Educational Return on Investment

I have been considering over the last several years the value of education, and what might be termed the 'return on investment' it might provide. I read an article yesterday that dealt with the overwhelming cost of obtaining a law degree and the crippling effect it has on graduates. I can see this in my own daughter; she just completed a year in law school and I know what debt she carries. The article made the point that in most cases the debt is likely to take many years to get rid of, if at all. There is an overabundance of lawyers and the field is shrinking.

Then there are the theology majors. The so-called 'entry-level' degree is a Masters of Divinity. A traditional MDiv will take 3 years of full-time study and cost anywhere from $25,000 to $50,000. The typical graduate will join a field of graduates all vying for pastoral positions which pay in the vicinity of $25,000 in salary (other benefits MAY be included, but no guarantee). As a matter of fact, the average church in the United States has 75 people and the pastor is likely to be bi-vocational. Return on investment? I would say that there is very little.

This raises a question in my mind. If the return of investment is so low, why do it? Especially for a minister who is already ordained, what's the point? There are only a couple reasons to pursue an advanced degree in ministry. One is to advance your skills or keep your skills sharp. Another is for the 'prestige' of an advanced degree. A third reason would be to allow the recipient to teach in a more formal setting (at a District educational center, for instance). A fourth reason, at least in our denomination, is that there is a requirement for ordained elders to participate in continuing education.

A better option might be to take advantage of free or low-cost educational opportunities according to a plan of education you draw up yourself. There are free courses available online from places like Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and Covenant Theological Seminary. Low cost courses are available from Nazarene Bible College and others. Why not look at a Master's level program from a legitimate school and see if you can duplicate it, or come close to it, by using these kinds of resources? If you honestly pursue the plan and meet your goals, at the end you could even print yourself a certificate and hang it on your wall.

The typical response by many in our field is that this is simply not the same as earning an advanced degree from an accredited institution. Yet, if it brings the knowledge and skills that you need, who cares? Abraham Lincoln did not seem to find his self-education in law a problem either when practicing law or as a politician. Maybe we are becoming too caught up in the formalities to recognize what the end goal should be...ministry.

The Consequences of Atheism

A recent book by Stephen Hawking's, "The Grand Design", has caused more than a little stir in both scientific and theological circles. I'm sure I will get questions about this sooner or later, especially since Vermont has a fair contingent of atheists.

The most radical theological statements which Hawking makes in his book are, "Because there is a law such as gravity, the Universe can and will create itself from nothing. Spontaneous creation is the reason there is something rather than nothing, why the Universe exists, why we exist", and "It is not necessary to invoke God to light the blue touch paper and set the Universe going." In other words Hawking has explicitly rejected the possibility of any Deity or the necessity of Deity in creation.

Rather than touching on the various arguments for or against these statements, I'd like simply to focus for a moment on the implications of what he said, and explore the meaning of atheism in everyday life. Here are a few things for thought.

You are composed of several pounds of chemicals and a fair bit of water. Everything you are is simply a result of chemical reactions within your body. Each perception you have, every thought you have, every emotion you feel is simply a chemical reaction. A complicated reaction, perhaps, but just a chemical reaction in the end. Love is not real, neither is pain, joy or grief.

The sensation of being 'alive', or having thoughts and feelings, is basically a chemical reaction which creates an illusion of self-awareness. 'Alive' is simply just a temporary state of chemical equilibrium.

All creatures, plant and animal, are the same and have the same level of significance. There is a matter of scale and influence which sets the more complicated organisms apart, but in the words of PETA co-founder and President Ingrid Newkirk, "A rat is a pig is a dog is a boy" (Vogue, Sept 1, 1989).

There is no afterlife. There is no soul, no Nirvana, no Heaven, no Hell and no Happy Hunting Grounds. When your body ceases to function sufficiently well to support what we call 'life' or 'self-awareness', you will simply return to your constituent chemicals and what you were; the essential part that makes you who you are will be forever gone.

There is no reward for good behavior, there is no punishment for bad behavior except for the consequences of our own actions here. Other people may impose consequences upon you (fairly or not) but that is all that can happen.

When something bad happens to you, there is no underlying purpose. If you can get away with doing something to benefit yourself, even at the expense of others, go ahead and do it. There is no outside basis for morality, so don't worry about it. Ethics is a constructed fable.

There is no 'absolute truth' where behavior is concerned, it is simply a matter of your own desires being satisfied. Since you have only a small amount of time on earth and it all ends in oblivion, you might as well enjoy your time here. Party up! Get drunk, shoot up, sleep around. Just make sure you enjoy it all.

Since all life is simply a chemical phenomenon, there is nothing sacred about it. Want an abortion? Go ahead! Want to kill someone? No problem (just don't get caught)! Do what feels good and don't worry about others...they can look out for themselves.

Does this seem harsh? These are simply the logical consequences of following a belief in atheism. That is not to say that you cannot construct an ethos based on atheism (i.e. all human life is unique and can never be duplicated, so it is a crime against the universe to harm another person), but it is entirely optional and completely relative to the person.

The biggest issue I see with atheism and with the viewpoint of people like Hawking is that there is no hope anymore. This life is all there is. "Life sucks, then you die." As a Christian, I believe that there is indeed hope, and hope in the sense the ancient Greeks knew...not "pie in the sky thinking", but "confident expectation". It has been said that man can live without most things, but he cannot survive without hope. In what, or in whom, do you put YOUR hope?


"If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men. But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep." 1 Cor 15:19-20 (NIV)


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My brain fell out, dude...

Well, I guess my brain must have fallen out somewhere along the way, here. At least, that is the impression I get from what I've been reading on the Internet. Usually I have enough common sense to avoid reading comments on articles when I'm surfing, but sometimes I just slip. Lately I've noticed that the comments fit a pattern of sorts. Whatever the problem is, the source of the problem is President Obama, or it's ex-President Bush's doing. Occasionally it is Clinton, either Hillary or Bill. When the problem turns on religious or ethical matters, the problem is invariably resting on the shoulders of anyone of any religion who is stupid enough to believe that nonsense.

"Stupid enough to believe that nonsense?" Yup, that's what they say. If you'd just give up all that religion, those myths and legends meant just to control people for the benefit of the clergy and the church then there would be peace in the world and all our problems would just go away. Hmmm...I guess I just don't have what it takes to see any of those benefits I'm supposed to be getting as one of the evil clergy. I want to know where all that money is going, because it is certainly not in MY bank account. As a matter of fact, last time I looked I was working as a bivocational pastor for the equivalent of about $4 an hour! I could make alot more money with a lot less hassle and trouble if I worked at a fast-food joint. "Do you want fries with that?"

It annoys me when people lump other people into any sort of stereotype. "Always" and "Never" are two bad words when it comes to describing classes of people, and most times individuals as well. And the other thing that annoys me is when people base their opinions on bad history. "Christians are just stupid people who don't know how to think for themselves, and they have been responsible for more deaths than anyone else throughout history". Yeah, right. The entire Spanish Inquisition accounted for about 3,000 deaths over a 200 year time span, while the atheistic Stalin killed 20 million people in about 20 years. Sure, there have been some people who have done bad things in the name of Christ, and there are some people (maybe alot) who are Christian and who don't think more than your average houseplant, but some of the most brilliant minds in history have been Christian. And there are plenty of examples of non-religious people doing bad things in the name of selfishness and who don't want to think.

The short and long of it, cut out the stereotypes and start using your head for more than a hat rack. I'll do the same, and I'll stop reading the comments on internet articles for good measure.

"Don't have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they produce quarrels." 2 Tim 2:23 (NIV)