David Barton in the News: Remember His Earned Doctorate and Division One Basketball Stardom?

Self-styled historian David Barton is in the news calling State Department officials “clowns” while he and Glenn Beck claim to rescue people in Afghanistan. Ministry Watch issued an appropriate “close look” at Beck and Barton’s charity — the Nazarene Fund — since it is unclear what they are doing in the midst of this disaster.

I am not an apologist for the Biden Administration’s handling of the end of the American military presence in Afghanistan. However, if David Barton makes a claim, my experience is that it should be checked out. Here are at least two reasons why.

Unearned Doctorate

Almost 5 years ago now, David Barton released the following video on his Facebook and Youtube accounts:

In this video, Barton very clearly claims to have an earned doctorate while, at the same time, he covers it up and fails to say where he got it. THe day after I saw the video, I discovered the “degree” came from church based LIfe Christian University. The school doesn’t offer history or education degrees and isn’t accredited by any recognized agency. It is registered with the IRS as a church and has no campus. Furthermore, Barton never attended any classes nor did he do any specific work for the so-called “earned” degree.” The president of the school just gave him a degree, perhaps for a fee, although that much was not revealed.

When I posted this information, Barton removed the video from his websites and stopped referring to himself as “doctor.” He never mentioned it again and has refused to ever explain or apologize for the deception. To their discredit, no Christian news outlet has ever pursued him and demanded answers about why he castigated progressives for making up stories, when he spun the yarn.

There are so many more reasons to be skeptical but here is just one more.

David Barton’s Division One Airball

IN 2015, David Barton told a seminar audience that he played basketball with the Oral Robert University Division One basketball squad when he attended the school as a student:

The main claim was:

I remember when I was playing basketball, the college stuff that we did. We started every day with a five mile run, then we lifted weights, then we had an hour of racquetball, then we had two hours of full-court basketball, then we came back for another run. It wasn’t particularly enjoyable, but in those years, our college team set the NCAA record for two years in a row for most points scored. We averaged 105, 104, 103 points a game, I forget what it was. But you had to run a lot, it wasn’t a lot of fun, but you get the results.

As it turns out, Barton did not play for the D-1 team at Oral Roberts.

This was confirmed by the NCAA and school records, calls to the university, and the testimonies of the head trainer and a sports reporter for the school paper at the time. He simply didn’t play on the team but told a story that made it sound like he did.

If a man can weave together those kind of stories about himself, shouldn’t we demand a much higher level of verification before we accept what he says about other things?

17 thoughts on “David Barton in the News: Remember His Earned Doctorate and Division One Basketball Stardom?”

  1. warren…please ! Barton/Beck need to be seriously called out on this latest grift! We must call them out in a much more serious manner to demonstrate the the rampant perfidy of their claims. It has become so outrageous in the blatant level of their scheming and lying. We need no references now to their past falsehoods, as awful as they may have been, those are junior league compared to what they promote today. On so many levels, what they proclaim today is horrific. Strong voices are needed to rebuke them. Are you not so offended than to make more of this than you have?

  2. lemme guess…they are raising money to go help, right? Fine print probably says “going to a general fund that can be used at the discreation of the organization”

  3. I would have to say the writing in the MinistryWatch article is a bit sloppy. Ex. it says:

    ” the sex-trafficking organization Operation Underground Railroad (OUR)”

    when it should read:

    ” the Anti-sex-trafficking organization Operation Underground Railroad (OUR)”

    Granted OUR has a lot of problems, but that is a serious misstatement and needs to be corrected.

  4. David Barton’s “historical” works are about like his story of his personal life–all tissues of half-truths, exaggerations, and outright lies. Nothing he says, or writes, is trustworthy.

  5. How admirable of David Barton to have spent the last two decades helping Afghan survivors of U.S. War and Occupation all this time–wait, what? He’s only *now* claiming interest in the welfare of people in Afghanistan?

    What’s in it for the self-serving serial liar Barton? Will he recruit Afghans to join a new basketball team at Oral Roberts U and set another NCAA record for most points scored?

  6. Another narcissist liar bragging about a whole lot of things that are not true. But, not to kid you here. I got in a dispute with the two leaders of a Christian non-profit zoom group I had been attending where, on my fourth anniversary, I was told a bit rudely to leave the group and then was left in the waiting room the whole time of the actual meeting without forewarning or explanation.

    The higher ranking one sent me bullet points of three areas of trouble that they had with me. One of them was “that I criticized the president (not them!)” And the great irony is that the other one I have heard being quite a bit angrier and critical at the president then I ever was. Only in western Christianity…

    1. An update if anyone cares. I emailed the head woman with a response to her ultimatum asking her if telling people to leave who ask questions and then locking them out of the Zoom meeting was a godly response in line with “Love is patient. etc.” I have a response from her which is textbook for what we see over and over again to people who think they are above everyone else and no mere peon can hold them accountable for anything. So here it is unedited. Feel free to comment any way you like:

      “I have answers for everything you have stated here but I see no point in going back and forth in arguments. Because everything I tell you seems to trigger more arguments from your part.

      Your response sounds like this is everybody’s fault but you are failing to admit where your behaviors have irrespected the groups’s conscience.

      And let me emphasize that- we are not against you- it’s some of your behaviors in the group that need to stop.

      I know you are a man of God so I am hoping the Holy Spirit will convict you and so you will be able to admit, confess, and commit to what we are asking you.”

        1. Thanks for that and interesting link. This lady is a pastor and a pastor’s wife and a child of pastors in El Salvador. She rich, at least enough to be able to get a visa to visit the U.S which makes me wonder if her family church business is of the Faith Movement. She has had mental health issues and is still under treatment for them. I suspect that it is currently not going well in that department. Healthy people know that you talk out differences and you do not try to kick people out without first trying to resolve them and having proof that extreme measures are really necessary. In my case even using the example of what if someone did to you what you just did to me, “how would you feel” was simply ignored.

  7. Like attracts like. Neither one of them would recognize the truth if it came up and bit them on the butt – and if it did, they’d just kick it away so it didn’t bother them again.

    1. I remember back in Beck’s FoxNews days, a co-worker commented Beck would always say to people “check it yourself”. When I asked the co-worker if he had ever “checked it himself” I’m pretty sure you can guess the answer.

  8. Whelp- listening he actually never claimed to play varsity basketball- he said basketball and things we did. I don’t like the guy but your claim about his basketball claim is stretching it. Don’t become the thing you despise.

    1. Maybe you didn’t see this part:

      We started every day with a five mile run, then we lifted weights, then we had an hour of racquetball, then we had two hours of full-court basketball, then we came back for another run. It wasn’t particularly enjoyable, but in those years, our college team set the NCAA record for two years in a row for most points scored. We averaged 105, 104, 103 points a game, I forget what it was. But you had to run a lot, it wasn’t a lot of fun, but you get the results.

      If he isn’t claiming to be on the team, then who is the “we.”

      He also claimed this to other people at other times. The ORU crowd also thought he claimed that and clearly denied it.

      1. Now now Warren … “we” is just an over-exuberant fan identifying closely with his heroes on the court. I’m sure that must be the explanation for the repeated misleading use of that little word. What other explanation could there be?

    2. While Barton may have never said “I was on the basketball team” explicitly, the text certainly IMPLIES he is claiming he was on the basketball team.

      1. Of course Barton deceptively implied it, as we can all plainly see. Bearing False Witness is Barton’s predictable, self-serving theology in action. Howard’s attempt to compare Dr. Throckmorton to Barton is shameful.

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