Showing posts with label College Accreditation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label College Accreditation. Show all posts

College Accreditation Should Be Denied To All Evangelical Institutions!

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Earlier I had called for ending college accreditation of Evangelical colleges that require professors to sign creedal statements. [See tag below]. Now I've got good news and bad news. The bad news is that Wheaton College Professor Larycia Hawkins, the school’s first tenured African-American female professor, was effectively ousted under a mutual agreement with school officials. The good news is that this incident is thrusting into the limelight calls to stop accrediting evangelical schools, something I argued for in my book, How to Defend the Christian Faith. Just read Vic Sizemore's article for the Humanist, The Case against Evangelical Higher Education and see for yourself. It's 'bout time.

John Schneider On the Accreditation of Bethel College and Calvin College

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Previously I've argued that College Accreditation Should Be Denied To All Evangelical Institutions That Require Professors To Sign Doctrinal Statements. Recently in response to professor Jim Stump's forced resignation from Bethel College over the issue of evolution, John Schneider, a professor who was forced to resign from Calvin College, wrote on Facebook:
Bethel is apparently circling the wagons and eliminating a hundred questions that create intellectual ambiguity of a sort that would sink their financial ship. I understand why they are doing so, but I also wish that the accrediting agencies would sink the accreditation ship for such schools. IMO they do not offer bona fide academic educations in key areas.
I never thought I'd hear a Christian professor say that. Kudos!

College Accreditation Should Be Denied To All Evangelical Institutions That Require Professors To Sign Doctrinal Statements

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Here is an example of why people subscribe to this blog. We consistently produce interesting discussions. Here is another one that I'm introducing today. We have addressed the problem with institutions of higher learning that require their professors to sign doctrinal statements before, especially here, but also here and here. This is a typical doctrinal statement:
We believe that the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are verbally and plenarily inspired of God, are inerrant in the original writings, and are the infallible authority in all matters of faith and conduct (II Timothy 3:16).
Evangelical scholars who teach for evangelical and other sectarian colleges must sign similar doctrinal statements every year. Some students are required to sign them in order to graduate, or so I've heard. Why do they need this if the evidence for evangelical and sectarian scholarship is there in the first place? Why are they needed if the goal is the search for truth in a world of religious confusion?

Evangelical backward thinking colleges seek legitimization. Gaining accreditation is one way to do that. So accreditation should be denied these colleges. Do it now! Apply this retroactively to sectarian colleges who already have accreditation. Colleges like Biola University. No, I am not kidding. The principle to be used in denying them accreditation is that signing doctrinal statements disqualifies a higher institution of learning worthy of the name from accreditation.