Comment on Ricardo Graham clarifies LSU Board releases by David Read.
Imposing discipline, for deviations of faith or practice, is an extremely unpleasant prospect at any level of church organization, from the local congregation to the GC president. I feel for any administrator, including Ricardo Graham, who finds himself in the position of having a duty to impose discipline.
Nevertheless, it has to be done. It seems that for a long time now, our clergy, from the Pacific Union President on down to the local pastors, have taken a very laissez-faire attitude toward both faith and practice within the church, and it has resulted in a whole generation that has no concept that, to pick one issue among many, Darwinism is inconsistent with Adventism. As I dialog with liberals on websites like Atoday and Spectrum, I find many people who, when I challenge them that their beliefs are contrary to long-established and accepted Adventist positions, say something like, “(1) This is a perfectly acceptable position, I’m an Adventist and I hold it, (2) we will always have a great deal of diversity of opinion within the church, and (3) we are an anti-credal church.”
Honestly, I think the whole educate-truth effort may be too little, too late. There is the distinct possibility that LaSierra is the way it is because it accurately reflects its lukewarm, increasingly corrupt constituency.
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Recent Comments by David Read
The Reptile King
Poor Larry Geraty! He can’t understand why anyone would think him sympathetic to theistic evolution. Well, for starters, he wrote this for Spectrum last year:
“Christ tells us they will know us by our love, not by our commitment to a seven literal historical, consecutive, contiguous 24-hour day week of creation 6,000 years ago which is NOT in Genesis no matter how much the fundamentalist wing of the church would like to see it there.”
“Fundamental Belief No. 6 uses Biblical language to which we can all agree; once you start interpreting it according to anyone’s preference you begin to cut out members who have a different interpretation. I wholeheartedly affirm Scripture, but NOT the extra-Biblical interpretation of the Michigan Conference.”
So the traditional Adventist interpretation of Genesis is an “extra-Biblical interpretation” put forward by “the fundamentalist wing” of the SDA Church? What are people supposed to think about Larry Geraty’s views?
It is no mystery how LaSierra got in the condition it is in.
The Reptile King
Professor Kent says:
“I don’t do ‘orgins science.’ Not a single publication on the topic. I study contemporary biology. Plenty of publications.”
So, if you did science that related to origins, you would do it pursuant to the biblical paradigm, that is pursuant to the assumption that Genesis 1-11 is true history, correct?
The Reptile King
Well, Jeff, would it work better for you if we just closed the biology and religion departments? I’m open to that as a possible solution.
The Reptile King
Larry Geraty really did a job on LaSierra. Personally I think it is way gone, compromised beyond hope. The SDA Church should just cut its ties to LaSierra, and cut its losses.
As to the discussion on this thread, round up the usual suspects and their usual arguments.
La Sierra University Resignation Saga: Stranger-than-Fiction
It is a remarkably fair and unbiased article, and a pretty fair summary of what was said in the recorded conversation.
