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1 Adventist Heritage Center From: Sent: To: Subject: Adventist Review on behalf of Adventist Review Monday, January 25, :30 PM Adventist Heritage Center Top 5 Stories This Week Lucifer is Coming Literature Evangelism Banned In U.S. City New Evidence Leaves Macroevolution Dangling Adventist University President Resigns in Trinidad 1

2 Mission Pilot Carries on Father s Legacy With Remarkable Flight Copyright 2016 Adventist Review, All rights reserved. You are receiving this because you opted in at our website. Our mailing address is: Adventist Review Old Columbia Pike Silver Spring, MD Add us to your address book Want to change how you receive these s? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list 2

3 Login Search Subscribe Menu Adobe Stock Church Manual Updated After Inadvertent Omission Missionary Pastor Dies Before Sabbath Sermon in Kenya Olympic Champion Usain Bolt Was Raised in Adventist Home I Inspired Churchgoers Just Enough to Buy My Album Church Members Spring Into Action After Deadly Earthquake in Italy What Doesn t Change The Saviour binds Himself by promises forever an for all: I will never refuse anyone who comes to Me (John 6:37). SUBSCRIBE+NEWSLETTER+ IN THIS ISSUE+NEWS+ARCHIVES+ READER RESPONSE+MEDIA PARTNERS+

4 SCREENING ROOM+GRACENOTES+ PHOTO SUBMISSIONS Lucifer is Coming Jared Thurmon is the Strategic Partnerships Liaison for Adventist Review. You can reach him anytime on twitter Does Hollywood understand the last great scenes in the drama better than many Christians? A 5-minute read A s I scrolled through my news feed this morning, I stumbled across an item trending on Twitter: #LuciferisComing. No Adventist could resist investigating a line like that. The hashtag quickly led me to a flurry of posts, 85% of which were written by concerned Christians upset about a new television show on Fox slated to premiere on January 25. The series stars actor Tom Ellis as Lucifer the tall, dark and handsome and misunderstood--fallen archangel now in the city of angels Los Angeles. Communications specialists sometimes argue that there s no such thing as bad publicity. Fox may secretly be reveling in the controversy. But I m guessing this may be a one and done series that Lucifer is Coming could shortly be followed by Lucifer Has Left the Building. So I decided to hijack a headline to underline an important truth. The truth is Lucifer has been misunderstood by many. It s intriguing that Christian viewers raise issues with shows like this. What were they expecting from the entertainment industry? Were they not entertained? Many who read this article probably wouldn t choose to spend their time on things that don t build up their insight or character. Even if the new series tanks after the third episode, it might have unintentionally served a good purpose. You see, I actually do believe Lucifer is coming. I have to grudgingly tip my hat to Fox for at least portraying the enemy more accurately than Christian tradition usually has done. In the popular imagination from medieval times to the present, the devil is likely red, has horns, a tail, and a pitchfork. The Bible, though, tells us that this being is on a far different level of sophistication and attractiveness. He s good looking, commands powers many can only dream about, and seeks one objective: to become the ruler of this world by convincing humanity that living for self is the meaning of life. In the words of avowed occultist Aleister Crowley, Do as thou wilt is the whole of the law. And as the oldest created being in existence, he s had a long time to refine his appeal to both men and angels. In what reads like a tragic love letter from the broken heart of the Lord to Lucifer, God says: 12 You were the seal of perfection, Full of wisdom and perfect in beauty

5 14 You were the anointed cherub I established you 15 You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created, Till iniquity was found in you 17 Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty (Ezek. 28:12, 14, 15, 17, NKJV). Biblical prophecy reminds us that this majestic and beautiful being is coming one day soon to planet earth. Why? To claim what he believes are rightfully his the keys of the kingdom. Seventh-day Adventists underline even more than Fox that #LuciferisComing and very soon. But I am not surprised! Even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. (2 Cor. 11:14 NLT) Seventh-day Adventist co-founder and thought leader Ellen G. White described Lucifer s coming very clearly: The world is a theater; the actors, its inhabitants, are preparing to act their part in the last great drama. With the great masses of mankind, there is no unity, except as men confederate to accomplish their selfish purposes. A power from beneath is working to bring about the last great scenes in the drama, Satan coming as Christ Testimonies for the Church 8:27, 28. And in the final volume of her Conflict of the Ages series The Great Controversy Between Christ and Satan she asserted: As the crowning act in the great drama of deception, Satan himself will personate Christ. The church has long professed to look to the Saviour s advent as the consummation of her hopes. Now the great deceiver will make it appear that Christ has come. In different parts of the earth, Satan will manifest himself among men as a majestic being of dazzling brightness, resembling the description of the Son of God given by John in the Revelation. Revelation 1: The glory that surrounds him is unsurpassed by anything that mortal eyes have yet beheld. The shout of triumph rings out upon the air: Christ has come! Christ has come! The people prostrate themselves in adoration before him, while he lifts up his hands and pronounces a blessing upon them, as Christ blessed His disciples when He was upon the earth. His voice is soft and subdued, yet full of melody. In gentle, compassionate tones he presents some of the same gracious, heavenly truths which the Saviour uttered; he heals the diseases of the people This is the strong, almost overmastering delusion. (Great Controversy, 624). The Book of Revelation portrays the whole world in the last days as looking for a compelling leader to help it navigate the political, economic, and environmental chaos of the age. Confused by forces beyond their control or their understanding, human beings willingly give their allegiance to a sophisticated ruler who promises both stability and ultimate personal freedom. Others dream of escape to an untainted world where human beings can re-establish sanity and billionaires such as Elon Musk, Richard Branson and Jeff Bezos invest heavily in space vehicles that could theoretically colonize another planet. Each week s box office numbers remind us that our culture is fascinated by the war that began in the stars, and hungers for a superhero who offers a new world order we can never seem to manufacture for ourselves. Yes, Lucifer is coming, and prophecy tells us that his coming precedes the coming of Christ. Complaining about Hollywood s programming misses the point: Adventists should be making headlines by affirming that yes, in fact, #LuciferisComing but so is our real Saviour, whose sacrifice and love offers the only real redemption this broken planet will ever find. It s our mission to teach the world how different the value systems of Christ and Satan really are and why the faith of Jesus is our only hope.

6 News & Features Subscriber Access About Departments Resources Current Adventist News Online Exclusives Gracenotes Events Subscriptions Renew Account Forgotten Password Report Trouble Update Mailing Address Issue Archives Our Roots and Mission Staff Writer's Guidelines Advertising Adventist World Reader Response Photo Galleries Prayer Requests Partners Contact Free Newsletter Photo Submissions Downloads Sunset Calendar Church Locator RSS Feed Copyright 2016, Adventist Review. All rights reserved worldwide.

7 Login Search Subscribe Menu Student literature evangelists approaching a home in Louisville, Kentucky, during a GYC convention this month. (Seth Shaffer) Church Manual Updated After Inadvertent Omission Missionary Pastor Dies Before Sabbath Sermon in Kenya Olympic Champion Usain Bolt Was Raised in Adventist Home I Inspired Churchgoers Just Enough to Buy My Album Church Members Spring Into Action After Deadly Earthquake in Italy What Doesn t Change The Saviour binds Himself by promises forever an for all: I will never refuse anyone who comes to Me (John 6:37). SUBSCRIBE+NEWSLETTER+ IN THIS ISSUE+NEWS+ARCHIVES+ READER RESPONSE+MEDIA PARTNERS+

8 SCREENING ROOM+GRACENOTES+ PHOTO SUBMISSIONS Adventists File Lawsuit Against U.S. City for Banning Literature Evangelism The legal action comes after the Arkansas city refuses to allow Adventist students to share their beliefs. POSTED JANUARY 19, 2016 A U.S. conference of the Seventh-day Adventist Church and two of its members filed a lawsuit against an Arkansas city on Jan. 19 over a local ordinance that prevents door-to-door literature evangelism. The lawsuit, filed by the Arkansas-Louisiana Conference, asks a U.S. district court to declare the ordinance enacted by White Hall, population 5,500, to be unconstitutional and a violation of the first amendment right to free speech. City regulations restrict all forms of door-to-door solicitation and the expression of ideas unless those wishing to share their religious or charitable beliefs obtain a permit from the city, then pay permit fees, share significant personal information and pass a satisfactory investigation and review, the Seventh-day Adventist Church said in a statement. If allowed to stand, the type of restrictions White Hall seeks to impose would stop door-to-door literature evangelism, said Todd McFarland, associate general counsel at the world headquarters of the Adventist Church. Paying a $50 fee for every municipality we visit would be a great burden for any program. Here's the complaint and injunction request (PDF) Here's the full brief (PDF) Even after the application is made, the ordinance does not explain the standards or time frames needed to obtain the permit, the church said. The decision whether to grant a permit is solely at the discretion of one city official, with no opportunity to appeal this decision. Courts routinely have rejected similar government efforts that seek to impose this kind of prior restraint on protected speech, the church said. The lawsuit comes after Ouachita Hills College, a supporting ministry of the Adventist Church that works in partnership with the Arkansas-Louisiana Conference, sought permission for its students to share their beliefs in Jesus and the gospel in White Hall. They asked for an exemption from the ordinance on religious freedom grounds, the church statement said. The police chief responded that he spoke with the mayor and city attorney and no exemption would be granted. No opportunity was given for an appeal. While the city said it was open to having a meeting to discuss the issue, repeated attempts to schedule such meeting went unanswered. The statement added, The church regrets that it must file a lawsuit to protect its religious rights. One of the primary tenets of the Seventh-day Adventist faith is to follow the Great Commission in Matthew 28:18-20, where Jesus says, Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. The lawsuit is asking for the courts to protect the rights of people to practice their religion.no financial damages only a symbolic $1 are being sought in the case. The church is asking the court to make a decision before April 6, 2016.

9 News & Features Subscriber Access About Departments Resources Current Adventist News Online Exclusives Gracenotes Events Subscriptions Renew Account Forgotten Password Report Trouble Update Mailing Address Issue Archives Our Roots and Mission Staff Writer's Guidelines Advertising Adventist World Reader Response Photo Galleries Prayer Requests Partners Contact Free Newsletter Photo Submissions Downloads Sunset Calendar Church Locator RSS Feed Copyright 2016, Adventist Review. All rights reserved worldwide.

10 Login Search Subscribe Menu Clinton Valley, pictured, stepped aside to pursue other interests, the University of the Southern Caribbean says. (USC) Church Manual Updated After Inadvertent Omission Missionary Pastor Dies Before Sabbath Sermon in Kenya Olympic Champion Usain Bolt Was Raised in Adventist Home I Inspired Churchgoers Just Enough to Buy My Album Church Members Spring Into Action After Deadly Earthquake in Italy I Inspired Churchgoers Just Enough to Buy My Album A successful, God-ordained ministry won t always be popular. SUBSCRIBE+NEWSLETTER+ IN THIS ISSUE+NEWS+ARCHIVES+ READER RESPONSE+MEDIA PARTNERS+ SCREENING ROOM+GRACENOTES+ PHOTO SUBMISSIONS

11 Andrew McChesney News editor, Adventist Review Adventist University President Resigns in Trinidad University of the Southern Caribbean starts search for new leader. POSTED JANUARY 21, 2016 he University of the Southern Caribbean, a Seventh-day Adventist Church-owned institution based in Trinidad and Tobago, has begun a search for a new president. T Clinton Valley, who became the university s 26 th president in 2012, has resigned to pursue other professional interests, the university said in a statement. Sylvan A. Lashley, who served as president of the university from 1990 to 1996 when it was known as Caribbean Union College, will take over as interim president. The University of the Southern Caribbean praised Valley for developing the campus infrastructure and spiritual life. During his tenure, Dr. Valley made a sterling contribution to the development of the institution, including infrastructural projects such as the completion of the new dorm, recruitment and alignment of personnel for greater effectiveness, new program development and an enhanced spiritual ethos, it said. Additionally, a second residence hall, an early childhood center, and a new auditorium are currently under construction. The university, founded in 1927, joins several other Adventist institutions of higher education in seeing major changes at the top. Interim president Sylvan A. Lashley (USC) Andrews University, the church s leading university in Berrien Springs, Michigan, is conducting a search for a new president after Niels-Erik Andreasen announced plans last August to retire after a record 22 years as president. Southern Adventist University is also looking for a new president after Gordon Bietz announced in April that he would retire in May 2016 after nearly two decades at the helm of the school in Collegedale, Tennessee. Kenneth L. Shaw is in his second academic year as president of Keene, Texas-based Southwestern Adventist University, as is Vinita Sauder, president of Lincoln, Nebraskabased Union College. The University of the Southern Caribbean s acting president, Lashley, most recently served as the university s business school dean. Lashley, who attended Caribbean Union College high school, holds graduate degrees in history and higher education leadership, and has two law degrees. He brings a breadth of experience to the university, the university statement said. The University of the Southern Caribbean has 3,200 students spread over its main campus in Maracas, St. Joseph, and its extension campuses in San Fernando, Tobago, Barbados, St. Lucia, Guyana, and Antigua. The university offers undergraduate and

12 graduate degrees in more than 35 disciplines and has students from more than 40 countries and is accredited by the Accreditation Council of Trinidad and Tobago and the Adventist Accreditation Association. News & Features Subscriber Access About Departments Resources Current Adventist News Online Exclusives Gracenotes Events Subscriptions Renew Account Forgotten Password Report Trouble Update Mailing Address Issue Archives Our Roots and Mission Staff Writer's Guidelines Advertising Adventist World Reader Response Photo Galleries Prayer Requests Partners Contact Free Newsletter Photo Submissions Downloads Sunset Calendar Church Locator RSS Feed Copyright 2016, Adventist Review. All rights reserved worldwide.

13 Login Search Subscribe Menu Church Manual Updated After Inadvertent Omission Missionary Pastor Dies Before Sabbath Sermon in Kenya Olympic Champion Usain Bolt Was Raised in Adventist Home I Inspired Churchgoers Just Enough to Buy My Album Church Members Spring Into Action After Deadly Earthquake in Italy What Doesn t Change The Saviour binds Himself by promises forever an for all: I will never refuse anyone who comes to Me (John 6:37). SUBSCRIBE+NEWSLETTER+ IN THIS ISSUE+NEWS+ARCHIVES+ READER RESPONSE+MEDIA PARTNERS+

14 SCREENING ROOM+GRACENOTES+ PHOTO SUBMISSIONS New Evidence Leaves Macroevolution Dangling A and s scientists who accept the literal intent of the Genesis account of origins, we have faced many challenges to our faith during our undergraduate and graduate education, and later on as professional scientists. Sometimes these challenges left us shaken, puzzled, or otherwise uncertain about what to do with some particular piece of information. Often we were driven back to our knees and to God s Word for reassurance that we were moving in the right direction. Always we were directed to analyze more carefully the data from which the challenge had been derived. One of the major challenges has been the question of macroevolution. The theory of macroevolution asserts that the first living cells, and all types of life, are the result of nondirected, naturalistic processes without the intervention of an outside agency (God). This theory became dominant in the nineteenth century, when scientists knew nothing about the complexity of living cells. It might have been easy to believe a cell could have arisen spontaneously when it was viewed as little more than a fluid-filled sac. Enter DNA As we learned more of cellular complexity, including DNA, in the twentieth century, naturalistic scientists had no choice but to believe that this amazing system of molecules that undergirds all life originated by accident. What other theory was there? Certainly they could not accept the idea of a Creator, since their naturalistic assumptions prohibited this possibility. Now in the twenty-first century, three crucial discoveries have undermined the foundation on which the evolutionary origin of life forms seemed to be resting. The Two Percent. In 1990 the Human Genome Project began as a massively funded effort by a large contingent of scientists to determine the entire information sequence of human DNA. Scientists discovered, much to their perplexity, that only a tiny fraction (about 2 percent, about 20,000 genes) of human DNA coded for proteins (contained instructions for making a specific protein), yet it was known that nearly 100,000 different proteins were made in human cells. That discrepancy demanded an explanation, and the explanation was stunning. It turned out that those portions of DNA that coded for an amino acid sequence in a protein (exons) could be combined in various ways to make different proteins. This explained how only 2 percent of our DNA could make so many proteins. It became evident that there would have to be another level of control to determine which exons to stitch together, in which order to make the appropriate protein. Then there would have to be an additional level of control to regulate that, and so on. This multilevel DNA management system was completely beyond anything that had previously been visualized for the complexity of the genetic system. The Ninety-eight Percent. What was the other 98 percent of the DNA doing? Evolutionary biologists had long ago decided the DNA that was not coding

15 directly for proteins must be Junk DNA. This nonfunctional DNA, they declared, was being modified by random mutations to produce new genes that, when functional, would become part of the organism s genome. By this process, over time, an amphibian could become a reptile, a reptile could become a mammal, and a mammal could become a human. In fact, Junk DNA quickly became a strong argument for evolution among biologists. But trouble was on the way. A new massive, federally funded initiative, called the ENCODE project, was launched to find out what the 98 percent of the DNA that was not coding for proteins was doing. In September 2012 the project simultaneously published a series of papers on the results of their work. 1 The consortium announced that at least 80 percent, and probably a lot more of the human DNA that had been thought of as junk, was functional DNA. It is not only functional, but also critically important. Much of this 98 percent of the DNA that did not code directly for proteins was regulating the protein production system; it was part of the multifunctional control of the genetic system. Evolutionists were quick to condemn the report, in spite of the fact that more than 400 of the top molecular biologists in the world had been working on the project. But the results have held up scientifically and are now widely accepted. The protein-coding genes, 2 percent of the DNA, 2 are very similar in all animals. We share 70 percent of our protein coding genes (70 percent of 2 percent) with an acorn worm, 92 percent with a mouse, and up to 96 percent with a chimpanzee. The rest of the DNA (98 percent), clearly, is what makes a human different from an acorn worm, a mouse, or a chimpanzee. This was a huge blow to the theory of evolution, but was long ago predicted by creationists, who recognized that a designer was not likely to burden the cell with junk. Imagine you go into a well-organized machine shop and observe how it functions. It has hundreds or thousands of drawers along the walls. In each drawer are tools or parts necessary for construction of anything that a machine shop can make. One drawer might have a particular size of drill bit; other drawers may contain specific sizes of machine bolts or washers or nuts. Each drawer has something unique but essential for the construction of a product. Not all products will require the use of all drawers. These drawers represent the protein coding genes. They are important, even essential, but they cannot produce a thing without the machinist and the blueprint. When the machinist is given a blueprint, he gathers the necessary parts, turns on the needed machines, and, with the skill borne of experience and years, creates the required product. Without the machinist and the blueprint, the machine shop could not produce anything, ever. The machinist and the blueprint represent the regulatory DNA that makes up the majority of the genome. Evolution has no evidence to explain how that genetic system originated. But that s just the beginning of problems for naturalistic explanations; there is more. Until a few years ago, biology dogma was that genes controlled everything, and that it was genes that determine who one is and what one could become. Now that has changed. For generations students of science have been indoctrinated to believe inheritance from outside of DNA (also known as Lamarckism) would be an absurdity: an example would be a giraffe acquiring a long neck because its ancestors kept reaching for higher leaves in the trees. However, beginning about two decades ago, scientists began to recognize another level of control that turned portions of DNA on or off, without changing the information in the DNA. These epigenetic modifications, from outside of DNA, affected an animal s anatomy, function, and even behavior. 3 In 2014, scientists studying behavior in mice were able to show convincingly that when a mouse learned an aversion to a specific pleasant odor (animals were shocked when the odor was presented), this aversion could be passed on through

16 three or four generations of offspring. The title of the editorial comments in the scientific journal Nature voices the thought that will occur to any Bible reader: Epigenetics: The Sins of the Fathers. 4 In the example of the mice and in other epigenetic effects the hereditary outcome is not the result of any mutations or other change in the DNA. The epigenetic chemical changes are passed to future offspring as long as they are needed, and the changes may be reversed in future generations. For example, a parent s diet, behavior, or stress level during pregnancy can affect their offspring without any DNA mutations, and these changes can be passed on to subsequent generations. Epigenetics presents a dramatic challenge to evolution. Evolution requires all new genetic information to arise by random changes. Without a Creator, the genetic process cannot know in advance what the animal will need. But epigenetics allows the environment to induce changes that will be beneficial, without the help of natural selection. What kinds of control mechanisms and design are involved in developing a system so sophisticated that it can pass on behavioral information that persists, without a change in genes? This is a serious difficulty for evolutionary theory as it has been taught for 100 years. But there were more challenges to come for evolution. Orphan gene was coined to designate protein-coding regions (that is, genes) in an animal that were not found in any related animal type, or maybe not in any other species. In other words, there were no similar ancestral genes the orphan gene could have evolved from. It is just there, doing a task unique to that animal, like allowing a honeybee to make honey. 5 It looks like the animal was designed with that gene because that specific animal needs it. Orphan genes are pervasive in all life forms and pose a critical, perhaps even fatal, obstacle to those seeking to explain the origin of life forms by the evolutionary process. With continued research the total number of orphan genes identified and recognized has continued to increase, and at present may be as high as 10 to 30 percent of all known genes. More than 1,000 orphan genes are recognized in humans. At least some of these orphan genes are very important; one of them is responsible for the large brain in humans. 6 An explanation consistent with the evidence is that the genes were part of the original creation, and their existence in the individual taxa is because of original design. Perhaps some of these orphan genes could be genes that became activated because of altered environmental conditions on the earth after the entrance of sin (epigenetics). In any case, they represent a sobering challenge to the theory of naturalistic evolution. A Better Explanation Evolutionary theory claims that new and different types of organisms, such as fish, reptiles, and mammals, originated without a Creator. This theory is now facing serious challenges because of the sophisticated mechanisms of molecular biology that have been unveiled during the past half century. Evolution theory remains alive because it is on artificial life support, in the form of philosophical commitment to naturalism, with its assumption that life did not have a Creator. Three recent discoveries, epigenetics, the ENCODE project results, and orphan genes, have further undercut the intellectual feasibility of life support for macroevolutionary theory. For many individuals, naturalism and macroevolution are still the only acceptable explanation for life, but this commitment is based increasingly on philosophy, not on adequate evidence. We hope to convince the adherents of evolution that there is a better and viable alternative that not only has explanatory value in science, but holds the promise of eternal life to those who accept it.

17 1. ENCODE. Thirty papers published at the same time in scientific journals, including eight articles and reports in Nature 489 (Sept. 6, 2013): See also N. Carey, Junk DNA: A Journey Through the Dark Matter of the Genome (New York: Columbia University Press, 2015). 2. J. Cohen, Relative Differences: The Myth of 1%, Science 316 (June 29, 2007): B. G. Dias and K. J. Ressler, Parental Olfactory Experience Influences Behavior and Neural Structure in Subsequent Generations, Nature Neuroscience 17 (2014): Cf. D. Noble, Physiology Is Rocking the Foundations of Evolutionary Biology, Experimental Physiology 98 (2014): Doi: /expphysiol V. Hughes, Epigenetics: The Sins of the Fathers, Nature 507 (Mar. 6, 2014): B. R. Herb, F. Wolschin, K. D. Hansen, M. J. Aryee, B. Langmead, R. Irizarry, G. V. Amdam, and A. P. Feinberg, Reversible Switching Between Epigenetic States in Honeybee Behavioral Subcastes, Nature Neuroscience 15, no. 10 (2012): Cf. W. C. Jasper, T. A. Linksvayer, J. Atallah, D. Friedman, J. C. Chin, and B. R. Johnson, Large-scale Coding Sequence Change Underlies the Evolution of Postdevelopmental Novelty in Honeybees, Molecular Biology and Evolution 32, no. 2 (2015): M. Florio, M. Albert, E. Taverna, T. Namba, H. Brandl, E. Lewitus, and W. B. Huttner, Human-specific Gene ARHGAP11B Promotes Basal Progenitor Amplification and Neocortex Expansion, Science 347, no (2015): Arthur Chadwick, Ph.D., is research professor in the Biology and Geology Department at Southwestern Adventist University, Texas. Leonard Brand, Ph.D., is professor of biology and paleontology at Loma Linda University, California. News & Features Subscriber Access About Departments Resources Current Adventist News Online Exclusives Gracenotes Events Subscriptions Renew Account Forgotten Password Report Trouble Update Mailing Address Issue Archives Our Roots and Mission Staff Writer's Guidelines Advertising Adventist World Reader Response Photo Galleries Prayer Requests Partners Contact Free Newsletter Photo Submissions Downloads Sunset Calendar Church Locator RSS Feed Copyright 2016, Adventist Review. All rights reserved worldwide.