I am in the position of having to evaluate the value of some classes taken at the Master's Divinity School. To me it looks like another online Bible school which while offering some decent classes lacks the substance for masters and doctoral level work. They appear to be totally unaccredited (a minus) but don't present themselves as accredited (a plus). They did manage to get themselves a .edu domain (under earlier lax rules?). I have seen references to this school in other threads -- and in particular some kind of relationship with Trinity Theological Seminary. Have any of you taken a class from them? What did you discover? Any other insights? Background? I want to be fair with the person being evaluated but I'm having a hard time getting excited about his transcipt from this school. Somebody please convince me otherwise.
I never heard of the place, but looked it up a little: Its owners is somethings called "Christian Education Enterprises". Trinity, also by them, culd be found here: <http://www.trinity-technet.com/> There are many estimations in pervious posts about them being degree mill. You could ask him about the kind of exams and course-work he had to do, and if he could show you some, just see if the requirements are graduate level : "In addition, most of their courses consist of listening to cassette tapes with no homework or research" http://p198.ezboard.com/fpastorshelperfrm8.showMessage?topicID=18.topic
Uff da! You know how Rosenius wrote "The Believer Free From the Law"? This outfit is the believer free from a brain. You want to give them a plus for not claiming to be accredited? For what pious virtue? Honesty? Then why do they lie about the connection to TTS, and vice versa? Why do they lie by pretending that this Sunday-school-outline-booklet crap is the equivalent of any degree at all, let alone grad degrees? There ought to be a difference between pietism and Schwaermerei, Boydston. These folks advertise only in the lower-grade sort of Pentecostal mags (not the better ones). That ought to tell you something. Set the obvious doctrinal unclarity of the place aside. Set the lies aside. Set the fact that no accredited seminary anywhere will accept credits from this sad outfit aside. Set the fact that no reputable seminary hires grads of this outfit aside. Set the obvious ploy of name confusion with John MacArthur's seminary aside. Set the entire regrettable history of the toledoth of Toledo Bible School aside. Set the comic-book curriculum aside. Accept this crud at face value. If worthy intention covers this multitude of sins of academic corruption, then ask why worthy intention was not coupled with basic discernment, which woulda, coulda, shoulda led to a choice of a Bible college, however undemanding, with some sort of accreditation (AABC, TRACS, whatever) or at the very minimum some sort of denominational supervision creating some sort of quality control. Claims of spiritual effervescence cannot cleanse the clastic flow of millist effluvium. Somewhere, Waldenstrom is weeping.
Just trying to be open minded and gracious. It's a very Swedish thing to do. So, what I hear you saying is that you have a mild distain for them. Since I don't subscribe to any of the lower-grade Pentecostal mags I didn't realize who they were targeting. I've noticed recently that their ads have popped up on the Christianity Today site. It sounds like my suspicions are are already your convictions. (And it sounds like you visited my website, too) Thanks for your helpful input.
Hi Boydston. Mild? Moi? There is, or ought to be, a difference between a fool for Christ and a plain fool. This makes MDS problematic. I have every confidence in your honorable and informed and, yes, gracious dealing with this stuff, and wish you all the best. Having been both assessor and assessed on matters of ministerial education and credentials, evaluation of them is a delicate and terribly important task, trying neither to let a mountebank inflict himself on the Church nor to extinguish a dimly burning wick or crush a pious heart. I'm glad you're posting here. Blessings on your work. Janko PS. It was reading Rosenius (first, a copy of Betraktelser my mother gave me, and then, explosively, The Believer...) that finally got my light bulb to go on, however dimly, on the Biblical meaning of justification by faith.
I personally don't have a problem with the fact that MDS is unaccredited, nor with their statement explaining why they have that status. BUT, given their TOTAL lack of any reasonable academic standards in their "degree" programs, their statement about their lack of accrediation IMHO becomes nothing more than rhetoric designed to disguise their own deficiencies. But I wonder what Uncle Janko really things about them -- he sort of beat around the bush in his comments, didn't he? mhl
Sorry...I actually took some time off away from the board. Heywood has been sent to the DegreeInfo.com recycle bin.
