BIBL - Bible

This course offers a brief overview of the Bible: the Old and New Testaments as well as some noncanonical writings. It examines the formation of the canon and transmission and translation theories. The course also looks at the Bible as Christian Scripture and ways to read scripture for Christian formation.

The first of a two-course sequence designed to introduce all aspects of Old Testament Hebrew-e.g., noun declension, the verb system, grammar, syntax, and structure. Persons successfully completing BIBL501 Hebrew for Ministry I will be able to work with verbs in the indicative mood as well as with adjectives, nouns, personal and demonstrative pronouns. This will lay a foundation for the development of skills necessary to complete BIBL501 Hebrew for Ministry II after which students should be able to work comfortably with the basic Hebrew of the Old Testament.

The second of a two-course sequence continues to introduce all aspects of Old Testament Hebrew-e.g., noun declension, the verb system, grammar, syntax, and structure. Students successfully completing BIBL502 Hebrew for Ministry II will be able to work with different types of verbs in various moods as well as with nouns of the third declension and adverbs. This will allow students to work comfortably with the Hebrew the Old Testament.

This class will examine the discipline of archaeology and its relationship with the interpretation of Scripture. The art, architecture, and artifacts uncovered in the lands of the Bible will be considered. The cultural remains at key archaeological sites in Israel will be examined, with specific attention given to the city of Jerusalem. The student's knowledge of the biblical culture may be developed through one or all of the following learning methods: student participation in archaeological field work, visiting museum collections, and classroom instruction. Travel expenses and all applicable fees required. (Biblical)

The first of a two-course sequence designed to introduce all aspects of New Testament Greek-e.g., noun declension, the verb system, grammar, syntax, and structure. Persons successfully completing BIBL511 Greek for Ministry I will be able to work with verbs (non-contract) in the indicative mood as well as with adjectives and nouns of the first and second declensions and personal and demonstrative pronouns. This will lay a foundation for the development of skills necessary to complete BIBL512 Greek for Ministry II after which students should be able to work comfortably with the basic Greek of the New Testament

The second of a two-course sequence continues to introduce all aspects of New Testament Greek-e.g., noun declension, the verb system, grammar, syntax, and structure. Persons successfully completing BIBL512 Greek for Ministry II will be able to work with different types of verbs in various moods as well as with nouns of the third declension and adverbs. This will allow students to work comfortably with the Greek of the New Testament.

This course follows the central theological themes of Scripture as they move through the biblical canon, including the character and mission of God, creation and the redemption of Christ, the ongoing work of the Holy Spirit, as well as God's walk with humanity and the people of God. Various approaches to the unity and diversity of Scripture will be presented.

This Bible Storytelling course explores various methodologies designed to prepare persons to perform Scripture publicly. The course uses performance criticism and other methodologies and exposes students to concepts from oral interpretation of literature. Special attention is given to the skills needed to perform Bible passages orally without visual aids and teach others to do likewise.

This course offers an investigation of life in the biblical world of the first century Palestine. It will focus on worship and architecture, art and literature, occupations, and daily life of people living in the Middle East at the time of Christ. Special attention will be placed on topics and the Old Testament texts that bring understanding to the interpretation of the Gospel narratives. Prerequisite: BIBL-500

This course explores the historical, geographical, cultural, and religious contexts of both the Old and New Testament biblical narratives.

This course develops the two-fold skills of 1) reading the Bible in context and 2) reading it with the eyes of a Christian. The classic tools of inductive Bible study are presented alongside strategies for appropriating the Bible today.

This course overviews those aspects of Old Testament Hebrew that most impact the meaning of the Old Testament texts. It relies on the numerous biblical language tools available today in order to by-pass extensive memorization of forms and vocabulary and instead focus on nuances of key parts of speech, Hebrew syntax, as well as on doing word studies with integrity.

This course provides an overview of those aspects of New Testament Greek that most impact the meaning of the New Testament texts. It relies on the numerous Greek tools available today in order to by-pass extensive memorization of forms and vocabulary and instead focus on nuances of cases and tenses, key conjunctions and clauses, as well as on doing word studies with integrity.

This course offers an investigation of life in the biblical world of the first century Palestine. It will focus on worship and architecture, art and literature, occupations, and daily life of people living in the Middle East at the time of Christ. Special attention will be placed on topics and the Old Testament texts that bring understanding to the interpretation of the Gospel narratives. Prerequisite: BIBL-500

This course involves a critical examination of Torah texts that address components of worship. The method of inquiry involves, firstly, literary engagement with key phrases and concepts in the Torah texts; secondly, historical engagement with exegetical analysis; thirdly, engagement theologically with pertinent biblical texts outside the Torah; and finally, cultural engagement with the development of a preaching or teaching series. Prerequisite: BIBL-500

This course involves a close reading of the Gospel of Mark. It addresses issues of textual, historical, cultural, literary, theological concerns. Students will examine Mark's overall structure, its emerging themes, and its application for the church today.

This course will introduce students to missional hermeneutics which focuses on the mission of God and the Church's participation in it. Students will discover the missional character of the Old and the New Testament which inextricably ties the biblical texts together. Students will learn how to contextualize and embody biblical truths as participants in God's mission for the world.

This course examines the ministry of the apostle Paul and his practical theology as a unity that responds to the ministerial demands of his context. Students will study the gospel of Jesus proclaimed by Paul, within the multicultural setting in which the message was announced. Emphasis will be made, not only on the mind of the apostle, but also on the practices he himself embodied over time as part of his approach to Christian living and mission. Pre-requisite BIBL-500

This course focuses on the close reading of the biblical books of Job, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and pseudopigraphal books of Wisdom of Ben Sira and Wisdom of Solomon designed to refine methods of interpreting the genre of Wisdom Literature as a whole and these books in particular. In the process, attention is given to the genre of Wisdom Literature in the culture of the Ancient Near East and its parallels in the Wisdom Literature of Israel. This course also embraces the studies of the relationship between human character and life circumstances as presented in the Wisdom Corpus themes of life, death, work, etc. The final emphasis is given to the interpretation of Jesus' teaching as those of a wisdom teacher. Prerequisite: BIBL-500

In this course students will develop skills to explore and comprehend the literary, historical, and theological contexts of a biblical text. Students will evaluate different approaches for exegetical and hermeneutical appropriation of a biblical text for a contemporary context. A theology of preaching that considers the roles of God, the preacher, and the listener in the practice of preaching will be developed.

This course involves critical examination of prophetic texts that address preaching as purification of worship. The method of inquiry involves, firstly, exegesis of the prophetic texts to receive the prophetic word; secondly, examination of corresponding historical and literary contexts to determine rhetorical significance; thirdly, exegesis of congregational preaching as worship to establish correlations; and finally, deployment of the appropriate word in a rhetorically creative medium. Prerequisite: BIBL-500

A critical study of the books of Revelation and Daniel as well as other apocalyptic writings from the Intertestamental and early Christian periods. Prerequisite: BIBL-500

This course will introduce students to missional hermeneutics which focuses on the mission of God and the Church's participation in it. Students will discover the missional character of the Old and the New Testament which inextricably ties the biblical texts together. Students will learn how to contextualize and embody biblical truths as participants in God's mission for the world.

In this course students will develop skills to explore and comprehend the literary, historical, and theological contexts of a biblical text. Students will evaluate different approaches for exegetical and hermeneutical appropriation of a biblical text for a contemporary context. A theology of preaching that considers the roles of God, the preacher, and the listener in the practice of preaching will be developed.

This course is a doctoral-level examination of various methodologies used in the field of biblical studies. Students will engage in close reading of selected biblical texts, evaluation of appropriate exegetical resources, and the development of contextually appropriate ways of applying biblical truth to contemporary ministry issues.