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Kristi, I've never actually participated in distance education, so I am unable to speak from first hand experience on the subject. However, it seems to me that the most effective kinds of programs would be of the "guided research" type as opposed to actual classroom lectures.

I have two Masters degrees from a "properly" accredited seminary. But believe me, I learned MUCH more--even while at the school--through my own research and reading then I ever did through the instructors.

There is the old joke, "What do you call a guy who finished dead last in his medical class?" The answer, of course, is "Doctor." And just as there are unfortunately, many quacks in the medical profession, there are also many theological quacks out there plaguing the church who seek to immediately take cover behind their academic pedagrees when someone confronts them with criticism. They reserve to themselves the exulted title of "scholar", and believe that it is beneath their dignity to engage in debate with those whom they consider their academic inferiors.

I, on the other hand, regard a person worthy of being considered a true scholar by the type of work they produce, not what school they graduated from.

I see no reason to exult the opinions of a 16th century heretical Roman Catholic textual critic in Desiderius Erasmus over those of a 21st century heretical textual critic in Bart Ehrman.

Curtis, since you decided to introduce the name of Doug Kutilek into this debate, I thought the readers would be interested in reading his Notes and Criticisms on Theodore P. Letis' Book, Edward Freer Hill's Contribution to the Revival of the Ecclesiastical Text found at www.kjvonly.org/doug/note..._book.html .

As it turns out, I have heard your name before we entered into this debate. On November 12, 2002, Ted Letis sent me the following e-mail regarding the above-linked article:

BTW, the world is STILL waiting for the promised response to this critique of Letis thesis by Kutilek. As seems to be the common practice, all I seem to find is the same old line, White, Kutilek (or whichever critic) is simply unqualified to judge the profound work of the great and brilliant scholar, Theodore P. Letis.

===================================

Tom,

I am sharing this with a select few. It is an e-mail I sent to the Dean of Baptist Bible College in Springfield, MO. This is a school where one Doug Kutilek taught and was fired from because he did not agree with the school's position in favor of the KJV/TR (see their statement on this here: www.bbcnet.edu/catalog/text.html). This man is a miscreant from Hell, as his site clearly reveals (see the link below in the message). I am going to have a Baptist friend of mine reply to this if I cannot get an invitation somewhere to answer it in a public lecture. If any ideas come to mind let me know. I am still trying to get funding to make it to Toronoto. Could you see if anyone at your church is interested in helping? Thanks. I give you permission to share this with whomever you think might appreciate it.
Ted
Subj: internet folly
Date: 11/12/2002 11:01:03 AM Eastern Standard Time
From: LetisT
To: rdell@bbc.net.edu
File: cv rtf.rtf (54940 bytes) DL Time (49333 bps): < 1 minute



Dear Dr. Dell,

Here is the link I referred to on the phone:

www.kjvonly.org/doug/note..._book.html

Now, what follows is what I recently sent a friend in reply to this abuse:



Dear Ted,

I examined the Ross site and it gets worse. This individual (Kutilek) made a
pretense of reading your book on Dr. Hills.
Keep up the good work and don't let the gadflies get you down.
Sincerely,bjects
Curtis Dubreuil


Curtis,

Let Kutilek show the world how and when he was ever sanctioned by an institution of higher learning, establishing that either 1) he has a comprehensive grasp of the facts; or 2) their proper interpretation regarding either the history of text criticism, or its contemporary praxis. This is what that little piece of sheepskin is supposed to signify to the world, that a group of legitimate authorities in a field have recognized the same skills in someone they have trained and so they certify them with a "degree." This is why physicians "display" their degrees on their walls, not to show off; these degrees are "displayed" so the public knows they are dealing with an authority. This is why those who practice medicine without a "license" go to prison. If he cannot display this, then clearly he is an Internet hack like his friend, White--an academic wannabe who rather than earn the right to say something on these themes, instead, cheats like an interloper crashing a party to which they were not invited and then proceeds to dance on the table like a drunken fool. Everyone sounds ever so impressive from behind a computer monitor when addressing guppies clamoring for a hack to do their reading and thinking for them, and then "answer" those they can neither read, nor understand for themselves. Let him list the published peer-reviewed essays he has had published on these subjects as evidence that he actually knows what he is talking about instead of publishing self-assured dribble on the Internet. Then he will have earned the merit to be addressed. Until then I will tell you without qualification that every one of his statements is factually wrong. Every, single, one. That book was my master's thesis written at Emory University, the birth place of the Death of God movement in the Sixties. It is still the most liberal university in the southeast of the United States and in the top five of the most liberal in the country. It is also ranked in the top 10-15 universities in quality in the country from year to year--this is from their website:
Emory at a Glance(link)

Emory University is known for its highly-ranked professional schools of medicine, business, law and theology as well as its demanding academics and state-of-the-art research facilities. Overall, Emory is ranked as the 18th best university in the country by U.S. News & World Report. Ninety percent of Emory's freshmen are in the top 10 percent of their high school graduating class, more than the percentage of freshmen enrolling at Stanford, Duke or Dartmouth. Emory is experiencing a surge in research support, especially in the health sciences, and is attracting sought-after faculty and students.

I transferred there from Westminster Theological Seminary, well known as a bastion of "conservative" Calvinist theology, so all of the faculty knew my pedigree. Nevertheless, my thesis on the life of Hills was accepted with NO corrections required and I was given the honor of Magna Cum Laude with my degree. Hence, it passed the most rigorous scrutiny possible by an hostile panel that did not accept either the teaching of Hills, nor my conclusion that he was a man of considerable stature in the history of text criticism. But he was an authority in the field of text criticism with a doctorate from Harvard and so merited my research, so they judged (where is Kutilec's doctorate?--will anyone ever write anything about a sour grapes internet hack???). So Mr. Internet hack must take up his dissatisfaction with Emory University who found none of the "problems" that Kutilec contrived. Not one! Is this not odd? They, of course, would never give him the time of day...

To answer this kind of amateur criticism is to artificially enhance his stature as Dean of internet hacks. In our legal system a case must be shown to actually have merit in front of a judge (not a jury) and if it does not meet rigorous standards it is "thrown out," as they say, without ever going to trial. Such is the case here.

Do pass this on to anyone who thinks there is merit in any of his vituperations.

Theodore P. Letis
9 November 2002

Dr. Dell,

The dirty politics that emerges from this "debate" are so foul and reprehensible that it is a wonder anyone reads any Bible at all after following such distemper. Please do make your faculty aware of the following two sites that appear on line. They each accurately represent what I actually teach as oppoed to what so many from within the BJU circles "claim" that I teach. The first is by a fellow conservative Lutheran. The second is by a Baptist pastor.

www.ourredeemerlcms.org/nttext.htm www.gospelcom.net/ccmag/ssm/JDW.html

Go to these sites to read two reviews of my book, The Ecclesiastical Text:

www.kuyper.org/thetext/ec...eview.html

www.holywordcafe.com/bibl..._vol23.pdf

Go here to read synopses written by me of my two books:

www.bible-researcher.com/letis1.html

Furthermore, send your students and faculty to these two sites to read my reply to James Price: www.holywordcafe.com/bibl..._value.pdf , and to Custer in his "open letter" against me and PCC: www.holywordcafe.com/bible/bju.pdf . Finally, go to the following site to learn of the typical kinds of lectures I have been giving on this subject at academic society meetings for the last ten years: www.bts.edu/trobisch/Temp/SBL_Berlin_2002.htm I have never seen Kutilek at any of them. I attach to you my current CV as well to give you further details in that direction. By snail mail I shall send you copies of each of my books which I would hope would make it into your library and perhaps your bookstore in time.

May I again thank you and BBC for your public stand for the TR and the KJV. I give honor to whom honor is, indeed, due.

Theodore P. Letis, Ph.D.
Director
The Institute for
Renaissance and Reformation
Biblical Studies
www.kuyper.org/thetext
www.holywordcafe.com/bible/Letis.html