
Originally Posted by
DavidinKnoxville
With all due respect, I don't think he has "shot himself in the foot". There are plenty of men who have shelled out thousands of $$ for a degree and are not 'trained for gospel ministry". (Again respectfully) How can you make this kind of critque fairly without going through it yourself/evaluating several men who have gone through the course.
What I am saying is that it is an unnecessary hinderance to training to say up front that we as an institution won't incur any costs. I'm only working with 5 guys in my class, and the church spends money on them. We print materials for them, we purchase books to have in the library for them. These are basic necessary resources for good learning. Now, the cost is minimal, about 1/10th of tuition at a normal seminary. However, it seems unreasonable to make a rule for yourself at the beginning that you won't purchase anything.
I am making a judgment that only reading Hodge's ST (however good it is, and I do like it, own it, read it, recommend it), and writing some short papers on it is adequate training in systematic theology. It is a good start, but it is only that, a start.
There are a number of great resources, other writings that are available for free online. It doesn't take thousands of dollars to put together a good reading list for a course. However, to do it well, it requires some funds.
I'm not a fan of spending tons of money on education. I don't particularly like being saddled with hefty student loans after 4 years of college and 4 years of seminary. However, I do believe the training I received was worth it. Otherwise I would be selling my church short by getting second-rate training.
There is nothing inherently noble about being "completely free." Especially if you have to cut corners to do so. For instance, according to a recent PB poll, Reymond's ST is the best thing since sliced bread. However, it can't be used in the curriculum b/c it has to be purchased.
Do you want your pastors to have the best training, or the cheapest???
Would you go to a surgeon who went to a "free" medical school somewhere, or do you want him to have had the best education possible, despite the cost?
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