LSU forms faith in evolution

By Sean Pitman, M.D.

The following is an advertisement titled “Faith is Formed at La Sierra University.”

While there is no doubt that LSU is doing good work for the community and world at large, with many humanitarian efforts and opportunities for community service, it is misleading for LSU to present the suggestion to future parents and students that an education obtained at LSU will promote faith in all of the fundamental values of the SDA Church as an organization.

Sure, the SDA Church does stand for service-oriented activities toward the local community and toward the world community at large. Hopefully all Christians of all denominations stand for at least this much of the basic Christ-like attitude toward those in short supply of the most basic of human needs. However, the SDA Church, as an organization, also has a Gospel Message of hope in a bright literal future which is based on very real physical evidence. These unique beliefs have been given the label of “fundamental doctrines.” Often those who have tried to uphold these Gospel doctrines have been derogatively referred to as “fundamentalists” and have been labelled as “extremists.” This perspective is held by many at LSU – especially within LSU’s science departments.

The problem with LSU’s PR advertisement is it fails to mention its science department is decidedly in support of the mainstream evolutionary view on origins. LSU science professors actively promote the idea that life has existed and evolved from a common ancestor on this planet over the course of hundreds of millions of years. Beyond this, they belittle and scoff those who publicly admit to believing in a literal creation week and a worldwide Noachian Flood in recent history – calling those who hold such antiquated views the “lunatic fringe” in their classrooms and even in public press.

So, while “faith” may indeed be formed at LSU, what kind of faith is it?Certainly it’s not a faith in some of the most basic and most cherished of all SDA ideals. Rather, it is a faith in the truth and validity of Darwinian thinking. Is that what the SDA Church really wants for its own church schools and paid representatives? – paid with the tithe monies and steep tuition fees from parents and constituents who think they are obtaining the best that “SDA” education has to offer? I would hope not.

It is about time LSU comes clean and at least admits what its own faculty actually stand for and teach as the gospel truth in their own classrooms. Why the need for more slick PR compaigns that give a false impression about what LSU is all about? – when it comes to all that it clearly stands for? For me this very sort of false advertising is far more upsetting than LSU professors promoting mainstream evolutionary thinking in the classroom. Personally, I would far rather see LSU come clean about what it is in fact doing rather than to see these continued efforts to cover up or evade direct questions about what is truly going on.