Whales talk French at the bottom of the sea?

A college professor in Red Oak, Iowa, claims he's been fired for giving an academic treatment to Christianity in his western civilization course. In the course, Steve Bitterman, teaches that the Biblical story of creation should not be taken literally. At the end of a recent class, he remarked to a couple of students that the story of Adam and Eve was just a fairy tale. Oops. The students apparently threatened a lawsuit in response, and the whole matter go escalated to the college administration -- who, with the usual intestinal fortitude of administrations everywhere, recoiled from confrontation -- and fired Bitterman.

This of course, is Bitterman's claim only -- but the college has done little in their official response to counter his claim.

So, WTF Iowa? I'm well aware that America is reveling in its new new found religious fundamentalism -- but surely the people in charge know that the recent surge of the religious right is only a phase -- and should be limited to a very short one. Those in academia -- the educated -- better is expected of you. Giving in to the mindless morons of fundamentalism the way unchallenged is not the answer -- and leads to death of reason. We've seen the results of this. It's playing itself out in the Middle East right now.