UPPER SCHOOL BIBLE
Grade 7 / Old Testament Introduction
This course presents the Old Testament as the Word of God communicated in the language and culture of men. Students will learn how each division of the Old Testament (Pentateuch, historical, wisdom, and prophetic) teaches about the nature, acts and teaching of Yahweh to His covenant people. Particular attention is focused upon the distinctive contributions of each portion of the Old Testament for a proper understanding of God and His covenantal ways. Students will discern how each book was read by it original audience in its historical and cultural context as a necessary preliminary before determining what it means today. The introduction shall be shaped by four perspectives: (1) cultural/historical - key dates, places, events, persons, and cultural distinctives; (2) literary – key themes and patterns; (3) doctrinal - key theological truths and principles; (4) redemptive-historical (Christological) - key points in the progression of God’s purpose in His covenants, with particular reference to their fulfillment in the person and work of Christ (II Cor. 1:20).
Berean students will:
• Gain familiarity with the contents of most Old Testament books
• Read significant portions of the Old Testament
• Become fluent with Biblical revelation as history, able to identify primary themes, dates, characters, and institutions; and identify connections with New Testament fulfillments
• Discover the essential connections between the Old and New Testament canons.
• Understand the significance of the historical and cultural background of the Old Testament books to their content
• Articulate the major doctrinal and ethical themes of the Old Testament writings
• Gain skill in Bible study methods and use of research tools
Grade 8 / New Testament Introduction
This course presents the New Testament as the Word of God communicated in the language and culture of men. Students will learn how the Gospels present the teaching and work of Jesus as the Christ, with attention given to the distinctive contributions of each Gospel. Students will also understand how Christ established the Church, and His instructions to her through the inspiration of the New Testament canon. Students will discern how each book was read by it original audience in its historical and cultural context as a necessary preliminary before determining what it means today. The introduction shall be shaped by four perspectives: (1) cultural/historical - key dates, places, events, persons, and cultural distinctives; (2) literary – key themes and patterns; (3) doctrinal - key theological truths and principles; (4) redemptive-historical (Christological) - key points in the fulfillment of God’s purpose in His covenants in the person and work of Christ, especially His fulfillment of the Old Testament (Lk. 24:27).
Berean students will:
• Compare and contrast the gospels, both literarily and theologically
• Gain familiarity with the contents of the New Testament
• Read significant portions of the New Testament
• Discover how Christ essentially connects the Old and New Testament covenants and canons
• Understand the significance of the historical background of the Old Testament books to the life of Christ and to the life of the early church
• Understand the significance of the historical and cultural background, and the specific occasion for the various New Testament documents
• Articulate the major themes of the books of the New Testament
• Gain skill in Bible study methods and use of secondary aides
Grade 9 / The Bible As Literature
Students will learn the different literary forms utilized by God to communicate His truth. Attention will center on the diversity of forms and how those differences require distinct methods to rightly interpret those forms. Students will be encouraged to consider each type of literature and each book as having a particular message and a distinct contribution to the overall revelation of God. The focus will be on God’s communication in the words (and therefore the literary genres) of man, and thus on the need to rightly discern the particular message, as well as the means of communicating utilized by the men who wrote it. Unlike other possible studies of the Bible as literature, the focus on the diversity of Scripture is not designed to cause students to view the Bible as fragmented or with conflicting voices. Instead the desire is for students to be fully cognizant of the different voices used by God to communicate His symphonic Word (Heb. 1:1).
Berean students will:
• Understand the multiformity of methods employed by the human authors that God used to write the Bible.
• Understand how, due to the involvement of human authors, the various books of the Bible are in many respects like other books.
• Responsibly interpret Scripture utilizing an understanding of the literary aspects of God’s Word.
• Appreciate the incarnational nature of God’s character and His revelation of Himself.
Grade 10 / Hermeneutics
Students will learn to wrestle with what is meant by "the meaning" of a Biblical text. This study builds upon the grammatic-historical foundation laid by Old and New Testament Introductions, and furthers the interpretative skills begun in the Bible as Literature. The particular focus of this class is upon the special hermeneutical issues raised by the Bible as a single work with a single Divine author. Much of our attention will be on the way God progressively unfolded his revelation in history. Students will develop an appreciation for the unified plot of Scripture, especially how knowledge of the whole helps in the interpretation of the parts. Central to this study is how to deal with the unity and diversity in Scripture. A critical aspect of the study will concern the way in which the New Testament in general, and Christ in particular, fulfills the Old Testament. Students will learn that Christ, and his Apostolic spokesmen, are the ultimate authority for understanding all of Scripture. Students will develop an appreciation for how we interpret the Bible; for the critical preliminary tools needed to accurately determine its meaning (II Tim. 2:15).
Berean students will:
• Learn to think of, and articulate the Biblical story as a single, unified whole.
• Become discerning of significant hermeneutical issues and how they practically effect our understanding of the Bible.
• Be equipped as responsible interpreters of the Word – for personal use or as those who communicate that Word to others.
• Be inoculated against liberal/critical views which undermine the content and trustworthiness of the Bible.
• Be trained to avoid common simplistic ways of reading the Bible which are primarily the result of certain modern Christian subcultures which simplistically undermine sound interpretation.
Grade 11 / Systematic Theology
Students will explore the foundational doctrinal categories of Christianity following the traditional categories of systematic theology. Those categories include: (1) Revelation; (2) Theology proper; (3) Anthropology; (4) Christology; (5) Soteriology; (6) Ecclesiology; and (7) Eschatology. While students will learn from a conviction that the Bible is the primary and ultimate authority for Christian doctrine, they will be challenged to learn how different Christian traditions have come to disparate conclusions on many matters. Students will learn to understand their own traditions and how they compare with other streams of the Christian tradition, particularly protestant, tradition. The result will be students who can identify key doctrinal issues and wrestle with them in the light of alternatives. The primary focus is not to give a single correct answer to all questions, but to allow students to read the Scriptures for themselves and consider the correct doctrinal conclusions with full awareness of the range of Christian options. Particular focus will be given to the way doctrinal issues are connected so as to help students develop a sound theological tapestry and avoid adopting a disjointed theological patchwork quilt (Eph. 4:14; Tit. 1:9)
Berean students will:
• Become fluent with the major areas of Christian theology and with the significant issues of each area.
• Discern areas where Christian theology differs from other worldviews, and where there are significant differences among professing Christians.
• Articulate fundamental Christian doctrines, as well as the different views held by Christians on many non-fundamental doctrines.
• Learn to understand and identify their own place within a Christian tradition as well as that of other traditions.
• Recognize how different exegetical and ultimately heremeneutical methods produce different theological conclusions.
• Become comfortable using historic creeds and confessions, as well as the theological writings of individual authors, to help them formulate their own understanding of Biblical doctrine – and to avoid doing so in a vacuum.
Grade 12 / Apologetics and Comparative Religions
Building upon a knowledge of the content (doctrine) of the Christian faith, students will begin to learn how to defend that faith. They will gain an understanding of the necessity and the value of apologetics in the development of a healthy Christian mind and a hardy Christian soul. Consideration will be given to identifying the audience and purpose for apologetics. Significant attention is devoted to outlining, and critically evaluating, the various types of apologetic methods. Particular focus will be given to a presuppositional approach. The primary focus is glorifying God and effective in communicating with others. The class will also touch particular apologetic issues. The remainder of the class will focus on how other religions, particularly Islam (by reading about Islam, and by reading the Q’uran itself). Students will be able to fulfill their Biblical duty to always be prepared to give a reason for the hope that they have – with clarity and power, and also with gentleness and respect (I Pet. 3:15,16).
Berean students will:
• Recognize and express the benefits of, and the need for, apologetics.
• Identify and analyze major types and systems of apologetics.
• Be equipped to compare and contrast various worldviews in light of a Biblical worldview.
• Understand the nature of some of the worlds dominant religions, especially the Islamic faith, in the light of Christianity.
• Balance a zeal for truth with charity toward others in doing apologetics.