Without challenging everything Rev Greco says on this, I'd like to complete the picture of
WSC.
Costs: Some costs are higher and some are lower. Call the sem (888 480 8474 and ask for Barabra, Mark MacVey, or Christa for information on finances and financial aid). It's hard to compare the costs and the economy in San Diego county with other economies. Our job market is better here and our wages are higher here than in other places. One can bicycle/walk/motorcycle/scooter 12 months a year here. Some food costs are lower. Further, we're about 30 min north of the city, in bedroom community where costs are more moderate. There's a big difference between costs on the coast (18 miles west) and costs inland. Escondido is one of the two least expensive places to live in San Diego county.
Theology: Fred's portrayal of Meredith Kline's influence at WSC is misleading. For example, in the course that covers Gen 1-3 (Pentateuch, the major views are all described fairly and clearly. Since Dr Estelle has been teaching this course for the last 8 years there has been no controversy. We have students across the spectrum on Gen 1 and we have faculty who represent various views on Gen 1-2.
One ought not to assume that all the faculty are equally "Klinean" on all things. Dennis Johnson and Hywel Jones, for example, did not study with Meredith. Other faculty dissent from MGK on various issues. For example, I think most, if not all of us, dissent from MGK's view of the decalogue in his later career.
That said, Meredith was defending the gospel of justification
sola fide and warning about the dangers of Norm Shepherd's views when a lot of people didn't want to hear or didn't care. Wherever one comes out on Meredith's covenant theology, he did a great deal to defend the doctrine of inerrancy at the same time when the "evangelicals" were busy bailing out of inerrancy as fast as they could.
There are other reasons to attend WSC beside biblical languages.
Faculty: Let's just look at five of our faculty.
1.
Mike Horton is easily among the most articulate expositors of the confessional Reformed faith in the English-speaking world. He has just finished a major 4-volume
Systematic Theology and has completed a major one-volume system to be published later. This is an important milestone. It's one thing to write a system that repeats the truth, which is essential, it's another thing to engage the contemporary philosophical, theological, and biblical-exegetical scholarship intelligently, creatively, and confessionally and that's what Horton has done. If you haven't read this series, you're missing out. This series is only one facet of his work. He also hosts
The White Horse Inn and edits
Modern Reformation magazine. On top of all that he serves actively at
Christ Reformed URC in Santee.
2.
Steve Baugh is one of the world's leading experts on the first-century backgrounds of the New Testament. He's published two
influential Greek Grammars and written extensively on the role of women in the NT church.
3.
Hywel Jones was assistant to D. Martyn-Lloyd Jones, principal of a seminary in London, and a long-time pastor. He is a
productive author in a variety of fields from ministry to OT commentary. Hywel's preaching is so outstanding that, by consensus of the faculty, he has a standing tuesday morning chapel address during the semester. You can hear those chapel
messages on iTunes.
4.
David VanDrunen is doing ground-breaking work in Reformed ethics providing a coherent, thoughtful,
biblical, historically Reformed alternative to theonomy and Reconstructionism. Whatever one thinks about theonomy and related issues, VanDrunen has changed the field and provided an important alternative and opened new avenues of study for those committed to the Reformed confessions.
5.
Bob Godfrey has been a leading voice in the recovery of Reformed confessional theology, piety, and practice for more than 30 years. In the 70s Bob was one of the leaders in opposing Norm Shepherd's moralism at WTS/P and one of the advocates for a high doctrine of Scripture and world evangelization. In the 80s and 90s he was a leading voice opposing the drift in the CRC toward broad evangelicalism and liberalism. He was influential in the formation of the URCs and, in recent years, has published
a series of books in history, practical theology, and biblical studies.
Students: We have students from across the globe. This is a great group of students with whom to study and pray.
Focus on Pastoral Ministry: 70% of our students are headed for pastoral ministry in NAPARC congregations. This is the chief reason the seminary was founded. Within that emphasis on pastoral ministry is a strong emphasis on preaching. We're constantly working to be sure that our MDiv students are getting the best instruction possible in order to build a strong foundation for pastoral ministry. We focus on the languages in order that students will be able to handle God's Word well. We work on hermeneutics and link that work closely to homiletics. Discussions in class over often move from one to the other. The faculty are all preachers so we think about how what we say in class, whether in ST or PT or CH will preach or affect or inform the preaching of the Word.
There is more to be said, but I think it's important that people have a clearer picture of what WSC is about.