June 25, 2008

By Darla Martin Tucker

For public school teacher Bob Van Setten, a recent La Sierra University seminar about Earth’s origins simply confirmed the invalidity of evolutionary theories.

The experience also strengthened his relationship with God, he said. “I just grew closer to the Lord because of how fabulous His creation is. Looking at it on a more microscopic level was a neat thing to see,” Van Setten said. He teaches special education at Walnut High School in the Walnut Valley Unified School District and is enrolled in an education doctoral program at La Sierra.

Teachers from around Southern California gathered at La Sierra’s School of Education June 16 - 20 to bolster their knowledge of current arguments and historic philosophies concerning Earth’s origins and resulting societal values.

All together 25 educators signed up for a week of presentations collectively titled “Origins: Creation, Evolution and Education.” The event was part of the education school’s annual Hot Topics summer seminars which have previously focused on technology, brain science and learning, language and other areas.

The seminar was marketed to Adventist teachers, students in the School of Education and Pacific Union Conference administrators. Most participants teach at Adventist schools and some at public schools and other institutions.

“The purpose is to inform teachers of the issues relating to Adventist K-12 education such as creation, evolution, intelligent design, and conflicts in education over these issues,” said Anita Oliver, chair of the education school’s department of curriculum and instruction. She specializes in culture wars and education. “It is significant because there is considerable controversy within the church and in public education over these issues. Teachers are on the front line of interfacing with students and the broader cultural issues and therefore need to be well informed.”

Five scientists gave lectures and held discussions on topics ranging from bird fossils, dinosaurs and Darwin to the views of Greek philosophers.

The lineup of lecturers included: Timothy Standish, a research scientist and public speaker with the Geoscience Research Institute in Loma Linda; Paul Giem, emergency room physician, medical research and author of “Scientific Theology”; Ariel Roth, former Geoscience Research Institute director and zoologist; Danilo Boskovic, assistant professor of biosciences at Loma Linda University School of Medicine; and Elaine Kennedy, geologist and retired Geoscience Research Institute scientist.

Standish’s lecture, titled “History of Design Arguments,” summarized ideas developed over time about Earth’s beginnings.

The identical verses of Psalms 14:1 and 53:1, “The fool hath said in his heart there is no God,” provide perhaps the earliest evidence that some did not believe in God, Standish said.

Materialistic, anti-God views have echoed through the ages, he said. Charvaka beliefs that originated in 600 BC deny the existence of God, heaven or soul, and propose lives centered upon pleasure and accumulation of wealth. Charles Darwin’s evolutionary theories are rooted in materialistic philosophies and 1965 Nobel Prize winner and biologist Jacques Monod wrote, “Man knows at last he is alone,” Standish said.

Atomism, founded by Greek philosopher Leuccipus in the 5th Century BC, collapses into the reductionism and empiricism held by today’s scientific world, he said. It proposes that all things are simply conglomerations of tiny pieces and denies the existence of a soul or spirit or creator.

Ancient Greek philosopher Epicurus proposed that there is no divine judgment after death, no immortal soul and that reality is determined by the senses. Such views proved attractive to populations who had been taught to fear hell fire and damnation, Standish said.

The disciples, when they began writing the New Testament, were responding to Epicurean ideas, he said. Epicurean philosophies of materialism, empiricism and hedonism also comprise current prevailing societal views, and as a result, “there is a world of suffering out there,” Standish said.

Standish cautioned teachers that students are heavily influenced by views and lessons taught in class. “What you teach is what your students will do. …If you teach them a wrong philosophy of life, they will take that philosophy and do what it logically leads to,” he said. “Ideas matter. They really, really matter.”

In opening her lecture on dinosaurs, Kennedy addressed beliefs and issues raised by Seventh-day Adventists about the creatures, whether they existed and whether God created such predators. In reality, such questions are founded in underlying concerns about whether God is the author of death, she said.

“When I see [fossils] I see death and destruction on a horrendous scale that is the result of sin,” she said. People do not realize the effects sin has had on nature and its impacts on our spiritual and emotional lives, Kennedy said.

On the seminar’s last day, Oliver led the class in a review of conflicts over evolution, creation, intelligent design and other science issues in public and private schools.

Some teachers attend such seminars in part to meet requirements for credentials, said fourth grade teacher Mickey Smith. “This one  grabbed my attention,” he said. Smith teaches at San Gabriel Academy in San Gabriel, Calif.

Through Standish’s presentation Smith acquired greater understanding of the prevailing empiricism and hedonism confronted by New Testament authors. He plans to impart his broadened knowledge to his class. “They [apostles] were addressing the philosophy of their time,” Smith said.

Ana Bramhill, a self-proclaimed lover of science, includes biology lessons in her first grade curriculum at Sierra View Junior Academy in Visalia, Calif. “When I teach that, I’m in awe that people can say there is no God,” she said.

She appreciated the information she gained from the seminar, “…because the Bible says, ‘and knowledge shall increase,’ ” Bramhill said. “I always tell my students, never stop studying.”

PR Contact: Larry Becker
Executive Director of University Relations
La Sierra University
Riverside, California
951.785.2460 (voice)