He earned a Ph.D. in microbiology from the University of Kansas in 1980, did postdoctoral research in molecular oncology at Baylor College of Medicine, and joined the faculty of Olivet Nazarene in 1981.
[3] In September 2007, Olivet President John C. Bowling decided after consultation with denominational leaders to prohibit Colling from teaching the general biology class he had taught since 1991.
[4] According to an interview with Newsweek, the reason behind Bowling's response was to "get the bull's-eye off Colling and let the storm die down."
Newsweek noted, however, contributions by Nazarene professors like Karl Giberson,[5] author of Saving Darwin: How to be a Christian and believe in evolution[6] and other books on the topic,[7] who have received more acclaim than punishment for their scholarship.
However, the church accepts as valid all scientifically verifiable discoveries in geology and other natural phenomena, for we firmly believe that God is the Creator.