BY LARRY WILMORE
BERRIEN SPRINGS—Continuing a scholastic feud that has burned for nearly five decades, Ferdinand Cannal has published Systems and Theology, a scathing response to Franz Mann’s Theological Mindsets. Cannal is a professor of systematic theology at the Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary. Mann is the Research Professor of Philosophical Theology at La Sierra University.
“Franz Mann is singlehandedly responsible for much of the negative perceptions toward theology and doctrines within Adventism, just as he was singlehandedly responsible for Daisy Flores dumping me back when we were roommates in Southern,” said Cannal, who is currently on a lectureship tour to promote his book.
In his book, Cannal attacks Mann’s position on sources of authority within Adventism.
“He has completely abandoned the principle of sola scriptura, just as he completely abandoned our friendship by failing to repay $1.75 I lent him one Thursday to do two loads of laundry, plus an extra cycle in the dryer, back in ’61,” said Cannal.
“He replaces biblical revelation with human tradition, just as he replaced me as a friend, after I politely explained to him on Saturday night how his failure to repay the loan resulted in me running short at the gas station on my date with Daisy, which caused her to terminate our relationship,” Cannal added.
“And finally, Mann ignores investigation into divine thought, and is interested only in religious experiences as expressed in beliefs, just as he continues to ignore the pain his dishonesty caused and continues to cause me in the aftermath of such a traumatic break-up.”
Cannal cites his motivation for writing Systems and Theology as a desire to counter misconceptions in Adventist theology, and explore biblical truth.
“The truth, plain and simple, is that my best friend and roommate in college blew my chances to marry the girl of my dreams! um, I mean, the truth is that Franz Mann’s theological methods are shaking the very foundations of the Adventist church.”
Mann, reached at his house in Riverside, said that he had not yet read Cannal’s book, but could surmise at the contents.
“I’ve heard it all before. He says I’ve abandoned sola scriptura. I’ve replaced the Bible with tradition. I owe him $1.75. I ignore divine thought and focus only on human religious experiences. I don’t get why he still goes on. I’ve told him time and time again, I paid him back the very next day!”
Mann declined to specify when he’d complete a response to Cannal’s book, though he did offer hints at possible contents.
“I’ll tell him to quit harping on the same old points. Accept existence of alternate points of view. I said, Can I borrow $1.75 for laundry? on Thursday. He said, Sure, pal, get it out of my car. I got it. I did my laundry. I got some cash on Friday, and left seven quarters on his desk, which he took and used to buy dinner that evening! Then on Saturday night he comes home early screaming bloody murder about dishonest friends not repaying loans and Daisy dumping him. How the heck was I to know that the $1.75 was his gas money, and that he wanted me to put the quarters back in his car, not on his desk? And good golly, he would not let it go. Kept hammering me. Wouldn’t listen to my side. His perspective was the only one that counted. My grades went down. You think I wanted to lose my best friend? I had to move out! er, what I mean is that Ferdinand Cannal needs to accept the fact that the Adventist church is large and flexible enough to hold a couple different points of view.”
