Sattler College Turmoil

[joshuabgood]

Finny has a publicly available sermon where he states that homeschooling is the more Godly, right choice for christians.

I thought this was stated as opposed to public schools.

Does FotW hold a position that homeschooling is better than a school that is entirely owned and operated by the members of a single congregation?

In particular this view is really hard to reconcile with the idea of opening a college and expecting people to send their 18 year olds there.

It is a bit of mental gymnastics...however you also have to understand the larger high cultural value on education, reflected likely by his Indian background and his own amazing success in academia...

[joshuabgood]

Ken, FotW are born again homeschoolers. Meaning they believe if you are really doing what is in the Lord's will you will homeschool. MM himself communicated that to me very directly.

Does Finny Kuravilla share this view? I thought he didn't.

Dean Taylor definitely does not - he was a bit of a revolutionary back when he was at the Charity church in Ephrata and he was involved in starting a church school for Charity people.

Finny and MM do but Dean doesn't. Back at Ephrata Dean sent his kids to Swatara Menno School as you mentioned and it did really cause waves. MM himself tongue in cheek smiling told me he was one of them at Ephrata that pushed back my sense was probably now, while not agreeing with it, maybe wouldn't resist with same fervor quite.

[joshuabgood]

The problem is, that IF you send young people to a school that teaches this, that in absence of competing views, they are likely to be indoctrinated with those views. Coupling this with the view that FOTW seems to take that baptisms done before the age of accountability are invalid, means that you have young people that are likely to question their salvation based on the age at which they were baptizes.

This is a good point...and I think whereas before there was more openness to other views, that is diminishing. However it makes sense sort of. If you know you are right why would you want students confused by other views? That is the issue with dogmatism of any sort and it exists in various Christian traditions and institutions.

I am mostly with you though, it feels like a loss to me for students if they are merely filled up with "the truth." I have the same concern with a place like LBC.

FWIW I am an advocate for older baptism though I don't hold the regenerative view.

[Josh]

Homeschooling, and a strong discouragement to schooling outside of the father's authority(Many Mennonite churches have church schools of their own), Full Quiver, Housechurching, Women with children strongly discouraged from working, meetings only open to members.

Ironically, Sattler wanted to recruit Anabaptist women (or at least women with views that would lead them to head cover, etc.) with Ph.Ds to teach at Sattler whilst simultaneously teaching that women with children shouldn't be working. That was quite a circle they were trying to square.

[joshuabgood]

Homeschooling, and a strong discouragement to schooling outside of the father's authority(Many Mennonite churches have church schools of their own), Full Quiver, Housechurching, Women with children strongly discouraged from working, meetings only open to members.

Ironically, Sattler wanted to recruit Anabaptist women (or at least women with views that would lead them to head cover, etc.) with Ph.Ds to teach at Sattler whilst simultaneously teaching that women with children shouldn't be working. That was quite a circle they were trying to square.

That was always a bit baffling for me.

[Josh]

That was always a bit baffling for me.

It would have been more practical if they'd located in a heavy Anabaptist area, like Holmes Co.; you could hire a local woman who has relatives nearby who can watch the baby whilst she's lecturing.

Doing it in Boston would mean such lecturers would have to move there (with no family support) or else fly in and fly out a lot. Amazingly, Sattler was for a while trying to do the latter.

[Sliceitup]

Homeschooling, and a strong discouragement to schooling outside of the father's authority(Many Mennonite churches have church schools of their own), Full Quiver, Housechurching, Women with children strongly discouraged from working, meetings only open to members.

Ironically, Sattler wanted to recruit Anabaptist women (or at least women with views that would lead them to head cover, etc.) with Ph.Ds to teach at Sattler whilst simultaneously teaching that women with children shouldn't be working. That was quite a circle they were trying to square.

How many Anabaptist women who head cover also have Ph.Ds?

[HondurasKeiser]

Homeschooling, and a strong discouragement to schooling outside of the father's authority(Many Mennonite churches have church schools of their own), Full Quiver, Housechurching, Women with children strongly discouraged from working, meetings only open to members.

Ironically, Sattler wanted to recruit Anabaptist women (or at least women with views that would lead them to head cover, etc.) with Ph.Ds to teach at Sattler whilst simultaneously teaching that women with children shouldn't be working. That was quite a circle they were trying to square.

How many Anabaptist women who head cover also have Ph.Ds?

I remember reading about a Mennonite woman from either Lancaster or Franconia that was studying at UPENN in the graduate program in the 70’s or 80’s and covered. Not sure if she still does.

[Josh]

How many Anabaptist women who head cover also have Ph.Ds?

Quite a few do - or other doctorate-level degrees (Anabaptist women with advanced degrees tend to be in medicine).

[Dan Z]

I just want to say, on a positive note, that I have visited Sattler College a number of times over the past few years, including as a parent of a prospective student, and have been very impressed with the caliber of students, the quality of instruction, and the depth of both the spiritual and academic cultures. I liked their "city on a hill" approach to engaging the world and training up young men and women - equipping them to live out Christ's peaceful revolution. I'm honestly sad to hear of this instability, and especially how it might affect current students and faculty who have invested in the experience, and I am rooting for the school to emerge from this crisis intact and eventually stronger.