Four Profs Leaving SWBTS

[Jimmy C]

Is this announcment the first of many? From what I hear all four of these profs are highly respected.

The article does not say if they are retiring or if they have found a new post, I would not be suprised to see them teaching somewhere together soon.

The following artile is from Greg Tomlin the pr person at SWBTS:

Four Southwestern Seminary faculty members leaving posts

By Staff

FORT WORTH, Texas (BP) -- Four professors have tendered their resignations from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas.

The faculty members who resigned were Bruce Corley, professor of New Testament; Stan Moore, professor of church music and acting dean of the school of church music; Bud Smith, professor of foundations of education; and James Spivey Jr., associate professor of church history and associate dean of the seminary's Houston extension campus. None of the professors provided information about the nature of their new assignments, Southwestern Seminary President Paige Patterson said.

Patterson said that the faculty members had "given a number of years of service to Southwestern Seminary. For those years the trustees, administration, faculty and large numbers of students offer profound appreciation."

He also said that he wished the faculty members well "in every noble enterprise they attempt for Christ."

"Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary will continue to secure the brightest evangelical minds to fill these and other positions. The men and women who comprise the faculty represent the unique combination of conservative evangelical scholarship and fervent evangelistic and missionary zeal," Patterson said.

 

[Baptist Believer]

Originally posted by Jimmy C:
Is this announcment the first of many?

I’m sure there will be more. Many professors at Southwestern do not want to work under Patterson.

From what I hear all four of these profs are highly respected.

Yep. Not a “liberal” among them. I know three of these professors personally and two of them are members of our church.

The article does not say if they are retiring or if they have found a new post, I would not be suprised to see them teaching somewhere together soon.

Yep. Like a certain seminary that’s scheduled to open next year in the Fort Worth/Dallas area.

 

[Daniel David]

BB, perhaps you could ask them why they left.

Also, does your church have a problem with Open Theism?

 

[Baptist Believer]

Originally posted by Daniel David:
BB, perhaps you could ask them why they left.

I plan to do it but I'm not sure if I will have the liberty to share it with BaptistBoard.

Also, does your church have a problem with Open Theism?

As far as I know it has never come up. I can't fairly express the church's views on that matter.

If you're trying to suggest that those who left are sympathetic to Open Theism, you're completely off the mark. As far as I know, none of them are Open Theists. I am the only member of my church I know with "Open Theist" sympathies.

 

[Joseph_Botwinick]

What is an open theist?

Joseph Botwinick

 

[Major B]

Open theism is heretical doctrine, one which (depending on how far down the road people are) teaches that salvation is possible outside of Christ, and (with some open theists) that God is voluntarily not omniscient and does not know the future.

 

[Major B]

double posted by mistake

 

[Joseph_Botwinick]

This sounds like a mixture of universalism and arminianism. Am I correct?

Joseph Botwinick

 

[Major B]

I'd say it exceeds even those doctrines in error.

 

[Baptist Believer]

This is not a thread on Open Theism.

Originally posted by Major B:
Open theism is heretical doctrine, one which (depending on how far down the road people are) teaches that salvation is possible outside of Christ,

Who asserts this? If someone promotes that idea it is not an essential part of Open Theism.

...and (with some open theists) that God is voluntarily not omniscient and does not know the future.

Open Theists generally believe that God is omniscient, but since the future does not yet exist, that God does not have knowledge of something that is nonexistent. Yet God knows all things including the thoughts and intentions of all creatures and the condition and changing status of all creation, and what He intends to do.

The Open Theist viewpoint rejects the modernistic paradigm and usually considers "time" to be a description of the sequence of events in history. ("Time" is the way we describe our memories of the part and structure our expectations of the future.)

When I say I have Open Theist "sympathies", I am saying that I find many aspects of the Open Theism paradigm attractive because of its emphasis on God's continuing interaction with his creatures and creation, the affirmation of free will, and the affirmation of God's sovereignty over his creatures and creation.

But this is not a thread on Open Theism, so I don't care to discuss the subject here.

 

[TomVols]

Some would even contend that God does not voluntarily give up omniscience. That is, God is not capable of knowing the future, according to some. This is a subject that is going to be at the forefront of the upcoming meeting of the Evangelical Theological Society in Atlanta later on this month.

 

[rlvaughn]

This thread - Open Theism... - would be a good place to continue the discussion on open theism. BB, if you do choose to post there, I would be interested in the harmonization of "...since the future does not yet exist...God does not have knowledge of something that is nonexistent. Yet God knows all things including the thoughts and intentions of all creatures and the condition and changing status of all creation, and what He intends to do." The continued discussion of the subject here will continue to give an impression that this is somehow related to why the four professors left. I will be interested to hear the "why" if someone discovers it.

 

[rsr]

Associated Baptist Press is reporting that the four professors are going to work for the new Carroll Institute:

FORT WORTH, Texas (ABP) -- Four prominent professors abruptly resigned from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in early November, only to be named faculty members of the new B.H. Carroll Theological Institute started by former Southwestern leaders.

PROFESSORS LEAVE SOUTHWESTERN

 

[Baptist Believer]

Originally posted by rlvaughn:
This thread - Open Theism... - would be a good place to continue the discussion on open theism.

I don't have time to get involved in a lengthy discussion because of my current work and church schedule.

If you want to understand Open Theism, I suggest reading one of Pinnock's books on the subject.

The continued discussion of the subject here will continue to give an impression that this is somehow related to why the four professors left. I will be interested to hear the "why" if someone discovers it.

Agreed! The only reason I discussed it at all was that there were unsubstantiated allegations made against Open Theism and I didn't want to let them stand as if I agreed with the assessment.

The professors are going to the new B.H. Carroll seminary. I fully expect a few more Southwestern professors to go there by the end of the Spring semester.

 

[Daniel David]

Does the Carroll institute have a statement of faith?

 

[Baptist Believer]

Originally posted by Daniel David:
Does the Carroll institute have a statement of faith?

I can't point you to a reference but, if I remember correctly, it is the 1963 Baptist Faith and Message.

 

[Jimmy C]

For more infomation on the BH Carroll Institute check out their web site BHCTI.org

This looks exciting - As I understand it they plan to keep tuition costs to a bare minimum so that more students can enroll and mainly finance through endowments.

 

[Daniel David]

Originally posted by Baptist Believer:
I can't point you to a reference but, if I remember correctly, it is the 1963 Baptist Faith and Message.

If that is true, then good ridance. The SBC doesn't need closet liberals.

 

[Baptist Believer]

Originally posted by Daniel David:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by Baptist Believer:
I can't point you to a reference but, if I remember correctly, it is the 1963 Baptist Faith and Message.

If that is true, then good ridance. The SBC doesn't need closet liberals. </font>[/QUOTE]That's an profoundly foolish assertion.

The 1963 BF&M is not an indicator of "liberalism".

Furthermore, I suspect I have made an assumption instead of reporting fact. I cannot locate any sort of doctrinal statement for them so I need to back off of my statement that I thought it would be the 1963 BF&M. I think I assumed that would be the case because I mistakenly believed the school would be sponsored by the BGCT (the BGCT affirms the 1963 statement).

The school is independent.

 

[Baptist Believer]

Here's more information:

Four leave to join new seminary
By Jim Jones
Special to the Star-Telegram

Four veteran professors at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary have resigned or retired and will lead a new Dallas-Fort Worth area theological school that some see as a rival to the Fort Worth seminary.

Complete text is located at:

http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/news/local/7187757.htm