@Hope Sekulic Goldstein, not to long presented a talk at Weimar …

Comment on Clifford Goldstein: Seventh-day Darwinians, Redux by David Kendall, PhD.

@Hope Sekulic

Goldstein, not to long presented a talk at Weimar Institute. I watched him talk, He appeared perplexed his subject of presentation was all mixed up and confusing. It had not foundation and point. He was jumping from subject to subject, he was moving all over the platform, scratching his head, looking in to his I-phone or what ever it was in his hand, passing up and down with a disruptive spirit.
I was sad to see him so discordant and so disorganized in his talk.

Hope,

Are you suggesting that Goldstein’s difficulties in speaking at Weimar are a result of Satan sowing discord and confusion in the church generally, or an attack on him specifically? I was not sure.

Read and see Who are the Wolfs in the Sheep’s skin and where they like to graze.

I am familiar with the theories stating that Jesuit infiltrators are everywhere, seeking to destroy the church. An SDA pastor friend of mine had his church’s website “denounced” by the “Adventist Liberation Front.” I am familiar with Fr. Alberto Rivera’s testimony that the Jesuit order is the wolf in sheep’s clothing. Interestingly, I get testimonies from a number of friends who have left the SDA church asserting that Adventism is the wolf in sheep’s clothing. Which am I to believe, as both sides have equally heart-wrenching horror stories to tell? Maybe both of them, or maybe neither. I am friends with a number of Jesuit and other Catholic priests through my research in the Philippines (my wife is Jesuit-educated), as well as very many Adventists of different backgrounds (having been a life-long SDA in Arizona, Southern California, Taiwan and the Philippines). I have to say in all honesty that when I look for Christ-centered attitudes, kindness and service towards one’s fellow man, I have often noted these attributes to be significantly stronger among the Catholic priests. Some have told me that this is their deception, their apparition as Satan as an angel of light. However, I have only Christ’s statement, to know them by their fruits. This does not cause me to want to leave my church, but rather expect it to be better; to bear sweeter fruit.

Pax,

David Kendall, PhD
Adjunct Professor of Music
La Sierra University

David Kendall, PhD Also Commented

Clifford Goldstein: Seventh-day Darwinians, Redux
@ Kevin Paulson

David Kendall seems to view the “teasing out” of various viewpoints in the present controversy as a harmless exercise–the necessary full airing of a particular concept in the name of fairness. This is fine if we are talking about human theories and philosophies or some debate in the secular realm (e.g. politics).

Pastor Paulson,

I did not mention that the “teasing out” of viewpoints is either a harmless exercise or that it is done in the name of fairness or for any other reason; I said simply that this is what scholars do as part of a venerable (or venerated) academic tradition.

In matters spiritual we are not dealing with the harmless interchange of ideas, where any number of varied conclusions might be embraced with innocence.

No mention was made of embracing varied conclusions, be they innocent or otherwise, but rather I advised that “we should keep in mind that philosophers and other scholars often discuss and theorize concepts at great length without necessarily espousing those concepts as truth.”

Do you consider certain lines of inquiry to be off-limits? What kinds of scholarship should be forbidden when our primary concern is the salvation of our souls? Is the very knowledge of “wrong ideas and wrong practices” that which can and will lead to eternal damnation? What do you propose we do about this?

Pax,

David Kendall, PhD
Adjunct Professor of Music
La Sierra University


Clifford Goldstein: Seventh-day Darwinians, Redux
Hello all,

While I might consider Goldstein’s article to a classic bait-and-switch (he evokes the Seventh-day Darwinist bogeyman without actually referring to it, unless he is referring to the Catholic and other non-Adventist Protestants writing in Physics and Cosmology, the book he is reviewing), I did do my best to interact with his argument and begin to read the book with which he takes some exception. I have not finished it, but there are one or two points I want for us to consider before we jump into the fray.

First, we should keep in mind that philosophers and other scholars often discuss and theorize concepts at great length without necessarily espousing those concepts as truth. It is a venerable academic and scholarly tradition to “tease out” different philosophical positions, often giving opposing theoretical viewpoints equal time and space to fully form and to dialogue. I feel that quite often in our religious writings, we have too quickly dismissed opposing philosophies as incompatible without allowing this dialogue to occur by allowing the the opposing viewpoint to fully speak for itself. If we only take the weakest arguments or arguments out of context as a straw man to knock down, we have not truly dialogued with an opposing philosophy. Goldstein does well here by at least quoting and dialoguing somewhat with the book. However, he does make the mistake of forgetting that the book, Physics and Cosmology, is an edited volume of essays by multiple authors and not the standalone work of a single scholar. The authors frequently disagree and debate each others’ work (at least in the chapter by Kirk Wegter-McNelly, that I am reading).

Secondly, Wegter-McNelly makes an interesting point on p. 253. Again, I am mentioning this point without necessarily espousing it as the final word on the matter; it is nevertheless an interesting perspective on much of our debate here:

“The radical incomprehensibility of God is the beginning point and end of all theology. What we can comprehend is not God. All of our concepts and all of our words come from our everyday experiences of things in this world. They cannot be used of God in any univocal way. We speak truly of God only in stumbling ways and only within the limits of analogies and metaphors from everyday existence.” (253)

There is much to comment on regarding this book, but I leave it to the rest of you to read it and come to your own conclusions, which may or may not be similar to Goldstein’s.

Pax,

David Kendall, PhD
Adjunct Professor of Music
La Sierra University


Recent Comments by David Kendall, PhD

Dr. Geraty clarifies his “Challenge” to literal 6-day creationism
@BobRyan

unbiased objective readers

objective unbiased reader

Bob,

I have made this query before, but as I have noticed your increased use of the above term (and related variants) both here and in other forums, and I ask again: Who is this unbiased objective reader? How does this reader remain objective and free from bias? I understand that you are using the phrase as a rhetorical device to impart value to your arguments and responses vis-a-vis opposing arguments; by appealing to a supposed authority (objectivity). The only truly objective authority to which we can appeal is God, and as none of us can claim that identity, I am unsure as to the reasoning behind your continued and consistent use of the term.

@Ron Stone, M.D.

Professor Kent, You’re right–there is no point in your “sharing” anything here, as you are pointedly shot down whenever you do! Good bye!

Dr. Stone,

This statement does not, to my mind, seem to be a very efficient process toward convincing others of the rightness of your position. It is this very type of discourse that proves to non-Adventists, non-Christians, and other interested observers that our faith and the commands of Christ to love one another are of a low priority in our everyday lives. I am asking my delegate to the GC session to call for a broad-based, civil, open and honest discussion on origins in the Adventist church, without polemics, threats, and un-Christian language. This is the very minimum we should expect of ourselves and of others who call themselves by Christ’s name.

Pax,

David Kendall, PhD
Adjunct Professor of Music
La Sierra University


Catholic School Fires Math Teacher for Expressing Atheistic Views
Geanna,

I encourage you to go get a PhD, if you can find a good, supportive department (and some funding, hard to come by these days, at least in California), either inside of or outside of the SDA system. I found all of my graduate work to be incredibly rewarding and I strongly recommend it to my own students, though they should always be prepared to open their minds and question their assumptions, despite what others have warned about the dangers of such a route (reading infidel authors, engaging in philosophical debates in the religious sphere, etc.).

One suggestion for working at an SDA institution is to prepare a syllabus and approach a department chair and offer to teach an introductory class, a lab or something else in an adjunct capacity. Working for the church is likewise very rewarding (but not usually in a monetary sense!), though a bit less so in the current environment. Having the privilege of helping to guide and mentor students in an Adventist Christian environment (just as I was in turn guided and mentored) is enough for me. Go for it!

Pax,

David Kendall, PhD
Adjunct Professor of Music
La Sierra University


Dr. Geraty clarifies his “Challenge” to literal 6-day creationism
@Former LSU Student

I am interested in when you attended LSU, because it sounds like you must have been there around the time I was a student (1998-2002). I remember the land sale, etc. that you mentioned, though I may have been serving as a student missionary in Taiwan (2002-2003) when the sale was final. I also do not know what floor of Sierra Towers you lived on (I was on 2nd floor from 1998-2001, then South Hall), but my experiences there, as well as everywhere else on campus, were very different from yours.

Also, not to be confrontational, but it would not be wise to suggest that Dr. Geraty served at LSU due to his inability to perform in the public, secular academic world (if that is what you were suggesting). A cursory glance at his CV will show that he would be a very big fish in any pond.

Pax,

David Kendall, PhD
Adjunct Professor of Music
La Sierra University


Report on LSU constituency meeting
@ Ron Stone M.D.

Well, Geanna, Dr. Chadwick’s words may seem “unkind, prejudicial, and completely uncalled for” to you. However, they are also completely TRUE, which trumps your predudicial analysis!

Dr. Stone,

If you are asserting, with Dr. Chadwick, that the board is being stacked with members who sympathize with erring professors, please present your (or Dr. Chadwick’s) evidence. If you assert that the evidence is both true and trumps the statement made by Geanna Dane, you will need to “play your cards” (to keep the poker analogy going).

David Kendall, PhD
Adjunct Professor of Music
La Sierra University


Catholic School Fires Math Teacher for Expressing Atheistic Views
@Victor

What is the pay range of SDA university professors as compared to other non-Adventist university professors? What is the salary of teachers with doctoral degrees as compared with health-care professionals with doctoral degrees in our institutions? Why is it that our universities are so expensive yet don’t pay our professors a competitive wage commensurate with the financial sacrifice it takes to get a PhD from our universities? What can we do to support and promote the career and calling of SDA university professorship within our churches and schools.

Victor,

These are very important and compelling questions. Their answers depend on a couple of things. First, when you ask “What is the pay range of SDA university professors as compared to other non-Adventist university professors?”, do you mean non-SDA professors vs. SDA professors at the same institution (in which case, both are on the same scale), or do you mean professors at SDA institutions of a certain rank vs. professors at non-SDA institutions of a certain rank (i.e. Assistant Professor of Biology at University X vs. Assistant Professor of Biology at University Y)? In the latter case, SDA professors generally make much less; at some institutions less than half.

Regarding professors with earned doctorates in the university setting vs. Adventist medical professionals with earned doctorates, there are a number of differences. Professors will generally have a fixed salary based on a fixed scale with defined minimums and maximums. Medical professionals, particularly those with their own practices, do not work on a fixed scale. They can work as much or as little as they need and so the potential range for remuneration is wide so it is not easy to compare the two general professions. Also, when in training to become either a professor or doctor a PhD, while expensive, is not nearly as costly as an MD or DDS.

As for “Why is it that our universities are so expensive yet don’t pay our professors a competitive wage commensurate with the financial sacrifice it takes to get a PhD from our universities?”, there are two points to consider. First, all private schools are expensive because they do not draw public funds for the majority of operating costs. Some private universities have generous scholarship supports due to their very large endowment funds. SDA universities do not typically have these, so operating costs are based primarily on tuition. To keep tuitions lower, salaries are kept lower (this is an oversimplification I know, but useful as an overview). Secondly, there are few SDA universities that offer doctoral/terminal degrees outside of the medical professions. We generally offer them in theology, education, and a few scattered fields, but we do not offer them in the wide variety that you would find in any state university system. For example, my PhD is in Musicology, a research degree from the University of California Riverside. There is no place in the SDA system where I could get such a degree, largely because we are primarily teaching institutions and not research institutions (with some important exceptions). If you look at the faculties of all of our North American universities, you will see that almost none of the professors’ terminal degrees are from Adventist institutions. I can not think of even one at LSU (though I am sure they exist). In my own department, they were earned at UCLA, USC, Yale, UNT, Columbia, etc.

I encourage my students to become the next generation of SDA scholars (though speaking of generations is strictly tongue-in-cheek, as many of my students are less than ten years younger than I) by encouraging them to attend graduate school at excellent research institutions, and then come back and share their newly-honed talents and expertise with subsequent generations of SDA students. It speaks well to the quality of our programs that our students (though I speak only for music) are well-prepared and do extremely well in graduate school. I hope that helps to answer the questions; I apologize for the length of the response.

Pax,

David Kendall, PhD
Adjunct Professor of Music
La Sierra University