This course is a study of the contents of the Pentateuch against its archaeological background, with consideration given to the particular Pentateuchal problems of evolution and higher criticism. The laws that form the basis of Israel’s theocracy are examined with regard to their context, meaning, and applicability today.
This course is designed to introduce beginning students to the basics of biblical Hebrew so as to provide a clear basis for further study of the language and the texts written in it. Through a variety of approaches, students are familiarized with the basic building blocks of the language.
This course builds on the introductory offering by deepening students’ knowledge of the language and developing their ability to identify weak verbs and rare and difficult constructions in biblical Hebrew. Toward the end of the course, students are introduced to the reading of selected portions of the Hebrew Bible.
Prerequisite(s): BT 631 Introductory Hebrew I
An introductory course for those without theological training which surveys the central doctrines of the Christian faith and seeks to facilitate students in developing a basic understanding of the method and content of systematic theology in the classical and evangelical traditions.
Chronologically, this survey covers the history of Christianity from the time of the early church through to the end of the nineteenth century. It includes a study of ecclesiastical organization and practice and is also concerned with the history of theology, doctrine, spirituality, and the impact of Christianity on society and of society on Christianity.
Students who have taken or plan to take BT 663 History of Christian Life and Thought I or BT 664 History of Christian Life and Thought II should not take BT 661.
A biblical and theological study of foundational theology applied by the Old Testament for the New Testament and the Christian church. This study identifies and inductively derives the centre or focal point for the theology of both the Old and New Testaments. It also deals with the amount of continuity and discontinuity between the Old and New Testaments. Included are the topics of saving faith, the people of God, the role of the law of God, the worship of God, the doctrine of atonement, the relationship between the law and wisdom theology, and the preparation of the new covenant.
This course presents the historic, classic, and orthodox doctrine of the Holy Trinity. It follows a biblical, historical, and dogmatic approach and seeks to show how and why the classical doctrine/dogma emerged in the fourth century; what have been the major ways this dogma has been understood; and how crucial this teaching is for a right understanding of the relationship of God to man and of man to God.
Luke, the New Testament historian, sought to write an orderly account of the early church so that he might instruct Theophilus in the historical reliability of the Christian faith. This course begins where Luke left off and provides an introduction to some of the key issues, events, and personalities of the early church up to the Council of Chalcedon (451 CE), including formative issues in biblical interpretation, the development of an orthodox faith, church-state relations, and the seminal work of the early church fathers.
The purpose of this course is to increase students’ confidence in understanding, applying, and teaching Scripture by engaging them in an intensive study of Paul’s epistle to the Galatians, employing ten Bible study methods that thoroughly examine this letter and provide a solid foundation for the study of other books of the Bible.