@Victor Marshall: I hazard a guess that Sean Pitman would …

Comment on Catholic School Fires Math Teacher for Expressing Atheistic Views by Sean Pitman.

@Victor Marshall:

I hazard a guess that Sean Pitman would probably make an excellent SDA university science professor. Would he loose half his income to become one?

Thanks for the compliment : )

I also sympathize with teachers in the SDA educational system. Our teachers are often underpaid relative to their peers in secular universities (the same is often true for pastors). I think it would be a fine effort for our church to figure out how to increase the salaries of our teachers. Yet, I do not think that this should be done at the sacrifice of supporting the Pillars of the SDA Faith. Such a cost would simply be too high regardless of the success one might have on the financial front. It would be better to close down our schools rather than have them undermine the very reason for our having them in the first place – to support what the SDA Church stands for.

In this particular regard I think we have a lot to learn from other church organizations – to include the Catholic Church. I know it must be shocking for some to consider that we could learn anything from the Catholic Church, but at least they stand for something and don’t mind saying so…

Sean Pitman
www.DetectingDesign.com

Sean Pitman Also Commented

Catholic School Fires Math Teacher for Expressing Atheistic Views
@Professor Kent:

So before you go and fire your faculty, maybe you really ought to be looking for suitable replacements in advance.

It would be nice to have suitable replacements, true. However, even if no replacements could be found, the Church cannot afford to hire those who go about deliberately and decidedly undermining the very Pillars of the SDA Faith. Even if it means that the school must be shut down, or at least individual departments shut down, the SDA Church simply cannot support those who are attacking its very reason for existence.

You’re talking about two separate problems here. One problem has to do with what should be the policy regarding the hiring of paid representatives (teachers and pastors). The other has to do with producing qualified pastors and teachers. Both are problems faced by the SDA Church today, but these problems are not the same. The first needs to be dealt with regardless of if the second has been solved or not. Why? Because if the first is not dealt with very quickly and decidedly, there will be few if any young people coming out of our schools who believe in the fundamental pillars of the SDA faith anyway and the Church will dissolve into irrelevance.

This is already happening given the lack of support for SDA fundamentals within our schools for decades now. Another generation of this and our Church might as well shut down as far as a unique institution with a unique Gospel message to share with the world. We’ll just meld into an organization that is indistinguishable from blah non-denominational feel-good groups. We’ll end up light the situation in Europe where most Churches are closing down and their buildings are being turned into bars, night clubs, business offices, and other secular buildings. Who needs yet another social club with a religious twist? It’s time to stand for something or get out of the game…

Sean Pitman
www.DetectingDesign.com


Catholic School Fires Math Teacher for Expressing Atheistic Views
While I don’t agree with their doctrines or their efforts to use civil governments and power to advance their agenda, at least the Catholic Church stands for something. It seems to know that there’s just no point in having a church school that doesn’t support the stated ideals and goals of the organization…

Sean Pitman
www.DetectingDesign.com


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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”?


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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.