7-11-10 Right, Susie! I think some of these folks are …

Comment on The Metamorphosis of La Sierra University: an eye-witness account by Lydian Belknap.

7-11-10

Right, Susie! I think some of these folks are arguing just for the sake of arguing–or else they are deliberately trying to confuse the issues for the sake of undermining what this site is trying to do. None of us can know for sure who is doing what and their motives for doing it but God does and He will deal with them in His own good time and His own good way.}

Satan hates this site for it is revealing things that we, the laity, need to know. And I further think it is beginning to swing things in the direction of dealing with the real problems we have to face. Satan is furious and will do everything in his power to stop it but God will only allow him to go so far.

Hang in there Shane and Sean! I,for one, believe God called you two young men to this work for a purpose–and I also believe, that “purpose” is beginning to bear fruit.

Such a task is never easy (and Scripture never said it would be) But if you remain faithful He will continue to work through you to fulfill His proposes. Be assured, there are many out here who are praying for you and the work that needs to be done along this line.

Remember: “The mills of God oft’turn slowly–but they grind exceeding small!” And the chaff will all be blown away at His coming–which I believe is closer than any of us realize.

Lydian

Lydian Belknap Also Commented

The Metamorphosis of La Sierra University: an eye-witness account
Benjamin Burkhardt;

(Quote)“Satan is no dummy! He attacked Moses as a baby. He attacked Jesus as a baby. And he loves nothing more than to destroy Adventist children before they can ever take hold of and carry the Creator’s message to the whole world.”

Mr. Burkhardt, I couldn’t agree with you more–and your statement agrees with what I have put on this forum several times. “You cannot expect our young people to courageously carry the torch of truth to the world if we haven’t passed it on to them in the first place!”

When I was a child growing up our small little Adventist church (with it’s equally small little two room church school behind it), Bible lessons were strictly “Adventist.” My eighth grade Bible book was entitled “God’s Great Plan” which started with the fall of Lucifer and ended with the “Earth Made New.” We studied Daniel, we studied Revelation–and everything in between. We had workbooks that emphasized each lesson. Of course, at that age we didn’t completely understand everything but our academy Bible lessons enforced those beliefs–and so did our college classes. (Unfortunately, we STILL don’t completely understand everything!)But, with God’s help we did produced great leaders who pioneered both radio and TV programs such as HMS Richards, George Vandeman and others whose names I cannot recall at the moment. Has it registered with anyone that three of our top evangelist today were NOT EDUCATED IN OUR SCHOOLS (Doug Batchelor, Shawn Boonstra, and David Asscherick.)? God found them, as really great “sinners” out in the “world” and led them to this wonderful truth!!

Several times on this site I have told of the young academy girl who was “stunned” to find out (in her senior year academy Bible class) that the story of Daniel in the Lion was a FACT–not a fairy tale like Cinderella. I knew this girl personally and she was also “stunned” when I showed her a copy of my eighth grade Bible book (God’s Great Plan). She looked at me and said, “You studied THAT in the EIGHT GRADE?” Believe me, I was shocked to find out that this girl was reared in an Adventist home and had attended Adventist schools all of her life! Where were her parents? (What were THEY taught in grade school?) Where were her Bible teachers all of that time? What was she being taught about what we as a people claim to believe? Sad to say, she has left the church and no longer believes anything we teach.

At the time I went to our local ABC and looked at the Bible books then being used. They were so watered down as to be acceptable in just about any protestant church school in the country. That was many years ago and I have no idea what the current Bible books are today. But I do know that there are many loyal, dedicated, Bible believing teachers and pastors among us that are struggling to teach what we as a people claim to believe but they need the proper tools with which to work.

There is a great deal of concern over the teaching of evolution-and other departures in our universities–and that concern is sorely needed. Yes, we do need to thoroughly prune out these “dead branches” at the top of our educational tree but, even more importantly, we desperately need to be sure the “roots”–our children and youth–are really being fed the true “fertilizer” of the everlasting truths of the Bible!

Whether we want to believe it or not, we ARE Laodicea! Sin lies at OUR door. (“We have met the enemy and he is us!”) Unfortunately, the “social gospel” has found its way into our churches and many things have crept in that do not lead is to the God we claim to love and serve. When are we going to wake up, quit making excuses, and actually DO something about cleaning up the mess WE have created? The lambs do follow the sheep, you know–and if the lambs are lost what a terrible price we sheep will have to pay! May God give us the wisdom to know what must change and the courage we need to change it.

I take a great deal of comfort from this note from Ellen White: “The work is soon to close. The members of the church militant who have proved faithful will become the church triumphant. In reviewing our past history, having traveled over every step of advance to our present standing, I can say, praise God! As I see what God has wrought, I am filled with astonishment, and with confidence in Christ as leader. We have nothing to fear for the future, except as we shall forget the way the Lord had led us, and His teaching in our past history.” General Conference Daily Bulletin, January 29, 1893

One question before us is will WE have so lived and so worked that WE may be found on that “ship” that WILL safely sail into the heavenly harbor? I say only those of us who are willing to accept our OWN responsibilities, and prayerfully ask God to forgive us for OUR mistakes and the strength and courage to do what needs to be done–no matter how distasteful it may be. Yes, our leaders do desperately need our encouragement and our prayers in this time of crisis and we should not withhold this from them. But we as individual members and churches, no matter how small, need to reexamine our OWN policies and practices and see if WE are doing what WE can to help prepare OUR children and youth for the work God has for them to do?


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.