Decision About Seminary
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greenbaggins
Puritan Board Doctor
They're both excellent seminaries, and I doubt you'd get much in the way of "cons" spoken about either. You wouldn't regret either choice. Probably the main difference is that MARS will stress reading the Continental Reformed scholars more, while PRTS will stress the Puritans more. So, it would probably come down to which set of Reformed authors interests you more.
Both seminaries are "Dutch," (URC & HRC). Both have expanded on their origins, to include Presbyterians on their faculties.
Generalizations are BAD, bad bad bad. Up front admission. My own school (GPTS) and WSC have a million things in common, and yet minor differences are made out to be night-and-day.
OK, so here's the generalization, with an anachronism and category error thrown in: MARS is more "Old Side," PRTS is more "New Side" (to borrow from 18th century American Presbyterian divisions). PRTS is unabashedly "experimental," its one of their openly promoted distinctives. MARS will bill itself as Reformed by the book--believing and doing correctly, which is seen as more important than feeling "correctly."
NEITHER PLACE would like to leave the impression that one is not DOCTRINAL or the other uninterested in a FELT Christ. Generalizations quickly become stereotypes.
Now, I will tell you that in order to decide where to go, you need to visit both places, and try to discern where you feel most comfortable, which professors you like best, etc. And wherever you go, you should realize that your spiritual formation is 90% YOUR TASK, and not the facilitating faculty of some school. You will get what you get by what you pull out of the school, and by growing in grace in church and personal devotion; and not by regurgitating the bare minimum on exams from assigned readings and lectures.
Generalizations are BAD, bad bad bad. Up front admission. My own school (GPTS) and WSC have a million things in common, and yet minor differences are made out to be night-and-day.
OK, so here's the generalization, with an anachronism and category error thrown in: MARS is more "Old Side," PRTS is more "New Side" (to borrow from 18th century American Presbyterian divisions). PRTS is unabashedly "experimental," its one of their openly promoted distinctives. MARS will bill itself as Reformed by the book--believing and doing correctly, which is seen as more important than feeling "correctly."
NEITHER PLACE would like to leave the impression that one is not DOCTRINAL or the other uninterested in a FELT Christ. Generalizations quickly become stereotypes.
Now, I will tell you that in order to decide where to go, you need to visit both places, and try to discern where you feel most comfortable, which professors you like best, etc. And wherever you go, you should realize that your spiritual formation is 90% YOUR TASK, and not the facilitating faculty of some school. You will get what you get by what you pull out of the school, and by growing in grace in church and personal devotion; and not by regurgitating the bare minimum on exams from assigned readings and lectures.
I asked a pastor familiar with both seminaries to give me his thoughts on your question. he provided me first of all, these points about Mid-America:
•Strong commitment to Scripture and the Reformed confessions;
•Emphasis on training for pastoral ministry, especially the preaching ministry;
•Professors with both pastoral experience and strong academic credentials
Secondly, he gave this observation on the differences:
The main difference between the two seminaries is PRTS's emphasis on the Puritan theological tradition in distinction from Mid-America's broader theological approach.
Lastly, he suggested that you should go to sermonaudio and listen to sermons by professors from both seminaries to get a better sense of content/style of the seminary professors.
•Strong commitment to Scripture and the Reformed confessions;
•Emphasis on training for pastoral ministry, especially the preaching ministry;
•Professors with both pastoral experience and strong academic credentials
Secondly, he gave this observation on the differences:
The main difference between the two seminaries is PRTS's emphasis on the Puritan theological tradition in distinction from Mid-America's broader theological approach.
Lastly, he suggested that you should go to sermonaudio and listen to sermons by professors from both seminaries to get a better sense of content/style of the seminary professors.
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