What Should Be the Focus of a Seminary that Claims to be Christian?

Stand Firm by Jackie 

 

+TAG

Dr. Al Mohler recently welcomed a new group of to Southern Seminary.

Your stewardship of truth preceded your arrival as a seminarian, but it is now front and center in your life. Be determined from this moment on to be a faithful steward of the truth of God’s Word and the deposit of faith that is left to us by Christ and the apostles.
Some theological institutions invite their students to revise the faith, to be creative with doctrine, to update the ancient faith for modern times. This school exists in order to achieve the opposite. Our goal is to produce graduates who believe as the apostles believed, who preach as the apostles preached, and who maintain a stewardship of the truth as the Apostle Paul here commands Timothy.

Some theological institutions - made me curious as to how the various seminaries present themselves and how they perceive themselves..  After perusing a few websites, an interesting picture began to form.  While certainly not an all inclusive (forgive the pun) listing,  it certainly offers a lot of food for thought.

Southern Seminary where the “About Page” greets you with large boldfaced words proclaiming We are serious about The Gospel.

Under the Lordship of Jesus Christ, the mission of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary is to be totally committed to the Bible as the Word of God, to the Great Commission as our mandate, and to be a servant of the churches of the Southern Baptist Convention by training, educating, and preparing ministers of the gospel for more faithful service.

General Theological Seminary makes clear their theme is diversity.

GTS treasures the diversity of its community. While most students are preparing for ordination or ministry as lay persons, many students come to General for personal growth in their spiritual lives.  Although a majority of our students study full-time and live on campus, we also have a growing number of part-time and commuter students. The student body is nearly equally divided between women and men and an equal number of single persons and married or partnered couples. About 8% of GTS students are from racial groups that are often under-represented and a significant number of our students, staff and faculty are gay or lesbian.

Sewanee is a mixed bag that ends on a Social Justice note.

The School of Theology is a leader in Episcopal education that prepares priests and lay leaders for ministry in witness and service to the Triune God rooted in scripture, theology, prayer, and reflective practice. Its academic, worship and community life is characterized by intentional commitment to the mission of the Church, especially through Christian education and formation and to the Church’s call to social justice.

Virginia Theological Seminary 4(VTS)  - is open to new truths found through (human) reason and (human) experience.

The Seminary, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, is open to new truths discovered by reason and experience and is committed to respond eagerly and faithfully to the challenges of each succeeding age.

Trinity’s statement of belief certainly explains why the mainline bishops seek “more diversity” for their future leaders.

Trinity is an evangelical Christian institution that affirms the articles of faith found in three historic creeds of the early Church: The Apostles’ Creed, The Nicene Creed, and The Athanasian Creed.

Lutheran Theological Seminary did not have an “About” page.  This is from the President’s message.

At the hands of a diverse, world-class faculty and through a curriculum that is masterful in its balance of academic learning and experience in ministry, our students are prepared to be the church in the world - teaching, preaching, leading, ministering, caring, serving, praying. They are prepared to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ in word and deed to a world hungering to hear.  They are prepared to be “Of the Spirit + In the world.”

Boston School of Theology (Methodist) appears to be a product of its environment.

Our School has welcomed a diverse community of scholars since its founding, and people of varying backgrounds are still drawn to its cosmopolitan university setting. The student body represents great strength in ethnic, gender, and theological diversity. International students make up about one-third of our student population; the world literally meets in the classroom here. The faculty draws upon these diversities to enrich the learning experience – this is not a school where everyone thinks alike, but a place where students of all backgrounds are challenged, and ultimately strengthened, by their exposure to different ideas and people

.Catholic Theological Union seems to be very catholic centered.

Moreover, as a Roman Catholic graduate school of theology and ministry, we are dedicated to offering quality theological education and ongoing formation for laity, religious, and clergy who are preparing for or who are already engaged in ministry in the United States and around the world.

Without personal knowledge of these seminaries, it is hard to determine if the words above are true representations of the actual institution or a matter of a very good or very bad website designer.  Either way, it reflects poorly on the number of seminaries that are either not teaching the Gospel or are afraid to admit it.