 David Flick A Good Seminary Gone Bad Paige Patterson’s ascent to the presidency of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary was a bitter pill for me to swallow. While the fundamentalists celebrate the event as a victory for their side, I see it as a nail in the coffin of traditional Southern Baptist theological education. I grieve at what I see happening to the seminary from which I received my first graduate degree. On that day in May of 1974, I walked across the stage with extreme pride because I believed "my" seminary was the best of them all. Of course, it was a sense of friendly rivalry toward graduates of the other five Southern Baptist seminaries, because in reality, all six of the SBC seminaries were excellent. SWBTS just happened to be the closest one to me in Oklahoma. Most of my mentors and peers were graduates of the seminary. I have many pleasant memories about the four years I spent on Seminary Hill in Ft. Worth. Because of financial constraints, I worked nights hustling freight for Central Freight lines and attending classes by days. Thus, I managed to squeeze my seminary experience into a short four years rather than the traditional three. My wife and I lived in seminary housing immediately across the street from the campus. Our first two children were born in Harris Hospital in Ft. Worth. My seminary days were truly happy ones. Dr. Robert Naylor was the SWBTS president during my seminary experience. He was a saintly man. I became acquainted with Dr. Russell Dilday at a conference in the year after I graduated. I had great respect for the leadership both men gave the seminary. I enjoyed my classes and all of my professors. I never had a single “bad professor.” Yes, I favored some over others, but they were all outstanding men and women. I studied under Justice Anderson, Larry Baker, Robert Baker, Donald Bell, T. Miles Bennett, C. W. Brister, H. C. Brown, Robert Coleman, David F. D’Amico, Bert Dominy, John Drakeford, Huber Drumwright, Doug Ezell, Clyde Fant, Roy Fish, David Fite, David Garland, Jack Gray, Cal Guy, Joe Davis Heacock, William L. Hendricks, Boyd Hunt, Jack MacGorman, Hazel Morris, G. Locoste Munn, John Newport, William Pennson, Evelyn Phillips, C. W. Scudder, Ralph L. Smith, William B. Tolar and Curtis Vaughn. Daniel Vestal was a Teaching Fellow in Evangelism. (Those highlighted in brown were my favorites) Although I didn’t have a class with Leon McBeth, he was an ever abiding presence in the department of Church History. Nearly three decades have passed since I graduated from Southwestern. There was a time when I enjoyed going back to campus to walk through those hallowed halls of learning. I relished walking through the Fleming Library just to browse the books. I enjoyed returning to campus for preaching conferences and other educational opportunities. But that was in the days before the hostile takeover by the fundamentalists. I never in my wildest dreams did I believe that my beloved seminary would be plundered by the fundamentalists. History has a way of turning things upside down. I have driven through Ft. Worth dozens of times over the past decade. I have a niece living in Ft. Worth. I attended my first CBF General Assembly in Ft. Worth in 2002. However, the last time I drove to the seminary campus was in 1994. I thought going there might revive some of those pleasant memories I had those nearly thirty years ago. It was a bittersweet experience, but mostly bitter. I exited I-35 and drove down Seminary Drive the way I had done a thousand times before. I expected to drive on the campus, walk around awhile, and relive some of the old memories. When I reached the campus I glanced toward the apartment where we once lived, turned into the oval, and drove around it and became simultaneously filled with sadness and anger. I was sad because “my” seminary had been plundered by the fundamentalists. Which was also the reason for my anger. Instead of stopping to walk around the campus, I continued my drive around the oval, pointed my pickup north, and never looked back. I have not been on the campus since and can not see the day that I’ll ever return. My beloved seminary is in the hands of the enemy fundamentalists. Southwestern is a good seminary gone bad. Gone are the godly presidents who had strong traditional Baptist convictions and stood firm against fundamentalist demagogues. Present is a new woman-hating, demagogue of a president who intends to control the seminary and move it further into the depths of fundamentalism. Gone are the good professors who possessed solid traditional Baptist convictions and beliefs. Present are weak-kneed, creed-signing professors who bow to fundamentalist power-mongers. Gone is the theological academic freedom I experienced. Present is a skewed system of pseudo-baptist thinking which requires that students believe in the fundammentalist idea of "inerrrancy." Gone are the free-thinking students who desired to learn what traditional Baptists believe. Present are students who have been duped by the fundamentalist demagogues. Perhaps hateful, narrow-minded fundamentalism will run its course and the pendulum will swing back toward traditional Baptist beliefs. Perhaps Southwestern will return to her glory days. But frankly, I don’t expect to live to see that day. And that brings tremendous sadness and anger to my soul. January, 10, 2003 (This article was written for BaptistLife.Com Discussion Forums) |