Dallas Theological Seminary

[StefanM]

My thought$ about Dalla$ Theological $eminary are thi$... it'$ expen$ive!

 

[PilgrimPastor]

My thought$ about Dalla$ Theological $eminary are thi$... it'$ expen$ive!

When I was serving a church in the Tampa Florida area as Associate Pastor, right out of the military, I got to know a member of the church who happens to be a very prominent man in the world of Christian Education, Dr. Ken Gangel, he also happens to be a former VP at DTS. When I finished the B.S. in Religion with Liberty he strongly suggested that I attend the DTS extension campus at Trinity College in the North Tampa area. They offer the M.A.B.S. which is a great 60 credit hour program that I really did want to do, BUT, not set up veterans benefits, which for a veteran with several months of GI Bill at the time was not very encouraging, not set up for students which for a small church Associate Pastor making peanuts was not going to work out, and the tuition is higher than Liberty's and other good local and distance ed options. Not to mention that the program required 3+ years of residency as at is in a modular format.

It really hurt to pass on the opportunity to earn a degree from DTS but God has been faithful and I have manage pretty well without that heaviest of ink on my resume...

 

[KermitDaFrog]

Yes.....

I think there is a lot of evidence that DTS has influenced the SBC. However, I think it began with the Bible Conference movement around the turn of the century with Scofield, Chafer, and Darby having the most influence. Most notably Scofield and his study Bible (for an interesting read, grab The Incredible Scofield and His Book).

DTS has influenced in at least a couple of ways. 1.) Men like Walvoord, Pentecost, Hendricks, and Ryrie have all had a great impact on the evangelical world...even more so than the average layperson would realize (since most would not even recognize those names). 2.) Also, if you look at virtually any major Christian univeristy, Bible college, or seminary, you will find DTS graduates teaching there. I don't believe you could say that about any other seminary. It's a testimony to the rigor of their ThM program and the competence of their graduates (especially in the languages). These are just off the top of my head! BTW, though I disagree with the eschatology of Walvoord, Pentecost, Hendricks, and Ryrie....I think they are all godly men who geniuses.

Is the influence bad?? I don't know that it is bad. The one thing that I see as a major problem is pretrib, premil, dispensationalists thinking that their views are the only orthodox Christian views. Give me a break!! It is insulting to those of us with more reformed views and also contributes to divisiveness in a subject area that tends to be more "sensitive" anyway.

Correct me if I am wrong, but I believe that DTS has many more progressive dispensationalists now on the faculty than classic.

As Rhet would say....for what it's worth!!

-Matt

Interested in this comment "Is the influence bad?? I don't know that it is bad. The one thing that I see as a major problem is pretrib, premil, dispensationalists thinking that their views are the only orthodox Christian views. Give me a break!! It is insulting to those of us with more reformed views and also contributes to divisiveness in a subject area that tends to be more "sensitive" anyway."

 

[KermitDaFrog]

Dallas Theological Seminary is The measuring Stick of quality in seminary education. Which major seminaries don't have DTS grads on thier staff (which they quickly & gladly point out). Where on this planet is there a better language study than DTS.
Poeple who ware pre-mil,pre-trib,and dispensational all recognize there are different points of view, we just don't agree with them.It is thier right to think and believe what they see as truth as it is ours to see our point of view.:godisgood:

Honest reply from this below comment I want to understand the progressive dispensational views at DTS, "Poeple who ware pre-mil,pre-trib,and dispensational all recognize there are different points of view, we just don't agree with them.It is thier right to think and believe what they see as truth"

 

[KermitDaFrog]

It would seem to me that once a person becomes a progressive dispensationalist, the only reason he retains a pre-trib rapture is because of the cultural pressure to do so. DTS' professors must be under heavy pressure to maintain a pre-trib rapture even though progressive dispensationalism would tend to lead one away from that view. If they were to change their view on the rapture, they would have to step down from their teaching position.

What change from the progressive part makes them lose a pre-trib rapture position if so that is terrible please comment on this.

 

[KermitDaFrog]

Didn't Chafer start the school as Dispensational School? If I recall correctly he is what some would call today a 4 point Calcvinist but had profs who were not Calvinist at all, so end times teaching was up front with him, I would say.

When I was in Seminary I had a professor tell me the last person you want to run a school is a professor, because they always want to put their print on it and prove they were smarter than the one who came before. He said with educators, you will have change. Again he said for the most part educators don't want to start schools, most of the time it is preachers and local people.

I wouldn't want a profs who didn't believe the first 11 chapters of Genesis either. When I was started collage in the 50's many of the SBC collages were taken in profs who didn't agree with them. Look at the amount of those schools that have gone their own way.

By the way the seminary I went to does not teach the first 11 chapters of Genesis as fact today.

What would a IFB dispensationalist have in difference with a 4 point calcanist dispensationlist besides bible translation regarding KJV?

 

[KermitDaFrog]

As for insulting those of a more reformed POV, I think it's worth noting when DTS was founded Princeton Theo was still going strong. Later, Westminster took up the standard. There are other schools of a more Reformed POV (Calvin College comes to mind). DTS was founded as the mainline denominational schools were slipping into or were in apostasy.

Interesting comment I should make a timelines for DTS based on this comment below "DTS was founded as the mainline denominational schools were slipping into or were in apostasy."

 

[KermitDaFrog]

All of this is true.

But is it really necessary to require a pretrib rapture of the church to teach at a school that accepts progressive dispensationalism?

Yes

 

[KermitDaFrog]

An institution without a common view can only graduate confusion. If the professor has a different view I think they should find a place when that view is accepted.

I use Chafer's Systematic Theology for one of my study classes. We take a volume each semester. I think it's a good basic outline and gives us a place to discuss the pro's and con's of his views. It's was what I used in the seminary and I think he did a fairly good job.

If someone is so concerned about being at DTS but isn't a dispensatlist or accepts when retire or graduated professor and student alike use their "experience" their as if their a expert to lead people away from DTS even though they went their for the Presteige being once enrolled at DTS brings them and will even lean on that.

 

[KermitDaFrog]

No problem, I take nothing here personal. I take it all all in the spirit of virtual fellowship. I used the extreme to set the stage and will answer your question YES.



Schools are designed for people that are learning and are less grounded in their belief. They are raw clay in the hands of the professor and should be treated as fragile. If we are not careful, A person at this stage can be made to an unbeliever saying, "they can't even agree regarding Jesus" or can become a Church leader who believes they can spit anything out they want because that's what they did at the school.

Schools need to be decent and in order just as a Church.

A school (particularly pre grad studies) should have A (singular) view and if you don't agree with that view then find a school with a view you agree with. The faculty should agree or at least be willing to teach the view of the school. If the view of the school is so far out of your willingness to teach then find another place to teach.

This is not a double standard, I think the same of the Church.

I would answer your question differently if you said a convention of Pastors but in the institution where we send our young in Christ, God forbid we expose them to confusion.

Scripture backing up what you siad good job:

"Schools need to be decent and in order just as a Church." (1 Cor 14:33)

"in the institution where we send our young in Christ, God forbid we expose them to confusion" (1 Cor 14:33)

"Schools are designed for people that are learning and are less grounded in their belief. They are raw clay in the hands of the professor and should be treated as fragile. If we are not careful, A person at this stage can be made to an unbeliever..." (Eph 4:14, 2 Cor 11:3)

"A school (particularly pre grad studies) should have A (singular) view and if you don't agree with that view then find a school with a view you agree with. The faculty should agree or at least be willing to teach the view of the school." (1 Tim 1:3, Phil 3:16, 1 Tim 6:3)

"If the view of the school is so far out of your willingness to teach then find another place to teach." (Rom 16:17, 2 John 1:10)

"or can become a Church leader who believes they can spit anything out they want because that's what they did at the school." (Rom 16:17, 2 John 1:10)

 

[KermitDaFrog]

Dallas Theological Seminary has affected all of American Evangelical Christianity. There is no way around that. Has their influence been good or bad? That is up for debate. I think of many fine teachers/preachers who have graduated from Dallas Theological Seminary. Men like John Walvoord, J. Vernon McGee, David Jerimiah, and many others. I think of Darrell Bock, a current professor at Dallas Seminary and a wonderful New Testament scholar. Therefore I would assert that Dallas Theological Seminary has had a positive influence on the Southern Baptist Convention and all of conservative evangelical Christianity in the United States (maybe around the world). However it has also had a negative influence. I think of men like Zane Hodges and Bob Wilkin who have also graduated from Dallas Seminary. Hodges taught at Dallas for many years and even wrote large sections of the school's commentary on the New Testament (The Bible Knowledge Commentary). Since I believe Hodges is a heretic who preaches a false gospel, his close association with Dallas Seminary is a problem with me. His teachings have infected the Southern Baptist Convention. Look at all the preachers who, in one way or the other, have followed some of Hodges' false teachings. Zane Hodges is the leader of the modern antinomian, easy believism movement. In my opinion many people will end up in hell because of his false teachings.

So my opinion of the influence of Dallas Seminary on the Southern Baptist Convention is mixed.

I also think they charge way too much for tuition, but that is just me...:laugh:

I will go look into this Zane Hodges so that I dont make a false accusation of abhorrent versions of the gospel of grace or two different paths of salvation in the church dispensation

Proverbs 18:13 He that answereth a matter before he heareth it, it is folly and shame unto him.

 

[KermitDaFrog]

Le Buick

Thanks for your charity. I still disagree that at a graduate school all professors must agree. Perhaps in the undergrad level it would make more sense to me.

All professors agreeing would work if the school ran like a church but to this day it's a non-denominational seminary I wonder if their a good dispensational seminary running like this?

 

[Mike B]

Welcome to the site.

Kermit, did you note that this thread has not been active for over 18 years?