What Thinketh Ye of Whitefield Theological Seminary?

I've wondered the same thing. Sproul has an earned doctorate from the Free University of Amsterdam (1969) and there is no doubt that he is a genius. I honestly don't know much about Whitefield, but I don't believe it to be a diploma mill. Perhaps Sproul is trying to lend credibility to an unaccredited school that might otherwise not have any.

Any other ideas??

 

It is an excellent school with rigorous standards.

And yes, i believe RC Sproul received his doctorate from there to lend credibility.

 

It looks terrific. I would earn a Ph.D. with them except that they are not accredited.

I'm pretty certain that Sproul received a Ph.D. for submitting one of his book transcripts. Can't prove it, but that's what I think.

I wonder if they could achieve accreditation. I highly doubt it.

 

I think the school wanted credibility.

Just speculation.

The school appears credible. I wish that it could be a division of Liberty University and be regionally accredited.

 

I almost entered their doctoral program three years ago. Family issues prevented me. Should the finances avail themselves, I'd do it in a heartbeat. I found the folks there to be first rate and the program seemed to be no cake walk. It was almost exactly what I wanted.

 

Heavens, no. There are some accredited schools that are atrocious. Union Theological Seminary might be accredited, but their quality? Please. (actually, bad example- with all their troubles, they may not be anymore). There are some non-accredited schools (Columbia Evangelical Seminary comes immediately to mind) that are sound in quality but because of their approach, will likely never be accredited.

Were Whitefield accredited, I think their enrollment would increase. However, I don't know if they would want that.

(The more we talk about Whitefield, the more I want to go in debt to earn a doctorate from there) :laugh:

 

Speculation

Yes, this is just pure speculation without knowledge and background. Whitefield is very well respected within conservative Reformed circles. Kenneth Gentry and other well-known Reformed leaders have their degrees Whitefield. I don't necessarily think that Whitefield needed R.C. Sproul for credibility within their ranks but Sproul certainly helped himself in his own circles with a Whitefield degree even though he may have brought Whitefield to a wider audience. BTW, the reason that Whitefield, along with Greenville Presbyterian Seminary and others, is not accredited is because they are appealing to a narrow niche of theologically conservative Reformed persuasion. Accreditation would actually mean a loss of status and standing. :smilewinkgrin:

 

Ask questions consistently

Why not? This is a strong base of support for Sproul and his theological views. Almost everyone agrees that Whitefield is rigorous and demanding. It carries great credibility in certain circles in which Sproul moves and draws support.

I know that you have expressed an admiration for Liberty. Can you tell me why the President of Liberty Theological Seminary and Graduate School, who holds the UNISA Th.D., has a degree (D.Min.) from Emmanuel Baptist University, a less than wonderful school whose credibility may be in question? Yes, Dr. Ergun Caner has a D.Min. from Emmanuel which was listed in his vitae within the past year. Since I have raised this question several times on the Internet, it seems to have been removed but I cannot say that I caused the removal—the web page has been redesigned.

Now, this is not a slam at Liberty or Dr. Caner but it is simply to illustrate that everything is not black and white. Life does not progress in straight lines and accreditation is not the ultimate benchmark of life.

 

Opinions are best grounded on knowledge

Yes, Sproul was looking for credibility and status within his own circle of Reformed scholars. Popularity among the laity is not the same as respectibility among theologians.

 

Questionable?

Whitefield considers itself highbrow Reformed. I doubted that they would be pleased to come under Liberty. They probably would not consider them scholarly enough and most certainly not strongly Reformed in doctrine. Did I read in their materials that they don't accept transfer credits?

 

How expensive is Whitefield?

 

Tom, I feel the same way. The focus of the seminary is almost exactly what I want as well. As a stand alone seminary without an impressive library, etc, I don't think it could achieve accreditation. But why oh why can't it be part of a university that specialize in distance learning?

 

Opinion? On what basis?

How large are the libraries at the University of Phoenix, Western Governors University, Capella University, Jones International University, etc.? All are online degree programs accredited by regional accreditors.

 

I was curious about that too. Tuition is in this document:

http://whitefield.edu/downloads/Administrative Bulletin.pdf