Name that Honorary Doctor!

I had a pastor once who received an Honorary Doctorate from a Baptist College. He was very humble and thankful but almost did not go to accept it. It really means nothing and he felt it was more for show than anything.

 

I agree that there has been too much back-scratching and cronyism in some fundamentalist and evangelical schools when it comes to honorary doctorates. I also do not think that honoraries should not go by "Dr. So-and-so." However I am amazed that most people in this forum think that honorary doctorates are an invention of far-right fundamentalists.

Honorary degrees are a long-established part of most colleges. They are not intended to serve the pride of the recipient but to act as an object lesson of what is worthy of honor for those who attend the commencement. They are not faux academic degrees, as has already been pointed out: the letter designations indicate that they are honorary. No real fundamentalist school gives honorary PhDs or ThDs.

I would say that most fundamental institutions are in keeping with the purposes laid out in an interesting article here:

It is also true that there was a time when honorary degrees were awarded for academic achievement, a point reiterated in an the above article. There was a time when honorary degrees apparently held more weight. I remember my surprise the first time I heard in one of my philosophy classes that Harvard has awarded honorary doctorates to promising individuals, seemingly just so that they could teach. I'm no academic historian, but I understand that this was the case with William James, Benjamin Peirce, and Alfred North Whitehead. My knowledge is mainly about philosophy and psychology, so I can't provide context on how often this was done in other departments. A quick Google search turned up a similar case with Nathaniel Bowditch. Makes those crazy fundamentalists look more reasonable, huh?

Interestingly, even though the individuals I mention above are all fairly well-known academics, Harvard failed to mention them in its selected list of honorary degrees recipients.

 

Lol....I remember back in the early 80's when BJU gave the late Lester Roloff an honorary doctorate and he came back to the ministries in Corpus Christi Texas(I was there at the time).The girls in the Rebekah Home had put a banner up across the back of the church which read "Welcome Home Dr.Roloff".He strode in that evening,took one look at it,smiled,laughed,and then said...."Hummph...that's like putting whipped cream on an ONION"!The banner disappeared the next day.....and life went on with good ole Brother Roloff!I've rarely ever seen or met a more humble,loving,caring man since then.

Greg Sr.

 

Funny thing about that is....BJU giving a KJVO an honorary doctorate.....imagine that!Dr....er...I mean Bro.Roloff knew which bible really was the right one.I doubt they'd offer him one if he were still alive today.He championed the old Book with no apologies.

Greg Sr.

 

But it DOES mean something. It means that he's being recognized for having made the accomplished in life the achievements reqired of a person who earns the doctorate. His humility is demonstration of his deservedness. I'm sure you were proud to have this man serve you as pastor.

Going through the study and process to achieve a doctorate degree (be it theology, philosophy, medicine, humane letters, education, music, etc) is a long and arduous process that requires intense discipline and rigorous study and dissertation. It is by no means easy, and many who go down the road do not complete it. If there are a lot of people on this board who have a doctorate degree, then we're all the better for it.

 

Correct. Dr Graham has received several honorary doctorates, all from above-board accredited institutions. He also has several earned degrees as well, most notably two earned degrees from Wheaton College.

 

Ah, yes, a good and faithful servant. While you may not agree with your dad on all things philosophical, I'm sure you're very proud of him, and rightly so.

While I agree that there's a problem with the IFB institutions handing them out, I disagree with yoru premise. If the person's honorary degree applies to that person's prefession, then he/she is entitled to use the title. For example, if a teacher receives an honorary doctorate of education, then that person is entitled to be called "Dr". However, if a pastor receives a doctorate in, say, music, then the pastor may not use the title. A pastor is most likely entitled to use the title if he receives a doctorate in theology, philosophy, humane letters, education, or similar degree.

 

Almost all educational institutions give out honorary doctorates. Most of the lads in the theological department of PBC were honorary DDs when I was there. We had two "earned" ones. One of my ThMs (earned) told us that a Bachelor's degree tells you how to study, a Masters tells you what to study and a Doctorate means you can teach. If a man has been in the minstry for 20 years teaching is he any less a Doctor than some lad who got his paper say in 7 or less? There are folks with earned degrees from even prestigious colleges are heretics so the paper means nothing.

Better a man with an honorary that is fighting the good fight than a degree from the creme la creme of colleges who isn't.

To get a secular honorary degree, you usually have to have been a big donor or they will benefit by giving it to you. Some do actually do it because the lad/lassie did something really great.

Billy Graham has many honorary degrees and at least one from a Catholc University. Now, that is what I call putting whipped cream on an onion. I would have refused that one.

I was doing some work for a different degree when the institution looked at my resume and decided to drop an honorary degree on me. I didn't ask for it and wasn't seeking it and I clearly state that it is honorary but some folks get a thrill out of it and will listen to me because of a honorary one that have no respect for my other earned degrees. So, it is a door like Paul's Roman citizenship. I also use PWT on my one card meaning Poor White Trash. I have eye candy for the folks who need that nonsense to open their ears and yet I mock it at the same time.

I tell people that visit the church that my name is Bro. Ron but I also answer to Hey, You and Dummy. Once a redneck always a redneck.

Even at IFB churches the pulpit committee is usually looking for a DR. It makes them look more suitable for the neighborhood if their preacher is a DR so it isn't just the preachers driving this mess it is the churches. I once applied at a church that had 12 members before I got my ThM and the lad said, you never went to seminary though I had 18 years experience. For the want of a paper that I could have gotten by the time I was 23 I was not considered worthy by that lad though I bet he may have only had a HS diploma and was considered capable and successful in his career field. Plus they weren't paying a ThD salary so they were living in a pipe dream.

If Lester were starting out today he would have a hard time getting a church even in IFB circles for lack of that whipped cream.

 

Bro. Roloff was unique. He was one of those salt of the earth types.

 

Maverick
"If a man has been in the minstry for 20 years teaching is he any less a Doctor than some lad who got his paper say in 7 or less?"
"
Yes. Having a good earned doctorate is proof that one has a certain skills and a systematic knowledge of a certain subject. 20 years of being a pastor means something different.

"There are folks with earned degrees from even prestigious colleges are heretics so the paper means nothing. "
"
Degrees are not earned by being orthodox, they are earned by proving that one has mastered skills and a great amount of knowledge.

And I basically agree with much of the rest of your post.

 

I totally agree and a Pastor who has devoted his life to his sheep certainly has these qualifications - ALL of them...

 

I Am Blessed 16
"ALL of them..."
"
To the contrary earning a doctorate in theology means having mastered a partly overlapping but different set of skills from the ones gained by being a pastor for a couple of decades.
There are all sorts of things a pastor needs to be able to do that he will never learn in university, but there also are all sorts of pitfalls an apperently successfull pastor without a solid university/seminary education can easily fall into, that are casually avoided by his better prepared collegues.

 

Can't answer for all of them but I do know for a fact that Sam Horn has a B.A., M.A.,PH.D. in New Testament Exegesis from BJU.

 

The idea of an Honorary Doctorate is that the person honored has the privelege of being called "Dr." for one day. The day he/she receives it. Only in our little orbit do the "Dr.s" ever use their title after that day. It does make us laughable in the eyes of those who know or hear us address "Dr. Smith" when the man hasn't truly earned the right of Dr. In secular universities it is rare for the Ph.D president to be addressed as Dr. They go by their name. Get your degree (through study) and then get over it.

 

Good Lord, that is narrow-minded.

It goes both ways. There are people with 20 or more years experience that outperform people with 2 or more master's degrees and doctorates. And there are people with only one doctorate who outperform many of their uneducated peers.

My current pastor was awarded an honorary doctorate; other pastors have come in and referred to him as a doctor, but I have yet to hear him refer to himself that way. And based on the IFB churches that I've been associated with in one way or another over the last 10 years, he's more deserving of an actual "conferred in lieu of" degree than many who bear the title "doctor."

 

I found this whole thread to have a very arrogant, elitist and snobbish attitude, but didn't say anything until now because it mostly took place 6 months ago.

But honestly, what's wrong with a subset of like-minded people getting together and, based on common beliefs and agreed-upon standards within their group, choosing to give a man a certain honorary title? Personally Ive seen it mostly bestowed on men based on a lifetime of service, showing wisdom through adversity, proving that they have skill and knowledge that ought to be passed on to others....despite the fact that they didn't write a thesis paper.

There is honor in a faithful life of service to God and God's people. And to just mock and sneer at those who "only have an honorary dr." does not in fact gain respect for yourself.

My current pastor also has been given an honorary doctorate. He doesn't call himself Dr.....and neither do we within his church....but Id far sooner call him that than some of those with earned degrees that I read on here at times.