London Theological Seminary
The London Theological Seminary (http://www.ltslondon.org) is a name that keeps cropping up in our research. Many young earth creationist (YEC) pastors and ministers appear to have been trained there.
Based in the suburb of Finchley in North London, it was founded in 1977. According to its web site it “was largely the vision of Dr D Martyn Lloyd-Jones”, an unqualified and deeply conservative cleric. It is an evangelical protestant institution. It still doesn’t train women to become ordained.
It took very little research whatsoever to establish that the London Theological Seminary is a young- earth creationist organisation. A quick look through the details on its web site of its six members of faculty showed all of them to be YECers.
Philip Eveson, the Principal of the LTS is on the council of reference of .
Rev. Graham Harrison is, and has been for over forty years, at Emmanuel Evangelical Church in Newport, South Wales. He is also a member of the council of reference of Biblical Creation Ministries.
Rev. Robert Oliver is minister of the Old Baptist Chapel, Bradford-on-Avon, where he has served for over thirty years. This church is strongly YEC (see http://www.oldbaptistchapel.org/links.html and http://www.oldbaptistchapel.org/design_in_creation.html). It’s affiliated to Affinity.
Rev. Christopher Bennett was pastor of Hounslow West Evangelical Church (http://www.hwec.org.uk/links.html) for seven years. He is currently minister of Wilton Community Church, Muswell Hill (http://www.wiltonchurch.org.uk/links2.htm). Both churches are YEC as the reader should be able to see from the links provided.
Rev. Andrew Davies. He is currently pastor of Kensit Evangelical Church, Finchley. This is where Philip Eveson was pastor. It’s affiliated to Affinity. This link shows young earth creationist Edgar Andrews presenting pseudo-science at the church in 2004.
Rev. Basil Howlett is presently co-pastor of Carey Baptist Church, Reading (it’s affiliated to Affinity). This is a YEC church and he is past president of Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches (FIEC) and now serves on its council. FIEC is basically a YEC organisation. The former pastor at this church is a known young earth creationist and is head of the Evangelical Theological College of Wales, Affinity and FIEC.
Unlike the Evangelical Theological College of Wales (the other “name” that keeps cropping up when we trace where creationist clerics receive their theological training), the LTS’s qualifications are not recognised as degrees by the UK’s Department for Education and Skills. However, it is not a diploma mill (unlike the Pacific International University where Truth in Science’s Dr” John Blanchard got his “PhD” from). The course fees are relatively expensive (currently tuition fees are £2,745 a year but it only requires two years of study, full time) and, as shown above, it has a real faculty.
BCSE is in no position to comment on how high the standard of training given is. However, LTS’s web site says that some of its students have had no formal qualifications at all. That ranks it very low indeed.
The web site states that “the examination system with its attendant emphasis on diplomas and degrees has been rejected. If the threat of examinations is what keeps a man diligent in his studies, it may certainly be questioned whether he has been called of the Lord. The same thing applies if his supreme aim is the possession of some qualification.”
Clearly exams and qualifications are of no concern to this educational institution. But it then goes on to make the astonishing claim that “time spent at LTS can qualify towards a university degree” (where we don’t know) and that the 2-year course is equivalent to a master’s degree. It claims that “the course has been recognised as equivalent to an M.Div. degree in the USA.” It completely fails to mention who says it is equivalent to an M.Div degree in the USA.
See here about what Wikipedia says on M.Div degrees in the USA. Some are very good, others are junk.
According to this list (Statutory Instrument 2004 No. 2753), the London Theological College is not even listed as a college that offers any degree level qualifications, let alone award masters degrees. As far as we can seen there is no external validation of LTS courses at all. No mention of validation is made on its web site.
Here is an almost farcical article on the training of clergy for the Free Church of Scotland – full of disdain for other religious views and very insulting, for example, if you are Catholic or female - http://www.btinternet.com/~s.j.mackay/foundations/smkiss.html. We provide the link because it, perhaps, gives some insight into the thinking behind training Calvinistic clergy in the UK.
What is deeply worrying about the London Theological College is that it appears to be training clergy who go on to push creationist pseudo-science without equipping them with, or requiring them to have, any knowledge of science whatsover. These are people being trained to positions of influence.
It seems astonishing that in the first decade of the 21st century the LTS trains some people who then walk into the word of responsibility with no formal, recognised, qualifications at all. Whatever their faults have been in the matter, mainstream churches have over several centuries (and much longer, if you like) been at the forefront of providing and pushing for the education of their congregations and the public at large.
Worse still, our research clearly shows than may of the former students and all of the faculty of the seminary are endorsing creationist organisations such as the Biblical Creation Society, Answers in Genesis and Truth in Science which are publicly advocating the teaching of bogus science in schools.
