Does Wilson II, the President of the Adventist General Conference, Believe That the Earth Is Billions of Years Old?
by Ervin Taylor, September 3, 2014: It now appears that one of the main reasons that the recently concluded invitation-only General Conference-sponsored International Conference on the Bible and Science: Affirming Creation meeting in Las Vegas, Nevada, and St. George, Utah, was organized was to ensure that the Adventist Theological Society (ATS)-inspired revision of Adventist Fundamental Belief (FB) No. 6 at the 2015 General Conference session would be adopted overwhelmingly with the votes of Third World delegates. It would also make sure that the current General Conference president was reelected with no opposition.
The main targets attending the conference were Church administrators and those teaching at Adventist schools in the Third World who may not have been aware of the pressing nature of this issue to fundamentalist and conservative forces in the First World Adventist Church. ATS and their supporters in the GC administration apparently did not want to take any chances and so spent tens of thousands of dollars of Church funds and some donated money to make sure that the vote in 2015 from the Third World would go their way.
According to usually reliable sources, the ATS plan was to push its longstanding plan to change FB No. 6 wording to make sure that it says that there was a recent creation of life in six literal, 24-hour days a few thousand years ago and that there was a recent worldwide flood. However, they hoped that they could be ambiguous about the age of the earth since even some very conservative theologians belonging to the ATS have indicated publicly that the earth itself (not life) is billions of years old. However, the ordinary Adventist member may not understand the difference and might be shocked to be told that the president of the General Conference believes in an earth billions of years old, especially since the Adventist prophet was opposed to such an interpretation of Genesis.
But someone in the ATS apparently forgot to cue in the current General Conference president to make sure that he would be careful to follow the exact specifications of the ATS party line in his public statements as he usually has done in the past.
Thus, in his first speech at the conference, Wilson II not only condemned any Adventist who believed that life was old but also stated that any “real” Adventist must reject any idea that the “world [is] much older than the 6,000-odd years that Creationists believe had passed since the Earth was formed.” Uh-oh.
Where would Wilson II get the idea that a “good” Adventist had to believe that both the earth and life had to be not more than “6,000-odd” years old? A disinterested observer who was not aware of the details of Adventist history would perhaps assume that belief in the 6,000-year age of the earth was derived from the figure 4004 BC (which, of course, would be about 6,000 years ago), originally calculated by the 16th-century English scholar and Anglican Church Archbishop James Ussher.
However, if this hypothetical disinterested observer would have an opportunity to examine carefully the history of early Seventh-day Adventism, he/she would discover that for the average Adventist reader and probably Wilson II, the figure of “about 6,000 years” came from the writings of the 19th-century American mystic and charismatic visionary and co-founder of the Adventist Church, Ellen Gould Harmon-White (EGHW).
It is almost certainly true that EGHW, like most of her contemporaries belonging to the Protestant evangelical churches of her day, believed in the 6,000-year figure for creation, primarily because the Protestant version of the Bible they and she mostly used (the King James, or Authorized Version) contained in its margins the dates calculated by Ussher, including 4004 BC as the date of creation of both the earth and life on the earth.
Ever since the conclusion of the Las Vegas/St. George conference, rumors have been floating around the Adventist blogosphere and elsewhere (including the hallways of the General Conference building in Silver Spring, Maryland, thanks to the reports of informants there) to the effect that Wilson II must have misspoken (or was misquoted) in his remarks and then been quoted (or misquoted) in the pages of the Adventist Review to the effect that the earth itself is only 6,000 years old.
It has been reported by the same usually reliable sources that several in the conservative Adventist camp who are supporters of Wilson II and his allies in the ATS are now spreading the word that Wilson II really believes that the earth itself is billions of years old! He apparently was not aware of the difference between Young Earth Creationism (YEC) and Young Life Creationism (YLC).
If these reports are correct, then it would seem that it would be very helpful for the ordinary Adventist to be directly informed about what the GC president actually believes on this issue. Is the earth billions of years old? Or like Ellen White, does he believe that both the creation of the world and life upon it occurred about 6,000 years ago?
Another article in the Adventist Review by him could clear this confusion up. One would think that his supporters would want him to explain his views. Or perhaps not.
If the “heavens, earth and seas” [Revelation 14:6] are billions of years old how can the same verse be referring to the creation week 6,000 years ago?
Matthew 19:4 says God made Adam and Eve in the beginning [Genesis 1:1].
Did he make them millions of years before the creation week?
If the creation week begins in Genesis 1:3 when God said “let there be light” the daylight part of the day would come first and the days would begin and end at sunrise.
If the creation week days are consecutive adjoining 24 hour days the creation week Sabbath would also begin and end at Sunrise.
Is the creation week Sabbath [Sunrise to Sunrise] still the true Sabbath?
Has the creation week Sabbath been changed or abolished?
Gen 1:5 And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.
Thanks Ervin. As always you are spot on. The sooner the church wakes up and replaces Wilson two the better off we all will be. Who does he think he is-God’s interpreter for us all. No thanks. Enough of his pontifications. Please do not allow him a second term.
I already threw my candidacy, and I seriously intent to win on a 60-second voting session (not 90-secs like he did in 2010…). So, just hang in there… 🙂
I’m waiting for the clarification. BRI includes in its online resources a paper on Genesis One that explicitly allows for an old earth. But President Wilson II states the world is only 6000 years old. I think President Wilson II misspoke, but if we take his words at face value, he disagrees with the theologians at BRI.
Perhaps Wilson truly believes he IS the church!
I am going to copy a post that I placed on Andy Hanson’s site today – I just cannot accept or believe all of this controversy, without stating what I believe as a simple, believing church member, 3rd generation. It is unconscionable for our leadership to mandate anything. And the scientists don’t know everything either. Both sides are diminishing the Sovereignty of God, whose ways are beyond understanding. They are mysterious and unknowable until He chooses to open specific doors of knowledge, at His timing. And to a true believer of genuine faith, then really – what does it matter? (I do not like that particular phrase, but in this case it works.) Leadership would do well to leave our teachers, our pastors, our professors, our leaders – ALONE. Think alike? Never. All believe the same thing? Never.
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“It is astonishing to me that our leaders can so diminish the Sovereignty of God by attempting to know things that are, in the final analysis, unknowable. I will not be dictated to by any leader about what I should believe, or disbelieve. My final authority is the Holy Spirit leading me as I study. The attempted control by Ted Wilson I believe is divisive and misleading. Surely there are methods and ways that God has which will remain mysterious and awesome until He chooses to enlighten us, most likely in Heaven. I firmly believe in Creation – but how, when – ? Those questions do not disturb me. I trust in the incredible power of God to have done work-arounds which we simply cannot comprehend. The scientific finds, historical and archeological substantial information – all are irrelevant when one considers and submits to the total power of God, not the inconsequential determinings of man. How the Sabbath cycle fits into Creation then – that is/was God’s business – not mine. He said to remember the Sabbath Day, and I do. But that is out of love, not because I believe in a time cycle mandated by our current leadership. I believe we all have an absolute requirement to study for ourselves – of course there are things about which not everyone can agree; but we don’t tell friends and family to “just leave” our family and friend circles if they don’t agree on substantial things. We love them anyway, fellowship with them, and agree that in all the world, all the theologians, ministers, pastors, professors, self-taught Biblical students will never agree on every point of doctrine, every philosophical nuance, or theological viewpoint. I do not intend to be driven out of MY church by misguided, harmful and divisive actions, statements, rules or regulations put forth by our GC president, or those who support those beliefs. The Seventh-day Adventist Church has been home to varied thinking for generations, and there is room in the tent for all of us, if the camel of narrow thinking gets his nose out from under the canvas. (And I am not calling Ted Wilson a camel.) The “strange sense of reasoning” that Bill Sorenson talks about is what I consider our leadership to have in this current attempt at control. We do not have to all think alike. We are all on different levels of intellect, of understanding, of belief, of knowledge. Leave us alone in our walk within the church, and on our path with God. We are safe with God. So many have found out they were not safe within the church – and that is shameful. Again, I repeat – we are safe with God. I consider myself a non-conforming Seventh-day Adventist – but even so my church welcomes me with open arms, allows me to help with music, asks me to serve on a committee, and members of my Sabbath School class listen and discuss respectfully the issues about which we don’t agree. I’d like to transport my church to the G.C. and let them understand from laity how the freedom in God works. So I don’t know or automatically believe in the young creation? My question then is, so what? The Sovereign God of everything did it, whenever, and that is good enough for me. Again, we are safe with God.
Anita Lang on September 17, 2014 at 1:58 pm said:
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(Edited to remove duplication.)
Aren’t there enough people with common sense, sanctified reasoning, Biblical understanding, and comprehensive faith among our leadership to counteract this incredibly harmful thinking?
Sorry – it appears that I inadvertently entered the post twice in the same space. I used a “copy” feature.