July 14, 2008

College Settles With Instructor Fired for Teaching Adam and Eve as Myth

Southwestern Community College in Iowa has agreed to pay an undisclosed amount of money to settle a wrongful-termination lawsuit filed by an instructor who said he was fired last fall for teaching the biblical story of Adam and Eve as a myth, rather than as a story to be taken literally.

The instructor, Steve Bitterman, taught Western civilization but said the college had sided with students who complained about the content of his course.

A lawyer for the college, in Creston, Iowa, told The Des Moines Register that Mr. Bitterman was no longer on the college’s faculty and that the settlement would be made final this week.

Mr. Bitterman has taught this summer aboard the U.S.S. Dwight D. Eisenhower, an aircraft carrier berthed in Norfolk, Va., through a program for sailors run by Central Texas College, the Register reported. He said he had used the same textbook from his Iowa class. —Andrew Mytelka

Comments

1. Another example of the liberal bias in higher education.

   — R Lindner    Jul 14, 11:54 PM    #

2. regarding #1. I sometimes wonder if FOX cable news is hijacking these discussions

   — jon    Jul 14, 11:58 PM    #

3. Oh, so it’s not a myth. It’s a story. What liberal bias?
   Thank you #2. You may be right.

   — Elizabeth    Jul 15, 01:57 AM    #

4. I think perhaps #1 is emulating the editor of New Yorker. (He is being satirical folks)

   — Bill (Atlanta, GA)    Jul 15, 06:03 AM    #

5. Yeah. . . and the really funny thing is that liberals don’t get (or don’t like?) satire even when it’s done by other liberals! And do you know why?

   For the same reason that instructor was fired. . .

   — Bill    Jul 15, 06:29 AM    #

6. It may be that the problem with the New Yorker cover is that it got its satire backwards: you target something in your satire, visually or verbally. I didn’t see any conservatives on the cover. So that’s where it missed the mark?

   — definer    Jul 15, 07:56 AM    #

7. Re: the New Yorker cover — just goes to show how unfamiliar people are with the magazine and its approach to things — the cover image is always in tandem with the image’s TITLE, which one needs to read the Table of Contents to find out, which in this case is “The Politics of Fear,” which (per usual with The New Yorker) underscores the satire of the image — with TNY, it’s always been images AND words. (Also, if people have been reading The Talk of the Town, they’d know that TNY has come as close to endorsing Senator Obama as it can without being official about it.)

   — db    Jul 15, 08:08 AM    #

8. How did this discussion get hijacked by the New Yorker cover? The question here is limitation on academic freedom. Doesn’t it matter to the others posting on this site that every time an instructor is punished for teaching a legitimate scholarly viewpoint that happens to be unpopular with some students, it undermines all academic freedom? How many instructors at Southwestern Community College – and elsewhere – will practice self-censorship in the classroom for fear of suffering the same fate as Mr. Bitterman? Even though he won (and not everyone has the resources or the determination to file a lawsuit for wrongful termination), this diminishes the liberal arts as a whole with its chilling effect on scholarly inquiry. We’re getting ever closer to the day when we all teach the “approved” material or face termination.

   — TH    Jul 15, 08:19 AM    #

9. That is funny. A professor teaches that Adam and Eve is a myth, not a literally true story. Then the discussion goes off on the New Yorker.

   Well Adam and Eve did not exist, at least not in the way that that can be verified; that’s why it is a myth.

   The College was wrong to fire him, and if students are upset over the course content, they should get over it; the purpose of the course is to teach about civilization, not to indulge their fantasies.

   As for the New Yorker, well the satire fell flat. Anyone that sees it will assume that the New Yorker thinks that he is everything that is depicted on the cover is true. I know that was not their intention or what they believe, but that is how it is coming across.

   — George    Jul 15, 08:27 AM    #

10. One of the biggest detriments to the K-12 world has been the transfer of authority from the teacher to the student. Students are in complete control these days. When I see — in the article above — how some complaining students have enough clout to destroy academic freedom and even get someone fired, I feel like painting my “The End Is Near” sign and standing on the corner at my college.

    — K. Tribble    Jul 15, 08:36 AM    #

11. Concerning 8, 9, & 10……There may be much more to the story than the few words included in the article. How is it you are so quick to defend the instructor based on so little information? In reality, these comments are no different than assuming the New Yorker cover is an accurate representation of Obama. Where is the objectivity?

    — Mike    Jul 15, 08:51 AM    #

12. Nice try, Mike. It’s been a while, but as I recall the original story reported the grounds for Bitterman’s firing to be just that simple— (And when was the word simple more apt?) — he characterized the Adam and Eve story as a myth. Besides, if there was in fact “much more to that story” Southwestern CC wouldn’t have made the settlement.

    — BertW    Jul 15, 09:05 AM    #

13. That’s what I thought, TH. “If they come for me tonight . . . “

    — Gary    Jul 15, 09:17 AM    #

14. I am a Christian, and a “conservative” (actually, probably more libertarian than conservative) and even I have to believe that there must be more to this story than was reported in the article. Purely conjecture on my part, but could it be possible that he ridiculed or penalized the students simply for disagreeing with him? If that were the case, then his dismissal would not have been for what he taught, but for how he taught it.

    — FB    Jul 15, 09:23 AM    #

15. I wonder what the school would do with Santa Claus….

    — rbuck    Jul 15, 09:26 AM    #

16. If Prof. Bitterman found himself terminated for teaching that the Adam and Eve story is a myth, then I wonder what the other Southwestern Community College Western Civilization instructors, who have not been terminated, are teaching.

    — Richard Hennessey    Jul 15, 09:28 AM    #

17. The story of Adam and Eve is just a story. For some, it is real since they don’t know better.

    — kvc    Jul 15, 09:37 AM    #

18. I also teach Western Civ at a community college and encounter this sort of challenge every year. Here are some of my responses when objections arise in class:

    We have separation of church and state in the U.S. Usually they “get it” when I ask if a theocracy would be preferable. Iran is supposedly a theocracy.

    We have non-Christians in our student body. A quick anonymous online poll is a useful tool for showing the class the diversity that exists. “Do you describe yourself as Jewish, Catholic, Protestant, agnostic, etc.”

    If students want the “true believer” version of early Christian history, what do they want by week 4 when we get to Islam?

    Being religious and intellectual does not have to be mutually exclusive, as often depicted in the popular press and in some churches. My class is a pro-intellectual environment, period. The Princeton professor Elaine Pagels is an excellent example of a world class scholar of early Christianity who also happens to be religious in her personal life.

    Finally, I recommend that the most upset students consider attending a religious school if they dislike our secular fare.

    Remember, among the three things Thomas Jefferson wanted on his tombstone was having authored the Virginia Act of Religious Freedom.

    — tym    Jul 15, 09:40 AM    #

19. The question of academic freedom to express ideas whether students like them or not is a crucial issue. We tend to run schools today with students determining what they want to hear and administrative staff allowing that to happen!

    — Jim Seeber    Jul 15, 10:02 AM    #

20. Re the New Yorker (I know, off topic): it’s amusing to think that a magazine with a small circulation that caters to, well, “academic elites” for the most part, creates any fear that it’ll have some major impact. It’s nothing. The readers of the magazine are probably 80% or more for Obama and will remain so. The cover has been brought to the attention of the general public, will be of interest to them for less than 5 minutes, and life will go on. Yet the campaign will expertly, as it has done all along (see the recent Jesse Jackson dustup), use this incident to its benefit.

    — Middleground    Jul 15, 10:09 AM    #

21. I find it curious that many comments on the question of the mythical status of the Judeo-Christian creation story has center on whether the story is true or false. Such a discussion runs afoul of the technical use of the term myth, which means a story used to explain a phenomenon—in this case the origin of human beings and the reasoning behind pain and mortality. I have no idea whether the allegorically named Bitterman tried to make his class understand the irrelevance of the truth to myth or not. It seems to disrespect the sensibilities of many students to claim that the story is not true to the same extent that it would be disrespectful to insist that it is. Like many have said, more details might clarify the issue. But, then, we couldn’t sling rocks at each other.

    — Bardolph    Jul 15, 10:20 AM    #

22. I would have given anything to have been able to attend the negotiations with Southwestern CC. How exactly can an institution put the story, if not as myth? What evidence can it assert for it NOT being a myth, an allegory, or just a decent story for minds that did not have access to modern science? How can we consider ourselves as part of the twenty-first century when acts like this are commonplace? Those who side with the professor must continue to challenge such cases of inanity by demanding that the authors of those actions exhibit an elementary understanding of the facts. “The world is the totality of facts, not of things”—Ludwig Wittgenstein.

    — Darren Aversa    Jul 15, 10:36 AM    #

23. Respectfully, kvc, it’s not just a “story.” It really is a myth, as Bardolph rightly points out, and it’s only surprising that the first 20 respondents here passed over that important point.

    As I keep reminding students, the essential quality of a myth is that it tells a truth, not that it is or is not factually accurate. The sad fact here is that students (or others) who think that such passages of the Bible are to be believed as factual reports might consequently overlook the very truths that the Book teaches. Professor Bitterman’s approach is, after all, the more likely one to lead to well-grounded faith.

    — Douglass    Jul 15, 10:46 AM    #

24. There is an unfortunate lack of clarity here, in both the news story and a number of posts.

    Some of it concerns the meaning of “myth.” There is a substantial body of scholarly work on “myth,” but in general it is understood as a story of origins which typically includes God or the gods and may include elements that seem fabulous (e.g., talking animals). In scholarly discourse, the term does not imply falsity. That is different from popular discourse, in which “myth” implies “only a story” (as opposed to “what really happened”) or even something that is simply bogus (“the myth of Teutonic racial superiority”).

    What the instructor actually did and said matters. There should be no problem stating in a class that: 1) the story of Adam and Eve is a story of origins; 2) many scholars who are naturalistically oriented believe it is untrue; 3) many scholars of religion believe that it is intended to convey religious values, not as an account of historical events; 4) class discussion will focus not on the question of its historicity but on the religious ideas it is seeking to present.

    It is another matter if the instructor: 1) made a big deal of his personal opinion that the story is untrue or even silly (personal opinion, because it does not appear that his expertise is in either ancient history or the study of religion); 2) mocked or belittled the beliefs of students in the class; 3) insisted that students share his view of the story’s falsity. The caricature of the college finding her faith belittled by a professor is not totally without foundation. The Register article notes that the instructor has “admitted he is sometimes ‘acerbic’ in order to spark class discussion.” That is unwise and unprofessional in dealing with issues touching students’ values, culture, gender, ethnicity, religion, etc.

    Too many of posts here assume the issue is academic freedom. Academic freedom in the classroom entails reasoned discourse, especially in areas of sensitivity. If students objected to a discussion of why many find the story factually unlikely, the problem lies with them; but if they objected because their views were not simply disputed but mocked or belittled (by the instructor or other students), the fault lies with the instructor.

    Full disclosure: I am an evangelical Christian. But I would make the same argument if it were about belittling Islam, an African-American student, or a transgendered person.

    — drj50    Jul 15, 10:56 AM    #

25. Wow! Who can read all of this crap. Do you peole have jobs??? I got as far as #2 with the crack about Fox. It’s like Yogi Berra’s comment about a restaurant, “People don’t go there anymore. It’s too crowded.”

    — Mary Ann    Jul 15, 11:12 AM    #

26. Students should sue FOX News or their churches and parents because by the time they get to college, they can’t think or learn because they know it all already.

    — me 2    Jul 15, 11:23 AM    #

27. As annoying as they are, doctrinaire Christians have come a long way, certainly farther than the Muslims. It was only 500 years ago that Christians tortured and maimed millions of people who did not believe in this Jewish myth that had been directly appropriated from the Chaldeans and the Aryans before that. We must remember that Christians are, for the most part, the ancestors of European pagans who believed in magic, animism, human sacrifice and blood ritual, and then grafted their pagan ways onto Jewish mythology. Christian intellectual evolution has a ways to go, but it is evolving.

    — Jason    Jul 15, 11:35 AM    #

28. I continue my commitment to keep posting on these kinds of stories that they are NOT news anymore. What? Right-wing Christians are trying to control thought in higher education? Since when? Yawn.

    — John    Jul 15, 11:59 AM    #

29. Is this a publicly-funded college?

    — jruiz    Jul 15, 12:15 PM    #

30. I note that the original story in the Chronicle reported that a student threatened to SUE over the professor’s teaching. Something’s seriously wrong with THAT. Even if the professor were incompetent or crazy or biased, why would that be a case for the courts and why would a college side with the student against its own faculty member? That’s like signing your own death warrant. We don’t have a full context for the class, but suing a teacher for what he’s teaching is insane.

    PS, I think the Adam and Eve story is cute, but not literally true. Even if I thought it were, to be “true” there would have to be some actual “facts” to prove it, wouldn’t there? I believe dinosaurs existed because I can see their bones and smart people tell me about them based on science. There is no factual basis for Adam and Eve, so because I’m not a “person of faith” they aren’t and never were “real.”

    — Will D.    Jul 15, 12:26 PM    #

31. You sanctimonious saps—no one has any more proof that Adam and Eve were real or were not real. Lack of evidence that something is true is not necessarily evidence that it is false . Your atheist bias causes you to comment without thinking again and again. How predictable many of you have become.

    — Ari Shardim    Jul 15, 12:46 PM    #

32. Will D., you failed to understand drj50.

    An Aesop’s fable is a myth. Nevertheless it describes an ethical truth. Genesis does likewise—it describes humanity’s origins using a genre of literature that does not purport to be either scientific or historical truth.

    I wonder sometimes who has evolved more—those who rely on the hit-or-miss truth-telling of science (which has its place, no two ways) or those who complement science with philosophy (which gave rise to the scientific method) and—gasp—faith.

    Which is the tortoise and which the hare?

    — Green Eyeshade    Jul 15, 12:50 PM    #

33. Consistently, the stories that receive the most comments-by far- are any story that mentions ANYTHING about religion or religious beliefs. Why are you folks so angry? Release your anger and return to reason.

    At least try to go easy on the morning coffee. I mean, come on, three cups? That would make anyone pissy. That decaf latte at Starbucks is yuuuu-mmee and without all the grumpiness. I’ll tell you what…tomorrow morning, meet me at Starbucks—the one near campus—and I’m buying. Deal? Good, see you in the morning.

    — Kadeem    Jul 15, 01:21 PM    #

34. This is particularly strange, given that I have seen similar approaches used in seminaries.

    And when I was an undergraduate, I remember debating with the instructors that didn’t share our views. One instructor, in particular, taught the Bible as literature, and another declared Jesus did not exist. Yet we never, ever made an attempt to get those instructors fired. We tried to prove them wrong and learned a heck of a lot about how scholarship is done. This was as undergraduates – it would be hard to replace such a learning experience.

    A whole lot about this seems strange. My guess is that the instructor was probably combative in response to the students. Either that or there are some goofy students and administrators in Iowa.

    — me    Jul 15, 01:29 PM    #

35. Ari Shardim (#31), I like the way you said that: “Lack of evidence that something is true is not necessarily evidence that it is false.” Please help me spread that word to those of Christian bias who discount evolution because there is no(t yet) proof of the missing link.

    — darrell in dallas    Jul 15, 01:34 PM    #

36. “Lack of evidence that something is true” is a great crutch, but what if we rigorously questioned the myth’s “truth” that it purportedly asserts. Did Adam and Eve, for example, have immune systems? Ones capable of fighting off influenza, for example? Did god not create bacteria and viruses? Does the myth’s truth hold up if we examine the assumption that bacteria would have wiped out Adam and Eve in a stroke of natural beauty? Exactly what “truths” are being espoused by this myth? I fail to see little beyond entertainment value for this ragged story.

    — Darren Aversa    Jul 15, 02:10 PM    #

37. I fail to see even entertainment value in Darren’s ragged, repetitive comments. Just not useful to anyone.

    — Teddi    Jul 15, 02:29 PM    #

38. Whereas MaryAnn (#25) seems stuck in sixth grade, Darren (#36) seems stuck in 8th grade. Literary studies of myths – archetypes and religious symbolisms vs. historicity – are of real value as an intellectual and scholarly pursuit.

    Even as a religious person, I would disagree with terminating a professor who expresses ideas that our student-customers don’t agree with (the illusion that students are customers rather than junior scholars who are learning started in the 1970s with student evaluations of faculty). If the professor was belittling or antagonistic as some have hinted, then there would be grounds initially for a reprimand with subsequent termination justified if there were several more similar incidents.

    I note that many are quick to defend academic freedom for a professor who refers to religious literature as myth. I wonder how many would be equally quick to defend a professor who would refer to Evolution as semi-scientific myth or global warming as political myth – it goes both ways and biased people defend academic freedom usually only one way. If it is alright to say that Creationism and Intelligent Design are ridiculous, then it should be equally tolerable to say that Evolution is unfounded and silly. Actually, I think that all three approaches (Creationism, Intelligent Design, and Evolution) have their proper realm of validity if they are understood within the correct (but non-doctrinaire) framework. Why? Because ultimately there is no conflict between true religion and true science.

    — Ole Perfesser    Jul 15, 03:40 PM    #

39. Regarding #1 above, I am totally amazed at how any, and probably most, discussions in this country tends to be reduced to the lowest denominator and simplistic tags such as “liberals and conservatives”, “left and right”, “them and us”, etc. Are we really that shallow? I think not. We can do better.

    — Concerned    Jul 15, 04:17 PM    #

40. Ole Perfesser: thanks for a calm, rational and thoughtful comment. they are too few on this little electronic discussion site. Have a good day, Sir.

    — Jon    Jul 15, 04:59 PM    #

41. One more time: is this a state supported school of a private school?

    — jruiz    Jul 15, 06:44 PM    #

42. There is much that is not told about this story, but one thing is clear: a general misconception of the meaning of the word “myth.” To say a story is a “myth” is not to say it is untrue — actually just the opposite: it ascribes to it a fundamental importance in the construction of a worldview. So, to describe Biblical story as a “myth” is not to denigrate it as being unhistorical (though it might be), but to examine it as a “truth” that a particular culture holds to be fundamentally important.

    — W McIntyre    Jul 15, 07:55 PM    #

43. the story of Adam and Eve was told in many different ways in literature much earlier than the Bible. If you read something other than just the Bible there is evidence that it was copied. That makes it a myth!!!!!

    — juliette    Jul 15, 08:10 PM    #

44. I have always loved Carl Sagan’s explanation of the story of Adam and Eve in his book, “The Dragons of Eden.” I find the stories in the Old and New Testament validated in many ways by contemporary science all the time. (Example: Christ’s admonition to forgive others without limit. Forgiveness, we now know, is both psychologically and physiologically healthy and healing). Ditto for Adam and Eve. If one believes in evolution, there must still have come a time when the first proto-human could make decisions not based upon instinct or basic need, but abject cruelty. And, conversely, to act altruistically. The “knowledge of good and evil,” would have forever removed us from the relative paradise of the ignorance of the other animals. And doesn’t mankind act every day as if we are gods? I see plenty of truth in the story. Even if we can’t find the bones.

    — Ergum Soloff    Jul 15, 08:33 PM    #

45. Sorry, Teddi…(by the way,are you aware of the fact that your name means “little god”?)…my comments were a bit too harsh and for that I wish to take back the tone, not the message…my point was this: when we talk of “truths,” we must make the distinction between them…Adam and Eve as a myth have zero scientific value; as literature (as others have pointed out), their story is not a great one, perhaps it rates a 6 out of 10. And I teach literature! Yes, I’ve read the Bible several times and, yes, I’ve considered its moralizing ad nauseum. But as academics, we must be careful when talking about myth, truth, and its tenuous relationship.

    And for the Ole Perfessor, there is no value in Intelligent Design, even when not considered as part of Creationism. It’s a horribly infantile argument that takes advantage of those poor saps whose scientific background is not up to snuff and whose logic cannot be counted on. Please come to my university and say, using your Academic Freedom, that Evolution is silly and unfounded and then substantiate it. I’d love to square off against such inanity.

    — Darren Aversa    Jul 15, 09:05 PM    #

46. Everyone refers to “THE” Adam and Eve (story or myth): I’d like to ask: “Which one in Genesis?”
    Genesis 1 numbers the days, and has Adam and Eve created simultaneously on the fifth day; Genesis 2 does not list the days, has Adam formed first, then Eve,from Adam’s rib, an unspecified time later. Two completely different stories, jammed together. (Quotations from the New International Version):
    Genesis 1:
    20 And there was evening, and there was morning—the fifth day.
    26 Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, [b] and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”
    27 So God created man in his own image,in the image of God he created him;male and female he created them.
    ……………………………………….
    Genesis 2:
    7 the LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.
    18 The LORD God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.”
    But for Adam no suitable helper was found.
    21 So the LORD God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man’s ribs and closed up the place with flesh.
    22 Then the LORD God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man.
    So I ask again: “Which one?”

    — richard    Jul 15, 09:07 PM    #

47. Then there was the minster who was fired for teaching trigonometry from the pulpit.

    — Julio    Jul 16, 07:58 AM    #

48. Well, I was thrown out of Baptist Sunday School at age 10 for suggesting that the story of Adam and Eve was an allegory representing the first people who thought about God. Seems that things have not improved since then…

    — C.S.    Jul 16, 08:55 AM    #

49. There seems to be more to this story since there is a notable absence of comment from the institution. The Des Moines Register is well known in the state of Iowa for their lack of balanced or well researched reporting and especially their lack of support for community colleges so this lack of comment is truly not surprising – why give this rag an opportunity to bash the institution.

    I would encourage everyone to think about the whole issue and not just the perspective of ONE reporter who only wrote from the perspective of the alleged “victim”. <sigh> I hope that the media pulls itself up, stands straight and does its job of providing balanced information to the public someday soon. They have gone so far off course now that I find most everything I read narrow, shallow and suspect.

    — C    Jul 16, 09:21 AM    #

50. Darren,
    It is I who should apologize to you for criticizing your contribution. I didn’t realize that you taught literature—I work with many people who are differently abled and I appreciate the contributions that you make.

    — Teddi    Jul 16, 12:54 PM    #

51. The Adam and Eve story is fraught with problems. As has been stated, there are 2 creation stories, one apparently from E, the other from J. This is what generated the creation of Lilith as an explanation by the Jewish sages. Beyond that, you have an omniscient god, telling Adam and Eve not to eat of the fruit of the tree, yet knowing they would. Sort of a rock and a hard place position for them. He also told them if they did eat they would die. What did that mean to them? They were in Paradise where, apparently, there was no death. Finally, if one bears in mind that Judaism at the time of the composition was competing with a Mother Goddess religion, whose symbol of wisdom was the snake, it’s not hard to figure out why Eve was the fall-girl and the serpent was the villain.

    Now, is this a state- supported school or not?

    — jruiz    Jul 16, 02:31 PM    #

52. Religions are based on fantastic and supernatural events such as the Adam and Eve saga. I don’t believe in magic, but at the same time feel unqualified to opine for or against the validity of such events; especially in front of a classroom. In matters of faith, the truth is in the heart of the believer—or the non-believer.

    — Jack Mac    Jul 16, 05:17 PM    #

53. God has blessed him with MO MOney

    — malcolx    Jul 18, 06:07 AM    #

54. no. 10 i completely agree withyou

    — bee    Jul 21, 02:44 PM    #

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