December 1, 2001 (David W. Cloud, Fundamental Baptist Information Service, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061-0368, 866-295-4143, fbns@wayoflife.org) - Many dangerous warning signs have come from Dallas Theological Seminary in recent decades. This month, Darrell Bock, a Dallas professor who is President of the Evangelical Theological Society (ETS), said that "sharp boundaries should not be drawn for the evangelical movement" ("Evangelical Theological Society rejects 'open theism,'" Baptist Press, Nov. 20, 2001) Instead, Bock argued that "evangelicalism may be likened to a 'village green,' which is defined more by the center than by the boundaries." He said this in a speech before the ETS during a debate on whether or not to reject the doctrine of "open theism." This is the heresy that says God does not know all things that are going to happen in the future. Though the ETS passed a non-binding resolution condemning open theism, Bock argued against it. He is wrong. Paul instructed Timothy not to allow "any other doctrine" (1 Tim. 1:3). He instructed Timothy to teach apostolic doctrine to faithful men who will pass that exact same doctrine along intact (2 Tim. 2:2). Jude 3 says we are to earnestly contend for the faith once delivered to the saints. That is a very, very narrow of doctrine, and it contradicts the prevailing evangelical view that sharp doctrinal boundaries should not be drawn.

Some Fundamentalist seminaries are encouraging teachers to pursue graduate degrees from Dallas, and this close relationship with a New Evangelical institution should will gradually water down the militancy and the distinctive fundamentalism of those schools. The Bible warns that a little leaven leaves the whole lump. Fundamentalists should not be going to Dallas Seminary; they should be lifting their voices to warn about Dallas's compromise. One of the causes of the spiritual downfall of New Evangelicals in the 1950s was their mad pursuit of distinguished educational credentials.