Ministerial degree from the mail-order church
I kid you not. At the Progressive Universal Life Church (PULC) you can become an “ordained” minister with the “legal right to use the title ‘Reverend’” for a “small loving offering of only $19.50.” With this degree you are supposedly authorized to preform all functions including marriages, baptisms, funerals, and services.
So what does this “church” believe? “[The PULC wants] to help you reach your full potential in life. [They] want to help you become all God meant you to be. [They] want to help you achieve wholeness!” Ironically, they say that this church stands for “religious freedom.” “The freedom for each and every person to believe as they choose and the right to express that belief–so long as it harms no other.” The stated doctrine of the church is: “every man and woman has the right to determine what is right for themselves.”
BUT WAIT!!! (I’m not making this up.) “For a limited time only, we are offering our Doctorate courses for an unbelievably small donation… ACT NOW! You are guaranteed to pass all courses.” Here is a list of the available doctoral programs that upon completion, you “have the legal right to be known as ‘doctor’.” Ahh no, in the US, only medical doctors (allo and osteopathic) are legally titled Dr.
A common theme reverberating throughout the PULC’s webpages is the allure of obtaining wealth. This is on the page regarding the ministerial license: “As a point of passing, thousands of Ministers have become enormously wealthy performing simple religious ceremonies.” Wow, enormously wealthy. This is the kind of religion that I want to join! I not only will get a certificate of ordination printed on high quality paper perfect for hanging in a very visible spot in the house, but I will also be making upwards of “$500 for performing a simple ceremony”!
I put this under the category of “funny” because that is exactly what it is. This is a company with the sole purpose of making money. I find it hard to believe that donations to it are tax-deductible. They do not talk about worshipping God and only use the name of God when referring to how He can help us. The few quotes from the Christian Bible that they use are there only to motivate the reader to buy into the scheme. However, they are definitely not a Christian church…there is not one mention of Jesus anywhere on the site.
Sadly, I heard about this company on a blog that I read occasionally on Google Reader. This guy had actually gotten married by the PULC and then went on to become a “minister” himself. Some of the stuff that he writes is pretty interesting, but I’m not so sure about him now…
To read more about this “religion” and other strange ones, visit Breakaway Beliefs: That Old-Time Religion is So Passe
I know you have a lot going against the PULC… but maybe you should look at their great prices and then reconsider how you feel about them and the services they provide
Sincerely,
Rev. Dr. Ross, Phd
Let’s see. The Rev. cost you $19.95, the Dr. was at least an additional $100, and the PhD was another $100. I’m glad you think that it was a $220 well spent. Or did you get the PhD for free because of a life experience? Financially that’s definitely the way to go.
When people get married, the legally binding part is what is required by the state. The ceremonial part simply requires a person with sensitivity to the couple’s beliefs and ideals that they want to include as part of their ceremony. As long as the person is recognized by the county clerk’s office as being “qualified” to perform the ceremony, s/he can do it. A minister at my church told a story about someone getting a mail order certificate, getting confirmed by the clerk’s office, and setting himself up as the minister of a church in a small town. The people liked him, and he stayed.
Divinity school is a great thing. I wish I could afford it. But one thing I have always wished to do is officiate at people’s rites of passage. I am a well-read, sensitive person with performing experience, and with a certificate and clerk approval I can help people with whatever expressions of religion they would like to make in their wedding, or funeral. I probably wouldn’t do baptisms, because to me that is a specifically Christian ritual.
I’m not sure what it is about education that makes a minister (or priest) a direct channel to God. It seems to me that if someone has that calling, they don’t need an expensive education to talk to God or communicate for her/him to others.
Great comments, Margi. Your reasons for legally wanting the right to officiate seem from the heart. I was mainly complaining about this program’s mail order “doctoral degrees” and its professed allure of becoming a minister to “become enormously wealthy performing simple religious ceremonies.” One should perform these ceremonies not to become wealthy but because of a gift, a calling, or just to help others. You appear to want to do it for the right reasons.
Great word, Scott K. I am in The Philippines. I would love to have a degree for use over here. Counselling and preaching in church is something to help others, to the benefit of our fellowman. I already preach, freely, to many poor churches in this Third Word Country. The cultural experience and the immersion to other habits, performed here, is more than enough “payback.” Someone who does work along this line is doing it from the heart. Say my time spent with someone keeps them from destructive behavior? Then it is time well spent.
Sincerely,
Haxsaw
in florida, you can marry someone by being a Notary Public. just send in your money and you are a legal witness, on marriage certificates, deeds, official documents. the US dept of education is not promoting education! the accreditation was for colleges and universities to get Veteran’s money from the G.I. bill, but it turned into a click!! what difference does it make how u learned to do something?? if it came to u in a dream, if u read how to do it in a book, if u watched a video, if some old man showed you how to do it, or someone taught it to you hands on, as long as u can do it, who cares?? there should be degrees for life experiences, because you cant’ get experience from a book!! the book can tell you all about it, but can you do it ? the old saying, there is no substitute for experience!! how true!! the only thing a degree proves in my opinion is that the student can complete a course of study, follow it through to completion, and prove that he/she knows most of what they have read. as far as doing the work,
they would like a shot at trying it!! they have no experience! so which is better,
education, or experience? if i was going to get operated on by someone, i would want the person who has done the work and has the experience and know how, not the person who can tell you all about it, but has never done it!
todd fischer, dgd that stands for damn-good-doctor !! LOL!!
maybe wth the internet, a college degree will be easier and cheaper to get. it should be that way now, but the cost hasn’t come down, and it needs to. even high school kids could go to high school or college over the internet and save the tax payers a fortune, no more buses, schools, teachers, administration, buildings and land, all of those people are against it! and accreditation- are the schools approved by the north,south, east, west association of colleges and schools, the only colleges/universities worth going to?? what a joke, wake up dept of education, u dumbie!! what a click that is !!
you got a bs, ms, a phd degree, all you need now is a J O B !!