James White

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"Dr" James Robert White (1962–) is a Baptist and Calvinist theologian and debater based in Phoenix, Arizona. White runs Alpha and Omega Ministries, and is a Professor of Church History and Apologetics at Grace Bible Theological Seminary.[1][note 1] He is famous in Calvinist circles for his debates against Muslims, Mormons and Catholics, and is often derided for his "doctorate" outside of said circles. White is a young earth creationist, which he refers to as "special creation".[2] White is friend of Jason Lisle,[3] a creationist affiliated with the Institute for Creation Research and Answers in Genesis.

Avid debater[edit]

James White is a very avid debater and also known in Calvinist circles for his debates against basically everybody who doesn't fully subscribe to his view from Muslims and Mormons to atheists, Roman Catholics and Christians that don't think the Bible is infallible. [1]

Unaccreditated PhD[edit]

White possesses a PhD degree from Columbia Evangelical Seminary, a diploma mill,[4] but insists he is a legitimate doctor. White claims the Seminary was "too young" to be accredited, but if that is the case wouldn't an insistence on being called "doctor" damage his own credibility? Calling oneself a doctor without holding a legitimate PhD doesn't help. Apparently at some point White was working on a legitimate PhD at a South African university.[5][6]

Catholic apologist Jimmy Akin stated that he "[does] not think that this title should be given to White", noting that a lack of accreditation is a sign that a school "has not met the academic standards needed."[7] In July 1998, when Mormon apologist Gary Novak visited the site to take pictures, Columbia Evangelical Seminary was operated out of a small administrative office with no campus.[8][9]

External links[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. Grace Bible Theological Seminary is an unaccredited Arkansas-based seminary that claims affiliation with the Association of Reformed Theological Seminaries, an accreditation mill.

References[edit]

  1. 1.0 1.1 About Alpha & Omega Ministries. aomin.org.
  2. Evidence for Special Creation From Scientific Evidence. aomin.org, 16 June 2002.
  3. Live with Dr. Jason Lisle from Colorado Springs. aomin.org, 2 August 2021.
  4. Accreditation. Columbia Evangelical Seminary. Despite the page's title, the seminary makes no reference to legitimate academic accreditation.
  5. Dave Armstrong, James White’s Bogus "Doctorate" Degree. Patheos, 14 March 2017.
  6. Dave Armstrong, James White’s Bogus "Doctorate" Degree, Part II. Patheos, 14 March 2017.
  7. Jimmy Akin, The Title “Doctor”. jimmyakin.com, 22 August 2006.
  8. Columbia Evangelical Seminary: The Photographic Tour. shields-research.org.
  9. Worst of the Anti-Mormon Web Special Edition: Does James White Have a Genuine Doctorate? shields-research.org, 17 October 1998.