Professors at SWBTS

There seems to be a trend in recent years of SBC seminaries hiring professors who received earned doctorates from non-SBC schools. What is the purpose in this? To bring a diversity of beliefs to the schools (dispensationalism, reformed Calvinism, et al)?

 

To answer the major question of how do I feel, as a SWTBS student, to have these dispensationalists being hired...I really could care less about the dispensational, federal thought, etc. debate. I have my beliefs on that matter pretty well checked. I am more concerned with whether my professors hold the Bible to be authoritative and infallible before I am worried about their various views on dispensationalism or not. Having Dr. Blaising on faculty has been an excellent opportunity to learn from the man who crafted the progressive dispensationalist doctrine.

As for the second question: I am highly in favor of bringing on faculty who have earned doctorates from other institutions (Oxford, Cambridge, Harvard, Notre Dame, etc.) because it adds to the academic credibility of a seminary and gives a diversity of thought in confronting certain topics.

 

preachin,

Hopefully, a dispensational eschatology won't become a part of the definition of "professors who hold the Bible to be authoratative and infallible."

I too think profs with degrees from Oxford, Cambridge, Harvard, Notre Dame, etc. will add to the academic credibility of the seminary. Unfortunately, profs with degrees from Regent will not.

 

When I was a student at Southwestern, there were a few dispensationalists on staff, but the faculty was pretty balanced and while dispensationalism was taught, no particular eschatology was absolutely endorsed as "inerrant, authoritative, infallible truth." I'm just wondering if that will change now.

Even when I was there, not all of the professors had degrees from exclusively SBC schools. Most had done higher level graduate study at a fairly diverse variety of quality schools. There were, of course, the cries of "liberalism" being bantered and tossed about, largely unfounded and based more on personal opinion and preference than on any measureable standard. The teaching method was to give the student the skills necessary to study the Bible and discern its truth, something that makes the uninformed and ignorant uncomfortable.

The only Southwestern students I've spoken with recently both left there after a year and a half. One transferred to Truett Seminary in Waco, the other went all the way to Massachussetts to Gordon Conwell which is connected to the Christian Missionary Alliance, I believe. Apparently, the quality of faculty has deteriorated and some have degrees from unaccredited schools, and others are teaching without a terminal degree. I hope that the addition of Dr. Patterson will change that, though I'm not hopeful.

 

I think its a reach to say there are faculty from "unaccredited" schools. There are some lecturing without a terminal degree. More so than has been typical, but it isn't unheard of. SACS has standards in this area that generally keep a school from having too many non-terminals and ABDs in the classroom.

FWIW.

 

Perhaps, though Southwestern used to have standards that were a little bit higher than the "basic" requirements for accreditation. That has changed.

 

As I mentioned in my previous post, instructors teaching in the theology department without a doctorate would be such a change. When I was a student there, I can't think of anyone teaching in theology without a doctorate.

 

While the new leaders of the seminary are dispensational in their thought. I know one of the OT instructors that is amillenial, and he came through SBC school and also earned his PHD at SWBTS.

Bro Tony

By the way though we don't agree on eschatology, he is a wonderful teacher and has not received any pressure to change his views.