Mixed feelings are possible regarding the news that leaders of the Seventh-day Adventist Church are planning a major conference to discuss the Christian doctrine of creation in light of Scripture, on the one hand, and science, on the other. The topic is excellent. The timing is perfect. The idea of convening leaders of the Church to discuss this vital matter makes sense. What, then, is the problem?

Perhaps it resides in what the late Paul Heubach called "the human factor." This highly respected friend of many, who pastored and taught for decades at Walla Walla College and Loma Linda University, observed that it is easy on such occasions for alternative positions to become linked with personalities who, usually without consciously realizing it at the time, compete for the approval of the audience instead of seeking truth and following it wherever it leads.

This sort of thing, which can happen so subtly and swiftly that no one notices what is happening until the conference is over, has taken place in our church's past. It has also occurred in the history of other denominations. Many of the most famous ecumenical councils of the early Christian church are now remembered by historians at least as much for their personality conflicts and political struggles, some of which were settled not by study and prayer but by the edicts of emperors, as for the depth of their discussions. This can happen again.

A related problem is that, like a cat who has climbed too high, we Adventists have sometimes taken positions regarding the Christian doctrine of creation from which it may be difficult to retreat gracefully, particularly if we have to do so all at once in public.

Like the frightened cat, we can jump and hope that we land on our feet without getting hurt, we can be rescued by those who have tall ladders, we can slowly inch our way down when we think few are watching (my preference!), or we can cling to our dangerous perch and screech hostile denunciations at those who are safely on the ground. Given what Heubach called "the human factor," it is possible, although not inevitable, that we will yield to the last temptation.

Some in our church once denied the actuality of the geological column, that the history of the universe as a whole is to be measured in billions of years, that the principle of natural selection is effective at any level of life, and that the continents have drifted apart. Today, most of us accept most of these ideas, at least until better ones come along.

These changes should not embarrass us. Imagine how much worse things would be if they had not occurred! The important point is that they took place slowly and quietly as thoughtful people studied the scriptural and scientific evidence, discussed and debated the issues, and came to their own conclusions in harmony with Paul's advice in another context to "let every person be completely convinced in his or her own mind" (Rom. 14:5, personal paraphrase).

It is possible for our church to reap genuine benefits from a conference like the one that is being planned by featuring as many different informed viewpoints as possible and by making no attempt to forge a hurried consensus that will then be imposed on our denomination as a whole. Such a conference could provide much needed opportunities for study, thought, prayer, and discussion with confidence that, over the years, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, a consensus will gradually emerge.

Because it will grow from widespread conviction instead of administrative action, because it will be written in our thoughts and feelings instead of merely in our church's policies and procedures, a consensus that ascends from below instead of descending from above will last until we understand things even more clearly.

It takes courage to trust the gradual and gentle ways of God when planning important conferences like this one instead of trying to manage things in our own rushed and sometimes clumsy ways. Exercising such faith is worth a try!

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