Concerns over Adventists college accreditation

Concerns over Adventists college accreditation - Sacramento News - Local and Breaking Sacramento News | Sacramento Bee


Abner

 

I did a little more digging on this and I am flabbergasted.

Apparently, La Sierra is ALSO under review by the "Adventist Accrediting Association" (AAA), because someone in their biology department dared to advance the idea that all life on earth descended from a common ancestor and that more advanced life forms evolve from less advanced ones through random mutation and a process called natural selection. This dangerous, radical idea as it turns out, happens to be the very foundation of modern biology, but in a surprising yet not entirely unforseen twist, it also happens to be entirely incompatible with the story of the origin of life as seen in the book of Genesis.

So, in an attempt to make sure they don't lose their phony accreditation, they had the biology department hold a "Origins Truth" week, and the university president wrote a public letter reaffirming his belief in the literal truth of the Genesis creation story. And of course, that's when the regional accreditor came calling. The administration at LSU is in between a rock and a hard place - if they lose their church affiliation, they also lose their stream of students from Adventist families. If they lose RA status, they might as well turn off the lights and close the doors.

Seems to me that the way to put this problem right is to stop teaching biology at LSU. It's obvious that their student population isn't interested in learning about the field, and it amazes me they can find qualified biologists willing to stand in front of a classroom and recite a story about a talking snake in an apple tree. I'm going to watch this situation as it unfolds, because I'm interested in seeing how long they can walk the tightrope between their "accreditors".

Get your popcorn ready!

 

Interesting. I wonder how the other RA-accredited religiously-affiliated schools handle this issue? I'd think there should be a way to resolve it without shutting down La Sierra's biology department, and without the campus president issuing provocative public statements. They were part of the well-regarded Loma Linda University system at one point-- how does LLU address these concerns?

FYI-- I grew up in the area, and when I was there, La Sierra was quite a well-regarded school. Its image may have tarnished a bit with the sale of their property to commercial development nearby, but it was at least a respected school while they were part of LLU.