Further Thought: Read Gerald A. Klingbeil, ed., The Genesis Creation Account and Its Reverberations in the Old Testament (Berrien Springs, Mich.: Andrews University Press, 2015)."
“The Bible is the most comprehensive and the most instructive history which men possess. It came fresh from the fountain of eternal truth, and a divine hand has preserved its purity through all the ages. . . . Here only can we find a history of our race, unsullied by human prejudice or human pride.”—Ellen G. White, Testimonies for the Church, vol. 5, p. 25.
“I have been shown that without Bible history, geology can prove nothing. Relics found in the earth do give evidence of a state of things differing in many respects from the present. But the time of their existence, and how long a period these things have been in the earth, are only to be understood by Bible history. It may be innocent to conjecture beyond Bible history, if our suppositions do not contradict the facts found in the sacred Scriptures. But when men leave the word of God in regard to the history of creation, and seek to account for God’s creative works upon natural principles, they are upon a boundless ocean of uncertainty. Just how God accomplished the work of creation in six literal days he has never revealed to mortals. His creative works are just as incomprehensible as his existence.”—Ellen G. White, Spiritual Gifts, book 3, p. 93.
Discussion Questions:
• When scientific explanations about present reality—what can be handled, heard, seen, tested and retested—are filled with debate and controversy, why do so many people unquestionably accept every scientific proclamation about events that supposedly occurred millions or even billions of years ago?
• Modern science works on the assumption (a reasonable one on the face of it) that you cannot use supernatural means to explain natural events. That is, you can’t try to explain, for instance, a famine by claiming that a witch put a curse on the land. However, what are the limitations of this approach when it comes to the Creation account as depicted in Genesis? In other words, the Genesis account was a purely supernatural event. If, however, you automatically rule out the supernatural as the means of creation, then why will any other model you come up with, of necessity, be wrong?
Inside Story
Missionary Asks, “Why?”
By Andrew Mcchesney, Adventist Mission
Leif Hongisto couldn’t understand why he was heading home to Finland after serving for nine years as president of Middle East University in Beirut, Lebanon. He loved the Seventh-day Adventist university, the Mediterranean climate, and freshly made hummus. Most important, he felt that he hadn’t realized his full vision for the university, and the decision to go home caught him by surprise. “I was rather confused about why God was leading my life away from something that had become my whole life and was very close to my heart,” he said.
With many prayers and heavy hearts, he and his wife packed their suitcases, filled up boxes, and flew to Finland. As part of the process for missionaries returning home, Hongisto had to undergo a medical examination at the hospital. During the routine procedure, the doctor detected slightly raised PSA levels in Hongisto’s blood, a possible sign of prostate cancer.
“Have you had any health complications?” the doctor asked.Hongisto shook his head. “I feel great,” he said.However, the doctor ordered a follow-up test. A couple months later, the PSA levels had risen even more, and the now-worried doctor called for additional tests and a biopsy. Soon, Hongisto was whisked away for a five-hour surgery, and the doctor removed a 3.5-ounce (100-gram) tumor. “It turned out that a routine medical checkup detected an aggressive cancer growth,” Hongisto said. “I began to understand why God led me back to Finland, where I would get very professional, up-to-date technology for treatment.”
Hongisto, 62, remains a missionary. He is in good health and serving as rector of Finland Junior College, a boarding academy and day school with about 185 students ages 6 to 18 in Piikkiö, a town in southwestern Finland. Many students at the school, founded in 1918, come from non-Adventist families. Finland itself is a highly secular country and has only 4,800 Adventists in a population of 5.5 million.
Reflecting on his 2018 move back to Finland, Hongisto has taken to heart the words of a speech that he gave at his first graduation ceremony at Finland Junior College in May 2018. He told the graduates, “You think life is in front of you and you have a vision of what it will look like. None of that will come true. Life will turn out very differently. But when you give it to God, a life lived in faith will always be more exciting, significant, and substantial than what you ever could have imagined.”
“That is true in my life,” said hongisto, pictured. “Life definitely surprises me positively each new day and is definitely better than what I could have imagined.” Finland is part of the Trans-European Division, which will receive the Thirteenth Sabbath Offering this quarter.
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