Suggestion to Moderators

I'd like to make a couple of comments, respectfully.

I tend to agree with Bill Dayson. Briefly, it seems to me that the structure currently in place has worked pretty well. Honestly, I don't see any (I may be totally wrong here) discussions about the minutae of Calvin's commentaries or Arminius' thought on the main forum. I have seen one "creation vs. evolution" thing in the "off topic forum." But that's my point. It's in the "off topic" forum. I honestly just don't get what the problem is here.

Mostly, I see Bill Grover's joking about predestination with others who like to join in with him (sometimes me too). I don't understand what is wrong with this, or how it is different from a couple of computer geeks joking about macintosh (etc. etc.). If one is discussing delivery methods in a certain class, the issue of what computer one is using may come into play. Someone may joke about differences between computers. This should be tolerated because it does not offend and it is not totally periperhal to DL.

When an evangelical Christian joke comes up, or maybe a small deviation, I may not be interested in it, even though I'm an evangelical Christian. Does this surprise anyone??? I tolerate it. The utility of such converstions may come into question. For this reason, I guess, the administrators may decide for the separate forum.

What if I had an especially good point to make to help someone else out and I needed to use my Bible-education background to do it? At times, I like to draw on that to say something that, hopefully, will help someone else out. Do I need to create a separate thread in another forum to reply?

All in all, a separate forum may be decided on. If so, I'm still thankful for this forum.

Chris

 

Politics & Religion

The discussion of both politics and religion has started wars. It can be very divisive and argumentative.

So, uhhh, when do we get a forum for politics and religion?

 

Just because I might not have made myself clear in my previous posts:

(a) I favor any solution that organizes this forum in a more productive way so that folks can ignore threads that offend, or do not interest, them.

(b) I oppose religious censorship of any kind, even under the pretense of making the board more accommodating for minority faiths. There is a difference between being offended at how minority faiths are treated and being offended that a majority faith exists. While I am not an evangelical protestant, I have seen nothing on this board that looks remotely like religious intolerance from the evangelical community here--and I have no desire to shut up or shut out evangelicals just because I don't agree with their theology. If 9 people in a room politely express their opinions and I respectfully disagree without harassment, that is not an oppressive situation. If 9 people in a room are not permitted to express their opinions for fear that I might disagree, that is an oppressive situation. (Not that anyone has actually proposed this sort of thing, but I don't like the tone some of the posts in this thread--including mine--have taken.)


Cheers,

 

I agree!

For what it's worth, I totally agree with Russell. Let's add a separate forum for religious schools. People interested in religious DL will want to know all about TRACS, etc., others won't.

 

Re: Politics & Religion

I hereby amend Russell's original proposal so that we have a separate, single forum that will cover Politics, Religion, Sex, and Rock 'n Roll.

 

Then go ahead and set up a de-facto Christian forum. But for heaven's sake don't pretend that the new forum is a general religion forum, or that all discussion of DL programs concerned with religion must take place there.

If all discussion of DL religion programs is assigned to a separate forum, and if that forum is dominated by one single approach to one particular religion, then it will become much more difficult to discuss any other kinds of DL religion programs here on Degreeinfo.

The main forum attracts a diverse group of general readers. An overwhelmingly Christian forum would naturally attract Christian readers. So to insist that everyone else interested in DL religion programs post on the Christian forum would simply doom their posts to oblivion. Those who might be interested in replying probably wouldn't be reading the forum in the first place.

Do whatever you feel that you have to do. But please don't try to banish religion programs from the main forum. That would be impossible to enforce, and you would damage Degreeinfo if you tried.

 

Now might be a good time to mention that the decision doesn't rest with me--I served as a Degreeinfo administrator for its first few months to be sure everything was ironed out, but as soon as things got stable, I was gone. My writing schedule is way too hectic; and besides, the threads I would most need to watch (the occasional 140-post marathons on esoteric educational politics) would bore me to tears. I don't know how the current slate of administrators does it, in some cases. At any rate, they've certainly earned the right to make this sort of decision.

That said, how does "Seminary Programs" grab you?


Cheers,

 

Re: I agree!

What is TRACS? Maybe that could be the first thread in the new forum?

Let the learning curve begin!!!

 

And in the religious forum too!

The above post is number 666?

Whoa, this is creepy!!!

 

A bit of historical review is in order...

Those who have been around the nontraditional education game for a long time may remember when John Bear's guide included a section on religious degree-granting institutions (a phrase a choose carefully). After several editions, John (this was before Mariah was involved as she is today) decided to drop the chapter from future editions because, even though religious programs statistically interested the least number of people, most of the negative comments he received centered on the religious program chapter. (For those who haven't figured things out, most general readers are interested in business-related programs, not religion-related programs. But people, again in general, have much stronger views on religion than they do on business.)

My support of a separate forum for religion programs is quite simple: Much of the discussion that takes place in general forums is irrelevant. And many of the programs that are discussed in the realm of religion are not relevant to the general readership.

It is not a matter of discrimination against religion (or theology, for those who prefer to separate the two); religion-oriented programs are simply in the same category as, say, programs in information technology - another esoteric field that appeals to a specific constituency, and another field that already has its own forum here on degreeinfo.com.

For the record, lest anyone be confused by my flippancy and blatantly obnoxious sexual comments (not that I said sexual, not sexist) and indiscriminate use of obscenity designed to offend as many of the religious nuts as possible, remember that I am an evangelical - with publishing roots in Moody Press and Baker Book House and teaching roots in Biblical Theological Seminary and the Philadelphia College of Bible Graduate School. Frankly, I find the religious discussions amusing at times. They are not irrelevant to life, by any means; they are merely irrelevant to the central focus of degreeinfo.com.

Like it or not, kiddies, most of our readers are not looking for the world's first totally external RA/ATS-accredited M.Div. But because degreeinfo.com serves a wide constituency that includes not only evangelicals but non-Christians, there should be a place - a separate place - where doctrine-specific discussions should take place. Because there are people who are concerned about whether aspecific degree program teaches from a pre- or post-millenial perspective, focuses on evidential or presuppositional apologetics, or buys into evolutionary creationism versus the literal seven-day creation. It's important for Baptists to understand that they may not get their academic rocks off by studying at Southern Christian University (a Churches of Christ school), or that a Pentecostal may feel uncomfortable doing a graduate program at Liberty, or fundies at Oral Roberts U.

But religion or theology, when taken as a whole, is still an esoteric field. Ban it? Of course not. Relegate it? Not necessarily. But do understand that many of the threads that appear are irrelevant to the majority of degreeinfo.com readers. So let's give the kiddies a place to place, a place in which, when one signs a post "He Who Is," there can freely flow an exegetical hermaneutic of Exodus 3:14 (as if I didn't know someone would have come up with the Exodus routine when I signed the post - hell, that was my goal, to give Rissell and Bill G. their jollies).

By the way, you're all going to hell.

 

Re: A bit of historical review is in order...

..............................



Steve I , of course, knew your goal in appearing to rob the deity of His name was a just ploy to entertain. It was the high of my day. Even if I have seen you do it before here -(3-04-01 on Masters of Ministry)-, yet it doesn't wane in 'shock value.'

Probably I shock too easily and spout exegesis on the most trivial provocations because I am wallowing overly much in the more serious aspects of doctrinal inquiry. The last few days I've been reading the antenicene father's Christology and their tragic , in my opinion, subordinationism against which my thesis polemizes. Yet faithfully they expressed their views sometimes in harrowing circumstances, often in persecution . John 8:58 is sometimes therein mentioned. You know that verse, Steve, you mention it in the early post alluded to above. That's where Christ, the author says, claims for Himself the divine name in the Septuagintal translation of Exod 3:14: "ego eimi." His auditors wanted to stone Him for that claim. Those 2nd and 3rd century fathers sometimes died too for daring to apply that name to Him and for refusing the Roman deity. This was before Constantine eased the dangers involved in Christian confession . These are my present sobering readings and contemplations from which I'll elicit a chapter's premise hopefully.

But I know you were just kidding, and I appreciate you anticipating my need for jollies in your posting. Thanks for your support of a forum for religious schools. I promise never to be intentionally sectarian there except in jest. Thanks for sharing with us your wit,

 

I should add here that I can't imagine why anyone would have a problem with sectarian content--I can just understand that Degreeinfo's administrators might be a little reluctant to set up a forum that itself takes a decisively sectarian tone (e.g. "Programs in Christian Theology and Ministry"). It would probably open them up to criticism on two forceful (if mutually contradictory) grounds: special status to a religion or an attempt to ghettoize it.

I wonder: What would Brian Boitano do?


Cheers,

 

Tom by 'sectarian' I meant trying to convince someone of the truth of my position.

 

But why is this any different than a forum designed especially for IT/Computer programs? Or Off-Topic discussion? My original suggestion was merely an attempt at providing a forum for those who had special interests in religion/theology--no more or no less than the five forums we currently enjoy.

Bias, sectarianism and partisanship, I tell you. Those democrats are trying to reach across the aisle again.

 

I must respectfully disagree with Russell about a separate forum for theological discussion. If practical, I actually would prefer to have only two forums, distance learning discussion and off-topic discussion. If people want to skip a discussion because it is or isn’t theologically oriented, they can read the thread title and select which threads to read.

Personally, I have enjoyed seeing other types of programs discussed on the distance learning discussion forum, and have been able to share fruitful leads with friends who are interested in fields other than theology. For example, I have no interest in pursuing a degree in business. However, I find the discussion of business programs very interesting as they relate to the discipline of distance learning. Business is one of the few areas where we have professors like Andy Borchers and Gavin Kennedy sharing their valuable perspective from the other side of the distance learning equation.

So my vote goes towards keeping theological threads in the distance learning discussion forum. While we’re at it, let’s raise the bar for the level and tone of discussion around here. It would be refreshing if our discussion of higher learning were conducted at a higher level.

 

I must respectfully AGREE with DG1 at this point.

Kinda contradictory ain't it--Ph.D.'s who extol the virtues of higher education, while using the lowest forms of language.

 

Higher level? I'm already high church. Ow. Ow. %$@!*&% ceiling fans.

 

I do strongly agree with Steve Levicoff and others on the desirability of a separate religious degrees forum. Then I could avoid it as easily as I now avoid the IT degrees forum.

And while I was making changes, I'd toss in a new forum for degree mills and time bombs. Another topic of great interest to some and zero to others.

As Steve, one of the griots of our tribe, recalls, I jumped ship on trying to report on religious degrees after getting the most hostile and threatening letter ever (to that time*), because I had mentioned that a certain school was affiliated with the Missouri Synod Lutherans, when it fact it was Wisconsin Synod Lutheran. The writer, along with recommending various anatomically challenging things I should do, suggested that he'd rather be affiliated with Beelzebub himself than with the Missouri Synod.

_________________
* Surpassed a year or so later by a diatribe from an osteopath who did not like the way I had grouped the D.O. degree along with other non-MD degrees like podiatry, ophthalmology, and audiology.

 

...and so, how are those yoga classes coming along?

Keep it going John, we all appreciate it.
Jack

 

LOL

I would not be surprised if it had an incredable amount of traffic. I'm surprised at how much attention religious degrees have received over the last six months. Prior to that, I rarely saw topics on them.