BY AASIV MANDVI
ANN ARBOR, MI–They raised an uproar over evolutionist beliefs in the church. They launched a concerted effort to fire church employees who held such belief. Their dedication paid off. They succeeded. La Sierra fired its entire biology department, and shortly thereafter the church decided to close the university altogether. Yet two years after their spectacular victory, members of the Young Peers for Jesus (YPJ) are complaining of losing religious meaning. They once burned for the sake of righteousness. But today, in 2012, the zeal has waned.
“I was on fire for Christ, defending Genesis 1 and the Creation account from these liberals,” said Giustino Climesun, president of YPJ. “My purpose was to condemn all opponents of the Bible. I worked tirelessly--leaking letters addressed to the General Conference president, creating websites advocating the education of truth, holding conferences across the United States and speaking at various churches about the poison of evolution. But I didn’t expect to see my efforts pay off so soon. Now there’s nothing to set me alight. I need a cause.”
The General Conference also adopted recommendations by the YPJ to purge theistic evolutionists from the church. Although debates over the exact events before the Advent, the nature of Christ, and appropriate music remain, these issues haven’t generated the same fervor as evolution. With no opponent to destroy, YPJ religious experience has steadily deadened.
Climesun continued, “Don’t get me wrong, I still go to church but it’s not the same. During Sabbath School, I’m quiet because all they talk about is living harmoniously with one another, social responsibility, and God’s grace--topics that I don’t care about. The church has taken all the fight out of us. What is there for me to live for? I’m literally counting days before Jesus comes back. I live for the day when I’m inside the Pearly Gates as God rains fire upon our evolutionist brothers and sisters.”
YPJ Conferences have been muted affairs where members gather to talk about the battles of yesteryear.
“Yeah, we shoot the breeze and celebrate our accomplishments two years ago. Us leaders, we stand upfront while patting each other on the back and reminiscing about how we managed to close La Sierra. It’s great. We talk about how we all made a difference by being obnoxious, aggressive and confrontational. Back then, there was no wrong way to go about it. You could get someone fired by creating a website, you could get an evolutionist kicked out of the church by threatening to withhold your tithe money or you could withdraw conference support for employees whose children go to La Sierra. Those were the good old days when we were all in the trenches together, united by a common cause,” reminisced Vidad Searschick, an evangelist affiliated with the group.
Searschick was one of the more celebrated speakers during YPJ conferences, but his speaking schedule has been trimmed because of the dearth of topics requiring his valued condemnation. Now, he finds himself at church among regular members sitting in the pews. Last Sabbath, the pastor raised his expectations about a possible new conflict with evolutionists, only to leave him disappointed.
“I was daydreaming during the sermon when I heard the word evolution,” said Searschick. “I looked up and listened attentively as my mouth foamed with excitement. I began strategizing about mobilizing the church to fire the pastor, the letters I would write to expose other evolutionists, and resurrecting my career as celebrated evangelist. But the pastor continued describing evolution only to critique it and affirm the Creation story. Afterwards, I relapsed into my religious stupor. It’s only worth having faith when you have something to fight against and destroy. Religion is so much more fun when you’re driven by hate.”
The YPJ continues to foster religious zeal among SDA youth, but the lack of available targets hinders the cause. They hope for a topic worthy enough to denounce in the church to set them “on fire” once more and give meaning to their numb religious experience.
