Santa Clarita Signal Calls for Changes at The Master’s University

Recently, John MacArthur’s The Master’s University was put on probationary status by The Western Association of Schools and Colleges – the regional group which accredits TMU.  Among other concerns, WASC cited a “climate of fear, intimidation, bullying, and uncertainty among significant numbers of faculty and staff” at the Santa Clarita, CA school.

Now the Santa Clarita newspaper –The Signal — is calling for changes at the school. In an editorial published last Sunday, the editorial board summarized the WASC report and called on the school to take the recommendations seriously. However, the editorial board opined that “there are hints surfacing that indicate those at the top are playing the role of victim” and added:

For example, TMU President John MacArthur, reportedly speaking before a group of Master’s Seminary students last weekend, portrayed the sanctions as an attack on the university and on him personally.

“These are the best of times for us, and we know that because the enemy is working so hard,” he told the group, according to a recording posted online. In the recording, the speaker characterizes it as “a rather orchestrated attack, if not by any human source, then certainly by Satan himself. There was an attack directly on me. And it came in all kinds of forms.”

The op-ed concludes with this admonition:

It’s going to take some major changes to restore faith in TMU and its leadership. Hopefully the right people are willing to look in the mirror and see that TMU’s problems are not the work of the devil, but of human beings.

The Two Faces of TMU

There is a contradiction between MacArthur’s story and what has been told to the press. In a Christian Post article on the subject, the TMU spokesman never refers to Satan. Yet, to his students, MacArthur downplayed the charges and blamed the Prince of Darkness. In light of these mixed messages, it is understandable that the outside observers would question TMU’s leadership.

 

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Image: The Master’s University, by Lukasinla [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC BY 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0)], from Wikimedia Commons 

6 thoughts on “Santa Clarita Signal Calls for Changes at The Master’s University”

  1. “a rather orchestrated attack, if not by any human source, then certainly by Satan himself. There was an attack directly on me. And it came in all kinds of forms.”

    These kinds of statements always seem a bit narcissistic. Not only does it deflect from any bad acts (for which negative consequences would be appropriate), but it also implies that their work is so wonderful and effective that Satan must spend time attacking them. They avoid humbling themselves and get to brag at the same time.

  2. ***MacArthur downplayed the charges and blamed the Prince of Darkness.*** Same way some blame Trump for their own incompetence.

    1. Why would anybody bother to do that, when Trump’s own incompetence encompasses so much that we can blame him for.

  3. ***MacArthur downplayed the charges and blamed the Prince of Darkness.*** Same way some blame Trump for their own incompetence.

  4. This episode provides an excellent opportunity for John MacArthur’s evangelical followers to face the reality that MacArthur’s 1963 Master’s Degree does not qualify him to be president of a university. And far more significantly, MacArthur’s shameful display of theological malpractice is another nail in the coffin of their self-declared Culture Wars. U.S. White Evangelical hegemony can’t end fast enough.

  5. “a rather orchestrated attack, if not by any human source, then certainly by Satan himself. There was an attack directly on me. And it came in all kinds of forms.” John MacArthur is, again, blaming the actual work of the Holy Spirit on Satan. Jesus’ warns about this with the Pharisees which have absolutely everything in common with MacArthur. Mark 3:28 “‘Truly I tell you, people can be forgiven all their sins and every slander they utter, but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; they are guilty of an eternal sin.’ He said this because they were saying, ‘He has an impure spirit.’” It is the Holy Spirit’s job to convict of us of our sin. To call this work “the work of the Devil” is something no true Christian would ever do…

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