Coffee Talk #16 |
The Falsification of Academic Credentials . . .It never ceases to amaze me how Christian ministers can misrepresent themselves and their "credentials." Now, I am aware that people of all walks of life and in all types of careers feel the need to be "recognized" and "admired." And, I am aware of the fact that people from various careers lie about or misrepresent their credentials all the time. A few months ago a man was claiming to have a Ph.D. in science when he didn't: his job demanded that he have the doctorate degree. He lost his job when he was "found out." Non-Christians Are Watching Too . . .However, one would think that Christian ministers would be above all that. But, just the other day, I got an email from a friend, a non-Christian, who has been watching Christianity and Christians for a long time. He did a simple Internet search on the misrepresentation that so many Christian ministers are putting forth on the credentials that come from an American school in association with a foreign university. AccreditationHere is the problem as he states it:
He is absolutely accurate. In fact, here is a most simple test to know if an "accreditor" is REALLY an accreditor in the American educational sense. Just ask this question: Is the accreditor Recognized by the U. S. Department of Education as an accrediting agency? It is really as simple as that. If you contact the USDE and ask them, "Does the USDE recognize Such-and-such an accrediting agency?" and if their answer is "No," then their so-called accreditation is worthless. E-mail : customerservice@inet.ed.gov For more info on the Accreditation issue. Scaling the Language Barrier . . . Accreditation EquivocationThis is all the more confusing when we cross national borders. Did you know that sometimes England's use of the term "accredited" or Australia's use of that word DOES NOT mean the same thing as the term "accredited" in the American sense? Put simply, some terms "there" do not mean the same things as they do here. Take England alone for instance. What is a "lift" there? Well, it is an elevator. But in the U.S. "lift" does not mean elevator. There, a "flat" is an apartment . . . but not here. My Father- and Mother-in-law have traveled the world. And, some of the most interesting stories that they tell have to do with words or hand gestures that mean different things in different cultures. In brief, my father-in-law concludes with this warning: "Learn what THEY mean by it before you say it or do it. Certain friendly gestures here in the U.S. can get you in trouble in other cultures." I am Accredited . . .Okay, so do you have it by now? A word may mean different things in different cultures. A perfect example of that is the fact that I have been made AN ACCREDITED LECTURER by Potchefstroom University of South Africa. That's right: I am personally accredited. I'll be you didn't know that I was "accredited" did you? Potchefstroom University appointed me as an accredited lecturer on October 5, 1998. My "accreditation" status is good until December 31, 2001. At that time, I will be up for a review to see if I will be able to continue my accredited status by them. (Note, this is not CES-accreditation: it is Rick-Walston-accreditation. I'M accredited, not our school.) But, what does that mean? I am personally accredited by Potchefstroom University, which is truly an accredited school in its own right. So, if they are truly accredited, and they are, and if they make me accredited, which they did, does that mean that anyone who has earned his/her degree under my mentorship has an accredited degree? After all, I am accredited. Apparently, my lectures are accredited, since I am an accredited lecturer . So, it would seem reasonable that anyone who has his/her degree based upon my lectures (or mentorship, or professorship) must therefore have an accredited degree . . . Right? Not right. In American terminology, what ACCREDITED LECTURER (from South Africa) means is that I am an "adjunct faculty" member. So, am I really accredited? Yes, I really am accredited, according to South Africa terminology . . . but the term "accredited" in this context means something entirely different there than here. So, on my American resume, to avoid confusion and misrepresentation, I list my position with Potchefstroom University as "Adjunct Faculty" and NOT as "Accredited Lecturer." Semantic Gymnastics and Ethics . . .However, all of the "semantic gymnastics" in the world cannot change the fact that some American schools claim to be accredited when in reality, they are not. And, all of the "semantic gymnastics" in the world cannot change the fact that some Christians and ministers are flat lying about their credentials. And, when Christians (and ministers) who know better use this "slippery, cross-cultural terminology" to mislead others into thinking that they have "accredited degrees" when they do not, it is a lie and it is unethical. And, ultimately their Christian witness is called into question. After my friend correctly identified the error of the use of the term "accreditation" by many Christians (and ministers), he wrote this to me:
Did you catch the last two lines from his comments? If not, let's look at them again: "Someday, perhaps after a carrot juice or two, you'll have to explain to me how so many of these fervent (it seems) Christians can behave in this way. Don't they 'subscribe' to the WWJD approach?" Why "carrot juice"? Well, as we old-timers know, carrot juice was once touted as an elixir that was supposed to give you better mental capacity, sharpness of thought, and better all around health. In other words, implicit in his statement is the idea that I am going to need some help to explain this one away. Here was my response . . .It would take more than carrot juice my friend. There was once a fantastic Far Side cartoon that is closer to what I would need to explain their behavior. You might remember it. There were two men standing at a chalkboard: one was the student and one was the professor. The subject was some sort of advanced math. The student had just written some long formula that took up the entire board . . . somewhere near the middle of the formula were these words . . . "and then a miracle happens." From that point, the formula went on with its various numbers. It was a real kick . . . and, to explain the ridiculous behavior of these fervent (it seems) Christians would take a miracle: However, in my humble opinion, the miracle worker (i.e., God) would likely not support their activities, so no miracle would be forthcoming. A Silly but Helpful Illustration . . .My official position with CES is President. Now, let's say for instance that I go to a foreign country. And, while there, I allowed the people to know two things about me: (1) that I am from America and (2) that I am the President. What might some of them falsely conclude? No matter how I might attempt to justify my behavior by saying stuff like, "Well, I am a president and I am from America ," the fact remains that I would be knowingly misleading people but blaming that misunderstanding on them. Whoever you are reading this Coffee Talk . . . do yourself and others an ethical favor: be honest about your credentials. If people "recognize" and "admire" you for who you really are, great. But, if they "recognize" and "admire" you for who you pretend to be, then you are a fraud. Send comments about this, or any, Coffee Talk to Rick Walston at: (Please note that you will need to take out the spaces and hyphens before and after the @ sign . . . this is placed this way to avoid spam emails.)
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