BOB ABERNETHY, anchor: A major rift over academic freedom at Patrick Henry College, a small evangelical school in northern Virginia founded especially for students who have been home-schooled. The school places many interns at the White House and Capitol. Five of Patrick Henry's 16 full-time faculty members have resigned claiming the school's administration stifled academic debate. Kim Lawton has more.

KIM LAWTON: Patrick Henry College was founded six years ago to train Christian students for public service. About 85 percent of the 300 students were schooled at home before coming here. Patrick Henry's stated mission is to prepare Christians who will "shape our culture with timeless biblical values." But almost a third of the college's professors are now leaving because they say the administration is too heavy-handed in determining what those biblical values are.

ERIK ROOT (Resigning Professor, Patrick Henry College): Academic freedom, what professors can't say, what they can entertain, the questions they can entertain in class, even the questions that students can ask in class are under scrutiny.

MICHAEL FARRIS (President, Patrick Henry College): Absolutely there's academic freedom at Patrick Henry College, and the professors raising the critique don't appear to understand the meaning of academic freedom. It doesn't mean you can't be criticized.

LAWTON: Central to the debate is an article written by some of the departing professors, which said the Bible is not the only place God reveals truth.

Mr. ROOT: We're standing outside right now. We are in God's world, and we are standing right now in the midst of God's general revelation. We only said that God's general revelation can reveal some truth, not all truth.

LAWTON: College officials are adamant that while students may read and debate many ideas, the Bible must be taught as the ultimate source of truth.