# LCMS Convention Proceedings_St. Louis Missouri_1944_S485
# Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

NING BE EXPANDED TO INCLUDE A
FOUR-YEAR LIBERAL ARTS COURSE?

A. Various Proposals -

y voices within Synod. have urged the reorganization of our
ditional six-year preparatory school—four-year seminary course. |
“four-year liberal arts training with the A.B. degree, it is
d, should be the prerequisite for the professional theological
es of the seminary level.

e@. reasons’ underlying this suggestion vary. It is the opinion of
‘that the present system does not offer in quantity or quality a
ntly good basis for theology. Others feel that the so-called
neological year” at St. Louis should not be offered on the same
s with the theological studies and that it is unwise to organize
éducation into this unique pattern. Others again have little or.
it to find with the quality of the preparation for theological -

‘otestant theological training desirable. They see in the Bachelor
Arts degree certain prestige or practical value for graduate univer-
tudies, for Army and Navy chaplaincies, and the like.

\multitude of plans for attaining’ this goal have been advanced.
ong those that have come to our attention we list the following,
with no judgment as to their feasibility:

a. Creating an upper-division college as a separate unit of St.

‘Louis, a 4-2—2-3 organization. (4-year high school plus

2-year junior college on one campus, and 2-year senior college

plus 3-year Seminary on another campus.)

Eliminating the pretheological year at St. Louis and

b. Creating an upper-division college to which all preparatory
school graduates transfer. This would yield a 4-2—-2—-3
organization, " ,

¢. Adding the St. Louis year to the existing preparatory college
curricula, possibly eliminating grade 9; thus 4-3—3, or 3-3—3.

d. ‘Converting several institutions into four-year colleges, either
retaining the high schools, or eliminating grade 9, or 10, or all
the high school; thus 4-4—-3, or 3-4—-3, or 0-4-3.

e. Desigriating one school as'a four-year senior college; thus

4—4—3.

B. The Proposals Examined

n evaluating the soundness of the proposal to extend our. pre-
minary training to the A. B. level, the primary consideration, it
‘seems to us, should be the quality of the. preparation provided for
the ministry at the present time rather than conformity in external

s, but find conformity with the prevalent American organization «|