I wish I had kept a list.<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve had far too many conversations over the last few years with trained, experienced, and practicing biblical scholars, young, middle aged, and near retirement, working in Evangelical institutions, trying to follow Jesus and use their brains and training to help students navigate the challenging world of biblical interpretation.<\/p>\n
And they are dying inside.<\/p>\n
Just two weeks ago I had the latest in my list of long conversations with a well-known, published, respected biblical scholar, who is under inhuman stress trying to negotiate the line between institutional expectations and academic integrity. His gifts are being squandered. He is questioning his vocation. His family is suffering. He does not know where to turn.<\/p>\n
I wish this were an isolated incident, but it\u2019s not.<\/p>\n
I wish these stories could be told, but without the names attached, they are worthless. I wish I had kept a list, but even if I had, it wouldn\u2019t have done anyone much good. I couldn\u2019t have used it. Good people would lose their jobs.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m getting tired of hearing the same old story again and again. This is madness.<\/p>\n
Folks, we have a real problem on our hands, and everyone has to bear some responsibility. Here\u2019s the familiar scenario. The \u201cbest and brightest\u201d students in Evangelical seminaries work hard and are encouraged and aided by their professors to pursue doctoral work. Many wind up going to some of the best research universities in the world.<\/p>\n