David Read says that “The overwhelming majority of Seventh-day Adventists, …

Comment on An appeal to our leadership by Ervin Taylor.

David Read says that “The overwhelming majority of Seventh-day Adventists, both in North America and around the world, remain young earth creationists.”

Ask the Director of the Geoscience Research Institute (GRI), the General Conference institution funded to provide apologetic materials to support conventional Adventist creationism, about the “official” Adventist position. I think you will find that it Young LIFE creationism, not Young Earth Creationism. The idea that the earth’s rocks are very old has been stated in a number of GRI publications for many years.

While it is correct that the majority of SDA lay members believe in Young Life Creationism (and probably Young Earth Creationism as well), a survey undertaken in 1994 of North American Adventist scientists teaching at Adventist colleges and universities documented that only 43% believe that “God created all living organisms during a literal six-day period less than 10,000 years ago.” About 7% agreed that “God created all living organisms over an indeterminate length of time over the last 100,000 years” and about 18% agreed that “God created life millions of years ago and over this period guided its development”

Geanna has it right: “Adventism thrived quite well before all the so-called creation experts jumped on the band wagon and told us how we actually have to interpret not just every word in the Bible but also Ellen White.”

Recent Comments by Ervin Taylor

What does it take to be a true Seventh-day Adventist?
I just noticed Sean’s comment some time ago that “John’s “Revelation” has very little to do with the Roman Empire.”

Perhaps Sean was just trying to be funny or something. If he was serious, then I guess I will have to revise my assumption about his knowledge of the Bible. That was the entire context of the Book of Revelation. But I guess someone who rejects evolution must also have some problems with history.


La Sierra University Hires Another Darwinist
LSU should be congratulated for standing-up against the reactionary forces who wants to turn it into a Bible College. May LSU live long and prosper — as it is doing now with enrollments continuing to increase and new buildings going up.


What does it take to be a true Seventh-day Adventist?
It would appear that Dr. Pitman aspires to be the modern Adventist version of Girolamo Aleandro.

For those a little hazy about the history of the Reformation, Girolamo was the individual appointed as papal nuncio by the Pope to be the theological point person opposing Martin Luther and his theology at the Diet of Worms. (The Diet of Worms was an assembly of churchmen and political elites of the Holy Roman Empire in Germany which met in 1521, not a list of things to eat to reduce your weight. And Worms was not an item on the menu, it was a town).

Girolamo argued that Luther had no right to challenge the church’s theology. That theology had been settled for hundreds of years and had been agreed upon by scores of theologians. It was the truth.

Girolamo wrote the denunciations of Luther that were embodied in the Edict of Worms which declared Luther to be a heretic.

After attending the Diet of Worms, Girolamo went to Brussels and was instrumental at having two monks who had adhered to the teachings of Luther burned at the stake.

Sean, like Girolamo, appears to view his role is to root our heresy where ever he finds it in the Adventist Church.

Fortunately for the rest of us, Sean,
unlike Girolamo, has no power to carry out what he would to see happened to those he denounces as Adventist heretics.


Southern Adventist University opens Origins Exhibit
I’m sure that the vast majority of scientifically-informed Adventists will thank Dr.Kent for his every effective and rational approaches to the views expressed by Dr. Pitman and others on this misnamed web site. There is little that needs to be added. Dr. Kent has done a masterful job of exposing the misunderstandings of scientific data dealing with geology and evolutionary biology that has been offered by Dr. Pitman on this and his own web site.


Southern Adventist University opens Origins Exhibit
I see that Professor Kent has been casting pearls of logic and reasonableness before certain types of individuals on the educate truth (sic) web site again. I share with him my amazement at the new insights about inspiration revealed here.