Huckabee Misrepresents Background

GOP Presidential contender Mike Huckabee has been caught misrepresenting his background. The candidate claims that he 'has a theological degree,' and that therefore he is well-qualified to deal with religious conflicts on the world stage.

As it turns out, Huckabee never graduated from theological school, which is considered graduate degree status requiring a bachelor's degree as a prerequisite for admission.

Huckabee has a B.A. in Religion from a Baptist institution in Arkansas--a degree that is NOT considered a 'theological degree' due to its undergraduate status.

The candidate then was admitted to a graduate level program at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas, but he only completed one year. A theological degree is a three-year program requiring at least 120 hours of graduate level work.

Since Huckabee attended only one year and never graduated from the institution, he by no means has a 'theological degree' as he claims.

This kind of thing may fly with most of 'the brethren' in Arkansas who may not know any better, but in the rest of the country it is considered 'resume padding' and playing fast and loose with the truth.

Among certain ranks of evangelicals these things simply do not matter. All they need to know is if the minister in question can affirm a 'call of God' to the ministry. If they get some education along the way, that's all well and good. But this isn't the main thing they are looking for.

And thus, some of the brethren are woefully ignorant concerning educational designations, prerequisites, and requirements.

Others within the evangelical community, however, place a very high premium on an educated clergy. The bare minimum is four years of college and three more years (at least) of theological education at the graduate level.

And even then, the most prestigious churches prefer a theological doctorate, which is one of the most stringent and taxing doctorates among the various disciplines.

Most accredited theological doctorates require extensive knowledge of at least five languages--Greek, Hebrew, Aramaic, German, and Latin.

Individuals who bite the bullet and subject themselves to such a rigorous program of study resent someone who has a bachelor's degree and one year of theological training referring to their educational level as a 'theological degree.'

And rightly so.

Not only has Huckabee done a disservice to those who have acquired such a stringent degree but he has 'outed' himself as one who will flagrantly misrepresent his background for political expediency.