Comment on LSU promotes acceptance of homosexuality but not creation by E. J. IRISH.
The drift to the radical left has been happening at La Sierra University for many years. When I was a theology student there in 1971 I had the distinction of being the only student ever to be kicked out of class for disagreeing with one of the main theologians during his class. To his credit, he later apologized to me because there really wasn’t a good reason for dismissing me other than I may have been winning a theological debate and I was giving a fairly conservative theological position which he resented.
So intolerance among the so-called “tolerant university intelligentsia” is nothing new. This professor who will remain nameless for now has in later years been in the forefront of questioning and abandoning the six pillars of Adventism, and encouraging friendly positions on homosexuality and evolution. Under the cover of “theology”, psudo-spiritual concerns and “progressive” politics have taken over the steering wheel of university policy instead of any serious concern about what the Bible actually teaches. Fitting in with California cool is the main concern, not the fear of the Lord (Prov 1:7).
During that same time we had a student-lead prayer group that got involved with the Jesus Movement and starting to pray on the lawn in front of La Sierra Hall during the noon lunch break. Many of us fasted and skipped our lunch in order to prayer for spiritual renewal within Adventism and at the La Sierra and Loma Linda campuses. While we had theology professors who were supportive, we also had professors who were not, and who seems embarrassed that students would be praying in public view during lunch break. We were also warned that there were concerns that we had become too friendly with charismatics on the beaches of Orange County and in Los Angeles County.
Morris Venden, Pastor of La Sierra Church at the time, ended up preaching an entire series of sermons on the dangers of the Charismatic movement. While I ended up partially agreeing with some of these concerns, it was and still is amazing to me, that there was never an equal concern for the theology professors and students who felt no need for any further spiritual renewal beyond the status quo or concern for some of the very liberal theological ideas of some La Sierra faculty.
I have often said that the warnings of Adventist leadership against possible fanaticism entering Adventism from right-wing religious groups like Charismatics and Dr. James Dobson reminds me of a bunch of Eskimos being worried about contracting Pago-Pago tropical fever in the middle of winter in their igloos in the Artic. It may be possible, but it is actually the exact opposite danger which we should be guarding against. It would seem that the winter of liberalism has finally engulfed LSU. While appropriate public policy and church politics are necessary, dirty politics are an abomination to God and should be to human beings as well.
For years, certain conference leaders in California has been acquiring the fear of man above the fear of the Lord where certain vital issues of truth are concerned, and there are less and less leaders of biblical principle who will do what needs to be done. We don’t need a witch hunt, but without confession of wrongdoing and after due process of investigation, some leaders at LSU need to go. If LSU won’t properly discipline their own faculty, then the Conference and the SDA denomination need to be ready to divorce LSU in order to contain the theological and intellectual cancer. A faction in LSU administration and faculty is already looking for an excuse to divorce the SDA denomination. Like in any marriage, it takes two to be married, and only one to divorce. It remains to be seen if current Adventist leadership has the grit and guts to do the right thing if biblical grounds for a divorce from LSU indeed are uncovered. But I believe the Lord will rise up at least some voices and leadership that will stand for biblical truth and the six pillars. If LSU really wants a divorce, I say let them have one and let’s limit the lunacy to the rest of Adventism.
