I sent a survey out to the seminary faculty and current seminary students with at least two years of seminary education and asked their opinions on three aspects of the Big Bang and creation. All respondent identities have been kept confidential, with the only identifier being their level of education or position. I received 11 responses, so the information collected is not to be used as definitive of the whole SDA church. Instead, the goal of this article is to provide information on what kinds of perspectives are present within the church.
Before diving into the survey, some definitions may be helpful. For instance, the SDA church believes in a New Earth which Jesus will create after He returns for us, as is highlighted in the church’s 28th Fundamental Belief. The SDA church also takes a firm stance on what the earth will become, but there is much debate on what the origins of Earth are. There are variations of earth's origins which use terms like “new”, meaning within the last few years, and “old”, meaning a few million years old. Another point of contention is whether or not the Big Bang is compatible with creationism. Oftentimes these two are placed on opposing sides, insinuating that there is no in–between option. The third topic brought up in this survey was whether or not the Big Bang is true or not. This would discuss the sudden dispersing of matter and the evolution that occurs after.
When asked, “Do you believe the Big Bang Theory to be totally true, partially or not at all descriptive of earth's origins?”, no one responded with totally true. Seven of the respondents said that the Big Bang is partially true and the other four said that the Big Bang was not descriptive at all. When this was broken down between pastors/professors on campus versus seminary students, the ratio of response types stayed fairly consistent between the two groups. There were a total of six pastors/professors and four who said this was partially true, while the other two said it was not true at all. The seminary students responded similarly with three saying partially true and two saying not true at all.
When asked, “Is the Big Bang Theory compatible with creationism?”, the responses were broken up a bit more. Three responded that the two are compatible, two responded somewhat compatible, and six responded ‘not compatible’. When this was broken down between pastors/professors or professors on campus versus seminary students, the ratio of responses was fairly consistent within categories. Three pastors/professors and three seminary students stated that the Big Bang and creation were not compatible. This left five other respondents who believe that there is some if not total compatibility between the two.
When asked, “Which framework do you believe to be true? ‘Old Universe’: millions to billions of years old or ‘New Universe’: under 10,000 years old”, eight responded with ‘old universe, new life’. The last three responded with ‘new universe, new life’. Of the respondents who answered ‘old universe, new life’, there were five pastors/professors and three seminary students. Of the respondents who answered ‘new universe, new life’, there was one pastor/professor and two seminary students.
There is a blurry line on what is true and what is Biblical. Neither the pastors/professors nor the seminary students were totally united in their beliefs. Each response brings another set of questions as to where they got these beliefs from, which then stems from core beliefs. The origin of each respondent's understanding could stem from a variety of backgrounds whether that was taught, learned, or experienced, yet they all remain under the umbrella of Adventism. When having conversations about issues like these, it's important to remember the humanity behind the debate. When it comes to religion, it can seem like disagreeing with each other is disagreeing with God. But these debates are happening between people, not with God. All the respondents believe in God and want to believe what is true, but truth can be hard to pin down when faith comes into the mix. The origins of the universe will probably continue to be a debate until Jesus comes again. Until then, keeping an open mind when discussing theories of creation, as well as reading the Bible firsthand, can help eliminate some of the tension which gets in the way of productive conversations. Though this survey did not determine a finite answer of earth's origins, it did highlight that no matter our differences in theology, we all still share the love of God.
The Student Movement is the official student newspaper of Andrews University. Opinions expressed in the Student Movement are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors, Andrews University or the Seventh-day Adventist church.