Th.D., Ph.D., S.T.D., Rel.D., D.Th.P., D.Ed., D.R.E., S.M.D., D.C.M. What next?
D.Mn.! This new way for a seminary Student to get the coveted title “doctor” comes from the University of Chicago Divinity School.
The seminaries’ current din about doctorates stems basically from the irksome fact that the minister normally becomes a mere “bachelor” alter three years of graduate toil. At about the same time, his liberal arts colleague becomes “doctor.” Chicago and the (Methodist) School of Theology at Claremont, California, provide the most radical solution: discard the Bachelor of Divinity altogether.
Jesse H. Ziegler, associate director of the American Association of Theological Schools, says Chicago’s plan is “out of line with AATS standards.” He expects “very little support” for the scheme within AATS, which accredits North America’s seminaries.
Proliferating doctorates are “a major source of debate,” Ziegler said, and will be a top topic next June at the biennial meeting in Alexandria, Virginia.
Chicago makes no pretense of being different. A press release last month, elaborating on the program that began in September, said dissertations and foreign-language requirements were dropped because “the faculty feel that adding such requirements simply to make the program resemble some other doctoral programs would be inappropriate.”
Advertising posters sent to 500 colleges and prospective students use an angel sporting dark glasses (see below) to stress the in-ness of the ministry course. The text proclaims: “It is an honest-to-goodness professional doctoral program.… It is not the last word in theological education, it is only one of the first.”
Chicago also reverses the usual seminary pattern by covering culture and theology-in-culture the first two years (while the student earns a Master of Theology), then adding Bible and standard theology if he goes on to the Doctor of Ministry (D.Mn.) for another 2½ years.
Doctoral programs in seminaries have traditionally been aimed at future seminary teachers rather than parish ministers. Chicago is not alone in designing a doctorate for ministers, but other programs are within the customary AATS framework.
Fuller Theological Seminary plans to add, in the fall of 1967, a one-year Doctor of Pastoral Theology (D.Th.P.) course for students who have earned the B.D. Fuller, which first revealed the plan a year ago, deliberately avoids the “professional” label used by Chicago. It prefers to stress the “pastoral” element.
Fuller President David A. Hubbard said this doesn’t mean a functional, “how-to-do-it” approach but rather the classical view that preaching and teaching the Word is the minister’s primary job. Thus, the emphasis will be on biblical doctrine as it relates to the practice of the ministry. A dissertation in this field will be required.
The “crisis” philosophy of the dissertation-less Chicago plan is reflected in phrases from the publicity poster: “It is not enough to tinker or maneuver with traditional forms of preparation for the ministry. A thorough re-working … is required.” The B.D. program, Chicago contends, presupposes “a body of information” and “viable institutions” for conveying it. But the true professional must join a “radical inquiry” into such information and institutions.
Shift At San Anselmo
Theodore A. Gill went on an instant health leave from the presidency of San Francisco Theological Seminary last month.
Since “leave of absence” is sometimes academic code for “ease out” and the official press release spent 500 words talking about the new acting president, Arnold B. Come, there was speculation that more might be involved than what Gill termed a doctor’s “ultimatum” in a letter to colleagues.
But James R. MacKay, board chairman of the often controversial school, flatly denied there was anything behind the shift. He said that “we are eminently happy with Dr. Gill’s stewardship as president,” that the leave was granted “reluctantly,” and that Gill is expected back July 1. The nature of Gill’s illness was not disclosed.
There was a flurry of opposition to Gill’s appointment at the 1959 General Assembly of the United Presbyterian Church because he had implied disbelief in the Virgin Birth in a Christian Century editorial. Last spring, the assembly’s seminary committee heard complaints about a student magazine, Challenge/65. The committee cleared SFTS, and in July the school issued a report on the incident that was detailed and vaguely defensive in tone.
MacKay considers the matter closed. For instance, he said, no ministers have complained to seminary board members since the General Assembly.
Challenge included two articles by “homophiles,” some heretical poems (one had a chatty Mary who explained: “First, I’ve got nothing to say / About anything that happened / Before Joseph and I / Got married. / Jesus was our child, / Joseph’s and mine. / You can believe it or not / Suit yourself …”), and a sampling of modernist theology. Gill’s contribution was an essay in which he wondered what his 12-year-old son would make of Candy—if he hadn’t already read it. It was reminiscent of Come’s headline-winning testimony four years ago when he was a witness on behalf of Tropic of Cancer, which he said “contributed to a new freedom in American literature toward the very serious problems of sex and social conformity.”
Such goings-on have nettled conservatives. Another factor is finances, since SFTS has shown much greater deficits in operating budget and endowment fund under Gill’s presidency than the denomination’s other seminaries. Operating deficits in the past five General Assembly reports totaled $862,971. But Provost John R. Little said deficits are “a matter of definition.” He denied that SFTS is any worse off than the other schools and said “the seminary has never owed anybody a nickel.”
As for criticisms in the past year, Little said they have hardened support and attracted new contributors.
A Mississippi Seminary
A group of Southern Presbyterians plan to open a seminary independent of their denomination next fall. The locale is Jackson, Mississippi—in a state that has never had an accredited theological school.
Founders deny competition with the four seminaries related to their church, but there is an implicit challenge in their project, and the status of its future graduates in the church is unclear.
The new school, called Reformed Theological Seminary, has enlisted a faculty of eight (five full-time). The board chairman is the Rev. Sam Patterson, brother of “Jap” Patterson, moderator of the Presbyterian Church in the U. S.
The board has not stated whether it will admit Negroes, but its stand on Scripture is explicit: “This seminary is committed to the verbally inspired, infallible Bible and to the Westminster Confession of Faith.”
Seminaries Hold The Line
Enrollments at accredited seminaries in North America gained slightly this fall but failed to keep pace with the surge in the general population.
The 127 members of the American Association of Theological Schools currently have 21,529 students, an increase of 504 from last year (when 126 seminaries belonged). But this is only 809 more students than in 1956.
The AATS figures show a continuing dip in the percentage of students preparing directly for parish and overseas service compared to those who are working for master’s or doctor’s degrees. AATS attributes this to longer preparation for the ministry, return of ministers for specialized work, and growing interest in teaching.
Among seminaries related to mainline denominations, the three major Lutheran denominations posted gains. The two Missouri Synod seminaries, in particular, had a one-year increase of 174 students and recovered from a bad slump in the early sixties. Small gains were reported by United Presbyterians and the Anglican Church of Canada. All other large denominations declined.
Enrollment in the variegated category of independent seminaries increased from 3,252 to 3,416.