Bible Classes that will help you GROW in knowledge and EQUIP you to LIVE OUT your faith
Equipped
A course to help build a foundation of confidence in Biblical Truth
Teacher: David Maitre
Select Thursday evenings, 7:00-9:00pm in the Chapel
Resumes on February 8, 2024; further dates are found in the Events Calendar
About the course:
The Equipped Course was conceived to address a perceived need to help educate Christians about their faith. Year after year, polls performed by various Christian organizations conclude that a significant percentage of Christians, including many within evangelical churches, don’t have a firm grasp of vitally important theological concepts, and many hold ideas that are actually contrary to orthodox Christian teaching, despite still identifying as Christian. Though the Christian life is certainly about more than theology, it cannot be about less, as we are commanded to love God with our hearts, souls, and minds. What we believe will inevitably impact how we live, as practice is often said to be “belief in action.” Thus, unsurprisingly, these same polls also tend to conclude that having a poor grasp of basic Christian orthodoxy frequently leads to the development of views and lifestyles that are distinctly unbiblical, and taken together, these can hinder spiritual growth, as well as one’s relationships with others, with the church, and with Christ. The Equipped Course was conceived to help address this, calling to mind Paul’s admonishment to Timothy to “watch your life and doctrine closely.” (1 Tim 4:16)
Initial topics covered include: Christian history and thought from the 1st century to the present; Bibliology and hermeneutics (the study of the Bible, particularly its origin, transmission, inspiration, and methods of interpretation); and the concept of absolute truth (in contrast to the claims of postmodernism) and its significance to theology.
Theology will be studied in a systematic fashion. Topics covered include Paterology (the study of the nature of God and his attributes); the Trinity; Christology (the study of the person of Christ); Anthropology (the study of the nature of man, including man’s composition, the image of God , and the study of sin); Soteriology (the study of salvation); Ecclesiology (the study of the church); and Cosmic and Personal Eschatology (the study of the last things).
Having established a foundation in various areas of basic theology, the course looks to apply what’s been learned by considering: the intersection of reason and faith and the role of apologetics; distortions to Christian thought and practice; and commonly-asked challenging questions and how we might deal with them theologically. The series concludes by examining the believer’s identity in Christ and the importance of Christian discipleship; the intersection of Christianity with cultural, secular, and social issues; and evangelism . Most sessions are supplemented with additional readings, from a variety of Christian authors, posted to the online portal for students’ further study.