BY STEPHEN CHAVEZ

arlier this year, if you listened carefully, you could hear North America's 1 million Seventh-day Adventists giving themselves a standing ovation. In one and the same week the cover stories of both Time and Newsweek chronicled the arrival of "mad cow disease" in the United States.

"See," went the refrain from thousands of the faithful who, for more than 140 years, have advertised the advantages of a meatless diet. "See, we told you so. We were right all along." Validation.

Then in mid-January Time ran a cover story entitled "How Your Love Life Keeps You Healthy" (Jan. 19, 2004). In a dozen articles and sidebars the latest scientific studies were cited to show that the more married couples engage in sexual relations (up to three times a week), the more they are physically and emotionally balanced and generally apt to live longer, more fulfilled lives than those who don't.

I haven't heard any Adventists rise up and tout these findings. I suppose that's because much of the counsel we have about sex has been adapted from the likes of John Harvey Kellogg, who theorized that sex robbed the body of "life force," nourished our "lower, animal passions," and should therefore be limited to procreation. It wasn't until 1974, with the publication of Charles E. Wittschiebe's book God Invented Sex, that we even allowed ourselves to admit publicly that sex in a committed, marriage relationship serves a larger purpose than maintaining the population. So it's unlikely that we'll feel validated by whatever psychologists and physiologists are now discovering about love and sex.

But don't we love it when some research or scientific finding validates what we believe?

The fact is, however, that "science" is not always kind to believers. Many Christians look in vain for "proof" to validate some of the more incredible stories of the Bible--Creation, Noah's flood, the fall of Jericho, Jonah and the great fish, etc. If only some archaeological or scientific proof could be uncovered, think how much easier it would be to witness. After decades of ridicule from scientists and others, we could finally say, "See, we told you so."

I believe the Bible's account of creation in spite of the fact that I can't prove it (frankly, I don't know enough about evolution to debate it intelligently). But I will never believe that a life system so intricate, so delicate, so complementary, so perpetual, happened as the result of some cosmic accident. In the natural world chaos never evolves into order; some intelligent design is behind the whole business. I call that Designer God; and the process that made it happen, creation.

Mind you, I can't prove any of this, especially to someone trained to believe in the theory of evolution; but it's my life, and I'll believe what I want.

And that's the point. People believe what they want, based on the evidence at hand. Think, for a moment, about the unbelievers you know. What would be more persuasive in terms of validating Christianity's claims? The discovery of Noah's ark? Or the symmetry, beauty, unselfishness, and Christian virtues (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control) they see demonstrated in your life?

Too many Christians, it seems, want to defend the faith in the pages of books or magazines, on the broadcast airwaves, or over the Internet. They go toe to toe with evolutionists, atheists, and other infidels while sacrificing Christianity's fundamental principles: humility, gentleness, unconditional love, and freedom of choice.

The apostle Paul used secular arguments to engage the Athenians at the Areopagus (Acts 17:16-34), and he enjoyed a measure of success (after all, we can't discuss spiritual things with people if we can't speak intelligently about contemporary issues). But when he went to Corinth Paul declared, "I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified" (1 Cor. 2:2, NIV).

We want Christianity to be taken seriously. We want people to be acquainted with a God who appeals to our intellect as well as to our emotions. It's nice when scientific discoveries reinforce our beliefs relative to the veracity of the Bible. But what clinches it for me is the difference faith in the risen Christ has made in my own life and in the lives of others.

How much more validation do we need?

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Stephen Chavez is managing editor of the Adventist Review.