For institutions whose founding and resulting success can be traced back to the unapologetic pursuit of Biblical truth, forfeiting the foundation and expecting the success to continue would be an exercise in futility. Adventist institutions have been phenomenally successful because of, not despite, Adventist beliefs and doctrine. True, not all who attend and benefit from the success of the university will believe the doctrine, and there may be tensions that can lead to wonderful conversations, but it cannot be removed or distanced from its spiritual roots.

Since abortion is so politically charged, professed people of faith sometimes think the “safest” course is to ignore the issue altogether. But the reality is, regardless of whether you believe the life of an unborn child should be protected, the Gosnell trial still matters because it involves children who were killed after they were born.

This week, two members of the North Carolina House of Representatives submitted a resolution which would declare that “the Constitution of the United States of America does not prohibit states or their subsidiaries from making laws respecting an establishment of religion.” In other words, the legislation declared that that the state could make its own laws about religion and the federal government would not be able to stop them. Although the resolution is not likely to be approved, it does deserve some serious examination as it reflects a common argument arising in the religious right that the Establishment Clause does not apply to the states.

Gregory Hamilton, president of the Northwest Religious Liberty Association and a member of the ReligiousLiberty.TV advisory panel, spent most of the month of March traveling throughout Romania, a formerly communist country where church members experienced severe religious persecution throughout much of the last century, meeting with religious and government leaders to discuss trends in religious liberty and to urge constitutional reform.

Once again making the same tactical mistakes that were made in the lower courts, the Proposition 8 advocate failed to make an argument that would pass the muster of the “rational basis” test required before rights can be denied, and lost any ability to frame the debate.

On Friday, March 22, Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear (D) vetoed a religious freedom Bill (HB 279) claiming that the bill would “cause serious unintentional consequences that could threaten public safety, health care, and individuals’ civil rights.” The legislature is expected to override the veto.

In response to a state Supreme Court decision upholding incarceration of an Amish group for refusing for religious reasons to install orange triangles on their buggies, the Kentucky Legislature has, by a veto proof margin, passed a measure (HB 279) which is designed to prevent the government from substantially burdening an individual’s freedom of religion.

It is not WASC’s role to dictate bylaw changes, determine who is on the board, or to dictate how personnel decisions will be made. Threats to remove accreditation should be taken very seriously and La Sierra University, and its parent organization, the Seventh-day Adventist Church, like other institutions, can and must challenge WASC when it exceeds its authority.

Although Benedict XVI has cited health concerns, there is some speculation that the resignation may be related to the ongoing sexual abuse scandals that have rocked the church in the past decade. Before becoming Pope, Cardinal Ratzinger was responsible for ordering that all reports of sex abuse be channeled through his office at the Congregation of the Doctrine of Faith which he operated from 2001 to 2005.

In 2010, La Sierra University, a Seventh-day Adventist liberal arts institution in Southern California, named its “Financial Literacy and Entrepreneurship Center” after notorious abortion provider Edward C. Allred. Allred, a 1964 graduate of Loma Linda University Medical School, has achieved legendary status in the pro-life community for his frank comments in a 1980 interview with the San Diego Union.