By Jay Gallimore
What a stunning event this 59th General Conference Session turned out to be! As we approached this GC Session, many wrestled with God in prayer, and I believe the Lord heard and answered wonderfully. As most now know, Elder Ted N. C. Wilson, a vice-president of the General Conference, was elected as President of the General Conference. With outstanding support on the nominating committee he was destined to affect this Session dramatically, and possibly shape the future of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.
As we came to this session, the church was astir over the teaching of some forms of evolution in certain parts of higher education in North America. Important questions burned in our hearts. Why was fixing this issue such a problem? Even more seriously, how deeply had the authority of Scripture been eroded among us? Teaching evolution as fact in the Adventist church? How could Sabbath-keepers ever embrace something so hostile to the seventh-day Sabbath? And, what about our children? Would these schools, established through much sacrifice to pass on Adventist faith to our children, be sacrificed on the altars of academic pride? Would the Session deal with this issue in a strong way or would the politically articulate and strident voices of secularism and liberalism stifle the whole?
Before the GC Session, and against this background, the Michigan Conference Executive Committee, supported by its Board of Education, respectfully approved an action to ask that the General Conference in Session vote the following.
1 “Resolved: To encourage each Seventh-day Adventist college and university to continue to strengthen the principles of biblical authority and faith. In support of these principles we urge continued development of educational strategies and faculties which would move these institutions to becoming centers of excellence in promoting, cultivating and defending creation science. We define creation science in the context of the recent creation week of seven ordinary, literal, historical, consecutive, contiguous twenty-four hour days of divine creation and rest as described in Genesis.â€
2 “Furthermore: We request that the 2010 General Conference session vote a resolution affirming the above, with the direction of bringing to the following GC session a statement that would serve to strengthen our fundamental belief number six. Hence, our Creation doctrine would more clearly articulate our biblical view of ‘a literal, recent, six-day Creation,’ in which ‘the seven days of the Creation account were literal 24-hour days forming a week identical in time to what we now experience as a week,’ as the statement affirmed by the General Conference Executive Committee in October 2004 noted.â€
Elder Paulsen, our former General Conference President, while very gracious, answered by telling us that instead of taking this to the Session floor, they had decided to have the GC Executive Committee vote an affirmation statement of creation which would then be released. Of course, the GC Executive Committee has weight, but not like the entire GC Session.
In a dramatic turnaround, Elder Wilson, the newly elected General Conference President, took the action of the GC Executive Committee and brought it to the floor. In one of the finest moments of GC presidential leadership he did three things:
1 First he gave a very clear and articulate speech about where the Seventh-day Adventist Church stood on creation. He was passionate, as he rejected the idea that the days in Genesis were long eons of time during which evolution was allegedly overseen by God. He quoted an Ellen G. White statement calling such views — “the worst infidelity.â€
2 Second, he called on the delegates to vote two basic items. The first was the very fine “Affirmation of Creation Statement†that the GC Executive Committee had voted in 2004, after the Faith and Science Committee had finished its work.
3 Third, he asked that the delegates vote to start the process that would strengthen and clarify our fundamental belief regarding creation, and bring it back for approval at the 60th General Conference Session. [The reason for this request is as follows: Even though for most of us the statement is clear, some have taken ad- vantage of the general language in the statement so as to create a loophole to justify their teaching of evolution.]
The microphones were immediately filled with passionate speeches of support. After 15 minutes of speeches on each issue the delegates voted to stop discussion, so as to vote on the issues. From what I could see, on the first vote there were no negative votes. On the second, there may have been a handful of negative votes. We were very grateful and happy that delegates were given a chance to speak. Without Elder Wilson’s leadership it may not have happened.
In my opinion, the message from the Session was very clear to those who are promoting evolution and undermining creation in our schools and even in our pulpits. The message goes something like this: “The Seventh-day Adventist Church is aghast at such behavior, and will not tolerate the faith of our youth being sacrificed on the altars of evolution or academic pride.†This also means that administrators who oversee these institutions have the Seventh-day Adventist Church looking over their shoulders expecting the right thing to be done, and quickly.
In a powerful presentation, at the “YES! Creation†seminar on Thursday, Dr. Ted Wilson noted that “we will stand firm on our foundations,†and that we will keep our eyes on the Author and Finisher of our faith, Jesus Christ. Quoting from Ellen White, he warned of these infidel geologists who teach evolu- tion, and thus seek to destroy the seventh-day Sabbath. Finally, he called on all Adventist teachers to believe, accept, and teach what we as a Church officially believe regarding creation.
But Elder Wilson’s holy boldness was not finished yet. Everyone waited with bated breath for his sermon on the final Sabbath of the GC Session. What a sermon it was! Again, I have never seen such courage, insight and clear articulation of the issues and dangers that surround us, expressed by a GC President.
First, let me share a bit of background. It is no secret that over the last thirty years, in certain areas of the western world, the Adventist Church has seen considerable drift from our beliefs and practices. Lately this drift has greatly accelerated. It began with attacks on the inspiration of the Spirit of Prophecy. Then the higher critical scholars among us began to undermine the authority of Scripture until there were loud voices in many places expressing disbelief in nearly everything we hold true. The creation/evolution issue is a case in point.
In the name of “relevance,†some conferences opened the door to churches to experiment with just about everything pertaining to worship. Worship shifted from being God-centered to man-centered. Borrowing nearly everything from wild dance music to drama, the methods of secular Christianity were imported into our divine services. “We will worship God in any way we please†was the theme. Of course, this was all done with the excuse that the church had to be “relevant†to today’s young people. It didn’t work! After all of these years of experimentation the same voices are today lamenting the great loss of young people. Sometimes one wonders what lessons from the golden calf experiment modern Israel just doesn’t get?
Elder Wilson left no doubt about what “wall†this church must put its faith-ladder on. “Go forward,†he said, “in lifting up Christ and proclaiming God’s grace; Go forward in presenting the three angels’ messages; Go forward in pleading for revival and reformation; Go forward in following the Bible as it reads; Go forward in reading and adhering to the counsel of the Spirit of Prophecy; Go forward in proclaiming to the world the good news of salvation and the imminent second coming of Jesus Christ.â€
Then, with caution against unscriptural methods, he mentioned some specifics: “We must be vigilant to test all things according to the supreme authority of God’s Word and the counsel with which we have been blessed in the writings of Ellen G. White. Don’t reach out to movements or mega church centers outside the Seventh-day Adventist Church which promise you spiritual success based on faulty theology. Stay away from non-biblical spiritual disciplines or methods of spiritual formation that are rooted in mysticism such as contemplative prayer, centering prayer, and the emerging church movement, in which such things are promoted.â€
Then he addressed the matter of worship. “Use Christ-centered, Bible-based worship and music practices in church services; while we understand that worship services and cultures vary throughout the world, don’t go backwards into confusing pagan settings where music and worship become so focused on emotion and experience that you lose the central focus on the Word of God. All worship, how- ever simple or complex should do one thing and one thing only — lift up Christ and put down self.â€
Next, putting his finger on the root of the drift, he said. “Let Scripture be its own interpreter. Our church has long held to the historical-biblical or historical-grammatical method of understanding Scripture, allowing the Bible to interpret itself — line upon line, precept upon precept. However, one of the most sinister attacks against the Bible is from those who believe in the historical-critical method of explaining the Bible. This unbiblical approach of ‘higher criticism’ is a deadly enemy of our theology and mission….†In addition, he expressed his great confidence in the Spirit of Prophecy with these words: “Accept the Spirit of Prophecy as one of the greatest gifts given to the Seventh-day Adventist Church, not just for the past but even more importantly for the future.†He continued: “While the Bible is paramount in our estimation as the ultimate authority and final arbiter of truth, the Spirit of Prophecy provides clear, inspired counsel to aid our application of Bible truth. It is a heaven-sent guide to in- struct the church in how to carry out its mission…. The Spirit of Prophecy is to be read, believed, applied and promoted.â€
What a Sabbath! After hearing this powerful courageous sermon, I thought about the unseen forces present. If our eyes could have been opened, would we have seen Jesus Himself taking charge of His church in the battle against
Satan? By means of the Holy Spirit, I believe Jesus was using His servant and calling His church to Himself.
We are in a Great Controversy. It was no surprise that Pastor Wilson could hardly finish his sermon before being assailed online by those for whom compromise is no stranger. Of course, one sermon will not fix everything. There is more need than ever for a mighty outpouring of the Holy Spirit. We must “go forward†into Christ-likeness, not backward into secular worldliness.
This may have been the most important sermon to the Adventist church in modern times. Even though it may be mocked and abused by self-styled “progressive†elements in our Church, let us pray that we will have ears to hear. Elder Wilson will need our prayers. May the Lord protect him and his family, spiritually and physically, and use him along with the rest of us to display the splendor of His love, to a broken world. Let us “go forward†whatever the dangers, let’s go forward in Christ Jesus, the true Captain of our ship.
This article was published in the August edition of the Michigan Memo. Bold emphasis added.
The exodus was a devastating and humiliating experience for Egypt. The lack of record is likely due to fact that they did not want such a record, and did all in their power to obliterate it. It may or may not be that some record will be found. As for me, I don’t hinge my belief in the Scriptures based upon whether or not it is verified by some historian or scientist, but because I am a witness to the power of the word of God, both in my life and in the life of others.
Lee Folkman(Quote)
View CommentMr Smith & Folkman,
Regarding your defense of God in the topic of theodicy, allow me to explain my reasoning behind my distaste for your stances:
Issues:
1. We are automatically labeled as “sinners” from the day we are born due to the actions of Adam and Eve. To understand how ludicrous this idea is, let me give you an illustration. Your parents are North Koreans who conspired against… the established government. They were duly captured, and as punishment the government decides to cut off their hands and legs, and also decides to carry out this mutilating sentence to their future offspring’s. The concept of free will or choice, which is so cherished by Christians, is in no way present within this situation. For the offspring’s are not judged based upon their own merit, but rather their parents. Thus they literally become scapegoats, punished for actions in which they themselves did not commit, which is not only unjust but also ridiculous. And to expand upon this idiocy, they are required to confide and seek redemption in the man called Christ for the condition in which they have been forcefully placed. To do otherwise will mean to condemn oneself to everlasting torment. Utterly ridiculous.
2. Now. If you can make the claim/rebuttal to the latter by saying that “although the children may have been born into an unfair situation that they did not ask for, but still have the free will to choose Christ.” Let me answer you by saying this. In this world, one’s belief structure is strongly reinforced and influenced by the geographic region and time period in which they are born into. For example, if you lived in ancient Greece you would worship Zeus or Poseidon, If you were born in the Middle East you would believe in Mohammed, if you were born in China you would confide in the teachings of Buddha or Confucius, etc… In this arena of diverging thoughts and perspectives. How can one find truth? If we are to argue that truth is the Christian message of having faith in Christ? Honestly, if you were a Christian and some Buddhist came up to you waving his little Buddhist bible asking you to convert to the “truth”. What is more likely? That you would accept it? Or dismiss it as false? If we are to take the position that Buddhism is indeed the truth? You would dismiss of course, because you believe that the Christian bible is the truth. Thus even in this scenario the population of the world is placed in an unfair situation.
3. If we claim that God is all-powerful, knowing, and loving then why did God create the universe? Particularly the planet called earth? If He knew that by creating the world he will essentially damn men to suffer and die? If you were a parent, and knew that by conceiving you will place your children in a cycle of pain and unspeakable suffering. Why would you do it? Unless you were to say that he did not know (in which case why call him God?) or that he limited his knowledge (in which case he is being extremely unethical and sadistic at best).
Ricky Kim(Quote)
View CommentI tend to believe that Africa origin theory was originated by some politically correct scientist who has nothing better to do; just a conjecture. I recall having heard the theory of Africa from the left leaning NPR years ago.
If we accept Scripture and the opinion of true archeologists and Bible scholars about the Middle East origin of mankind then we can just disregard fanciful theories.
I hope this discussion does not become a place where those who do not believe in Creation can vent their arguments. They will find a better reception on either Spectrum or Adventists Today.
GMF(Quote)
View CommentBob Ryan wrote
What? We had neither physicists nor an atomic clock when our basic time units (years, days, hours, minutes, seconds) were developed based on rotation of the earth. Physicists and atomic clocks came about much, much later to give us more precision.
Professor Kent(Quote)
View Comment“Jesus answered and said unto them, ‘Ye do err, not knowing the Scriptures, nor the power of God.'” (Matthew 22:29)
Lee Folkman(Quote)
View Comment1. If we were to ignore the historic evidence that Egyptians were known for editing their historic records to remove mention of events and persons that did not flatter the god-pharaoh of the time – we might assume that such a large exodus should be in their records.
2. If we were to look for similar mass – exodus as a simply “natural” event – we will find that it is not likely that things ‘just so happen’ by themselves in the same way that God causes to happen by divine miracles.
3. Given that Israel went to Caanan 40 years later and then wiped out the population that they replaced – we cannot look to the conquered people for detailed historic records.
But so far the Bible has proven to be a reliable record of ancient history – and our FB #1 is still affirmed.
in Christ,
Bob
BobRyan(Quote)
View CommentPraise God for the leadership of Michigan conference President Jay Gallimore and the Michigan conference itself for taking a bold stand, setting up the groundwork for the victory in Christ that unfolded for all to see at the 59th GC session. It is only fitting and right that the first-lady of Seventh-day Adventist conferences — the Michigan Conference should have that privileged role and was found to respond so faithfully to her calling.
Praise God for the immediate decisive action taken by the newly elected GC President Neal Wilson in bringing this key issue directly to the front – striking while the iron was hot and the Church was assembled to take action. It is precisely that level of insightful bold leadership needed at this crisis hour. As for President Wilson’s loud liberal critics – very often the measure of the man can be quickly summed by the measure and determination of his opponents. In that regard President Wilson is indeed the right man for the job.
As for the recent comment above about the fabric of space-time not having a 24 hour concept until earth’s sun is created – the hint I would give is a four letter word – NASA. We spend quite a bit of time sending satellites up where there is no normal rise and set of the sun as they travel through our solar system. This does not stop us from knowing what 24 hours “is”.
From a science POV the “evening and morning” sequence does not require sun – it requires a rotating planet with a period that is the same as the one we have today – and a “light source” (does not have to be the sun) – that is on ONE SIDE instead of on ALL sides.
God says that on day 1 – He provided that light source. He tells us that the 24 period for planet earth was in effect day one. Of course the earth “could” also have been spinning in its “without form and void” shape (yet having water cover the surface of the deep) on a 24 hour basis even before that time – but the text does not insist that this is the case.
On day 4 the text says that God created “TWO” great lights – not “a zillion and two” the way many of our evolutionist friends have imagined in their efforts to discredit the text.
Our own FIRST fundamental belief argues that the bible IS a reliable accurate account/record of history – and as it turns out – the record “starts” with DAY-ONE of Creation week. Thus the irreconcilable differences confronting the would-be “seventh-day darwinian” start from the very first Fundamental Belief. —
in Christ,
Bob
BobRyan(Quote)
View CommentThe overall question here is rather simple in my view. One either accepts that the omnipotent Creator is capable of both creating by His voice, through His Spirit in seven days as the Bible states, AND is also capable of preserving the true plain facts about His creation act within His Word recorded accurately so that none may be uninformed as to our origin, OR one does not completely believe God to have sufficient ability create as He says He did or perhaps to preserve His own Word accurately.
Subsequently with the latter every fallible reasoning and so called science of mankind must be applied to the Bible for ‘answers’.
To me the true answer is rather easy. When faced with the questions, science, reasoning, or thoughts conceived in the minds of sinful mortal men it would be wise to side with the plainly written facts from the perfect mind of God.
Such was the example of the human Christ…”thus sayeth the Lord…”
As if that isnt sufficient enough already, add the gift of knowledge given through the Spirit of Prophecy and its a slam dunk.
KDF(Quote)
View CommentGod has bore long with the sinful world, but like modern day Israel, ancient Israel frustrated the will of God. It was God intention for ancient Israel to be missionaries to the world and bring about the everlasting kingdom. God intended for those who experienced the Red Sea crossing to enter into the New Jerusalem. “Thou shalt bring them in, and plant them in the mountain of Thine inheritance, in the place, O LORD, which Thou hast made for Thee to dwell in, in the Sanctuary, O Lord, which Thy hands have established.” (Exodus 15:17) But they did not enter in because of unbelief (Hebrews 4). The same can be said for the early Advent people who also failed to entered in because of unbelief before the turn of the 20th century.
God did not wait to intervene until after 4000 years had passed. First there was Adam, Enoch, Noah. After the flood, Noah had not even died when God called out Abraham, and, as I noted above, God would have established an everlasting kingdom with the twelve tribes who left Egypt, but they would not believe the word of the LORD. Even then God bore long with His people. It was for a short period of only a few hundreds years before Christ came that we have no record of a prophet among God’s people… then John the Baptist came unto the scene.
I encourage the reading of “The Everlasting Covenant” by E. J. Waggoner for an excellent account of God’s dealing with His people in the Old Testament.
Lee Folkman(Quote)
View Comment@Ricky Kim:
The Biblical Exodus, as described, involved the movements of tent-dwelling people. This sort of movement isn’t going to leave much archeological evidence. What this means is that the lack of positive evidence doesn’t mean it didn’t happen.
For a long time the higher biblical critics didn’t believe that Nebuchadnezzar existed or that he was the primary builder of Babylon – due to a lack of evidence. Then came the day when the walls of Bablylon were actually discovered – with the name of Nebuchadnezzar stamped on every brick.
This same thing has happened over and over again. The Bible has proven itself to be the most reliable historical textbook in history.
There are competing theries here. The African origin has not been conclusively demonstrated by the genome project at all. There are numerous theories for the origin of the human race from all over the place – such as China or even Northern Europe.
http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn18093-chinese-challenge-to-out-of-africa-theory.html
This claim is also mistaken. Flood legends and myths come from all major societies and cultures in history – north and south and in between. They simply are not limited to the northern part of the world like you claim:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flood_myth
Sean Pitman
http://www.DetectingDesign.com
Sean Pitman(Quote)
View CommentBob, I’m sure you must recognize this, and I’m only trying to be helpful here, but something like 9192631770 cycles for cesium 133 is based on a second, and not the other way around.
Professor Kent(Quote)
View CommentI guess where we ultimately differ gentlemen is that we don’t see eye to eye in matters pertaining to scripture because I don’t necessarily see it to be inspired. So much talk resulting in so little. I say this particularily do to issues I have regarding God’s justice in the topic of theodicy, and how little the arguments offered by Christians to defend God captivates me. I guess I’m a condemned man? haha. However, I have enjoyed our little chat and thank each of you for taking the time to expand upon it.
[edit – off topic]
Ricky Kim(Quote)
View Comment@Ricky Kim:
Actually we are not measuring time with the sun at all. We use either an atomic clock (caesium 133). We based time on physics that is independent of the rotation of our planet. The onboard clock does not ask earth for the time.
2. “From a science POV the “evening and morning” sequence does not require sun – it requires a rotating planet with a period that is the same as the one we have today – and a “light source” (does not have to be the sun) – that is on ONE SIDE instead of on ALL sides.”
What exactly was this light source? I have a hard time acknowledging that this is to be translated literal versus figuratively as a creation of an environment for the sun, moon, and stars to inhabit as i have stated before.
Again your argument presumes that the only source of light in all of the universe is fusion reactions of hydrogen to Helium in our sun. As it turns out – there are many ways to create light – and hydrogen–> Helium fusion is just one of them.
I am not sure why you think this would have been a problem for God or why your not knowing which method He used – makes it reasonable to doubt the text. In the text God is the creator of sun, moon, life on earth, the formatting of the earth environment etc. Nothing in the text leads the reader to the conclusion that God is not creating. Thus the argument that the LIGHT on the first day could not possibly be a creative act of God is not a conclusion based on exegeting the text.
Our first published set of Fundamental Beliefs was in 1872. The list given there has been “regrouped” and more doctrines added – but the practice goes back well into the 1800’s.
The key benefit of the early “Sabbath Conferences” and publishing of our “pillar” doctrines was urgently needed because at our early stage of development there were chaotic meetings where “hardly two agreed” and because they had ministers going out “claiming” to be Adventist that had false doctrine. They needed to draw a line. James White and Uriah Smith were at one point handing out ministerial “licenses” based on first approving the doctrine of the applicant.
BobRyan(Quote)
View CommentActually, as was pointed out by a previous poster on this site, the incorrect Egyptian chronology that has been foisted upon us is the cause of many of these misunderstandings. Now there are a number of serious efforts to line up Biblical history with Egyptian chronology. While they may not agree in all details, they do share the common understanding that Egyptian chronology is much shorter than previously assumed. With this understanding, a number of points match up between Egyptian and Biblical history.
One interesting matching point is the downfall of the Egyptian economy after a series of natural disasters. The destruction of the Egyptian army in the Red Sea may have been what allowed the “stranger people from outside Egypt” (the Hyksos) to invade Egypt, (just after the Exodus, according to the revised chronology). From a document supposed to be from the 19th dynasty (but could be a copy of a document from the 12th dynasty):
–Ipuwer Papyrus, Leiden Museum
(Thanks to the book, “Unwrapping the Pharaohs: How Egyptian Archeology Confirms the Biblical Timeline” (by John Ashton & David Down, p. 102) for this quote).
It sounds to me like the effect of the Exodus on the Egyptian economy was actually recorded in history, but our understanding of Egyptian Chronology has only recently begun to be corrected (and thus, to line up with the Bible Chronology, so that events could be recognized for what they were).
Warren(Quote)
View CommentAlso, since we are on the subject of Genesis.
Do you think that man is destined for eternal life?
Genesis 2:15 says:
15 The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. 16 And the LORD God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; 17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die.”
How could they have known what death was if sin has yet to enter the world?
Did they know it as a concept? And if so, wouldn’t this imply that they have some knowledge of what evil is?
Ricky Kim(Quote)
View CommentI suppose “short-winded philosophizing” is as good as any. Maybe Ricky will something of value in all the comments if he reads them all.
Bill Sorensen
Bill Sorensen(Quote)
View Comment@Ricky Kim
Isaiah 45:7 “I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace and create evil: I the Lord do all these things.” KJV
When did God create evil and why would He do so? Is not evil necessary for you to have free choice, if the choice always involves being for or against God’s will? Are not free choice and evil inseperable concepts, you can’t have one without the other?
Can you have free choice with God retaining His omniscience? Calvin thought not, rejected free choice and arrived at the concept of predestination. I contend and would like you to consider that God gave up His omnisceinece for His created beings moral decisions to foster love as the controlling principle in His universe.
If you read the Bible literally, there are many examples of this being true. Here are just two:
Genesis 3:10-11 “And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself. And He said, Who told thee that thou was naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?” KJV If you read these verses literally did God know before he came to walk with Adam in the garden that Adam had sinned or was he tipped off to it by Adam’s statement of nakedness?
Genesis 6:5-7 “And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And it repented the Lord that He had made man on the earth, and it grieved Him at his heart. And the Lord said, I will destroy man who I have created from the face of the earth;” KJV Read it literally and decide did God know before he created the earth that he would have to resort to a flood and destroy mankind? How can you repent and be grieved by something that you have known about for years?
Many have said that freedom is not free. It invariably has to be bought with someone’s blood and treasure. Free choice is not free. God had to give up His omniscience, sacrifice His Son and endure the frustrations and humiliation of His created beings making the wrong choices and suffering the consequences. Become a Berean and study free choice, you will come to know God better and appreciate Him more.
Lysle Williams Jr.(Quote)
View CommentWell, Ricky, some accept and like the bible’s answer to your question and some don’t. For those who don’t like the answer, God will simply “un-create” them as this is their choice.
Do you like the fact that God created you? Those who are saved, all like this idea. They may not like suffering and other negative things sin has brought into God’s universe, but we are told and promised that this will all come to an end soon.
God is not responsible for sin, even though He has allowed it. Others have explained this.
Ultimately, God created us to know and share the quality of life He Himself knows and enjoys. And in fellowship with Him and others who know and fellowship with Him as we fellowship with each other, we experience a quality of life that transcends the animal world.
For us, this means self government based on a responsible freedom in harmony with God’s loving will.
Do you like this idea? If not, God won’t force you to participate but will honor your choice to be free from this responsible freedom and end your existence.
Satan desired irresponsible freedom. It doesn’t work that way. That is simply chaos with no stability. Responsible freedom is governed by the law of love. Christians are in the process of learning and appropriating God’s way instead of Satan’s way. Not always easy, but rewarding and satisfying in the end.
Sin is delusional. It promises freedom, but genders bondage. We don’t have to know everything, and don’t. So what we don’t know, Jesus stands in our place and presents us to God as “perfect”. Knowing this, we have “peace with God through Jesus Christ”.
If we don’t have Jesus, then we must know everything and be equal to God. This is not possible. God can not create another God. But He can create a moral being with simular qualities. That is, freedom of choice as others have explained.
Do you want to live forever in perfect freedom and happiness? Jesus is the answer. If you are struggling to figure some of this out, “welcome to the club”. But there is a viable biblical answer that has a rational explanation based on spiritual concepts. The Holy Spirit helps us see it, know it, and appreciate it. And ultimately, desire it.
I hope someone has helped you see and understand something of the enigma of your question.
Christian regards,
Bill Sorensen
Bill Sorensen(Quote)
View CommentSeventh-day Adventists have the religious liberty to teach whatever they desire in their schools, but without secular accreditation, they will quickly close and/or drastically diminish in importance. The biblical truth is that there is no “great controversy” between Christ and Satan. Christ’s victory over Satan was NEVER in doubt from day one. Indeed, Satan became a defeated foe at Calvary. It’s all about Him! Soli Deo Gloria!
In awe of the guilt-removing, sin-atoning sacrifice of Jesus,
Dennis Fischer
Dennis Fischer(Quote)
View Comment@Ricky Kim:
Ricky, you said:
The statement you made regarding the Bible as the most reliable textbook in history also troubles me in many levels but specifically in the context of theodicy. Many secular scientist would say that the earth is at least 4 billion years old, with creationist attesting to the earth age as being within 12-10,000 years. For the sake of this argument 10,000 years would be fine. We say that Christ intervention came 2000 years ago. Which means that for 8,000 years people have suffered and died with heaven watching down. They did not decide to call for an intervention until 2000 years ago-into one of the most illiterate parts of the world during that time-The middle east. Where literacy rate was about 1% of the total population. It wasn’t say somewhere like China where writing was invented.
———————————————–
Perhaps you do not understand the Bible at all. It teaches that when sin entered at the beginning, there was a promise (cf Genesis 3:15) of redemption that was shadowed by the sacrifical system. Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world (John 1:29) and He is the Lamb slain from the foundations of the world (Rev 13:8).
This means that Jesus’ coming did not exclude the people of any race or era, but they had a faith based system which was communicated and if believed, people would have participated in this system.
God does not wish for any to perish but that all should come to repentance. He is no respecter of persons. Thus we can be sure that people of all ages and races will be saved. Our job now is to believe and make our calling and election sure. I invite you to do the same.
Jonathan Smith(Quote)
View CommentThis thoughtful assessment by Jay Gallimore is encouraging and on target. It seems to me that at Atlanta, the Holy Spirit gently took the hands of Ted Wilson and placed them onto the helm of the ship,His church,and turned it directly into the looming iceberg, in response to the heavenly command, “meet it!” As never before, this is a time for the continuing expression of genuine Holy-Spirit-promted inter-family love, prayer, respect, dialogue, and patience. As guided by God, in the end, only good and healing can flow from such decisions taken at Atlanta. May God give me and each of us the living faith needed at such a time.
John(Quote)
View CommentAMEN!! May God keep us faithful.
Sandi Reiber(Quote)
View CommentRe Bob’s Quote
“As for the recent comment above about the fabric of space-time not having a 24 hour concept until earth’s sun is created – the hint I would give is a four letter word – NASA. We spend quite a bit of time sending satellites up where there is no normal rise and set of the sun as they travel through our solar system. This does not stop us from knowing what 24 hours “is”.”
Dear Bob
With respect, I don’t think you can ignore Einstein’s work on General Relativity when it comes to time. I think it is a very legitimate question as to whether the notion of 24 hours could exist before the applicable gravitational forces came into being.
Regards
Ken
Ken(Quote)
View Comment24 hour day
By definition an hour is 1/24th of the time of one rotation of the planet.
It doesn’t matter how fast the planet is rotating, an hour is always 1/24 of the rotation time.
If you had two planets side by side (planet A and Planet B) and one (planet B) was rotating twice as fast as the other, each planet would still have 24 hours per day/rotation. The difference is that an hour on planet B, when measured by time based on planet A, would be 1/2 the length of time as an hour on planet A. But still, Each planet would have 24 hour days. What matters here is which planet do you live on.
A minute is 1/60 of an hour and a second is 1/60 of a minute. Our Measurements of time is based on the rotation of the planet. The second is based on the minute and the minute is based on the hour and the hour is based on the rotation of the planet. Time is not based on the second or some fraction there of. Nuclear clocks have been set up to try to have a basis to measure time across the universe based on the second. Still even then it is an measurement at only approximates the time of 1/60 of 1/60 of 1/24 of 1 rotation of the planet.
So to saying that the days of the creation week were 24 hours long is really a redundancy. A hour is 1/24 of a day.
As for physics AiG has an excellent summary and explanation found here:
“Do creationists believe in weird science?”
http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/nab2/do-creationists-believe-in-weird-physics
Allen Roy(Quote)
View CommentI’m glad President Gallimore has the backbone to use the words “mocked and abused” to plainly state how President Wilson’s words have been and are being criticized by the “self-styled progressive elements in our Church” including AT, Spectrum, LSU, and the SECC.
Ron Stone M.D(Quote)
View CommentI fully agree with the principle that we as a people are under a direct mandate from God to deal with this in a forthright and decisive way, BUT, with that there is also the realization that repression is as serious a problem as the one here under debate. In all that we do we also have a mandate to be redemptive, Christ centred, kind and understanding. Being drawn into the same arena of pride of opinion and force of majority that the liberal (for want of a better term) camp operates from can create an atmosphere that will send us back into the dark ages. Sometimes the devil tries to arrange things to get a reaction out of us that suits his aims just as much as the action he creates in the first place.
It certainly is time for action, but much, much prayer needs to continue to be poured into this. When God acts through His church, it often is in ways that are both surprising and decisive. After all, He’s creative!
Aaron(Quote)
View CommentSome facts – we have more than one planet in our solar system and they each have their own rotational period. Even our own moon has its own rotational period. Turns out given this real life case of having many planets all rotating at their own rate – we do not say “they all have 24 hour days” or “24 hour evening and mornings”. Evening and morning is different lengths of time depending on the planet you select.
This one happens to be 24 hours.
And a second happens to be based on something like 9192631770cycles for cesium 133. Once you have the second – everything else falls right into line.
in Christ,
Bob
BobRyan(Quote)
View CommentI guess you would have had to follow the argument to see the point. The claim was made initially that the fabric of space time itself does not allow for an evening and morning – 24 hours without earth’s sun in place so Moses could not have been shown an earth rotating on its axis in a 24 hour evening morning fashion since TIME ITSELF is undefined with the sun.
My point was that the notion that time itself is undefined if our sun is not there to tell us what time it is – went out the window a while ago.
Turns out God is “even smarter” than we are — so if we can figure it out – it is not too much of a stretch to claim that God can do just as good as man in that department.
in Christ,
Bob
BobRyan(Quote)
View Comment@Ricky Kim:
Don’t forget about the drowning of the entire Egyptian army in the shallow waters of the Reed Sea 😉
As far as I’m aware, there were only two “Nebuchadnezzars” in the line of the Babylonian kings. Nebuchadnezzar I was king of the Babylonian Empire from about 1125 to 1103 BCE. He is not to be confused with the more well-known Nebuchadnezzar II of biblical fame who reigned from 605 to 562 BCE. It is kind of hard to confuse these two kings.
Beyond this, it was completely forgotten for most of modern history that Nebuchadnezzar II is the one who actually built the famed city of Babylon and the famous hanging gardens during the time of Daniel (6th century BCE). For example, according to early Greek historians and those living during the Hellenistic era (beginning after the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BCE), King Nebuchadnezzar was thought to have played a rather insignificant role in the affairs of ancient history. In fact, many scholars didn’t even believe that he was a real historical personage much less a prominent King of Babylon. He is never referred to early Greek literature as a great builder or as the creator of a new and greater Babylon. In fact, this honor is generally ascribed to Assyrian Queen Semiramis who was given a rather prominent place in the history of Babylonia by classical Greek historians.
The problem is that relatively recent discoveries of cuneiform records from the 6th century B.C., (unearthed by archeologists during the 1800s) have entirely changed the picture derived from classical writers. At the same time these early records have corroborated the account of the book of Daniel – which credits Nebuchadnezzar with the rebuilding of Babylon at the height of Babylonian power (Daniel 4:30).
But, what about Queen Semiramis? As it turns out, Queen Semiramis (SammuDramat in cuneiform inscriptions) was a queen mother in Assyria – regent for her infant son Adad-nirari III. Contrary to the claims of the classical sources, she was not a queen over Babylonia at all. The cuneiform inscriptions have shown that she had nothing to do with any building activity in Babylon.
The Greek historians were also silent in regards to the “Belshazzar” mentioned in the Bible. Yet, the cuneiform tablets note that Belshazzar (grandson of Nebuchadnezzar II) was the eldest son of King Nabonidus (son of Nebuchadnezzar II) who reigned with his son and entrusted the rule of Babylon to him while he was in Arabia (on a spiritual journey). Historical documents continued to reference his name only, but his son was the crown prince, heir and ruler while his father was absent
Obviously then, no one could have known and detailed the information written in the book of Daniel except for someone living during or immediately after the Neo-Babylonian age. Anyone living too many years later would simple not have had access to this forgotten information which had been completely lost by the time of the Hellenistic era. In fact, the presence of such information in the book of Daniel seems to puzzle at least a few critical scholars who do not believe that Daniel was written in the 6th century (BCE), but rather in the 2nd.
A typical example of their dilemma is found in the following statement from R. H. Pfeiffer, of Harvard University:
It seems to me that many of your facts are either clearly mistaken or pulled out of thin air. You also pick and choose the data that you wish to present and present it as if there is no debate or any other reasonable alternative position debated among mainstream scientists or historians. You can be skeptical all you want, but at least be honest about what the currently available data can and cannot clearly support…
Sean Pitman
http://www.DetectingDesign.com
Sean Pitman(Quote)
View Comment@Lee Folkman, Your post is great, but Ricky does not believe the bible is necessarily inspired, which, in liberal language means “not inspired” or he will himself decide and choose which parts he wants to believe are inspired.
So, using quotes from the bible are of little to no help for him. Right, Ricky?
Ron Stone M.D.(Quote)
View CommentHere are my efforts to edit my post to Ricky Kim –
BobRyan said –
2. “From a science POV the “evening and morning” sequence does not require sun – it requires a rotating planet with a period that is the same as the one we have today – and a “light source” (does not have to be the sun) – that is on ONE SIDE instead of on ALL sides.”
@Ricky Kim: said –
BobRyan said –
Again your argument presumes that the only source of light in all of the universe is fusion reactions of hydrogen to Helium in our sun. As it turns out – there are many ways to create light – and hydrogen–> Helium fusion is just one of them.
I am not sure why you think this would have been a problem for God or why your not knowing which method He used – makes it reasonable to doubt the text. In the text God is the creator of sun, moon, life on earth, the formatting of the earth environment etc. Nothing in the text leads the reader to the conclusion that God is not creating. Thus the argument that the LIGHT on the first day could not possibly be a creative act of God is not a conclusion based on exegeting the text.
3. “Our own FIRST fundamental belief argues that the bible IS a reliable accurate account/record of history – and as it turns out – the record “starts” with DAY-ONE of Creation week. Thus the irreconcilable differences confronting the would-be “seventh-day darwinian” start from the very first Fundamental Belief.”
@Ricky Kim: said –
BobRyan said —
Our first published set of Fundamental Beliefs was in 1872. The list given there has been “regrouped” and more doctrines added – but the practice goes back well into the 1800′s.
The key benefit of the early “Sabbath Conferences” and publishing of our “pillar” doctrines was urgently needed because at our early stage of development there were chaotic meetings where “hardly two agreed” and because they had ministers going out “claiming” to be Adventist that had false doctrine. They needed to draw a line. James White and Uriah Smith were at one point handing out ministerial “licenses” based on first approving the doctrine of the applicant.
@Ricky Kim: said –
BobRyan replied —
The logic in your argument is illusive.
1. Children are born in nine months in the Bible – science or not.
2. The earth rotates resulting in a 24 hour day in the Bible – science or not.
3. The author of the bible is God – (2Peter 1:20-21, 2Tim 3:16) — the greatest scientist of all time.
One of the tests of an inspired prophet is that doctrine has to be correct. But why should doctrine be correct if the Bible is only the product of flawed human thinking? Surely a “good person” can have flawed doctrine. Well it turns out that the REASON that is a valid test of a prophet is that the source is NOT the man – it is God.
@Ricky Kim: said –
BobRyan said —
1. You are correct to observe that the path you are going down requires denial of our very first Fundamental Belief. There is no way around it if the goal is evolution.
2. Your are taking assumptions (in some cases very large assumptions) and trying to position them as proven fact.
3. I have already explained the Exodus record – so I will deal with the 2nd point above.
There are no historic records nor videos nor DNA fragments showing how people migrated at the time of Noah other than the Bible.
There is no evidence at all that mankind has unearthed the entire human population that was alive at the time of Noah or even 400 years after Noah. When they migrated to Africa is unknown. There are no records written before that time and the remaining guesswork is based on assumptions applied to more assumptions.
Soft tissue finds, protein molecule finds and DNA fragment finds in strata much older than is possible given the half-life of those materials is already telling us that something is wrong with our date/age system for the past.
Assumptions piled on top of assumptions do not form a compelling argument against the inspired text.
in Christ,
Bob
BobRyan(Quote)
View CommentAs usual Prof Kent misses the point. If the argument is that the fabric of space time ITSELF does not allow for TIME (and evening and morning in a 24 hour period of earth’s rotation) unless you have the sun therefore God could not have informed Moses of such a thing existing at a time before He created our sun, THEN the simple atomic clock example fully debunks the lack of logic in that rationale.
The point remains.
in Christ,
Bob
BobRyan(Quote)
View CommentMr. Stone,
I don’t understand your usage of the terms “liberal” and “fundamentalist”.
Believe me, if you followed everything the Bible says-you would be out stoning the homosexuals, killing the witches, etc…
Everyone pick and chooses passages from the Bible.
You can’t be 100% objective about it, because the moment you read it you already are interperting it in your own unique way.
Ricky Kim(Quote)
View CommentRespectfully, these arguments towards a theodicy fall flat for me. If a creator [G]od is the prime mover, and [G]od is omniscient, according to classic Xian theology [G]od was able to foresee the consequences of [G]od’s actions. And yet, …the presumption is that [G]od went ahead and put everything in motion. The freewill argument stops working about right here because at some point in time, [G]od had a choice to make – before anyone or anything was created into existence and awareness. If a theology asserts that the whole of the universe was created by [G]od, at one point there was just [G]od and [G]od with all of the future to consider. In this paradigm, [G]od is completely and totally responsible for everything that happens in this universe.
Ricky Kim(Quote)
View CommentClearly Ricky Kim chooses by-faith-alone acceptance of evolutionism’s doctrine on origins over the Bible.
Ricky’s POV is clearly consistent in that he rejects the Bible and therefore sees no problem at all with bending it “as needed” to make it fit evolution – or simply tossing it out the window altogether to embrace evolution.
Now as much as Ricky may be thinking that this opposes the Adventist positoin regarding those who believe in evolutionism — it actually confirms it. We can easily agree with Ricky that once you toss the Bible out the window – belief in evolutionism (no matter how irrational and unscientific it is) is just about all that is left.
in Christ,
Bob
BobRyan(Quote)
View Comment“We can easily agree with Ricky that once you toss the Bible out the window – belief in evolutionism (no matter how irrational and unscientific it is) is just about all that is left.”
Mr. Bob,
I don’t know how you can dismiss evolution as being irrational and unscientific-I mean religion teaches that a talking snake existed, alongside a burning bush, and men rising from the dead.
To say the Jesus rose from the dead, or preformed the various miracles that is told has happened based on scripture suggest that the natural order of things, of how the earth operates and still continues to operate till this very day has been suspended and has leaned on your favor. Tell me, what is more likely? that the natural order of things has indeed been suspended, or everything that is “miraculous” is not very miraculous at all?
But this again, will fall into conflict do to how we see the Bible.
Ricky Kim(Quote)
View CommentKDF –
Agreed – 3SG 90-96 makes the whole point abundantly clear.
On numerous occassions this has been pointed out to our evolutionist friends and at times they have been bold enough to give the response that most closely fits their POV — “Well then Ellen White was wrong”.
in Christ,
Bob
BobRyan(Quote)
View CommentWell gentlemen,
This certainly has been an interesting dialogue,
and I must thank each of you for allowing me to play the devil’s advocate.
And leaving notes upon my various comments. Very enjoyable indeed. However, a quick injection I wish to make.
Enuma Elish or the babylonian creation myth seems to share similarities with the Genesis account. Considering that its creation myth is older. I wanted to ask what are we to make of this? Did God inspire the Babylonians with some truths? And if so, can we consider that all religions lead to one God? And if not, how seriously are we to take the narrative of Genesis. Which also has 2 perspectives of creation. Verse 1 & 2?
Ricky Kim(Quote)
View Comment