@Professor Kent: It’s not about us–relying on our self-intelligence and …

Comment on Changing the Wording of Adventist Fundamental Belief #6 on Creation by Sean Pitman.

@Professor Kent:

It’s not about us–relying on our self-intelligence and knowledge about what constitutes potentially falsifiable evidence. It’s all about relying on God, who can speak to us through our conscience without any need to study and acquire knowledge that allows us to comprehend science–whether SDA-informed or falsely so-called (there are only two versions, right?).

This philosophy is the basis of the Spiritual Formation movement where the claim is that studying nature and the written Word to gain knowledge about God isn’t necessary. All one has to do is talk to God directly and God will directly speak to the individual, telling him/her all she/he needs to know. One doesn’t even really need to read the Bible or study any written text or any empirical form of evidence at all. One just needs to have this “experience” with God.

The problem here is that many voices claim to be God – to include many spirit voices. How do you know to whom you are speaking? – or just who is speaking to you? Not all voices are really from God. Also, God specifically tells us to read the Bible and to study nature to gain knowledge about His nature and character. He simply does not directly speak to very many people as He occasionally speaks to prophets. We are not all so inspired. Yet, we are not left in the dark either.

That is why God always uses evidence to support His own claims. The Bible is full of examples of God using evidence to demonstrate His claim to be God and the trustworthiness of His word. Never does the Bible argue that anyone should believe in the claims of the Bible, or in the voice of any spirit claiming to be God, without any supporting evidence… evidence that appeals to our God-given minds to add credibility to the one true Voice among many competing options.

Sean Pitman
www.DetectingDesign.com

P.S. This is not to say that knowledge is the basis of salvation. It isn’t. People can be saved without ever hearing the name of Jesus or reading a Bible – by living according to the Royal Law that is written upon the hearts of all. However, a closer relationship with God and a hope for the future while in this life is based on knowledge – knowledge that is gained through the study of nature and the Bible. Without this personal effort to learn and study what God has revealed to us in the way of evidence, a rational trust in the Bible as the true Word of God cannot be achieved.

Sean Pitman Also Commented

Changing the Wording of Adventist Fundamental Belief #6 on Creation
@Bill Sorensen:

The Bible makes claims about the future. It does not cause the future. It therefore is not “self-validating”. It’s just a book after all. It can be read, but it cannot itself act to perform any tasks. Therefore, it’s claims, if they are to be rationally understood to be “true” must obviously be supported by external evidence based on the historical sciences. In other words, its own claims regarding history are validated by external sources – based on independent evidence that comes from outside of itself. How is this concept not self-evident?

Sean Pitman
www.DetectingDesign.com


Changing the Wording of Adventist Fundamental Belief #6 on Creation
@Professor Kent:

Let’s get a few things straight. I have not attacked the claims of scripture regarding the “the recent origin of all life on this planet, created within just six literal days, and the worldwide nature of the Noachian Flood.” All I did was point out that the physical evidence supporting flood geology has serious problems.

That is an attack on Scripture. When you attempt to undermine the empirical claims of Scripture as being contrary to the weight of empirical evidence, you are in fact undermining the rational basis for Scriptural credibility.

Don’t you recognize that in claiming that the weight of scientific evidence clearly favors the neo-Darwinian perspective, a perspective which is diametrically opposed to the Biblical perspective, you do in fact undermine the credibility of the Biblical account? Your faith-only approach, regardless of the evidence, simply doesn’t do it for many people. For many many people such arguments as you are presenting do in fact undermine the rational basis for their faith despite your own ability to be able to have faith despite the weight evidence. Many people see this as irrational – and for good reason.

Faith, without a need for a basis in the weight of evidence, is irrational by definition. It is blind-faith in that it cannot be rationally distinguished from a form of wishful thinking.

And you were the one, not me, who has asserted that the flood did not create all of the layers of the geological column.

Of course. I fail to see why this might be a problem?

Sean Pitman
www.DetectingDesign.com


Changing the Wording of Adventist Fundamental Belief #6 on Creation
@Eddie:

By implication Nebuchadnezzar won the battle with Egypt – just as Ezekiel prophesied. Otherwise, it is unlikely that the Babylonians would have recorded the event…

Sean Pitman
www.DetectingDesign.com


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Yet, you say, “Who cares if it is written into law”? You should care. Everyone should care. It’s a very important law in this country. The idea that the organized church could have changed vaccine mandates simply isn’t true – particularly given the nature of certain types of jobs dealing with the most vulnerable in society (such as health care workers for example).

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