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I went to @swbts to get a PhD so people would listen to me (let’s be honest here).
I was utterly unaware that I was being trained to listen to other people.
I was utterly unaware that I was being trained to listen to other people.
It hasn’t kept me from having convictions; it has sharpened that ability. Knowing how to listen to others gives me confidence in my convictions, knowing that they have been tested against a fair hearing of other POVs.
It hasn’t kept me from expressing why I believe that I am right and why I believe that others are wrong. To the contrary, it enables me to express those very things in ways that are less vulnerable to the critiques of those who differ (since I’ve listened to those critiques).
It hasn’t kept me from being able to draw lines. To the contrary, it has led me to draw more lines, rather than fewer—to assert biblical qualifications for the pastor regarding gender while also asserting them regarding abuse and the facilitating of abuse.
Listening to critiques about my inconsistency have tended to make me more consistently adherent to the teachings of scripture, not more consistently lax. I listen, but I still know how to draw lines.
For all of these reasons, I am thankful for my @swbts PhD. Others didn’t have to get a PhD to learn these things, but I did.
Postscript: All that notwithstanding, I don’t care to listen to any of your trash about waiting until late November to listen to Christmas music.
