The more I read about this controversy (and see comments …

Comment on La Sierra “outraged” over Educate Truth article by JohnB.

The more I read about this controversy (and see comments here on it), the more I wonder if it is truly the Omega apostasy predicted to rise near the close of time.

Dr. J.H. Kellogg was seduced into believing that God was everywhere and in every thing, and because of it that god was nature, and nature was god. That was the Alpha apostasy (pantheism).

In contrast to pantheism, current thought by evolutionists fundamentally boils down to the idea that God had nothing to do with life, and has seduced many into believing that God does not exist. Maybe this is the Omega apostasy?

As Alpha is the first letter in the Greek alphabet, and Omega is the last, so pantheism would be the first of the major apostasies, and perhaps evolutionism the last.

In a certain way, Pantheism is nearly an extreme opposite to Evolutionism in thought and philosophy. One philosophy says God is in everything, so everything must be God while the other says God is nowhere, so God does not exist.
[However if He does exist and instituted evolution, He is a cruel God to use predation (predator and prey) as a mechanism for the development of life.]

The implications of this run much deeper than a mere disagreement with scripture, as the ultimate implications of evolutionism strike at the very heart of Biblical Christianity.
If evolution is correct, and life originated on its own, than God has no business involving himself in the sin process, because life and sin started on their own outside the realm of God.
Furthermore, it implies that the controversy can arise again, and will arise again on some other planet as it evolves, for again, they start outside the realm of God.
Still further, it implies that because life exists apart from God, than God is powerless to bring sin to an end because He cannot control what begins without His control.
The philosophy of evolution not only destroys the reason for having the Adventist Church, but it also destroys the reason for Christianity at all!

If life and sin and death all arose apart from God as evolution implies, than what was the purpose for Christ to come to this earth? And for what is Christ saving humanity from? Think about it some. There really is no need for a savior in a naturalistic paradigm that progresses through the mechanism of ‘survival of the fittest’. Ultimately, the best will survive anyway, weeding out the inferior physically and morally.

Once you accept this philosophy (evolutionism), and add to it the lie told Eve in the Garden of Eden (that she would not die by eating of the forbidden fruit), and then mix in a little re-incarnation philosophy, you basically have the religion of Hinduism, which teaches that we all are progressing to a higher plane of existence, back to being ‘god’ (where they think we originated from anyway).

Should LSU be outraged right now? Yes! All students and faculty should be outraged that their science teachers and their president hold to a philosophy so diametrically opposed to true Christianity, and so fundamentally at odds with scripture when in fact they are supposed to be a Christian university.

Young Earth (YE)/ Young life creationists may not have all the answers as to what happened and when (yes, there are still unanswered questions). They may not yet have all the scientific proof for their position. However, they can show that there are fundamental flaws in the theory of evolutionism (from statistics, thermodynamics, etc.) and because of these flaws it brings into question the validy of the INTERPRETATION of the scientific data. Maybe the data support a different theory than the one currently adopted. It is possible, and should be honestly investigated by all.
Whether evolutionists like to think so or not, the disagreements of the creationist philosophy are part of the TRUE peer-review process. Honest dialog is needed to discern the best interpretation of the data and for the peer review process to work as originally intended.

All that being said, I don’t think there ever will be honest dialog between these two disagreeing parties because of a fundamental problem: I think that evil does exist, and that Satan exists, and that he has an agenda. I think evolutionism is part of that agenda, and he is using it as part of his plan to seduce and ensnare humanity.
Unwittingly or not, I think many have become involved in something bigger than they are, and because of that I think this whole debate is part of the Omega apostasy predicted to arise just before the end of this world.

Each person needs to come to a fundamental uderstanding with their own soul: Is the Bible really God’s Word, and can it be trusted? Evolutionism fundamentally says it is flawed, and untrustworthy. Creationists say it can be believed. One or the other is right, and the other is totally wrong. There is no middle ground.

Given their position and what they stand for (being a Christian university), it is amazing to me that LSU faculty (Science teachers and president) have taken the position they have on this.

Perhaps it shouldn’t be so surprising to me if I was correct in an earlier posting that this may be an instance of the Counter-Revolution: the outworking of the Omega apostasy.
If you are one of the ones outraged, just be sure you know which side you are on.

JohnB Also Commented

La Sierra “outraged” over Educate Truth article
Dr. Ron Stone,

I Believe I did not mention tithe in my posting above, knowing a lot of people’s opinion on the subject. I also still believe in the church structure, and believe the SDA movement inspired by God and is still part of His true Church.

However, (though not directly pertinent to this topic string) I also remember Christ’s words in John 10:16 , where He said that “And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, [and] one shepherd.” To me that implies that His true Church (Church triumphant) is not necessarily the same thing as the church militant.

Because of that, the verse in Malachi 3:10 [“Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house”] and the verse in Matthew 7:21 “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven” can go together quite well to give an idea what the true ‘storehouse is: i.e, it is not limited just to the denominational structure.

I would also like to point out that Mrs. White supported a missionary (I believe it was a teacher, though I could be wrong) with her own tithe for a time because the established church refused to.

So, in conclusion, I think it is very legitimate to return tithe to institutions that are outside the established hierarchy of the church structure if they are in fact using that money to further the work of God, because, indeed they truly are part of that ‘storehouse’ described in the Bible.

Again, I did not mention ‘tithe’ in my original comment, but it is still very legitimate to return it in this manner also.


La Sierra “outraged” over Educate Truth article
Wayne, why put it into a savings account? That is almost like burying treasure, and I don’t know if that is good stewardship either.

There are plenty of independent ministries that could use good support, and I would recommend sending money to them instead. Let the conference know the money is gone, and will stay that way until the problem is remedied.

Here are a few of the ministries, and what they do:

Light-bearers ministries (Oregon?) sends out FREE literature by the cargo-container load to developing and 3rd-world nations in their languages. This is an incredibly good use of money!;

Maranatha Missions (California)is building churches, schools, orphanages throughout the world. Another great place to send funds!;

Kenneth Cox ministries (California) has a very good program with 3ABN, and I recommend it to everyone. Message is right on, and it is another great place to help finance;

Arise Institute (Asscherick, et al. California) has a great message, and is another good place to support;

Pioneer Memorial Church (Dwight Nelson, Michigan), has a great program, with 3ABN and alone.

Breath of Life Ministries (Walter L Pearson, Washington DC), has a great message, and worthy of support.

I’m sure there are lots more too, but I don’t think it is a good thing to just bury the treasure like the Unfaithful Steward condemned by Christ in His parable.

Anyway, those are just my thoughts, and some ideas for the good use of funds.


La Sierra “outraged” over Educate Truth article
It seems to me that Roger was just asking a question in his post: Basically, there seems to be two different messages (one from the slide, and the other from the video). The slide says that the only way to make sense of this world is through the unifying theory of evolutionism, while the video says that you have to understand evolutionism to understand the people you will come in contact with every day in the sciences, but still, creationism is fact. They are saying two completely different things. Roger just wanted to know why?

And Bravus, you are right that Roger used just one slide from that syllabus, but that one slide offers quite a commentary, and even perhaps an indictment against its author. If there were such a thing as a ‘smoking gun’ in this discussion, that would pretty much be it.

The actions of the leadership at LSU make me wonder if we have an instance of the counter-reformation at work. It is certainly speculative, but the words of the teachers, and leadership there give me pause to wonder at their true beliefs. The watchword of Protestantism used to be ‘Sola Scriptura,’ meaning ‘The Bible only,’ and certainly it seems LSU has abandoned that credo in favor of a more humanistic approach which raises the ideas of mankind above the inspired Word of God.

Ultimately, the discussion comes down to two ways of looking at things: Do we accept the Bible as the final authority on sacred history and origins (knowing we may not be able to explain everything right now), or do we accept the ideas of mankind (knowing they are often flawed and erroneous) as the standard for what is Truth? Evolutionists would have us believe that science is the final arbiter between right and wrong, and that it has the last say in this discussion. True Bible-believing Christians beg to differ, and don’t accept that credo.

Members of this organization of Christianity have the right to expect that leadership in Adventist schools (whether LSU, or any other) will at least ‘try’ to convey a message in harmony with the belief system of its parent organization. This is seemingly lacking at LSU, and thus the controversy (and thus also my conjecture that we may have an instance of the counter-reformation at work).

This would be a simple matter to clear up if LSU chose to, but given Dr. Wisby’s philosophy regarding the “integration” that needs to occur between the church and current humanistic philosophy, it seems unlikely to happen any time soon.

[To see a copy of the speech given by Dr. Wisby in November 2008 that describes this “integration”, please check out the link below:

http://www.lasierra.edu/fileadmin/documents/pruser/Speeches/Nurturing_the_Adventist_Mind.pdf ]


Recent Comments by JohnB

The Heroic Crusade Redux

Professor Kent: Informed Seventh-day Adventists are well aware that the world of science rejects a supernatural creation, yet the vast majority still believe. You should not mock their faith.

Au, Contraire Monsieur professeur, it was no mockery of faith, but merely a statement that there is room in this discussion for both faith AND evidence, and also we should not demonize Dr. Pitman for presenting the evidence!

Perhaps you would see that if you re-read again what the good Doctor wrote?

Certainly within this body of believers there is room for both faith And evidence in this discussion, and as Dr. Kime suggests, we would do well to combine them both.

For any of us to attempt to cause needless division by distorting that point is in fact the real mockery here. It should be completely below any and all of us to engage in such tactics.


WASC Reviews LSU’s Accreditation

Ron: Don’t forget that Mrs. White implied that we would have to change some of our fundamental beliefs as truth progresses.

Ron, I think what you are implying is a very serious mis-reading of what she said and implied.

Also, how do you know she wasn’t addressing that to folks such as yourself that apparently don’t believe in the authority of Scripture? Maybe she was implying that you needed to come into closer harmony with Scripture?

I might remind you briefly of Proverbs 16:25 which says that “There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.”

What I say doesn’t matter. What you say doesn’t matter. If either one of us is in rebellion against God, it won’t end well for for the one(s) in rebellion.
We might all do well to always remember that.


WASC Reviews LSU’s Accreditation
@Ron:
“I think WASC should be commended for defending religious freedom within our schools. I am still mystified how the church can claim to believe in religious freedom and persecute their teachers”

Ron, the issue is not one of religious freedom. Each of these teachers is free to think and believe what they want to. I have absolutely no problem with that, and would most rigorously defend that right. However, they don’t have a right to sabotage their employer, which is LSU, and by extension, the Adventist Church at large.
Having a secret agenda (and pushing that agenda) which counters the beliefs of the church cannot be anything more or less than sabotage.
Everyone must be aware of his/her influence, and especially people in positions of authority. Officials at a school always represent the school, and if they don’t want that responsibility (or can’t handle that responsibility) then they should not accept that responsibility. It is very appropriate to ask them to resign if they cannot properly represent the school.


WASC Reviews LSU’s Accreditation
I wish the leadership of our church would disavow all WASC and the like accreditations, and do self-accreditations instead. THAT would give the school TRUE autonomy.


The Metamorphosis of La Sierra University: an eye-witness account
It seems that ‘Conspire’ is more of an underhanded move by some in an unofficial capacity, while ‘ally’ is more of a sanctioned behavior. The difference between the two is primarily the one action being an allowed official behavior, while the other is a subversive behavior in rebellion to or against officially accepted behavior. In this context, ‘conspire’ is the correct word.

When I read the eyewitness account, I was struck by the similarity to the story of the rebellion in heaven, when Satan conspired against the government of heaven to ‘free’ its inhabitants from the ‘constraints’ of God’s Law. Revelation 12:7,8,9 goes on to say that “…there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels. And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out….”

In heaven, the ‘dragon’ and his angels were cast out. Will that happen at LSU? Only time will tell.

I think a battle is still brewing over this (with LSU) which will become more intense if the church does take a definite stand (which it should). We should all be prepared for it, because it will likely get pretty ugly.

As in heaven, so with LSU: Each person will have to take a stand. Each will have to take sides. These ‘conspirators’ are more out in the open now. They have prepared for battle, and I don’t think they have any intent of coming under the direction of or submitting to the control of the board (if it isn’t also compromised), nor of the church at large. They feel in control, and they aren’t going to back down. LSU as an Adventist university may be a lost cause.

Again, the similarities to the rebellion in heaven seem glaringly obvious. The words spoken by the prophet Samual to King Saul in 1 Samuel 15:23 seem applicable here too: “For rebellion [is as] the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness [is as] iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee….”