MAY 19 2012 ISSN 0819-5633 ADVENTIST AVIATION: PAST AND PRESENTpages 3,7 CONGRESS FACES CHALLENGE OF SECULARISM page 3 RECORD ENROLMENT DESPITE ODDS page 7 NEWS Adventist Aviation opens airstrip Sandaun, Papua New Guinea The people of Sisimin in Oksapmin, With no road infrastructure Sandaun province, have welcomed available, the people of Sisimin the opening of a new airstrip in their have been deprived of all village. basic services, such as schools Captain Bennett Spencer, an Ad- and hospitals, for the past 40 ventist Aviation Services (AAS) pilot years. The only way of get- originally from the United States, ting in touch with the rest of The plane arrives on the new airstrip. officially cut the ribbon to open the the country was by walking 20 airstrip. hours to the nearest airstrip in to complete using both traditional and With Captain Bennett were Western Oksapmin. modern tools. Highlands Mission president, Pastor The Sisimin people, both church The guests arrived in an AAS Max Zaccias, Sandaun District director, and community aircraft and landed on the newly-built Pastor Luke Tanop, and other church members, decided to build an airstrip airstrip to the delight of the local leaders and people from villages in 2009 so AAS could extend its ser- people who had gathered there to around Oksapmin who came to wit- vices to this very remote area. celebrate the official opening. ness the opening. The project took them three years —Ronald Tanop/Sam Mollen HopeChannel begins new era in Christian TV Wahroonga, New South Wales HopeChannel is introduc- and interact through the websites, blogs and social net- ing a new generation of working sites of the programs. One of the new programs, positive, live and interac- Health and Lifestyle, will be hosted by New Zealand doctor tive programming. With five Nerida Titchiner-McKibben, a specialist in obstetrics and live programs and more to gynaecology, with extra training in lifestyle and integrative come, the shows will cover medicine. topics such as in-depth “We are aiming to be more relevant to our viewers and Bible study, the creation vs evolution debate, prayer (both allow them to connect with shows in real time,“ said Jared corporate and personal) and prophecy. Madden, director of HopeChannel in the South Pacific HopeChannel’s aim is create 20 hours of interactive pro- Division. “Our ability to share the Gospel has been en- gramming per week. Viewers can phone in with questions hanced.”—Jarrod Stackelroth Congress faces challenge of secularism Punta Cana, Dominican Republic The International Religious Liberty “regimes characterised by secular- Association’s 7th World Congress ity, which seek to establish a neutral attracted more than 900 scholars, framework that welcomes and seeks government officials, legal experts and to accommodate religious differences, religious liberty advocates from 60 are most conducive to fostering reli- countries and a wide variety of faith gious freedom”. backgrounds. “The world IRLA Congress is an in- The focus of the meetings—held at creasingly relevant event,” said South Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic Pacific Division president, Dr Barry The congress highlighted a growing tension from April 24-26—was the challenge of Oliver, who attended the congress. between religious freedom and secularism. secularism—a complex issue when his- “Globally, Seventh-day Adventists tory shows that secular governments are recognised as being influential in IRLA is the oldest association dedi- have threatened the free expression of promoting religious liberty. That must cated to freedom of conscience for all faith at some times and protected the be the case in the South Pacific region people. Videos and articles from the rights of religious minorities at others. also.” congress, including the official resolu- An official resolution statement Chartered in 1893 and sponsored by tions statement, are available at <irla. from the congress concluded that the Seventh-day Adventist Church, the org>.—Kent Kingston record.net.au • MAY 19, 2012 3 SOUTH PACIFIC EDITORIAL Second—a very cleaver debating trick in the new atheist sense. There’s simply not one shred of evidence for God! play book is to take no responsibility for atheist institutions and actions. Evidence? Atheist’s rhetorical ruse Hence they take an idealised, abstract atheism and con- If we can wake up each day, look at the way our body is Official news magazine of the James Standish trast it with an unbalanced presentation of concrete Christi- intricately designed, hold a child in our arms and experience South Pacific Division anity with all its real-life foibles. Not surprisingly, with these the love; if we can look at the wonder of a bee and the gran- Seventh-day Adventist Church “[I wish I could be] one of those sheep and blindly prejudiced parameters, it isn’t hard to win an argument. But deur of a mountain range; if we feel empathy and believe follow and not know the truth . But I can’t do that. it’s surprising how many people don’t see through it. there is a right and a wrong; if our souls can be moved by ABN 59 093 117 689 I know it’s a lie . I [used to believe] I was the one on the right track and [atheists] For example, the late Christopher Hitchens used a little music and our hearts touched by joy; if we can see and feel Vol 117 No 10 would burn in hell. I’m [now] happy to say . I’m going to burn with you.”—Teresa intellectual sleight of hand in his tome condemning all things all of that and not perceive miracle upon miracle upon mira- 1 Cover credit: Jarrod Stackelroth MacBain, former United Methodist Church pastor, and self-proclaimed atheist convert. God-like. Rather than admit that Communism is the most cle, then we may believe there is no evidence at all. “Villagers of Oksapmin gather around the Teresa’s conversion testimony might be confronting, but it is hardly unique. Non- obvious and pervasive example of atheism in action, he clas- After all, what kind of magical trick could satisfy the child- Adventist Aviation Services plane—their best believers make the fastest growing religious demographic in some Western nations, sified Communism as a religion. Now that is convenient, isn’t ish fickleness of the modern mind, if our very existence in access to the outside world.” riding high on the wave of the “new atheists”. So maybe it’s worth taking a brief look it? A movement based at its very heart on the non-existence this startlingly miraculous world doesn’t suffice? behind the curtain at three of the new atheists’ common rhetorical ruses. of God, a movement that ruthlessly repressed all things reli- Christ Himself came and raised the dead, but to the gious, is magically turned by Hitchens into a religion. Hence “faithless and perverse generation” that wasn’t enough— First—accentuate the negative, and avoid the positive. atheism bears no culpability for the bodies piled high in its they wanted something a little more their style—as if the Christianity is 2000 years old and has more than 2 billion adherents today. With a service. Points for gall; but not for intellectual honesty. God of the universe must perform like a circus act in order to history so rich and a following that large, there is, of course, plenty of dirt to mine. But persuade us He exists. so what? Every single nation, corporation, institution or organisation has a far from Third—but what of the third wave of arguments—that All creation speaks of God, but, it turns out, only if we’re Acting editor and perfect record. “There is none that is righteous, not one,” as Scripture says. That the “obvious lack of evidence?” listening. communication director: new atheists have discovered this to be true is hardly disproving Scripture now, is it? Where is the voice in the night and when will the water- James Standish But all the focus on dirt can’t obscure that religion has actually done some good. walking begin? Dear reader, when was the last time you 1. From Minister To Atheist: A Story Of Losing Faith, Barbara Bradley Hagerty for US Email: [email protected] National Public Radio, broadcast May 1, 2012. Indeed, some very good. For example, Christianity’s profound and pervasive impact on heard a talking donkey or saw a shining, frilly angel? Surely, [1] Researchers Crusade against American Fundamentalists, Jörg Blech, Spiegel Online, Assistant editor: the creation and promotion of education, modern medicine, science, human rights and as former pastor Teresa concluded, this is all just fantasy October 26, 2006. Jarrod Stackelroth stable governments is beyond credible dispute. It is no coincidence today that nations stuff. Put it in a movie; tell it as fairytales to children, but for Assistant editor: pervasively influenced by Christianity are the refuge of people the world over fleeing goodness gracious sakes, don’t actually believe this non- James Standish is communication director for the South Pacific Division. Kent Kingston despots and authoritarians. Sales & marketing: Perfect? No. Of some objective utility? Not to prominent new atheist Sam Dora Amuimuia Harris who stated proudly he would rather put an end to religion than put an end to Copyeditor: rape.2 If Harris had been in the crowd choosing between Barabbas and Christ, one Tracey Bridcutt doesn’t have to speculate which one he would want crucified. Graphic designer: (Continued next page) INSIGHT Loopeck Lim Editorial assistant: Revived by His Word Linden Chuang CONTENTS Can I ask you a simple question? When did you last will see us reading a chapter of the Letters: [email protected] NEWS open your Bible and just read? When did you last allow Bible each day until July 2015 when News & Photos: [email protected] yourself to let the words of Scripture sink into your soul the representatives of the world Noticeboard: [email protected] 3 HopeChannel begins new era in Christian TV and make you think .