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WHATEVER
HAPPENED TO OUR BIBLE COLLEGES?
PART TWO -
Philip P. Eapen |
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Author's webpage:
http://philip.eapen.googlepages.com
Click here to Part One
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My eight-year-old son and I were out to solve a mystery.
While correcting academic essays written by a batch of
final-year MDiv students, I had stumbled upon two essays
that had a curious resemblance. These papers were not
perfect copies of each other. Yet, each line and
paragraph in one paper was present in some part of the
other. I was determined to find out the correspondence
between the two essays.
My son offered to help me. He read out (rather,
deciphered) a line or a paragraph from one paper and I
searched through the other to locate it. After several
minutes, we had solved the puzzle. Elementary, Dr.
Watson! One of the students had taken the liberty to
jumble up lines and paragraphs from his classmate's
paper to fabricate “his own” paper. His “classmate” was
none other than his wife! That made matters easier. He
took the first paragraph from his wife's paper and made
it his seventh paragraph and so on and so forth.
Needless to say, the students were given a stern
Warning. The one who did the worse offence of jumbling
up another's
 paper was dismissed. The other continued
her studies till she was caught “redhanded,” copying in
an examination. Thus, both were summarily dismissed from
the seminary. Had they not been caught, within a few
weeks, the oldest couple in the seminary would have
secured their diplomas and walked off proudly to “serve”
the Lord. What shocks me most is the thought that such
students as these made it to the final year of a
master's program in an upcoming seminary. Given their
substandard performance, they should not have been
promoted from the first semester to the second. On one
hand our Bible schools and
Seminaries claim that they are centres of higher
learning. The reality However is quite contrary in many
cases.
I do not think that this is an isolated incident in the
realm of theological education in India. Many of our
colleges have become centres of inefficiency and
mediocrity. Should not our ill-trained students that
come off our production lines be viewed with sympathy,
considering their backgrounds and the lack of resources?
Yes, of course, provided they do not brandish their
diplomas in pride as if they know everything. (But
sadly, these are they very young men who take up
pastoral offices in churches and put on a brave, proud
face before even the best educated congregations. They
do not respect people who are better educated than them.
They refuse to learn anything new. If anyone should
question them, they will flaunt their third-class “M.Div.”
and “B.D.” degrees.)
Instead of seeing the above mentioned incident as a
purely academic issue, I would like to address it as a
more fundamental issue of integrity and honesty.
Although we must make sure that our pastors-in-training
must receive the best possible education, we must also
ensure that they receive character-formation during
their years in a seminary.
A seminarian who practices dishonesty in the writing of
an essay or a research paper displays a serious flaw in
his/her character. He will not hesitate to steal a book
from the college library. (Given the lack of resources
in most theological libraries there is a dire shortage
of essential text-books. How can a class of twenty five
students manage with one or two copies of a textbook?)
He or she may replace a stolen book to the library after
writing a paper or after the examination season. But of
what use is that “charity”? These dishonest workers will
later steal money from the coffers of their organisation
or from their church. Numerous such instances have come
to light.
And yet, is “honesty” or “integrity” on any college's
list of priorities? How can it ever be? From top to
bottom, most are in it for what is up for grabs. Vested
interests rule the roost. Very often, decisions
involving money are taken in quite an interesting way.
From which copy shop should a college's official
photocopies be made? Of course, it should be taken from
the shop owned by one of the college's officials. If an
electric bulb needs replacement, from which electrical
supplies shop should a college buy it? It should
certainly be bought from an electrical supplies shop
owned by one of the college's officials. Thus, in this
manner, every dollar or rupee that comes into the
coffers of a college or seminary is used to make its
officials richer. What is plainly a case of corruption
even to the eyes of the ungodly does not appear to be
corruption in the eyes of the “separated” and “holy”
believers.
Talk about spiritual formation and you can see the
tongues of seminarians wagging. “Oh, we give top
priority to spiritual formation. We have special
'spiritual emphasis week' every month. We make our
students fast during those days. We bring in the best
preachers to usher in revival.” Before you get carried
away by such glib talk, consider this ground reality.
Most students in seminaries hate being forced to fast or
pray. They may go through the motions for the sake of
remaining in the good books of the teachers. (Powerful
teachers can be quite menacing, you see, if you rub them
on the wrong side! One defaulter may even be forced to
pack his bagsthat is, if he doesn't have any relative on
the College's Board of Directors to bail him out.)
Even with all these “spiritual emphasis” weeks, there
are students who end up as rogues. What else will you
call a student who picks the lock of a public telephone
on campus to pocket all the coins? Or the student who
steals supplies from the campus kitchen to sell it in
the open market? Or what will you call a teacher who
steals a research paper of his student and publishes it
in a journal under his name?
“But didn't Jesus also have a Judas Iscariot on his
team? Are we greater than Him?” I can already hear such
protests from readers who are sympathetic to our Bible
Colleges. Yes, one man in Jesus' team was a rogue. He
was a son of perdition. And we too have such rogues
among our students and teachers. That probably is the
only similarity between Jesus' training programme and
ours!
Further, students watch how much their teachers or their
college values spirituality. Although a lot is spoken
about spirituality, most colleges do not have any means
of establishing its value in the training programme.
What do students 'catch' from their observation?
1. In a college's brochure, teachers are described in
terms of their degrees. “The more degrees you have, the
more respected you are” - this lesson gets etched in a
student's mind. Thus begins his journey from college to
the other till he becomes an old man.
2. During the time of admission, the only things that
matter are academic qualification, ability to handle
English language, and a student's ability to pay fees.
Lesson learnt: “Its academics and money power that are
important.”
3. At the end of a semester or a programme, a student's
progress card shows his/her grades. No marks are awarded
for punctuality, honesty, time spent for private prayer,
respect for teachers, etc. The only thing that is valued
and rewarded (in the form of grades and marks) is
academic performance. Lesson learnt: “Get marks! Nothing
else matters.”
Is it any wonder then that our seminarians hardly spend
time in prayer (except when forced to do so). They spent
all their time studying. They cheat during examinations;
they steal books; they trample over fellow students. All
these are done to get that final medal for academic
achievement! Some of them secure admission to seminaries
using forged certificates! They follow the example of
their leaders who do not hesitate to pay Rs. 10,000 to
get a bogus Ph.D. so that people will call them 'Dr.
So-and-so.'
Spirituality and character are not taught; they are
caught or imbibed. If teachers and trainers are
spiritual, godly people, their students will imbibe it
without any hesitation. But if they are harsh task
masters who think they can legislate spirituality and
love for God, they can't be farther from the truth.
(To be concluded)
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This page
is updated on May 15, 2009 |
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PRAISE THE ALMIGHTY
10 YEARS CELEBRATION
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