Dr. Couch, I understand that a well-known seminary, that was
premillennial, caved in to the Reformed position and became Covenant in
its theological orientation. Is this so, and do you know anything about
this? I am not in the covenant camp.
ANSWER:
I have the same information as you, though I do not have any details as
to what happened. I can tell you in general what I think may apply to
this situation:
There is less and less genuine study of the Word of God in our
seminaries and Bible schools. They are becoming more and more pedantic
and less and less academic, though they are now big-time into
theological philosophy and "academia" (not true academics)!
They are less and less textual and are moving
away from solid hermeneutics and interpretation. They are also becoming
anti-Semitic and turning against biblical prophecy. Let me simply
summarize. I think some of the things I list below may fit the case you
are asking about.
- The younger teachers love "academia." They like the big degrees and accreditations!
- They are postmodern and are rewriting the nature of Bible study.
- They no longer really believe in systematic theology.
- They are less and less truly biblically textual.
- They are enamored with Luther and Calvin and the Reformed mystique. It just "sounds" so sound!6. They are enamored with the "classical" nature of the Reformed movement.
- They have no regard for Israel and believe that the church has replaced the work of God with the Jewish people.
Now do not get me wrong! We owe much to the past, and I love studying
the Reformed greats, though they are way off base in eschatology, and
too, they are terribly inconsistent in their hermeneutics. Many also
have the attitude that if Calvin said it, it must be right. They study
the Scriptures blindly without discernment and context. Many establish
their theology and then go into the Bible to "confirm" what conclusions
they have come to.
I was not trained that way. I was heavily trained in the biblical
languages, and by textual analysis, I establish with a normal
hermeneutic, my theology.
I believe this is why such schools as you are asking about have departed
from premillennialism and turned to Covenant theology. Everytime a
student goes to a "weak" school hermeneutically he comes out confused.
And this is what is happening. But also the faculty and the governing
boards are even more confused.
At one of the "big" seminaries close to me, the administration does not
know it but more and more of the students, after they receive their
diploma, jump ship into Covenant and begin to deny God's working with
Israel. But too, the biblical education they received is less and less
from what I received.
While Scofield is far from perfect, we are getting our students deeper into the Word of God and giving them sound
interpretation so that they can defend the great doctrines of Scripture. This of course includes eschatology:
the rapture, the tribulation, and the Messianic kingdom!
My answer is not on target as to what you asked, but I hope this helps.
Thanks for asking.
Dr. Mal Couch
