Christian Spirituality And Science Journal

Ellen White’s repeated and strident denunciations of ‘infidel geologists’ and their
ideas in her 1864 monograph “Spiritual Gifts” are well known. This early origins
material was invoked from time to time in her subsequent articles for Church
periodicals, would be re-worked and expanded in her “Spirit of Prophecy” (1870)
and was to see its final denouement in “Patriarchs and Prophets” (1890) with
other associated material appearing in the “Great Controversy” (1888). Because
of her accepted prophetic status Ellen White’s writings in this area have proved
to be enduringly authoritative for the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Further,
they were enormously formative for George McCready Price and, through him,
hugely influential for the world-wide recent creationism movement, beginning in
the 1960s. This paper explores the historical and theological contexts of White’s
pronouncements on geological themes, explores possible provocations and sources behind some of her ideas and notes differences in the manner in which she re-used this material in later publications. This study indicates that her statements on geological matters represented ideas which, while once commonly held, were no longer accepted by professionals involved with the rapid scientific progression of nineteenth century geology.

Proposed amendments to Seventh-day Adventist Fundamental Belief No. 6 represent an attempt to define acceptable Adventist understandings of creation more tightly and to exclude alternative viewpoints in a creedal fashion. In particular, there appears to be an attempt to exclude anything but a young age for life. One question which may be asked is whether the proposed amendments are in fact sufficient to exclude unwanted views, since there are models which allow for a creation week consisting of seven consecutive, contiguous, literal, twenty-four days, yet which accommodate current scientific understandings in ways recent creationism finds uncomfortable. While group identity is important, a focus on the formulation of tighter belief statements as a means of defining heretics will do little to bring resolution. Such documents can all too easily become primarily instruments of power and exclusion. They indicate a shift in focus from the core of a community’s identity to its borders and that is no advance. Listening to one another may not always bring unanimity of opinion but it should both foster respect and facilitate a deeper and more productive unity than mere uniformity could ever bring.

Most Seventh-day Adventist thought leaders have never questioned a "young"
age for the Earth’s biosphere, i.e. from six thousand to tens of thousands of years.
However, while pioneer Adventist Church leaders were also explicit in accepting
these same ages for all inanimate matter on Earth and in space many prominent
Adventist individuals and institutions now allow or accept a conventional “Big
Bang” cosmology with its implications of 4.5 and 13.7 billion-year ages for the
Earth and universe respectively. This view has been increasingly championed by
a number of Adventist writers on science during the last five decades and in recent years there has been a renewed theological attempt to strengthen its exegetical foundation.

This paper argues that the coherence of this “old universe but young
life” model is compromised at two levels. The first involves the selective acceptance of scientific evidence and inconsistent use of scientific methodology. The second, more fully developed in this paper, relates to the implications of the tacit admission of ongoing “process” made by the “old universe but young life” model.

While the stance of some conservative Christian (and other) groups advocating abstinence from alcohol intake may not be popular, contemporary research into alcohol and its effects on the body may lend weight to such a position. The consumption of alcohol, coupled with its addictive properties, can lead to a wide not only costly in medical terms but also in terms of domestic violence, accidents and antisocial behaviour.

Alcohol is metabolised by the liver and this organ may be consequently damaged resulting in serious impairment of normal hepatic structure and function. Nearly all the physiological systems of the body are adversely affected by alcohol to varying degrees and the behavioural effects observed with intoxication are associated with compromised neurotransmitter functions in the brain and altered brain structure in the long term. Adverse consequences of alcohol intake may be evident in other systems including the cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, reproductive and immunological systems. There is an increased risk of atherosclerosis, cancers of the oral cavity, pancreatitis and immune system disturbances associated with prolonged alcohol intake. In pregnant women alcohol metabolism is reduced and as the developing foetus has lowered ability to metabolise blood alcohol compared to an adult there is an elevated risk of serious consequences associated with foetal alcohol syndrome. Despite the nearly overwhelming negative consequences of alcohol intake, the beneficial effects of drinking red wine linked to lowered heart disease despite a high fat diet (the ‘French Paradox’) may be associated with the antioxidants and other polyphenols also found in non-alcoholic red grape juice. Serious consideration of the effects of alcohol on the body should inform decisions on the intake of alcohol.

What did ancient Greek and Roman wine drinkers believe was the mechanism, force, or process which caused their drunkenness? Three primary answers to this question emerge from the extensive ancient Greek and Roman literary references to wine and drinking. The first is that drunkenness is caused by some property resident in the drinker, the result of a bodily response to wine. This will be designated below as the “human cause.” The second is that drunkenness is caused by a property resident in the wine itself. This will be designated below as the “wine cause.” The third of these answers, the one most widely encountered, was that drunkenness was the work of the god of wine, known to Greeks as Dionysus and Bacchus. This will be designated as the “divine cause.” The purpose of this paper is to describe and document these three explanations of drunkenness within the setting of Greco-Roman culture. Relevant original sources will be cited and translated.

Ten interesting facts about alcohol consumption are unpacked.

This paper uses an historical perspective to illustrate the ambiguous way scientific data, that has implications for understanding our place in the universe, has been interpreted. It is shown that the data can be interpreted from a theistic or atheistic perspective. Scholars of the history and philosophy of science have concluded that theism can never be derived from the argument of design, including the recent proposal of intelligent design. It is also shown that while ambiguity appears fundamental to certain scientific and biblical concepts this need not be a cause for alarm. While it is argued that religious experience can never be derived from scientific knowledge and draws upon deeper issues than intelligence, recent scientific understandings give us no reason to doubt the value of religious experience. In fact, it could be argued that there might be a case for treasuring religious experience.

The Judaeo-Christian tradition of Creation with its directives for humans to subdue and to have dominion over the Earth has been seen as a factor in the generation of negative or exploitative attitudes towards the natural world, especially among Christians who interpret the Creation stories literally. As a corrective, in recent decades scholars have developed a rationale for stewardship of nature based on these same and other Biblical passages. However, much less attention has been given to the implications of beliefs about the end-time (eschatology). Seventh-day Adventists, along with some other Christians, anticipate that a fiery obliteration of the Earth’s surface will usher in the kingdom of God. Logically such beliefs might not be expected to generate any particular concern for the well-being of the non-human Creation. A few Adventist authors have called for some amendment to or revision of traditionally-held eschatology as it concerns the fate of nature. Nevertheless there is some evidence that many Seventh-day Adventists feel that there is a basis for caring for the Creation in spite of its imminent annihilation. However, in company with many Biblical literalists, practical action is generally lacking from personal agenda. Some reasons for the apparent dissonance between eschatological beliefs and environmental concern are suggested.

The approach taken in this paper is to examine some of the theological implications of three Christian models (or theories) of origins via their influence on the doctrine of Scripture, the fall of humankind and the Sabbath. Of course, it would also be possible to look to some of the broader, overarching themes such as the character of God, the nature of humankind and the meaning of salvation. However, I’ve chosen a narrower approach which fits better the scope of this paper and provides the possibility of viewing more specific details. In addition, the three areas chosen arise quite naturally out of the first few chapters of Genesis. The creation story arouses questions as to what kind of book the Bible is. And, humankind’s fall into sin and the Sabbath appear as central themes in those early chapters.

This paper attempts to describe the core ideas behind science and religion and outlines the differences and common features. Four models describing the relationship between science and religion are briefly outlined. It is proposed that the interaction model is likely to be most beneficial in terms of providing for a healthy and fruitful view of reality.

We know that those who fail to learn from the mistakes of history are often condemned to repeat them. Nowhere is this more applicable than in the case of the 450 year old heliostatic challenge posed by the Polish monk, Copernicus. This new paradigm challenged not only the theological structures of the day but a great deal of scholastic wisdom as well, giving rise to a thorough revolution of thought, and introducing the modern scientific age. Difficult conceptual adjustments were required on most quarters. Some of these required two centuries to complete and were achieved only with the greatest of difficulty. This article reviews key elements of Galileo’s historic involvement in this controversy and notes four important lessons emerging from his experience. These apply variously to: those seeking to understand the modern scientific process; thought innovators, whether scientific or otherwise; and to those individuals and faith communities seeking an adequate response to new ideas which appear to challenge Christian understanding.

From biblical times through to our own age, the argument from design has been an important component of Christian apologetics. However, not only has its plausibility waxed and waned over the centuries, but its exponents have not always been agreed over either its formulation or application. In a characteristic change of fortune, modern scientific developments, particularly in cosmology and molecular biology, have apparently infused new life into what many supposed was a post-Darwinian death.

This paper was initially prepared for the Dialogue on Design Conference, Avondale College, June 9 and 10, 2006.

The idea that nature shows evidence of intelligent design has been argued by theologians and scientists for centuries. The most famous of the design arguments is Paley’s watchmaker illustration from his writings of the early 19th century. Interest in the concept of design in nature has recently had a resurgence and is often termed the Intelligent Design movement. Significant is the work of Michael Behe on biochemical systems. In his book, Darwin’s Black Box, Behe develops the idea that many biochemical systems are irreducibly complex in the sense that each component of these systems is essential for their functioning and cannot be removed or altered without compromising the system of which they are a part. Thus traditional Darwinian evolutionary theory has difficulty in explaining their development. When applied to the question of life’s origin on this planet, design arguments raise serious questions about traditional views of chemical evolution. To be considered a scientific alternative to Darwinian evolution, intelligent design needs to be empirically detectable. The development of a three-stage explanatory filter by William Dembski is arguably a fully scientific method that can, on the basis of observational data, reliably distinguish intelligent design in biological systems from undirected natural causes. However, at this stage, detection of intelligent design does not necessitate speculation on the nature of the designer, but does infer an intelligence behind the design.

In the eighteenth century miracles were appealed to as a major proof of the authenticity of Christianity. The advancement of science in the next century reversed that and forced Christian apologists to defend the very possibility of miracles themselves. The presupposition of belief in miracles is belief in God. If God is active in the world, the manifestation of his power in unexpected ways is very possible. But Christian miracles are not merely sensational acts; their proper context is faith and the glory of God. Yet some Christians have attempted to have faith without miracles, even reducing the resurrection to merely a symbolic truth not a physical fact. However, to remove the miraculous, especially the resurrection, from the New Testament flies in the face of the clear affirmation of the apostolic witness. Today a large section of conservative Christians do not simply defend the possibility of miracles, they proclaim their continuing presence in the church’s worship and mission. Signs, wonders and miracles, they affirm, are the powerful means of Christian evangelism. Christians are divided today over the definition (is speaking in tongues a miracle?), role and frequency of miracles; but there is agreement among conservative Christians that God has acted, and is active, in our world.