Dr, Pastor, Rev, Minister So and So......?

[DaveBj]

I see you perspective, and respect your opinion. For me, when the times comes that the MD says, “you have xyz disease, and there’s nothing we can do”, I suspect I’ll put the Reverend Dr. _______ on the top of my list.

Jon

(in keeping with the situation)

 

[CopticChristian]

I have noticed that quite a few pastors refer to themselves as Dr _____. I was wondering if this is something they are obligated to do provided they completed the necessary schooling? Or can they leave this out and just put Rev, or Pastor etc etc? Just wondering as I do see a fair bit of this and find it a tad off-puting in the Church Leadership World, to be honest I also have to roll my eyes at the all the Dr references in Academia as well - esp the Arts. Sorry, when I think Dr, its a medical Dr or at least someone in the Sciences. Someone who has Dr in front of their name and its the study of Milton, Shakespeare, Feminism, Political Science etc etc gets a bit of annoyed chuckle from me versus an Medical Dr or someone from the Sciences - has the term Dr been more widely circulated over the past decade or so?

Well I know its a two prong question/comment - first the titles Church leadership gives themselves and secondly my little rant/question re the watering down of the term Dr

For $89.00 you too can be a reverend and for a few bucks more a Dr.,Rev…just look on the internet.

 

[CopticChristian]

If one has a true doctorate, they have more than likely either done a tough residency/clinical (medical doctor and the like) or a TON of research in order to get a PhD, EDD, etc. So I think all have earned the title doctor. The only exception, I think, is some one who earns a J.D.–a law degree or juris doctorate. Law students don’t do any type of year long or longer work for another lawyer nor do they do a dissertation, so if lawyers want to be called Dr. it really irritates me. My DH is a lawyer and I bug him that I did more work for my master’s than he did for his law degree.

There may be, I know of no lawyer that calls themselves Dr. They address themselves as “counselors” and sign their name with John Doe,Esquire.

 

[Legal_Eagle]

There may be, I know of no lawyer that calls themselves Dr. They address themselves as “counselors” and sign their name with John Doe,Esquire.

I always just sign my name “Legal Eagle.”. I address other lawyers in correspondence as “John Doe, Esq.”. In my humble opinion lawyers who add “Esquire” to their own signatures over estimate their own importance.

If I deserve to be addressed with an honorific title people will know it without me having to point it out. If I have to prompt people to address me with an honorific title then chances are I don’t deserve it.

Peace,

 

[Nicea325]

No one…I simply respect a medical Dr (and have no qualms about calling him or her Dr) more than I respect someone who has attained a Doctorate level of education in say Philosophy or Literature or Management etc etc. Maybe its just that I see a MD having greater impact on the lives around them vs some Prof (who has Dr title) teaching Hume to students at University.

A greater impact? Depends as to what you mean impact? Health concerns and issues? Yes. I certainly do not consider any MD having impact on my life. Some MD’s are lousy and have no business being an MD. But I would not say a MD has more of an impact on society as a whole as opposed to someone who is teaching any field.

 

[Formosus]

As has been mentioned above, “Doctor” was first properly a term describing academics (especially academics involved in Philosophy or Theology) and “Physician” was the proper term for a medical practitioner.

With that said, if those pastors didn’t get their doctorates from accredited centers of learning and research, then it would be fair to question their use of the title.