Maranatha Academic Credentials...

Wester,

You generalize too hastily. You seem to take my statment as an attack on advanced education and degrees. Nothing could be further from the truth. I vehemently oppose the anti-education wing of fundamentalism (which certainly does exist).

You also seem to impose upon my skepticism towards prestige your own assumption that prestige goes hand in hand with quality. That is certainly a fallacy.

While you may not have made those statements in so many words, you certainly implied them. I think the root of our disagreement is more likely found in the content of what we believe an education ought to entail, not in the thoroughness, rigorousness, or level of degree achieved.

 

Joshua,
There is so much subjectivity in your post that I don't know where to begin. So I'll let it be

 

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Siegfried:
I also disagree with your use of the term "rigorous institutions." Just because an institution has a great academic reputation doesn't mean it's rigorous, and vice versa. I've read enough articles on grade inflation in the Ivy League to be a bit skeptical.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Sigfried, there is a real problem with grade inflation at the undergraduate, and to a lesser extent, master's level in many places. Ph.D. programs, however, can be sufficiently choosy that there usually isn't much grade inflation there. I would submit the following criteria for examining the rigor of a Ph.D. program:

- GRE scores of incoming students
- types and complexity of comprehensive exams
- frequency of the publication of dissertations and articles by students within the program

I think you'll find that the programs which are the most rigorous by those standards do also tend to be the most liberal theological.

Tom, am I still being subjective here?

Joshua

 

With the exception about the part about liberal schools being always rigorous, you're doing ok, at least, as well as you can do

 

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Rev. Joshua Villines:
- GRE scores of incoming students<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I don't see how this testifies to the rigor of a program. This is more about who gets into a program than what happens once they are in the program.

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>frequency of the publication of dissertations and articles by students within the program<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

This may have much more to do with contacts than with actual substance. Those with publishing contacts are much more likely to be published than those without. I have read some of the things from the schools you consider "rigorous" and I find myself unimpressed. Of course, that is because I am looking for different things than you are to be sure.

 

Well, required GRE scores are a possible good indicator. Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, and Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary require higher GRE scores than most of the other secular programs (and programs Josh would find more "rigorous") that I have looked at. All Ph.D. programs require a dissertation, and Larry is right about publishing being a matter of who is connected to whom. And published where? If a paper is published in Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society or Bibliotheca Sacra, would Joshua consider that to be as valid as being published in Review & Expositor, Interpretation or Theology Today? I doubt it.

 

What about Sword of the Lord? If I get published there, does that make me a scholar?

"Publishing=scholarship" is fallacious reasoning.

 

Siegfried,

Although I quoted you, I was not thinking exclusively about your post but about some other posters, such as Joy. Sorry if I implied more than I meant about your posts.

[ February 07, 2002: Message edited by: Barnabas ]

 

Speaking as a christian about education, and we will hold it to pastors. The best pastors I have had, have received their Ph.D from Dallas Theological Seminary, Grace Theological Seminary and Luther Rice. On the other had the worst pastors have come out of Union Theological Seminary and one from Princeton. The always good but not always great are BBC, Southern in Louisville,Ky. and Philadelphia School of Bible.
I don't know if it is the shool's name or is it what they teach.

 

Give Southern some time. The seminary has been reformed well under Dr. Mohler and the stock of the seminary is rising once again to a good solid level now that Dr. Mohler has come on board.