Wheaton College in Wheaton, IL is one of conservative Christianity’s premier schools. It is, after all, the alma mater of Billy Graham. This week it has stood by its conservative Christian principles and fired a 20 year English professor after it was determined his divorce wasn’t “biblically justified.”<\/p>\n
The Chicago Tribune reports<\/a>…<\/p>\n The issue emerged after the professor notified administrators that he and his wife, Lynelle, had filed for divorce last month.<\/p>\n Many theological conservatives say the New Testament permits divorce only in cases of adultery or desertion. Wheaton requires faculty and staff to sign a faith statement and adhere to standards of conduct in areas including marriage, said Provost Stan Jones.<\/p>\n Still, every year, the college has dealt with several cases in which it must evaluate the divorce of a job applicant or a staff or faculty member and consider whether it matches the exceptions laid out in Matthew 19 and the writings of the Apostle Paul.<\/p>\n “And if it does, we stand by the applicant,” Jones said. “In cases where it doesn’t, it’s a tragic instance where we have to say, because of the nature of the institution, we can’t employ you.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n UPDATE: The title of this post was changed to reflect that techincally Professor Gramm resigned his position rather than pursue options to fight for his job.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Wheaton College in Wheaton, IL is one of conservative Christianity’s premier schools. It is, after all, the alma mater of Billy Graham. This week it has stood by its conservative Christian principles and fired a 20 year English professor after … Continue reading