Sign the Petition

bob_2 · 10-15-09 5:32 pm

I received this email today from Shane Hilde relative to the LSU evolutionary "debate": <blockquote><hr size=0><!-quote-!>quote:Dear Robert Sands: Thank you for signing EducateTruth.com's petition. As of today we have 4,353 signatures. Since our first email (August 10) we have received 2,311 signatures. We only have about a month till our deadline: "The Board will set aside a portion of the November 12, 2009 Board meeting for an evaluation of the matter in executive session. The participants will be limited to Board members and such individuals as the Board chooses to invite to provide background information to educate the Board on Biology curricular matters. Written comments including your petition will be received from members of the campus community." --Randal Wisbey, President of La Sierra University Please voice your concern and encourage Wisbey (<a href="mailto:rwisbey@lasierra.edu">rwisbey@lasierra.edu</a>) and Elder Graham (<a href="mailto:rgraham@puconline.org">rgraham@puconline.org</a>), LSU Board of Trustees Chair, to address this issue and put an end to the heavy handed treatment of the theory of evolution in the biology department. There are three things you can do to help increase the number of signatures: Forward the petition to all your friends and family who haven't signed already. Print a paper petition to collect signatures from those at church who do not have access to the internet, then enter them online. Tell everyone you know about it. Initially, those who did not have access to the internet or did not have an email address were unable to sign the petition. We are happy to announce that the format of the petition has changed. Email addresses are no longer required to sign the petition. We've seen a burst of creation affirmation sweep across many of our colleges and universities, but there has been no word from La Sierra University, Southeastern California Conference, or the Pacific Union on this subject with the exception of President Wisbey's initial response. The most direct response has been from Jay Gallimore, President of the Michigan Conference. We hope more conference presidents will follow his example. We have included the text from the petition for you to copy and paste into an email to be sent to your friends and family. Please continue to pray for our leaders who are involved, and ask the Holy Spirit to give them the needed strength to address this issue. Thank you for your prayers, comments, signatures, and words of encouragement. Sincerely, Shane Hilde Visit our website at <a href="http://www.EducateTruth.com" target=_top>www.EducateTruth.com</a> The Petition Dear Randal Wisbey, Ricardo Graham, Don Schneider, and Jan Paulsen: We, by signing this petition, reaffirm our belief in a literal six-day creation as expressed in Genesis 1. We are concerned in regards to the alleged teaching of theistic macroevolution as fact in some of our Adventist colleges and universities. And we lift our voices in agreement with the open letter from ASI Missions Inc. "that this dialog move to a point where parents and prospective students have a full disclosure ... so they can make informed decisions...." Sign the petition: <a href="http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/Sixdaycreation/" target=_top>http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/Sixdaycreation/</a> <!-/quote-!><hr size=0></blockquote>

bob_2 · 11-14-09 12:24 pm

Maybe Shane's efforts have paid off: <a href="http://www.lasierra.edu/index.php?id=1975" target=_top>http://www.lasierra.edu/index.php?id=1975</a>

bob_2 · 11-14-09 12:28 pm

Excerpt from the last post: <blockquote><hr size=0><!-quote-!>quote:Statement of Support for the Adventist View of Creation La Sierra University Board of Trustees The Board of Trustees is fully mindful of La Sierra University’s responsibilities and commitments as a Seventh-day Adventist institution of higher education. This includes whole-hearted support for the doctrines and teachings of the Seventh-day Adventist Church as defined by the 28 Statements of Fundamental Beliefs, specifically fundamental belief #6: God is Creator of all things, and has revealed in Scripture the authentic account of His creative activity. In six days the Lord made “the heaven and the earth” and all living things upon the earth, and rested on the seventh day of that first week. Thus He established the Sabbath as a perpetual memorial of His completed creative work. The first man and woman were made in the image of God as the crowning work of Creation, given dominion over the world, and charged with responsibility to care for it. When the world was finished it was “very good,” declaring the glory of God. (Gen. 1;2; Ex. 20:8-11; Ps. 19:1-6; 33:6, 9; 104; Heb.11:3). The Board of Trustees has heard and taken to heart the concern that Seventh-day Adventist beliefs and teachings have not been given appropriate priority in biology curriculum and instruction. Specifically, the Board is committed to assuring that the teaching of the theory of evolution takes place within the context of the Adventist belief regarding creation. The Board of Trustees is committed to a spirit of open inquiry and discussion in the university’s classrooms and laboratories. The Board intends that when varying viewpoints are raised they will be heard with due respect. In its commitment to the integrity of the university’s mission, the Board of Trustees is dedicated to inspire, challenge, encourage and support the faculty in their sacred academic work. Further, the Board embraces its responsibility for ongoing evaluation and assessment. “It is the work of true education to . . . train the youth to be thinkers and not mere reflectors of other men's thought.” (Ellen White, Education, p. 17). The Board of Trustees continues to affirm that both academic responsibility and commitment to Adventist beliefs are important parts of a vibrant university whose mission is to seek, to know, and to serve God and His children. VOTED November 11, 2009 by the La Sierra University Board of Trustees © La Sierra University 2009<!-/quote-!><hr size=0></blockquote>

don · 11-14-09 1:02 pm

A Far-reaching Idea Bob, thanks for posting the links to La Sierra's board actions. In my opinion the most significant aspect of their actions is the following. If they can actually inspire the creation of such a study group, the whole church will be served well.<blockquote><hr size=0><!-quote-!>quote:... The LSU Board resolves to:<blockquote>1. Request the Association of Adventist Colleges and Universities to convene a Study Group consisting of the president and two science faculty members from each of the Adventist colleges and universities in the North American Division, two representatives from the Geoscience Research Institute, and two representatives from the General Conference Department of Education. Their mission would be to study, discuss, and develop a proposal for a college curriculum fulfilling the General Conference Executive Committee’s call for a thorough, balanced, and scientifically rigorous affirmation of the Adventist Church’s historic belief in a literal, recent six-day creation; and 2. Request the Study Group to obtain assistance from the Geoscience Research Institute in the form of two model course outlines—one each in the life and earth sciences. The goal would be for the outlines, and the scientific literature cited in them, to constitute the scientifically rigorous evidence in support of Adventist belief in a literal, recent six-day creation. Such course outlines could then inform curricular revision throughout Adventist higher education. 3. Request that research be undertaken to study the spiritual development of students in Adventist colleges and universities, with special attention to students in the sciences. This research would be coordinated by LSU’s John Hancock Center for Youth and Family Ministry, in association with the North American Division Office of Education and a qualified faculty research team. This research recommendation is based on the Board’s support of the sacred obligation to teach students Seventh-day Adventist beliefs in a manner contributing to a mature, enduring faith that is integrated with a thorough preparation in the sciences...</blockquote><!-/quote-!><hr size=0></blockquote><a href="http://www.lasierra.edu/board/Board_Resolution11-09.pdf" target=_top>http://www.lasierra.edu/board/Board_Resolution11-0 9.pdf</a> .

bob_2 · 11-14-09 1:14 pm

More here: <a href="http://www.educatetruth.com/articles/lsu-board-news-release-and-actions/?utm_source=MailingList&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Board+Repsonse" target=_top>http://www.educatetruth.com/articles/lsu-board-new s-release-and-actions/?utm_source=MailingList&utm_ medium=email&utm_campaign=Board+Repsonse</a>

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#1 10-15-09 5:32 pm

Sign the Petition

#2 11-14-09 12:24 pm

Re: Sign the Petition

#3 11-14-09 12:28 pm

Re: Sign the Petition

#4 11-14-09 1:02 pm

Re: Sign the Petition

#5 11-14-09 1:14 pm

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