Question

Paige Patterson the current president of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary was once the president of SEBTS.

 

SEBTS does have a college that operates as on its campus, however. In fact they just changed the M.Div. program to grant advanced standing to Southeastern College grads.

 

The current president of SEBTS is Danny Akin. He seems to be a real down to earth level headed guy. I had him for two semesters of online theology. He always answered any questions I emailed to him. I was really impressed with how he handled the theology part too. He is a 4 pt calvinist and his good friend Dr. Mohler (president of SBTS) is a 5 pt calvinist. He would talk about how Dr. Mohler might look at an issue, or how he might look at it, or how another SBTS prof with a slightly different system might look at it.

He is also a great preacher (heard him at our state convention a few years back). I also heard recently that SEbTS and the Stephen Olford institute have formed a "partnership" to promote Expository Preaching amonth the SeBTS students.

 

The college on the campus of SEBTS is called Southeastern College at Wake Forest.

The partnership with the Olford Institute pertains to the D.Min only.

Dr. Akin is going to and has already brought great things to SEBTS.
The non-thesis THM is something that has just been implemented. All M.Div of SEBTS can enroll right into this program regardless of GPA.

Plus, SEBTS has the best missions department out of all SBC seminaries.

 

As a former student at SWBTS, I can say that it was never "infected" by "liberalism." If you mean, by "liberalism" that it wasn't fundamentalist, you are correct. It would therefore still be "liberal" by that definition, since it is definitely not "fundamentalist" in the sense of Independent, Fundamentalist Baptist fundamentalism.

I find it interesting that non-Southern Baptists like to join in the chorus about "liberalism" at the SBC seminaries, but, like their counterpart critics within the SBC, can't point to anything specific that was taught by anyone specific that fits the definition of "liberal." To me, classic "liberalism" would include the denial of Biblical authority and the deity of Christ, neither of which was ever taught at Southwestern. To an independent, fundamental Baptist, "liberalism" is allowing men and women to attend the same classes together, or using the NIV or RSV instead of the KJV in a Theology class.

Also, since I haven't been a Southern Baptist for a few years, now, I don't know what progress has been made in the seminaries regarding undergraduate work but I believe that all but one of the six that are operated by the national SBC body now offer undergraduate courses through a "Bible College" operation of some sort. I've heard several reasons for this:

1. Those who are called to ministry later in life, and haven't been able to earn an undergraduate degree in the past couldn't attend until after age 30, and then could only earn a certificate, not a Master's degree. Now these students can take Bible courses and continue on to get both a Bachelor's and Master's degree.

2. For convenience in location and for economic reasons, the Bachelor's programs at seminaries are less expensive than many state-convention related undergraduate colleges.

3. Declining enrollment at the seminaries in the past couple of decades has led to declining revenue, since the SBC funds the seminaries based on the number of students enrolled. Therefore, the addition of Bible college programs has stabilized the enrollments and helped with funding.

 

There are quite a few people within the SBC that can point to very specific cases (and people) who denied the deity of Christ and deny Biblical authority (at least in part), as well as many other heresies.
SWBTS was not as bad as Southern or Southeastern, but you are delusional if you think the seminaries were not tainted by liberalism and neo-orthodoxy for a long time.
This turn around has been miraculous...but I suspect you would disagree, since you are no longer SBC. I am guessing you have an axe to grind.

 

I do not think that that is it. In 1996, there were approximately 9700 students at the seminaries. At present, there are well over 13,000. Far from declining or needing stablization, they are actually growing. This is not meant to stir the pot; I just wanted to clarify.

Lon

 

The Seminaries don't get equal funding for those students who are working on the bachelors degree...they only get funding for basically half of the bachelors degree hours (If I remember correctly).

 

Yes, the seminaries are growing...not declining.

 

I don't know where you got your numbers from. But some of the professors I know say the enrollment is way down from what it was years ago. I think 1996 was a low. Dilday was fired the year before.

Are those numbers counting the students at SEBTS undergraduate college too? Are those numbers FTE or just numbers of students?

 

Can you point to any specific cases of liberalism at SWBTS?

I went to SWBTS and cannot think of one person who would qualify. However, there is one professor who is still there who claims to be in the conservative camp. Some have wondered about his ethics though.

 

The numbers are for all six seminaries, not just SEBTS.

The 1996 figure was from the Baptist Banner website. The current figure is from the SBC's website.

I do not know if it counts undergraduates or not.

On another note, I just want to note that this board is one of the most contentious that I have seen. It seems that people simply cannot stand those on the "other side." I mean this for all those on the whole theological spectrum.

 

When I was taking Christian Theology I and II online with SBTS two years ago, Dr. Akin said that when Dr. Mohler came through his theology prof. said something to the effect of "Let's get this straight, we're not going to have any talk of this bloody atonement stuff."

I know that is probably considered "hearsay" in a court of law, and I also know that it's at SBTS and not SWBTS but I think that is the "liberalism" that Dr. Bob was referrencing.

 

Nate,

you have once again hit on the problem we moderates have had on the seminary issue from day one. No one has ever actually documented, especially at SWBTS, "liberalism" on the part of a professor. It is always one of my friends heard, or someone said this professor said etc.

for once I would like to know, in context, what a specific professor said that denies the virgin birth of Christ, his death and resurrection.

Over the past 20 years I have know many of the professors at SWBTS, some of them personally. In all those years, I have not known one who was not a born again Christian who rejected any of the fundamentals of the faith.