Should
Seminaries Drink the Poison of ATS? by J. Parnell McCarter
ATS (the Association of Theological Schools) is a leading
accrediting agency licensed by the US Department of Education, accrediting US
seminaries, to entitle them and their students to take advantage of student
loans, grants, transfer credits, doctoral programs, etc. The website of ATS is at http://www.ats.edu/ .
I would pose these questions: would any thoroughly
Protestant and wisely governed seminary voluntarily put itself under the
“accrediting” authority of Roman Catholic and liberal pseudo-Protestant
religious leaders such as run ATS (see http://www.ats.edu/about/officers-and-board),
condoning in some fashion un-Biblical policies (see http://www.ats.edu/uploads/about-ats/documents/association-policy-guidelines.pdf),
placing the institution under un-Biblical standards (see http://www.ats.edu/uploads/accrediting/documents/standards-of-accreditation.pdf),
becoming subject to enticement in their un-Biblical direction, and joining a
network of Roman Catholic, Judaistic and other false
religious educational institutions (see http://www.ats.edu/member-schools
for the list of “accredited” institutions, a number of which are in Grand
Rapids)? Yet have not the NAPARC
seminaries done precisely this? How can the wicked religious leaders that run
ATS be rebuked if Protestant denominational seminaries voluntarily put
themselves under their guidance? Does
this not speak to the great sin of American-based Protestant Christianity,
compromising truth and joining in religious alliance with Romish
and liberal pseudo-Protestant parties?
Is this not why American reformed Protestants, seeking a church which
still fully subscribes to historic reformed confessional standards and more
successfully eschews such corrupting religious alliances, have generally had to
look to churches historically based outside of the USA, like the Free
Presbyterian Church of Scotland, the Netherlands Reformed Congregations, Old
Reformed (of the Netherlands), etc.?
Should not Protestant seminaries instead be beacons and pillars of
truth, calling those deceived by a false gospel to repentance?
Examples of un-Biblical policy guidelines as
found at http://www.ats.edu/uploads/accrediting/documents/standards-of-accreditation.pdf
include:
“Freedom has specific import in the context of a religious
confession of faith. Theological schools may acknowledge specific confessional
adherence as laid down in the charters and constitutions of the schools. A
concept of freedom appropriate to theological schools will respect this
confessional loyalty, both in the institutions and among their individual
members. At the same time, no confessional standard obviates the requirement
for responsible liberty of conscience in the Jewish or the Christian community
or the practice of the highest ideals of academic freedom.”
"Theological
schools should make serious efforts to appoint women faculty members, faculty
members from minority groups, and young faculty members so that academic
discourse may be broadened and the freedom to teach and do research be extended
to groups not now adequately represented."
Examples of un-Biblical standards as found at http://www.ats.edu/uploads/accrediting/documents/standards-of-accreditation.pdf
include:
“6.2.4
Schools shall give evidence of efforts in admissions to encourage
diversity in such areas as race, ethnicity, region, denomination, gender, or
disability.”
“4.1.2 To ensure effective growth of the collection, schools
shall have an appropriate collection development policy. Collections in a
theological school shall hold materials of importance for theological study and
the practice of ministry, and they shall represent the historical
breadth and confessional diversity of Christian thought and life.
The collection shall include relevant materials from cognate disciplines and
basic texts from other religious traditions and demonstrate sensitivity to
issues of diversity, inclusiveness, and globalization to ensure access to the
variety of voices that speak to theological subjects.”
“5.1.3 Composition of the faculty should be guided by the
purpose of the institution, and attention to this composition should be an
integral component of long-range planning in the institution. Faculty should be
of sufficient diversity and number to meet the multifaceted
demands of teaching, learning, and research. Hiring practices
should be attentive to the value of diversity in race, ethnicity, and gender.
The faculty should also include members who have doctorates from different
schools and who exemplify various methods and points of view. At the same time,
faculty selection will be guided by the needs and requirements of particular constituencies
of the school.”
Among the standards
are ones calling for “spiritual formation”, such as the following:
“A.2.4 Personal and
spiritual formation: The program shall provide opportunities through which the
student may grow in personal faith, emotional maturity, moral integrity, and
public witness. Ministerial preparation includes concern with the development
of capacities—intellectual and affective, individual and corporate, ecclesial
and public—that are requisite to a life of pastoral leadership. A.2.4.1 The
program shall provide for spiritual, academic, and vocational counseling and
careful reflection on ministerial roles such as leader, guide, and servant of
the faith community. A.2.4.2 The program shall provide opportunities to assist
students in developing commitment to Christian faith and life (e.g.,
expressions of justice, leadership development, the devotional life,
evangelistic witness) in ways consistent with the overall goal and purpose of
the institution’s MDiv program.”
“An institution
shall demonstrate that its students are engaged in a community of learning
whereby faculty and students have opportunities for regular and substantive
interaction; peer learning; development of ministry skills; supervised
experiences of ministry; and growth in personal, spiritual formation.”
“learning outcomes shall encompass
the instructional areas of religious heritage, cultural context, personal and
spiritual formation, musical arts, and music ministry leadership.”
What precisely do these standards mean by terms
like “spiritual formation” and “the devotional life”, and are there dangers
associated with these as they mean them?
I am not prepared definitively to answer these questions, but certain
websites (both for and against the concept) raise flags:
http://www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com/blog/?p=7733
http://standupforthetruth.com/2013/05/theological-seminaries-going-contemplative/
http://www.christianpsych.org/wp_scp/mindfulness-and-christian-devotional-meditation/
(see the comment of Dr John Stauffer, DMin February
21, 2014 at 4:05 pm :
“As a theologian raised in and
having recieved most of my theological and doctrinal
training in the