do you have A degree in Theology

jam

Curious; Most profession you need A degree. I know of several minister

that do not have A degree in Theology. What studies are required in

order to get your degree?

It depends on what sort of 'degree' you're talking about. You can go for a Bachelor of Arts (BA), Bachelor of Religious Education (BRE) degree or simply a Certificate in Christian Studies. You can get a MTh (Master of Theology) or a MDiv (Master of Divinity). I'm not sure what qualifications the various denominations demand, but I think many of the mainstream Christian churches expect that their minister have at least a BA.

You see many whacko TV Evangalists who, I'm fairly certain, do not have a degree in anything except conning people. Then there's the WTS who sends their men to 'elder school' to learn a very slanted view of anything and everything.

jam

thanks Mary; I have notice that in the Baptist church it is the same as

the Jw,s, the ministers come up from the ranks with no former schooling,

on the job training.

Black Sheep

New Zealand's highest ranking Theologian (Sir Lloyd George Geering, ONZ, GNZM, CBE) is an atheist. LOL

InterestedOne

Richard Dawkins said he doesn't understand why there is even a degree in such a thing. To him, it's like getting a degree in fairyology.

JuanMiguel

Since I understand Richard Dawkins to be a very learned individual, it strikes me odd that he would really say something like that.

Theology is the systematic study of religion with particular branches into various schools of thought and discipline, like in Christian belief, or Native American worship. There's more than mere "Christian" theology or theology that revolves around deities.

I have has a good number of atheist friends who have never put their foot in their mouth with regards to their beliefs. As I've been able to learn by reading a lot of posts here, that can also describe some of the regular posters who also embrace atheism.

But sometimes I get the feeling that some who call themselves atheists today don't really think things out. They are not really "purist" in the sense that they merely reject the Judeo-Christian concept of God. If one has never been exposed to what is considered "deity" by others, one may not always fit that description to some.

I do recall Thomas Paine and and how his view of "theology" was limited to just the Christian view. He stated:

"The study of theology, as it stands in Christian churches, is the study of nothing; it is founded on nothing; it rests on no principles; it proceeds by no authorities; it has no data; it can demonstrate nothing; and it admits of no conclusion. Not anything can be studied as a science, without our being in possession of the principles upon which it is founded; and as this is the case with Christian theology, it is therefore the study of nothing."--The Life and Major Writings of Thomas Paine, p. 601.

Of course modern academia doesn't totally agree, because even if the religion is based on a lie, one still has something to study--the lie itself.

And that could create a paradox if Christianity were based on "nothing." That would mean that science could not explain its origins, that it would be considered "inexplicable" and be viewed as baffling. All the more for some to consider it "miraculous" that a powerful movement came from nothing.

"Besides," as my aunt Rosie once stated to this quote, "If my religion is based on nothing, what does that say about you who are wasting your time arguing against nothing?"

Regardless of our beliefs in deities or "fairies" as some may put it, religion itself exists. You can indeed study it as a discipline in its own right. Leeds University in England, for example, offers courses and a degree in the pursuit of the study of theology purely as an academic discipline without affiliation to any particular denomination.

A modern proverb asks the question of some atheists who may have rejected God on the sole basis of limited exposure to Judeo-Christian concepts: "A militant atheist is equipped to tear down religion and its gods until he stands before the Dalai Lama. When religion has no god as its basis, how does the atheist prove to his holiness the reason for his existence as an atheist?"

TTWSYF

A degree in 'Fairyology'?

Friends of mine at the Harvard School of Divinity would disagree. Besides heavy doses of the obvious [such as history, languages and archeology], they also study and get access to incredible research facilities. Last time we spoke, they were studying possibilities concerning how certain bodies [of 'saints'] did not corrupt over time. Some speculated that perhaps the amount of fasting, or eating of certain types of herbs had contributed to the preservation of some of these bodies. Although this is a 'school of divinity', the research that they do make it clear that they are skeptics when researching causes that seem to defy logic.

DC

PSacramento

I have two more years and I can get my degree, haven't decided if I am going to yet.

TTWSYF

Way to go Psac! What would you do with your degree? Perhaps work at a museum, go on digs in Egypt [not any time soon I hope], or maybe become a preacher. You could start your own cult or something. lol

dc

PSacramento

LOL !
I just thought it would something interesting to do in may spare time, LOL !
I have a degree in Business and a degree in Mechanical Engineering ( work related) and I thought that studying theology would be a fun thing to do and, for the most part, it has been and quite interesting.

Whether I am willing to continue on ($$$) for fun is another matter !

do you have A degree in Theology

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