This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Vivaldi (talk | contribs) at 12:47, 27 May 2006 (→Controversy and criticism: fixed link). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.
Revision as of 12:47, 27 May 2006 by Vivaldi (talk | contribs) (→Controversy and criticism: fixed link)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)| Hyles-Anderson College | |
.jpg)
| |
| Established | 1972 |
|---|---|
| School type | Private/Unaccredited |
| President | Wendell Evans |
| Location | unincorporated St. John Township, Indiana, United States |
| Campus | 8400 Burr Street Crown Point, Indiana 46307 United States |
| Enrollment | approximately 1700 |
| Faculty | 38 full time |
| Colors | Green and White |
| Mascot | Bagpiper |
| Homepage | www.hylesanderson.com |
Hyles-Anderson College is an unaccredited Bible college in unincorporated St. John Township, Lake County, Indiana, with a physical address at 8400 Burr Street, Crown Point, Indiana. The college is operated by First Baptist Church of Hammond. It focuses primarily on training pastors, missionairies and other church workers. It also trains Christian educators to work in K-12 Christian schools. The partially-wooded 100 acre (40 hectare) campus includes a lake, football field, bowling alley, and a variety of school and entertainment resources.
History
Hyles-Anderson was founded in 1972 by the late Jack Hyles with financial support from Russell Anderson. The college states that it was established so that pastors, assistant pastors, bus directors, missionaries, music leaders, teachers, and principals may be better equipped to do the work of the Lord. The school was originally located on a campus known as Baptist City in Schererville, Indiana. HAC's former campus was turned into Hammond Baptist K-12 school. This school is also operated by the First Baptist Church of Hammond. After his death, Hyles, who was the school's chancellor, was succeeded by his son-in-law, Jack Schaap, a graduate and former vice president of the school.
Academics and accreditation
Hyles Anderson College is not accredited by any recognised accreditation body. As such, its degrees may not be acceptable to employers or other institutions, and use of degree titles may be restricted or illegal in some jurisdictions. Students at Hyles-Anderson are ineligible to participate in any federally funded loan or grant programs and other federal programs for students. Also, as a result of the lack of accreditation Hyles-Anderson's graduates are not able to hold some professional positions that require a degree from an accredited school. For example, Hyles-Anderson's graduates are not able to become certified as teachers in public schools. Thus, the student catalog stresses that Hyles-Anderson's degrees in education are only intended to train teachers planning to teach at private Christian schools. It may also be difficult for Hyles-Anderson students to transfer their class credits if they later decide to attend an accredited college.
The schools leaders have claimed that it does not want accreditation for philosophical and doctrinal reasons. Founder Jack Hyles asserted that the college remains unaccredited because the government would "take away our freedom."
The college has 38 full time educators and administrators, who have received degrees from a diverse range of both traditional universities and colleges as well as bible colleges. Each of the faculty at Hyles-Anderson has at least one degree from Hyles-Anderson College.
Hyles-Anderson offers Bachelor of Science degrees in the following major concentrations: Pastoral Theology, Pastoral Assistant, Missions, Elementary Education, Secondary Education, General Studies, Music Director, and Music Education. The college offers Associate of Science degrees in Education and in Marriage and Motherhood.
Hyles-Anderson's science courses include: general chemistry, inorganic chemistry, basic physics, mechanics, geology, electronics, and astronomy.
Policies
Hyle-Anderson has a dress code that says that girls may not wear skirts above the knees. Men must wear neckties to class and keep their hair cut short.
The college's policies also require that women may not go off-campus unchaperoned. Young men and young ladies are not allowed to date alone in cars. Absolutely no hand holding or other intimacies are allowed between the genders. The college provides chaparones and bus trasportation for date nights.
All faculty, staff, and students are required to go soul winning weekly by participating in the evangelistic ministry of the First Baptist Church of Hammond, Indiana. The college claims that 10,000 new baptisms are performed each year at the Church as a result of this ministry.
As part of the college's separatist tradition, it has strict rules that forbid what it believes are immoral acts. Therefore students are not allowed to: drink alcohol, smoke cigarettes, dance, attend Hollywood movies, play cards, or participate in "other questionable amusements". The college states: "We do not fellowship with liberals, but instead take a strict separatist stand from the world and apostasy."
Hyles-Anderson is a supporter of the King-James-Only Movement. The college teaches that every word of the Textus Receptus manuscripts, from which came the King James Bible, was inspired by God. The college also teaches that The Scripture is the final authority in all matters of faith and practice.
Controversy and criticism
In May 1993, WJBK of Detroit, Michigan area news team, did a story called Preying from the Pulpit where it followed up on allegations of child molestation." The news report "began airing a six-part series Sunday night that stemmed from child sexual abuse allegations last fall against deacon Mark Foeller and associate pastor Timothy Leonard of North Sharon Baptist Church near Ann Arbor." The San Diego Union-Tribune noted "the news report found seven U.S. churches - all with ties to Hyles, it said - involved in sex scandals." The story pointed out that many of the preachers that were involved in sex scandels had graduated from Hyles-Anderson.
On May 19, 1993, the Northwest Indiana Times ran a story entitled Baptism by innuendo, which criticized the sensationalized stories filled with innuendo that ran on WJBK-TV and WLS-TV in Chicago. The Times wrote, "If one were to take the insinuations of Detroit television station WJBK-TV seriously, one could get the impression that the First Baptist Church of Hammond is a sex-crime factory and that its pastors school in Hammond and the affiliated Hyles Anderson College in Schererville are institutions where people minor in molestation." The Times also suggested that the May ratings period, which is traditionally known for such similar sensationalized stories, was not a good enough excuse to make up for the poor journalism the stories displayed, concluding that the stories were "a monstrous overreach". The Times went on to say: "There is no large institution of any kind where some wrongdoers cannot be found. First Baptist and its affiliated institutions are no exception. To tar an entire congregation or student body and alumni with indiscriminate innuendo is highly irresponsible.". Soon afterwords, Hyles gave a speech in which he disputed the latest reports point by point. During that speech, Hyles said that those that the report indicated had attended Hyles-Anderson College really had not even attended the school. Several hundred people signed a statement supporting Hyles' in an advertisement placed in the Tuesday June 1, 2003 Chicago Sun-Times.
Reverend Joseph Combs and his wife, Evangeline Lopez Combs were members of First Baptist Church of Hammond and Combs was also a professor at Hyles-Anderson College.. The two adopted Esther Combs, who "experts" say was "tortured" for nearly 20 years. "The 410 scars she accumulated from curling iron burns, baseball bat beatings and other abuse went undetected because she was in the care of a minister and his wife, who used a cloak of religion and home schooling to isolate her." While one babysitter testified "that they suspected Esther was mistreated but didn't want to contradict Combs, who had been their Bible professor at Hyles Anderson College."Furthermore, another babysitter testified she "reported her suspicions to the college president, but apparently nothing was done, she said." In 1986, Combs moved to Florida to start a church. After accusations of abuse, they moved to Tennessee. There they were charged in 1998 and convicted in 2000 of kidnapping, child abuse and aggravated assault.
References
- CHEA - accreditation database
- Hyles, Jack The Five Churches, Chpt. 15
- ^ Hyles-Anderson Catalog. Website accessed May 25, 2006.
- ^ "7 accused of abuse linked to preacher." The Grand Rapids Press. Grand Rapids, Mich. May 17, 1993. pg. B.2
- "Preacher has links to molest suspects." The San Diego Union -Tribune. San Diego, Calif.: May 17, 1993. p. A.7
- Baptism by innuendo Northwest Indiana Times May 19, 1993
- ^ Lehmann, Daniel J. "Pastor Linked to Sex Abuse Lashes Out," Chicago Sun-Times, June 2, 1993. pg. 5
- ^ Becky Campbell. "Experts say Combs child abuse case unusual," The Associated Press, April 7, 2000.
- Esther Combs faces the woman she called mother and asks: Why?. The Associated Press. 25 April 2000.
Alumni
- Jack Schaap - (BA 1978; MA, 1979) - Chancellor of Hyles-Anderson College
See also
External links
- Hyles-Anderson College– Official Web Site