College president notes implications of Tenn. Baptist theology inquiry

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP) - In the view of one college president, "potential difficulties related to governance and operations" may result from a motion to "investigate and study the theological teachings" of institutions of higher education affiliated with the Tennessee Baptist Convention.

Carson-Newman College President James Netherton, in a statement to Baptist Press Nov. 18, affirmed the college's relationship with the Tennessee convention but voiced wariness of the motion which was passed during the Nov. 9-10 TBC annual meeting.

The motion arose on the floor of the convention after a Carson-Newman student, who also was a local church messenger, stated that his professors had told him the Bible has errors and contradictions. "Why is that happening at Carson-Newman, a Baptist college?" the student, Brady Tarr, asked.

In addition to Carson-Newman, located in Jefferson City, two other institutions fall under the scope of the TBC motion: Belmont University in Nashville and Union University in Jackson.

The TBC executive board's education committee will conduct the investigation, according to the motion, and report to the executive board which then would report the findings to the state convention's 2005 annual meeting.