By Meredith Kreigh
Managing Editor
Recent conflict over the issue of human origins has caused Bryan’s Board of Trustees to review the college’s current Statement of Belief in an effort to clarify the college’s belief in divine creation based on a literal interpretation of Gen. 1-2.
Board Chair John Haynes said that the board, as a whole, takes a “strong, straight view of creation.”
“Christianity is very specific about many things, and this is an area where we get specific information. When you start adding to that information or you take away from that information, you’re in deep and serious trouble,” Haynes said.
He said that the Statement of Belief clearly expresses that the founders of Bryan College understood that God created the earth and man and woman and no one should add to or subtract from that.
The Board will not hurry this process and is very concerned with doing it the right way, Haynes said.
He added that they will take input from faculty, staff and the student body during the review process.
“That input should not be expected to make us change a lot of our views. But we certainly are willing to listen to what people have to say and some of the basis for what they have to say about it,” he said.
Due to the clarification of the college’s position on origins in the Statement of Belief, some faculty members are concerned about its effect on annual contracts since all employees of the college must sign the statement of belief each year as a condition of employment.
In an email sent to the faculty on Feb. 14, Vice President of Academics Bradford Sample said that President Stephen Livesay requested an extension to normal procedure concerning the annual contracts.
Three days later, on Feb. 17, Livesay and several board members addressed the faculty. They confirmed that paragraph 4 of the Bryan College charter, concerning the origin of man, will be clarified.
“I don’t know how you put a timeline on something like this,” Haynes said.
As evidence for the board’s interpretation of Bryan’s historical position on origins, faculty members were given “The Parameters of Creationism,” a three-page Bryan Life article written 20-odd years ago by Dr. Karl E. Keefer, Jr., then vice president for academic affairs. The article describes evolution as an “unacceptable theory.”
Keefer wrote that creation by fiat of God “clearly and unequivocally rules out any form of development, evolutionary or otherwise, through which the human race was derived from lower animals or other forms of life.”
Faculty members understand that they are expected to sign upcoming contracts in light of two motions passed by the Board of Trustees.
The first explains that, any Bryan College trustee, faculty member, administrator, or staff member should understand that, “We believe that all humanity is descended from Adam and Eve. They are historical persons created by God in a special formative act, and not from previously existing life forms.”
Trustee Gary Phillips wrote the second motion, saying that the Board of Trustees has appointed a steering committee devoted to working on a “position paper,” which will further clarify Bryan’s current and historical stance on origins, as understood by the trustees.
Philips wrote that they “look forward to your [Bryan faculty] participation and your [Bryan faculty] insight.”
Contracts, with an accompanying clarification of the college’s position concerning origins will be sent out Feb. 28 so that faculty members may have an “expanded period of reflection” before returning the contracts on Mar. 28, according to Sample.