Theology

This course is an introduction to the origin, nature, purpose, mission, polity, and ministry of the church. It explores the biblical and theological issues involved in the doctrine of the church with a particular focus on the practical preparation of students for effective ministry in local churches or parachurch ministry organizations, based on a biblical understanding of the local church.

This course is a survey and evaluation of various evangelical approaches to apologetics and an examination of various worldviews, with an emphasis on the development of a Christian worldview. The course will equip the believer in the use of scripture and theistic proofs to defend the Christian faith by identifying and responding to attacks from secularists, pragmatists, skeptics, and those in other religions. Most importantly, this course will bolster the faith of Christians by commending the reality, relevance, reliability, credibility, excitement, and wonder of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

This course introduces the gospel and its implications for the Christian life and ministry, with a focus on understanding the gospel in the context of the entire biblical narrative, developing a gospel-centered life, and viewing ministry through the lens of the good news of Jesus Christ.

Doing theology, as the exercise of asking and answering questions by consulting and combining various Scriptural teachings, takes a variety of forms. Understanding those approaches allows us to test theological conclusions. A biblical theology uses an approach that seeks to understand the direct teachings of Scripture in its context and holds loosely the answers to questions that are derived from indirect Scriptural inferences. This course is designed to help students build a solid theological framework built on an understanding of the direct teachings of Scripture while gaining skills in seeking for answers to real and immediate questions by applying principles of investigation based on sound practices of biblical theology.

Developing a Christian worldview that is biblically sound and practically functional requires a foundational skillset in “doing theology” in a way that effectively intersects with the practical and philosophical questions of life, community and culture. This course will engage the student in the development of that skillset using basic steps for building a Christian worldview that is biblically accurate, including exegesis and biblical theology, linking passages across Scripture, categorizing all of the biblical data on various themes, validating extra-biblical truth claims, and applying biblical teaching to all of life.