Al Mohler & 20 Years at SBTS

This story about Albert Mohler's history with The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary explains the main reasons I left Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in 1998 and transferred to Southern. I remember email conversations with Mohler, Tom Nettles, Tom Schreiner and others at the time. I sought out their advice as the Scriptures were leading me into reformed theology. I only knew Mohler was at SBTS and not the others. After God made those connections for me, I was sold on Southern and transferred there to finish my MDiv. It was the best decision I've ever made about my education, and I'm grateful to Dr. Mohler and Southern Seminary for enduring the pain and determination required to re-create a place where the truths of Scripture would be taught to young men like me.

Comments

[RevChuckHuckaby]

Some folks always get mad when I say this, but Southern was "Christian" by the time you got there. When I went to seminary at SWBTS, of the SBC seminaries, it seemed the most sane at the time.

[Steve McCoy]

Chuck, that is exactly what I was told about SWBTS when I went there. Then I went there, and almost nothing about it impressed me. But of course I'm not talking about your time at SWBTS or about SBTS today, necessarily.

[Scott Shaver]

Balderdash.

All six SBC seminaries were "Christian" and "Baptist" prior to the Pressler/Patterson insurgence. I'm amazed at the sheer absence of any true SBC history prior to Patterson, Mohler and their henchman among SBC seminary students and YRR types today.

Mohler waves the banner of "reformed Calvinism" but these guys aren't even touting the full tradition. They take the TULIP soteriology only and can the rest.

What up with that?

[Steve McCoy]

Scott, I talked to many who experienced these things and the school before Mohler's time. I believe all of them and your comment doesn't ring true.

[Scott Shaver]

I do not doubt the truthfulness of your comments about those you talked to who attended prior to Mohler's time. There have always been students in seminary's who arrived knowing more about everything than anybody else.

I was a master of divinity student at NOBTS prior to Mohler and during the resurgence. There were some of my peers at the time who were mouthing the same nonsense about the "dangers and threats of liberalism in the seminaries". All of them sycophants of Paige Patterson and Al Mohler (Wester Recorder editor at the time).

Such students weren't looking for education, they were looking for credentials. In fact, by in large, they were more scared of an education than they were confident in the ability of the Holy Spirit of God to sift through and overcome any education if needed.

Whether or not my comment rings "true" does nothing to change the availability of resources that fairly examine what occurred with Fundamentalist overreaction to modernity in the SBC.

That continues to occur today with Fundamentalists and neo Calvinists (Mohlerites) in tension over TULIP.

Which begs another question from you. Why would a "reformer" like yourself follow the leads of a group that really reflects the reform tradition only in the sense of being enamored with its TULIP soteriology?

The SBC reformers (Mohler included) tend to overlook most of the other aspects of the reform tradition, at least according to other reformed Calvinists and heralded theologians outside the SBC.

I respect your willingness to dialogue, Steve, and really like the layout and content of your blog site.