Two former Bryan College professors who rebelled against the school by refusing to sign unaltered the Statement of Faith affirming Adam and Eve are now suing the school.
The contracts of Stephen Barnett and Steven DeGeorge are demanding they be given their jobs back along with the court declaring the school’s statement of faith be declared null and void. The two former teacher claim that by affirming humans came from Adam and Eve and not via evolution the school’s board was modifying the school charter.
The school’s Board of Trustees said their statement that “we believe that all humanity is descended from Adam and Eve. They are historical persons created by God in a special formative act, and not from previously existing life forms” is nothing more than clarification of the fourth item in the school’s Statement of Faith.
Students have joined several faculty members in opposing the school’s standing on the Scripture in deciding the origin of life.
A Christian university in Dayton, Tennessee is being attacked because the school has taken a truly Biblical stance in regards to the origins of man.
The Board of Trustees and President Stephen Livesay have amended the school’s statement of faith to state that “all humanity is descended from Adam and Eve. They are historical persons created by God in a special formative act, and not from previously existing life forms.”
Several faculty members and students are protesting and complaining about the change, saying that such a position is out of touch with the world.
The school requires faculty to sign the statement of faith every year as part of contract renewals and when two long-term professors at Bryan College refused to sign the agreement saying God created Adam and Eve, resulting in their contracts not being renewed.
A small group of students is calling for the Board and President to be removed because of the change that led to the professors not being retained.
Kevin Clauson, the vice chair of Bryan’s faculty, told Inside Higher Ed that while he is sad some faculty have chosen to leave, Bryan as a Christian college must make sure “there is no slippage of doctrine.”
