david Barton – Page 19 – Warren Throckmorton

The King's University Will Now Accept Credits from Charis Bible College

The King’s University is a ministry training school founded by preacher Jack Hayford and later moved to Southlake, TX to be housed at Robert Morris’ Gateway Church. In May, I reported that TKU was losing students and considering the closure of several branch campuses around the country. Nonetheless, Morris and the school leadership continue to promote the school.
TKU is not regionally accredited but rather boasts accreditation by the Transnational Association of Christian Colleges and Schools. Although credits from TKU may not transfer to regionally accredited schools (e.g., University of Texas, Grove City College), they are accepted by other TRACS accredited schools.
Charis Bible College is an unaccredited school also set up to train ministers. However, recently David Barton has been instrumental in helping to start a School of Government at Charis. Thus, Charis is setting sights on training people to go into politics.
A part of that vision is a recent articulation agreement between TKU and CBC for the transfer of credits from CBC to TKU. This means that a student can take courses at unaccredited Charis and transfer them to accredited TKU. This agreement with Charis greatly enhances the value of the Charis credits.
To me, this seems like an end around accreditation for Charis Bible College. The leaders of that school have even less incentive to become accredited because their students can simply transfer them to TKU where they will become a part of an accredited degree program. From there, a student could transfer credits to another TRACS school.
I asked TRACS about their rules concerning transfer of credits. While no one has answered as yet, I did find these criteria to help guide credit transfer arrangements.

The institution’s transfer of credit policy governs both the consideration and acceptance of transfer credit and: a. It is fair, equitable, and equally applied. b. Considers the quality of the offering, timeliness of the work, student performance (grade requirements) and the comparability, equivalency, and appropriateness to the courses and programs offered. c. Considers the accredited status of the institution as a major factor, but not the sole determinate of the transfer decision. d. Informs students of any special situations they may face in transferring credits earned. e. Includes reasons for refusal of acceptance of transfer credits, including the appeal process for transfer credit which was refused. f. Includes information on student responsibilities. g. Provides students with accurate and realistic information, plus guidance concerning the likelihood of transfer of the institution’s credits. h. References any articulation agreements with other institutions. i. Includes counseling and print or electronic assistance for students considering transferring to another institution. j. States the minimum grade required for transfer courses. k. Requires official transcripts from all institutions attended and does not award transfer credits before receiving the relevant official transcript(s). l. Identifies the office(s) responsible for evaluating transfer credit. (emphasis added)

Note letter b and c. Letter b requires the quality of course to be comparable between schools. TRACS guidelines require those teaching BA students to have a masters degree. Very few of Charis faculty have masters degrees. David Barton claims to have an earned doctorate but on examination, it appears that his doctorate is from diploma mill, Life Christian University. Charis’ agreement with TKU all of a sudden makes Barton’s use of a degree based solely on life experience even more relevant.
Letter c requires TKU to consider the accredited status of the sending school. Charis is not accredited by any agency. Although other considerations may be taken into account, accreditation status is supposed to a “major factor.”
The announcement contained this statement:

Students that graduate with a Charis Biblical Studies Degree will have the opportunity to earn an accredited degree by The King’s University.

While technically true because TKU is accredited by TRACS, it is still misleading if it is not explained that TRACS is not considered comparable to regional accreditation. Regional accreditation is what opens up wide spread transfer of credits from school to school. Texas schools are evaluated by The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges.
In practice, this often limits opportunities for students. For instance, a TKU student with a degree in Christian counseling may find that graduate schools will not accept it as a non-regionally accredited degree. When TKU and Charis promotional materials declare TKU accredited, I fear that some students will misunderstand and make future decisions on inadequate information.

David Barton Contradicts Oral Roberts on ORU's Basketball Program

Yesterday on his Wallbuilders Live show, David Barton said the sports program at Oral Roberts University in the 1970s was “where the drug culture was” and was filled with sexual promiscuity and illegal activities. Listen again to his defamation of the ORU basketball program in the 1970s.

In an earlier part of the show, Oklahoma Wesleyan University president Everett Piper said the sports programs should be aligned with the rest of the college mission. In response, at 34 seconds into the above segment, David Barton began talking about “the school I attended.” Barton attended Oral Roberts University and said his program was different than Piper’s.
Transcript (starting at 34 seconds)

But the school where I attended, when I attended there that was not their thing. Their thing was to have the best program ever. So even though I went to a religious school, it was not about faith and character, it was about how high you were in the nation. So in basketball, talking before with the team there and what we did, and we made it to the Elite Eight in the tournament, but the character was so bad that, that’s a period I remember very clearly in my experience because in outing some things that were going on in the basketball team, that was where the drug culture was, that was where it was really promiscuous, that’s where a lot of illegal stuff, and outing that I ended getting death threats and I had to have cops carry me from class to class across campus because of the death threats on a Christian university, for outing things that violated the honor code that we all signed to go to the university.

These claims were denied by Glenn “Smitty” Smith, head athletic trainer at ORU who came to the school in 1972 (the same year Barton did). Smith said he did the drug testing and no one in that era failed. Barton’s rant also is contradicted by news reports from that era which quote Oral Roberts about the basketball program. Roberts had the same stated values and goals as Everett Piper. From the NYT, 12/5/71, page 9:

A 1972 NYT article points out that most of the basketball team was African-American and occasionally complained about the religious zeal of other students. However, there was no description of a different behavioral standard for the team.
A 1973 article addressed both the code of conduct and the racial differences.

I fully understand that Roberts assessment might not have been accurate but I can’t find any evidence of what Barton claimed either, especially as school policy.

Note to Life Christian University: Use of False or Misleading Degrees is Illegal in Some States

Triggered by my research into Life Christian University, I have discovered that some states make it illegal to use degrees from unaccredited schools or degrees which are not based on actual academic work. This post provides a look at Nevada’s law which requires evidence that work was done to get a degree. I start with this one because it addresses degrees which are awarded based on life experience. Here is the law:

NRS 394.700 Prohibition; penalty.

      1. It is unlawful for a person knowingly to use or attempt to use:

      (a) A false or misleading degree or honorary degree conferred by a private entity, regardless of whether that entity is located in this State and regardless of whether that entity is authorized to operate in this State; or

      (b) A degree or honorary degree conferred by a private entity in a false or misleading manner, regardless of whether that entity is located in this State and regardless of whether that entity is authorized to operate in this State,

in connection with admission to any institution of higher education or in connection with any business, employment, occupation, profession, trade or public office.

      2. Unless a greater penalty is provided by specific statute, a person who violates the provisions of this section is guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be punished by a fine of not more than $5,000 or by imprisonment in the county jail for not more than 6 months, or by both fine and imprisonment.

      3. In addition to any criminal penalty imposed pursuant to subsection 2, a person who violates the provisions of this section is subject to a civil penalty in an amount not to exceed $5,000 for each violation. The Attorney General or any district attorney of this State may recover the penalty in a civil action brought in the name of the State of Nevada in any court of competent jurisdiction.

      4. For the purposes of this section, a degree or honorary degree is false or misleading or is used in a false or misleading manner if it:

      (a) States or suggests that the person named in the degree or honorary degree has completed the requirements of an academic or professional program of study in a particular field of endeavor beyond the secondary school level and the person has not, in fact, completed the requirements of the program of study;

      (b) Is offered as his or her own by a person other than the person who completed the requirements of the program of study; or

      (c) Is awarded, bestowed, conferred, given, granted, conveyed or sold:

             (1) Based upon more than 10 percent of the recipient’s documented life experience and not based upon actual completion of academic work;

             (2) By a person or entity located in this State in violation of this chapter, as determined by the Commission; or

             (3) By a person or entity located outside this State which would be a violation of this chapter if the person or entity were located in this State, as determined by the Commission. (emphasis added)

      5. As used in this section:

      (a) “Degree” has the meaning ascribed to it in NRS 394.620.

      (b) “Honorary degree” has the meaning ascribed to it in NRS 394.620.

Joyce Meyer, David Barton and the other Life Christian University “distinguished degree holders” should be careful when in Nevada. According to Douglas Wingate, the PhDs given to “distinguished degree holders” are given solely in consideration of their life and ministry experience. Nevada forbids that kind of degree to be used in the state. If more than 10% of the work for a degree is based on life experience, it is considered “false or misleading.” Even honorary degrees cannot be portrayed as having been earned. Clearly, the definition of “earned degree” as used by LCU would be considered false and misleading in Nevada.

I am compiling a list of states which penalize the improper use of degrees and applying those findings to some of “distinguished degree holders.” Stay tuned.

David Barton and Oral Roberts University Basketball in the 1970s – That’s Where the Drug Culture Was (UPDATED)

In 2015, David Barton claimed that he was a part of the Oral Roberts University NCAA Division One basketball teams which set national scoring records in the 1970s. He has never publicly addressed the fact that ORU’s athletic department and the team trainer at the time contradicted his story and said he was not on the team. Today, on his Wallbuilders Live show, he again implied he was a part of the basketball team and made additional claims about the drug culture in the sports programs at ORU. Listen:

At 17 seconds into the clip above, Barton talks about the sports programs and then slams ORU’s program at the time. He seems to refer to his earlier comments (“In basketball, talking before with the team there and what we did, and we made it to the Elite Eight in the tournament”) and then says that the character of the players was so bad that when he outed some things happening on the team, he was subjected to death threats. He said the basketball team was where “the drug culture was” and was “really promiscuous” and where “a lot illegal stuff” happened. Because he outed these things, Barton said, he received threats and had to be accompanied to class by a police presence.

I called Blake Freeland, media relations director for ORU basketball and asked him about these claims. He said he was familiar with the ORU records from that era and could not confirm any of the claims. He could not completely deny the claim because it is possible that some misbehavior was handled discretely. However, Freeland told me there were no suspensions or other disciplinary actions in the school records and he doubted that it was true.

Furthermore, I reviewed newspaper data bases for the period and found no media accounts of suspensions or other actions which one might expect if police had to escort a student to classes due to death threats on campus. ORU’s basketball program was suspended for one year in 1980 but this was for unauthorized cash payments and dealings involving the coaches and players.

I also contacted Glenn “Smitty” Smith, beloved athletic trainer who came to ORU in 1972 (the same year Barton began his schooling there). I described Barton’s claims to Mr. Smith and in an email reply told me:

Totally untrue… I did the drug testing since 1972 and no one failed as this guy claims!!!

It is beyond me why Barton would tell an unnecessary story which puts his alma mater and the basketball players in a bad light.

This segment raises again the 2015 questions about why ORU denies David Barton’s claims to have played Division One basketball for the school and why Barton hasn’t provided an explanation for the discrepancy. Now, without evidence, he has added to the story in contradiction to the ORU athletic department.

Jewish Voice's Jonathan Bernis Goes Tin Foil Hat Over David Barton's The Jefferson Lies

I had a hard time with the title for this one.
In a video dated today but out last week, Trump supporting self-styled historian David Barton told a Jewish Voice audience that the Constitution contains the exact words of the Bible and that his book The Jefferson Lies corrects the record on Jefferson. Often Barton says The Jefferson Lies was pulled from publication by publisher Thomas Nelson because liberals and pagan professors were out to get him. However, the Jewish Voice promo for the book takes the conspiracy theory to a higher level. Watch:

After watching this video, now I understand that:
There is a secret plan to remove Christianity from American history. I am skeptical about this since Barton and now the Jewish Voice know about it. It can’t be a complete secret. Wait! Maybe they are in on it!
Thomas Jefferson based his leadership on the Hebrew Scriptures?! That seems to be a stretch since Jefferson didn’t think very highly of the Old Testament. For instance, he told William Short in 1820 that the Hebrew Scriptures weren’t inspired.

The whole religion of the Jews, inculcated on him from his [Jesus] infancy, was founded in the belief of divine inspiration. The fumes of the most disordered imaginations were recorded in their religious code, as special communications of the Deity; and as it could not but happen that, in the course of ages, events would now and then turn up to which some of these vague rhapsodies might be accommodated by the aid of allegories, figures, types, and other tricks upon words, they have not only preserved their credit with the Jews of all subsequent times, but are the foundation of much of the religions of those who have schismatised from them.

In the same letter, Jefferson also had this to say about Jehovah:

His [Jesus] object was the reformation of some articles in the religion of the Jews, as taught by Moses. That sect had presented for the object of their worship, a being of terrific character, cruel, vindictive, capricious and unjust.

The removal of The Jefferson Lies from publication was apparently a part of the secret plan to slander great men of faith. Reading the book will bring revival, according to Jonathan Bernis.
I must be an anti-Christian part of the plan, even though the plan was kept secret from me. I will have to ask John Fea, Thomas Kidd, and Gregg Frazer if they knew anything about it. I can tell you I will be pretty mad if I find out that I was involved in a secret plan and those guys didn’t say anything.
Everybody opposed to David Barton must be in on the plan and are anti-Christian.
If I give lots of money to Jewish Voice and buy The Jefferson Lies, then everything will be better.
Jewish Voice raked in over $30 million in 2014 so no wonder Barton wants to sell the book on the show. That will buy a lot of tin foil and pay Mr. Bernis just under $250k/year and allow for a $850k loan from Jewish Voice to Bernis to buy a house.