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The Message of the Trees in the Midst of the Garden

If, in Paradise Regained, it appears that the tree of knowledge has outplayed its peculiar role, that it is not there, or that it is somehow fused to its sister tree, forming an arch over the river of life, we should hesitate to conclude that God will ever be in retreat with respect to the ideology of freedom.

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The Dead Sea Scrolls, the Fourth Commandment and Deuteronomy 5

In the manuscript, 4Q41 from ancient Dead Sea scrolls, the fourth commandment is given in an expanded the fourth commandment is given in an expanded form. In the English translation of 4Q41 includes Moses’ comment linking the Sabbath to redemption from slavery in Egypt while also including the original reference to the creation given in Exodus 20 and 31. Published in Origins, n. 62.

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Genesis 1:14 – Translation Notes

The purpose of these notes is twofold: first, to evaluate John H. Sailhamer's argument that Gen 1:14 does not place the creation of the heavenly lights on the fourth day of Creation; and second, to determine whether the term "appointed times" in Gen 1:14 is used to designate annual sacred times or particular rhythms of the natural cycle.

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Genesis Kinds and the Sea Urchin

The idea that different types of organisms were created and commanded to reproduce "after their kinds" seems widely believed among creationists. It may therefore come as a surprise to many to learn the idea is not stated in the Bible. Published in Origins n. 60.

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Cain, Abel, Seth and the Meaning of Human Life as Portrayed in Genesis and Ecclesiastes

The meaninglessness brought into the world through Cain's murder of his brother is forever revoked by the death of Jesus, the second Adam.

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Creation and Flood Implications of the First Angel’s Message in Revelation 14:7

Spiritually, in the end time, we sorely need to know the truth about the two key earth history issues discussed above— Creation and the Flood—because the way in which these questions are answered can either establish or undermine living faith in God.

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Natural Disasters: Acts of God or Acts of Satan?

During the past few years, our planet has been experiencing an increasing number of natural disasters–earthquakes, hurricanes, droughts, floods, and a devastating tsunami. Bible-believing Christians have pondered about the role that God and Satan play as the ultimate actors in a cosmic drama. Are these calamities pointing toward a culminating event in human history?

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Problems with Time

LITERATURE REVIEWS A review of the book, A Matter of Days: Resolving a Creation Controversy. Published in Origins n. 59.

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Theology of Judgment in Genesis 6-9

The present dissertation seeks to develop a theology of judgment in Gen 6-9. Following an introductory chapter, the second chapter is devoted to analyzing the three main extrabiblical ANE flood stories (the Eridu Genesis, the Atra-Hasis Epic, and the Gilgamesh Epic) from the four aspects of judgment: date, cause and purpose, extent, and procedure.

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He Breathed into His Nostrils: God’s Kiss of Life

The gift of life is conferred on humankind in an intimate face-to-face encounter. God forms a work of art out of moist clay. A bond with this piece of art begins to grow in the gentle process of making. Then comes that incredible moment.

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Natural Dissent: The Ethics of Evolutionary Biology

Charles Darwin's theory of natural selection was inspired not primarily by his observations of the natural world, but by Thomas Malthus's theory of scarcity.

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In the Beginning, God

The last few years have shown that there are a number of views on creation within the Adventist Church. Not all of them can be right. Should theistic evolution become more and more accept ed, we will be in danger of losing the biblical foundation for the Sabbath and our understanding of salvation.

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Literature Reviews: Spreading out the Heavens

Review of The Origin of the Universe. Published in Origins n. 58.

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Issues in Intermediate Models of Origins

Many models have been proposed that tend to blur some of the contrasts between the biblical and naturalistic theories. A number of attempts have been made to develop intermediate models in which elements of the biblical story of creation are mixed with elements of the scientific story of origins. All of these models share the biblical idea that nature is the result of divine purpose and the “scientific” idea of long ages of time, but all suffer from serious scientific problems or are entirely ad hoc and conjectural.

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What Happens to Biblical Truth if the SDA Church Accepts Theistic Evolution?

Darwin’s view of God is contrary to the biblical view of God and should give Christians pause before buying into Darwin’s naturalism and attempting to wed it to the supernatural in a theistic evolutionary synthesis.

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Creation — the Sine Qua Non of Adventist Theology

Creation is crucial for our theology because, I am deeply convinced, all our essential doctrinal points can be directly or indirectly traced to the Creation roots. Each of our 27 fundamental beliefs is somehow tied to Creation.

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Consequences of Moving Away from a Recent Six-day Creation

During the last two years we have heard many papers that challenge the traditional Adventist, biblically-founded position of a recent six-day creation. I believe there are many problems with the “objections” and the alternatives they offer.

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Adventist Theology and Deep Time/Evolutionary Theory: Are They Compatible?

The goal of this essay is to assess the compatibility of Adventist theology with deep time and the evolutionary reconstruction of the origins of earth history.

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The Use of Science in Theology: Case Studies of Langdon B. Gilkey and Thomas A. Torrance

In response to the postmodern shift, Torrance proposes a Christocentric-dialogical model for the use of science in theology while Gilkey proposes a cosmocentric-dialectical model. There is comparison and contrast between the models in each area evaluated in this study.

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Jesus: God’s Agent of Creation

One aspect of the person and work of Jesus Christ that has not been explored adequately is the work of the preincarnate Logos in the creation of the earth and universe. This study is an attempt to stimulate discussion relating to a biblical understanding of the work of Jesus in creation.

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