https://www.accredited-online-college.org/avoiding-diploma-mills/
Who: PhonyDiploma.com
What: Diploma Mills
- Over 3,000 Diploma Mills operate in the United States [1]
- A legitimate four-year college degree averages around $100,000,
- A college or university degree / diploma is one of the most costly items a person will pay to obtain
- It is a beautifully printed piece of paper and “a symbol of the hard work — the blood, sweat, and tears.”
- “Diploma or degree mills come in many guises. Some degree mills blatantly offer to sell a degree and perhaps a transcript from a legitimate school. Others can be easily recognized by promising that an applicant can receive a degree in a very short period of time, sometimes as little as five days. ” — chea
- Phony Diploma is “a company which unabashedly churns out a wide variety of diplomas — high school, college, graduate school, international certifications — for attractively (and deceptively) low prices. These diplomas are solely pieces of paper: a customer does not get an actual degree with his purchase”. . . .
- Cost: $400.00 to over $1,000.00
- Phony Diploma Declarations:
“We choose honesty over deception.”
“We are not a diploma mill.”
“There is nothing illegal about using a fake diploma for novelty purposes.”
— PhonyDiploma.comPhonyDiploma.com — According to their website, what they do is “perfectly legal:”
“There is nothing illegal about using a fake diploma for novelty purposes.
We NEVER use copy written seals or emblems owned by actual schools — even though our design may look similar. We NEVER forge the original administrator name — we use a selection of in-house names that look like real signatures. We NEVER make fake diplomas representing nursing, medical, mental-health, dental, legal, law enforcement, aviation, military or government certification or public safety professions. We NEVER make fake diplomas that might be used to circumvent the security of our country.”
. .
Key Biblical Thoughts:
- salvation
- the Gospel
- false prophets
- testing the spirits [1]
- warnings
- short-cuts
- temptation
- truth
- error
- “one way”
- “the way, the truth, the life”
- “come in my name”
- the Great Tribulation
- deception
- discernment
- delusion
. . . . .
Sermonic Example:
Note: There are several distinct methods for using illustrative material.
(Use whatever you find useful in the above details, and then build out this specific illustration)
Because of the sinfulness of mankind, men have always found ways to profit from deception. Deception is the oldest craft of all of history. It began in the Garden with Adam and Eve, and is illustrated across the pages of Scripture — Old and New Testaments! Who cannot call up the many examples found in the pages of Scripture?
Surely, one of the boldest and clear examples of that is found in Joshua 9 . . . . They were guilty of advancing a national fraud. They presented a fake diploma that they had graduated from “Desert University.” Life and death hinged on getting this fake diploma to be believed as legitimate. To do that, they had taken classes in breadmaking, shoe wear & tear, and modeling old and worn clothes. They claimed to choose honesty over deception, and staked everything on being believed. . . .
OR
(Use whatever you find useful in the above details, and then build out this specific illustration)
It lists a “multitude of reasons” one should purchase a phony diploma and/or transcript:
To boost your self-esteem
To wow your friends and family
To give as a gift to loved ones and friends or colleagues
To show off at a reunion (family, school or otherwise)
To add to your social media profile— priceonomic
What is astonishing is that”Phoney Diploma dot com” makes this statement! You would never think that such a promotional comment would ever be made by such a business and become part of a marketing – advertising plan. They say this . . . .
“Phonydiploma.com is a hard working company and we treat our customers very fairly, and honestly...we choose honesty over deception.”
“We choose honesty over deception! Are you kidding!
But that is what they must convince you of if you are to fall for their ruse! You must believe that they are being honest. That is what the Gibeonites realized they had to accomplish in Joshua 9 . . .
Other Information & Links:
1. How Do You Know If A college Is A Diploma Mill?
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No Accreditation [2]
-
Has Accreditation (But From a Questionable Agency)
-
The Only Requirement: A Credit Card
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Pushy Marketing Tactics
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No Classes, Exams or Professors
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Instant Diploma or Degree
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The Name Closely Resembles a Well-Known School
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Has No Physical Office
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Website Contains Stock Photos
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Multiple Complaints or Bad Reviews
. . . . .
2. “While helpful in reducing fraud, the accreditation requirement created a companion problem, the bogus accrediting organization, sometimes referred to as an “accreditation mill.” It is common for degree mills to advertise they are accredited, but many of these so-called accreditors are actually creations of the degree mills themselves. One way they attempt to gain credibility is by including the names of the bogus agencies in lists of legitimate accrediting organizations. They also often include language that legitimate agencies use to describe their function to the public.” — chea
“Why Should We Be Concerned about Degree Mills?
The primary reason to be concerned about degree mills is that they demean the value of learning and the importance of educational standards by treating degrees only as a commodity to be bought and sold. . . . However, there are other reasons as well. In some cases, degree mills defraud individuals who are misled by the promises of the purported school that the degree they earn from the school will have some value. Individuals with bogus degrees also present a danger to the public. This is particularly true of those who receive bogus credentials in fields where they could present a threat to health, safety or well-being. A quick look at the degree mills advertising on the Internet shows that degree mills offer degrees in fields such as nursing, nutrition, electrical and mechanical engineering, biochemistry and accounting, at significant risk to the public. Also, degree mills are unfair to the millions of individuals who have worked hard to earn legitimate degrees.” – chea
. . . . .
— https://priceonomics.com/the-business-of-fake-diplomas/
RhetoricAndHomiletics.Org 