Bible
Meet our Bible Teacher, Mr. McElmurray!
Our Bible classes combine the seventh and eighth grades, the ninth and tenth grades, and the eleventh and twelfth grades. Each class group is two years long, so every student will have taken each Bible course, although some students may have the classes in different orders.
Seventh and Eighth Grades
Bible Survey 1 and 2:
These survey courses take two years of study in the middle school grades and organize the study of the books of the Bible around a biographical approach, focusing on the life story of major biblical characters who encountered God. In these survey classes, we also aim to apply the Biblical teachings and principles learned along the way to our lives.
Bible Survey 1 is a survey of the Bible beginning with Creation and continuing through the establishment of a united monarchy in Israel under Solomon, the son of David.
Units covered include:
Semester 1:
UNIT 1: Intro to Bible Survey
UNIT 2: ADAM & His Descendants
UNIT 3: NOAH & His Descendants
UNIT 4: The PATRIARCHS
UNIT 5a: MOSES, Part 1
Semester 2:
UNIT 5b: MOSES, Part 2
UNIT 6: The JUDGES
UNIT 7: DAVID
Bible Survey 2 is a survey of the Bible beginning with the Divided Kingdom period of Israel and continuing through the early New Testament church.
Units covered include:
Semester 1:
UNIT 1: Intro to Bible Survey
UNIT 2: KINGS of Israel & Judah
UNIT 3: PROPHETS of Israel & Judah
UNIT 4: The REMNANT
UNIT 5: The INTERTESTAMENTAL PERIOD
UNIT 6a: JESUS OF NAZARETH, Part 1
Semester 2:
UNIT 6b: JESUS OF NAZARETH, Part 2
UNIT 7: The APOSTLES
James & Jude
Peter
Paul
John
Ninth and Tenth Grades
Foundations - 1st Semester
During the first semester, freshmen and sophomores choose the foundations for their own thinking about life's most important questions as they study the foundational text of Genesis 1-11 and how four cataclysmic events (Creation, Fall, Flood, Tower of Babel) ought to shape our thinking about foundational issues. Woven in and around these major events are discussions about basic worldviews, the nature of God, Creation and evolution, man, the family, and ethics bearing on topics as current as abortion, euthanasia, capital punishment, racism, homosexuality, gender roles, and civil law.
Units covered include:
UNIT 1: The Doctrine of CREATION (Gen. 1)
UNIT 2: The Doctrine of HUMANITY (Gen. 2)
UNIT 3: The Doctrine of SIN (Gen. 3-5)
UNIT 4: The Doctrine of JUDGMENT (Gen. 6-9)
UNIT 5: The Doctrine of CIVILIZATION (Gen. 10-11)
UNIT 6: ETHICS
Leadership - 2nd Semester
During the second semester, our Assistant Principal, Mr. Bearden, leads the freshmen and sophomores in a study of the principles of leadership found in both God's general and special revelation. Students hearts and minds are transformed as they learn to lead through servant leadership ministry opportunities and random acts of kindness for family, teachers, fellow students, church and community.
Systematic Theology
Systematic theology is a year-long survey of the major doctrines of the Christian faith: Revelation, God, Christ, the Holy Spirit, Humanity, Sin, Salvation, the Church, Angels, and the Final States. Systematic theology is an approach to doing theology that integrates biblical, historical, philosophical, psychological and practical insights into a coherent belief system. We also emphasize the application of theology to real-life situations.
Units covered include:
Semester 1:
UNIT 1: Prolegomena - INTRODUCTORY MATTERS of Systematic Theology
UNIT 2: Bibliology - The Doctrine of SCRIPTURE
UNIT 3: Theology Proper - The Doctrine of GOD
UNIT 4: Christology - The Doctrine of CHRIST
UNIT 5: Pneumatology - The Doctrine of the HOLY SPIRIT
Semester 2:
UNIT 6: Anthropology - The Doctrine of MAN
UNIT 7: Hamartiology - The Doctrine of SIN
UNIT 8: Soteriology - The Doctrine of SALVATION & SANCTIFICATION
UNIT 9: Ecclesiology - The Doctrine of the CHURCH
UNIT 10: Angelology - The Doctrine of ANGELS
UNT 11: Eschatology - The Doctrine of FINAL STATES
Eleventh and Twelfth Grades
Hermeneutics - 1st Semester
During the fall semester, juniors and seniors study hermeneutics, which is the discipline of discerning the legitimate meaning and uses of sacred Scripture. In this very practical course, students master the approaches, tools, principles, guidelines and applications of biblical interpretation through hands-on experience in the actual practice and process of hermeneutics. By the end of the semester, students will have learned how to interpret God's Word for themselves and see their lives change as God's Spirit opens their eyes to understand the truths of the Bible for themselves!
Major interpretive skills developed throughout include: identifying the historical, physical and cultural setting of a passage, doing extensive word study, analyzing thought structure by doing a mechanical layout, outlining a book, and applying appropriate interpretive principles to figurative language, parables, Hebrew poetry, and apocalyptic language. Students will also accurately apply the correct steps in handling alleged discrepancies and evaluating whether or not certain teachings are limited to the original audience.
Comparative Religions - 2nd Semester
During the spring semester, juniors and seniors study the contrast between the truth of Christianity and the history, beliefs, and practices of other major world religions and cults. Students will also receive practical tips on how to witness and minister to members of other world religions and cults in each unit.
Units to be covered include:
Unit 1: Introduction to Comparative Religions
Unit 2: Monotheistic Religions - Judaism & Islam
Unit 3: Eastern Pantheistic Religions - Hinduism & Buddhism
Unit 4: Pseudo-Christian Cults: Latter-Day Saints (Mormonism) & Jehovah's Witnesses
Unit 5: Miscellaneous - New Age Movement & Alternative Religions Project
The semester culminates in special projects/presentations by students on a religion or cult not covered in the regular course during the semester.
Worldviews - 1st Semester
During the fall semester, juniors and seniors take a hard look at the major worldviews that currently affect our 21st century world. The main activity of this class will be the use of critical thinking to simplify and evaluate the beliefs of each worldview. We will analyze how the three basic worldviews (theism, atheism & pantheism) and their variations answer the basic philosophical questions of ORIGIN, MEANING, MORALITY and DESTINY. In addition to these, we also cover postmodernism, which is a worldview that does not fit neatly into any of these categories, but currently pervades our culture nonetheless.
Units covered include...
UNIT 1: INTRODUCTION to Worldviews
UNIT 2: THEISM (Christian Theism, Deism, Theistic Existentialism)
UNIT 3: ATHEISM (Naturalism, Secular Humanism, Marxism, Nihilism, Atheistic Existentialism)
UNIT 4: PANTHEISM (Eastern Pantheistic Monism, New Age)
UNIT 5: POSTMODERNISM
UNIT 6: Concluding Issues
Apologetics - 2nd Semester
During the spring semester, juniors and seniors will learn how to defend the exclusive truth of Christianity in the pluralistic age in which we live and how to humbly argue for: absolute truth, God’s existence, possible answers to the problem of evil, creation, miracles, the Bible as the inerrant word of God, and Christ’s divinity and resurrection. The overall course is designed to give the student confidence in their ability to competently defend the Christian worldview in both the private and public spheres in order to bring about repentance, revival and reformation in the lives of individuals and in society.
Units covered include...
UNIT 1: Introduction to Apologetics - Purpose, Limitations, History & Methodology
UNIT 2: Epistemological Apologetics - Truth, Belief, Reason & Knowledge
UNIT 3: Theistic Apologetics - Existence of God
UNIT 4: Cosmological Apologetics - Creation & Miracles
UNIT 5: Bibliological Apologetics - Reliability of the Bible
UNIT 6: Christological Apologetics - Divinity & Resurrection of Christ
UNIT 7: Ecclesiological Apologetics - Character of the Church
UNIT 8: Eschatological Apologetics - Heaven & Hell
UNIT 9: Concluding Issues
Christian high school juniors/seniors need to be equipped with apologetics that work in the real world in order to be prepared to defend their faith as they enter college or society at large. This basic understanding strengthens their own faith and gives them confidence to intelligently communicate this faith to others.