c:\@2003\Weiss

NOTES FROM THE EASTERN BAPTIST SEMINARY'S
ARCHIVES OF THE 1970'S

ITEM ONE

The minutes of the faculty meeting on February 8, 1971 contains the following notice:

Evangelical Theological Society Memberships

Dean Bender read a letter from President Harnish inviting the members of the Faculty to join the Evangelical Theological Society and offering to pay the dues required.

In the past several members of the Faculty have held membership in the Society. At the present two faculty members belong [Dr. Henry and Dr. Davis]. Dr. Davis was solicited to secure literature from the Society to present to other members of the faculty who might be interested in knowing more about its goals and aims. The Dean related his own experience with the Society and that of Dr. Baker's. Faculty action on the matter was not deemed wise or necessary and it was left up to individual decision whether one would join or not. Discussion was held and the sentiment was voiced that identification on the part of the Seminary as a whole with this Society would tend to push us into a theological stance which is not in accord with our historical position. It was moved by Dr. Maring and seconded by Dr. Englerth:

That a Faculty Forum be arranged when the President and the Vice Presidents could be present to discuss together the matter of the evangelical identification of the Seminary. Further, it is desired that a meeting with the Board of Directors be arranged for the same purpose during their annual meeting. The motion was passed unanimously.

ITEM TWO

Faculty-Trustee Committee on Eastern's Evangelical Stance (October 25, 1971)

ITEM THREE

Preparatory Statement (October 25, 1971) for Faculty-Directors
Forum on Eastern's Evangelical Stance (December 7, 1971)

ITEM FOUR

Carl Henry's Report (November 30, 1971) on Students' Survey on Biblical Inerrancy -page 1 , which reflects his dismay that biblical inerrancy was not being affirmed by the seminary's professors in Biblical Studies and that the issue of biblical errancy / inerrancy would not be on the agenda of the Faculty-Board Forum on Eastern's Evangelical Stance to be held the following week on December 7, 1971.

Carl Henry's Report (November 30, 1971) on Students' Survey on Biblical Inerrancy - page 2

ITEM FIVE

Student Senate Controversy

James T. Oldham, the President of the Student Senate, made the following
comments in his report to Board of Directors on December 10, 1974:

The question of the balance within the Biblical Department courses between the amount of time devoted to historical-critical methodology, as opposed to content, continues to be a matter of concern for many students. Although there are a number of students who have a keen interest in historical critical methodology and problems, the majority of students would feel that the amount of time devoted to these is out of proportion to their usefulness in ministry. There seems to be little willingness on the part of the Biblical Department to make adjustments along these lines; however the realignment of teaching responsibilities for first year Biblical Department courses has helped the situation somewhat.

ITEM SIX

Mr. Oldham�s report to the Board of Directors resulted in the following letter from David George, the Secretary of Communication for the Student Senate, being sent to faculty and students:

Dear Faculty and Students,

At the December 13 meeting of the Student Senate, the Senate voted that, because certain statements made in the December 10 report of the Student Body President to the Board of Directors that were deemed to be inaccurate representations of student body feelings, it could not extend official support to the Student Body President�s report.

Respectfully,

(signed)

David George

Secretary of Communication

Student Senate

ITEM SEVEN

This letter lead to the following letter from James Oldham being sent out on December 13, 1974:

Dear Friends in the Student Body,

As many of you are aware, my report to the Board of Directors dated December 10, 1974 has been the subject of considerable thought and discussion over the past week. The intent of my report was to communicate to the Board a brief synopsis of student body activities, attitudes, and feelings at the present time. However, as a result of the thought and discussion of the past week and the action of the Student Senate on this date to express its non-endorsement of the report, I have come to the conclusion that certain statements in the report were partially inaccurate, based on insufficient factual information, and/or reported in an inappropriate manner or forum. These errors in judgment were unintentional but to the extent that I may have inaccurately assessed and/or reported your feelings, I must express my apologies.

The assessment of student body feeling on any given issue is always a difficult process for one individual, even with the evaluative tools that we have been using in an attempt to measure that opinion. The new pol icy adopted by the Student Senate to review the Semi-Annual Report of the Student Senate President prior to its presentation to the Board of Directors will hopefully guard against any reoccurrences of this problem on the part of either the present or future encumbants (sic) of this office.

Great concern was expressed by all who spoke at today�s Senate meeting that certain statements made in this report might reflect on members of the Biblical Department in a very unfavorable way which was not intended and which certainly is not desired by the student body. I want to make it clear that my statements with reference to the Biblical Department were intended to isolate a very specific area of instructional concern among students and not to impugn the overall competency, character, and/or commitment of the members of the Biblical Department, all of whom I hold in high regard and to whom I am indebted for the understanding and appreciation of the Bible and the Biblical message which I have today. It is clear to me, in retrospect, however, that the precise wording of these statements is open to serious misunderstanding and misrepresentation in relation to the total scope of events at the seminary in the past six years. I am very sorry if these statements have resulted, or may yet result, in such misunderstanding or misrepresentation in the minds of any. However, in order to deal responsibly with this possibility, a committee composed of myself and three class representatives has been appointed by the Senate to meet with Dr. Weiss to determine if any further clarifying or corrective action on my part or the part of the Senate with relation to the Board of Directors is required or would be helpful.

The experiences of the past week have been an invaluable learning experience for me and perhaps for many of you as well. They have also reaffirmed my faith in our student governmental processes and the ability of a loving, Christian community to relate to one another in a spirit of understanding, concern, and forgiveness even in the midst of extreme tensions, pressures, and disagreements. I want to personally thank all of you who, even though you may have disagreed with my report in one or more respects, supported me with your words and actions and prayers over the past week, and worked together toward a reasonable, just, and compassionate resolution of the issues involved.

Sincerely,

(signed)

James T. Oldham

President,

Student Senate

__________________________________________________________
ITEM EIGHT

Tom McDaniel's receiving tenure in 1974
and the consequences which followed

The Chairman of the Board of Directors, Frank Middleswart, opposed my receiving tenure and, consequently, the process for granting me tenure took over two years. But in 1974 the Board of Directors finally granted the tenure despite the opposition of the Chairman of the Board, who had threatened to resign the chairmanship if the tenure were granted. Upon granting me tenure, the Board then gave the Chairman of the Board a vote of confidence and Mr. Middleswart remained the Board Chairman.

My receiving tenure meant that I could not be dismissed from the seminary faculty except for incompetence, moral terpitude, or heresy. The Bible studies I delivered at the 1977 World Missions Conference at Green Lake Wisconsin were thought by my critics to be proof that I was a heretic (see the file entitled "1978.htm by clicking HERE) and should be asked to submit a letter of resignation unless I could prove otherwise. President Weiss in a follow-up conversation with me after receiving my letter of defense of 1-22-78, emphasized the point that "Eastern is too small a box for you, you need to go to a bigger box, like a university, where your independent ideas will be appreciated." So, though the charge against me of heresy was dropped and I was not asked to submit a letter of resignation, I realized that the Chairman of the Board of Directors and the President of the seminary still wanted me to leave Eastern.

I prepared to do just that, though not immediately. Rather, I considered leaving the ministry all together, for I found Dean Maring's statement, "When we get to the nub of the present problem, however, it is not a question of whether your interpretation is correct or not . . . [rather] does your interpretation . . . fit the interpretation affirmed in our Doctrinal Basis?" to be most disturbing. Up to that point I had assumed that theological education was a quest for truth and that it did matter if one were right or wrong. But I learned in a very painful way that for some in authority the quest for truth was to be made secondary to the perpetuation of tradition. If it did not matter whether clergy and professors of Biblical Studies were right or wrong in what they taught, then I could not honestly remain a clergyman or a seminary professsor. In my value system the quest for truth could not be subordinated.

Thus, in preparation for leaving Eastern and the ministry I decided to study real estate and take the Pennsylvania state exam to become a realtor. (The real estate agent Doris and I worked with in 1973, when we bought our home in Narberth, was of such great help to us that I wanted to help others as she had helped us.) I took three courses in real estate at Harcum Junior College in the spring of 1979 and passed the state exam in May, 1979. (Mr. Reynolds Baldwin, one of my students, got his father-in-law to sponsor me for the state exam even though he was unable to hire me.) I then went looking for a job as a real estate agent. But I found to my surprise sex discrimination in the work place. I was repeatedly told, "We are not hiring men for residential real estate sales because women do a much better job in residential sales." Being a man I needed to go into commercial real estate; but I had no interest in commercial real estate because residential real estate was where I thought I could be most helpful to people. My interests were with people, not properties or profits. Thus, my becoming a salesman of houses and residential properties never materialized.

In the meantime, as the 1970's came to a close, there were major transitions in the seminary's leadership. President Weiss brought Dr. Manfred Brauch onboard as the new Academic Dean. Shortly thereafter, President Weiss resigned his position as Seminary President (and did what he had advised me to do; he left the "little box" of Eastern Seminary and went to the "bigger box" of Pace University in New York). Mr. Middleswart, shortly after Dr. Dan Weiss's departure, retired from his position as Chairman of the Board of Directors.

For me personally, the transitions were a godsend. Dean Manfred Brauch, a New Testament scholar in his own right, understood my quest for truth and appreciated the issues I was addressing in my classes on campus and my Bible studies off campus. With his support and with the support and appreciation I received also from President Robert Seiple, the successor to Daniel Weiss, and from Mr. Maurice Workman, the successsor to Frank Middleswart, the pressures on me to leave Eastern Baptist Seminary simply evaporated. My teaching at the Seminary from 1978 to 2001 was pleasant and appreciated (click HERE to view some letters of appreciation). In May, 2001, just before retirement, I received the Alumnus of the Year Award and more letters of appreciation (click HERE ). To view my video interview at that time, in which I shared my esteem and respect for Dean Maring, click HERE.