September 22, 2007

Community-College Instructor Says He Was Fired for Disrespecting Adam and Eve

An instructor who taught Western civilization at Southwestern Community College, in Iowa, says he was fired for teaching the biblical story of Adam and Eve as a myth, rather than as a story that should be taken literally. The instructor, Steve Bitterman, says the college took the side of students who threatened to sue the institution over his teaching. The college would not reveal the instructor’s employment status to The Des Moines Register, which reported the instructor’s comments.

“I’m just a little bit shocked myself that a college in good standing would back up students who insist that people who have been through college and have a master’s degree — a couple, actually — have to teach that there were such things as talking snakes or lose their job,” Mr. Bitterman told the Register. —David L. Wheeler

Comments

1. I feel for Mr. Bitterman. I was kicked out of Baptist Sunday school at age 10 for suggesting that perhaps Adam and Eve were symbolic of the first people who thought about God, good and evil. I still think for myself and I’m glad my job does not depend on my personal beliefs.

   — Cheryl Soehl    Sep 23, 01:38 PM    #

2. What a shame for Mr. Bitterman. It is certainly too bad (in my opinion) that religious zealots have this much influence in this community. Maybe there is more to the story, but if not, it is a shame this man was fired for stating a very common idea in the teaching of history.

   — Rick Elder    Sep 24, 08:33 AM    #

3. Why would he be teaching about a biblical story in Western Civilization? And why would the Chronicle provoke the concept by referring to it as a “tale”? Why do people have to provoke others with their own bias in such personal matters? There are other ways to make the intended points less newsworthy and troublesome in public forums.

   Childish behavior abounds for immature people of all ages.

   — Otto T.    Sep 24, 09:36 AM    #

4. I would like to think that Mr. Bitterman was dismissed from his teaching position for reasons that go beyond his teaching biblical mythology. However, given my own experience at a community college in California, I can believe such things happen.

   It is a shame that “childish behavior abounds for immature people of all ages,” behavior that ignores the centrality of the Christian Bible to Western Civilization. The myths contained in this book have driven much of the expansionism of Western culture through Crusades and the exploration and colonization of many parts of the world, all with a missionary zeal to bring the Word to heathens. That is much of the history of Western Civilization and without an understanding of the myths driving that zeal, it is impossible to understand much of European and American history.

   — Bob Harris    Sep 24, 10:28 AM    #

5. Otto:

   1) Unless I missed something, this article refers to it as a Biblical “story” – not a tale (which does, I agree have different implications). Do you not agree this is in fact, the case?

   2) Western Civilization – if you took the class, you would remember – deals with the beginnings of mankind (prehistoric) – to the modern day. His discussion of the topic was in fact germane to the discussion/lecture. My guess is that he ruffled feathers because of his insistence that it was myth versus proven fact.

   3) Bias? Eden and Adam and Eve are Biblical stories and not proven historical events. He is practicing good history. If he were to say Christ did not exist, that would be a different story, but he didn’t.

   Needless to say, his termination should be a concern to professors across the spectrum from those who are Biblical literalists as well as to those who are not.

   — NAL    Sep 24, 10:38 AM    #

6. The Bible is a literary text as well as a sacred text (to believers) as the essay by Carlin Romano in the CHE recently pointed out. It should, like other religious texts, be able to be taught in a course in civilization,or literature, or comparative religion, without professing belief (or disbelief) in it. Suppose a contemporary believer in Thor or Apollo would object to their stories being taught as myth? Without more information its hard to judge how firing someone for presenting this view of the text is anything other than an unreasonable denial of academic freedom. And, perhaps, a sign of our times. Sinclair Lewis would understand!

   — Bruce L. Rockwood    Sep 24, 11:02 AM    #

7. Pardon me? In what way is the word “tale” pejorative? If using the language correctly can be considered “provocative” then by all means count me a provocateur. The larger issue here is whether a college is permitting a fear of offending the delicate sensibilities of a student to dictate what can or cannot be said in a classroom. Shall we give a free pass to all ignorance, bias, and misconception, because it might challenge someone’s “beliefs?” If that is the case, we might as well abandon the education enterprise entirely.

   — Michael    Sep 24, 11:22 AM    #

8. If indeed that is the reason for Mr. Bitterman’s termination, it is surely more than a bit bizarre for a person to be fired for teaching the clear concensus of mainstream scholarship in the discipline.

   — David    Sep 24, 11:36 AM    #

9. It is unclear what is meant by “taught Western civilization.” At my institution, “History of Western Civilization” is quite a different course from “Humanities I & II” which I took at a different institution. If Mr. Bitterman was teaching a humanities course, then covering major religious myths would certainly be appropriate. (‘Myth’, as used here, is not a negative term.) On the other hand, if his course was historically oriented, the inclusion of religious myths might be questioned.

   — Sally    Sep 24, 11:38 AM    #

10. A news story (tale?) which cites just one side provides no real illumination and merely causes an emotional uproar. I do not believe we can draw any true conclusions here without knowing more facts.

    — Jeanette    Sep 24, 12:18 PM    #

11. The word “myth” has nothing to do with the truth or untruth of an event or story. It identifies the function of that story in a society. It is a shared story that conveys a value or a philosophy. Nothing in a religion would have power if it did not arrive at the identity of a myth.

    — S. L. Rubinstein    Sep 24, 12:55 PM    #

12. As someone who teaches biblical studies, I am not at all surprised that some students went on the attack about this. Every time I teach a course on biblical history and literature, at least one person’s worldview is threatened and he or she reacts in some degree of anger. As students have become increasingly litigious over the past 20 years, I suppose it is no surprise that some would threaten to sue.
    What’s really weird to me is that anyone in the administration of Southwestern Community College would truly consider themselves to be vulnerable to such a suit. Perhaps I am naive, but I don’t think any court would rule in favor of such plaintiffs.
    This says to me that either the administration of Southwest Community College is ludicrously frightened of such threats, or there are some other agenda here between the administration and Bitterman.

    — Bible Spice    Sep 24, 01:38 PM    #

13. I guess it’s official. “Disrespect”, used as a verb, must now be accepted practice. Only a decade or so ago I think it was still considered street slang (or archaic). Back then it was, like, so not cool to say it around college professors.

    — Jeremiah J.    Sep 24, 01:42 PM    #

14. Mr. Bitterman’s case is yet another example of political correctness gone awry. It also demonstrates why community college faculty should have tenure, for tenure is the only protection academics have left from ideologues and crackpot administrators.

    — john minnis    Sep 24, 02:48 PM    #

15. Pardon me, but are we in the Twenty-First century or the early Twentieth? I find it preposterous that a college professor may be fired for imparting knowledge and broadening the thinking and conceptions of students. In religious studies we teach cosmogonic myths, creation stories, from around the world, the Adam and Eve story included, and find them all strikingly familiar with a delightful mixture of truth and imagination, and really reflective of human and divine meaning, hope, aspirations. After all is said and done, who can deny that no human being was there to witness and report on creation before humans or anything else was created. Divinely-inspired stories are what we have to inform us, and if it doesn’t produce verifiable history, we call it myth, meaning just that. I think our students should be made aware of this without putting teachers at risk.

    — Mozella G. Mitchell, Professor    Sep 24, 02:58 PM    #

16. Wow. Just…wow.

    — DLS    Sep 24, 06:32 PM    #

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