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<b><font color="ff0000">1978, With Scholarship Comes Responsibility</font></b><blockquote>As is our custom we attended the annual meetings of the Society of Biblical Literature (SBL) and the American Academy of Religion (AAR), held conjointly at New Orleans, Louisiana, November 18 to 21. At these meetings Adventist scholars contributed significantly... <BR> <BR><font size="-1"><i>(D. F. Neufeld's full essay can be found <a href="http://www.covenantforum.com/cgi-bin/discus/show.cgi?tpc=584&post=5470#POST5470" target="_blank">here</a>.)</i></font> <BR> <BR>...With scholarship comes responsibility. The Adventist scholar—with a knowledge vastly greater than that of the church's lay person's in the area of his concentration, and certainly much greater than that of the pioneers of the church, with their limited formal education—finds himself in the position of needing to integrate his newly acquired knowledge into his Adventist orientation. He may feel, at times, that he needs to modify some of his positions, an experience that always generates a level of tension. <BR> <BR>To what extent can he modify his understandings and his argumentations and still remain loyal to the church he serves? If truth is dynamic he would expect his understanding of truth to grow and his defense of truth to become more invincible. But where is the line beyond which he cannot tread? <BR> <BR>In many areas Adventist scholars have been able to buttress with better arguments the truths handed down by their spiritual forefathers. In others they have been con- fronted with new questions, some of which are baffling. It is important, therefore, that these scholars meet from time to time to compare notes and to meet also with church leaders so that the church may move forward harmoniously as it seeks to fulfill its divine mandate. In an area so sensitive as the church's teachings and its self-understanding, we would expect that Satan would do his best to intrude himself. <BR> <BR>As they grapple with various issues, our scholars need the prayers of church members. Much lies at stake, and divine guidance is the all-important essential. <BR> <BR>D. F. N. <BR> <BR><a href="http://www.adventistarchives.org/docs/RH/RH1978-52/index.djvu?djvuopts&page=15" target="_blank">http://www.adventistarchives.org/docs/RH/RH1978-52 /index.djvu?djvuopts&page=15</a></blockquote> <BR>Neufeld wrote this at the beginning of the SDA scholarship wars. As we move toward the often discussed November board meeting where the promoting of evolution at La Sierra will be discussed, Neufeld's counsel seems still relevant. <BR> <BR>I have been studying the life of Peter Edgar Hare and have noted that he maintained his ties with the Adventist church even after resigning from the nascent Geoscience Research Institute in the 1968. Later on in the late 1980's, he served on the science faculty of Home Study International and then in the early 1990's on Columbia Union College's science faculty. What transformation of thought did he go through? Did his church go through? Can we learn from his experience? I think so. <BR><font color="ffffff"><font size="-2">.</font></font>
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