Comment on La Sierra “outraged” over Educate Truth article by BobRyan.
@JohnB:
JohnB says:
December 1, 2009 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.
I too have been wondering about that same thing since I first learned about the 1995 AToday survey of all SDA collegiate and university science teachers and the followup meeting held about 5 years ago — along with this flareup at LSU.
3SG 90-91 Ellen White addressed this problem as “the worst kind of infidelity” calling it “disguised infidelity” — (atheism). But she did not address the problem as one that was then coming from inside the Adventist church in her day.
Also there are atheist science organizations like the British Center for Science and education that do attribute the demise of christianity in Europe and America to the success of evolutionism. They argue that to the degree that Christians hold to a real acceptance of the Bible as trustwothy – they reject evolutionism’s counter doctrines for origins.
in Christ,
Bob
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La Sierra “outraged” over Educate Truth article
I would like to see some Union Presidents weigh in on this issue since they actually run the schools.
in Christ,
Bob
La Sierra “outraged” over Educate Truth article
@Robbie:
Robbie – that is the real question to be answered. Why do the LSU administrators or at the very least the Pacific Union Administrators take action?
The answer for the LSU admin seems to be that they are still toying with the idea that the Bible might be an evolutionist document.
The answer for the Pacific Union is less clear.
The answer as to why the North American Division is so silent – is even less clear.
in Christ,
Bob
La Sierra “outraged” over Educate Truth article
Good points Connie.
In one of Erv Taylor’s recent posts he appears to agree that the by-faith-alone position taken by Greer and himself in their all-for-materialism endorsement of evolutionism – is not at all in agreement with actual Bible doctrine on origins.
Thus your appeal to the Bible position on this subject – will get “dead silence” from them in general.
It is to be expected.
in Christ,
Bob
Recent Comments by BobRyan
Academic Freedom Strikes Again!
george:
By definition, I don’t believe in miracles or apocryphal, anthropomorphic stories about same.Why aren’t scientists observing them today if they occur?
Circular argument. If they were naturally occurring we would expect scientists to see that they are still occurring today. If they are singular events caused by an intelligent being – that being would be under no obligation to “keep causing world wide floods” as if “to do it once you must continually do it”. Armstrong went to the moon.. shall we argue that unless he keeps going to the moon so each new generation can see it … then it did not happen?
Your argument is of the form “all eye witness evidence to some event in the past is no evidence at all unless that event keeps repeating itself so we too can witness it”. Seems less than compelling.
“Could it be that science is better able to detect hoaxes and false claims?” As a rule for dismissing every eye witness account in the past – it is less than compelling. (even when that event cannot be repeated)
Evolutionists “claim” that dust, rocks and gas (in sufficient quantity and over sufficient time and a lot of luck) self organized into rabbits via prokaryote-then-eukaryote-then-more-complexity. But such self-organization cannot be “observed” today.
(What is worse – such a sequence cannot even be intelligently manipulated to occur in the lab)
By your own argument then you should not believe in evolution.
Academic Freedom Strikes Again!
@Sean Pitman:
Suppose you were at a crime scene … there is a tree limb on the ground and a bullet hole in the victim — “all natural causes”? or is one ‘not natural’? Those who say that nothing can be detected as “not naturally occurring in nature” – because all results, all observations make it appear that every result “naturally occurred without intelligent design” seem to be missing a very big part of “the obvious”.
Academic Freedom Strikes Again!
george:
Gentlemen,What just God would allow an innocent child to be born guilty for the sins of a distant ancestor? …What if there was only One Commandment? Do Good. ‘Kant’ see a problem with that.
An atheist point of view is not often found here – but this is interesting.
1. God does not punish babies for what someone else did – but I suppose that is a reductionist option that is not so uncommon among atheists. The “details” of the subject you are commenting on – yet according to you “not reading” – is that humans are born with sinful natures. A “bent” toward evil. That is the first gap right out of the gate between atheism and God’s Word..
2. But still God supernaturally enables “free will” even in that bent scenario, the one that mankind lives in – ever since the free-will choice of the first humans on planet earth – was to cast their lot in with Satan and rebellion..(apparently they wanted to see what a wonderful result that poor choice would create). John 16 “the Holy Spirit convicts the world of sin and righteousness and judgment”. And of course “I will draw ALL mankind unto Me” John 12:32. (not “just Christians”). Thus supernatural agency promotes free will in a world that would otherwise be unrestrained in its bent to evil.
3.God says “The wages of sin is death” — so then your “complaint” is essentially “that you exist”. A just and loving God created planet Earth – no death or disease or suffering – a perfect paradise where mankind could live forever … and only one tiny restriction… yet Adam and Eve allowed themselves to be duped by Satan… tossing it all away. The “Just God” scenario could easily just have let them suffer the death sentence they chose. He did not do that… hence “you exist” – to then “complain about it”.
4. Of course you might also complain that Satan exists – and Satan might complain that “you exist”. There is no shortage on planet earth of avenues for complaint. But God steps in – offers salvation to mankind at infinite cost to himself – – and the “Few” of Matthew 7 eventually end up accepting that offer of eternal life. The rest seem to prefer the lake of fire option… sort of like Adam and Eve choosing disease and death over eternal life (without fully appreciating the massive fail in that short-sighted choice).
In any case – this thread is about the logic/reason that should be taken into account when a Christian owned and operated institution chooses to stay faithful to its Christian mission — rather then getting blown about by every wind of doctrine. Why let the alchemy of “wild guessing” be the ‘source of truth’ when we have the Bible?? We really have no excuse for that. As for science – we can be thankful that it has come as far along as it has – but no matter how far back you rewind the clock of our science history – we should always have chosen the Bible over wild guessing.
Newly Discovered Human Footprints Undermine Evolutionary Assumptions
Ervin Taylor:
Perhaps Dr. Pitman would enlighten his readers what on earth “the neo-Darwinian story of origins” might be. Darwin did not address origins.
Origins of what?? the first eukaryote??
Or “origins of mankind”??
Darwin himself claimed that his own false doctrine on origins was totally incompatible with Genesis and that because of this – Genesis must be tossed under a bus.
hint: Genesis is an account of “Origins” as we all know — even though “bacteria” and “amoeba” are terms that don’t show up in the text.
The point remains – Darwin was promoting his own religion on origins totally counter to the Bible doctrine on origins. He himself addresses this point of the two views.
Newly Discovered Human Footprints Undermine Evolutionary Assumptions
Ervin Taylor:
Here we go again.If the footprints upon close examination, are determined not to be from a hominim/hominid, I wonder if Educate Truth (sic) will announce that determination.Or if the date of the surface is determined to be much younger, will there be a notice placed on fundamentalist web-sites.If you believe the answer to these questions are yes, I have a big bridge that I would like to sell you for pennies on the dollar.
Here we go again … hope piled upon hope…no matter the “observations in nature” that disconfirm the classic evolutionary hypothesis
Reminds me of “What we still don’t know” by Martin Reese and Leonard Suskind
