Evangelical Bethel College Professor Jim Stump Resigns Because He Doesn't Believe 'Adam, Was Created by Immediate Act of God'
A wave of concern is now rippling through the Christian science community after it was revealed that Jim Stump, a respected evangelical philosophy of science professor at the Christian Bethel College in Indiana, chose to resign last month because he doesn't agree with the school's new corporate position that "the first man, Adam, was created by an immediate act of God and not by a process of evolution."
The Board of Trustees of Bethel College, which is affiliated with the Missionary Church, recently approved a new policy on human origins after years of discussion between the college and the denomination which insists that the church's view on Adam "should be advocated as the official, meritorious, and theologically responsible position of the College, without disparagement."
"Though a very small part of a college's curriculum, the topic of origins has become a prominent theological conversation and an important pedagogical point of clarification for evangelical Christian institutions of higher education, including Bethel College," said the college in their statement on origins.
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"On origins, while Bethel's affiliation with the Missionary Church supports freedom to investigate and teach a variety of scientifically legitimate theories on origins, it sets boundaries on the doctrine of the special creation of Adam by God, which should be advocated as the official, meritorious, and theologically responsible position of the college, without disparagement," it continued.
"While faculty are supported to investigate and teach all viewpoints on origins, this doctrine is a corporate commitment on Adam and all humanity. This affirmation is essential to distinguish humanity from animals, as made in God's image (Gen. 1:27; 2:7) to account for the work of Christ to atone for the representative sin of humanity through Adam (I Cor. 15:45), respect the genealogy of Luke 3, account for New Testament references to Adam by Paul (Rom. 5:12-17), and others," it noted.
In a joint statement issued by Stump and the college, the professor explained that he chose to resign from his position at the school because the corporate position on human origins would have been problematic for him.
"In considering this corporate commitment, I decided to resign from my position at Bethel in order to pursue alternate work, rather than remain under the new statement and bring tension to the Bethel community," noted Stump, who stressed that his resignation was completely his decision.
"While there are recent reports in national media describing the dismissal of faculty at religious institutions over origins, it should be clear that I initiated my own resignation; I was never asked to resign from Bethel College. In fact, many Bethel leaders have been extraordinarily supportive of me throughout this lengthy process of arriving at the statement," he said.
In a post last Friday, Deborah Haarsma, president of BioLogos, a foundation that supports the Evolutionary Creationism viewpoint on origins and is where Stump also works as content manager, explained that faculty at the college were only required to sign a brief faith statement in the past and not the views of the denomination. The recent move, she said, was disappointing.
"We at BioLogos are disheartened by this decision. It put Jim in the painful situation of having to choose between the scholarship to which he feels called and the academic community to which he has belonged for decades," wrote Haarsma.
"We are deeply aware of the challenges of discussing human origins in an evangelical context. We also respect the board's right to set boundaries on that discussion at their institution. Yet we are concerned that a decision like this effectively sets faith commitments in opposition to clear scientific evidence in God's creation. We would like to see Christian colleges encouraging their scholars to engage the scientific evidence that humans evolved, and acknowledge that this can be done without letting go of biblical authority," she added.
In his comments, Bethel College President Gregg Chenoweth thanks Stump for his contribution to the school and says the college remains committed to academic rigor.
"Jim's influence on our campus is significant. Countless alumni and current students name Jim as one star in the constellation of their Bethel experience. I appreciate his professionalism and perspective in our many conversations throughout this complex process," said Chenoweth.
"I also wish to affirm Bethel's commitment to academic rigor within Christian context. While God certainly accepts and uses His people for great purposes regardless of their education, higher education intensifies the effectiveness of the Gospel in people and across the world. God clearly uses Christian colleges for strategic purposes (Acts 19:8-10)," he noted.
"So, we will continue to love the Lord with our mind (Matthew 22:37) and explore the wonderful mystery that all things are created by God, both invisible and visible, and remain held together in Christ (Colossians 1:17). As we implement this education ministry, we proceed in confidence that dispute is not the signpost of error. The fact is, Christian discipleship is sometimes a challenging process in taking every thought captive for Christ (II Corinthians 10:5). We seek the blessing of God which comes from unity (Ps. 133), but do not naively demand unanimity," he added.
