Spejo_Rolub

Each of you have been a tremendous help. Thank you so much. @NTAC321 as to your question, I'm in my very first semester. Hebrew Bible didn't emerge as an interest until after my M. Div., unfortunately. From your collective advice, it would seem most wise to transfer to another university (one that has more renown than SWBTS). I'm taking a look at TCU and Baylor; my wife is a nurse in the area, so her 2-year contract keeps us around the DFW area until Spring 2020. Dmueller, you have a good point with schools outside of the nation. I've always been firm in paying little to nothing for my degrees (if possible), and accumulating thousands in debt for a humanities degree would likely take a lifetime to pay off. Turktheman, thank you for your suggestions. It looks like Vandy only gives around 30% funding, which would be tough to maintain. I haven't explored the NZ or South African schools, so I'll be sure to take a look there. Canada looks like U-Toronto or bust in terms of HB, so I'll be applying there either for ThM or PhD. At this point, it may be too late for me to transfer at semester, so I might have to wait the year out to gather recs and writing samples. Not what I would prefer, but I could say the same about this whole situation. Another quick question: any preference of Brite or Baylor in terms of HB/OT studies? I haven't had much time to research supervisors, but that will be a priority. Also, would you recommend any higher-tier ThM/MA programs that I could start online? Again, your responses have been thoughtful and invaluable. This community is pretty incredible.

Hi all. I'm new to Grad Cafe, but have been reading posts for some time.The advice and discussions of the collective whole have helped me quite a bit. For that, I thank you all. Now, the bad news... I'm currently a ThM- OT student at Southwestern in Fort Worth. I completed my M. Div. from Southeastern in Wake Forest. I was a good Southern Baptist and, if things had remained as they were, would've gone on and done a PhD at Southwestern. But things have changed. I'm exploring new theological concepts that have shifted my worldview; concepts that any Southern Baptist or conservative would deem heretical. What was once a cozy, evangelical home for me has now become a liability. I would still like to go on and pursue a PhD. I'm interested in a couple of areas in the OT: literary design, design patterns in narrative, and poetic metaphor. This dream is in jeopardy, primarily because I'm tied to SBC institutions that do not align with my beliefs. I think one user called attending an SBC school "the kiss of death" in academia, which I though was fitting. I post on here for any advice you would have. I'm scheduled to finish the ThM in Spring 2020, so I'll be applying to PhD programs near and far in Fall of 2019. Do I have any shot whatsoever of getting into a program? I'm not talking about the Harvards, Yales, or Dukes; essentially, I'm looking at any decent program that will fund its PhD students. Any suggestions that would be a happy medium? Is there anything I could be doing right now to move from the SBC umbrella toward a less conservative foundation? Thanks, all. I've been stressing pretty heavily about this, so any crumb of advice you have will be more helpful than you know.