A controversial Calvin College professor whose views about the existence of Adam and Eve became national news chose to retire this year so his studies would not “cause harm or distraction,” the college’s acting provost said.

Former theology professor John Schneider brought attention to the college after being quoted in an NPR interview, which followed a blog from Chronicle of Higher Education writer Mike Ruse, who headlines his piece as “The Shame of Calvin College.”
Schneider’s writings sparked considerable debate on the campus, which bases its teachings in the Reformed tradition.

A 2009 study with professor Dan Harlow addressed “the biblical and theological issues involved if Adam and Eve are understood as literary theological figures rather than historical beings,” and the pair discussed their work at a 2010 lecture at Baylor University.

“Evolution makes it pretty clear that in nature, and in the moral experience of human beings, there never was any such paradise to be lost,” Schneider said in the NPR interview broadcast Tuesday. “So Christians, I think, have a challenge, have a job on their hands to reformulate some of their tradition about human beginnings.”
Schnieder retired on June 30, though Ruse said Schneider left after he “got into hot water with the president of Calvin College, who thinks that Schneider has been violating the terms of his employment.”

Schneider could not be reached for comment, and the office of President Gaylen Byker referred questions to Cheryl Brandsen, the dean for social sciences and contextual disciplines.She issued a statement Tuesday saying that Schneider’s departure was voluntary.

Schneider’s work did “engender concerns within the college community and its constituencies,” wrote Brandsen.

Read More of the primary story.

Read Earlier Stories on Dr. Schneider and the issue of Origins at these links:

Jobs in Jeopardy for Christian Scholars Who Believe in Evolution (August 12)

(Some) Evangelicals Question The Existence Of Adam And Eve (August 9)

At Calvin College: Questions raised about Adam and Eve and the Fall (January 28)

On John Schneider’s Aesthetic Supralapsarianism (December 19, 2010)