Answers to Recent Questions from Comments
BCS asked whether church "cry rooms" show disapproval for children:
I understand the thought behind this question, and I know of one local church here in Kentucky that actually encourages parents to keep their children in the service in order that the mothers might benefit from the preaching. So it's not unheard of to do this. That said, I think it's fine for churches to have "cry rooms." I love children and want them to be appreciated, but they can easily distract an entire congregation from the message. Better to avoid distracting a whole group of people than to keep the child in the service. There are limits to our tolerance of crying and all that.
CLB asked about a Reformed secondary school:
That's a fun idea. I suppose it would be pretty cool to have a Reformed school that would compete with the Grotons and Exeters of the world. So sounds like a good idea to me. It troubles me that Christian schools are known more for simple indoctrination than they are for teaching revealed truth and at the same time teaching students how to think and reason for themselves.
Ryan Hill asked about the state of Gordon-Conwell
Gordon-Conwell has a number of fine scholars, men whose wisdom and intelligence I have personally benefited from. I am thankful for the school's presence and am sure that it continues to turn out a body of godly men to minister in New England and beyond. But I worry about the school, particularly as I know a number of faculty members are egalitarian in their approach to gender roles. This is a deplorable accomodation to culture and one that directly contradicts the literal hermeneutic that must characterize any true Christian (much less a Christian teacher). Though I'm sure it's quite possible to get solid training at GCS, I would encourage students to attend Southern Seminary. Westminster is also solid and Master's is faithful.
Those are some quick thoughts. Leave me a question in the comments section and I'll try to answer it every couple of weeks or so. Do have a fruitful and stimulating weekend.
I understand the thought behind this question, and I know of one local church here in Kentucky that actually encourages parents to keep their children in the service in order that the mothers might benefit from the preaching. So it's not unheard of to do this. That said, I think it's fine for churches to have "cry rooms." I love children and want them to be appreciated, but they can easily distract an entire congregation from the message. Better to avoid distracting a whole group of people than to keep the child in the service. There are limits to our tolerance of crying and all that.
CLB asked about a Reformed secondary school:
That's a fun idea. I suppose it would be pretty cool to have a Reformed school that would compete with the Grotons and Exeters of the world. So sounds like a good idea to me. It troubles me that Christian schools are known more for simple indoctrination than they are for teaching revealed truth and at the same time teaching students how to think and reason for themselves.
Ryan Hill asked about the state of Gordon-Conwell
Gordon-Conwell has a number of fine scholars, men whose wisdom and intelligence I have personally benefited from. I am thankful for the school's presence and am sure that it continues to turn out a body of godly men to minister in New England and beyond. But I worry about the school, particularly as I know a number of faculty members are egalitarian in their approach to gender roles. This is a deplorable accomodation to culture and one that directly contradicts the literal hermeneutic that must characterize any true Christian (much less a Christian teacher). Though I'm sure it's quite possible to get solid training at GCS, I would encourage students to attend Southern Seminary. Westminster is also solid and Master's is faithful.
Those are some quick thoughts. Leave me a question in the comments section and I'll try to answer it every couple of weeks or so. Do have a fruitful and stimulating weekend.
posted by Owen at 8:34 AM
5 Comments:
Wow this blog is growing, questions and answers now, when is the web cam coming?? So we can watch our beloved blogger at work or maybe even have video blogging?? Hope this is taken in the light vein intended, but seriously I like questions and answers and am pleased to see this.
Without commenting on the answers directly, regarding a fine Christian secondary school getting recognition in the world/by the world, this is a somewhat questionable goal to work towards. Look at the homeschool movement, for example. Even secular people are doing this, with fine or even outstanding results, generally speaking, across the board, but the media and the public in general is resistant to change from the public school program.
Further, the amount of students going through such a school or even EU would be rather small comparted to the masses going through other systems. Will it have a major impact on the world? Hard to tell, and again, I don't think it is a good reason to launch such a program.
If anything, the movivation ought to come from the command to bring up our children in the Lord.
May He grant our dreams, according to His will.
Al (Not Owen's dad or that other "Al".)
In terms of secondary schools, I think the main limitations are: 1) money; and 2) primary education. Taking the second one first, having a high school that can compete with Exeter or Andover requires a high level of preparation from the previous levels of school. It's hard to get that without having a top-notch junior high or primary school infrastructure.
Money, lots of it, is necessary to get really top-notch teachers. Some of my Ivy League-educated friends went to private schools post-graduation, but only because they were VERY competitive salaries. That makes it expensive to run. You basically need some "old money," or pretty high tuition, to pay for it. And leaving aside the question of scholarships for poor students, it's pretty hard to get parents to shell out lots of cash for an education that is marginally more effective than their local suburban public schools.
I'll try to comment again when you address this specifically.
I think your points on Gordon-Conwell are good. I had a pastor who got his M.Div. there, and was very solid, except for his egalitarianism. It became quite problematic, especially when he basically had to switch hermeneutics for various topics without realizing he was doing it.
Would schools like Covenant, RTS, Toronto Baptist, or Michigan Theological Seminary make your list?
Hope to meet you this weekend at Third! My wife and I just started attending (last week was our first).
Could you please explain what you mean by a literal hermeneutic? Does having a literal hermeneutic preclude reading scripture according to genre, that is to say, with the understanding that apocalyptic literature is to be read differently from wisdom literature which is to be read differently than history? Also does this preclude sensitivity to the culture in which scripture was written and what the words would have conveyed in that culture? Also I using terms like 'egalitarianism' as a litmus test for solid biblical scholarship makes me nervous. But I get nervous a lot, I suppose. Also I would put Westminster on the top of the list since they are better than the Baptist schools on the nature of the covenant and infant baptism.
Owen...thanks for sharing your opinion about Gordon-Conwell. Hope you have a nice week.
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