About 11, 12.

One was my friend Jimmy Carasco (son of Tony Carasco, the gospel recording artist), and the other was me. We were in the sixth grade, in Mr. Hixon's class (almost Nixon!).

I was really into history and politics even in those days. I went to see Goldwater and saw Reagan, LBJ, and shook Robert Kennedy's (scratched, bleeding) hand.

You've come a long ways ....

Uh-huh-- in more ways than one.

Well ... I wouldn't go that far.

I'm not sure it's such an issue. There are many here with many views and ideas - the idea that one should be consistent in everything, and particularly that politics and religion should line up, is an odd one, to me.

(Cue Dr Johnson and 'a foolish consistency is the hobgolin of little minds'.)

There are things about which I disagree with pretty much everyone here - different things with different people. And by the same token, things about which I find myself agreeing with everyone here - again, different things with different people.

What a dull world it would be if it could be neatly split into two camps.

The only ones who can unify the country are those who divided it-- into interest groups, racial groups, sexual groups, age groups, etc.

The Democrat party. There was far less partisanship prior to the radical left taking over the Democrat party. The process began in the middle '60's, and was completed by 1972. It took the right and evangelicals about a decade to react.

It is interesting. In the 1940s several ministeral students went to the seminary as Republicans and left as Democrats. Elder, I'm not sure how to spell his name, but the seminary building at Andrews is named after him; gave the students topics to debate. One, Felix Lorenz, tells how he once asked for people to debate for or against socialized medicine. Felix, being a strong Republican and very into politics saw socialized medicine as horrible and boldly joined the group to argue against it. Just before class ended Elder W. said "Oh, one last thing, those of you who choose to argue for Socialized medicine are to argue against it and those of you who choose to argue against it are to argue for it." Felix left the room furious. However in his research he, and several on his team changed their mind and left the seminary headded down the road of becomeing democrats.

Another issue is the Republicans use to be more liberal. W. W. Prescott was quite active in the republican party until it started to become too conservative for him. Then there was of course the further moves to the right in 1964 and the Regan revolution that took it so far right that a typical Nixon repulbican couple, after Regan had to be democrats, the Clintons. How many others who would have been republicans under say Nixon, but like the Clintons are now democrats?

Beginning about 1950 a wave of bright young Adventists moved into the graduate schools of major secular universities in the United States and Europe. They were a kind of experimental species, for prior to them only a few believers had ventured into such studies, typically persons of long experience in church service. Now bright young people experienced the stimulation of high quality advanced education. And some found it attractive in ways that distanced them previous Adventist faith. From these youthful graduates came a number of faculty members placed in our schools and the rapidly developing seminary recently transferred from its former location in Washington. Within the decade, the seminary experienced a convulsion of faith that some of us in this forum will recall, that led to the departure of several faculty members. Some of these ex-faculty members have continued active in promoting the reinterpretation of the faith.

og

Hmm. A faith that cannot withstand higher education and critical thinking worries me. What is it about Adventism that causes those who learn to think critically to have to reinterpret it? (This is the flip side of the question about 'what is it about higher education that doesn't support Adventism?' Both questions need answering.)

Simply claiming that universities are a godless plot doesn't really fly, IMO.

The majority of universities in our country are incubators for liberal thought, and often a segway for agnosticism in the final analysis. Don't waste your time trying to deny that.


olger