Comment on Dr. Ariel Roth’s Creation Lectures for Teachers by Sean Pitman.
The fact is that some of the most prominent academics in our church who still support the SDA position on origins not only support our efforts here at EducateTruth, but have contributed articles using their real name (like Dr. Arthur Chadwick) or under various pseudonyms.
Public association is one thing. Private association is another. While many do not feel at liberty to publicly associate themselves with our work here (for obvious reasons), most who still believe in SDA fundamentals (and who are aware of the longstanding situation at LSU and other places) feel that our work in providing enhanced transparency for what is being taught to our young people in our schools was/is necessary on some level.
I would also like to say that the work of Leonard Brand, Ariel Roth, Arthur Chadwick, Tim Standish, and the like, is extremely important to our Church. We are all deeply indebted to men like these who are actively striving to uphold the faith of our young people, and the church membership at large, with the use of rational empirically-based apologetic arguments…
Sean Pitman
www.DetectingDesign.com
Sean Pitman Also Commented
Dr. Ariel Roth’s Creation Lectures for Teachers
@Eddie:
I agree with these points. It would be great if our schools would finance researchers who support a Biblical model of creationism and are active in trying to publish papers in science journals… such as Leonard Brand or Arthur Chadwick. Unfortunately, I’ve recently heard that Leonard Brand, in particular, is struggling to find funding to support active creation research. I’m sure he would appreciate any financial support he can get.
Sean Pitman
www.DetectingDesign.com
Dr. Ariel Roth’s Creation Lectures for Teachers
@Eddie:
Dr. Roth is not as far above the “fracas” here as you might imagine. 😉
Sean Pitman
www.DetectingDesign.com
Dr. Ariel Roth’s Creation Lectures for Teachers
@Ken:
I am sad today, because I think I’m coming to the end of my Adventist journey. I really did see ID as a sort of bridge between your faith and objective inquiry about a ‘Grand’ Design.
The science behind ID is indeed a very important bridge for a form of objective inquiry as an initial step toward finding God. After all, one must first believe that an intelligent designer of some kind must be responsible for various features of the universe before one can consider that perhaps a God or God-like being might have been responsible. And, one must then recognize that God actually exists before one can strive to have a personal relationship with God. It’s a stepwise process for many people.
Now, consider carefully what our friend Wes Kime is suggesting before you dismiss Adventism in general. Dr. Kime is suggesting that the objective evidence does not end with the discovery that ID is rationally required to explain certain features of the universe. There is also objective evidence to suggest the actual identity of the Designer – that the Designer of the universe and of life on this planet is in fact an omnipotent God who is personally interested in you and me.
It is in this sense that Adventist education should be in advance of secular education which has yet to even make the first rational step toward God by recognizing the need for any kind of designer behind any aspect of the universe in which we live. Harvard science professors are still struggling with the notion that mindless naturalistic mechanisms can explain it all. Adventist professors should not only have taken this step already, but should be well beyond the first few steps in finding God and in their ability to present evidence for His existence, identity, and character to their students… to include credible evidences for the Biblical perspective of origins.
Sean Pitman
www.DetectingDesign.com
Recent Comments by Sean Pitman
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Thank you Ariel. Hope you are doing well these days. Miss seeing you down at Loma Linda. Hope you had a Great Thanksgiving!
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Thank you Colin. Just trying to save lives any way I can. Not everything that the government does or leaders do is “evil” BTW…
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Only someone who knows the future can make such decisions without being a monster…
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Where did I “gloss over it”?
Review of “The Naked Emperor” by Pastor Conrad Vine
I fail to see where you have convincingly supported your claim that the GC leadership contributed to the harm of anyone’s personal religious liberties? – given that the GC leadership does not and could not override personal religious liberties in this country, nor substantively change the outcome of those who lost their jobs over various vaccine mandates. That’s just not how it works here in this country. Religious liberties are personally derived. Again, they simply are not based on a corporate or church position, but rely solely upon individual convictions – regardless of what the church may or may not say or do.
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).
Beyond this, the GC Leadership did, in fact, write in support of personal religious convictions on this topic – and there are GC lawyers who have and continue to write personal letters in support of personal religious convictions (even if these personal convictions are at odds with the position of the church on a given topic). Just because the GC leadership also supports the advances of modern medicine doesn’t mean that the GC leadership cannot support individual convictions at the same time. Both are possible. This is not an inconsistency.
