Comment on New NAD president: ‘I love you’ doesn’t mean we won’t deal with issues by Lydian Belknap.
“True, believing Seventh-day Adventists†accept the premise that he “Bible–and the Bible ALONE is our rule of faithâ€â€“and one can prayerfully read and reread the Bible from cover to cover and never find a single instance (unless you “twist†the wording to suit your fancy) where evolution is even hinted at.
Also, “true, believing Seventh-day Adventists†NEVER accept the premise that the Spirit of Prophecy (as given by Ellen White) is an addition to–and therefore part of–Scripture. Ellen White herself vehemently rejected any such idea. Rather it is the “lesser light†given to God’s people in these final days of earth’s history to “lead them to the greater lightâ€â€“the Scriptures. It is a blessing from God who knew that the nearer we came to the end of time, with all the additional firey darts thrown out by the enemy of souls, the harder it would be for His true people to under-stand and remain faithful. It does not in any way contradict, or add to, what the Bible says–rather it reinforces and supports “every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.†It has helped me immeasurably to build my faith on “the solid Rockâ€â€“Christ Jesus. And I, personally, am grateful to God for it.
Satan hates the Bible and does every thing possible to lead us away from the truths of Scripture. He knows we are living in the last days of time as we know it and he is desperate to lead every soul possible to disbelief in God and His Word and their ultimate destruction. God knew all we would have to meet in these last days and He graciously gave us the Spirit of Prophecy to redirect our minds to the plain words of Scripture which will be our only safeguard in the troublous time ahead.
Unfortunately, Satan has placed men (and women?) in some (hopefully not all) of our institutions and, as a result many of our youth have been deceived and lost their faith in the plain words of God in Scripture. And we must never forget that “whoso ever shall offend one of [these] little ones that believe in me, it is better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he were cast into the sea.†Mark 9:42. (KJV)) Some day these “deniers of the faith†will have to stand before the judgement seat of God and answer for what they have done.
Meanwhile those of us who believe in what Scripture says must, with the help of God,do everything in our power to cast out these evil doers (this is what GOD calls them and He judges a tree by it’s FRUIT and bids us do the same–so it is not me–but Him–that is judging them) and restore our institutions to the Bible-based foundation upon which they were originally built.No one ever said it would be easy–fighting the devil is never easy but we must not falter, we must not be faint–we must press forward in faith till, in the strength that God alone can give, this evil is rooted out.
Yes, some–if not many–will suffer from their efforts to help remedy this evil– consider the three members of the LSU board who are having to meet the scorn of the faculty and other board members! But God sees their tears and their broken hearts and THEY WILL BE REWARDED SOME DAY. However, they need to know NOW that there are those of us who support them in our prayers–which may be the only way we can help at this point. And let all of us who know how to pray remember them each time we pray! We must not for one minute think that there is nothing we the “peons in the pewsâ€) can do–that it is up to the “leaders†to do it all.It is true that they are in a position to do things we cannot do but our prayers and support are a very necessary part of this conflict!
I am a great lover and collector or stories–and one come to mind right now that illustrates what prayer can do–even prayers from many miles away.
[edit – short illustrations are desired. Longer stories, while interesting, are not the purpose of this particular site or directly relevant to this particular topic]
Lydian Belknap Also Commented
New NAD president: ‘I love you’ doesn’t mean we won’t deal with issues
@Sean Pitman:
9-22-10
“The same thing is true of prophecy. Just because one can demonstrate very accurate foreknowledge doesn’t mean that this individual is really God. It just means that we can’t tell the difference between someone with such power and what we would recognize as ‘God’.†– Sean Pitman
Sean, you have me completely confused. If you can’t base your belief in God because of prophecy what can you base it on? You certainly can’t base it on human science.
(As someone once said to an extremely intelligent friend of mine: “Sir, you need to put the “cookies†on a lower shelf so the children can reach them!â€)
New NAD president: ‘I love you’ doesn’t mean we won’t deal with issues
Oops! I really messed up on that one. Of course the Bible and EGW are correct and the earth is only about six thousand years old. I apologize.
New NAD president: ‘I love you’ doesn’t mean we won’t deal with issues
9-20-10
Another thought: The earth–which was without “form and void†–was also apparently around for who knows how long before God turned it into paradise and put life on it. So, to me anyway, arguments about the age of the EARTH are worthless and a waste of time. We will spend eternity learning more and more of the wonderful works of our Creator God! I can hardly wait!
Recent Comments by Lydian Belknap
A New Endowment Program for Adventist Education
So here I sit–a “very old lady”–totally confused and not having a clue as to whether to donate or not–or where to donate if I should.
As things stand now I think I will just continue putting my own little amount to my current “missionary out reach” of buying “Steps to Christ” and “Who Do You Think You Are?” and passing them on to the clerks in the stores where I shop or other people I meet that I think would like them.
If and when you folks decide on what, how and where to help in this very worthy project let me know and I’ll do what I can then.
A New Endowment Program for Adventist Education
I just noticed that there is such a program in place in northern California but I would want one that is nation wide. After all, if our kids aren’t already in danger here in the southern union also (as well the rest of the US) it’s most likely only a short matter of time till they will be.
A New Endowment Program for Adventist Education
I am far from a wealthy person who could and gladly would donate large sums of money to such a program but I could and would gladly donate some if such assurances were solidly in place. I’m sure there are many “old folks” like me “out there” who feel the same way. (Is there already such a program in place? If so please post all needed information.)
The God of the Gaps
While browsing my rather voluminous file of articles to “save” I ran across this jewel—I think it is worth saving and thinking about–especially the last statement by Darwin himself:
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Darwin’s Theory of Evolution
While Darwin’s Theory of Evolution is a relatively young archetype, the evolutionary worldview itself is as old as antiquity. Ancient Greek philosophers such as Anaximander postulated the development of life from non-life and the evolutionary descent of man from animal. Charles Darwin simply brought something new to the old philosophy — a plausible mechanism called “natural selection.” Natural selection acts to preserve and accumulate minor advantageous genetic mutations. Suppose a member of a species developed a functional advantage (it grew wings and learned to fly). Its offspring would inherit that advantage and pass it on to their offspring. The inferior (disadvantaged) members of the same species would gradually die out, leaving only the superior (advantaged) members of the species. Natural selection is the preservation of a functional advantage that enables a species to compete better in the wild. Natural selection is the naturalistic equivalent to domestic breeding. Over the centuries, human breeders have produced dramatic changes in domestic animal populations by selecting individuals to breed. Breeders eliminate undesirable traits gradually over time. Similarly, natural selection eliminates inferior species gradually over time.
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Darwin’s Theory of Evolution – Slowly But Surely…
Darwin’s Theory of Evolution is a slow gradual process. Darwin wrote, “…Natural selection acts only by taking advantage of slight successive variations; she can never take a great and sudden leap, but must advance by short and sure, though slow steps.” [1] Thus, Darwin conceded that, “If it could be demonstrated that any complex organ existed, which could not possibly have been formed by numerous, successive, slight modifications, my theory would absolutely break down.” [2] Such a complex organ would be known as an “irreducibly complex system”. An irreducibly complex system is one composed of multiple parts, all of which are necessary for the system to function. If even one part is missing, the entire system will fail to function. Every individual part is integral. [3] Thus, such a system could not have evolved slowly, piece by piece. The common mousetrap is an everyday non-biological example of irreducible complexity. It is composed of five basic parts: a catch (to hold the bait), a powerful spring, a thin rod called “the hammer,” a holding bar to secure the hammer in place, and a platform to mount the trap. If any one of these parts is missing, the mechanism will not work. Each individual part is integral. The mousetrap is irreducibly complex. [4]
Darwin’s Theory of Evolution is a theory in crisis in light of the tremendous advances we’ve made in molecular biology, biochemistry and genetics over the past fifty years. We now know that there are in fact tens of thousands of irreducibly complex systems on the cellular level. Specified complexity pervades the microscopic biological world. Molecular biologist
Michael Denton wrote, “Although the tiniest bacterial cells are incredibly small, weighing less than 10-12 grams, each is in effect a veritable micro-miniaturized factory containing thousands of exquisitely designed pieces of intricate molecular machinery, made up altogether of one hundred thousand million atoms, far more complicated than any machinery built by man and absolutely without parallel in the non-living world.” [5]
And we don’t need a microscope to observe irreducible complexity. The eye, the ear and the heart are all examples of irreducible complexity, though they were not recognized as such in Darwin’s day. Nevertheless, Darwin confessed, “To suppose that the eye with all its inimitable contrivances for adjusting the focus to different distances, for admitting different amounts of light, and for the correction of spherical and chromatic aberration, could have been formed by natural selection, seems, I freely confess, absurd in the highest degree.” [6]
Footnotes:
1. Charles Darwin, “On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life,” 1859, p. 162.
2. Ibid. p. 158.
3. Michael Behe, “Darwin’s Black Box,” 1996.
4. “Unlocking the Mystery of Life,” documentary by Illustra Media, 2002.
5. Michael Denton, “Evolution: A Theory in Crisis,” 1986, p. 250.
6. Charles Darwin, “On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life,” 1859, p. 155.
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I don’t think Sean could have said it better himself!
Walla Walla University: The Collegian Debates Evolution vs. Creation
Sean, I guess I “bit off more than I can chew” when I subscribed to some of your other options.
All I can handle is the ^way it used to be”–like this column still is. Please put me back to this mode of information and I will be very happy. Thanks.
