Should Theological Education take place in the Academy or in the Church?

I found the following thought provoking article this morning, and it got me thinking. Read the article below and then (if you're not bored by it) come back to my thoughts below.

http://www.saet-online.org/theological-education-debate-wrap-up-and-my-own-02/05/

Being a seminarian, these thoughts have been on my mind over the last couple of years. I've seen students thrive in a seminary environment, and I've seen others lose their way. I've been encouraged to study God's word for His approval, and I've been tempted to compromise to please teachers and peers. If I've learned anything in seminary, its that all students and teachers operate from a set of assumptions and commitments. As a student in Biblical Studies, I've come to see that one person's "objective" conclusions will almost always fail to intellectually satisfy another. All teachers have commitments that are reflected in their theology and exegesis. Sometimes their commitments are to a particular ecclesial structure, and other times they are to a theological guild or group of peers.

I recognize that this also applies to me.Those who know me well, know that I hold my convictions confidently (and have at times been wrong). For this reason, I am not attempting to judge, but only to add my voice to the conversation.

All of this said, and while I think significant contributions have been made by born-again academics, I have my doubts as to whether the greater academy in its current state is leading people to a more faithful praxis of God's word. There are those scholars who seem to be "working to show themselves approved" to their unbelieving peers more than to God or the church (those people who are looking to them for direction and truth). This, of course, is not always the case. I know and have been discipled by scholars who have faithfulness to God's Word and the strengthening of the local church as their primary concerns. It is my prayer that God will use these, and those whom God is raising up, to bring about a reformation. My heart can't bear to see one more ecclesial tradition trade God's faithful Word for temporary, short-sighted, and misguided applause.

"All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear."

(2 Timothy 3:16-4:3)

None of this is new to those of you who read this blog regularly; I have said before that the Western academy needs a reformation. I don't think I have all the answers, but I do have concerns. I've opened up the dialogue...what are your thoughts?

God is God and You are Not: Simple Advice for Seminary Students

Seminary can be challenging (to say the least). From one student to another, I would like to offer a simple word of encouragement… God is God. Amidst all the discussions, lectures, and debates students can rest assured that God has not changed. Quite to the opposite, the Bible teaches you and I that: “Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever” (Heb. 13:8). While the Bible is God’s sure and timely word to every generation, teachers and pop-Christian writers are not. No matter how much academic pedigree a teacher might have, their assertions can and should always be challenged (if only in the quietness of your own study). Blog postings (such as this one) and popular Christian writing (from the latest theological treatise on God’s love to Beverly Lewis’ newest Amish romance novel) should be challenged even more. Every good teacher, writer, and self-opinionated blog author will joyfully concur.

That said, you are also fallible. Just as teachers must teach with humility, so also students must learn with humility. Most importantly we must all approach God and His word with due humility, for it is through God’s word and with the Holy Spirit that you and I can discern the truth from human knowledge.

So, when you hear a lecture or read a book that is propagating something you disagree with… don’t be discouraged; only submit these thoughts to God’s word to see if they are founded on Godly wisdom. In the same manner, don’t become a slave to your reason or pride. You are not God, and your thoughts are not His thoughts (Isa. 55:9). Only submit your heart and mind to God and let Him minister to your needs: academic, emotional, spiritual, or otherwise. Above all, never forget that though God is transcendent (in many ways) and unchanging, He is also your heavenly Father.

Give ear, O heavens, and let me speak;
And let the earth hear the words of my mouth.
Let my teaching drop as the rain,
My speech distill as the dew,
As the droplets on the fresh grass
And as the showers on the herb.
For I proclaim the name of the LORD;
Ascribe greatness to our God!
The Rock! His work is perfect,
For all His ways are just;
A God of faithfulness and without injustice,
Righteous and upright is He. (Deut. 32:1-4)

God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent; Has He said, and will He not do it? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good? (Num. 23:19)

“’ALL FLESH IS LIKE GRASS,
AND ALL ITS GLORY LIKE THE FLOWER OF GRASS.
THE GRASS WITHERS,
AND THE FLOWER FALLS OFF,
BUT THE WORD OF THE LORD ENDURES FOREVER.’
And this is the word which was preached to you.” (I Pet. 1:24-25; Isa. 40:7-8)

I'm Calling For A Reformation!

Many Western seminaries are having an identity crisis. Though the majority of students enter seminary in hopes of finding encouragement from their Bibles and passion for the gospel ministry, more and more are leaving discouraged. A smaller number are giving up on the ministry, having been convinced that their faith is no longer tenable (defensible).

How did it get to be this way? It is my belief that the modernism of the last century has paved the way. It was the modern age that convinced Christian academics that unadulterated objectivity (having no bias) was not only possible, but helpful. It was modernism that introduced the fallacy that scholarship is a calling to academics, but not to ministry. As a result a number of seminaries have come to employ ministry oblivious academics. Their teachings do violence to a student’s confidence in the word of God, resulting in people being led astray. In my opinion, there are two reasons this is happening.

1) The false belief that God calls people to scholarship, but not to ministry. In the New Testament there is no such position. The only time teaching is mentioned, it is mention within the context of the church (I Cor. 12:28, Eph. 4:11).

2) Christian scholarship’s (intentional and unintentional) legitimation of scholars who do not claim a saving faith in Jesus Christ. I have been reminded of Paul’s words in 2 Cor. 6:14:” Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?” What can someone who doesn’t claim to live a life in relationship to Christ and the Holy Spirit possibly contribute to the interpretation of the Bible? I for one, do not think that it can be done ( I do not mean to say that non-believers have nothing to contribute, or that God cannot speak to or through non-Christians, only that if scholarship is a ministry, then nonbelievers can no longer speak into this context. It would be similar to ordaining non-believing pastors or elders).

So what might be the way forward? Well, it is a long road ahead, of that there can be no doubt. It has taken generations to get us where we are, and it will take time to reform the academy in the ways it needs. The bottom-line is that Western seminaries have some difficult decisions to make and seminary students need to strive toward biblical faithfulness, even if their teachers do not.

That said, there are Godly seminaries, and even Godly professors at some not-so-Godly seminaries. My goal in this post isn’t to undermine a scholarly and well-informed education, but to encourage necessary boundaries. Professors I have studied under that teach scholarship as ministry, have played an invaluable role in both my academic and spiritual growth.

So, how do you tell if an institution has good boundaries? Well, checking their doctrinal statement is a good start. Here are some questions you might ask.

1) What does this seminary believe and teach about the Bible’s authority?
2) What is their primary mission…is it the preaching of the gospel and discipleship?
3) What institutions did the faculty come out of and what are the values of those institutions?
4) How committed is an institution to the ministry of the church?
5) If the institution publishes an academic journal, read some articles. Ask yourself if the articles strengthen or weaken the ministry of the church.

These are my thoughts...What are yours?

It’s Not About You (Even If You’re a Student)

"Christian schools could do their part to stop perpetuating the notion that what the world needs now is you sweet you. True, this ad is urging students to think of the world before themselves. But it’s hard to stop thinking of myself when I’m told that am unbelievably awesome."

It’s Not About You (Even If You’re a Student)

All Biblical Studies Students Should Watch This! 10 Lessons for Future Scholars from D.A. Carson

Watch Video Here

"Fight with every fiber of your being the common disjunction between “objective study” of Scripture and “devotional reading” of Scripture, between “critical reading” of the Bible and “devotional reading” of the Bible. The place where this tension usually first becomes a problem is at seminary. Students enter with the habit of reading the Bible “devotionally” (as they see it). They enjoy reading the Bible, they feel warm and reverent as they do so, they encounter God through its pages, some have memorized many verses and some chapters, and so forth. Seminary soon teaches them the rudiments of Greek and Hebrew, principles of exegesis, hermeneutical reflection, something about textual variants, distinctions grounded in different literary genres, and more. In consequence, students learn to read the Bible “critically” or “objectively” for their assignments, but still want to read the Bible “devotionally” in their quiet times. Every year a handful of students end up at the door of assorted lecturers and professors asking how to handle this tension. They find themselves trying to have their devotions, only to be harassed by intruding thoughts about textual variants. How should one keep such polarized forms of reading the Bible apart? This polarization, this disjunction, kept unchecked, may then characterize or even harass the biblical scholar for the rest of his or her life. That scholar may try to write a commentary on, say, Galatians, where at least part of the aim is to master the text, while preserving time for daily devotional readying.

My response, forcefully put, is to resist this disjunction, to eschew it, to do everything in your power to destroy it. Scripture remains Scripture, it is still the Word of God before which (as Isaiah reminds us) we are to tremble, the very words we are to revere, treasure, digest, meditate on, and hide in our hearts (minds?), whether we are reading the Bible at 5:30 AM at the start of a day, or preparing an assignment for an exegesis class at 10:00 PM. If we try to keep apart these alleged two ways of reading, then we will be irritated and troubled when our “devotions” are interrupted by a sudden stray reflection about a textual variant or the precise force of a Greek genitive; alternatively, we may be taken off guard when we are supposed to be preparing a paper or a sermon and suddenly find ourselves distracted by a glimpse of God’s greatness that is supposed to be reserved for our “devotions.” So when you read “devotionally,” keep your mind engaged; when you read “critically” (i.e., with more diligent and focused study, deploying a panoply of “tools”), never, ever, forget whose Word this is. The aim is never to become a master of the Word, but to be mastered by it."

This is why I admire D.A. Carson. Here is some good advice for those working toward a master's degree or a PhD in Biblical Studies.

http://www.desiringgod.org/resource-library/resources/the-scholar-as-pastor

Should Pastors Get PhDs?

I thought this video was thought provoking, even if it is a little reductionistic.I didn't know John Piper had a research degree, but evidently he has one in Theology/New Testament from the University of Munich. According to his curriculum vitae He was also an Assoc. Prof of Biblical Studies at Bethal College in St.Paul, Minn. before he entered the pastorate.

Check out the video, than leave your thoughts.

Should pastors get PhDs?: "Should pastors get PhDs? on Desiring God"