Underground Seminary

Rethinking seminary education

How many of us would stop and wonder what is the purpose of seminary accreditation or what qualifies for a good seminary?

When Dietrich Bonhoeffer was resisting the Nazis in Germany, he formed an underground seminary to provide clergies with unadulterated theological education. Pope John Paul II had his priesthood trained in an underground seminary because of World War II. Both of these examples would then beg the question, “how can they be clergy and pastor if they did not go for a recognized accreditated seminary?” We need to realize the importance and goal of seminary education in order to answer that question.

Christian education is more than just getting someone into a professional career in ministry. In the bible, especially the New Testament days, it stresses education’s role in communicating the truth of God. However, today there is an overlapping understanding of seminary with secular education, whereby methods and standards of seminary education are treated the same with secular college. The purpose of seminary is to form men spiritually, academically, and pastorally for the work of God that has crucial relation to the truth of God. In contrast, secular educational institutions aim to train a person to be knowledgable and competent in the field of their degree. It may seem nuance, however, the worldview, purpose, and goal are not the same. Seminary aims to train people passing on the truth of the Gospel in the apostolic faith and tradition that has been given from Christ to His Church, which secular education has no obligation to pass on any dogmas from their predecessors. Both have the responsibilities in training men and women in academic excellence, but their goals and purpose are clearly different.

Some of us need to rethink and reform our way of approaching seminary and be reminded that there is a great responsibility to be faithful in God than high CGPA and accreditation.