The Myth of Influence
In the March 7, 1998, issue of the Los Angeles Times , the Religion section featured an article entitled, "L.A.-Area Seminary Teachers Gather to Ponder the Truth." For the fourth year, the Skirball Institute on American Values drew five seminaries together for discussion: St. John’s Seminary of the Los Angeles Archdiocese of the Roman Catholic Church , Hebrew Union College of Reform Judaism, the University of Judaism of Conservative Judaism, Claremont School of Theology with liberal Protestant connections, and Fuller Theological Seminary with evangelical roots. The article quotes several participants on the positive character of the meeting. The comments of the moderator, Donald E. Miller of the University of Southern California , captured the spirit of the news report: “There is more similarity of religious views among what Miller called 'progressive' Jews, Catholics and Protestants than there is between orthodox and progressive believers within each fait...