Doctorate... in Advertising? ... education?

     Franz Pieper took note of where "higher education" was going in his lifetime.  He saw public universities falling away from delivering a good education.  In February of 1921, he wrote the following about talk of a new degree in "advertising".  It was published in Lehre und Wehre, volume 67, pages 62-63:

"Doctor of Advertising Arts." We read in School Life, the organ of our education offices in Washington:

"Degrees in advertising to be granted by the University of California, Leland Stanford Junior University, the University of Washington, Oregon Agricultral College, and other Pacific coast colleges and universities are urged by Harry P. Carroll, of Los Angeles, president of the Pacific Coast Advertising Club. With Marc N. Goodnow, head of the School of Journalism of the University of California, as chairman, a committee of five has been appointed to present the matter to the several institutions." 

A title of Doctor of Advertising would be in name only, not new in substance. Thousands of "doctors" live in the world and have a great name in the world, whose ability consists in, under the name and title of "science" for the public, especially the "intelligent" public, something to "pretend".    F.P.

Franz Pieper was not impressed with Ph.D. degrees.  When he embraced Walter A. Maier (WAM) after WAM received his Ph.D. from Harvard, he did not do this to congratulate him on this degree.  Why?  Because WAM was to be a professor of Theology, and Harvard University only pretended to know Theology.  So also for the University of Chicago where other Concordia Seminary professors received their Ph.D. degrees, much to their discredit and weakness in theological matters.

Much could be spoken of today's advertising.  One notices that Adobe software company speaks of "evangelists" as teachers of its software products.  They imply that their software brings the great "Good News" of... what?  graphic software, not the real Good News of the Gospel, the salvation of the world from its sins worked by Christ on the cross – i.e. the Open Heaven.  So we see in today's "advertising" much deception... and it takes doctorates to figure this out.  BTW, have you noticed there are no graphic pictures in the Bible... just words... and the Word (John 1:1).  No amount of Photoshop can touch these words, although scholars try their best.

In my next post, I will publish Franz Pieper's comments relating to Mormonism, starting from this same issue of Lehre und Wehre.