Save Our Seminary
Click Here for the WTS Board’s Announcement regarding their March 26th Meeting
Westminster Theological Seminary has always been a place where historic traditions and cutting-edge scholarship go hand in hand. Christians from all over the world, and from many denominations, have been equipped there to bring God’s eternal word to a changing world which so desperately needs good news.
This is the WTS that so many of us have loved: a place where faithfulness to the Reformed creeds did not make us retreat from “the hard questions” of scholarship, science, and culture, but rather allowed us to embrace them.
It was a place where we learned not only from Owen, Murray, Ferguson, Conn, and Powlison, but also from R.B. Kuiper, Van Til, Bavinck, Ridderbos and Vos…a place where we drank deeply from the resources of the Reformed tradition—Continental, British, and American—without mistaking any one stream of that tradition for the whole river. A place where we relished delving into the whole Bible, because we knew that the whole Book told of our Lord and was meant for his people. A place where we could dare to follow Scripture and the questions it raised, even into hard territory unforeseen by our Reformed forebears, because our God was big enough to be in control. A place where our systematics, biblical-studies, and history classes enriched and enhanced our counseling and preaching classes. A place that offered astonishingly good news to all the nations. A place whose message embraced the rescue of the whole cosmos, the renewal of our cultures, and the healing of our most intimate human struggles.
This Westminster, which the seminary’s website and advertisements continue to portray, was a school to be proud of.
But the Westminster we loved is in danger of disappearing. It is being replaced by exceedingly narrow interpretations of the Westminster Standards, by an atmosphere of suspicion that stifles inquiry, and by embarrassing flirtations with a far-right-wing political agenda.
If you love this school, and if you want to save it, please read on.
What is going on at Westminster? Here are a few recent symptoms:The current seminary president was one of the keynote speakers at a Jamestown Quadricentennial “celebration” sponsored by an extremely dubious organization. [1] Both by his presence and his words he endorsed the undertaking, and yet Vision Forum, the host organization of this event, makes a mockery of much that WTS stands for:
- Vision Forum adamantly discourages women from attending college or graduate school [2] and from pursuing careers outside the home, yet WTS has produced hundreds of female graduates who now serve God’s mission in all kinds of settings.
- Vision Forum lauds America as God’s special nation, [3] and looks at America’s past actions through rose-tinted glasses [4], yet WTS claims to be a resource for the world-wide, nation-transcending Kingdom of Christ.
In these and in dozens of other ways, Vision Forum’s goals are the polar opposites of the seminary’s. Dr. Lillback’s appearance at this “celebration” (an event that received negative press in many regional newspapers and even national media) was hugely embarrassing for alumni and supporters of WTS. Because he is president, his “extracurricular” affiliations, endorsements, and writings are inseparable from the reputation and direction of the seminary. We are concerned that the board has not chosen to speak publicly on this matter, not even to distance the seminary from Vision Forum.
Meanwhile, the campaign against Professor Peter Enns’ book Inspiration and Incarnation undermines WTS’ claim to be a faithful-yet-cutting-edge institution. The book has helped many of us as we work with students and other laypeople who struggle with honest questions. It explicitly urges its readers to worship God for the amazing Scripture he has given us. It seems to follow in the tradition of Reformed exegetes who grappled with the latest scholarship of their day because of their convictions about God and Scripture, not in spite of them. It has been favorably reviewed by former WTS professor Tremper Longman III, and it continues the trajectory set by the WTS classic Inerrancy and Hermeneutic. And yet Professor Enns is being accused of everything from undermining the Westminster Confession to leading his readers into liberalism.
The Biblical Studies departments, which have drawn so many students to the seminary, and have given so many of us a renewed love for the Scriptures and their Author, may already be breaking up. Professor Steve Taylor’s departure, for instance, saddens all of us who learned so much from him. Can vital Biblical studies survive if all conclusions are predetermined by one narrow interpretation of the doctrinal standards? And if a vital study of the Bible goes by the wayside, how soon will biblical counseling and cultural engagement follow?
We are told that the current inter-faculty theological debates are meant to be private and in-house. And yet, “leaks” keep happening, in the classroom and in more public settings. Many of us who attended WTS in recent years witnessed thinly-veiled classroom remarks in which professors appeared to insinuate other professors’ beliefs were un-Reformed, naïve, or worse. Students see that there is sniping going on, even if the targets are not named. This breeds an “us-and-them,” fratricidal atmosphere, shameful for a Christian institution. Now, the board and faculty meetings may or may not be handled graciously; we don’t know because they are private. But what is publicly viewable certainly doesn’t look charitable.
In the October 2007 issue of the OPC’s New Horizons newsletter, a Systematics professor at WTS wrote an article on “How to Build a Doctrine of Scripture” that could only be interpreted as a warning against Inspiration and Incarnation. [5] (This article was similar to a paper read by the same professor during a discussion of Enns’ book at the Evangelical Theological Society in November 2006). Rather than admitting to a specific opponent, this article lacked any reference to the book it so clearly was disagreeing with. It appeared to follow the letter of the “privacy” rule while violating its spirit. Is one side in the faculty disagreements being allowed to sidestep the supposed confidentiality of the issue? It certainly looks like it. Of course, new theological proposals should be scrutinized and debated, but not in this odd, pseudo-secret way.
Many of us have tried repeatedly to address these problems, to little avail. Private conversations with faculty and administrators, verbal and written statements at our WTS exit interviews, letters and emails to board members and administrators, etc., have produced no publicly discernible change in the school’s atmosphere. While the faculty works out its theological disagreements, we alumni continue to receive only cheery letters from the seminary president that downplay the problems (while asking for our donations), while the current students have been told publicly not to concern themselves with the faculty’s internal debates (an attitude both impossible and undesirable, since teachers—and their firings—deeply affect the quality of one’s education).
If WTS continues on its present course, it may well end up as a tiny, ineffective institution talking to itself and hiding from the world. It may cut itself off from the living tradition that has nourished it, and from the larger church and world that need its unique contributions. If the decision-makers there continue to dismantle the Westminster that has meant so much to us, how will we be able to donate to the seminary, to endorse it, or to recommend it to potential students? We hope it does not come to that! We plead with the administration, faculty, and board of WTS to show a watching world how Christians behave when they disagree: not pretending that theological differences are unimportant, but not needlessly ripping the school to pieces, either. Surely Reformed orthodoxy can foster both stability and vitality.
In hope,
Justin Moore
M. Div. 2007
Associate Pastor, Peace Hill Christian Fellowship
Charles City, Virginia
AND THE UNDERSIGNED
How to Sign This Petition
Please sign this document, by commenting below, if you want to keep Westminster—not the narrow school demanded by polarizing factions—but rather the creative, Reformed-ecumenical institution that it has been and still could be.
- Copies will be sent to the administration, VP for Alumni, and board.
- We encourage you to add testimonials of how Westminster’s combination of creativity, relevance, and faithfulness—its willingness to face the hard questions—has affected your life and ministry.
- Please read the Frequently Asked Questions page carefully before commenting.
- Please sign and comment only once.
- If you believe that signing this document might threaten your livelihood, please sign it according to the following model:
- In the section that asks for a name, enter “Anonymous.”
- Enter your actual email (once you post, you will see your own email, but it will not appear to outside readers. we promise!).
- Sign your comment with a description, like “A PCA Pastor in Georgia” or
“A WTS Employee.”
This will ensure your anonymity but will also ensure that the number of signatories will not be inflated.
- This is a petition; all comments will be moderated. Adding a comment to a petition is signing in agreement. If you are not in agreement with this petition or wish to clarify or comment on it, do not leave a comment here. Instead, contact the moderators at contact [at] saveourseminary [dot] com.
- There is a FAQ Page that addresses questions, including what to do if you have a question or comment regarding the petition itself.
In addition to signing this document, please consider sending your own letters or emails to:David Garner, VP for Alumni Relations and Educational Advancement
(alumni [at] wts [dot] edu)Or to:WTS Board of Trustees
c/o Westminster Seminary
P.O. Box 27009
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19118
January 17th, 2008 at 4:32 pm
The classes I remember most fondly from WTS were the Bible classes. Doug, Pete, Mike, Steve and others guided me through the complicated and potentially disquieting process of deepening my understanding of Scripture and love of God. Furthermore, their classes continue to enhance my ability, as a counselor, to connect people to the story of Scripture and apply it to their lives in meaningful ways.
The Holy Spirit used these men to strengthen and deepen my faith in ways I could not have imagined possible. I am indebted to them for their godly, persistent, kind and patient teaching.
I would be heartbroken to find a Westminster without them and their thoughtful, Scriptural teaching.
Melissa Moore
M Div 2006
January 17th, 2008 at 6:17 pm
We alumni owe a great debt to WTS and to the instruction of all its fine faculty. I support this call for charity and openness in dialogue at WTS, with the hope that WTS will continue to be a place which both values its distinctive tradition and seeks to serve a broad constituency.
J. Rainbow
MAR 2006,ThM 2007
January 17th, 2008 at 6:36 pm
The Westminster I remember held its deep convictions with humility, with grace, and with compassion. I pray that those qualities will be restored.
Susan Wise Bauer
MDiv ‘91
January 17th, 2008 at 7:16 pm
The deep reaching biblical studies department is what has kept me (a Charismatic/Pentecostal Arminian) at Westminster. I am indebted to this faculty, and fear what Westminster will become in the absence of these amazing men.
January 17th, 2008 at 8:24 pm
I deeply admire the Westminster in which I studied: where differences of opinion could peacefully coexist and foster humble, amicable debate and progress. I’m saddened and enraged that this debate could be turned on some faculty and wielded into a witch hunt. I pray the institution realizes the beauty and utility in allowing the kind of academic freedom at a reformed seminary it had even only a decade ago before it makes decisions it (and we) will regret.
Justin Dombrowski
MAR 2004
January 17th, 2008 at 8:45 pm
The Biblical Studies departments are the saving grace of Westminster right now, the place where real scholarship continues, and the hard questions continue to be asked. These scholars are the best of what Westminster has to offer, the true continuation of the Westminster tradition.
With respect to Pete Enns’ book in particular, the kingdom needs his work. Here are snippets from comments made by undergrads I taught at a state university:
EXCERPT A: I am glad that I read Inspiration and Incarnation: Evangelicals and the Problem of the Old Testament by Peter Enns. I grew up attending church and Sunday school on a regular basis, but as I got older I began going less frequently and eventually stopped going entirely. I think that a contributing factor was that as I got older I learned about the conflicts, which Enns addresses, surrounding the Bible and Christianity as a whole. Instead of trying to work through the difficult and seemingly endless questions I just kept shrugging them off. I refused to engage in religious conversations with friends because I felt they were too fruitless. While reading Enns however, I was excited to learn about the interesting proposals he made concerning new ways of thinking about these frustrating conflicts. Enns was most certainly effective in the arguments he made and while I know it takes time for such ideas to be widely accepted it is undoubtedly a step in the right direction.”
EXCERPT B: “I have always had problems with each of the three topics Enns covers, and his text did a great deal to help me re-evaluate the way I was approaching the Bible. It also allowed me to take a step back and notice that I was getting sucked into the ‘evangelical vortex,’ as I like to call it, despite my best efforts to the contrary. Let me explain: I was not a Christian until the summer before I came to State, and one of the reasons was the other Christians I had encountered. They seemed dumb and ignorant, so when I became one I vowed not to be like them. In many ways I have succeeded, and in many I have not. But in reading Enns, I realized that instead of engaging the Bible and its difficulties, I had begun to accept the evangelical mantra of ‘it just seems like an inconsistency… one day we’ll understand… questions are bad…’ … So what does this have to do with Enns? Basically, his text helped jar me out of that complacency and it challenged me to lose the baggage of who I thought God was and who evangelical figureheads told me god must be and actually engage the text to find out who God says he is.”
January 17th, 2008 at 9:19 pm
I came to Westminster with many questions concerning the Bible and was thrilled to hear biblical studies professors like Professor Pete Enns and Professor Steve Taylor taking these questions seriously–questions with which they have struggled themselves. The fruit of their struggles has greatly strengthened my faith. In preparing to engage secular thought credibly, it is a great advantage to learn from men who are doing just that. I am disheartened by the prospect that future Westminster students may not receive the same faith-building preparation for dialogue with the world.
January 17th, 2008 at 10:17 pm
Years before I entered Westminster as a student I dreamed of one day studying the Word of God there full time. I have been an M.Div. student at Westminster for three years now and my life has been forever changed.
Three classes in particular opened up the Word of God for me in ways I never thought imaginable: Greek 3 and New Testament Introduction with Stephen Taylor and Old Testament Introduction with Peter Enns. These scholars helped me to see the glory of Christ in the Scriptures with fresh eyes. Their classes were faith-building and did much to draw me closer to the God of the Word.
I am deeply saddened by the trajectory we see Westminster going in. I am particularly saddened by the departure by Stephen Taylor who was a beloved professor at WTS. I have many fond memories sitting in his office and discussing Paul and life.
It is my hope and prayer that Westminster will change its course and be the place it has been for so long: a place of deep devotion to the authority of the Bible, the glory of the Triune God and a place of honest scholarship.
January 17th, 2008 at 10:28 pm
As an undergraduate I majored in philosophy and religious studies at a secular university. There I was confronted almost daily with the “phenomena of Scripture” and the hard theological questions they can raise.
The Westminster Biblical studies department gave me a theological framework wherein the phenomena of Scripture lead not to doubt, but to doxology; not to wavering, but to worship. Indeed, I often wonder whether I would not have left the faith were it not for the aid of Westminster’s Biblical studies deparmtent. As it is, my passion for the Scriptures and the staggeringly humble and loving King to Whom they attest runs at fever pitch because of the the Lord’s ministry to me through J. Alan Groves, Stephen Taylor, Peter Enns, Doug Green, Michael Kelly, Dan McCartney, and Tremper Longman.
It has pained me over these past few years to watch as a strange, hyper-sectarian breed of confessionalism has threatened the relentless devotion of these men to demonstrate through their lives and their scholarship the true meaning of sola Scriptura. I grieve over the departure of Professor Taylor and I fear to see what Westminster will become without him.
I pray that, as Justin so eloquently said above, Westminster will again be a place where the river of Reformed piety runs wide, deep and strong; where we, with unflagging intellectual honesty and personal humility, allow the whole Bible to confront us, whatever shape it takes; where we recognize and revel in the fact that, rather than there being but “one nation under God,” Christ has purchased for God with His blood people from every tribe, tongue, people and nation and that they all have been made a kingdom of priests to our God that will reign upon the earth.
January 18th, 2008 at 12:00 am
This deeply saddens me to read this news and the departure of Steve Taylor. The professors mentioned above (Doug Green, Mike Kelly, Steve Taylor and our beloved Al Groves) are the finest of our professors who challenged us to relentlessly pursue the truth with passion. These men held their convictions with humility and grace that inspired many students like myself to not give up amidst all the “weird” culture inside the seminary. I pray that there will be restoration and resolution in all of this.
Arlene Navarro
MA 2007
January 18th, 2008 at 10:09 am
Week after week I have watched and prayed. My soul is grieved at what I have seen. The faculty, administration and Board of WTS with advanced degrees in Church History, Systematic Theology and Hermeneutics, pastors, counselors and professors are failing miserably at keeping the 2nd Greatest commandment, “1st- Love the Lord you God with all your heart soul, mind and strength and 2nd-love your neighbor as yourself.” Our system of Doctrine can do nothing more than define what it looks like to keep these two which Christ himself said sum up the whole law. I pray for a mighty revival of our school,that God Himself would grip each of our hearts anew with the truth of all that it means to keep these two.
How can you train men to pastor if you fail to love? Is your heart so blind as to believe you know what is ‘right’ while you fail to love your brothers? Some gossip, scheme, bear false witness, some have a personal agenda and are content to destroy whoever stands in the way, some have been cavalier rather than cautious, many seek a political solution to a spiritual problem, or simply fail to pursue peace and reconciliation with vigor and passion. Is God glorified when men who think alike love one another…even pagans can do that, but unity amidst diversity brings Glory to our God.
Men of Westminster, REPENT. Return to the true Westminster Tradition of Godly Scholarship in multiple disciplines. Submit together to Christ your True Head. The way up is the way down. Run, don’t walk to the foot of the cross where you will find forgiveness and level ground from which the Peace of Christ can prosper.
-A WTS Faculty Wife
January 18th, 2008 at 10:11 am
Who’s right and who’s wrong are small questions. What gives life and what brings death are the bigger questions. God’s Word gives life and the way the Biblical Studies department opened up the Word and helped me to understand it for the past 4 years was life-giving. Doug, Pete, Al, Mike and Steve all had their own unique styles of teaching - one thing that they had in common - they taught the Word with humility, they modeled compassion and they knew their need for grace. In spite of having some of the sharpest minds I’ve ever seen at work, they knew they didn’t have all the answers and they helped their students to see that they didn’t either — an invaluable lesson for most who attend WTS.
Dave Braud
MAR 2007
January 18th, 2008 at 10:41 am
My wife and I graduated from Westminster in 1991. Afterwards, we left Philadelphia and traveled down to Virginia to plant a rural church. Over the last 16 - 17 years, we have worked to establish Peace Hill as a church that includes the liturgy and music of many different Christian traditions, but also as a church that teaches the Scriptures honestly. Inspired by the teachings of professors like Waltke and Conn, Groves, Edgar and Dillard, I have explored and taught the Scriptures to both the rural community here in Charles City, and to the community of William and Mary students who attend our church. I have also guided students, interested in theological education, towards Westminster as the best possible option for that education.
We have recommended Pete Enns’s book, “Inspiration and Incarnation” to those students who, in their Religious Studies classes, have had to wrestle with college professors who constantly attack the Scriptures and seek to undermine the faith of their students. Pete’s book has been timely and helpful, both to me as a minister, in addressing questions of Inspiration and also to the students who wrestle with this question. That the Seminary would fail to gather behind Pete in the face of attacks on this book is astonishing to me, but also suggests a view of Scripture that is magical and driven by fear, rather than by grace and a desire to honestly wrestle with the issues of Scripture.
Last year, I was astonished and embarrassed to find that the President of our much loved seminary was a keynote speaker at the Vision Forum Celebration held in our county. Although this was to be a celebration of the providence of God, none of the African American or Native American Indian churches, which comprise 85-90% of the churches in Charles City, were invited to the rally. In fact, the Vision Forum literature suggested that an alternative rally needed to be held that did not waste time apologizing to Native Americans for the atrocities committed against them, and even suggested that the Native Americans were happy to give up their lands. Together the African American, White and Native American ministers wrote a letter to distance ourselves from this celebration and from Vision Forum. A letter was also written to President Lilliback, questioning his participation in this event. No response was ever given.
I find these trends greatly troubling. Whereas, over the last 16 years I have recommended Westminster without hesitation to the students who come through our church, and to others, now I have become silent on the issue. I cannot recommend a Seminary where honest scholarship and leadership is in question.
We are a small rural and non-denominational church with no real clout. But let me suggest to you that my disquiet is probably representative of many pastors who have supported Westminster behind the scenes - men and women who wrestle with the pastoral issues within the church.
Rev. Peter J. Bauer
M. Div 1991
Pastor, Peace Hill Christian Fellowship
January 18th, 2008 at 12:51 pm
My reason for signing this petition is not because I agree with everything stated in it. However, I am signing this petition because I agree with the sentiment that the WTS that I attended–a school that found ways to respectfully hold in tension the Reformed tradition of Old Princeton and cutting edge biblical studies–this school is fading away. This creative tension that existed when I was a student was the most valuable aspect of my education. And now that this tension is disappearing, I no longer feel comfortable recommending students to the institution. I pray that the current administration and board will recognize the value in the tension of cutting edge scholarship and classic Reformed theology. WTS has always been the kind of institution that other Reformed seminaries have been chasing to catch up to. Why should WTS fall behind the curve now?
Rev. Matthew Paul Buccheri
Class of 2004, New York, NY
January 18th, 2008 at 3:10 pm
I look back at my years at WTS with great fondness as I realize how much my time there formed me into the person I am today and prepared me for a lifetime of biblical study.
It is with great sadness that I have heard of what has been going on among the WTS community. I also no longer feel comfortable recommending students to WTS. I hope and pray that the seminary will return to the environment that was so profitable for me when I was there.
Bradley Gregory
MAR 2004
January 18th, 2008 at 3:38 pm
What WTS gave me was an introduction to the richness of the Bible. Tools, really, with which to begin reading for myself.
Were it not for this taste of what the Bible is, and indeed can be, then I would not be able to speak compellingly to my postmodern and postchristian friends, colleagues, and parishioners in Austin about how they should have another look at, a fresh consideration of, the Bible, and Jesus, and at the Christian faith.
January 18th, 2008 at 4:05 pm
The Biblical Theology department has had such a profound influence on my personal walk with the Lord and the way I read Scripture. Without their teaching, I would not have experienced the richness and growth that I have. I would even venture to say that I used to read the Bible “flatly” before Doug Green, Steve Taylor, Mike Kelly and Pete Enns influenced me. I believe that WTS, the Church, Biblical Counseling, and missions NEED the interpretation that these men are inspiring us toward.
Pete Enns’ book so impacted me that I have recommended it not only to other “scholars” but to lay people in my church/Christian community. I respect Enns’ thinking as being very solidly founded, within the biblical bounds, challenging (in the best sense), refreshing, and HUMBLE.
Which leads me to my next concern. We as students are mature adults, perfectly able to think for ourselves. It is insulting to be told that the inter-faculty/board discussions and decisions do not concern us. To be deliberately left out, yet to see the ripple effects is disturbing to say the least. It speaks of arrogance. It’s also embarrassing to WTS as an institution. If the staff cannot learn to agree to disagree and to show grace, I for one WILL be embarrassed to consider myself an alumna of WTS. And should major decisions concerning the Biblical Theology department continue in the direction they are currently going, I will certainly hesitate to recommend WTS to those desiring to persue theological/biblical studies and training for ministry.
With concern and hope,
Lauren Viss
January 18th, 2008 at 8:03 pm
My time at Westminster was formative for me and deeply enriching in many ways. I cherish(ed) the healthy tensions—many of them inner-Reformed tensions—among the faculty and students. They helped us all encounter Christ in richer and varied ways, better preparing us for serving in a varied and changing world.
I am deeply saddened by what is going on at Westminster. I strongly resonate with what Justin has written. Somehow we have failed in our commitment to humility and to following Christ wherever he leads us. Somehow we are not exhibiting Christianity as ultimately about Christ and not simply doctrine, or being right. In our zeal to be right we are circling the wagons, narrowing in our conceptions of God and the Gospel, and contributing to a poisonous Spiritual atmosphere.
My wife and I hope and have been praying that Westminster will reverse this distressing trajectory. We pray Westminster will serve as a beacon for Christ and His eternal Kingdom amidst changing worlds. We pray Westminster will be a place open to being challenged, and helping future church leaders be challenged, by our Lord through His Word in ways that even make us uncomfortable. This is the Westminster heritage that drew so many of us and for which we are so thankful.
I hope we can repent and that times of refreshing may come.
Stephen L. Young
MAR 2007; ThM 2008
January 18th, 2008 at 9:27 pm
I have had the privilege of ministering at Westminster for nearly fifteen years. I have been welcomed with joy, shared in the homes of numerous faculty, and welcomed by so many others. I have always been refreshed by members of the faculty, the administration and the student body. Staying in historic Machen Hall is a distinct and unusual joy, actually, given its spartan feel of an older and interesting time.
My friends at Westminster have included presidents, deans and various faculty members, as well as many excellent students. I always wished I could have studied there given the superior quality of the education offered by WTS over the past 75-plus years.
But, very sadly, I must agree with the concerns expressed in this public document. It grieves me to do so but WTS is being taken in a direction that is not in the overall best interest of the school and the students who have profited so much from the school over the past decades.
When I thought of Westminster, in my early days, I thought of scholarship and deep commitment to the biblical text without identifying with the various movements in the wider evangelical world. Westminster remained one of the great places to get that kind of education without all the issues one encountered elsewhere. I fear that this will soon be lost unless the concerns expressed here are addressed. The loss will be great for the whole Church, really. Westminster has always represented a much broader Reformed constituency and this could now be lost. I pray it will not be. I urge all who love the school to pray and act in ways that will “Save Our Seminary.” WTS is not my own seminary, at least not “officially,” but I love it and long for it to remain strong in the ways that it was for so long. The polemical tone of the present will ruin the future unless the school’s real ethos is intentionally preserved.
January 18th, 2008 at 10:33 pm
In my time at WTS, my BT professors displayed enthusiasm in teaching the Bible, they expressed issues with the full conviction of biblical authority, and they encouraged students to live faithfully according to Scripture. The first trait made them good teachers of the Bible. The second trait made them faithful teachers of the Bible. To have all three is a rarity in the seminary world that made it a pleasure to attend class.
It saddens me that some members of the WTS community feel as though the appropriate response to disagreement is paranoia. I pray for unity and for humility.
January 19th, 2008 at 12:23 pm
I did not personally attend WTS, but many loved ones have studied there. I have grown to love and deeply respect what Westminster represents and teaches. I am very saddened to hear about the current problems at WTS. I sign this to defend the seminary that I have known and loved, even if not a student myself. With my prayers,
erica brown
January 19th, 2008 at 3:04 pm
The mere fact that I feel the need to post this anonymously is a sign of how bad things have become. I post anonymously, not because I do not feel strongly about both the content of Justin’s letter and of my own post, but because I fear the retribution that could possibly occur on behalf of my support of this site.
Nevertheless, I want to post a comment because I want the board and administration at WTS to know that what is going on within certain pockets of our faculty is neither in keeping with the heritage of our school nor with the teachings of Scripture.
Westminster has always been known for its creative, innovative Biblical studies department which stands both within the Reformed tradition and up to speed with the developments within academia. That is the reason I came to study at WTS: I wanted a thoroughly academic education from a Reformed perspective. This type of education would best prepare both a pastor and a scholar: a pastor because he would be up to speed with the developments in our current context and be able to handle them from a Reformed perspective, and a scholar because he or she has been taught what has been developing within the wider academic community and has learned how to deal with that data from a Reformed perspective.
This is what the Biblical studies department at Westminster stands for. Vigorous academics from a decidedly Reformed perspective. They are seeking to answer the questions that the world is asking. And they answer those questions creatively and honestly from a Reformed viewpoint.
God has used Peter Enns, Stephen Taylor, Doug Green, and Mike Kelly ENORMOUSLY in my life. I am completely convinced that if it were not for the Spirit working through these men’s honest scholarship and Reformed commitments, I would no longer count myself with evangelicals, much less conservative Presbyterianism.
The irony in the situation is that those members of the faculty who cry “foul” on these men and revert to a narrow reading of the Confession are actually out of line with the heritage of the Reformed world in general and Westminster in particular. The Reformed world has always been reforming itself in the way it is expressed in each context. Westminster has always progressed and expressed itself in terms of the current debates of its time. This is as true of Machen and Van Til as it is of Peter Enns and Michael Kelly. These men, the Biblical studies department, are the ones who are carrying on the legacy that they inherited from both the Reformed tradition and the faculty members before them.
Because of these things, I find it completely unScriptural to hear underhanded comments from faculty members who are in disagreement with these men. If there is a disagreement, then why can we not simply talk about things openly? Are we that insecure in our beliefs that we cannot be approached with arguments against them? Is that honest scholarship? Or are we so arrogant as to believe that we have God completely figured out that we simply write off those who disagree as “unconfessional”? Is that Biblical Christianity?
I urge “the powers that be” to please consider the future of Westminster and of the Reformed world. If we bury our heads in the sand because a group of men got together in 1646 and figured everything out for us, thereby rendering all further examinations of Scripture and progress in dealing with the data irrelevant, then our faith is not only the most arrogant and unbiblical of all, but also the most self-deceived.
We need these men. They are God’s gift to the church and to our seminary.
January 19th, 2008 at 3:18 pm
My time at WTS was as exhilarating as it was challenging. In my time just before coming to seminary I was told to be careful not to allow the Bible to become a textbook; that approaching my faith from an academic perspective could damage my relationship with God. To my great joy my time at WTS was the complete opposite. I found my professors’ faith to be deep and enriching to my own, and the content of many, if not all, of my classes led me to deeper and deeper levels of awe and praise for my God and Savior.
I came to love Systematic Theology from Prof. Gaffin and learned for the first time what Biblical Theology was from Profs. Taylor, Enns, Groves, Green, Kelly and others. Over time I came to take pride in my school because it seemed a unique environment where deep historical faith was wed with cutting edge scholarship. I thank God for my time at WTS.
It is with great sadness that I have heard of what has been going on in the WTS community. If this trend continues I fear I also will no longer be able to recommend men and women to WTS. I hope and pray that the seminary will return to the environment that has made it such a blessing to God’s people and the nations.
Matthew Armstrong
MDiv 2006
January 19th, 2008 at 5:00 pm
As a staff member I do not dare sign my name, however I laud this effort of yours. Last year we were interviewed by board members to voice our concerns and a letter was compiled and brought to the president’s attention. As a result the president was invited to stay on as president for as long as he would like. Go figure. We were shocked and saddened that this effort on our behalf and on behalf of the board members who were willing to listen to us, was clearly a wasted effort. How could this have happened? Everyone wonders, nobody knows.
I pray daily for this seminary that I have loved for many years. And I pray now that what you have begun, will accomplish something. Something must. Somebody has to listen.
Thank you, and know that you are not alone, we are all behind you.
Blessings,
A frightened staff member
January 19th, 2008 at 6:28 pm
I do not regret coming to Westminster, and I would like to keep it that way. I moved my family hundreds of miles to this place because I felt that this was one of the few institutions that concretely sought to be faithful to the Word of God while having an appropriate regard for its theological heritage.
For some time I thought that this was the case until I began to hear (and hear of) WTS professors openly countering Pete Enns’ book, I&I, both in class and abroad at scholarly venues. In the cases that I witnessed, they never mentioned Pete or his book by name, but the insinuation was clear enough to evoke questions from a number of students about Pete’s work specifically. Though these questions were rightfully side-stepped, the message was clear.
I was greatly saddened by these events because What I see in the WTS Bible faculty is the best of the Westminster tradition - to face the hard questions (old and new) with honesty, integrity, humility, and compassion; and to create “specialists” of the Bible with an unwavering confidence that a broad, well-informed knowledge of the Reformed tradition is the most productive environment for such an endeavor. Are these not what the Lord has asked of
Westminster?
The internal attacks on Pete’s work, and the loss of Stephen Taylor are ominous enough that I believe it will not only affect enrollment, but the current student body as well. I can say for myself that if this controversy precipitates into a further change in the Bible faculty’s trajectory, I will continue to follow my commitment to sound teaching and transfer to another school regardless of the financial and temporal losses I risk.
My prayer is, and will continue to be, that the Lord’s wisdom and presence will rest upon the board, administration, faculty, and the rest of the Westminster community of which I am a part. May we all follow the Lord together and love one another even if differences lead us to other places.
With Sadness and Hope,
A current WTS Student and aspiring scholar
January 19th, 2008 at 6:53 pm
What happened to the old Westminster I knew and loved? “New Westminster” reeks of a strange brew of tidy-minded confessionalist extremism and the cult of Christian America. While I have great respect for the biblical studies faculty members mentioned above, I regard the current environment of the seminary as toxic to the soul and I can no longer encourage students to consider Westminster as a serious place for theological study and spiritual formation. I sincerely hope that the board will take steps to restore that which is best in the tradition of Westminster before it is too late.
Scot Sherman
M.Div. 1989
Teaching Pastor
City Church of San Francisco
January 19th, 2008 at 8:09 pm
Not having been party to the alleged rifts in the faculty taking place behind not-so-closed doors I can only express here my prayer that uncharitableness and an unwillingness to engage in academic discourse without recourse to political conniving are not truly characterizing the landscape of WTS.
As anyone who knows anything about WTS knows, it was born in theological conflict and has never been a characterized by an unwillingness to confront doctrinal error even among its own non-liberaliizing co-religionists It has, however, in my opinion, shown a reluctance to draw the borders of confessing Reformed and Presbyterian theologians too narrowly. The fact that Machen, Van Til and MacRae were seminal faculty is proof enough. That Van Til felt safe enough to take on Warfield is also instructive.
I would be concerned if I ever received the impression that Pete Enns, Steve Taylor or any of the Biblical Studies ever showed evidence in their classes or in personal discussion that they were out of accord with the doctrinal standards of the seminary or sliding down the slope of liberalism. The opposite was the case however. I am as grateful to God for his gracious preservation of my faith through the writings, counsel and lectures of Enns and Taylor as He has through the work of Gaffin and Oliphint. I am as indebted to Enns and Taylor for equipping me with a robust orthodoxy and in helping me discard my un-Reformed view of the Bible as I am to Gaffin for introducing me to the world of Calvin, Van Til and Bavinck, and as I am to Oliphint for instilling in me a keen desire to guard the distinction between Creator and creature in my theologizing.
Differences were apparent, but I found no small ammount of overlap between the way Enns and Taylor taught me to approach Scripture and the tradition Gaffin introduced me to in ST 101 through readings of Murray, Young, Van Til, Bavinck and Calvin.
Later, when studying at Union Theological Seminary in NY, I easily landed on the sturdy orthodox principles taught me by my beloved WTS faculty from each department and I would have been much the worse of if I had not benefited from them all. The real liberal ways of handling Scripture I encountered there could never be confused with, nor could they compete for my affection with, the strong, Biblical and Reformed doctrine of Scripture handed down to me by Enns, Taylor and Gaffin and I will never understand these men, as I have known them, unable to work together for the Lord.
January 19th, 2008 at 8:10 pm
I was a student when Ray Dillard died, and I remember Clair Davis telling us in class the next week how thankful he was for the unity and mutual support among the faculty, and for the fact that WTS was a place free from the kind of political maneuvering among the faculty and administration that might be expected after a leading faculty member has passed away. I don’t know much about the specific developments and shifts that have taken place recently, but I deeply mourn the loss of unity that Dr. Davis rejoiced in.
Todd R. Harris
MDiv 1995
January 20th, 2008 at 6:25 pm
I too echo the sentiments of previous signers. My experience at WTS would not have been even remotely as valuable without ALL of the professors from EVERY department, who each contributed to my spiritual growth in a unique manner.
I am saddened to hear of Lillback’s support of Vision Forum, an organization which I find to be unbiblical in many ways. But I am even more disappointed to hear that there is division amongst the faculty, which is clearly hurting so many.
I was privileged to be a student during the time when Manny Ortiz was installed as a professor. Harvie Conn gave a charge to Manny; and the memory of his message still brings tears to my eyes. Speaking as a student, Harvie repeatedly implored Manny, as well as all those faculty present, “Please sirs, I want to see Jesus.” I implore all of you still at WTS to take Harvie’s words to heart.
Gail Carter Brown
MAR 1996, MDiv 1998
January 21st, 2008 at 11:10 am
The inability to trust one another, working hard for an increase in wisdom, is deplorable. During my short time at WTS a few years ago, I learned much from many of you (professors and other faculty)–from both “sides.” I pray for the seminary frequently and hope that I can once again recommend it to friends.
January 21st, 2008 at 12:55 pm
I’m never one to endorse hearsay, and I want to in some way respect the wishes of those involved to keep the discussion private. But, what i loved about my time at Westminster is that it made me think. Yeah, there was tension… but it was a good tension because it stretched us to think harder and grow more. I think those are the skills which have helped me most in ministry settings. I’m pretty far from hearing much about what’s happening on campus, but i do hope and pray that it continues being controversial and cutting edge, there’s something helpful about that dissonance, that would be lost if it was resolved.
January 21st, 2008 at 7:28 pm
Although I know little about the Vision Forum or the details of intra-faculty debates, I can attest to the positive reception “Inspiration and Incarnation” had among the group I read the book with at my secular university.
Although it raised challenging questions, at the same time–by its head-on confrontation with supposed problems raised by skeptics–the book also bolstered my colleagues’ confidence in the Scriptures as God’s Word.
I would hate to see lines drawn in the sand, such that pastoral books such as Enns’ (as well as the work and ministry of all the professors) could not be affirmed and appreciated by all.
David Hastie
M.Div. 2004
January 23rd, 2008 at 6:05 pm
Our seminary occupies a strange middle passage between the treacherous shoals of cynical and faithless liberalism and the equally precarious cliffs of spiritually dead orthodoxy.
This reflects in many ways our larger environment. The church “nominal” has opened a cultural schism, splitting herself into two great camps in the western world. One army occupies the academy, where real scholarship is done and where ideas are exchanged openly, but where faith lacks any detectable pulse. The other side is the seminary; most of which have become, by and large, gristmills which serve only to grind out pastors for denominations. These denominations, without surprise, are pastored by men not taught to wrestle through ideas and as a consequence they are steadily collapsing under the weight of secularism in our culture.
Westminster, however, is different. It is a place where the narrow road is walked and where vibrant faith meets real scholarship. Against the impasse of the academy and the seminary Westminster is somehow, inexplicably and undeniably, able to be both academy and seminary. I am deeply disturbed that this Westminsterian distinctive is being undermined and eroded from within by those who fear open dialogue and seem incapable of reconciling. Moreover I am appalled by the flippancy displayed by some in this debate as men lose their careers, neighbors and friends for attempting to be honest to the Word of God. Most of all I am indignant that this is done under a cloud of secrecy, behind closed doors.
The stifling of free inquiry is a blight on all those who bear the name “Reformed!” As reformed men and women we should be constantly reapplying ourselves to the Bible, taking up the dictum of Plato to “follow the evidence wherever it leads” and to step out boldly onto intellectual grounds where both great pitfalls and the chance of wonderful reward await us. Further we should do this in community together, as our confessions and scriptures demand; not on the level of Westminsterian Archbishops speaking down to students in pedantic and incendiary tones.
The vivisection of the biblical studies department has only one possible outcome; the devolution of any semblance of what made Westminster great.
January 23rd, 2008 at 10:00 pm
During my 4 years at Westminster, I was deeply blessed and influenced by professors from both camps. The biblical studies department had helped me to articulate and ask the questions I had always wanted to ask about God, the Scripture, and many other things. Not only did these professors help me in forming my questions, but also they helped point me in the right direction in finding answers. On the other hand, the systematics department gave me a firm foundation in the interpretations of those faithful and wise Christians before our time. I don’t think I would have benefited as much without either one of these two perspectives.
It is a sad thing to see this wonderful pairing being in danger of breaking apart. My prayer is that both sides of the debate would see each other as being on the same side and work together to engage our culture. Please don’t take the easy way out. Don’t drive out and bunker in.
Edward Jiang
M. Div. 2007
Assistant Pastor
Pittsburgh Chinese Church Oakland
January 24th, 2008 at 12:56 am
I feel no more security to study at WTS. There is no trust and open-minded discussion anymore. It is not a healthy environment for both theological study and spiritual development. I wonder what is exactly behind all these controversies. It seems a huge fear that drives people to fight against, or even hate one another. What are we really afraid of? The loss of a tradition? Where is the true ground of our faith: tradition or Jesus Christ? When we so highly lift up Reformed theology, I am afraid that we actually are losing its spirit: the reforming spirit.
May the Lord have mercy on us!
A current student
January 24th, 2008 at 2:24 am
I have recently obtained the copyright permission from Baker Academics to translate and publish in China Dr. Enns’ book Inspiration and Incarnation: Evangelicals and the Problem of the Old Testament. I understand why some people are happy about the possibility that Dr. Enns will be suspended. They think they need better professors than Enns, who will train pastors instead of scholars. Woe to this chronic disease of faith and knowledge dichotomy! They think pastors are not scholars. They think they need professors who will give them specific points to put down in their future sermons. This is truly a legitimate expectation for anyone who come to study at a seminary. However, I wonder what kind of pastors the students will become if their education does not equip them to engage with culture at large. I’m sure they can deliver sermons very well, saying nothing wrong at all, but probably nothing particularly helpful either! Personally, I dread that kind of sermons. No wonder more and more people are jeering at churchgoers nowadays, considering such people as weak minded!
My goal is to present the truth of the Bible to the many Chinese readers, believers and nonbelievers alike, who have long been exposed to liberal approaches to the Scripture and have had more access to information on new archeological finds than to orthodox views on the nature of the scripture. Enns’ book will prove to be especially helpful to these people. I’m very thankful for this very timely book that Dr. Enns has written. May the LORD use it to bless the thousands of Chinese readers who ask serious questions and who can never be won to the LORD until their questions are addressed with some satisfaction. Superficial piety will not work for these people.
It is sad to see WTS turning away from its mission and apologetic mandates and falling into the narrow-minded fundamentalism that outsiders have long been criticizing Westminster for.
Leanne Luo
Current PhD student in Hermeneutics and Biblical Interpretation
January 24th, 2008 at 9:56 am
I will be praying for the Holy Spirit’s movement in these concerns. Jesus prayed for the unity of the body and in so doing affirmed such as a primary evangelical means that the world will know that Jesus was sent by God. May the Lord liberally grant wisdom, direction, grace, mercy, and healing.
Former PCA Organist - Music Director
January 24th, 2008 at 2:15 pm
This is so discouraging. People have always asked me “how do you like Westminster?” For the first time since pre-K, I now respond “I love the education I’m receiving.” I was debating between Trinity and here, but all of my mentors told me that I would receive the best education here at Westminster and thus far I feel like I have. My first year here was difficult b/c the material was dense and the professors distant. I expected the same for this year.
Although my grades may not have been up to par to most Westminster students (4.0 on average for them…it’s a joke. laugh a little), I feel like my head knowledge from my classes finally clicked in my heart, and my prayer “Lord, teach me to love you more and more” finally began to be answered. God in His sovereign plan, placed both Steve Taylor and Enns into this past semester to allow my prayer to become a reality. The class material was still dense, but the professors were not.
You know what the difference was? I saw these men committed to Scripture and to scholarship from the prayers they prayed in the beginning of class to their class lectures I saw the fear of the Lord in these men. I’m not one to quote the Bible from memory and I may not have it word for word, but in Proverbs I believe it says “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.”
Where is the fear of the Lord when faculty undercut their fellow brothers in Christ? These men are not just co-workers but they are brothers. Or does the whole notion of covenantal family not pertain to seminary professors as well?
Steve Taylor showed me the gospel lived out, not only in his lectures but in his office hours and in passing hall conversations. His lecture classes were just as big as my first year classes, yet he took the time to remember my name. While teaching how good God was to us, the gospel moved him to tears during class. This is one class that is engrained in my head b/c I saw a grown man with a childlike faith.
In all honesty, we know and are taught that OT is God’s Word but growing up in a PCA church, the attention has always focused more on the NT. Pete Enns has taught me infinitely more about the value of OT as God’s word in one semester then the past 23 years of my life at church. Really this is not an exaggeration. I have come to appreciate and cherish the OT as much as the NT.
Please stop this secret, sly under-cutting and be real with the students at Westminster. We are your community as well. Stop making it and “us” and “them” division.
Craig Higgins this past semester taught us to pray for the unity of the church saying that the Reformation was a “tragic necessity.” I do not see this growing division within Westminster as a “tragic necessity” but just tragedy.
I love Westminster and for the board who will be reading this petition, please don’t let it roll off your backs. Please take the time to read everyone’s comments and DIGEST it.
I pray that God gives you all wisdom and the strength to give grace so that healing may begin.
-A discouraged current student.
January 24th, 2008 at 4:51 pm
I’ve often felt that the Systematics and Biblical Theology departments presented different lessons for my time at seminary. The doctrinal orthodoxy of a rich heritage of confessional Reformed faith was presented with well-reasoned argument by the rigorously intelligent ST faculty, while the humility and openness to being first and foremost challenged and informed by the text of Scripture above any reason or system was the hallmark of every faculty member of the BT department. However, this seemed to lead to a tension that was recognizable throughout my time there. Students would ask about the relationship between the two, and professors would lead us to the diagram of the circle and the line, pointing out with great force how the two were a unity, with Systematics taking the fruits of Biblical study and organizing it into a cohesive whole, one informing the other. And yet, I wonder now at the true relationship as revealed.
As much as I loved the richness of the Reformed tradition and confession, discussion with students from across the globe caused me to wonder at what appeared to be minimal elaboration on how to contextualize the Reformed faith within the movement of God’s work among the other: whether the global South, or among non Anglo contexts of faith, or in our inner city urban dynamics. Systematics often seemed to be locked into categories of thought bound by place and time, continually articulating concerns within the same mindset and terms as the past but with little enough regard to what is happening now. Most of the genuine conversations of applying the gospel to life and ministry for today seemed for me to consistently take place in Biblical and Practical Theology classes. And part of that seems to be because challenge is a forbidden for orthodoxy, but a given for exploration of Scripture.
I am a 2nd generation Chinese-American who has been teaching and ministering to Southeast Asian children and worshiping and serving in a mixed, predominantly Latino church in the impoverished areas of N. Philly. What does the gospel have to say to such as us? It is not the comfortable answers to timeworn questions in an atemporal (NOT timeless) place that help me here, it is the humble, fresh, and challenging look at Scripture that I learned from all my professors of BT that begin the dialogue. My fiancee is greatly frustrated at what she sees to be a reactionary Church that shies away from the hard questions in favor of the correct responses. I have always maintained that the Reformed faith is not at that place. Now I don’t know what to say regarding my old seminary. I don’t need correct responses in my context. I need the hard questions and how the gospel meets them.
The strength of the Reformed heritage is not in any historically-bound assertions of faith, nor any dogmatic focus on truth, but on the motto of Reformed and ever-reforming. And I have to genuinely wonder if Westminster still maintains a capacity to do so. Where is the unity of the circle and the line in the name of Christ and the gospel? I have the greatest of respect for every faculty member that I learned under, and I am disappointed and discouraged by a divided faculty that does not represent lessons of humility, forgiveness, and unity. Steve Taylor and Pete Enns have both contributed immensely to so many. It is also disheartening to hear of associations drawn between the seminary and groups that do not represent our convictions of faith.
One faculty member I spoke to recently presented it to me this way. Any possible solution to this problem is in the hands of the students. I’m glad there are those being convicted to step forward for unity and grace in the gospel. However, many are unaware of these issues. I only happened upon this petition because I was still connected to one of the email listservs for the Chinese Student’s Association. Let’s pass the word. Prayerfully.
Josh Chen
M.Div 2006
January 24th, 2008 at 6:40 pm
As a student, I was oblivious to much (certainly not all) of the inter-seminary debates. But I was not oblivious to gentleness, to humility, to kindness, to patience, or the lack thereof in the classroom. Professors who allowed me (encouraged me!) to ask hard questions and more importantly - modeled the love of Christ to me in my search - were the gems of my experience there. I am concerned that this kind of pastoral pedagogy will slip away (and with the departure of Steve Taylor is already slipping away). Please save our seminary.
January 24th, 2008 at 10:08 pm
I am weeping as I am writing this petition, deeply saddened by what’s going on at WTS. I went to a very secular university in Scotland where Christianity was mocked in every possible way and I was crushed spiritually every day during my time there. It was through the BT courses at WTS that I regained my confidence and faith in God’s word. For that, I truly thank God and all my BT professors at WTS, especially Pete, Green, Mike Kelly, Steve, and our beloved late Groves. I also loved our ST professors as well. However, what is being done is bringing shame to the name of the Lord and I am beginning to lose my respect for them. May God comfort Steve and Pete at this difficult time and save our seminary from being torn apart.
January 24th, 2008 at 10:24 pm
I’m neither a WTS student nor an alumnus, so I’m not sure whether my witness is worth much, but several alumni of Westminster have urged me to say something here. I offer what I hope might be some helpful thoughts.
First, a bit of history. Having grown up within the Reformed community in the Philadelphia area, Westminster has always been part of my life. I grew up as friends and school mates with the children of various faculty. I was pastored by Westminster’s graduates and by its students serving as interns. I began to be a regular library patron while in middle school.
And most significantly, I learned so much as a kid and teen from the writings and teachings of various faculty as they spoke at my church, at conferences, or in other contexts: Harvie Conn, Bob Knudson, Ray Dillard, Sam Logan, Clair Davis, Bruce Waltke, Ed Clowney, George Fuller, Will Barker, and others. Alas, I suspect I’m showing my age.
I know I’m a poor example of what these great men taught and the godly example they set forth. But I also know they represented a wonderful vision of Christian scholarship, engagement with scripture, history, and contemporary contexts, and a willingness to winsomely expound what Sinclair Ferguson has called “creative Calvinism.” I will always remain so much in their debt and can only express gratitude for their testimony to the gospel.
Moreover, through my experiences, I have grown to have a deep affection for Westminster as an institution. I have long dwelt within the circle of its influence and service to the kingdom, matured under the pastoral care of its graduates, delighted in the rich academic resources it provides to the church, and enjoyed the acquaintance of many of its faculty and, more importantly, its students.
It is particularly in this last regard that I write this comment.
Due in part to my proximity, church ties, and commitment to our confessional tradition, I have interacted with numerous seminarians in the past decade or more. Some have been good friends. They and others have asked my advice as a Reformed Christian working in academia. Some have talked with me about future plans for graduate studies. Others have sought my perspective on issues of philosophy and apologetics or asked me about further resources in those areas.
Over recent years I have noted a growing concern among many of these students regarding their sense of the internal culture and climate of the Seminary. While their professors have been circumspect, it is clear to many that something is deeply wrong among their faculty.
There will, of course, always be differences in viewpoint and perspective – and in an environment of openness that can be a source of healthy wrestling with issues of the faith.
But the past several years have revealed something much less healthy and far more detrimental – an environment that at least several have described as “toxic” to their spirituality and growth in Christ, despite a growing appreciation of the riches of biblical revelation. Such issues have, to my own deep regret, made it impossible for me to commend Westminster to prospective students as I once had.
Time and again students have expressed to me dismay and discouragement at what they perceive in the classroom and behind the scenes as unresolved tensions, interpersonal hurts and animosities, and sometimes careless jibes, intellectual close-mindedness, and ungodly maneuvering for advantage. And many have the sense – warranted or not – that there is little interest in resolving these matters, even among those on the scene into whose hands the well-being of the Seminary community is entrusted.
I’m in no position to judge fully the accuracy of these perceptions, though the evidence for their truth has only grown. But something is certainly amiss and has been for a while. Many discern this, even well outside the Seminary itself (as many of the comments above show). I implore the Board and leadership of Westminster to act in some way to move the situation forward in a new and positive direction. The Seminary cannot afford to twist in the wind as the lives of its students are negatively impacted and as its public reputation erodes.
I’ve made these concerns known to the Board previously, more than a year ago, and as far as I can see, they remain unaddressed and the situation has only worsened. While I was told that my concerns would be followed-up and that I would contacted by the Seminary staff, this never occurred. I begin to suspect that the current leadership of the Seminary is not truly interested in addressing such concerns or resolving ongoing issues in a pastoral and constructive way.
I don’t know if my comment here will contribute to any positive development, but the time for quiet, private advocacy seems to have passed. I hope and pray that God’s Spirit, through WTS’s leadership, might restore and preserve the best of the Seminary’s tradition of Reformed scholarship, collegiality, pedagogy, and willingness to grapple with how best to apply Christ’s eternal word to our changing world.
January 25th, 2008 at 1:40 am
My late husband, Jonathan, graduated from WTS in 1965. I also took a few courses during that period of time. We both love WTS and highly recommended her to every Chinese who was looking for a seminary. And in deed we have recruited many.
My heart is saddened when I hear about the situation at WTS. The blind eyes and deaf ears of those who are in authority grieves me greatly. During our time at WTS, the cohesiveness of the faculty members and the free spirits of the students were something very precious to us. And Jonathan’s dream was to establish a school for the Chinese in Asia after the patten of WTS. Unfortunately the school has changed so much and she has become a stranger to me. Division and fear kills and it is a clear sign of potential death.
Let us turn our hearts to the Lord and beg Him for mercy and repent our sins and negligence. He might spare us from this great danger and deliver us from the attack of the evil one.
Let us pray until He hears us. I sincerely believe this is the best and most direct way to solve the problem we are facing now.
Let us pray! pray! and pray!
January 25th, 2008 at 7:31 am
As a person working among Hindus and Muslims in the UK, it is the Biblical Studies and legacy of Harvie Conn that have helped me keep my head above water and to think creatively about what the gospel looks and sounds like in different worlds. I hope many others can mine these depths.
Jeremy Phillips
M.Div. 2003
January 26th, 2008 at 7:36 pm
I join in the dismay expressed above. The Biblical Studies professors already named gave me a strong foundation that continues to allow God’s word to speak in sometimes surprising and untidy ways. I emerged from both Pete and Steve’s classes with an enduring Hallelujah of amazement that this Book is in our hands and the miracle of the Holy Spirit it represents. I deeply regret that I can no longer refer anyone to the school I felt so privileged to attend. I hope this petition helps stem the tide of toxic polarization.
Frances Bragdon Nelson
MA 2005
Director of Congregational Care
City Church of San Francisco
January 27th, 2008 at 2:33 am
I came to WTS not knowing anything about the biblical studies department, but Pete Enns, Steve Taylor, Mike Kelly, Doug Green, and Tremper Longman have transformed my life in so many ways. If they leave, there is not really anything left at WTS as far as I’m concerned. They engage in the world and aren’t afraid to admit that they don’t know it all. If they leave, who will listen to the voice of Westminster? I know I won’t be recommending anyone to go there. But the Westminster I was able to experience…I wouldn’t change it for the world.
MAR 2007
January 27th, 2008 at 6:07 pm
What I’ve experienced of God has been incalculably deepened - and broadened - by the Biblical Studies faculty at Westminster: Pete Enns, Doug Green, Al Groves, Mike Kelly, Steve Taylor.
What Dostoevsky wrote of his Grand Inquisitor seems, sadly, to be all too true of latter-day WTS: “The kiss glows in his heart, but the old man adheres to his ideas.”
“me genoito!”
Matthew Baker
M.Div. 2002
January 28th, 2008 at 12:32 am
I have recently decided to leave Westminster - I will be enrolling at another seminary in the fall to complete my M.Div. As I’ve mulled over whether to leave Westminster or not, I’ve been faced with several conflicting impulses. On the one hand, I’ve profited immeasurably from the faculty and staff at WTS. I’ve grown in knowledge and faith and have been deeply impressed by the faith of professors and fellow-students.
However, I find it stifling and frustrating that the only time my professors may truly open up is in their offices. In class, they are forced to dance around complex issues, frightened that they may be caught saying certain taboo phrases.
While I leave Westminster now, my affections, hopes and prayers will always be with the seminary. May it be a place where difficult questions are asked to the glory of God, not one divided by bickering and backbiting.
January 28th, 2008 at 7:07 pm
My admiration for Westminster began years ago and has only deepened from studying under the Biblicial Theology professors. I am praying for the administration and faculty during this challenging time.
January 31st, 2008 at 5:15 pm
Other than what I’ve read on this site, I’m pretty much ignorant of what is going on at the seminary right now. But I can say that what I valued so much about my education at Westminster was knowing that it was theologically safe and grounded, yet not afraid to explore the edges and be unconventional. I always thought of Westminster as conservative on what it needed to be and progressive on what it needed to be. And we do need both. I saw my professors as men who were doing what they were doing because they wanted to further the Gospel - both in our lives and in the world. Their focus was on wrestling with the living words of Scripture, and if the Confession was an aid to that, then it was useful. I hope my school will continue to maintain this perspective.
Tim Dance
M.Div. 2003
Pastor
Living Hope Church
February 1st, 2008 at 12:43 pm
I cannot speak to all the issues that this web page addresses, but I can speak with some measure of authority concerning biblical studies at WTS. I was a student from 1974-1977, where I was captivated by the teaching of many professors, but most notably Ray Dillard who was my mentor and was soon to be my colleague and close friend. I taught Old Testament at the school from 1981 to 1998 with Ray, Bruce Waltke, and Al Groves. I was involved with these friends in the hiring of Peter Enns (as well as Doug Green). I have continued as Visiting Professor of Old Testament since 1998 till the present. I have recently written an article on E. J. Young for the Dictionary of Biblical Interpreters that has taken me back to the earlier history of the school’s instruction in biblical studies.
I have a great love for the school to say the least. I like to say that there is no institution I love as much as Westminster Seminary. However one of the reasons why I left in 1998 was my perception that the seminary was beginning to change from the deeply Reformed but outward facing institution that it was from the time that I first knew it in the 1970’s to a more inward defensive institution. I remember talking to one colleague, for instance, who told me that if I felt the Bible taught something that the Confession did not that I had to side with the Confession. That’s not the Reformed approach to the study of the Bible that I know and love. However it is a perspective that I think has only grown with time.
In any case, I have no desire to cast aspersions on anyone. I think everyone is acting out of a good conscience in this. This, however, I can say with a great measure of confidence. The present Old Testament department represents continuity with the past. I work closely with Peter Enns. We are co-editing two Bible dictionaries together and are on a number of editorial boards. I have served as his editor for his wonderful Exodus commentary and have read his important Incarnation and Inspiration three times. In my own speaking and teaching, I have talked to countless people whose faith has been increased and whose confidence in the Bible has been enhanced by reading this book. His thinking is clearly within the Princeton-Westminster tradition. If WTS loses him or anyone else, I worry who might replace them. Will they continue the WTS tradition while still not “shirking the difficult questions”? I know what I think about the matter and I am confident that my dear departed friend Ray Dillard would agree.
I would encourage my former students and others to express their support for the OT department at WTS. Notice I am asking for shows of support. We can do this without casting aspersions on anyone at the seminary.
February 1st, 2008 at 5:03 pm
I was a student at Westminster from 1984 to 1988, studying in an Old Testament Department that consisted of Ray Dillard, Tremper Longman, Bruce Waltke, and Al Groves.
Since leaving Westminster, I have come to know the members of the current Old Testament Department well, as fellow graduate students, fellow teachers, and fellow Christians.
The current Old Testament Department at Westminster is a fine one. And so I would echo the sentiments that Tremper makes above.
But let me also say this. To use a phrase that Vern Poythress once used positively in a hermeneutics class at Westminster, a phrase he used to describe what we should all strive to be as students of the biblical text, the OT Department at Westminster is “creative without being kooky.” And lest it be thought that the word creative could or should be used against them, I would just add that whatever creativity they may seem to show is firmly rooted in and devoted to the theological, intellectual, and spiritual tradition that is at the heart and soul of Westminster.
February 2nd, 2008 at 5:49 pm
I studied at WTS from 1994 to 1997, and overall I have very fond memories of my time there. I have not kept close watch on what’s happened in recent years, but if it’s true that the seminary has retreated from its historic mission, I am very sorry to hear it.
I enjoyed my classes in all the departments, and I can’t think of one professor that would for a moment be out of line with the catholic, apostolic faith or the Reformed tradition. I was particularly shaped by the profound insights of Harvie Conn, and a Westminster without him is hard to contemplate. Still, I had assumed that the seminary, including the faculty and the students, had remained passionate about “the whole counsel of God”.
I do recall observing that even in the course of my 3 short years at WTS, the student body seemed to be moving toward a narrower vision of Reformed theology. I chalked it up at the time to a mix of my poor perception and the likelihood that such occurrences are cyclical. And I don’t remember being concerned about the faculty!
I will pray for Westminster not to lose its way. I hope that all who write on this thread would also commit to doing so.
May the grace and peace of our Lord Jesus be with you all.
Rev. Alexander Burgess
M.Div. 1997
February 4th, 2008 at 9:33 pm
Disagreements at WTS are nothing new. John Frame’s article “Machen’s Warring Children” spells out the history of disagreements. I was at WTS during the high point of the critiques of Norman Shepherd’s teaching. It was disapppointing to see the snide remarks made by some members of the faculty. Yet I appreciated and was enriched by all my professors. I did not feel compelled to agree with them in everything. My years at WTS gave me a sound foundation in Bible, theology, and church history which guides me even today.
February 5th, 2008 at 1:28 pm
Through the years, I have seen many friends enter Westminster and graduate, receiving not only an exemplary education, but an understanding of how to effectively transform lives through Jesus’ model of servant-leadership. They will attribute their pastoral development not only to an environment that was open to exchange of ideas, debate, and healthy questioning, but more importantly, to a faculty who willingly committed themselves to modeling the love of Christ through mentorship, sacrifice, and dedication to students. As I have read through this blog, it is so very sad to see that the Westminster I have known is apparently endangered.
Unfortunately, I have observed that the recent struggles at our church seem to parallel those at WTS. It appears that Dr. Lillback has undertaken a monumental task in leading both a church and a seminary full time. Possibly, each institution needs a full time leader surrounded by an administrative team who can engage the people under their care (faculty, staff, and students, or congregation) with love and humility, hearing and addressing their concerns.
Please know that we are praying for the Lord’s hand to bring healing, restoration and a powerful impact for Christ to both Westminster Theological Seminary and Proclamation Presbyterian Church
February 7th, 2008 at 12:08 am
WTS has a long history as a unique institution for biblical and ministerial training. The faculty of WTS has produced quality, spiritually mature and culturally relevant pastors and academics, while engaging in biblical research (a fact not missed by Noll in his work ‘Scandal of the Evangelical Mind’). I fear that this reputation is in danger of becoming forever tarnished, if not all together lost. It is because of this fear for WTS’s current state and a deep respect for the faculty of the Department of Biblical Studies that I offer these few words and sign my name to this petition.
As of yet, the education offered by WTS continues to be respected by churches, colleges and seminaries. I directly benefit from this view of WTS. I am employed by a college that hired me because of this education and I have been pursued by institutions because of this education. The education of the next generation of WTS graduates will not be held in such high esteem, if certain questions become off-limits or Peter Enns, Doug Green or Mike Kelly are badgered, mistreated or stifled until they must leave their positions.
The administration and certain members of the Department of Systematic Theology, tragically, have chosen a fundamentalist response to questions and hypotheses discussed by the Department of Biblical Studies. This move will not guard the school from error, real or perceived. However, it will place WTS on the road to typical fundamentalist irrelevancy, self-righteous seclusion and continued in-fighting. If this direction is not reversed, WTS will no longer sustain its reputation of research and cultural relevancy. It will no longer be viewed as a top tier graduate institution. It will cease being the institution that we all love and proudly name as our alma mater.
I earned an M.A.R. in 2003 and because of my deep respect and a desire for continued growth in the Westminster tradition I entered the PhD Hermeneutics program. I have been marked by that thing we call the Westminster tradition. But it is not a tradition . . . it is a lineage. I am reminded of that lineage each time I glance at my degree that hangs over my desk or view my computer’s desktop. There, I have placed a group picture of the men, who have most influenced me: Waltke, Longman, Groves, Kelly, Green and Enns. Above and below this picture is the line, “Once a Westminster man . . . always a Westminster man”. I will forever be a “Westminster man”. Please do the right thing, heal the seminary and value the men in the Biblical Studies Department, so that I will forever be proud of being a “Westminster Man”.
Lester J. Hicks
M.A.R. 2003 and current PhD student
Lancaster Bible College and Graduate School
February 7th, 2008 at 8:55 am
It grieves me to see our seminary come to this. At what point does our commitment to the unity of Christ’s body drive us to humbly come together and make peace for the sake of Christ’s body? I have known Doug, Pete, and Steve for almost 10 years and even now have the privilege of co-laboring with Doug at New Life Church. Above all, these men have shown a tenacious commitment to the Gospel, to the centrality of Christ in understanding the Scriptures, to the centrality of Christ in understanding life. We need professors who demonstrate, above all, a commitment to the PERSON, Jesus Christ, who call future ministers and teachers to preach/teach the PERSON, Jesus Christ because at the end of the day, its not a confession or creed that saves, it’s Jesus who saves. To the Biblical Studies Department: Thank you for pointing me to the PERSON of Christ during my days at WTS!
February 7th, 2008 at 8:21 pm
As a former employee at Westminster for 10 years and a former member of Proclamation Presbyterian Church for 14 years, I too, like those who have written before me, find my heart very heavy and tears come easily for the pain and anguish that my dear brothers and sisters in Christ in our Westminster community have had to bear these past few years. Why has this happened? Why have men taken action to destroy a dear brother rather than to love, restore and encourage that brother? Why have a group of 27 men on the board of trustees failed to bring reconciliation among themselves and among the faculty? Why have these men been totally divided in their decisions for this once fine institution? And, after interviewing many of us to hear our testimonies which they requested, why do these board members continue to “sweep it all under the carpet” as though they hope it will go away? Should we not ask these questions? Should they not want to know the truth?
Someone wrote in the beginning of this blog that “…Christians from all over the world, and from many denominations, have been equipped there [WTS] to bring God’s eternal word to a changing world which so desperately needs good news.” Indeed, our world does desperately need the good news of God’s eternal word. And, indeed, the Westminster community not only needs God’s eternal word, but needs to see it once again lived out in the lives of those who lead.
While today there are wars and rumors of war throughout our world, there is a war going on at Westminster as well…men destroying the fine reputations of their brothers, those in authority bullying those who sacrifice much to serve Christ in this place, bringing division among the faculty while displaying arrogance and pride. How can such men preach the Word and honor Christ when they treat so unlovingly their Christian brothers and sisters?
Some Westminster faculty are presently being tested beyond what most of us know or can imagine…and they need our prayers, our love and our encouragement. Please pray not only for healing but for a cleansing for Westminster…a cleansing from the arrogance, pride, and unforgiving spirits that poison the entire community. We are told in Proverbs 6:16 that “There are six things the LORD hates, seven that are detestable to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, a false witness who pours out lies and a man who stirs up dissension among brothers.” Is God weeping over Westminster?
Sally Cummings
February 7th, 2008 at 8:30 pm
I haven’t attended WTS, but have long held it to be one of the few schools I would attend. It is very disturbing to me that the thinking of Vision Forum, et al, is being mainstreamed at WTS.
February 9th, 2008 at 4:00 pm
My first memory of my time at Westminster was going out for cheese steaks and beer with Lane Tipton when he was a PhD student, and chatting about the uniqueness of Westminster as a place where ST and BT are wed together, and the whole time wondering if he would ever use a word with fewer than four syllables. I remember Vern Poythress’ excitement to show how even the theme of the Plant Kingdom has eschatological implications for us today (which I’m still not sure I understand), and Dan McCartney’s joy in singing praise songs together in German to remind us that our God is bigger than German liberalism. I remember going running with Carl Trueman and discovering for the first time that church history (and church historians) is not God’s gift to insomniacs. I remember learning from Pete Enns that God really does favor the Yankees, as evidenced by the presence of Jeter in the OT. I remember hearing the trials and joys of parenting a teenage son from Doug Green, and how learning Hebrew could not hold a candle to the new slang that he was forced to deal with, so we should all just “Chillax.” I remember learning to love the poor and the broken by sitting under the teachings of Mike Kelly and Manny Ortiz, and learning from Tim Witmer that leadership is most often an issue of character before anything else. I remember being absolutely blown away by the humility of men like Richard Gaffin and Al Groves, who had every reason to glory in their own accomplishments, but instead chose the greater glory. And more than anything else, I remember praising God for professors that I cherished, and whose love for Him enabled them to care deeply for each other and for us students, even in the face of 9/11…cancer…death…suicide…and certainly in the face of any theological disagreement.
My prayer is that both sides of this unfortunate situation will honor Christ by seeking to love their “enemies” in the debate…not begrudgingly, but freely, as those who have been purchased by the blood of Christ for just such a task.
Hopeful in Christ,
Will Reinmuth
Mdiv 2006
February 11th, 2008 at 1:57 am
Having read all entries in this thread as well as having heard of the crisis amongst other concerned students at WTS, I cannot help but sign in support of this petition.
Safeguarding what WTS stands for is certainly very important to us. After all, it was this WTS tradition that brought me to Philadelphia. However, I certainly do believe that honest scholarly endeavors must be honored, as long as they are within the bounds of the WTS tradition. The difficult question is who is equipped to make that decision. I certainly have confidence in my school’s faculties and administrators. After all, they are all called to teach the words of God to aspiring servant of God like me and many others. Moreover, it would be ludicrous to determine what’s within and what’s without by popular vote.
However, I earnestly pray that those who have power to decide this issue will take into consideration current students’ sentiments, and pray to God for wisdom.
Having read all entries, the vibe that I get is not of those people blindly siding with Prof. Enns or Prof. Taylor because of fond relationships, but rather of those people who benefited immensely by their teaching, thereby being equipped to answer hard questions that are thrown at us by this secular generation. In this regard, I must say that I hold a deepest gratitude for Prof. Enns and Prof. Taylor for their teaching in classroom.
I was bombarded with pejorative attacks on Christianity during my secular university years. My faith was seriously challenged when i had to read Bart D. Ehrman’s “The New Testament,” as a text-book because I simply could not answer questions that Dr. Ehrman raises.
Now, I do not intend to say that because of Prof. Enns and Prof. Taylor that I have all the answers now. However, what I could say is that their instructions and their convictions in the Word of God helped to solidify my faith in God and equipped me to engage in and to defend my faith.
I do not intend to disparage Dr. Ehrman in this thread but I believe making a contrast between Dr. Ehrman and Dr. Enns is necessary. So I humbly ask you to bear with me. It’s still a mystery to me that while there are people like Dr. Ehrman who received the top Christian education and yet turn against Christianity and spearhead religious educations at renowned universities in our country that ultimately result in stumbling thousands of young men and women from their faith, there are the likes of Prof. Enns and Prof. Taylor, who, while engaging in the same questions that college students are bombarded with and perplexed with, help many lost souls to regain their faith in Christ. And for this, I am immensely indebted to them. And it will be a great loss to current students and future students to be stripped of of this opportunity to learn from them.
I will be praying incessantly for God’s wisdom to be in all who are involved in adjudication of this matter.
February 12th, 2008 at 11:57 pm
Actually, until recently, I was convinced that all the responsibilities of this grievous situation were to rest only one side. But, now I know that all of us have something to do for each other. I’m really convinced that, only by a little effort to understand each other,we may see the Lord is working within us. I and all of my Westminsterian friends love our professors and they are our pride now and forever, and the reason for thanksgiving to God. And I promise, as our teachers strive to give honest answers to the most difficult and embarrassing questions challenging us, that I will do that also to those who question me.
February 13th, 2008 at 4:09 pm
I can remember vividly how professors of the BT department inspired us to engage the Scripture with intellectual sincerity as well as devout fervor. When I participated in prof Taylor’s NTI and was required to read some second temple literature, the doctrine of the organic development of the history of revelation expounded by Vos as well as Bavinck was understood more clearly and understandably than when taking it as abstract thelogical theory. When I read Prof Enns’ Inspiration and Incarnation, I benefited a lot from this book for understanding Bavinck. As I had been educated from the liberal theological school and fraught with agonies over how to harmonize the academic theology and loyalty to church, I could sense how valuable and even unique the academic engagements of our proud BT professors have been.
As some suggest, as far as i know, the BT class was really complementary to understanding important themes of Systematic theology. The BT theologians, in so far as the class that I took, never insinuated and mocked at the conservative theology, but hoped that their contributions strengthen the important themes of ST. Rather, those who try to have one discipline to be subsumed to another solely based on the doctrinal rigidity, not on the healthy intellectual and theological debate, made the Westminster BT faculty out to be suspicious and heretical.
As a Korean student, I would like to mention on the possible impact of Westminster’s change upon Korean Christianity. As is well known, Westminster has been regarded as “the Seminary” among the Reformed circle in Korean Christianity. Westminster has been admired as “the most academic seminary” for its academic and intellectual sincerity as well as zeal for reformed Christianity, not for the theological rigidity, narrowness, and fundamentalist bigotry. Intellectual eagerness and rigor, which neither recoil from the intellectual arena, nor nestle into the cozy place of the theological safety zone, was the virtue of Westminster, which many Korean church leaders have tried to emulate. I hope that Westminster might not lose its prestigious privilege as a source of the academic reformed theology, not degenerating into a source of the obscurantist fundamentalist mobilization.
February 16th, 2008 at 6:48 pm
As I have studied at WTS for more than two years, I’ve realized that it was the “doctrine” itself strangling Christianity; the “doctrine” without solid understanding of Biblical Theology; the “doctrine” full of fears that avoids confronting what secular scholars might insist on the Bible as a mere book, faulty history, or imaginary myths; the “doctrine” that does not embrace the otherness of neighbors such as women, foreigners, and so forth; therefore, the “doctrine” which became nothing less than an ‘Ideology.’ As I also have been through moments of agony in my college years taking courses of “liberal” teachers that counteracted conservative theology, teachers who denied the authority of Scripture with no base of understanding Biblical Theology, now the courses of Pete Enns, Steve Taylor, as well as other BT professors at WTS granted me insightful moments, encouraging me to fight for the word of God. And, of course, I no more doubt or struggle with Inerrancy of the Scripture, no matter how a secular scholar might seduce or tempt me with any kind of plausible or specious rationale of their own, since, by taking the courses of Dr. Enns and Prof. Taylor, I’ve gained the “second naivete” to read the Bible with clear mind as well as heart eager for the love of Christ.
Nevertheless, I am thankful that all of the Systematic Theology, Practical Theology, Apologetics and Church History courses at WTS granted me such great insights and profound understandings of solid doctrines and traditions of Reformed Theology with wonderful teachers. I personally do think that they are also the legacy of WTS. However, as a student, I dare to suggest that these courses at WTS should be enriched, elaborated and embellished with interacting with Biblical theology. Every course at WTS was nourishing and cherishing each other in that way, and that made me so proud of WTS always. Thus, I always believed and never doubted that, in one body of Christ, they will work on this again and maintain the legacy of Westminster in the Kingdom of God. And I still want to hold on to that belief, and trust in the academic sincerity of WTS as an institution of God.
February 20th, 2008 at 6:19 pm
I am deeply grateful for the solid and rich education I received from the Biblical studies department at Westminster. Professors like Doug Green, Steve Taylor, Al Groves, Pete Enns, Dan McCartney, Mike Kelly, and the like should be prized for their devotion to Scripture, sound doctrine, humility, wisdom and their willingness to tackle tough issues surrounding Christianity. The classes I took under these professors were enriching and gave me lots of tools to use in discerning my faith in everyday issues. I hope that future Westminster students are afforded the same great opportunities I had, and are able to learn under some of the brightest, most creative and thoughtfully Reformed scholars around.
Liz Hager, M.Div 2006
February 25th, 2008 at 1:25 pm
Westminster has always stood for intellectual rigour AND faithfulness to Scripture, but now it appears to be in danger of sacrificing the first in the name of the second, thereby becoming just what the enemies of faith say about Christians: that we cling to tradition out of fear. How has fear entered so fully and manifestly into the fabric of Westminster? We all know the antidote of course is perfect love, yet perfect love is quite obviously missing from much of the discourse coming out of Westminster these days.
After WTS, I went to Princeton Seminary for a ThM in OT, and it was a shock. Genuinely warm, kind, affirming, delightful people with no firm creed whatsoever surrounded me. When I complained, Doug Green wisely advised me not to judge, saying that if I could not bend (i.e., be charitable toward their ridiculous WRONG ideas) then I would break. Breaking renders one useless. He and the other BT professors at WTS consistently exemplified charity, the highest of the Christian virtues, especially Al Groves. Fortunately it was not a patronizing righteousness, but one stippled with humour, proving that it was possible to be a world-class scholar and a Christian and still be someone worth emulating. I heard faculty at Princeton make what were then absurd jokes about Westminster, and I plead with the Board not to let those jokes become true.
For too long charity has been conspicuously absent at Westminster. The ill-conceived ‘Dude where’s my seminary’ website proved the poisonous, ungodly atmosphere among some at WTS. Here in Oxford, where I study, theologians are told that their discipline should be relegated to the history faculty, because it is irrelevant and obsolete. The battles to be fought in academia (yea, even in seminaries) are not over disagreements between Christians, but in the bigger world where the darkness of atheism threatens the light of truth. It is out here on the edges that Pete Enns’ book is having its greatest impact for the Kingdom. His book is helping many a would-be Valiant-for-Truth tighten his grip on the Sword of the Word, instilling confidence in its perennial sharpness, and in God’s absolute sovereignty.
Do not let our seminary become a symbol of cross-eyed parochial sterility, where the education of women is arrogantly sacrificed and the reputations of men are smeared by the squabbles of cannibalistic colleagues. This is not worthy of men of God charged to lead with humility, wisdom and above all, charity. As Christ demonstrates, gentleness takes far more strength than violence.
Meredith Riedel
M.Div, 2002
February 25th, 2008 at 10:35 pm
The preface to my recent book from P&R entitled “After God’s Own Heart: The Gospel According to David,” celebrates the rich heritage of biblical theology that I enjoyed at Westminster in the late 1980s. In that preface I describe specific experiences in classes taught by Harvie Conn and Bruce Waltke and write: “These two events stand as bookends on an education in biblical theology that could be discerned in every class (Longman, Dillard, Groves, Silva, McCartney, Poythress, Gaffin, Ferguson, Barker, Logan, Davis, Ortiz, Bettler, Sibley),” before describing an insightful experience in a course by Ed Clowney during January term one year. The rich biblical theological tradition at Westminster always ran alongside and in creative tension with the equally rich Reformed (American, Scottish, Dutch) Systematic theological streams. However, we were always taught–in content as well as example–and whether in systematics courses or biblical courses, that biblical theology was to be given priority. I fear that present debates will eliminate the rich dialogue between reformed systematic theology and reformed biblical theology that has always been the hallmark of the Old Princeton tradition at Westminster. Lying behind this loss is the constant and necessary tension and conversation between creed and canon that is essential to the life of the Church.
Mark J. Boda
M.Div. 1991
February 28th, 2008 at 10:33 am
I am glad to respond to my teacher Tremper Longman’s request to make a statement in support of the Old Testament Department at WTS. They are godly men and impressive scholars whose contribution is literally essential to Westminster’s work. The seminary would be impoverished by their loss.
Marc Davis
M.Div. 1997
March 1st, 2008 at 9:08 pm
A big “Thank you” to those who created this site, and to everyone who showed their support by posting their comments on it. 1 Corinthians 4:1-5.
A family member of WTS faculty
March 4th, 2008 at 8:01 am
With my family, I came to WTS in 1995, completed my MAR (Biblical studies) in 1997, and returned to Singapore in 2007 after the completion of my PhD studies (OT). I was a teaching fellow in NT Gk, and my wife was working as the general services manager and managing editor for WTJ. We love WTS not only because of its historic traditions and cutting-edge scholarship, but more importantly, because of the people who make up WTS, among whom is professor Peter Enns. I was his research assistant for a number of years and wrote my dissertation under his supervision; my wife worked under him when he was the WTJ editor. His high view of scripture, his love for WTS, his effort in continuing the WTS tradition, his responsibility in biblical scholarship, and his enthusiasm for people, even his zest for the Yankees, have shaped and continue to shape us in many ways. Indeed, we dare not undermine the contribution of Dr. Enns and the influence of the WTS biblical department, which prepared me well in my teaching ministry at Singapore Bible College and in Asia. We pray and trust that the leadership will continue to lead WTS with wisdom and foresight.
Michael and Mae Ellen Phua
March 5th, 2008 at 1:33 pm
My family and I are acquainted with many teachers and staff both past and present at Westminster. For many years we lived nearby and hosted several students in our home. Our church upholds WTS financially and provides a place for students to worship and participate in the leadership of the church.
I must say I was deeply saddened when reading the contents of this website. I am without understanding and have no knowledge of what the president, staff and faculty are thinking and doing. Perhaps some truly do not think there is a problem. I hope and pray though that the picture presented here of the subtle acrimony is not true. I hope and pray that faculty, administration and students will never forget what Christ said about Christian unity, of which we are reminded by several other respondents.
There will always be disagreements in Christian circles, but there should not be divisions. WTS as I recall came to be part of a very large and divisive movement some 70 years ago. My prayer is that WTS with the leading of the Holy Spirit finds its way to Christian unity.
March 6th, 2008 at 4:05 pm
The BT department was the part of WTS that I most appreciated during my time there. The professors who make up the department are people that I admire not only for their scholarship but for who they are as faithful people. The example that they set by their willingness to tackle hard questions strengthened my faith. It was a great privilege to be taught by them.
Wib Magli
M.Div. 2003
March 10th, 2008 at 11:53 am
Mikhail Bakhtin learnt from Dostoevsky that speech communication involves the give and take of ideas that enriches each individual as we lovingly listen one to another. No department is complete in and by itself. I need you to complete me and you need me to complete you. But if we totally agree in everything, one of us is unnecessary. God entered space and time and opted to speak in human language for our salvation. We must,like Jesus, have the same mind. Each must hear the other without merging into each other. The Trinity is a unity of unmerged Persons. The Church is a body of unmerged individuals. The Heavenly Kingdom is heavenly because the persons who dwell there retain their individuality while enriching each other in love.
March 10th, 2008 at 7:15 pm
I came to WTS from Korea to learn more about its tradition and history. Needless to say, WTS has had a huge impact on the Korean Churches in many ways. Before coming here I put a lot of time praying that I would be properly prepared through the time in WTS.
I really look up to Bruce Hunt and Harvie Conn who are the alumni of WTS and sacrificed themselves by showing great examples, not compromising with kneeling down in front of the Japanese Shrine(Bruce Hunt) in the face of the closure of Korean Churches, and fighting against his own monocultural barrier for the Missio Dei not only in Korea but also in the US(Harvie Conn). In the history of Korean Christianity, they are respected because they tried to be in balance between ‘Orthodoxy’ and ‘Orthopraxis’. I think that is the beauty of WTS tradition.
I pray that WTS would be properly used in the 21th Century, and not be contaminated by monoculturalism and American-centered narrow nationalism, in the age of multiculturalism and the Missio Dei. As a Korean current student, I hope that all WTS members will enjoy the true sense of biblical harmony and theological balance in the WTS tradition at this time of crisis.
March 10th, 2008 at 8:28 pm
As an international Ph.D student from Korea, I have spent the past 8 years at Westminster including the period of M.Div. I have really enjoyed Westminster tradition and people, to whom I am so much indebted in shaping my faith, theology, ministry and life. I have been always proud of it in that it has never withdrawn from any hard question while keeping and developing both Van Til and Vos. In addition to that, Harvie Conn’s concern about the necessity of trialogue among theology, anthropology, and mission has been the topic all the way I have been studying here. This was the Westminster, which I have been so proud of and wanted to recommend to any Korean prospective student. That tradition has taught me “how to do theology” to show God in our own life problem.
If a set of expression of faith made in one particular era, culture, and race is to be accepted/memorized as “the expression of faith” at Westminster, how could the global churches send their future leaders to Westminster? Koreans do not come to Westminster just to memorize the result of the historical western theology. I don’t think Chinese or Nigerians would do so. Would even my Western brothers do so?
I am lucky because I could meet and learn from all of them: Van Til, Vos, and Conn; Gaffin, Davis, Groves, Enns, McCartney and Steve Taylor. But I worry about the next generation who cannot see them in one seminary. And it will really be sad if I myself could not recommend Westminster to my younger Korean brothers any more.
Sung Kook Jung
M.Div. 2003; Ph.D program since then.
March 10th, 2008 at 9:33 pm
When I decided to come to WTS in 2001, many people did not recommend going to WTS. The reason for their reluctance is not only their ignorance of WTS but also their unwillingness to understand the cutting-edge scholarship of WTS. However, during my M.Div and PhD (still now), I have recognized that it this scholarship is one of the great strengths of WTS and I always proudly present it as a uniqueness of WTS. To respond to many hard and uncomfortable questions that we must confront has nurtured my study, ministry, and even my lifestyle. Without doubt, it comes from my privilege to learn from sincere and passionate professors of WTS: Davis, Gaffin, Edgar, McCartney, Groves, Enns, Green, Taylor, and Kelly.
WTS, as I have felt and believed, is not a “stuffy” institution, which seeks for only one specific direction. If any, its direction would be the glory of God, and I believe that it can be sought through harmonizing precious voices of others.
Recently, I hear that some young Korean brothers and sisters want to study at WTS hoping to learn WTS’ balanced academic reformed-tradition. However, I cannot enthusiastically recommend them to come here, because of what is going on right now at WTS. The reason for this is not my ignorance of WTS, but the gloomy future of it when it comes to lose the precious tradition of BT. I pray that WTS would not lose its way and God would continue to use this institution for his glory.
Sung Min Hong
M.Div. (2005), Ph.D (present)