Is there such a thing as: an American-based RA Associates program via DL (not a Bachelors program) with a bible-based curriculum for a layman who has never studied theology, but who has read the bible from cover-to-cover that would spoon feed me? Pray tell?
Liberty University- Associate of Arts: Religion http://www.liberty.edu/DistanceLearning/index.cfm?PID=882
For anyone interested in a non-degree program, this is an excellent, comprehensive program offered by Liberty http://www.lhbi.org
But are the credits transferrable to other Liberty programs or to other accredited Universities or Seminaries.
This looks pretty good... The answer is yes. I found it here: I could get 24 college credits in religion/theology (at $40 per credit) through the Liberty Home Bible Institute and could then transfer to their bachelors program in religion/theology (that's where I would have to begin paying full tuition at the collegiate level). At a cursory glance of the website, along with my assumptions about credit transference, this looks like a pretty good deal.
Liberty used to offer a discount to military and law enforcement. Not sure if they still do, but it's certainly worth looking into.
Victory Victory Leadership Insitute has online courses that you can transfer to Fuller Theological Seminary upon entering their graduate school. I took the courses and found them very challenging. I loved every bit of it and use what I learned there all the time. The ministry is a ministry that I am part of and have been for 8 years. Church planting, campus ministry and world missions are their main objectives. Morning Star International is the name of it. Champion for Christ is part of the organization too. Cool stuff.