Where Can I Find Info on Christian Schools?

Where would I be able to find information such as "Which Master of Divinity program is the best value?" Is there a forum or discussion board specifically for Christian colleges and/or graduate schools?

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Sam C
www.uci.edu
UCI 2002
[email protected]
Confusion is just the path to insight and knowledge

 

You might try Baker's Guide.

I think there's a more general graduate theology discussion board on the Christianity Today site.

Good luck!


Peace,

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Tom Head
www.tomhead.net

 

Thank you Mr. Head

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Sam C
www.uci.edu
UCI 2002
[email protected]
Confusion is just the path to insight and knowledge

 

You can just call him "Tom"; he's barely out of diapers. When he finishes his Ph.D., THEN call him "Mr. Head."

 

If you describe a bit more in detail what you're looking for, what your circumstances are, etc., we might be able to help you here.

You are looking specifically for a distance-based MDiv? Does denominational affiliation matter? What other sort of criteria would guide your search for an MDiv program?

 

Sam,
You might try "Walston's Guide to Christian Distance Learning" alongside Baker's Guide. The ISBN is: 0-9673435-0-X

Barry

 

I guess denominational affiliation does matter for me(I guess it'll matter somewhere down the line). I attend a KPCA church(Korean Presbyterian Church in America). I guess the closest equivalent would be PCUSA. My circumstances. After I finish up my senior year at the University of California Irvine as a social science major, I am tentatively planning on enrolling in a seminary program in Fall of 2002. Frankly, I am tired of school. I do want to engage in theological studies, but I fear that I might not be ready academically for seminary(at least traditional programs) and three more years of school. All your advice so far is greatly appreciated and any more would also be appreciated. Thank you.

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Sam C
www.uci.edu
UCI 2002
[email protected]
Confusion is just the path to insight and knowledge

 

Frankly, my main citeria for choosing a seminary program are: (1) Cost effectiveness i.e. not too expensive

(2) An M.Div degree that will help me become an ordained minister(PCUSA, PCA, or CRC).
I guess an ATS-accredited program is my best bet, right? Do I have to do an ATS-accredited program, though?

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Sam C
www.uci.edu
UCI 2002
[email protected]
Confusion is just the path to insight and knowledge

 

To further explain my circumstances:

Upon graduating from UC Irvine, I'll be $15-$20,000 in debt(from school loans). Talbot School of Theology is(I think) $21,000 for three years of study. Even as a youth pastor for a mid-sized Korean American church,
$35-$40,000 would be practically impossible to repay. (I know finances should not be the main concern of a prospective seminary student, but it IS a concern). Advice, please?

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Sam C
www.uci.edu
UCI 2002
[email protected]
Confusion is just the path to insight and knowledge

 

Why not consider the University of Global Religious Studies? I've never heard of anyone actually getting a degree from this, but its proprietor accredits it herself with her own World Association of Universities and Colleges, so it must be good.

Also, you could get religion degrees from her American World University. Such degrees HAVE been documented. The Web site for "Spiritual Healer," "Intuitive Counselor, "Energy Therapist," and "Animal Communicator" Elizabeth Severino reveals that she got a Ph.D. in Religious Studies from AWU. Not only did she pay them for her degree, but they also went, oh, beyond the call of duty and judged her dissertation to be excellent! What drew Ms. Severino to A.W.U. was that it had on its faculty the "spiritual healer" Ron Roth. Mr. Roth is a famous television quack. He's the guy with this massive 70s-style comb-over, if that calls up any images.

A representative of AWU in Brazil, Fabricio Boëchat, is, or used to be, with Brazil's Instituto Educacional John Knox, but unfortunately their site appears to be no longer extant. Perhaps the Brazilian government shut it down. It appeared to be a Brazilian attempt to cash-in on the "Christian" genre of degree mills. When I looked up the site's registration info, I found it to be the possession of a Brazilian import-export firm.

Still, Mr. Boechat has schemes to analyze you online. His Psicanalise Clinica now has two Yahoo Geocities addresses, one of which is apparently in Germany:
http://www.pagina.de/psicanalise http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Forest/3985/

Couldn't that be a kind of religious education, too?

 

This is a joke, right? Can I get some real advice please?

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Sam C
www.uci.edu
UCI 2002
[email protected]
Confusion is just the path to insight and knowledge

 

It's a joke.

I've been meditating on your situation, and there's another option I forgot to mention in the previous post...

The University of London External Programme offers a Bachelor of Divinity (B.D.) which, 100 years ago, was the standard ministry credential in the U.S. and abroad, and is (I believe) still the standard academic degree for prospective Anglican ministers in the UK (though they usually have to undertake an additional training program in pastoral ministry).

The entire program can be done for something in the neighborhood of US$2,000, and, as of this year, is available in three tracks: Old Testament with Hebrew, New Testament with Greek, and New Testament in English.

You might check with your denomination to see if this degree would go towards fulfilling M.Div. equivalency standards and, if so, whether it might actually be a better deal than the SCU program you were considering.

Good luck!


Cheers,

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Tom Head
www.tomhead.net

 

Wow! Thanks Tom!

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Sam C
www.uci.edu
UCI 2002
[email protected]
Confusion is just the path to insight and knowledge