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Originally Posted by larryjf  I would not judge my pastor on how much he paid for his education. I would judge my pastor through examination of his knowledge, beliefs, and life among other things. |
It would help if you read the post as a whole to try to get the balance I was seeking. It's not much to ask to be read charitably, is it?
If you re-read my post, I think you would see that I agree with the statement quoted above, which was my point as well. Quality of training is the issue. Whether it is free, or cost $100,000, a man should pursue the best training possible.
I never said that as a hard and fast rule, "you get what you pay for." You can blow a lot of money at a lot of liberal seminaries and get squat. Please don't put words in my mouth! I am saying, that there are things that are worth paying for. As a presbyter, having briefly looked over the curriculum, I could not in good conscience recommend a man pursuing the high calling of minister of the word and sacraments to pursue this institution, because the curriculum is not adequate.
For instance, ST 1 requires reading vol. 1 of Hodge, and writing 19 short papers (500 words is aprox. 1 page single space with 12 point font).
So, read a book and write 19 pages, and you've completed a 3 credit hour course. I did more work than that for credit in college, much less seminary! At the bottom, it says, "This class is an indepth study of systematic theology." Based on my studies at WSC and WTS, I humbly disagree.
I have tried to offer helpful criticism to you as a man who serves on the "research department" that oversees this seminary. I have suggested you make a personal investment of a few hundred dollars to purchase materials that will show you step by step how your ST curriculum pales in comparison to others being offered. I do this because I care about the church, and about the men who are being trained for the ministry of the word and sacraments. You would send men to the Presbytery having never read Vos, Ridderbos, Berkhof, Murray, Kline, and others. Men need to be prepared to ministry in this current theological context, and need to be at least exposed to the various controversy's that are taking place today. I see no place for that in the TNARS curriculum.
There is a reason that I purposefully chose the name "institute" for the organization I started. I didn't want anyone to be confused about what they were getting. What I offer, although the lectures are ver batim from the classroom, is not the same as what a seminary offers.