His coming in accordance with the book of Matthew which says, "no one knows the day or the hour" (24:36).
At about the same time that the followers of the movement were studying the sanctuary, the question of the biblical day of rest and worship was raised. The foremost proponent of Sabbath-keeping among early Adventists was retired sea captain Joseph Bates. Bates was introduced to the Sabbath doctrine by a tract written by a Millerite preacher named Thomas M. Preble who in turn had been influenced by a young Seventh Day Baptist lady by the name of Rachel Oakes Preston.
This message was gradually accepted and formed the topic of the first edition of the church publication, The Present Truth which appeared in July 1849. While initially it was believed that the "sabbath" started at 6 pm, by 1855 it was generally accepted that the "sabbath" begins at sunset.
For about 20 years, the Adventist movement consisted of a loosely knit group of people who adhered to this message. Among its greatest supporters were James White, Ellen G. White and Joseph Bates. After intense discussions a formally organized church called the Seventh-day Adventist Church was established in Battle Creek, Michigan, in May 1863, with a membership of 3,500. Through the evangelistic efforts of its ministers and laity and the guidance of Ellen G. White, the church quickly grew and established a presence beyond North America during the late 1800s. In 1903, the denominational headquarters were moved from Battle Creek to temporary quarters in Washington D.C. and soon thereafter established in nearby Takoma Park, Maryland. In 1989, the headquarters was moved again, this time to Silver Spring, Maryland.
Doctrine
Seventh-day Adventist doctrine is based on the Anabaptist protestant tradition. The Protestant doctrine of the "priesthood of all believers" is so central to the thinking of Seventh-day Adventists that members have always been encouraged to study the Bible to discover truth for themselves guided of the Holy Spirit. This may explain their reluctance to establish a creed. Adventist doctrine resembles mainstream orthodox trinitarian Protestant theology, with some notable exceptions.
Sabbath
Seventh-day Adventists believe that Saturday, the seventh day of the week, is the biblical Sabbath which God set "apart for the lofty purpose of enriching the divine-human relationship"[1]. It is noted that the Sabbath is a recurring message in the Bible, mentioned in the Creation account, at Sinai, in the ministry of Jesus Christ and in the ministries of the apostles. The Sabbath serves as a weekly memorial to Creation and is a symbol of redemption, from both Egypt and sin. By keeping the Sabbath, Adventists are reminded of the way that God can make them holy, like he did the Sabbath, and they show their loyalty to God by keeping the commandment in the Decalogue. The Sabbath is also a time for Adventists to spend with other people and with God.
To help in keeping the seventh day of the week holy, Adventists abstain from secular work on that day. Seventh-day Adventists will often spend much of Friday preparing meals and tidying their homes for the Sabbath. Gathering with other believers to welcome in the Sabbath hours is encouraged. Adventists specify that the Sabbath should not be made into a holiday but rather should be intended as a rest for believers to grow spiritually. It should be noted, however, that although Seventh-day Adventists do not believe that they are saved by keeping Saturday as the Sabbath, they attach considerably greater significance to Saturday-Sabbath keeping than other denominations attach to worship on Sunday.
Perhaps most unique about the Adventist view of the Sabbath is that it is viewed as a sign of a believer's acceptance of righteousness by faith. Where many people would see Sabbath teaching as works-based doctrine, Adventists believe that keeping the Sabbath shows that they have faith in the redemptive act of Christ. The Sabbath commandment is seen as an act of faith in God's ideal for the believer, although its significance may not be seen by non-believers.
Seventh-day Adventists teach that there is no evidence of the Sabbath being changed to Sunday in the Bible. They teach instead that it was changed by the early church in Rome to distinguish themselves from the Jews and to align themselves with political authorities. This change became more universally accepted with the establishment of Roman emperor Constantine's Sunday law of 321 AD and the decree at the Council of Laodicea that in canon 29 declared that Christians should avoid work on Sunday. Adventists claim that the change of the day from Saturday to Sunday is fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecies found in Daniel 7 which points to a human authority attempting to change biblical laws. The Adventist church identifies the Roman Catholic church as this prophetic figure and quotes such publications as the 1977 edition of The Convert's Catechism of Catholic Doctrine which reads:
- "Q. Which is the Sabbath day?
- "A. Saturday is the Sabbath day.
- "Q. Why do we observe Sunday instead of Saturday?
- "A. We observe Sunday instead of Saturday because the Catholic Church transferred the solemnity from Saturday to Sunday."[2]
According to common Seventh-day Adventist beliefs, there will be a time before the Second Advent in which the message of the Ten Commandments and in particular the keeping of the seventh day of the week, Saturday, as Sabbath will be conveyed to the whole world. They believe that Protestants and Catholics will unite to enforce Sunday legislation, and that those who observe Sunday will receive the mark of the beast. They believe that violaters of this law will be given the death penalty.
Hell and the state of the dead
Seventh-day Adventists believe that death is a state of unconscious sleep until the resurrection. Ecclesiastes 9:5 states: the "dead know nothing." They believe the resurrection takes place at the second coming of Jesus (in the case of the righteous) and after the millennium of Revelation 20 (in the case of the wicked). This means that hell does not exist at the present time, and that the wicked will be permanently destroyed after the millennium of Revelation 20. (The theological term for this teaching is Annihilationism.)
Baptism
Seventh-day Adventists practice believers baptism by full immersion in a similar manner to the Baptists. They argue that baptism requires knowing consent and moral responsibility. Hence, they do not baptize infants or children, but instead dedicate them, which is symbolic of the parents', the community's, and the church's gratefulness to God for the child, and their commitment to raising the child to love Jesus. Seventh-day Adventists believe that baptism is a public statement to commit one's life to Jesus and is a prerequisite for church membership. Baptism, which is only practised after the candidate is taught what the Bible says, shows that the person has repented of sins and wishes to live a life in Christ. Acts 8:36–37
Second Coming of Christ
Seventh-day Adventists believe in an imminent, universally visible Second Coming of Christ, which will be preceded by a time of trouble. The teaching that Christ will be visible by all is based on Revelation 1:7 which says "every eye will see him." They believe that this is the time that the event of 1 Thessalonians 4:16 where "the dead in Christ will rise", along with the righteous living. It is believed that the unrighteous, or wicked, will be raised after the millennium.
Investigative judgment and salvation
The Investigative Judgment doctrine states: "There is a sanctuary in heaven, the true tabernacle which the Lord set up and not man. In it Christ ministers on our behalf, making available to believers the benefits of His atoning sacrifice offered once for all on the cross. He was inaugurated as our great High Priest and began His intercessory ministry at the time of His ascension. In 1844, at the end of the prophetic period of 2300 days, He entered the second and last phase of His atoning ministry. It is a work of investigative judgment which is part of the ultimate disposition of all sin, typified by the cleansing of the ancient Hebrew sanctuary on the Day of Atonement. In that typical service the sanctuary was cleansed with the blood of animal sacrifices, but the heavenly things are purified with the perfect sacrifice of the blood of Jesus. The investigative judgment reveals to heavenly intelligences who among the dead are asleep in Christ and therefore, in Him, are deemed worthy to have part in the first resurrection. It also makes manifest who among the living are abiding in Christ, keeping the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus, and in Him, therefore, are ready for translation into His everlasting kingdom. This judgment vindicates the justice of God in saving those who believe in Jesus. It declares that those who have remained loyal to God shall receive the kingdom. The completion of this ministry of Christ will mark the close of human probation before the Second Advent. (Heb. 8:1-5; 4:14-16; 9:11-28; 10:19-22; 1:3; 2:16, 17; Dan. 7:9-27; 8:13, 14; 9:24-27; Num. 14:34; Eze. 4:6; Lev. 16; Rev. 14:6, 7; 20:12; 14:12; 22:12.)"[1]
Spirit of Prophecy
Another church teaching is that of the "Spirit of Prophecy" with a role as an identifying mark of the remnant church, which they believe was manifested in the ministry of Ellen G. White. The church's 28 Fundamental Beliefs statement states that her "writings are a continuing and authoritative source of truth which provide for the church comfort, guidance, instruction, and correction."[3] Her writings also make clear that the Bible is the standard by which all teaching and experience must be tested.[4]
Noncredalism
Traditionally, Seventh-day Adventists have opposed the formulation of credal statements. For purposes of internal coherence, however, Seventh-day Adventists have formed a set of fundamental beliefs and prefer to view them as descriptors rather than prescriptors. In 2005, during the General Conference Session, the church expanded its set of fundamental beliefs from 27 to 28..[5] Theologically speaking, Seventh-day Adventism's noncredal stance actually is a statement of a form of the Protestant ideal, "Sola scriptura": "The Bible is our only creed..." is their succinct retort to credalists.
Practices and customs
Sabbath activities
A typical Seventh-day Adventist's Sabbath routine will usually begin on Friday evening with sundown worship at home or in church, known as Vespers. Saturday morning is greeted with Bible study and a prayer of thanksgiving for physical and spiritual rest and repose. Adventists believe "that we are called to grow into the likeness of His character, communing with Him daily in prayer, feeding on His Word,..."[3] Similar to believers of other denominations, most Adventists like to dress neatly when they go to their church service. Another activity that occurs on Sabbath is Sabbath School or Bible School. Sabbath School is a community-based Bible study time that may include singing, mission stories, prayers, and studying the Bible. Different groups are formed in which biblical themes and practical questions can be freely discussed. Usually there are special meetings for children in different age groups provided during that time. After a small break, the community joins together again for a church service that follows a typical evangelical format which may differ in different churches but which will always have a sermon as a central feature. Seventh-day Adventists practice communion four times a year. The communion is an open service (available to members and non-members), based on the Gospel account of John 13. The communion service includes a feet washing ceremony, known as the Ordinance of Humility. The Ordinance of Humility is meant to symbolize Christ's washing of his disciple's feet at the Last Supper. Participants segregate by gender to separate rooms to conduct this ritual. There is also an area for married couples. After its completion participants return to the main Sanctuary for consumption of the Lord's Supper, which consists of unleavened bread and unfermented grape juice.
In some churches, members and friends will stay at the church for a potluck lunch, for which everyone contributes a dish. Visitors are always welcomed. Sabbath afternoon activities may vary widely depending on the cultural, ethnic and social background. Some may have an Adventist Youth program which is focused on the youths of the church, and some churches may have a scout-like program called Pathfinders that focuses on the study of the Bible and their relationship with God, mainly through physical activities such as hiking and nature viewing.
Outreach
Missionary outreach of the Seventh-day Adventist church is aimed to both unbelievers and other Christian denominations. Seventh-day Adventists believe that Christ has called his believers to minister to the whole world. The church ministers in over 200 countries world wide. Adventists are cautious, however, to ensure that evangelism does not impede on the basic rights of the individual. Religious liberty is a stance that the Seventh-day Adventist church supports and promotes. Traditional Adventist evangelistic efforts consisted of street missions and the distribution of tracts such as The Present Truth, which was published by James White as early as 1849.
Adventists, as demonstrated in their expansive distribution of tracts, have for a long time, like their Millerite fathers, been proponents of media-based ministries. Until J. N. Andrews was sent to Switzerland in 1874, Adventist global efforts consisted entirely of the postage of tracts such as White's to various locations. The reading of such material was the primary reason that Andrews was eventually called to travel overseas. In the last century, these media based efforts have also made use of emerging media such as radio and television. The first of these was H. M. S. Richard's radio show, Voice of Prophecy, which was initially broadcast in Los Angeles in 1929. Since then Adventists have been on the forefront of media evangelism and one program, It Is Written, was the first religious program to air on colour television. Today, the church runs The Hope Channel, and an independent ministry runs the Three Angels Broadcasting Network (3ABN), both of which operate internationally, broadcasting 24 hours a day on both cable and satellite networks. In addition, a number of satellite broadcasted live evangelistic events have also been undertaken by evangelists such as Mark Finley and others, addressing audiences of unknown numbers in more than one continent simultaneously.
Health, diet, and sexuality
Seventh-day Adventists present a health message that recommends vegetarianism and expects abstinence from pork, shellfish, and other foods proscribed as "unclean" in Leviticus 11 as well as from alcohol and tobacco. It should be noted however, that many Adventists abstain from these foods through a desire to maintain a healthy lifestyle, rather than in adherence to Leviticus. The pioneers of the Seventh-day Adventist Church had a lot to do with the common acceptance of breakfast cereals into the Western diet. John Harvey Kellogg of Kellogg's cereal fame was one of the early founders of the Seventh-day Adventist health work.
Seventh-day Adventists run a large number of hospitals and health related institutions. Their predominant school of medicine in North America is located in Loma Linda, California. In Australia, the church-owned Sanitarium Health Food Company is one of Australia's leading manufacturers of health and vegetarian-related products.
The cover story of the November 2005 issue of National Geographic [2] discusses the longevity of Adventists, typically from four to ten years longer than non-Adventists. Adventists, along with natives of Okinawa and Sardinia, are the longest-lived people in the world, a trait which has been attributed to health practices as well as the weekly Sabbath as a stress reducer.
The official Seventh-day Adventist position on abortion is that "abortions for reasons of birth control, gender selection, or convenience are not condoned by the Church." At times, however, women may face exceptional circumstances that present serious moral or medical dilemmas, such as "significant threats to the pregnant woman's life, serious jeopardy to her health, severe congenital defects carefully diagnosed in the fetus, and pregnancy resulting from rape or incest." While the general tone toward abortion is negative, the individual Adventist may take any position on the political spectrum; as such, abortions are performed in Adventist hospitals.[6]
According to an official statement from the General Conference [3], heterosexual marriages are the only biblically-ordained grounds for sexual intimacy. Seventh-day Adventists do not perform same-sex marriages and gay men cannot be ordained. Furthermore, a same-sex affair is one of the sanctioned grounds for a divorce.
Structure, polity and institutions
Structure and polity
The Seventh-day Adventist Church is run by a form of democratic representation which mixes hierarchical (or episcopal), presbyterian and congregational elements. All church offices are elected from the grass-roots upwards and no positions are permanent.
The local church is the foundation level of organisational structure and is the public face of the church. Every baptised Adventist is a member of a local church and has voting powers within that church. A number of church offices exist within the local church, including the ordained positions of pastor, elder and deacon, as well as the largely book-keeping positions of clerk and treasurer. All of these positions, except that of pastor, are appointed by the vote of a local church business meeting or elected committees.
Directly above the local church in structure is the local conference, mission or field. The conference is an organisation of churches within a state, or part there of, which appoints ministers, owns church land and organises the distribution of tithes and payments to ministers. The conference is also responsible for the appointment and ordination of ministerial staff.
Above the local conference is the union conference which embodies a number of conferences within a particular area.
The highest level of governance within the church structure is the General Conference which consists of 13 divisions, each assigned to various geographic locations. The General Conference is the church authority and has the final say in matters of conjecture and administrative issues. The General Conference is headed by the office of President, which is currently (c. 2006) held by Jan Paulsen. The General Conference head office is in Silver Springs, Maryland, USA.
Each organization is governed by a general session which occurs at certain intervals. This is usually when general decisions are decided upon. The president of the General Conference, for instance, is elected at the General Conference Session every five years. Delegates to a session are appointed by organisations at a lower level. For example, each local church appoints delegates to a conference session.
The church manual gives provisions for each level of government to create educational, health-care, publishing, and other institutions that are seen within the call of the Great Commission.
Other institutions
Seventh-day Adventists have had a long interest in education. The Adventist church runs one of the largest unified Protestant education systems in the world. They operate some 5,700 pre-schools, primary and secondary schools, as well as colleges, universities, seminaries and medical schools in about 145 countries worldwide. This education system involves some 66,000 teachers and 1,257,000 students. The Adventist educational program is comprehensive encompassing "mental, physical, social, and spiritual health" with "intellectual growth and service to humanity" its goal.
See also: List of Seventh-day Adventist colleges and universities
The Youth Department of the Seventh-day Adventist church runs an organisation for 10-16 year old boys and girls called Pathfinders which is similar to the Boy Scouts of America (BSA), except that membership is open to both boys and girls. Pathfinders exposes young people to such activities as camping, community service, personal mentorship, skills based education and trains them for leadership. For younger children, Adventurer, Eager Beaver, and Little Lambs clubs are programs that are available that feed into the Pathfinder program.
The Seventh-day Adventist Church has been active for over 100 years advocating for freedom of religion. In 1893 its leaders founded the International Religious Liberty Association, which is universal and non-sectarian. The Seventh-day Adventist Church State council serves to protect religious groups from legislation that may affect their religious practices. This is primarily achieved through advocacy. Recently the organisation has been fighting to pass legislation that will protect Seventh-day Adventist employees who wish to keep their Sabbath.
For over 50 years the church has been active in humanitarian aid through the work of the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA). ADRA works as a non-sectarian relief agency in over 120 countries world wide. ADRA has been granted General Consultative Status by the United Nations Economic and Social Committee. Worldwide ADRA employs over 4000 people to help both provide relief in crisis and development in situations of poverty.
The church also has a number of extra-church organisations associated; these come under the umbrella of independent ministries. Some of these associated organizations are various health centers and hospitals, including Hugley Memorial Hospital in Fort Worth, TX.
Membership
The primary prerequisite for membership in the Seventh-day Adventist Church is baptism by immersion. This, according to the church manual, should only occur after the candidate has undergone proper teaching on what the church believes.
The Seventh-day Adventist Church, which baptises around 2000 members a day, is one of the world's fastest-growing organizations, primarily due to increases in membership in the Third World. Depending on how the data was measured it is said that church membership reached 1 million between 1955 and 1961, and hit 5 million in 1986. At the turn of the 21st Century the church had 10,782,042 members which grew to 14,487,989 members at the end of 2004. It is believed that around 25 million worship in churches every Saturday and the church operates in 203 out of 228 countries recognised by the United Nations.
Off-shoots and schisms
Throughout the history of the denomination, there have been a number of groups who have left the church and formed their own movements. The most well known of these off-shoots is the Branch Davidians, themselves a schism within the larger Davidian movement. The Davidians formed in 1929, after Victor Houteff's message to the church in his book The Shepherd's Rod was rejected as being heretical. A succession dispute after Houteff's death in 1955 led to the formation of the Branches. Later, another ex-Adventist David Koresh (formerly Vernon Howell) led the Branch Davidians until he died in the conflagration in 1993 at the group's headquarters near Waco, Texas.
Following World War I, a group known as the Seventh Day Adventist Reform Movement was formed as a result of the actions of certain European church leaders during the war, who decided that it was acceptable for Adventists to take part in war. When attempts at reconciliation failed after the war, the group became organised as a separate church at a conference from July 14-20, 1925. The movement officially incorporated in 1949.
During World War II, the German and Austrian Seventh-day Adventist churches departed from the main body of the Adventist church by supporting Adolf Hitler and reporting Jews and dissenting Adventists to the Nazi state for what would result in imprisonment or eventual extermination at death camps.[7] Recently, in 2005 as a result of 60-year anniversary commemorations of the end of the war, Seventh-day Adventist leaders of German and Austrian churches apologized for Adventist complicity in Holocaust actions.[8]
The most recent large-scale schism within Adventism was the Glacier View doctrinal crisis of 1980. This crisis centred around the 900-page research paper by Dr Desmond Ford entitled Daniel 8:14, the Investigative Judgment, and the Kingdom of God. The paper questioned the church's position on the "investigative judgment". The meetings at Glacier View rejected Ford's proposals. The schism caused by this rejection resulted in Ford being removed from teaching and having his ministerial credentials revoked. Many Adventists also left the church as a result. In the 25 years since, Ford has worked through the ministry of Good News Unlimited and has appeared on radio, television and in many print publications.
Gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered individuals who are, or had been, practicing Seventh-day Adventists have formed a social network that is not officially associated to the church called SDA Kinship international [4]. In 1987 the Seventh-day Adventist Church filed legal action in California to prevent SDA Kinship from using the name "Seventh-day Adventist" and its abbreviation "SDA". In 1991 the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that no breaches on naming were made by SDA Kinship and that they may continue to use their existing name.
Outsider criticisms
A common discussion in Evangelical circles is whether or not Seventh-day Adventist doctrines are far enough from orthodox or mainstream teaching to be qualified as cultic, in the academic sense of the word. Many evangelical Christians follow the advice of Walter Martin from the Christian Research Institute who wrote:
- ...it is perfectly possible to be a Seventh-day Adventist and be a true follower of Jesus Christ despite heterodox concepts...
- Walter Martin, Kingdom of the CultsOff-site Link (Bethany House, Minneapolis, Minnesota), Updated edition 1997, p.517.
However, there are still those, such as John C. Whitcomb, who assert that Adventism is cultic based on their insularism from non-Christians and non-Adventists. Whitcomb cites the Adventist emphasis on an Adventist education as evidence of this, although many Christian denominations also have their own school system. It is also argued that the Adventist view on the Sabbath favors a works-based view of salvation, although salvation by faith alone is the church's official position.
There is a large amount of criticism placed on the authority that Ellen G. White is given and some of her teachings. It is believed that the authority White is given is contrary to the traditional Protestant sola scriptura view of the Bible as the sole inspired source of authority.
It has been noted by several other Christian groups that in recent years the Adventist leadership has de-emphasised several of the uniquely Adventist doctrines, in favour of an emphasis on the basic Christian beliefs they share with other Christians, which renders the Adventist church less problematic on the whole from the perspective of other Christians. Some groups of traditionalist Seventh-day Adventists, however, are rather upset at the Adventist Church leadership for doing this, and a few have left the Adventist church to form splinter groups as a result.
References
- ^ the Ministerial Association, General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists (1988). "19. The Sabbath". Seventh-day Adventists Believe... Hagerstown, Maryland 21740: Review and Herald Publishing Association. p. 250.
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(help)CS1 maint: location (link) - ^ Peter Geiermann,. The Convert's Catechism of Catholic Doctrine. Rockford, IL: Tan Books and Publishers, 1977.
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(help)CS1 maint: location (link) - ^ a b "Fundamental Beliefs". Retrieved 2006-04-20.
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(help) - ^ Roger W. Coon (1981). "Inspiration/Revelation: What It Is and How It Works". The Journal of Adventist Education. Retrieved 2006-05-26.
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ignored (help) - ^ "Growing in Christ". Adventist News Network. 2005-07-04. Retrieved 2006-05-26.
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(help) - ^ "Guidelines on Abortion". October 12, 1992. Retrieved 2006-03-23.
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(help) - ^ "Church leaders say "We're Sorry"". Adventist Review. 2005-09-21. Retrieved 2006-05-26.
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