The Board of Trustees of Calvin College and Seminary, seeking to allay the widespread apprehensions of the churches about the orthodoxy of the faculty of their seminary and in its words “to remove some of the innuendos and false accusations that have been made” has sent a “Public Statement to all the consistories of the Christian Reformed Church.” That statement includes the following:

With respect to Professor John Stek, there is an ongoing discussion with him in connection with his research into the early history of man. The Board of Trustees has instructed him in his teaching office to correlate the findings of his research and the event character of Genesis 1–11, with the view to doing full justice to the church’s confessional view of these chapters as elucidated in pointE of the Acts ofSynod 1972, page 69: Synod . . . “warns against the use of any method of biblical interpretation . . . which calls into question . . . the event character . . . of biblical history, thus compromising the full authority of Scripture as the Word of God.”

The members of the Calvin Seminary faculty without exception believe that Adam and Eve were created by God and are our first parents. They further accept the reality of an historical fall as recorded in the Scriptures. The Board of Trustees is assured that our faculty is in full agreement with the confessions of our church and we have the utmost confidence in our faculty.

At the last Outlook board meeting someone called attention to the discrepancy between the Calvin Board’s Public Statement and the testimony of a recent student of Professor Stek. Rev. Neal Hegeman, in an article entitled “Did Adam Exist as a Historical Person?” in the June 1981 Outlook wrote:

The Board of Trustees of Calvin College and Seminary had to face this question in 1980 when the writer of this article protested the view of an Old Testament professor who did not believe Adam was a historical person. The Board listened to the protest, interviewed the people involved and appointed a committee of Biblical scholars and pastors to study the issue. Their recommendation was to advise or instruct the professor to conform to the historical event character of Genesis 1–11 and to uphold the teachings of the Church.

No one has challenged the truth of Rev. Hegeman’s testimony; in fact, the Board’s own actions confirm its validity. How does one harmonize these two?

The members of the Calvin Seminary faculty without exception believe that Adam and Eve were created by God and are our first parents.

. . . an Old Testament· professor . . . did not believe Adam was a historical person. Who is telling the truth?