UPDATE: The Fallout Begins on James White Fudging His Teaching Experience by Peter Lumpkins

   NOTE: UNHAPPILY FOR JAMES WHITE, THE FOLLOWING IS NOT AN APRIL FOOL'S POST

I logged a post March 23, 2011 entitled "Doktor James White on Fudging His Teaching Assignments," demonstrating strict Calvinist* James White continues to give the public a false impression that he presently serves as adjunct professor for Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary, a position he definitively does not hold. While he most certainly has taught at the seminary in the past, he does not presently teach any subject on any Golden Gate campus, and, given the seminary president's public statement, White is not being considered as an adjunct instructor for future classes. Nor is White listed on Golden Gate seminary's official list of adjunct professors. Nor does a call or email to the seminary bear any evidence James White remains as adjunct professor. In spite of the massive evidence to the contrary, James White and his supporters continue to give the public impression he remains as adjunct professor at Golden Gate Seminary. Now begins the embarrassing fallout.. >>>

The occasion which spawned my initial and most recent post about White not teaching at Golden Gate was a recent interview of James White on the ReformedCast podcast site managed by James White supporter, Scott Oakland. Introducing him, Oakland specifically indicated James White "teaches Greek, Systematic Theology, and various topics in the field of apologetics at Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary..." (//link). This is definitively false. James White teaches nothing at Golden Gate (nor any other Southern Baptist seminary) as the numerous links above demonstrate. 

And, as Dave Armstrong has rightly pointed out concerning White's bio page and teaching assignments at Golden Gate,

"There we learn that he hasn't taught anything with "Greek" in the title of the course since 2001 (hardly current). He hasn't taught systematic theology there since 2004. His last (and only course in Christology was way back in the previous century and millennium: 1997. And for Hebrew, we have to go back to 2000" (//link)

Hence, even if James White has taught Greek and Systematic Theology in the past, it has been so long ago, who could reasonably cite those classes as indicative of James White presently teaching Greek and Systematic Theology at Golden Gate? Yet James White supporter, Scott Oakland, insists his introductory profile on his podcast post (both written and audio) accurately reflects James White's current adjunct teaching status at Golden Gate and refuses to correct his false statement. He simply ignores the evidence negating his assertion that James White is presently adjunct professor and suggests those of us raising questions are merely "spinning" the facts.

Well, Scott Oakland and other White supporters need to know not all James White supporters are ignoring facts.  We mentioned in an earler post, Bethany House, James White's main publisher, had the following on their website:

"James R. White is the author of several acclaimed books, including The King James Only Controversy and The Forgotten Trinity. He is an elder of the Phoenix Reformed Baptist Church, director of Alpha and Omega Ministries--a Christian apologetics organization, an adjunct professor with Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary, and a professor of apologetics with Columbia Evangelical Seminary" (embolden added here and below)

However, one may check the same link and notice Bethany House has rightly changed James White's author profile:

James R. White is the author of several acclaimed books, including The King James Only Controversy and The Forgotten Trinity. He is an elder of the Phoenix Reformed Baptist Church, director of Alpha and Omega Ministries--a Christian apologetics organization, has taught courses for Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary, and is a professor of apologetics with Columbia Evangelical Seminary" (//link)

We congratulate Bethany House for promptly taking action and correcting the public record--James White has taught courses for Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary. We believe this shows integrity on their part.

In addition, we realize this is embarrassing for James White.  To have one's main supporter consider the facts and judge against you cannot make for a happy-go-lucky day. Nonetheless, nothing is gained by bloating one's academic accomplishments to impress an unsuspecting public which is precisely what James White was doing. Of all people, James White ought to know this.

Perhaps in the future, James White will be much more cautious in presenting his credentials accurately. We hope he considers rewriting his faculty profile at the unaccredited seminary where he is listed as "faculty mentor."  It too makes the very claim Bethany House rightly judged to be incorrect--that James White is adjunct professor at Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary when he most certainly is not (//link).  

In addition, honesty requires Scott Oakland and other James White supporters to follow Bethany House's stellar example and begin to speak accurately and reasonably about James White's academic profile. Let's stop fudging the facts even if it makes our hero appear less academically accomplished than he would like others to think.

With that, I am...

Peter

*some theologians describe White's theology as historic Hyper-Calvinism and hence on the extreme fringes of Reformed thinking

Comments

[Tur8tinFanFan]

>.<

Now you've done it Peter !!!

Scott "Always Reforming" Oakland is going to spam Bethany House telling them how illogical they are. They may need to hire a temp to take all his emails!

Or he may drop it because it's Bethany House. And never apologize to you.

Im going with the latter, it's a "sure thing".

- TF Fan

[Timotheos Patterson]

"We congratulate Bethany House..."

Au contraire, mon frère, the congratulations are all yours for a job well done. No one else seemed up to (or perhaps sufficiently motivated to) the unpleasant task you have so admirably taken in hand. I say let the christian community henceforth more diligently watch its own hind-quarters, and let those not of the christian community take note of, and be encouraged by, the fact that we know how to put down such hubris in our own rank and file. It is, without doubt, a banner day for us all - Bethany House perhaps excepted.

Timotheos

[Michael]

LOL, this, coming from an Ergun Caner supporter! That's the pot calling the kettle black.

[peter lumpkins]

Dear Michael,

Actually, no. This is coming from Bethany House publishers. I just bee da messenga boi.

With that, I am...
Peter

[peter lumpkins]

Dear Timotheos

Thankz!

With that, I am...
Peter

[A.M. Mallett]

To be downgraded from adjunct professor to taught some courses, well, I wonder who at Bethany will take the "YOU, sir, are a LIAR" call.

[Dave Armstrong]

It is most refreshing to see that someone in White's corner (Bethany House) is acting sensibly with regard to all this false presentation. I can't wait to see Scott spin this. Maybe Peter threatened Bethany House with a boycott or something? Anything but their changing the blurb simply because it was the right thing to do . . .

White could have done the same thing early on and this whole fiasco could have been completely avoided. But we all knew that he wouldn't because (as we all know) he can never be wrong.

[Psychobob]

Wow. "Obsession" may be too light a word...

Embarrassing or not for White, your juvenile attempts at gaining attention for yourself are just sad.

[peter]

Dear "Psychobob"

You get one insult as an anon. Log on again and, of course, I'll need your real identity.

BTW, if you want to gauge "obsession" how about this? Continue stating over and over and over again how a certain guy is such a loser, doesn't count, is an imbecile who cannot "face" intelligent people because his arguments are too "vacuous" and "empty" but nonetheless spend 10 minutes on one broadcast after another challenging him to a debate. Now, that's what I call obsession!

Trust your weekend well.

With that, I am...
Peter

[prchrbill]

Not to rain on your parade Mr. Lumpkins, but Dr. White has not been saying that He is 'currently teaching' for Golden State.

But, I don't want to confuse you with the facts. The issue really at stake is your assertion that someone has told you that he will 'never teach there again'. Mr. White has continued to state that no one from the school has told him that.

I understand your one of your life goals is to destroy Dr. White's reputation and by that destroy Calvinism(as if it rested upon him). One thing you are doing however, cutting off your own nose to spite your face. I suppose if Dr. White was someone that sat at home on his couch and posted blogs on the internet about how everyone else was wrong while eating potato chips and getting fat, then it would behoove you to expose such a one as a hypocrite. But you are actually going after someone that readily defends the faith and does the work that so may people won't do, meet with Muslims, Atheists, Liberal Theologians, Roman Catholics and actually debate them and promote the true Gospel of forgiveness of sins in Christ.

The ironic fact is, I would have never heard of you if hadn't been for Dr. White's work in apologetics. Other than him mentioning your name on his show, you would just be another nobody with a blog site.

For full disclosure, I am in no way affiliated with AOMin.org, Dr. White, or the church he is an elder of.
I am just a fat guy on a couch, eating potato chips, writing on a blog site.

prchrbill

[Remi]

The irony continues regarding White's dishonesty regarding so many things, while always screaming about "exposing" people and calling everyone else a liar.

White, you do realize when people promote misinformation about you and you don't correct them, but tacitly approve it, you're being dishonest as well.

Of course, that could also apply to the fact that he allows people to call him Dr.

[peter]

'prchrbill'

A) Of course he hasn't said a word, has he? He's only allowing others to do the dirty job for him, ah? Bravo! He is squeaky clean, I'm sure. I suppose that accounts for his spewing venom toward me for the last week on his DL for even questioning his 'adjunct status'

B) No, the real issue is honesty and straight-forwardness guy, and White nor his supporters have been either.

C) Whatever people from the school have told him is his business. And, what I have been told is perfectly consistent with what is. Nor am I willing to say who said what. I'm no fool. If I did mention who said what, do you think he or she would gain mercy from the White machine? No, White and his boys would do to him or her the same as they to every boy and girl who 'crosses' them. Even so, White demands I reveal "my source" about who told me about his present non-status with GGBTS before he knew. I know! How about White revealing who told him his "information"! Great heavens! What an idea...

D) Nope, I'm not "going after" anyone including White. I'm just keeping it real Jack

E) I really don't care whether you've heard of me or not. I don't blog for fame I assure

F) Full disclosure? Yeah, right. How about giving your real name next time you log on. That would resemble "full disclosure" much more than 'prchrbill'. What a hoot...

By the way, your name will be necessary for you to log another comment.

With that, I am...
Peter

[Remi]

prchrbill,

Why is everyone who wants to know the truth or has a problem with dishonesty somehow part of some horrible and vast conspiracy? Isn't it possible they just are interested in the truth being preserved?

[Yahya Snow]

Hello Peter,

I hope you are well.

Contrary to what some people may believe, I'm not a friend of James White. However, I do try to be balanced.

I don't think this is the huge sin on White's part that some are making it out to be. What is the difference between this and White's claim of knowing Arabic on his FB?

Don't get me wrong, White has fallen into error on both counts but the question is as to how big the error is and how deliberate the error is...

Peter, how can you say for certain, that White fudged his resume deliberately?

Is it possible that he never got round to correcting/updating the Bethany House description and other descriptions of his credentials...

Peter, I enjoy your writing style and I recognise you are amongst the nicer Christians on the net - please do not see this as an attack on you or your journalisitic endeavours.

I am simply presenting genuine questions in order to present balance. I am NOT an aominion. I have critiqued White in the past - in fact one such occasion was a follow up on the criticism you guys levelled at him with regards to his over-playing of his credentials on FB another such episode was highlighting White's dishonest use of a "translation of the Quran" made up by his dishonest friend.

Peter, I agree White should update folk as to him no longer teaching "presently" at GG.

Is this not a question of a slow acting White rather than one of fudging his credentials to seem more appealing?

I ask these questions in the interest of balance. However, if White is guilty of some level of dishonesty we should keep it in its perspective.

There is a ton of dishonesty within Christian apologetics - maybe I am somewhat immune to the more subtle variety (IF White is guilty)you are pointing us to...

The biggest problem within Christian apologetics is dishonesty. Muslims see many Christian apologists as being dishonest. So if this turns out to be a case of dishonesty its further fuel to the fire - just another twig tossed onto the existing fire.

Take care

Have a nice weekend (or what remains of it)

Peace

[Yahya Snow]

Oh, just to further demonstrate myself to be balanced (ie not pro-White), I can add that I, like Peter, also rebuked White and his friend on their shocking comments concerning Mormon and Russian women.

The less said about that episode the better.

Peace

[Dave Carrig]

Ummm - Why is Dr. White listed as a professor on the Golden Gate BTS sylliby page?: www.ggbts.edu/academics/downloads/

Just curious..

r/
DAVE CARRIG

[peter]

Yahya,

Thanks.

First, you ask, "Peter, how can you say for certain, that White fudged his resume deliberately?"  The fact is, as I show in this piece, questions glare which need simple, but straight-forward answers. White’s bio page which I suppose could be an online version of his “resume” (the term you use in your question) is actually not in question. It does not suggest he presently serves at Golden Gate seminary. The problem exists, however, when we examine other public profiles which explicitly suggest he does, in fact, presently serve at the California seminary.  For example, the introductory info for this interview* definitively asserts White teaches at GGBTS. He does not teach at GGBTS. In addition, Bethany House publishers, White’s main publisher, up until two days ago had White teaching at GGBTS. They changed it to be more accurate with precisely what is. White’s own faculty profile still says James White is “Adjunct Professor teaching New Testament Greek, Systematic Theology, Christology, and Hebrew for Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary at their Arizona Campus.” So, it is not just a matter of “forgetting” to update a resume. But even if it was, White would have said so and updated it. Instead he aims both barrels at me, cocks and fires—hardly the action of a man who has forgotten. So, yes it is a big deal—especially if you make a point out of dissing other people for bloating resumes and alleging they say one thing and do another.

Second, Yahya, you three times suggest Christian apologetics to be riddled with “dishonesty,” even stating the “biggest problem in Christian apologetics is lack of integrity—“ton of dishonesty within Christian apologetics…The biggest problem within Christian apologetics is dishonesty.”  I’m afraid your insistence for “balance” just blew a flat tire, Yahya. Just because there is some dishonesty appearing in apologetics does not necessarily mean all Christian apologists are plagued with dishonesty. In fact, even if James White bloated his resume does not meant he’d steal a nickel from the cash box if he were tempted.  Nothing follows except the biblical truth: all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.  That’s it. Any one of us—including both you and me—are fully capable of dishonesty. I could just as well point to a Muslim apologist who may have stretched the facts a bit, my friend. Would I be justified in making a blanket statement “the biggest problem in Muslim apologetics is dishonesty”?  I most certainly would not.

The fact is, you and I are in the same depraved boat.  And, from my perspective there is only one way to escape the depravity—Jesus Christ. He is the way, truth, and life. And, as Augustine points out, He is the way—without Him there is no going; He is the truth—without Him there is no knowing; He is the life—with out Him there is no living.

Thanks for your contribution. Trust your weekend ends good as well.

With that, I am…

Peter  

*at least before the wording was changed. Scott Oakland has now changed the verbiage on the website. Compare the original wording http://reformedcast.com/2011/03/17/&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us&source=www.google.com" target="_blank">here (original) and here (edited). To date, the audio, however, still has Scott Oakland introducing White as teaching at GGBTS on the subjects of Greek, Systematic Theology, and various topics in the field of apologetics, a definitively false statement.

[peter]

David,

Because James White has taught there in the past, a fact no one disputes. Your link has been accounted for since I first posted on this in June, 2010.

With that, I am...
Peter