Application Semester
Starts February 8, 2010
The Application Semester introduces you to Interpretation – defense – reflection – conflict. These are the basic elements of Bible study and mediation. Hermeneutics is the art and science of interpreting the passages you read. Apologetics is art and science of defending the Scriptures. Reflection and meditation is the art of putting together your knowledge in one moment to understand a passage. However, we discover as we attempt to accomplish this for a particular passage, we often encounter conflicts in our understanding and conclusions. We need the help of the Holy Spirit, combined with our knowledge of the Bible and our comprehension of hermeneutics and apologetics, to arrive at a conclusion that brings us peace in our perception of God’s Word.
Jude 3 (NKJV)
Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints.
The Greek word translated as "contend" comes from a military or athletic setting and provides the picture of a struggle or a strong effort at accomplish the victory. We get our English word "agonize" from this verb. So, we are to agonize over our faith and strongly, consciously defend it.
This semester we discuss the tools which help us to strongly contend and defend our faith. These tools are the subjects of hermeneutics or the interpretation of Scripture and apologetics, the defense of the Gospel.
Using Paul’s letter to the Colossians we will discover the meaning of these two subjects, learn about evangelism, and come to better understand how to resolve conflicts in meaning as we review in depth the topics of Slavery, the Sabbath, Women in the Church, and Warfare. This semester will help us to bring together our knowledge of the books of the Bible with an understanding of how our personalities, viewpoints, and culture attempt to reflect themselves in our application of God’s Word to our daily walk and the questions and situations we always encounter. Join us for Hermeneutics, Apologetics, Colossians, and Conflicts.
This semester does not require your attendance at any of the first three semesters of our program. However, without some biblical knowledge, much of the material we cover this semester will make little or no sense.
For more about each course:
- Apologetics
- Hermeneutics
- Colossians