Professor who shuns Reformed orthodoxy hired to teach it at Davidson College By John H. Adams Commentary Special to The Layman Online Friday, April 11, 2008 Davidson College won attaboys from across the nation after nearly squeezing into the Final Four of the NCAA Basketball Tournament. But what about the Presbyterian school's new professorship in "reformed" theology? As they shout in the stands when nothing touches the rim or backboard, "AIR BALL!" The professor is Dr. Douglas Ottati, a Presbyterian elder (not minister) who came to Davidson this academic year as part of a deal cut by the college's trustees in 2006. In exchange for abandoning Davidson's requirement that all trustees of the 1,700-student, Presbyterian college be Christians, the board sought to assuage the traditionalists by seeking money for a professor who would specialize in Reformed theology. They got the cash and hired Ottati away from Union Theological Seminary in Richmond, Va. Their new specialist is a self-described "progressive" theologian, which essentially means believing anything and adhering to nothing. Some believe Ottati is a theological clone of retired Episcopal Bishop John Spong, a despiser of orthodoxy, but that's not quite true. Ottati is more charming and humorous, even if the Biblical evidence he eschews is substantial, including the bodily Resurrection of Jesus – a problem for Ottati because of the "physics." The bigger issue, Ottati declared, is what the disciples thought the Resurrection meant. Of course, the Scripture is clear. Here is just one of several accounts: While they were telling these things, He Himself stood in their midst and said to them, "Peace be to you." But they were startled and frightened and thought that they were seeing a spirit. And He said to them, "Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? See My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself; touch Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have." And when He had said this, He showed them His hands and His feet. While they still could not believe it because of their joy and amazement, He said to them, "Have you anything here to eat?" They gave Him a piece of a broiled fish; and He took it and ate it before them." Luke 24:36-43, ASV Update For any reader, a passage like this comes down to a choice: It's either all true or all fabrication. If it's fabrication, then the entire Scripture is suspect, including the Atonement for and salvation of those who, by the Holy Spirit, trust that Jesus is Lord and Savior. Ottati likes to describe himself in the vernacular of the theological left. He is an unapologetic liberal and progressive. He strongly opposes the denomination's prohibition against ordaining men and women who are sexually active outside the bonds of a traditional marriage. He finds little benefit in the confessions, except as conversation pieces. They are, he believes, biased by their history and not relevant for today's church. In an address to the Witherspoon Society during the 2002 General Assembly, Ottati sketched out some of his views: Progressive theology. Not a single theology, but a "conglomeration of theologies: process, liberal, Christian realist, liberationist, feminist, black, womanist, Minjung. … We do not say that only the Methodist, or only the Baptist, or only the Catholic, or only the Lutheran, or only the Presbyterian … or only the Muslim, or only the Oglala Sioux, or only the Hindu, or only the Buddhist, or only the secular humanist can be saved. It is why we do not say that only the earthlings, or only the residents of our solar system, or only the inhabitants of the Milky Way can be saved." He called the Apostles' Creed and the Nicene Creed "valuable but fallible statements" and declared that "all confessional statements have only a provisional, temporary, relative authority." He suggested that intellectualism is the strongest authority for the church's liberals. "We need to build up some progressive theological and intellectual capital if we are to check the faithfulness of our continuing witness, communicate it to others and represent our positions effectively in discussion and debate." The Presbyterian Church (USA) today has an "inherent theological plurality." Don't expect the denomination to return to Biblical and Reformed traditions. "The right may pursue theological uniformity. We don't." Seminaries and colleges who might hire Ottati have been forewarned by the late John Leith, who also taught at Union Theological Seminary and was one of the nation's giants in Reformed theology. "Professor Ottati's theology represents a 180-degree change from anything that was taught at Union Theological Seminary prior to 1980 or that dominated prior to 1990," Leith said in a critique that was published in The Layman in 1998. "No one in the UTS theology department now represents the mainstream of Reformed theology that nurtured the Presbyterian church in this area of the United States and that built Union Theological Seminary." Having abetted Union's retreat from its Reformed roots, Ottati is now ensconced at Davidson as the Craig Family Distinguished Professorship in Reformed Theology and Justice Ministry. Therein lies an irony. Arguing for the Christian-only trustee requirement, a Davidson leader who advocated the change said, "Following engagement with the writings of Karl Barth and John Leith, we affirmed what we believe is the Reformed Tradition's openness to other religious heritage, by granting access to board membership to those who are not Christians, as well as committed Christians who are not active members of a Christian church. …" Other trustees interpreted that to mean that Leith would have supported the change. But Caroline Leith, his daughter, squashed that rumor. "My dad would never have approved of the appointment of non-Christians to the Davidson College board of trustees," she said. Another conclusion could be drawn as well: Leith would have never approved of Ottati's appointment at Davidson. John H. Adams, a longtime observer of the Presbyterian Church (USA), retired in 2006 as the editor of The Layman.

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