Bible

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” (Matthew 22:37).

How do we live out this essential commandment? Who is this God we are called to love? What is true and false, good and evil, right and wrong? The answers to these questions frame our picture of the world — our “worldview.”

We believe that God is very necessary and very relevant, that the differences between religions and worldviews are both real and significant, and that Christianity best satisfies the criteria for a livable worldview. The choice of a worldview is both personal and of far-reaching eternal significance. In that manner, the Bible program exposes students to the scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, the life and redemptive work of Jesus Christ, and the historic Christian faith and its relationship to the major worldviews of our time. The learning and dialogue encompasses the great breadth of perspectives in the Christian faith.

Students are asked to carefully examine their own beliefs as well as the argumentation and beliefs that disagree with a Christian worldview. The purpose of all critical thinking is not to create skepticism in students, but to equip them to be conversant with most of the ideas they encounter in the university and society, so that we follow Paul’s advice: “Test everything. Hold on to the good” (1 Thessalonians 5:21).

Required Course Offerings

Bible 9 - Old Testament Survey

Among the main content, and historical and cultural background of the Old Testament, the following themes will be emphasized: God as Creator (creation is ‘good,’ humanity made in God’s image, stewardship of creation, God’s sovereignty, the covenant community, etc.); humanity as fallen from grace (the effects of sin in the world, the human struggle toward a relationship with God, the human tendency toward idolatry, sin and death, etc.); God as deliverer (the Exodus, social justice, etc.); God as judge (the exile, the nations, etc.); salvation history (the coming Savior) and future hope. The books of the Old Testament will be presented as they appear in seven historical periods.

Bible 10 - New Testament

This survey course provides theological and thematic discussion on the nature of God and the Trinity; the formation and reliability of the New Testament canon; fulfillment of messianic prophecies in Christ; Christ's divine and human nature; the doctrine of salvation; how Christ's message spread through the Roman world; the role of the Holy Spirit and the Church; and the future return of the Messiah. Students examine cultures, language, history, theology, and literary context of the New Testament.

Bible 11 - Living the Story

The purpose of this class is to help integrate a student's knowledge of Old & New Testament Bible in order to form a working and meaningful theology for everyday life. We study questions like "Who or What is God", and "Who or What am I". We also ask the "so what" questions as we explore biblical relationships with both ourselves and others. Sprinkled throughout the course are opportunities to learn and practice the art and science of interpreting the Bible well in our 21st century culture.

Bible 12 - Christian Worldview Seminar

This course encourages students to think seriously about and construct their own personal philosophy of life, and to learn how to articulate it and live by it. Students learn the beliefs of essential historic Christianity and understand orthodoxy. They become familiar and conversant with the major ideas and worldviews of our time, such as relativism, nihilism, monoism, naturalism, materialism, atheistic existentialism, cults, and post-modernism. Students learn how these interact with Christianity. As they encounter the ideas of the critics first hand, they learn how to articulate a well-reasoned defense for the Christian faith, Christian Theism, and basic Christian beliefs. At the end of the course, students learn how to articulate their own worldview. Major projects include issues papers in which students must present two sides of an issue, class presentations and a final worldview paper.

Ministry Leadership

This course teaches students both theology and methodology in leading a team of people into ministry settings. The course focuses upon some of the kingdom of God principles that are true in all places and for all people. Discussions include general leadership principles and practices and include ”out-of-class labs” such as Wyldlife chapels, middle school missions trips and more.

Worship Leadership

This course teaches the students both theology and methodology around leading God’s people in worship as a community. The students learn how to lead a community in worship through music, reading, prayer, silence, contemplation, liturgy, and kinetic experiences. The class participants will be available to lead worship in chapels as well as auxiliary gatherings for the school.