The Wise Professing To Be Fools - A Practical View

"Professing to be wise, they became fools..."  Although this is a Scripture passage from Romans, this is not an article about hermeneutics or theology, but rather about academic snobbery.  I had an experience recently that sort of got me off on this, and I wanted to share it because I am sure others reading this can identify.

Recently, I wrote an article for a small theological journal a good friend of mine, Fr. Jack Ashcraft, initiated entitled The Watchman Theological Journal.  Although I had an article on Transhumanism published in the first issue, and the journal had potential, unfortunately Fr. Jack had to discontinue it because not enough people were contributing.  I was slated to have an article published in the next issue regarding Appalachian Theology, and as a person of Appalachian heritage with theological training I felt like I had the base qualifications to do it, and so did Fr. Jack.  Therefore, with the Watchman Journal now defunct, I had to look for other venues to publish the article, and of course one that came to mind was the Appalachian Studies Association.  Boy, was I disappointed!  Let me elaborate.

The person exercising a godlike rejection of my article is a Sociology professor at the University of Kentucky by the name of Shauna Scott, and although a simple "we're not interested" should have sufficed, this woman proceeded to arrogantly and summarily dismiss me as being "not scholarly enough" and too "personal," in essence.  Before we go further, let us examine Dr. Scott's credentials and see how qualified she is to speak for Appalachian people.

Shauna Scott is, first off, a Californian - she got her Ph.D. in 1988 from the University of California, and when looking at what she's done, it isn't exactly stuff the average Appalachian townsperson would share in conviction with - she is involved in feminism, and her research seems to be more attuned with environmentalist agendas than it is with the daily lives of Appalachian people.  Unfortunately, this discipline called "Appalachian Studies" is infested with degreed professional "outlanders," many of whom have never stepped on the slope of a mountain in their lives.  If a White professor tried to do that with the Black Studies department of a major university, he would be decried as a "racist" or worse, yet it is interesting that these same people can take liberties at proclaiming themselves "experts" on everything just because they read a book or two on it.  However, the real insult is how they summarily dismiss people who actually do come from the region and have written on it, as I have.  Granted, this is not a blanket condemnation of all Appalachian scholarship, as Dr. Ralph Hood, also a native Californian, has written extensively (and fairly) on serpent-handlers from a sociological perspective - the difference though is that Hood has lived among them, participated in their church services, and even gained the close friendship of many of them.  I don't see this Shauna Scott person doing that - the amusing picture I had of her, as a matter of fact, is her trying to figure out how to use an outhouse!   So, yes, outside of the theological spectrum, many people do profess to be wise but make fools of themselves (Romans 1:22 if you want a chapter-and-verse reference) - the good Dr. Scott is one of those.  I understand why oftentimes higher education is eschewed now by some religious groups - you read a bunch of books, write a verbose thesis, and walk an aisle to talk about practically nothing.  Hence, the term "professor" - it is one thing to "profess" something, but quite another to live it. Some stellar academics I know get that, and they are the true greats because they put their money where their mouths are - people like the late Dr. J.W. Lee, who taught many of my Old Testament courses years ago, as well as Dr. Regis Martin at Franciscan University, and Dr. Loyal Jones at Berean College in Kentucky.  These men understand true scholarship, and others like this Scott person could learn a thing or two from them.   Unfortunately, in this day and age, many are not willing to learn because further learning is beneath their arrogant egos - they fail to realize that we are still mortal, fallible, human beings, and last I heard only God was omniscient (of course, many of these fools are atheistic anyway - they can't confine God, so they dismiss him as a "primitive stimulus" or something).

Maybe it is time that many of us who do have something to say form a society of our own - Fr. Jack, to his credit, attempted to do that, and I only wish he could have kept it up.  The unfortunate thing about much current "mainstream" scholarship is that in many cases it has a bunch of uppity academics with "ivory-tower syndrome" who don't like their academic paradigms rocked.  It is really unfortunate, because oftentimes those individuals stifle the creativity and voice of others, and if someone is unfortunate enough to sit in a classroom with these people, the passion a poor student has for a subject may quickly be destroyed by these uppity, snooty academics who set themselves up as judge, jury, and executioner of their students' futures.

That being said, I have vented some serious frustrations I have had for some time, but I want to say something in closing especially to religious academics - some of you are hypocrites in that you seem to have no issue with messing with theological orthodoxy, yet God forbid that your other paradigms are rocked.  Many of you are so concerned with sterile, soulless writing that it is more for you to handle when a student expresses his or her passion in their scholarly writing.  And, that is the reason why I plan on doing a personal campaign for true scholarship, scholarship that embodies academic excellence while also allowing the writer to express their enthusiasm for what they are writing about without some snob with a Ph.D. title after their name condemning them for it.  It is time for change to be where change is due, and that is in the area of academic writing.  And, for you stuck-up bluebloods who have your condescending tones and personal agendas behind the lecterns of many universities, let me say this if you try to hinder - like Clint Eastwood's oft-quoted classic movie line, "make my day!"