The leadership of Northern California Conference, the delegates and pastors, …

Comment on Rewrite of fundamental belief 6 voted by NCC by john.

The leadership of Northern California Conference, the delegates and pastors, the Oroville church delegates and its pastor Larre Kostenko attending the constituency meeting held on Sunday are to be commended for entertaining and voting a recommendation to the Geneneral Conference Church Manual Committee to rewriet Belief 6 to more clearly reflect the church’s position on Creation as expressed in “A Response to an Affirmation of Creation” voted by the GC Executive Committee in 2003. I believe the constituency vote count reveals the strong moving and leading of the Holy Spirit in the hearts and minds of the delegates in this important action (yes 252, no 153) If acted upon, this recommendation will help to bring a full witness to the world regarding the truth about origins, will help to foster deeper theological unity in the church, and in what is taught in our school about Creation. Ultimately, if acted upon, the recommendation can promote deeper love,concern and care for one another in the church and in the fulfilment of the mission of the church.

I also read with apprecaition that Sean Pitman spoke in favor of the recommendation and voted for its adoption, and that Shane Hilde supports the action because it brings needed clarity to the church’s understanding of the biblical doctrine of Creation.

We can all join in prayer that the Holy Spirit will bless this recommendation and will move upon other church entities in similar fashion so that Belief 6: Creation, which is a good but incomplete statemet on Creation, can soon shine with even greater clarity to the glory of God and the leading of people to the heart of the living Creator who is truly loving (Rev 14:7), and not demonic as is the case regarding the character of the alleged god of theistic evolution.

For the above reasons, we can be grateful to God for this one important step forward which has been taken.

john Also Commented

Rewrite of fundamental belief 6 voted by NCC
FB6 needs to be as clear on Creation as the Bible is clear on Creation.

Unfortunately, as presently worded, FB6 is significantly less clear on Creation when compared with the clarity of Scriptre on Creation on several important points as this website has shown biblically. Take the following example. Approximately when did the week of Creation occur? Is the Bible clear about this crucial quesstion? Indeed, the finest Old Testament scholarship shows that the Bible is clear that a short chronology of life forms on Earth exists between the week of Creation and the present (e.g., Gen 5, 11; Matt 1 and so on). In other words Scripture clearly indicates that animals and other life forms have not existed on Earth for long ages or for hundreds of thousands of years, or as we would say today, for millions of years.

Sadly, FB6 does not even begin to be clear about this important biblical point about the “when” of Creation, because FB6 is completely silent about the matter. This silence illustrates the need for FB6 to speak with the clarity of the Bible on Creation on this point, and on any other point about Creation concerning which FB6 is less clear than the biblical teaching.

In 2004 the GC Executive Committee drafted and voted, “A Response to the Affirmation of Creaiton” which helpfully articulates at least four crucial biblical aspects about Creation which are not explicitly stated in FB6, as this website has explained in detail. This shows why it would be so God-honoring to permit FB6 itself to speak with the clairity present in the document, “A Response to the Affirmation of Creation.” This also indicates why the recently voted NCC recommendation asking the GC to do so is so laudable and on proper target.


Recent Comments by john

Lawrence Geraty, Fritz Guy, and the Framing of Fundamental Belief #6
Thank you, Ken, for your kind evaluation of my remarks, and for your sound explanation of the time period to which your perspectives pertained.
In appreciation,
John


Lawrence Geraty, Fritz Guy, and the Framing of Fundamental Belief #6
Regarding the question whether in its currently worded form does FB6 represent the official position of the Seventh-day Adventist church, we need to remembeer that in General Conference session, 2010, the delegates voted to affirm “A Response to an Affirmation of Creation.” andalso voted that a reformulated FB6 in 2015 should be voted which reflects the contents of “A Response to an Affirmation of Creation.” Importantly, the content of “A Response . . .” rejects the notion that life forms have been on earth on earth for millions of years, and at the dame time “A Response . . . ” affirms a global flood, thus strongly rejecting progressive creation and theistic evolution. Happily, this means that until 2015 we have an officially voted General conference interpretation of the current wording of FB6 which interpretation, as noted above, does not support the teaching of macroevoltion in our schools as the position of the SDA church regarding earth history.


Jay Gallimore comments on evolution conflict
This thoughtful assessment by Jay Gallimore is encouraging and on target. It seems to me that at Atlanta, the Holy Spirit gently took the hands of Ted Wilson and placed them onto the helm of the ship,His church,and turned it directly into the looming iceberg, in response to the heavenly command, “meet it!” As never before, this is a time for the continuing expression of genuine Holy-Spirit-promted inter-family love, prayer, respect, dialogue, and patience. As guided by God, in the end, only good and healing can flow from such decisions taken at Atlanta. May God give me and each of us the living faith needed at such a time.


One reason why the debate about origins is relevant
Well said, Roger, this is part of the big picture puzzle of which David Read speaks so well. I am very concerned about the approach taken by Steve at the moment. Perhaps we can expand the response by Jesus to Steve and to all of us before the time of the ultimate judgment along the following lines. I begin by quoting what Steve says:

Jesus saves me because I have a trusting, committed relation with him. [So far so good.] I simply do not believe on the Day of Judgment I will find myself standing before Jesus to hear him say, “I know you loved me with all your heart and to the best of your ability; I know you took every opportunity to draw close to me; I know you cared for the unlovable, but [now we need to let Jesus speak more fully]:

“But, and I say this with a broken heart, because you did not believe in six recent literal 24 our days of Creation, about which I lovingly and repeatedly told you about in the Scriptures, and which idea was not new to you but you had studied about it all your life, and the Holy Spirit had keep prompting you to believe this truth all your life, but you rejected His sweet voice to the end, you, and I say this with tears in my voice, cannot enter into eternal life. Why? Steve, I am the way, the truth and the life (John 14:6). This means that I and my teachings are one which means that to reject what I say is to reject me. To not trust what I say, is to not trust in me. To not love and accept what I say is to not love me, and not to be in committed relationship with me.

“All those individuals, Steve, who enter my kingdom, accept gladly, happily and eagerly whatsoever I have taught and have commanded them in both the Old and New Testaments (Matt 28:20). This includes my teaching about a six day creation, and the fact that I created humans both male and female at the beginning (Matt 19:4-6), even on the sixth day of Creation (Gen 1:27, and amplified in Gen 2:7, 15-18, 21-25).

“I would love to welcome you into the kingdom, but if you were to come into my kingdom, and if you do not believe in a six day recent creation, you would need to change your mind and believe in my teaching about a six day creation, which, unfortunately, it seems you will not do, and which I neither can nor will force you to do because I respect your freedom. So I say this weeping, it is not I who have rejected you–if your absolute, ultimate, and final life position remains that you continue to disbelieve me in my teaching about a six day creation–it is you who have rejected me, my beloved Steve, whom I adore beyond words. Nevertheless, [before the Day of Judgment] I hold out hope to you, and invite you to believe my words. If you love me, please believe and obey me (John 14:15)”

Perhaps we can imaging Jesus gently and with tears saying something like this to all of us human individuals before the final day of judgment?


“Don’t go backwards to interpret Genesis as allegorical or symbolic”
Well said, Yolanda. I join you in a renewed committment to being about our Father’s business. The merciful and faithful Creator is moving with a strong arm. With Zacharias, we can continue to say, “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel” (Luke 1;67).