Foundational Courses Certificate Requirements
This 12 credit-hour certificate is designed for those interested in exploring seminary education and those involved in ECC credentialing who are starting seminary studies. This certificate may help the participant determine whether to continue, or to fulfill credentialing requirements after earning advanced degrees in other fields (e.g., a PhD in a specialized field).
This certificate covers the core courses in each degree program, allowing students to build on this certificate to a degree if they choose to pursue further studies.
Required Courses
Total Semester Hours: 12
Old Testament 1: Pentateuch and Interpretation (BIBL 5210)
This course will cover Genesis-Deuteronomy as well as an overview of the landscape of hermeneutical methods used in interpreting the Old Testament. The approach to the five books is both canonical and historical, so it covers theology of the texts as well as their most prominent interpretive settings in Israel’s history. Includes: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, and hermeneutics.
New Testament 1: The Texts and Their World (BIBL 5240)
This course explores the interpretation, context, and content of the New Testament. Attention is given to the nature of the New Testament as Scripture and to fundamental hermeneutical issues, with a focus on historical criticism as a basis for theological interpretation. The political, social, and religious worlds of Second Temple Judaism and of Greco-Roman society are described as a framework for studying Matthew through Revelation. The content of selected books from each of the genres and historical phases of the New Testament is examined, and important theological themes running across the canon are introduced (e.g. Christology, eschatology). Particular emphasis is placed on engagement with texts in their historical contexts and the development of basic exegetical skills.
Christian History 1: The Early Church to the Early Reformation (1-16c) (HSTY 5210)
This course offers a survey of Christian history and theology from the apostolic times through the early Reformation. Course material pays balanced attention to Christianity’s intellectual and social history, with sustained consideration of the church’s evolving relationship to political and social structures and the contested category of orthodoxy.
Christian Theology (THEO 5110)
This course offers an introduction to the doctrines, methods, and tasks of Christian theology, seeking an active appropriation of Christian faith in the context of the church and in engagement with the world.
Class Format
Online, on campus, or at a regional location
All of these courses are offered on a regular basis within our traditional semesters, both online and in the classroom. One class a year is taught at the ECC Midwinter pastor’s conference as a week-long intensive course.