Adam, Eve, the T-Rex Test and Christian Higher Ed.

There's been lots of Internet conversation about the most recent issue of Christianity Today's lead piece regarding science and the search for a "historical" Adam and Eve:



The lead article--The Search for the Historical Adam--can be read here. The CT editorial--No Adam, No Eve, No gospel--can be read here.

I don't spend a lot of time writing about these issues. Mainly, because I just don't think there is a debate here. I think the data--cosmological, geological, paleontological, archeological, and biological--pretty clearly point to 3.5 billion year old earth and the evolutionary Tree of Life. I tend to assume this is obvious. Which is why I don't write a lot about evolution as I see commonly done on blogs I frequent (see Jesus Creed and Exploring Our Matrix). I don't want to spend a lot of time trying to convince people of something I think is pretty clear.

Consider something I'll call the T-Rex test. Take someone to a natural history museum, point to the T-Rex, and ask them the following: How do you get that on Noah's ark?

But this stuff is apparently not obvious to many. Which I keep forgetting. But I really shouldn't given some of my own experiences in this regard. For example:

A few years ago I got an invitation from a university many consider to be a flagship school in American evangelicalism. There was a position opening up at this school that was to focus on research regarding the integration of psychology and theology. And given that that is what I do, the Psychology Department there wanted to know if I'd be interested in applying for the position. The first step was a phone interview with the head of the search committee. During the interview we talked a lot about the position and how my ongoing research, interests, and skills fit with what the school was looking for. It looked like a good fit.

But after that discussion we moved on to any questions I had about the school and department. Mainly I asked about the intellectual climate at the school, politically and theologically. ACU is a pretty diverse and open-minded place (for a faith-based school). But this was an evangelical school I was talking to and I'm not an evangelical.

One of the issues we got around to was evolution. I learned that it was a controversial topic on the campus. I found out later that every faculty member on the campus had to sign, annually, a statement of faith that endorsed Adam and Eve to be "the historical parents of the entire human race."

That gave me pause. So I asked, "Well, one of my research interests is integrating evolutionary psychology with Christian theology. I'd like to write a book about this someday. Could I do that on your campus?" He was unsure. So I said, "Listen, I have a blog where I write about my work and where I've sketched out some of this engagement with evolutionary psychology. Why don't you, your search committee, and your Provost go to Experimental Theology and tell me if I'm a fit for your school."

A week later they got back to me. Thanks, they said, but looking over the blog they felt they could no longer recommend me for the position. While they said that this blog was "fascinating and scholarly" and that the subjects I write about "are essential ones that deserve full discussion in Christian higher education," ultimately the positions I take would put me "in conflict with the statement of faith for the college."

No worries. I'm extraordinarily happy where I am. But the exchange really was an eye opener. Is that the intellectual climate of flagship schools in American evangelicalism? Seriously? A member of a Psychology Department at an intellectually elite evangelical school couldn't pursue research integrating Christian theology and evolutionary psychology?

Apparently not.