False Teaching Rife at Calvin College

More and more people are finding out what is really being taught at Calvin College in Michigan. For instance, Dan Harlow is professor of biblical and early Jewish studies in the Department of Religion at Calvin College. In a recent paper, he stated the following:

Recent research in molecular biology, primatology, sociobiology, and phylogenetics indicates that the species Homo sapiens cannot be traced back to a single pair of individuals, and that the earliest human beings did not come on the scene in anything like paradisal physical or moral conditions. It is therefore difficult to read Genesis 1–3 as a factual account of human origins. In current Christian thinking about Adam and Eve, several scenarios are on offer. The most compelling one regards Adam and Eve as strictly literary figures—characters in a divinely inspired story about the imagined past that intends to teach theological, not historical, truths about God, creation, and humanity. Taking a nonconcordist approach, this article examines Adam and Eve as symbolic- literary figures from the perspective of mainstream biblical scholarship, with attention both to the text of Genesis and ancient Near Eastern parallels. Along the way, it explains why most interpreters do not find the doctrines of the Fall and original sin in the text of Genesis 2–3, but only in later Christian readings of it. This article also examines briefly Paul’s appeal to Adam as a type of Christ. Although a historical Adam and Eve have been very important in the Christian tradition, they are not central to biblical theology as such. The doctrines of the Fall and original sin may be reaffirmed without a historical Adam and Eve, but invite reformulation given the overwhelming evidence for an evolving creation. (Perspectives on Science and Christian Faith, Volume 62, Number 3, September 2010).

In response to feedback the college has received about what this professor believes and teaches (and he is just one of many with compromising beliefs at this “Christian” college), the office of the President of Calvin College stated the following:

What does Calvin College teach about evolutionary biology? Calvin affirms that the one true God is the creator and designer of the universe. The Calvin College Biology Department also clearly maintains that God, as the creator and designer of the universe, brought the world into being. With this as a firm foundation, the department also accepts the biological theory of evolution (descent with modification over time) to be the best explanation for understanding the commonality and diversity seen among all living creatures on earth. The department’s Statement on Evolution can be found at http://www.calvin.edu/academic/biology/why/evolution-statement10May2010.pdf .

Over the next few months, I will be publishing more and more such statements from Christian colleges/seminaries as we lead up to the release of the sequel to Already Gone (where we examined why so many young people are leaving the church) called Already Compromised, which will be released in April.

If there is no literal Adam and Eve, no literal Fall, then there is no origin of sin and no need of a Savior. This false teaching at Calvin is destructive to biblical authority and the gospel.

Thanks for stopping by and thanks for praying,

Ken