Schools & Universities
.
"Not many of you
should become teachers,
my fellow believers, because
you know that we who teach
will be judged more strictly."
Jam 3:1
Founded by its director James Bryan Smith.
1 The Apprentice Gathering is "designed to inform and challenge attendees in the area of Christian Spiritual Formation". [1]
2 Speakers include a hall-of-fame of problematic teachers and authors such as Ann Voskamp, Curt Thompson (book 'Anatomy of the Soul'), John Mark Comer, John Ortberg, Ken Shigematsu, Ruth Haley Barton et al. [1]
3 Specific dedication to Dallas Willard. [1]
4 They created a Bachelor / Master of Arts in Christian Spiritual Formation (CSF). [1] [2]
Training in the Supernatural and Miracles, such as Faith Healing, in order that they may become Revivalists.
1 Organized, fabricated and man-sourced prophecy. [1] [2]
2 Only THEOS -through the HOLY SPIRIT- gives the often temporary gift of prophecy to whom he chooses. We are not able to choose others or ourselves to become a prophet. There is also no indication in the entire Bible that people had been specifically trained to become prophets. 1Sam 19:20 and 2Kin 2:3 speak about prophets meeting as a 'group', but not as a 'school'. [1] [2] [3]
3 Students practise 'grave soaking', the belief of absorbing the deceased's anointing from G‑d. [1] [2] [3]
4 Kris Vallotton once asked 'G‑d' for the 'mantle' of William Marion Branham. Branham is known as the father of the Latter Rain / Charismatic Movement. Some of the many false doctrines of Branham were: the Trinity is of the devil; the three forms of G‑d's Word are the Bible, the Zodiac, and the Egyptian pyramids; his 'Serpent Seed' doctrine which suggests that the serpent in the Garden had se*ual intimacy with Eve that resulted in the conception of Cain; his angel who taught him that he (Branham) was Elijah before the 2nd coming as well as being the messenger of the last church age, Laodicea; believers will reach immortality before CHRISTOS returns and become a super race (also known as Joel's Army). [1]
Biblical Training.org [1]
Education through biblical and theological content at different academic levels.
1 Their website showcases the endorsement of John Mark Comer, Joni Eareckson Tada and James I. Packer. [1]
> This ministry contacted them in 03/2024 and 1. sent them the discernment on JM Comer and 2. pointed out a general error on their website. The error was corrected within 48 hours, while the endorsement of JMC remained untouched (last checked 08/2024).
2 Their professors include Bruce Ware, Gary Thomas, John Piper, Thomas Schreiner, Tim Mackie ... [1]
3 They teach Calvinism and several classes on Augustine, C.S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien. Eugene Peterson is heavily endorsed in their classes. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7]
4 They endorse in their library Bernard of Clairvaux, Brother Lawrence, Francis of Assisi, Mother Teresa, Teresa of Avila, without any discernment or warning. [1] [2] [3] [4]
5 Sales of Charles Spurgeon and Henri Nouwen books on their website. [1] [2]
1 Pioneer of the Health & Wealth / Seed-Faith / Prosperity / Word of Faith - G‑spel. [1] [2]
2 In January 1987, Roberts used an unusual means to increase donations. He introduced the television audience to a group of graduates from his university who are willing to go into worldwide missions if they bring in $4.5 million in new donations. 'G-d' revealed to him that he would die in March if this mission could not be financed. His son Richard Lee underscored this message by urging the audience to save his father's life. [1] [2] [3]
3 Oral Roberts University was founded by Oral Roberts (American Charismatic Christian televangelist; one of the first to propagate the Prosperity G‑spel; ordained in both the Pentecostal Holiness and United Methodist churches), and began admitting students in 1965. [1] [2]
4 Notable alumni of Oral Roberts University are: Jean-Luc Trachsel, Joel Osteen, John Hagee, Joyce Meyer, Kari Jobe, Mike Bickle, Myles Munroe. [1] [2]
5 Connected to ORU are teachers such as Kenneth Copeland and T.D. Jakes. [1]
6 The makers of the 'He Gets Us' Campaign support(ed) Oral Roberts University with $41,500 (2015) / $17,000 (2020). [1] [2] [3]
7 Jack Hayford was one of the original officers and trustees of Charismatic Bible Ministries (CBM), founded by hyper-charismatic Oral Roberts. He also received an honorary degree from Oral Roberts University. [1] [2]
8 The founder of Transformation Church (Mike Todd), Bishop Carlton Pearson, had studied at Oral Roberts University and was the personal mentee of Roberts himself. [1]
Interdenominational evangelical Christian College of Christian studies.
1 Teaching of Catholic Mysticism and Contemplative Prayer. Explicit promotion of Richard Foster and Richard Rohr (New Age). [1] [2] [3] [4] [5]
2 Their library holds 40 (!) books from Richard Rohr and 97 (!) books from Thomas Merton. [1] [2]
3 Included in the list of 'Christian Colleges that Promote Spiritual Formation' by Lighthouse Trails Research Project. [1]
4 Eugene Peterson was a professor of Spiritual Theology at Regent from 1992 to 1998. He wrote the heretical Message Bible from 1993 to 2002. [1] [2]
5 J. I. Packer (Anglican & Calvinist, author of Evangelicals and Catholics Together) joined the faculty of Regent College in 1979. His book 'Knowing G‑d' published in 1973 was one of the main reasons for the resurgences of Calvinism in American evangelicalism. [1] [2] [3]
6 Endorsement of RCC and particularly the Papacy "the Pope could easily have studied at Regent". [1] [2] [3]
7 Their newsletter included the display and promotion of nudity, which is systematic at the 'The Dal Schindell Gallery' at Regent College. [1] [2] [3]
8 Professor John Stackhouse Jr. was fired in 2023 from Crandall University in Moncton, N.B.. It turned out that he was during his 17-year tenure at Regent College repeatedly the subject of se*ual harassment allegations. Regent fired him, but signed a NDA which (in-)directly enabled him later to abuse students at Crandall. [1] [2]
9 Shaila Visser, director of Alpha Canada, is a member of the Board of Governors. The Anglican Alister McGrath, who appears in the Alpha series, is a Teaching Fellow at Regent. [1] [2] [3]
Union Theological Seminary (New York, US) [1]
1 It has long been known as a bastion of progressive 'Christian' scholarship and is also described as a center of liberal 'Christianity'. [1]
2 The president of the seminary, Serene Jones, ridicules Christians who believe in the physical resurrection of IESOUS CHRISTOS, denies the virgin birth and hell. Excerpts from an interview with the New York Times which feels like a satire:
"For me, the message of Easter is that love is stronger than life or death. That's a much more awesome claim than that they put Jesus in the tomb and three days later he wasn't there. For Christians for whom the physical resurrection becomes a sort of obsession, that seems to me to be a pretty wobbly faith. What if tomorrow someone found the body of Jesus still in the tomb? Would that then mean that Christianity was a lie? No, faith is stronger than that."
[...] "I find the virgin birth a bizarre claim. It has nothing to do with Jesus' message. The virgin birth only becomes important if you have a theology in which se*uality is considered sinful."
[...] "Q: What happens when we die? I don't know! There may be something, there may be nothing. My faith is not tied to some divine promise about the afterlife. [...] And I'm absolutely certain that when we die, there is not a group of designated bad people sent to burn in hell. That does not exist." [1] [2] [3]
Private Evangelical Christian liberal arts college.
1 Only 2 out of the 200 professors on campus believe the Genesis creation account to be literal. [1] [2]
2 Billy Graham graduated from Wheaton. The College even includes a 'Billy Graham Center' which serves as the graduate school's main headquarters. The Wheaton College Billy Graham Center Museum contains exhibits about the ministry of Billy Graham. [1] [2]
3 Catholicism is deeply engrained in their college and specifically taught there [see 1, 2], while professors who become openly Catholic while teaching there, are fired in order to conceal their agenda [see 2]. [1] [2] [3]
4 The 'Wheaton in the Holy Lands' program has sent regularly in the past 40 years students to 'sacred sites' including Jerusalem, Galilee, Athens, and Rome, where students ought to explore the Vatican. [1] [2] [3] [4]
5 They teach Catholic Mysticism (through Scottie May), specifically Lectio Divina, Centering- and Contemplative Prayer. [1] [2] [3] [4]
6 The Marion E. Wade Center is a special research collection of documents primarily relating to 7 highly problematic teachers: C. S. Lewis and his wife (Anglicans), J. R. R. Tolkien (Catholic), G. K. Chesterton (Catholic), Dorothy L. Sayers (Catholic), Charles Williams (Catholic), Owen Barfield (Anglican, Freemasonry, Anthroposophy), and George MacDonald (Universalism) ...
A Catholic blogger considers it already to be -a Catholic pilgrimage destination- [see 4]. [1] [2] [3] [4]
7 Wheaton tried to cover up a serious hazing incident and even hired a third-party investigator to discredit the victim's account of the incident. [1] [2] [3] [4]
8 They invited in 2015 and 2018 Timothy Keller to speak at their college. [1]
9 Problematic alumni of Wheaton include: Bart D. Ehrman (publicly opposes Christianity), Billy Graham, John Ortberg (Mysticism), John Piper, Mark Noll (teaches now at the private Catholic University of Notre Dame), Philip Yancey, Rob Bell, William Lane Craig (to no surprise also Theistic Evolutionist) ... [1] [2] [3] [4]
Universities ↽Christianity?
What should Christians think about universities? Where and by whom was this concept invented?
- [1079 AD] A decree by Pope Gregory VII played a critical role in the regulation and development of early educational institutions that evolved into the first European universities of the 12th and 13th centuries. This degree required all cathedrals and major monasteries to establish schools for the training of clergy, and regulated these, ensuring they were under the control of local Roman Catholic bishops.
- [1088 AD] Universities are considered both an Italian and a Roman Catholic invention. The earliest medieval universities, beginning with Bologna (~ 1088 AD) in Italy, developed from Catholic cathedral schools and monasteries that preserved learning. They were established as 'studia generalia' under church influence or papal authority, making them central to the Roman Catholic intellectual tradition. This concept of 'universitas' - a corporation of teachers and scholars - was fostered by the church to organize learning, often requiring papal bulls for formal recognition.
- [1150 AD] Early institutions like Paris were also deeply connected to the Roman Catholic church (Paris was founded by the deeply devout Roman Catholic King Philip II of Spain, who fought against the Protestant Reformation, and officially recognized by Pope Innocent III), evolving from cathedral and monastic schools to educate clergy and laity in theology, law, and liberal arts.
- [1224 AD] Later universities such as Naples were established by kings or municipal authorities (Naples was established by Frederick II, King of Sicily and Holy Roman Emperor), though still typically requiring initial church approval.
[16c AD] The Reformation was fueled by university-trained leaders like Martin Luther and John Calvin, who believed in the necessity of rigorous theological study.
- [1636ff] Many early American universities, such as Harvard (1636) and Yale (1701), were founded by Calvinists (Puritans) to promote the G-spel and train ministers. Their mottos often reflected this, such as Harvard's original motto, Veritas Christo et Ecclesiae ("Truth for Christ and the Church").
- [1960-70s] The Master of Divinity (MDiv) degree title and structure emerged now in the United States and Canada. It replaced the Bachelor of Divinity (BD) as the standard, three-year professional degree for ordained ministry, coinciding with a shift toward requiring a prior college degree for seminary admission [strictly anti-biblical]. This title, which is now considered the 'gold standard' for professional ministry, is the culmination of centuries of extra-biblical formation of pastors, and is in itself problematic at best. While most accept it as a valid, non-blasphemous title within religious and academic institutions, its name (there is only One Master of Divinity!) and the usually associated pride should make us think twice. Distracting arguments include the assumption that 'divinity' simply refers to the study of the divine Word, but we use the word 'Theology' for this very purpose, which correctly implies the Genitive aspect of the 'study of THEOS', while a Master of Divinity implies an action comparable to the Nominative, putting this earthly person in essence into the shoes of the 'Divine', in short, declaring him or her a small g-d.
The product of universities are pastors who are highly trained in philosophy (a strictly anti-biblical concept, yet even found in very many titles and the respective curricula - PhD = Doctor of Philosophy !), in psychology (rather unbiblical), ethics (what the Bible would much rather describe as worldly and illegitimately competing values), history with a prevalent emphasis on unbiblical ecumenism, culture and the mere business of running most efficiently and successfully a church. Many programs are taught by unsaved people and even include female teachers, while many students experience the greatest challenge not in the completion of the course, but in the survival of their faith until the end of it. An increasing share of students include women, who are thus rebelling against the biblical prohibition of female presbyters / overseers / shepherds (pastors) from the first hour of university (see also the separate study 'Church Structure'), if they should not work as deacons or through other biblical gifts.
The small share of theological teaching within universities is further blended with a systematic and prevalent glorification of the so-called church fathers and related to it the study and certain admiration of the history of the Roman Catholic church, contrary to to biblical command in Mat 23:9 to call no one your father, which precisely speaks of this scenario in a perfectly prophetic manner.
Also in stark contrast to the Bible, the share of discernment taught in universities is frighteningly small. Usually their motto is to digest everything and to always remain 'professional' by being utmost diplomatic in language and writing, which is a much rather a political approach than a biblical approach. This systematic lack of discernment shows itself soon later in the respective churches, in their theology and the sermons which almost always include references to and inspiration through highly problematic 'celebrity' teachers, when taught by those who studied at universities.
What is the Biblical Model?
- The dominant model in Scripture was mentorship (e.g. IESOUS with the disciples, Paul with Timothy). It was usually informal, localized, and hands-on.
- Act 19:8-10 "And having gone into the synagogue, he was speaking boldly for three months, reasoning and persuading the things concerning the Kingdom of THEOS, and when certain were hardened and were disbelieving, speaking evil of The Way before the multitude, having departed from them, he separated the disciples, reasoning every day in the school of a certain Tyrannus [thus a private school]. And this happened for two years so that all those dwelling in Asia heard the word of the KYRIOS IESOUS, both Jews and Greeks"
- Not a professor or an admissions office, but CHRISTOS is the One who defines and chooses those who ought to teach: Eph 4:7-12 " . . . and to each one of you was given grace, according to the measure of the gift of CHRISTOS [...] 11and He gave some [as] apostles, and some [as] prophets, and some [as] proclaimers of good news, and some [as] shepherds and teachers, to the perfecting of the holy ones, for a work of ministry, for a building up of the body of the CHRISTOS, until we may all come to the unity of faith and of the recognition of the Son of THEOS, to a perfect man, to a measure of stature of the fullness of the CHRISTOS, that we may no longer be children, being tossed by waves and being carried around by every wind of the teaching, in the cunning of men, in craftiness, to the scheming of leading astray, and [speaking] truth in love, we may increase to Him [in] all things, who is the head - the CHRISTOS . . . "
- 2Tim 2:1-7 "You, therefore, my child, be strong in the grace that [is] in CHRISTOS IESOUS, and the things that you heard from me through many witnesses, be committing these things to steadfast men, who will also be sufficient to teach others; you, therefore, suffer evil as a good soldier of IESOUS CHRISTOS; no one serving as a soldier entangles himself with the affairs of life, that he may please Him who enlisted him; and if anyone also may strive, he is not crowned, except he may strive lawfully; it is first necessary [for] the laboring farmer to partake of the fruits; be considering what things I say, for KYRIOS gives to you understanding in all things."
- 2Tim 2:14-16 "Remind [them] of these things, testifying fully before KYRIOS - not to strive about words to nothing profitable, but to the subversion of those hearing; be diligent to present yourself approved to THEOS - a workman not ashamed, straightly cutting the word of truth; and stand aloof from the profane vain talkings, for they will advance to more impiety"
Tit 1:7-9 " . . . for it is required of the overseer to be blameless, as THEOS' steward, not self-pleased, nor prone to anger, not given to wine, not an abuser, not given to shameful gain, but a lover of strangers, a lover of [the] good, sober-minded, righteous, holy, self-controlled, holding - according to the teaching- to the steadfast word, that he may also be able to exhort in the sound teaching, and to convict the deniers . . . "