“John” wrote in message [aus.religion.christian] .

Hi, Just joined up after seeing the usual myriad of trashy posts about Hillsong. <> Regards, John. BTW, Phil Pringle has an EARNED Doctorate! Shame on those who spoke too soon and stood in judgement.. with the same measure you use it shall be used against you.. bet you reckon God’s a jerk for sticking that verse in the book!

My response:

John: another note on this one…

Be aware that there are ‘earned doctorates’ and ‘mickey mouse earned doctorates’ and doctorates conferred on people because of their contributions… oops outstanding service to the community, and doctorates that can be bought – for as little as $10 I’ve heard….

As one who has an ‘earned doctorate’ (which I rarely advertise, by the way, and as an ‘adjunct professor’ who had to grade others’ doctoral work, I’d suggest you actually note the institution, and perhaps the contents of the dissertation – and what peers say about it, too – before making a blanket statement about so-called earned doctorates….

One of the illuminating moments of my life was to browse a large theological seminary’s library in the U.S. and read some dissertations by those who earned a ‘doctorate’ from them. For a few, I would have been struggling to give them an undergraduate pass grade…

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Shalom!

Rowland Croucher