Daniel_Cheung
10-17-2009, 05:40 PM
Sheffield's Biblical Studies Program Survives
http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2009/octoberweb-only/141-41.0.html
"The vice chancellor has said that he feels the faculty handled consultation with staff and students so badly that it cannot justify a closure," said Holly Taylor, education officer for the University of Sheffield Students' Union. "This is a great outcome for students who, just a few days ago, believed their department's days were limited. The biblical studies department at Sheffield is unique and held in extremely high regard around the world. The work students have put in over the last week to push the university to reconsider its decision is commendable and I hope the loyalty they have demonstrated to their subject, and their department, will be recognized."
Bruce, the noted author of books such as Paul: Apostle of the Heart Set Free and The New Testament Documents: Are They Reliable?, founded Sheffield's department of biblical history and literature in 1947. But not all faculty have shared Bruce's conservative convictions. Evangelically minded faculty, including Andrew Lincoln and Loveday Alexander, were not replaced with scholars who held similar views. Other faculty were "bent on the deconstruction of the Bible, and indeed of their students' faith," according to Ben Witherington, a New Testament scholar at Asbury Theological Seminary. When five senior lecturers left the faculty in the last two years, the department faced a crisis. The number of new students was capped at eight when the university did not hire new permanent staff. But students contended that interest remained high at both the undergraduate and graduate levels....
http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2009/octoberweb-only/141-41.0.html
"The vice chancellor has said that he feels the faculty handled consultation with staff and students so badly that it cannot justify a closure," said Holly Taylor, education officer for the University of Sheffield Students' Union. "This is a great outcome for students who, just a few days ago, believed their department's days were limited. The biblical studies department at Sheffield is unique and held in extremely high regard around the world. The work students have put in over the last week to push the university to reconsider its decision is commendable and I hope the loyalty they have demonstrated to their subject, and their department, will be recognized."
Bruce, the noted author of books such as Paul: Apostle of the Heart Set Free and The New Testament Documents: Are They Reliable?, founded Sheffield's department of biblical history and literature in 1947. But not all faculty have shared Bruce's conservative convictions. Evangelically minded faculty, including Andrew Lincoln and Loveday Alexander, were not replaced with scholars who held similar views. Other faculty were "bent on the deconstruction of the Bible, and indeed of their students' faith," according to Ben Witherington, a New Testament scholar at Asbury Theological Seminary. When five senior lecturers left the faculty in the last two years, the department faced a crisis. The number of new students was capped at eight when the university did not hire new permanent staff. But students contended that interest remained high at both the undergraduate and graduate levels....