A Letter to the Board Members of Florida College
Chris Reeves
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A Letter to the Board Members of Florida College Chris Reeves
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Dear Watchman Magazine reader:
On July 22, 2000 my wife and I wrote the Florida College Board Members about our concerns over the issue of the "days" of Genesis 1-2 and Florida College. While we did not specifically request that each of them respond to our letter, we were hoping to hear from them. We have heard from only two board members. On July 24, 2000 Fred Pollock responded by e-mail and told us that he was appreciative of our letter and that he shares the same concerns that we have. Some days later, Larry Coffee responded by letter and basically said that there was no problem at Florida College and that as long as Ferrell Jenkins was Head of the Bible Department that everything would be ok. I disagree, of course, with Brother Coffee's assessment of the situation at Florida College. If any of the board members would like to reply to our letter on Watchman Magazine, Stan Cox, editor of Watchman Magazine will gladly publish it along with our letter.
I am reproducing our letter to the Florida College board members in full below with the hope that it will help brethren see what the real issue is and how we can work together to resolve it. If you have similar concerns let me encourage you to write the Florida College board members and express them.
Brotherly,
Chris Reeves
Chris and Cheri Reeves
5223 Hugh Woodard Rd.
Springfield, TN 37172
July 22, 2000
Dear Florida College Board Member:
After careful deliberation and prayerful meditation, my wife and I write to you concerning the recent issues over Genesis 1-2 involving Florida College. Please, grant us a few minutes of your time.
We write to you out of true love and devotion; first, for our Lord and the Truth, and also for Florida College. Brother, you may not know us, so allow us to write briefly of our relationship to Florida College. I have been preaching the gospel for over 15 years. I am the last of 8 children in the Reeves family to attend Florida College. I hold 3 diplomas from Florida College (A.A., Advanced Bible Diploma, B.A. in Biblical Studies). My parents, Bill and Twilah Reeves, have sent more children to Florida College than any other family in the entire history of the school! My father, Bill Reeves, has been faithfully preaching the gospel for over 50 years. My parents have made great sacrifices in the past to send their children to Florida College and to support the school (individually supporting the school and working with the booster clubs). My wife, Cheri, is the daughter of Charles and Vernita Goodall. She too is a graduate of Florida College and her parents have worked at Florida College for 37 years (Charles in the Mathematics Department and Vernita in the Bookstore). Charles Goodall also has been faithfully preaching the gospel for many years. The Goodalls have devoted their lives working for and supporting Florida College. They too have sacrificed greatly for the school. We will say no more about our genuine concern for Florida College. Our positive relationship with the school through the years speaks for itself.
Our concern involves Shane Scott teaching in the Bible Department at Florida College. He holds an erroneous view on the "days" of Genesis 1-2. In the past he has espoused the "Day-Age" theory both privately and publicly (in print, on his website and in the classroom at Florida College), and now he is considering adopting the "Framework Hypothesis" theory. I spoke at length to Shane by phone about his view on the "days" of Genesis 1-2 on July 19, 2000 and he confirmed to me his beliefs. If you do not know the particular points of the above mentioned theories, I will be glad to provide you with information about them so that you can study them for yourself. In short, Shane does not believe the "days" of Genesis 1-2 are six, literal, consecutive, 24-hour days. Shane told me that he views the 6 "days" of Genesis 1, not as a literal and chronological record of what God did, but simply as an "analogy" of what God did in creation.
Our concern over this issue is not new. I have been concerned about Shane's position on Genesis 1-2 ever since I first read his article in Sentry Magazine (March, 1995), where Shane said "the days cannot be literal" and "the days must be ages." From that time onward I have corresponded with Shane off and on discussing his view of the "days" of Genesis 1-2. This of course, was before Shane was hired to teach at Florida College. The need for us to write you now has not been prompted in any way by the recent "Open Letter" to Florida College, recent articles in Truth Magazine, numerous e-mails discussing the issue, etc. We were concerned about these issues long before these concerned responses came along. I have studied this issue for years and have discussed this issue personally with Shane Scott long before others have brought it to the forefront. In addition to Shane teaching at Florida College, there are some other concerns we have.
During the 1999 Florida College Lectures, Hill Roberts was invited to teach some classes on the Creation - Evolution issue. Much of what he said was very good. Our concern is not with what he said during his day-lectures, but with his distribution of a CD-ROM which contains articles that teach error concerning the "days" of Genesis 1-2. To my knowledge, no one from Florida College has yet denounced the error that is taught on this CD-ROM. Many are now wondering if Florida College tolerates the teaching that is found on this CD-ROM by allowing it to be distributed. This is disturbing.
Last Fall (October 1999) an attempt was made in the Florida College Magazine to address this issue. There were many good things written, both by President Caldwell and others (including Shane Scott), but the real issue of Shane's view of the "days" of Genesis 1-2 was not dealt with. This article resides on the Florida College web page and continues to mislead readers concerning the real issue. This is disturbing.
During the 2000 Florida College Lectures there were some more things said about this issue by representatives of the school. First, in Ferrell Jenkins' lecture on "Making Sense of the Days of Creation," he said in effect that we do not have to decide absolutely what the text teaches on this issue; that we cannot be sure that the "days" of creation are literal, 24-hour days; that we must not be dogmatic about it. Brother Jenkins suggested that it is a problem to say that one view on the "days" of Genesis 1-2 "must" be right. I was present and heard his lecture. I have also listened to the tape of his lecture again and I have read his manuscript. I have written brother Jenkins about this and other matters related to the issue at hand. (Note: Brother Jenkins is insistent that when someone refers to a portion of his lecture, that the entire lecture be examined. Therefore, I would suggest that you get a copy of his lecture from his website or the Florida College Bookstore and view it in its entirety.) Later in the week, on the closing night of the lectures, President Caldwell made light of the issue with a comment about the "age of the earth" which drew laughter from the audience. These two incidents are disturbing.
Recently, President Caldwell responded to an "Open Letter" sent to Florida College by some concerned and sound brethren. In it he wrote many good things concerning the matter of creation. But, once again he failed to be specific with regard to Shane Scott's erroneous view on the "days" of Genesis 1-2. I have written President Caldwell about this and other matters related to the issue at hand. I have read President Caldwell's response over and over, and I am bothered by his approach. While I have great respect for President Caldwell, I must say that he is unclear about the real issue. He makes seven points and quotes passage after passage, but when all is said and done, he has not addressed the real problem with Shane Scott. President Caldwell's response also resides on the Florida College web page and continues to mislead readers concerning the real issue.
Here are a few specific observations about President Caldwell's recent response to the "Open Letter." Yes, Shane Scott believes President Caldwell's point #2, but he believes something different about Psalm 33:6,9. He believes that God spoke his creation decree, but it took billions of years to be accomplished. Also in point #2, President Caldwell speaks of not endorsing any "non-miraculous, naturalistic explanation." However, a "non-miraculous, naturalistic explanation" is not Shane's problem. His problem is his erroneous interpretation of the "days" of Genesis 1-2. In points #2 through #6, President Caldwell speaks of "an evolutionary explanation." But, this is not the real issue with Shane. Shane does not teach the theory of evolution, but he does teach an erroneous position on the "days" of Genesis 1-2. Shane would agree with point # 7 as President Caldwell has it worded, but we know that Shane teaches the "six days" are actually long ages (as per the "Day-Age" theory). Again in point # 7, President Caldwell speaks of "naturalistic conclusions," but this is not the real issue with Shane. Finally, over and over in President Caldwell's response are found the words: "is not tolerated at Florida College." Truly, it is encouraging to see what is not tolerated at Florida College. But, what President Caldwell is not telling the reader is that something is in fact tolerated at Florida College. What is tolerated is opposing views in the Bible Department on the same passage; namely, Genesis 1-2. This is disturbing.
To date, nothing specific had been said or done publicly about Shane Scott's erroneous views on the "days" of Genesis 1-2 by representatives of Florida College. So, in closing I make four requests:
(1) Please remove Shane Scott from the Bible Faculty at Florida College immediately. His view of the "days" of Genesis 1-2 and his position at Florida College will only serve to spread error and cause more division.
(2) Please print an official statement that speaks to the real issue using whatever means you have at your disposal (the Florida College Magazine, the Florida College Communiqué, the Florida College Web Page, etc.). Please make it clear that you believe God created the world in six literal, consecutive, 24-hour days (144 hours) and rested on the seventh day (a total of 1 week); and, any other teaching about the "days" of Genesis 1 will not be "tolerated" at Florida College.
(3) Please encourage President Caldwell to retract his inappropriate statement that he made concerning the "age of the earth" at the 2000 Florida College Lectures.
(4) Please state clearly that Florida College does not endorse Hill Roberts' erroneous views about the "days" of Genesis 1-2 contained on his CD-ROM.
Dear brother, we appreciate your attention as we have expressed our concerns to you. We feel confident that you will do what is right. Several documents have been referred to in our letter and we have copies of all of them. I would encourage you to read all of these documents yourself and draw your own conclusions. I will be happy to send you copies of any material that I have referred to herein. If I can provided you with any information about this issue involving Shane Scott, Ferrell Jenkins, President Caldwell or Hill Roberts which will help you to make the right decision, I will be happy to do so. Please contact me.
This letter is sent directly to you, and a copy of it is being sent to each board member of Florida College. If I choose to show this letter to anyone, at anytime in the future, I assure you that I do so with the sole purpose of informing others about this issue. I will not use this letter to tear down Florida College.
Brethren in Christ,
Chris and Cheri Reeves
email this author at chrisreeves@juno.com