 |
| Geneva gown, doctoral stripes, alb? Tres chic! |
So many opinions have been expressed about Jill Biden wanting to be addressed as "Dr." because she has a Doctor of Education degree.
The people who talk the most about this seem to have the least knowledge. The title "Dr." does not mean physician but "teacher." Otherwise, doctrine would mean medicine. The only doctors in Medieval times were those who completed the necessary courses to be a teacher in religion and philosophy, which were literally the same. The Middle Ages were devoted to expressing Christianity in philosophical terms, an example of Augustine - spoiling the Egyptians. Now they steal the garbage from Pasadena.
Physicians did not call themselves Doctor until recently, when they changed their degree from Bachelor of Medicine to Doctor of Medicine, to improve their status. Lawyers followed with Juris Doctor (Doctor of Law) but ministers only stepped up to Master of Divinity, not even a Latin title.
Latin confuses some people. One Notre Dame student showed me his Yale Divinity diploma, claiming "first honors" in Latin meant he graduated at the top of his class. I asked our Yale Medical friend about that dubious claim. He said, "No that means the first level in that training, a Bachelor of Divinity." Mine said "second honors" in Latin because I earned an STM (Master of Sacred Theology) after the M.Div. Schools dropped the STD designation, which used to be the easy doctorate from the denomination's seminary.
We learned that Mrs. Ichabod's radiologist had multiple degrees, and they include MD, JD, and divinity. I puzzled over what to call him, so I decided Rev. Dr. Counselor was adequate. Now we use that title whenever possible. He went to Baylor Divinity, and yet he was pretty sure it was a Babtist school. Scholars must be divided, because the ELDONA PhD from Baylor denied it was a Babtist school, even with 75% of the board Southern Babtist.
I earned a PhD in theology because Stan Hauerwas called it "the union card for publishing." Now the union card for publishing is a computer and an Internet connection.
Seminaries found that few wanted to come back for continuing education, but graduates swarmed back for a Doctor of Ministry degree, which is considered a master's level degree (at best).
Martin Luther College (WELS) students laugh at Larry Olson refusing to answer questions in class unless he is addressed as "Dr. Olson." And he is "Lawrence," not "Larry." He had a friend publish an article in Christian News denying that Rev. Dr. Lawrence Otto Olson studied at Fuller Seminary. And yet I found his Fuller DMin paper lodged at the MLC library. He wears a Geneva gown with doctoral stripes on the sleeves when he marches with the faculty. A DMin - especially from Fuller Seminary - is not a real doctorate.
The claim that "only physicians are real doctors" is pretty funny. Now it is common for professions to use "doctor" in their degrees. I respect the DPharm designation, because few professions have more opportunities to harm or heal on a daily basis. Why not respect the designation?
Lawyers are paid as well as PhDs in academic settings, but trained nurses (master's degree) are the most in demand. In Phoenix and Tucson, I taught many nurses on their way to a bachelor's degree in nursing. They were consistently the best students - no competition.
Doing a job honestly and well - rather than coveting a title - is the best possible course of action.
 |
| Larry's Burning Bush experience - makes our hearts flutter in unison. |
