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From: "Louie Bishop" Sent: Wednesday, November 18,20091 :37 AMSubject: LSU: GENERAL BIOLOGY SEMINARNovember 17, 2009Dear LSU Board Members,Today I attended the General Biology Seminar (BIOL lIlA) hosted by the Biology department at LaSierra University. This course is being offered for the first time this year, and is required attendance forall students registered in BIOL 111. Today, the subject according to the syllabus was "faith and theintellect." What I heard was disturbing to say the least. As a result, I have decided to send this personalletter to each one of you. During this lecture, I decided to take notes on my computer, and so was ableto record a significant amount of the material presented with accuracy. In other words, what I am sayingin this letter is not an afterthought, or just how I feel about what happened today.The first of two presenters today was Dr. John Webster, Dean ofthe School of Religion, and Professorof Systematic Theology. Professor Webster talked about the idea that faith and intellectual integrity arenot incompatible - that they can be in dialogue with one another, and will continue to be in the future;that Christianity has been confronted with major scientific and societal changes in the past, and hasendured the test oftime. He mentioned a few leading scientists in today's world who are Christians-namely, Francis Collins and Owen Gingerich. He came to a slide which was entitled "Adventism cancontribute." Here he suggested the idea that a "paradigm shift" is needed in our time as we engage withcontemporary science. He then came to some slides entitled "Interpreting the Bible Aright." Hementioned four methods of Biblical interpretation: Literal, Mythological, Figurative, and Realistic. Hethen said that "the final two may be helpful." One of the sub-points under Realistic was "Bible to betaken realistically." What does that mean? Dr. Webster went on to suggest that Genesis 1 and 2 maynot be a description ofthe beginning of the world. The take-home I received from Dr. Webster was thatthe Bible is to be interpreted according to and within it's cultural context. Yes, this is necessary. Buthis description, shown by his disregard of the literal method of interpretation, makes a simple reading ofthe word subject to what we may glean from our studies on the culture of the time. As I read the wordsof Jesus, I don't see Him focusing on explaining Scripture according to i ts cultural context orunderstanding. He simply said "But from the beginning of the creation, God 'made them male andfemale.'" Mark 10:6. "For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me; for he wrote about Me." John5:46.The second presenter was Warren Johns, who is from Lorna Linda. He spoke about what a worldviewis, why it is important, and the fact that we as students are at La Sierra University are in the process ofconstructing our own. He then asked the question "How old is the earth?" He said that the answer isbased upon what framework you are using. For example, are you speaking of mankind? Life ingeneral? The universe? He then told us that he was going to deal with that question from the Western(Biblical) perspective, as well as the Muslim perspective. He directly said that these perspectives seemto have a "compressed" picture of the age of the earth. Mr. Johns then gave us a chart showing OldTestament Chronology, which was summed up as seven cycles of 490 years each from Creation to theexile of the Hebrews to Babylon. He then asked us a question: Must we use this chart in determining thechronological history of life today? His answer was that the 490 year cycles were a humanunderstanding of how life developed on earth. He said that we don't need to say that this timeline isabsolute. In other words, he is teaching La Sierra University students that the Biblical timeline ofhistory can be interpreted according to our understanding of the Hebrew cultural paradigm. This

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7/28/2019 Exhibit 4 Letter to Board of Trustees

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concept will become clearer in the next paragraph.Before I continue, may I ask you a question? In the Bible, from the perspective of fallen mortals, whichwas the victor: faith, or the intellect? Did Moses first introduce to God his intellectual understanding ofthe situation, before he obeyed the command of the Almighty? We can simply go to Exodus, Hebrews11, etc. for our answer. Let's get back to the intellect. Mr. Johns said that the Hebrews, as well as allancient cultures, built structures according to their views of the cosmos. For his example, Mr. Johnssited the tabernacle in the Sinai wilderness. He mentioned a few things about its construction, such asthat the seven-branched candlestick was located on the south side of the structure. He noted how thiswas consistent with ancient cultural paradigms concerning the cosmos, which always placed the sun(source oflight) in the south. He then mentioned that ancient people groups would take a seven dayperiod to dedicate a temple they had erected. His inference from this was that there was a distinction tobe made between the creation of the temple and the inauguration of the temple. He then likened thisconcept to the account of Creation in Genesis 1 and 2! That God took seven days to "create Histemple." Thus, the days of Creation as mentioned in the Bible are not necessarily days of creation, butrather days of inauguration. He then said "As Dr. Webster pointed out, we are now looking at Genesis 1and 2 in a symbolic way." A few moments later, Dr. Lee Greer asked Mr. Johns a question: "Dr. Johns,are you suggesting that a literal reading of Genesis 1 may not be correct?" Dr Johns replied: "The literalreading of Genesis 1 is a textbook reading......." His statement, in summary, replied that we must firstunderstand what was originally meant, and then we are able to interpret Genesis correctly.This letter is being written to you to show yet again that La Sierra University is attacking God and Hisidentity as Creator as revealed in His word. Not only this, but such false ideas are being presented to theminds of students right at the time when they are forming their foundational paradigms that will shapethe rest oftheir lives! How can such nonsense be taught on a Seventh-Day Adventist campus? I remindyou, Jesus said to the Fathe:r "Your word is truth." Today, we did not here one word from the Bible tosupport the claims being made. We did not hear one word from the Bible period. What we heard wasman's interpretation of the Bible, and thus the wisdom of men taking precedence over and above theword of God.As I gathered my belongings to leave the classroom, I looked up to see a young man, standing near me,gazing toward the front ofthe room as ifhis mind was troubled. His friend was speaking to himconcerning what had been presented. I asked him what he thought, and told him I would sincerely liketo know. So we walked out of the room and headed toward the center of campus. This young man wasclearly shocked by the presentation, and pointed out that he believed what we had just heard clearly wasdestructive to the Christian faith, and the Bible as its foundation. With this testimony of a freshmanstudent realizing that today's presentation uprooted the foundation of the Christian faith, how manymore are there in similar shoes in that classroom? What does it take for us to realize how serious thissituation is? May I remind you as leaders that you are responsible - we are responsible - to fix thiserror!It is high time that La Sierra University be held accountable for what it is teaching to youngimpressionable minds, as well as for what professors it is employing as representatives of the University,the Seventh-Day Adventist Church, and most importantly, Jesus Christ.

Sincerely,Louie Bishop

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