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Note: I'm posting this with my UI e-mail. For some reason the
Vision is not accepting my adelphia e-mail.<br><br>
Greetings: <br>
<br>
As anyone can see from the column appended below, it is exactly the same
article <br>
on NSA's phony ranking that was published on New West. I've also
appended my <br>
first response to Crabtee, which somehow did not get posted. <br>
<br>
This is my second response to Crabtree. Given that it was posted here on
August <br>
7, there is no excuse for you or Courtney to be confused about its
attribution. <br>
<br>
Furthermore, where is Crabtree's evidence that Courtney "withdrew
his <br>
criticism"? These are Crabtree's words, which I translated
accurately as a <br>
concession. But there is no record of Courtney withdrawing or
conceding. The <br>
only time I remember Courtney conceding anything is when he withdrew from
the <br>
Vision because he admitted that he could not control his temper. <br>
<br>
Finally, I repeat the challenge of one of the commentators on my New West
<br>
article. Why doesn't Courtney dispute my charges against NSA?
Is it because <br>
they happen to be true? <br>
<br>
Nick Gier <br>
<br>
Greetings: <br>
<br>
A correction for Crabtree. My name was always on the article in
question (NSA's <br>
phony ranking), so there was no excuse for Courtney to level any charge
at all. <br>
<br>
Furthermore, Courtney has not conceded anything, because that is not
permitted <br>
in Wilson's "top male" theology. Only sissy liberals
concede or try to be <br>
intellectually honest. <br>
<br>
Crabtree, did you read actually the thread at New West or did you just
wing this <br>
one? It looks to me as if you did the latter. <br>
<br>
Nick Gier <br>
<br>
NEW ST. ANDREWS COLLEGE: AMONG THE TOP 40 BIBLE COLLEGES <br>
Radio Commentary for KRFP's "Morning Mix," August 8, 2006
<br>
Posted on Vision2020 on August 7 <br>
<br>
Moscow's New St. Andrews College (NSA) was recently listed among the top
50 <br>
conservative Christian schools by the Intercollegiate Studies Institute.
This <br>
institute is supported by the conservative "National Review"
and the right wing <br>
Heritage Foundation, and its evaluation of schools is based on faculty
and <br>
student self reports. <br>
<br>
NSA President Roy Atwood is now ranking his school with three other
colleges on <br>
this list: Hope College, Calvin College, and Aquinas College.
I submit that <br>
there is no comparison between these schools and his. <br>
<br>
Hope, Calvin, and Aquinas are accredited by the 1,303-member North
Central <br>
Association of Colleges and Schools, which requires all permanent faculty
have <br>
PhDs, while NSA is accredited by the 41- member Transnational Association
for <br>
Christian Colleges and Schools, which allows their colleges to get by
with only <br>
one third PhDs and the rest MAs. <br>
<br>
I have met faculty from Hope, Calvin, and Aquinas at scholarly
conferences and I <br>
have heard their excellent professional papers. Since 2003 I've
extended <br>
personal invitations to NSA faculty to attend our annual regional
theological <br>
meeting, but Atwood has declined saying they have "better things to
do." <br>
<br>
Calvin College boasts that it is the first evangelical school to have an
Asian <br>
Studies program. Hope College has three professors who specialize
in Asian <br>
philosophy and religion. Don't hold your breath for news that NSA
will offer <br>
any courses on non-Christian thought. <br>
<br>
Aquinas College even has a feminist philosopher on its faculty, but NSA
founder <br>
and senior fellow Douglas Wilson believes that only propertied males
should have <br>
the vote. <br>
<br>
A sign of a good college is whether or not other institutions would hire
its <br>
faculty. After teaching 30 years at Calvin College, Nicholas
Wolterstorff was <br>
hired away by Yale Divinity School. <br>
<br>
Here are some items where Hope, Calvin, and Aquinas fortunately do not
compare: <br>
<br>
•<x-tab> </x-tab>Two of NSA’s
senior fellows, presumably equivalent to full professors, do not <br>
have PhDs. Generally, a PhD is required at the lowest rank of assistant
<br>
professor. <br>
<br>
•<x-tab> </x-tab>Wilson's
brother, son, and son-in-law are on the NSA faculty. <br>
<br>
•<x-tab> </x-tab>NSA has
demonstrated disrespect for its big academic neighbor—requesting, for
<br>
example, that two UI history professors be disciplined for criticizing
Wilson's <br>
views on slavery <br>
<br>
•<x-tab> </x-tab>Most of NSA
faculty’s published books are from Canon Press, Wilson’s own <br>
creation. <br>
<br>
•<x-tab> </x-tab>In 1998 Wilson
wrote an article entitled “Why Evangelical Colleges Are Not.” <br>
The hostility displayed against reputable evangelical colleges in this
article <br>
not only shows blatant disrespect for these fine schools, but it
manifests <br>
shameful disregard for the entire academic enterprise.
<x-tab> </x-tab> <br>
<br>
NSA's true peers are not Hope, Calvin, and Aquinas; rather, they are Word
of <br>
Life Bible Institute, Shasta Bible Institute, the infamous Institute for
<br>
Creation Research, Messenger College, and Jerry Falwell's Liberty
University. <br>
<x-sigsep><p></x-sigsep>
<font size=2>"Truth is the summit of being; justice is the
application of it to human affairs."<br>
--Ralph Waldo Emerson<br><br>
"Abstract truth has no value unless it incarnates in human beings
who represent it, by proving their readiness to die for it."<br>
--Mohandas Gandhi<br><br>
"Modern physics has taught us that the nature of any system cannot
be discovered by dividing it into its component parts and studying each
part by itself. . . .We must keep our attention fixed on the whole and on
the interconnection between the parts. The same is true of our
intellectual life. It is impossible to make a clear cut between science,
religion, and art. The whole is never equal simply to the sum of its
various parts." --Ma</font><font size=1>x Planck<br><br>
</font>Nicholas F. Gier<br>
Professor Emeritus, Department of Philosophy, University of Idaho<br>
1037 Colt Rd., Moscow, ID 83843<br>
<a href="http://users.adelphia.net/~nickgier/home.htm" eudora="autourl">http://users.adelphia.net/~nickgier/home.htm</a><br>
208-882-9212/FAX 885-8950<br>
President, Idaho Federation of Teachers, AFL-CIO<br>
<a href="http://users.adelphia.net/~nickgier/ift.htm" eudora="autourl">http://users.adelphia.net/~nickgier/ift.htm</a><br><br>
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