Comment on Walla Walla University: The Collegian Debates Evolution vs. Creation by Sean Pitman.
@Ron:
If you “stick with the Bible”, you must accept the truth of the literal six-day creation week since the Bible couldn’t be more clear in this regard. Even liberal Hebrew scholars agree that the authors of the Genesis account obviously intended to convey a real historical account of a creation week in which all life on this planet was created by God in just six literal days. There really isn’t any significant disagreement here on the intended meaning of what was written. Take, for example, the comments of well-known Oxford Hebrew scholar James Barr:
“Probably, so far as I know, there is no professor of Hebrew or Old Testament at any world-class university who does not believe that the writer(s) of Genesis 1–11 intended to convey to their readers the ideas that: (a) creation took place in a series of six days which were the same as the days of 24 hours we now experience. (b) the figures contained in the Genesis genealogies provided by simple addition a chronology from the beginning of the world up to later stages in the biblical story (c) Noah’s flood was understood to be world-wide and extinguish all human and animal life except for those in the ark. Or, to put it negatively, the apologetic arguments which suppose the “days” of creation to be long eras of time, the figures of years not to be chronological, and the flood to be a merely local Mesopotamian flood, are not taken seriously by any such professors, as far as I know.”
Letter from Professor James Barr to David C.C. Watson of the UK, dated 23 April 1984.
Consider that Prof. Barr made this statement while personally considering the Genesis narrative to be false. He did not believe that God created life on this planet in just six literal days. He believed that life existed and evolved on this planet over billions of years just like most mainstream scientists do today. Yet, he still was quite clear that the author(s) of the Genesis narrative intended to say something about real historical events. They did not intend to be figurative in their language.
Now, it is quite a different thing to say that the Biblical authors where simply mistaken compared to the argument that suggests that they were intending to write symbolically or figuratively. The SDA Church takes the Bible at its word, as the revealed Word of God. So, in suggesting that the SDA Church not put so much stock in a literal reading of the Genesis narrative, you are suggesting that the Church back off of its position that the Bible was in fact inspired by God to give us privileged information about God and about the world in which we live. If the SDA Church were to do this, it would basically undermine the entire purpose for their being a unique Seventh-day Adventist Church. After all, if one can pick and choose what is and what is not correct in the Bible, what’s the point?
The only argument left for those who believe the Darwinian claims of popular scientists is to simply say, as Prof. Barr did, that the Biblical authors simply got it wrong; that they simply didn’t know what they were talking about with regard to origins. They had no privileged information via some kind of Divine revelation!
This position has implications, of course, in that it reduces the overall credibility of the Bible when it comes to its metaphysical claims as well as its claims regarding past, present, and future physical “realities” – to include any solid hope of life after death, that heaven actually exists and will be any better than this place, and that Jesus was anything more than a crazy man who made a bunch of grandiose claims to impress his very impressionable disciples…
Sean Pitman
www.DetectingDesign.com
Sean Pitman Also Commented
Walla Walla University: The Collegian Debates Evolution vs. Creation
@Ron:
So, now all of a sudden, you DO believe in Darwinian evolution. Have you talked to Bob about that? Is he going to allow you to stay in the church?
There is no “all of a sudden” about it. We’ve believed in very limited forms of evolution via random mutations all along. Mendelian variation has also always been accepted as a fact of nature by creationists. I’m still not quite sure how you could have concluded otherwise?
Sean Pitman
www.DetectingDesign.com
Walla Walla University: The Collegian Debates Evolution vs. Creation
@Ron:
Why then are you arguing against us? If you are perfectly content with a literal six day creation week, then where is your argument with us? We are all fine with the existence of very limited forms of Darwinian-style evolution occurring at low levels of functional complexity since the Fall. Our only problem is with those teaching in our schools telling our students that the neo-Darwinian story of origins, to include the existence and evolution of all forms of life on this planet, from a very simple common ancestor over hundreds of millions of years, is the true story of origins – that the literal six-day creation week is nonsense. That’s what we’re having a problem with.
If you agree with us in this regard, what then is your concern?
Sean Pitman
www.DetectingDesign.com
Walla Walla University: The Collegian Debates Evolution vs. Creation
@Ron:
The founding fathers did indeed argue against creeds, organization, and church government of any kind. However, they soon discovered the impracticality of this position and changed their minds. They all, including Mrs. White, ended up supporting standards of church order and government, to include the adoption of rules of enforcement particularly in regard to who could officially represent the church in a paid capacity.
Of course, those who were not considered to accurately represent the views of the early SDA Church did not receive “cards of commendation”. In other words, they were let go from church employment. And what was the attitude of such persons? – according to Loughborough?:
Of course those who claimed “liberty to do as they pleased,” to “preach what they pleased,” and to “go when and where they pleased,” without “consultation with any one,” failed to get cards of commendation. They, with their sympathizers, drew off and commenced a warfare against those whom they claimed were “depriving them of their liberty.” Knowing that it was the Testimonies that had prompted us as a people to act, to establish “order,” these opponents soon turned their warfare against instruction from that source, claiming that “when they got that gift out of the way, the message would go unrestrained to its `loud cry.’ ”
One of the principal claims made by those who warred against organization was that it “abridged their liberty and independence, and that if one stood clear before the Lord that was all the organization needed,” etc… All the efforts made to establish order are considered dangerous, a restriction of rightful liberty, and hence are feared as popery.”
Loughborough, JN. Testimonies for the Church. p. 650. Vol. 1.
It seems to me like you have the same attitude as those who where excluded from being paid representatives of the early SDA Church by our founding fathers…
Also, the fact that Mrs. White clearly claimed to have been shown, directly by God, the literal nature of the Genesis account of the creation week, completely undermines any leeway you could possibly claim in her writings for the neo-Darwinist position. The neo-Darwinist position is fundamentally opposed to the SDA position on origins and always has been. It is also opposed to the rationality and credibility of Christianity in general.
Sean Pitman
www.DetectingDesign.com
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