Comments on: Letting Seminary Doctrinally Change You

By: Tim Polley

Tim Polley — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 20:59:52 +0000

3rd year seminarian here, wanted to thank you for a well written article. Blessings.

By: “Seminaries & the Nature of Truth” – GoingToSeminary.com « the long way home

Tue, 29 Sep 2009 16:41:18 +0000

[...] This is Part 2 of a very unofficial series I’m doing on Truth and Doctrine. The first part went up about a week and half ago, and had some great feedback on it. This article is getting [...]

By: Nate Long

Nate Long — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 10:51:11 +0000

I definitely appreciated this!

By: Seminaries & the Nature of Truth

Seminaries & the Nature of Truth — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 02:16:25 +0000

[...] recently wrote an article about letting seminary change you doctrinally. In it, I laid out some broad ideas of Truth, [...]

By: Brian Schmitt

Brian Schmitt — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 00:55:14 +0000

Charles

The other 2 ‘comments’ are just trackbacks from other blogs linking to this one.

By: Charles Kim

Charles Kim — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 06:32:33 +0000

This isn’t a comment directly about the article, but according to the number of comments, shouldn’t there be 7 instead of 5? What happened to the other 2?

By: Jason Chamberlain

Jason Chamberlain — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 11:17:11 +0000

Thanks for this article. This hits home for me in a couple of places. I’m in my fourth year of pursuing a MDiv part-time (I have a wife, 2 kids, and a full-time job). What I’ve found is that my seminary has given me a framework to think through some things. My professors understand if I do not necessarily land where they do. I am not being catechized, but am learning how to think more deeply on various matters. We all agree that the Word of God has the final say, so seminary is helping me to think through the implications of that.

The other thing that seminary has helped with is to expose me to other ideas. When I wrote a paper on the Emergent Church I didn’t just read what Carson or MacArthur wrote, but I read McLaren. I learned that I disagree with the bulk of his theology, but I also learned to respect where he is coming from. Plus, I feel more comfortable disagreeing with him because I know what he wrote rather than what MacArthur wrote that he wrote.

I think many (most?) of us come to seminary expecting a rubber stamp on our current beliefs so we can get credentialed to minister or pursue further education. I’m not getting that, but what I am getting is so much better.

By: Charles Kim

Charles Kim — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 21:03:22 +0000

Really enjoyed the article, and definitely looking forward to the next part. I don’t know where you currently stand theologically and doctrinally since you weren’t too clear about that, but I do believe and feel that there should be at least some conviction in what you believe is to be right. I definitely see where you are coming from though, since I have taken the same classes as you. The bulls-eye and target analogy was a great analogy, but for me, it’s too pluralistic and post-modern. G.K. Chesterton said, “Tolerance is the virtue of a man without convictions.” It doesn’t mean I am not open to other doctrines and theology and hearing out other people. The Medieval Church history class and the current classes I’m taking now (Ancient Church and New Testament Introduction) is really making me sensitive towards other beliefs and systems of thought, but I do feel that there should be some sort of a stand in terms of what one believes.

By: Whit W.

Whit W. — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 14:53:57 +0000

Good stuff, Paul. You should really read N.T. Wright’s book on scripture. You seem to echo alot of his ideas here.

By: Tweets that mention Letting Seminary Doctrinally Change You | Going to Seminary -- Topsy.com

Thu, 17 Sep 2009 14:34:36 +0000

[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Chris Martin, Daryl Eldridge and Paul Burkhart. Paul Burkhart said: RT @WhatChrisLikes Check out this great article by @presbypaul. "Letting Seminary Doctrinally Change You" Good stuff. http://is.gd/3nBi3 [...]