I've said this before
But today I was exposed to just another reason why I see some sort of formal training for ministry as a very, very good thing.
Our professor, Dr. Chapman, put on his "critical hat" and challenged the view that Paul was not the author of the Pastoral Epistles.
It was a very interesting exchange in which he used arguments from the cream de la cream of scholars who would argue this particular way.
While some may say that it's silly to be exposed to this type of view and to read how scholars may question traditional views, it is also a bird's eye view into something that happens everyday.
Where?
Take any Philosophy of Religion class or Intro to Religion class on a university campus and there's close to a 100% chance that the students will be exposed to ideas and teachings about canonicity and authorship of the Bible that are contrary to how most evangelical churches teach.
Now, to futher compound this situation think of all the people who attend a public university, either as a Christian or a pre-Christian, then come to church with these things on their minds.
"Well Pastor XXXX, you said that Paul wrote 1 Timothy, but in college I was told that this was a second century writing and could not possibly be Paul's, who's right?"
How will you answer that?
Our professor, Dr. Chapman, put on his "critical hat" and challenged the view that Paul was not the author of the Pastoral Epistles.
It was a very interesting exchange in which he used arguments from the cream de la cream of scholars who would argue this particular way.
While some may say that it's silly to be exposed to this type of view and to read how scholars may question traditional views, it is also a bird's eye view into something that happens everyday.
Where?
Take any Philosophy of Religion class or Intro to Religion class on a university campus and there's close to a 100% chance that the students will be exposed to ideas and teachings about canonicity and authorship of the Bible that are contrary to how most evangelical churches teach.
Now, to futher compound this situation think of all the people who attend a public university, either as a Christian or a pre-Christian, then come to church with these things on their minds.
"Well Pastor XXXX, you said that Paul wrote 1 Timothy, but in college I was told that this was a second century writing and could not possibly be Paul's, who's right?"
How will you answer that?
posted by Bobby's blog at 3:47 PM
1 Comments:
Ah, back into the seminary semester I see.
I agree. There are too many lay ministers out there who aren't trained in this stuff. And when they come face to face with the tough arguments, they generally fall flat on their faces.
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