Core Curriculum

Each course covers a distinct era in the development of Christianity and investigates that timeframe through five lenses:

• The Church's historical and cultural context
• The Church's interpretation and use of Scripture
• Theological issues and contributions
• Church life and ministry
• Application of the above to ministry

Along with this biblical, historical, and theological journey across 2000 years of church history, the student practices the classic spiritual disciplines employed by Christians down through the centuries to nurture and maintain a growing relationship with Jesus Christ. (PSF 511NE-514NE)

INTERDISCIPLINARY STUDIES (BHT and act)

[Core Courses: These BHT (Bible, History, and Theology) courses integrate traditional studies in biblical, historical, and systematic theology. They may not be taken individually, but only as part of the Core sequence.]

BHT 511NE

The Biblical Era: Evangelism, Missions, and Church Growth

Credits: 9

This course involves an in-depth study in the biblical record of the first-century Church. Significant time is spent in the Old Testament, as well as the New Testament. Special attention is given to evangelism, missions, and church growth, as distinguishing features of this era of church history.           

[Required: offered as part of the Core each year]

BHT 512NE

The Formative Era: Controversy and Politics in the Church

Credits: 9               

This course mines the rich resources of the patristic and medieval eras of the Church’s history. During the patristic era, the Church—working with the resources of the biblical era—clearly defined Christian doctrine in subjects such as: the nature of God and the Trinity, Jesus Christ, creation, human nature, and salvation (cf. Apostles’ Creed); the basic Christian pattern of living; and the structure of the church, worship, the ordained ministry, membership and church discipline. The medieval era saw additional developments in ecclesiastical policy and restatements of doctrine after recovery of Aristotle’s works.

[Prerequisite: successful completion of BHT 511NE]

[Required: offered as part of the Core each year]

BHT 513NE

The Protestant Era: Reformation and Revival in the Church              

Credits: 9               

This course studies the Church in the tumultuous 16th - 18th centuries, which led up to the modern era. During the Protestant Reformation and Great Awakening, the Christian Church experienced massive upheavals as it wrestled with the doctrine of salvation. Many new denominations and movements emerged as the contestants joined battle and reached differing views on such issues as: the way in which people become Christians; the manner in which Christians are to live; and the nature of the true Church in polity, the sacraments, public worship, and the ordained ministry and mission.

[Prerequisite: successful completion of BHT 511NE and BHT 512NE]

[Required: offered as part of the Core each year]

BHT 514NE

The Modern and Postmodern Era: The Church in an Age of Science, Technology, and Secularization               

Credits: 9               

This course surveys the history and theology of Christianity in the 19th and 20th centuries. Specific attention is given to the prominent theologians, theological movements, and the ecclesiastical developments of the modern and post-modern eras. This course exposes the student to contemporary theories of biblical interpretation, the impact of social location on theology, and problems of religious pluralism and secularization.

[Prerequisite: successful completion of BHT 511NE, BHT 512N, and BHT 513NE]

[Required: offered as part of the Core each year]

ACT 511-514NE (Art Culture and Theology)

Intersecting Art and Theology

Credits: 0

This series of four lectures is part of the Core Curriculum and as such is presented as part of each of the BHT courses, BHT 511-514NE. Each lecture is accompanied by slides to provide an artistic and cultural context to the seminarian’s studies. The presentations seek to add a multi-sensory dimension to the learning process of church history by giving attention to the ways and means the Church has expressed its theology through the arts.

[Offered as part of BHT 511-514NE each year]

ACT 695NE

Independent Study in Art, Culture, and Theology

Credits: 1-3

Through self-selected studies, the student is given the opportunity to investigate the media the Christian Church has employed throughout different cultures and times to give visual expression to faith and belief. Students may also use this course to develop their own artistic expressions of Christian Theology.

Advisor and Faculty Approval required

[Elective: offered on demand]