<div id="RTEContent">The government is the one that decides accreditation. I think the government deciding who gets to be a pastor is a bad idea.<br> <br> -DJA<br><br><b><i>Nick Gier <ngier@uidaho.edu></i></b> wrote:<blockquote class="replbq" style="border-left: 2px solid rgb(16, 16, 255); margin-left: 5px; padding-left: 5px;"> Hi Michael,<br><br> I'll be happy to clarify what I met by certifying pastors. The process begins with a seminary education at an accredited seminary and ends with ordination within a denomination. The government would have no control at all. Professional agencies, not the government, license their personnel, not the government.<br><br> Let me give you an example. I'm sponsoring an Indian Christian student for his Ph.D. work. He graduated first in his class at United Theological Seminary in Bangalore (where I did research for my last two books), and he was ordained in the interdenominational Church of !
South
India. For two years running he has won two of the full ride fellowships at Iliff School of Theology in Denver. He is also going through a four year probationary period before he gets his U.S. ordination. <br><br> Good Christians want to make sure that their ministers are thoroughly vetted and tested before handing over the responsibility of people's souls to them. It's not just a matter of being hit with a bolt of what some people might be the power of the Holy Spirit. Alleged experiences such as these should be joined with proper theological training and experience.<br><br> With regard to accreditation, I wish the government did have more control, if my experience with the Council on Higher Education (CHE) is typical. It and the U. S. Department of Education oversee all accrediting agencies, including the Transnational Association for Christian Colleges and Schools, with which NSA was recently accredited. (What of course is
interesting, but not surprising, is that both Atwood and NSA attorney Dickison claimed that NSA was accredited 2.5 years ago.) I pointed out a number of problems with NSA (Atwood was on a TRACS tour promoting "trinitarian" accreditation while NSA was only a "candidate"; NSA's founder as a discredited scholar who and disses the UI, etc.), but the head of CHE said that she could do nothing.<br><br> There are many fine evangelical colleges and seminaries that play by the rules and traditions of academe. They produce many fine scholars and preachers, all with minimal or no governmental intervention. I meet their teachers every year at my professional conferences. Yet, Wilson denounces these excellent examples of Christian education as at least not evangelical or at most un-Christian. Shame on him.<br><br> I hope that answers your question, Michael. Now what about our debate on the problem of evil?<br><br> Nick Gier<br><br>
<x-sigsep></x-sigsep><div> <font size="2">"The god you worship is the god you deserve."<br> ~~ Joseph Campbell<br> </font>_____________________________________________________<br> List services made available by First Step Internet, <br> serving the communities of the Palouse since 1994. <br> http://www.fsr.net <br> mailto:Vision2020@moscow.com<br>ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ<br></div></blockquote><br></div><p>
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