Biblical Studies or Theology

Hello. Nice forum, Thanks!

I am 41 years old, GED, self-employed, wife, kids.

I am not trying to claim that I have a calling or want to go into ministry. I do feel a responsibility to study the Bible. I feel like it would be better for me if I had a structured program, accredited, gov't aid, transferable credits, 100% online. Maybe someone has a different opinion? My options seem limited because I am not affiliated with a church.

I have explored Bakers Guide and a few other websites.

If anyone has any thoughts or opinions I would appreciate them very much.

 

That’s a tough question to answer without getting more information from you.

1. Do you have any aspirations that require a seminary degree, a theology degree or something along that line?

2. Or do you simply want to study the Bible?

If you can make that distinction, then maybe someone can help to provide some recommendations.

 

I am going to answer yes to question #1. I will admit I do not have a specific aspiration in particular, (at this time). I am interested in an undergraduate degree. Also, I am open to different views or ideas.

I know I am asking a lot with little information. I think it will be easier to study than decide where to study. Thank You!

 

Your question is more complex than you may think. You want to enter ministry. If it is ordained ministry or even church teaching ministry, you need to start talking to the denomination or entity that you hope will ordain you. It matters a great deal. A fundamentalist Baptist Church may look much more kindly upon a degree from the unaccredited Louisiana Baptist University than they would one from Drew Theological Seminary. The theological bent of the institution can be huge.

Other than that, it sounds like you are looking at the right resources. There are many accredited distance learning options. One other caution is ROI (return on investment). Be aware that there have been a number of articles written about seminary debt (even a tv journal article). The TV article talked to seminarians who gave up jobs and careers to enter seminary as a second career. They graduated (40,000 plus in debt) and had few job prospects. For many ministry positions you will require a Bachelors plus a 90 credit hour MDiv (that is somewhere in the range of three times as a long as a normal Masters). This means a lot of financial investment and time. You will be somewhere in your late 40s by the time you finish. In some denominations there is a preference for younger clergy (like the age you are now). So, is you are in your late 40s to 50, they may be okay with that but looking for experience (track record).

Many seminary grads have to be dual vocation (secular job to supplement ministry income). There are a lot of variables.

Again, this is where you need to sit down with someone wise and discuss your goals, future prospects and look at finances.

It may be in your situation and denomination, you can get away with a less expensive but credible unaccredited option like (Columbia Evangelical Seminary) or you get your undergraduate degree in teaching and become a certified teacher while you do an accredited Masters level program via distance learning. This gives you a career that pays the bills while you work on a seminary grad degree.

 

Here are a couple of articles:
Seminary Debt Rising: Clergy Postpone Starting Families, Face Bankruptcy*|*David Briggs

Seminary Graduates in Record Debt, Study Finds

South African Theological Seminary may be an option. They are the equivalent of accredited and very affordable. You probably could do you bachelors and masters for less than a bachelors at most US institutions. They are a distance learning institution.
South African Theological Seminary | Bible College | Study

 

Here is the least expensive (accredited) Bachelors of Theology:
Bachelor of Theology | Programme | SATS

SATS stands for South African Theological Seminary. You can do it 100% online without going into debt. It may take you from 4-6+ years to complete.

 

Okay . . . Let’s start with your name. May we assume that you’re a trucker? If so, based on your self-employed comment, an OTR owner-operator? And again, if so, is one of your potential future goals a chaplain position with an organization such as Transport for Christ or similar truckstop ministry?

Nope, all of that works for me.

Actually, your options are limitless. And at the bachelor’s degree level, you don’t even have to consider an unaccredited or mickey-mouse option – there are more than enough legitimately accredited options at your disposal.

Good move. Jason Baker is a good guy and strongly advocates legitimately accredited programs. I haven’t seen his site recently, but I’ve never known him to steer people in the wrong direction.

A couple of schools for you to look at as you begin your exploration – Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, Columbia International University (formerly Columbia Bible College, in SC, not the mickey-mouse Columbia Evangelical Seminary in WA), and Liberty University in VA (the one founded by Falwell). Stick with regionally accredited schools, especially if you want government aid, and make sure you’re comfortable with their doctrinal positions. The fact that you are not a church member doesn’t matter – any school will love the chance to get their grubby evangelistic hands on you to lean you toward their doctrines. (Yes, that’s a joke. Partly, at least.)

Nah, not me.

 

Don't go into debt for a degree. There are too many non-debt alternatives.

 

Another consideration would be Global University. Both regionally accredited and accredited by DEAC. They have bachelors. Masters and doctorates. Their tuition is very reasonable. Also, the courses are self-paced independent study so you don't have to follow standard semesters. For someone who spends a lot of time on the road, that would give you quite a bit of flexibility while giving you a structured curriculum.

They appear to be affiliated with the AoG, but they appear open to students of any denomination. The front page does list a requirement to not be involved in a same sex relationship or advocate for the rights of the same, but if you're cool with that, it would be an option for you.

But I, as Steve said, I wouldn't skimp on accreditation. Go regional or go home for a bachelors degree. If you decide to get an MDiv, you might flex on that rule depending upon what you're looking for (and where). But it would be a shame if, down the road, you found the masters program of your dreams and didn't meet the eligibility requirements because your bachelors wasn't accredited (or accredited by an agency that doesn't satisfy admissions requirements).

 

Alot of Christian colleges will want a pastor's recommendation for entrance into their school. That might be a stumbling block if the OP isn't connected with a church at the present time.

 

And plenty of others do not have such a requirement. Neither Liberty nor Global appear to require a recommendation from clergy.

Some schools require a minister's endorsement. Find one that doesn't if it is going to be an issue.

 

Liberty requires a pastoral recommendation for most of the seminary programs.

 

You can also look at Summit University Online Undergraduate Programs - Tuition Relief | Summit University, formerly Baptist Bible College and Seminary.

 

Theology with Computing, English or Philosophy (BA, Dip HE and Cert HE) | University of London International Programmes
or
Philosophy, Religion and Ethics (Cert HE) | University of London International Programmes

 

I think that Garp has touched on the key to considering a program in which to enroll. To wit . . .

Two of the institutions mentioned in this thread are Global University, a solid and regionally accredited school affiliated with the Assemblies of God, and Liberty University, which leans along conservative Baptist lines.

The AOG believes that the evidence of the Holy Spirit is speaking in unknown tongues according to Acts 2:4 and that, if you haven’t given such evidence, you obviously have not experienced the Holy Spirit. It also helps if you have a really tacky haircut – it’s a Pentecostal thingey.

Liberty not only believes that tongues are no longer a valid spiritual gift for today, they will not tolerate students who openly speak in tongues on campus. Indeed, several years ago, Liberty expelled several students who were from the United Pentecostal Church, which teaches that the Trinity does not exist.

And Moody Bible Institute, a solid RA school with a long history, won the “Green Weenie” award from The WIttenburg Door (a Christian satire magazine) when they posted signs in their dormitories on what to do in the event of an emergency, which they defined, among other things, as fire, theft, or glossolalia (speaking in tongues). [Disclosure: My book Christian Counseling and the Law was published by Moody Press. I used to joke that because I began the book with the notion that we’re in the “Dispensation of Litigation,” they must have said, “Hey, he’s one of us!”)

Want to earn a degree from Bob Jones University? Then you’d better not disagree with (let alone question) anything they teach you or you’ll be given the left foot of fellowship. BJU is so Fundie that they consider Liberty to be heathen. Go figure…

How about the historic Christian Churches/Churches of Christ schools like Kentucky Christian College and Johnson University? They’re both excellent schools and were early leaders in distance education. But they practice “Restoration” Christianity – the belief that if you ain’t dunked (baptized by immersion), you ain’t saved.

Airtorn has accurately observed that Liberty requires a pastoral recommendation for its seminary programs. Quite correct, as do most seminaries. But schools tend to hang looser at the undergrad level, especially in their distance programs, since they’re not preparing you to be a pastor at that level and they believe their program will have evangelistic value.

I second Pugbelly2’s mention of Summit University. I had the opportunity to work with them when they were still BBC&S and counselor licensure was under consideration by the Pennsylvania legislature, and was impressed that this very Fundie school was among the first to comport their graduate counseling programs to licensure standards.

In short, I’d recommend any of the schools I’ve mentioned, with the cautionary note that, more than anything, you have to be comfortable with (1) their learning model, and (2) their doctrinal standards. A Fundie will not be happy at Global, just as a Pentecostal would not survive at BJU. And many liberals would not be happy at any of the above, just as a Fundie wouldn’t like a liberal school (although, being somewhat liberal myself, I taught at Fundie schools for a number of years).

 

I dunno...I somehow feel that I could have a whole lot of fun at a place like this. I'll bet I could even encourage a number of these schools to create some sort of test to specifically weed people like me out in the future. They could call it "The Neuhaus Protocol."

 

I see that. But the B.A. in Religion doesn't appear to be a "seminary" program at Liberty. I flipped through their undergraduate application and I didn't see a request for a pastor's letter. Maybe I missed it. But I have seen no mention in the any of the application materials for anything other than the seminary programs (which all start at the Masters level).

Side note, I just noticed Liberty now has an Osteopathic Medical School. They are just getting into everything, aren't they? Another few years and we'll all be talking about Liberty's brand spanking new school of Acupuncture and (Christian) Oriental Medicine.

I know I'm excited.

 

Liberty and Moody are outstanding programs, but based on what the OP wrote, it may be unlikely that he will be able to afford those programs without going into debt. At least SATS is extraordinarily inexpensive.

 

I never imagined I would receive so many thoughtful and relevant responses. Thank You!

I have a couple of old trucks. I guess that makes me a trucker. When they break down, it makes me a mechanic. I gave up OTR several years ago. I only work local.

I have been processing (mentally) all of your replies. It is just too easy to scratch all of the schools off of my list.

U of London - pay for local exams. I need to do everything online.

Global U - a little too much for a school without gov't assistance, I believe, for me (maybe I am wrong)

Summit, Columbia, Moody - apps ask for pastoral reference, I am not a member of a church

Liberty - seem a little too crazy. My wife and kids go to a Baptist church twice a week (I "encourage" them), but I don't want to study at a Baptist school. I want to decide myself (by studying) where I land on the Protestant scale. A few of these schools don't seem to have room for that (in my opinion)

Grace School of Theology Grace School of Theology | Engaging the Next Generation in Free Grace and Truth - I was REALLY attracted to this website. I thought maybe I could get general education requirements from Liberty (or somewhere else), but they ask for a pastoral reference, also

SATS - When Garp and me again brought up a cheap school in S. Africa I thought it was a poor suggestion. The more I looked at it, the more it started making sense. It kept on making sense until I moved it to the top of my list. NOT because of their price tag (my time is valuable to me). I seem to appreciate their doctrinal position, methods of study, reputation, etc. I figure if it is good enough for third world church ministers, it should be good enough for me, right? I got my feelings hurt a little bit when I discovered on the app that they have an asterisk next to church name, church address, minister name, and minister phone number. These were NOT mentioned under admission requirements in website. This looks like a really good school. Thank You for recommending it to me!

I am sure I could get a church reference. I don't want to ask for one. It doesn't seem very Christian to me to become a church member for a recommendation. Also, it doesn't seem very Christian to require it for study. Not trying to get ordained. I just want to study. I thought we were all suppose to study theology (to some degree), but , what do I know? I may be looking at this all wrong!

I know I could study all of this without following a school program. I would rather not for several reasons. One is I don't want to invest as much time as I intend (we all know what intend means, right?) and then be limited because I don't have a degree. I would like to do "something" later. But, don't have any delusions about me. I have never met anyone that thought I was "minister" material. I promise!

 

I never imagined I would receive so many thoughtful and relevant responses. Thank You!

I have a couple of old trucks. I guess that makes me a trucker. When they break down, it makes me a mechanic. I gave up OTR several years ago. I only work local.

I have been processing (mentally) all of your replies. It is just too easy to scratch all of the schools off of my list.

U of London - pay for local exams. I need to do everything online.

Global U - a little too much for a school without gov't assistance, I believe, for me (maybe I am wrong)

Summit, Columbia, Moody - apps ask for pastoral reference, I am not a member of a church

Liberty - seem a little too crazy. My wife and kids go to a Baptist church twice a week (I "encourage" them), but I don't want to study at a Baptist school. I want to decide myself (by studying) where I land on the Protestant scale. A few of these schools don't seem to have room for that (in my opinion)

Grace School of Theology Grace School of Theology | Engaging the Next Generation in Free Grace and Truth - I was REALLY attracted to this website. I thought maybe I could get general education requirements from Liberty (or somewhere else), but they ask for a pastoral reference, also

SATS - When Garp and me again brought up a cheap school in S. Africa I thought it was a poor suggestion. The more I looked at it, the more it started making sense. It kept on making sense until I moved it to the top of my list. NOT because of their price tag (my time is valuable to me). I seem to appreciate their doctrinal position, methods of study, reputation, etc. I figure if it is good enough for third world church ministers, it should be good enough for me, right? I got my feelings hurt a little bit when I discovered on the app that they have an asterisk next to church name, church address, minister name, and minister phone number. These were NOT mentioned under admission requirements in website. This looks like a really good school. Thank You for recommending it to me!

I am sure I could get a church reference. I don't want to ask for one. It doesn't seem very Christian to me to become a church member for a recommendation. Also, it doesn't seem very Christian to require it for study. Not trying to get ordained. I just want to study. I thought we were all suppose to study theology (to some degree), but , what do I know? I may be looking at this all wrong!

I know I could study all of this without following a school program. I would rather not for several reasons. One is I don't want to invest as much time as I intend (we all know what intend means, right?) and then be limited because I don't have a degree. I would like to do "something" later. But, don't have any delusions about me. I have never met anyone that thought I was "minister" material. I promise!