GRAND RAPIDS – A controversial Calvin College professor whose views about the existence of Adam and Eve became national news chose to retire this year so his studies would not “cause harm or distraction,” the college's acting provost said.

Former theology professor John Schneider brought attention to the college after being quoted in an NPR interview, which followed a blog from Chronicle of Higher Education writer Mike Ruse, who headlines his piece as "The Shame of Calvin College."

Schneider's writings sparked considerable debate on the campus, which bases its teachings in the Reformed tradition.

A 2009 study with professor Dan Harlow addressed "the biblical and theological issues involved if Adam and Eve are understood as literary theological figures rather than historical beings," and the pair discussed their work at a 2010 lecture at Baylor University.

"Evolution makes it pretty clear that in nature, and in the moral experience of human beings, there never was any such paradise to be lost," Schneider said in the NPR interview broadcast Tuesday. "So Christians, I think, have a challenge, have a job on their hands to reformulate some of their tradition about human beginnings."

Schnieder retired on June 30, though Ruse said Schneider left after he “got into hot water with the president of Calvin College, who thinks that Schneider has been violating the terms of his employment.”

Schneider could not be reached for comment, and the office of President Gaylen Byker referred questions to Cheryl Brandsen, the dean for social sciences and contextual disciplines.She issued a statement Tuesday saying that Schneider's departure was voluntary.

Schneider's work did “engender concerns within the college community and its constituencies,” wrote Brandsen.

She said the college began an “internal exploration,” into the research, and “Schneider chose to request retirement on terms that reflected his love and respect for the college, the faculty, and the students, and his desire that his scholarship not cause harm or distraction.”

A post on the Calvin website said the college did not approve or endorse the ideas stated by the professors, but "it does endorse the importance of asking questions and prayerfully and humbly seeking answers."

But, the site reads, the pair should have “more strongly emphasized” the nature of their work, and “in retrospect, the internal review processes used by the authors and the college should have been tighter.”

The site stated that the professors “have expressed regret and think the articles read more definitively than they intended.”

The site reveals that the work was to be part of “a careful review” by the campus' Professional Status Committee.

Schnieder has accepted a research fellowship at the University of Notre Dame, though a campus spokesman could not confirm when he will start.

Ruse wrote that Schneider “leaves his home with his head held high, a man of integrity who believes that being made in the image of God means using one’s abilities fearlessly wherever they lead. And Calvin College, an institution that in so many ways rightfully deserves to be considered a jewel in the crown of American higher education, is stained.”

E-mail Dave Murray: dmurray@grpress.com and follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/ReporterDMurray