Accreditation: Letter to LSU Provost

This is an open letter to new La Sierra University Provost Steve Paluk from Warren L. Johns, Esq. Read “LSU’s public relations man calls Educate Truth ‘attack website‘” for more related information on WASC and La Sierra University.

Accreditation offers no straw-man excuse enabling LSU to infect its curricula with “theistic evolution.” A church owned university requires accreditation both by its underwriting owner/parent and the secular agency exercising oversight jurisdiction.

Mission Accreditation: The West Point faculty is honor bound to teach and to defend the constitution of the United States. “Academic freedom” offers no refuge for deviation from principle. A core principle of LSU’s church parent is absolute commitment to the Genesis account of the miraculous, recent creation of life on earth. Mission accreditation mandates allegiance to that principle. The First Amendment to the U.S. constitution guarantees the church, and its educational subsidiaries, “free exercise” to advance its mission, unimpeded.

Overtly touting “theistic evolution” by teaching “Evolution is supported by an overwhelming and constantly growing amount of scientific evidence…It [evolution] is the single unifying explanation of the living world, and nothing makes much, if any, sense outside of this unifying theory,” and by publicly harassing students in classrooms for challenging Darwinian junk “science” is subversive to both academic freedom and to church mission accreditation.

Curricula Accreditation: Historically, LSU has enjoyed secular accreditation by WASC without compromising the religious mission of its parent church. Graduates have pursued successful careers in science after being taught the truth about God and His creation miracle.

On June 29, WASC reported it will be returning to the campus in 2011 to review “teaching evolution in the science curricula.” Since God authored science, true religion and true science should be presented as positive components of LSU curricula. Secular accreditation has never been a straw-man justifying breach of faith by teaching “theistic evolution.” Academic freedom implies open investigation of evidence.

WASC inquiry can be appropriately addressed by implementing a curricula that includes at least three basic courses:

Intelligent Design: Biology history can summarize theories of origin, including Darwinian conjecture, with objective analysis of its shortfall; and
Genomic Science: Cutting edge molecular biology featuring the complexity of the cell, DNA, genetics, and Mendel’s law of heredity.
Theology of Origins: Dept. of Religion course built on the Genesis account of the beginning of life and its correlation with the Christian gospel.

One astute observer has noted: “No creation. No gospel, No future.” Church employees, like all other humans, ultimately are individually accountable to the Lord God Almighty, the Creator of all things.

Warren L. Johns, Esq. (ret.)
LSU Class of 1950; Board of Trustees, 1960’s; Alumnus of the Year, 1994

Warren L. Johns practiced law as a career in California, Maryland, and the District of Columbia until partial retirement in the summer of 1992. Admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court in 1963, he has been a member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. His non-fiction Dateline Sunday, U.S.A., drew national attention as a legal history documenting blue law confrontation with the U.S. Constitution’s first amendment. His 1999 Ride to Glory targeted some of evolution’s more obvious shortfalls while the 2007 Beyond Forever documented and analyzed, from a lawyer’s perspective, what Darwin himself described as “holes” and “flaws” in his theory.

A 1958 graduate of the University of Southern California’s Law Center, and holder of La Sierra University’s 1994 “Alumnus of the Year” award, the author’s professional resume appears in Who’s Who in American Law; Who’s Who in America; and Who’s Who in the World.

11 thoughts on “Accreditation: Letter to LSU Provost

  1. Dear Shane

    I agree. I think your site is doing wonders to shed light and debate on the issues. Congratulations.

    It would be neat to see Mr Johns and Mr. Dawkins go head to head in open, public debate.

    Regards
    Ken

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  2. Now WASC at La Sierra has contacted La Sierra and said, “We believe in academic freedom as an accreditation agency. And if the church is going to meddle in what goes on in the classroom, then we will pull your accreditation. Lake Union Q&A

    Now Larry Blackmer clarified this comment with the following:

    LSU has received no threats from WASC, actually WASC had already, unknown to me, evaluated the school before my comments, and given the school a good report. The person I referred to in my comments has no direct connection to LSU accreditation, and the person who does have direct contact has made no statements in this nature at all. Comment

    Makes me wonder more about this WASC issue now that they’re reviewing this evolution issue next year.

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  3. @Ken:

    It would be neat to see Mr Johns and Mr. Dawkins go head to head in open, public debate.

    Why? Is Dawkins known for his legal “expertise”??

    Is Dawkins somehow related to the WASC??

    Why Johns vs Dawkins?

    [edit]

    in Christ,

    Bob

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  4. On June 29, WASC reported it will be returning to the campus in 2011 to review “teaching evolution in the science curricula.”

    Where is this report? My Google search of relevant keywords turned up nothing. Is this inside information that has been leaked?

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  5. Re Bob’s quote:

    “Why? Is Dawkins known for his legal “expertise”??

    Is Dawkins somehow related to the WASC??

    Why Johns vs Dawkins?

    [edit]

    in Christ,

    Bob BobRyan(Quote)”

    Dear Bob

    Sorry about the delay in response to your question, I’ve been following too many threads!

    I was bit vague wasn’t I? In my mind I was thinking that Mr Johns, with his apparent advocacy skills and faith, would be a worthy adversary for Richard Dawkins in debate. Nothing like two, strong, diametrically opposed minds going head to head in debate to bring out the best of the arguments.

    Regards
    Ken

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  6. This is not the Warren Johns I know!
    Apostasy has ocurred throughout history. Seven days for creation plus short time for life on earth are Seventh-day Adventist fundamentals, if there are any such. Those who wish to differ should leave church employ and church membership plain and simple. I don’t like to see anyone leave the church for sure, and I have no animosity to those who differ with me. But the bottom line is apostasy of belief is rampant and those who believe not the obvious SDA truths should leave for the benefit of all including themselves. We will not damn you to hell because that is not our prerogative and certainly not our desire for any person.

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  7. But the bottom line is apostasy of belief is rampant and those who believe not the obvious SDA truths should leave for the benefit of all including themselves. We will not damn you to hell because that is not our prerogative and certainly not our desire for any person.

    At one time the former president of Pacific Union University, whose name escapes me, posted here how studies show that relationships rather than doctrines are more critical for retention of our youth. Unfortunately, his contributions were not appreciated here, so we haven’t heard from him in some while. But it seems to me that the present focus on doctrines is counterproductive if the Church can save more SDAs by identifying and adressing the more critical issues rather than rehashing doctrinal purity over and over. Just a suggestion.

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  8. At one time the former president of Pacific Union University, whose name escapes me, posted here how studies show that relationships rather than doctrines are more critical for retention of our youth. Unfortunately, his contributions were not appreciated here, so we haven’t heard from him in some while.

    Richard Osborn felt we have been teaching too much SDA stuff and that the SDA Church and its institutions should be teaching more secular humanistic philosophies so our SDA students will be more prepared for the “real world.” This type of thinking goes against all logic, as most bible-believing SDA’s will admit.

    This perhaps is one reason why he was fired (forced resignation by his own admission) from PUC. I wonder why, with that educational philosophy, he was allowed to remain for 39(?) years “serving” our Church.

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