@Adventist in High School: You said, “students do not want …

Comment on Record enrollment for LSU by Shane Hilde.

@Adventist in High School: You said, “students do not want to go to a school that simply promotes church doctrine.” I agree, and God has not asked us to believe anything without first giving us the evidence upon which to base our faith. However, you jump to an unsupported conclusion as to the reason for LSU’s jump in enrollment. I could just as easily assert that the jump is a result of LSU attracting more like minded students in regard to origins. That would be a totally unfounded assertion because I have absolutely nothing to back it up with. We can speculate all we want, but until we poll all the new freshman we won’t know. So making up reasons to fit your argument in relation to enrollment do you little good.

La Sierra has payed lip service to the FB #6, but in practice they side with evolutionary biology. This can be seen in a number of their classes. Your appeal to a dissenting scientist as an authority of what is actual evidence is weak at best. It’s a straw-man and equivalent to appealing to the quality of a whole herd because of one of them is lame.

Obviously short-age-life is not mainstream, so you’re not going to find a plethora of literature in the mainstream peer-reviewed journals, but its there. By the peer-review does not guarantee the accuracy or scientific quality of a published paper. We’ll assume for now, for the sake of argument, that peer-review is the greatest thing since sliced cheese. Here are six peer-reviewed journals from a creationist worldview:

Answers Research Journal
Creation Research Society Quarterly
Journal of Creation
Occasional Papers of the BSG
Origins
Proceedings of the International Conference on Creationism

Now before you get ad hominem on these journals, consider arguing against the evidence they contain first. So tell me what is so un-credible about Origins for example?

Ok, now I’m waiting for you to produce one biology class where the evidence for the opposing side is presented.

Shane Hilde Also Commented

Record enrollment for LSU
@Adventist in High School: Yes, it’s a novel concept for LSU because they don’t even promote church doctrine, at least not in regard to origins. Educate Truth has been pushing for, at the very least, to have a variety of views presented in the biology department. Of course it would be preferable that LSU fall on the side of creation, but since they don’t it would be good of them to at least present evidence from both sides.

I challenge anyone to show me a biology class at LSU that presents the evidence from the opposing side. If LSU could do that, it would be one giant leap in the right direction.


Record enrollment for LSU
@JImmy: Yes, the Seventh-day Adventist Church believes the Bible is a divine revelation of God’s will and the creation account is trustworthy; it also believes there is good evidence that confirms the historicity of the Bible. I’m not advocating that bias is a bad thing. I believe everyone is biased; however, the difference between the position I’m advocating and LSU’s is this: LSU is only presenting one side, while I’m advocating, at the very least as a Seventh-day Adventist institution, they present both sides. I would prefer that they come down on the side of the biblical creation model.

Like you, I’m pretty close to the situation. There is no conspiracy theory being advocated by Educate Truth. I would like to challenge you to point out one incomplete fact, poor source, or downright lie that has been published by Educate Truth. Practically everything we publish comes from primary sources, so good luck. I’m human though so I might have missed something and am always happy to correct it. Call what you like, but without any evidence all you have are assertions.


Record enrollment for LSU
@JImmy: I certainly hope you are not exuding the same narrow-mindedness that many evolutionary biologists have–that the science is settled, and thus they ignore all the evidence to their settled “science.” When a scientist no longer becomes interested in looking at all the data and its implications, I think the student under his/her tutelage is endanger of receiving only a partial and un-critical educational.

You appear to making an assumption that many others have made that is the church is against having evolution taught–how wrong you are. By all means teach evolutionary theory, but it is by no means a sacred cow that should be guarded to the exclusion of all the evidence that opposes it. Is this the type of critical-thinking you are supporting? Because this is the type of education LSU is giving–narrow.


Recent Comments by Shane Hilde

LSU student: ‘Apostates or Apostles’?

Defining just how we learn and how we teach, especially in the field of science at this institution is important. ‘Different people mean different things when they use the term evolution,’ said Dr. Gary Bradley, a professor of biology and genetics at La Sierra. He explained that for most conservative Christians, the word ‘evolution’ carries the usual anti-God connotation. However, for a scientist, the word represents the process by which all kinds of alterations and modifications happen in our world. Dr. Bradley believes that the Creator God designed the world with the ability for evolution to occur, and urges everyone to learn as much as they can about our Lord’s created universe. ‘There is abundant evidence that living things change. Thus evolution is well documented and well supported in the scientific world. It is unconscionable for a science student to remain ignorant of this fundamental aspect of life.’

What kind of evolution is Dr. Bradley speaking of when he says God designed the world with the ability for evolution to occur? Different people mean different things when they use the term evolution, says Bradley, but he doesn’t define what he means. This is exactly the type of vague, slippery language that is used in order to cloak what these professors believe and how they’re teaching evolution at LSU.

Indeed, the word “evolution” does mean many things to many people, so it suspect when Bradley makes his observation and then makes a vague, undefined comment about what he believes. Remember this is the same Bradley who was quoted in INSIDE Higher ED”

‘It’s very, very clear that what I’m skeptical of is the absolute necessity of believing that the only way a creator God could do things is by speaking them into existence a few thousand years ago,’ Bradley added. ‘That’s where my skepticism lies. That’s the religious philosophical basis for what I call the lunatic fringe. They do not represent the majority position in the Church, and yes I’m skeptical of that. But I want to say to kids it’s OK for you to believe that, but it’s not OK for you to be ignorant of the scientific data that’s out there.’

There is an obvious difference between what the Seventh-day Adventist Church views evolution and Bradley. LSU just doesn’t get it. Everybody already knows what’s going on there, but they continue to pretend otherwise.


Panda’s Thumb: ‘SDAs are split over evolution’
@krissmith777: Do mean like mainstream papers, written by evolutionists are exclusively peer-reviewed by evolutionists? Yes, I’m aware that there are creationists that write for mainstream journals and get published and perhaps there a small handful that peer-review too, but the percentage, I would guess, is very small. So small in fact that the point would be moot.

The journal is created by the Seventh-day Adventist Church, so I’d be surprised if it was being peer-reviewed by evolutionists


Panda’s Thumb: ‘SDAs are split over evolution’
@Alexander Carpenter: Great comment Alex! I’m trying to compare our journalism to an article you posted at Spectrum May 29, 2009, in which you, Bonnie Dwyer, and Jared Wright referred to David Asscherick as a “college dropout” twice in the same article (1). What was that all about? It was pretty obvious to your readership. A pathetic attempt to mislead and attack someone who actually supports and believes in the Seventh-day Adventist message. You then made the false assumption that he didn’t support Adventist higher education. I believe he took it upon himself to personally call you and point 10+ errors that were in the article. Do you remember that call Alex? Wow, that must have been embarrassing. Yes, we regret not contacting Dr. Ness before we posted his lecture, but at least we got the facts straight.

You’re really reaching with the old article hyperbole. I was personally aware of the article last year and I believe a few other readers here were too, because I remember it being posted in the comments. It’s particularly relevant now in light of the claims coming from PUC. Raising the “we’re creationists” flag high and mighty, when in actuality the impression these evolutionists had was quite different.

We average 32,000 hits per month. And that’s from this year. Sorry, people are still showing a very strong interest in this topic. Dwindling? Not by any amount worth clicking over here to leave a fish bowl comment. Come on Alex, you’re more connected to the church than this aren’t you? Your worldview in regard to origins is, aside from being unbiblical, a minority within the world church.

What’s ironic about the situation with PUC is that you work there and you’re not exactly a creationist. I wouldn’t be surprised if inwardly you’re ashamed to hear PUC ranting and raving about what a creationist Dr. Ness is and the rest of the biology department.

Sorry, you’re way off on this one. This issue is huge in the church and it’s not going away anytime soon. Chances are the underlying issues could cause a serious split, which is actually already occurring, in our church.

1. http://www.spectrummagazine.org/blog/2009/05/29/unravaling_witch_hunt_la_sierra_under_seige


Panda’s Thumb: ‘SDAs are split over evolution’
@Professor Kent: “Old news” is a bit relative in this case. Yes, this occurred two years ago, but the professors haven’t changed nor has the way they teach evolution.

Your last paragraph only proves my point. You make wild assertions about there being no evidence while ignoring the evidence being presented. For starters what do you say to the testimony of 70+ students in 2004? Or the testimony of three students in 2009? The statements from the professors themselves. The syllabi?

You baffle me Kent, you really do.

No evidence? Common on. I’d say I hope you’re joking, but you’re not. You really believe that.


Panda’s Thumb: ‘SDAs are split over evolution’
This is almost funny. The world quite easily sees how evolution is being taught in our own universities, but a small, but quite vocal group, just doesn’t get it. It seems, more often than not, that those who just don’t seem to see things for the way they are at LSU tend to be more sympathetic toward a hermeneutic that is contrary to the Seventh-day Adventist Church.