Page 12, TheAletheia
DISSECTING
BRAD DANIEL
By SARA SWINSON
Staff Writer
I'm standing next to
some sheep brains. I notice
a Dissectogram on the table
- a fetal pig with his tummy
open exposing some pork
bits. Next to this diagram is
a three dimensional display
of piglet development. I am
intrigued and enchanted. I
never knew pigs could be so
tiny.
I walk into Brad
Daniel's office. Something
reptilian is staring up at me.
It's dead, wearing a leash,
has Duck tape on its tail and
is perched on a rock next to
my right foot. I sit down in
the chair next to it.
"Has your day been
good?" asks a chipper Brad
Daniel. It has been close to
the worst day of my life.
"Well, it's not been bad".
"TTiat’s ok. You don't
have to be on a spiritual
high." He says in a comic
tone.
The scaly thing on the
rock near my right foot is
still staring intently at me. It
has a synthetically alert look
to it's gaze, like, if it were
alive it would bite me.
"Uh...Fm really going
to reveal my ignorance but
is that a crocodile or an
alligator?" I know I've just
proved to be retarded.
"That is an alligator"
Mr. Daniel says in a
reassuring tone. "His name
is A1 E. Gator."
"Oh." I respond, feeling
enlightened.
Now that I'm a veteran
of this, I ease into my chair,
start my tape-recorder and
begin the second interview
of my entire life...THE
BRAD DANIEL
INTERVIEW.
"Well, Sara what you
don't know is, the paper is
also starting a student
profile series. And you're
the first subject. I've got
my tape-recorder on the
other side there and I'm
actually interviewing you."
Sudden shock grips me.
"No wav!? You're
kidding?" I feel a hot spot
and I'm on it. Why didn't
Bob Graham tell me I was
going to be the student
profile this week? How
very strange...! notice an
endearing smirk on Mr.
Daniel's face. I've been
had. Am I gullible or what?
Moving right along.."You
taught psychology at
Appalachian State
University didn't you?"
"No...I didn't teach
psychology. I taught
Biology." What an idiot I
am. Why would Brad
Daniel have taught
psychology - he's a biology
teacher. It's those "ologies"
they always confuse me. "I
have been seriously
misinformed!" W^it 'til I
get my hands on that source
of mine. I feel inept. My
career is going down the
drain.
"No, I don't have a
degree in psychology. I am,
however, working on a
Masters in counseling."
Yes, that makes sense, there
is more than one reason for
my being here - counseling.
This isn't merely an
interview is it? It's a
counseling session. I do
somehow feel better now
than when I first walked in.
I decide now to ask my
first probing question "What
is your worst sin?" A
question Brad Daniel has
jokingly asked hundreds of
unsuspecting students
before on Discovery. He
looks at me with a hysterical
gleam in his eye, laughing.
"What is my worst sin?
Being disobedient to God."
"Well that really sums it
up" I say. "How were you
raised? Were you raised as
a Christian?"
"Yes, but I was a very
rebellious child. I accepted
Christ when I was ten and
went through youth groups
until I was 15. But when I
was 16 I ended up leaving
the church and I went
through a searching
process.
I came to the conclusion
that I believed in God, and I
believed in Christianity not
so much because it was my
own basic belief but because
my parents and friends
believed it and I'd gone to a
church that taught it. I just
quit going to church. My
parents were worried.
It was actually through a
study of the environment
that I came to know God
and that's why biology is as
important to me as it is,
especially the area of
ecology. The more I
studied and saw how
complex the world really
was the more I was
convinced that there was a
God at work in the universe
as Einstein once said and
that it was important to try
and understand more about
him. So I came to the
conclusion that God existed
by looking at the creation
around me - Romans
1:19-20. But, after that it
was a matter of, well, if I
believe in God which
religion do I believe in? Do
I believe in a universalist
God - that there are many
pathways to God? Do I
believe that there's one
pathway to God, and if so
which one?
So I did a study between
the ages of sixteen and
seventeen and a half, of all
the worlds religions past
and present. I studied
Shintuism, Taoism,
Hinduism - all the different
"isms" the major thing I
Cont'd on page 14
Brad*s Tiibits
-wrestled with A1 E. Gator
in front of a crowd of 200
people, hence, the duck tape
on Al's tail (it was for an
InterVarsity Evangelism
project in Fort Lauderdale,
FL)
-has taken A1 E. Gator on
Discovery trips
-is an only cluld
-goes away every 6 months.
for 3 days on a retreat of
silence
-is an avid reader
-was captain of debate team
-did acting in school
-voted most intelligent and
most likely to succeed in
high school
-played football in high
school
-is going to go Bunjy
jumping this year (a Bunjy
is like a giant rubber band),
-enjoys overcoming fear
-never gets bored
-does something
adventurous each year
-threw discus
-most important aspect of
his life is, relationship with
Christ
-received Masters in
Biology at Appalachian
State,
-worked with InterVarsity
-supported Editor and Ass't
Editor in their stop smoking
effort by giving them 5
points on their final grade at
the end of this term.
Thanks Brad!