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PhD Biblical Exposition
#1
I've heard mixed advice about pursuing the PhD in Biblical Exposition. Long-term my plan is to be a Humanities/religion instructor. I want to pursue the PhD in Bible Exposition cause it seems like the most affordable and most interesting to me. Would it be respected by universities or should I pursue a more specific degree?
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#2
If you want to teach religion at a college/university level, a biblical exposition degree won't help you. You need to find a degree in religous studies, comparative religion, or just plain religion. It may be difficult to find a job in the field though, especially a stable position.
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#3
(12-17-2020, 05:20 AM)openair Wrote: If you want to teach religion at a college/university level, a biblical exposition degree won't help you. You need to find a degree in religous studies, comparative religion, or just plain religion. It may be difficult to find a job in the field though, especially a stable position.

This. And frankly, unless you plan on teaching at evangelical Christian institutions solely, a degree from Liberty will be frowned upon in most academic circles. You may have better luck looking into one of the many concentrations available through the University of the Cumberlands PhD in Leadership program (there is a religion concentration). The program is available online, has solid completion rates, and most folks are done in 3-4 years, less if you transfer in your concentration (they'll allow you 18 hours of graduate transfer credit, so long as it is in addition to the degree used to qualify for entry.
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#4
(12-16-2020, 08:29 PM)RoyalSpade Wrote: I've heard mixed advice about pursuing the PhD in Biblical Exposition. Long-term my plan is to be a Humanities/religion instructor. I want to pursue the PhD in Bible Exposition cause it seems like the most affordable and most interesting to me. Would it be respected by universities or should I pursue a more specific degree?

I had planned to follow a similar route - MTS to PhD in Bible Exposition with 18 grad credits in History to teach adjunct courses online in History and Bible. But, after getting my Master's, I had to come to terms with the reality of the job market, especially in Seminaries and the Humanities. Depending on who you are, there are many, many factors working against you. Hundreds of PhDs are produced each year across the US and there are very few faculty positions available. If you graduate from a Seminary school, this means you are limited to those seminaries for teaching. RA schools will most likely pass you over (and will certainly do so in the future).

You have to really ask yourself and be brutally honest with why you want to get a PhD in the first place? Do you have a full ride at a seminary or grad school? If not, your ROI is turned upside-down. Will you legitimately be able to recoup the tuition you paid for the degree? Will you realistically be in the running for a teaching position when even part-time positions (with no benefits and pay only $200 / month) are getting overrun with applicants? One job I applied for awhile back (enrichment course, not even undergrad teaching in the Bible) had well over 100 applicants! Can you really compete with that?  

Watch this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Xy-tE0Ve8I
Read from this article search: https://peteenns.com/?s=phd+in+biblical+studies

I'm not saying to give up on your dream of getting a doctorate. But, you need to objectively assess the internal and external circumstances, weigh the costs, and then proceed with a great deal of caution and flexibility as social and political variables are changing at break neck speed these days. One minute you might be getting a degree to teach religion and the next minute that same degree might be a target on your back. 

This is also an opportunity to consider alternatives. Why do you want to teach? Can you imagine yourself doing anything else, or would you - do you already - teach for free because it is a calling? Would you be satisfied and fulfilled teaching in an avocational position rather than one where you get paid? I shifted my underlining motivation from teaching adjunct positions to an informal ministry position (away from academia and toward the church) because there is a much greater need and a viable path. With my specific circumstances, I saw no possible path to teach History and Bible classes online. Even if I "could" land a job, I had to recognize that I would be required to compromise so much of my personal belief system and world view (or lie about it) that I would be miserable. So, instead, I decided to keep my current part time job (which I actually enjoy) to fund my academic research. It accomplishes all the same goals and I still qualify to teach at non-accredited schools in the future (if I'll even have time or the inclination to do so). 

A PhD in Biblical Exposition is not needed as a qualification to be a pastor or church worker. In fact, other PhD graduates in bible studies have commented that having a PhD was actually a roadblock to getting hired as a pastor because Churches predominately want ministers to have the MDiv or DMin. 

As already stated, if you want (really want) to teach humanities and religion, you should get a PhD in humanities and/or religion. If you want to teach at RA schools (community colleges, universities, etc) you will need an RA degree and that will cost you $40k or more. Getting a PhD in Bible Exposition, although less expensive ($14k at Liberty with the military discount), it does not necessarily qualify you to teach anything other than Bible courses and you will have a very steep, uphill battle on your hands to land anything other than adjunct positions (and may have trouble landing those). 

The education job space is contracting. It's time to rethink, re-imagine, retool, and consider alternate horizons. The old system is simply a bloodly mess and should be avoided at all cost if at all humanly possible.
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