For a pedantic physicist, maybe. But as a circuit design engineer I'm more interested in how a device appears to the outside world, not what its esoteric inner quantum-mechanical "cause and effect" is, and for most common low-frequency analog and switching design applications, a BJT looks like a current operated device with a low (albeit non-linear) input impedance. To tell a newbie otherwise, just confuses them as to how to design the transistor into a circuit.You have to delve into the relationship between Ic, Ib, and Vbe to determine what is cause and effect.
Ratch