Silver Spring, Maryland, United States …. [Taashi Rowe/ANN]
Continuing debate surrounding a centuries-old scientific question may not have the “reality” TV appeal of, for example, a wardrobe and lifestyle makeover, but two Seventh-day Adventist college students are out to change that: finding answers to life’s biggest questions along the way.
Tiffany Larson and Matthew Sharrock, two students at the church’s Andrews University in Berrien Springs, Michigan, began a six-week road trip May 3, hoping to explore the topic from both a biblical and scientific worldview. In what is being billed as the first-ever “Adventist reality show,” the pair will travel to 13 different locations across the United States that stimulate the faith-science dialogue. Locations include Dayton, Tennessee, home of the historic Scopes “monkey trial,” in which a public school teacher faced jail for teaching evolution; South Bend, Indiana, to interview an industrial designer; Arizona’s Grand Canyon and South Dakota on a archeological dig for dinosaurs.
The show will also include interviews with participants in the church’s
2004 Faith and Science Conference in Denver, Colorado.
Larson is a communications major, and Sharrock a biophysics major.
“I felt this incredible draw to the project,” Larson said. “I could feel God pushing me to try out for the part, even though I didn’t think I would get it. But when I found out that I did, I could hear Him say, ‘You should have trusted me!'”
Stacia Dulan, project coordinator for Church Resource Center (CRC), a division of the North American region of the Adventist church, explained, the goal of CRC is to provide resources such as this series that will help pastors grow healthy congregations. Pastors have consistently said they had no resources for discussing origins.
“It’s a controversial topic. It’s hard to discuss it 100 percent biblically and 100 percent scientifically,” Dulan said. “The church teaches one side and schools the other. Young people end up making the decision on their own.”
Just last year, following a series of faith and science discussions held over a period of three years, the Adventist Church reaffirmed its belief in the Biblical account of creation.
Dulan said this program will be more of a teaching tool to stimulate discussion not spoon-feed answers.
While the program may be fashioned after the ever popular ‘reality’
shows, it will be more of a documentary-style travelogue.
“We realized the importance of the subject of origins, as well as the need for making progressive TV and film that is relevant to young people. We’re in need of programming that appeals to young people,”
said Paul Kim, producer and director of the TV series, explaining the significance of creating a show like this.
The series will be previewed at the Adventist Church’s business meeting in St. Louis this summer. The entire series will air on the church-owned satellite television network, the Hope Channel www.hopetv.org later this summer.
Copyright © 2005 by Adventist News Network.
