Curriculum and Courses

The teaching program at Columbia is arranged in four areas: Biblical, Historical-Doctrinal, Practical Theology, and Supervised Ministry. Interdisciplinary courses, which combine studies in two or more of these areas, are also taught in the degree programs. While classroom instruction is foundational to all degree programs, the goal is to equip students to continue their education independently. The resources of the library, the structure of coursework, and independent study courses encourage realization of that goal.

BIBLICAL AREA studies seek to provide students with the necessary skills and tools to interpret the Bible with faithfulness, integrity, and imagination for a world that is much different from that in which the books of the Bible were written. To this end, Biblical Area courses focus on the languages (Hebrew and Greek), history, cultures, and worldviews of the ancient Mediterranean peoples, in order to clarify how the Bible spoke to those to whom it was first addressed. At the same time, Biblical Area courses give students the opportunity to practice appropriate and creative means of hearing Scripture anew today, in our own cultural and historical contexts, so that it may continue to speak to us and to our world in fresh and powerful ways.

HISTORICAL-DOCTRINAL AREA studies help students understand the past as a means of comprehending the present. Students engaged in these studies also struggle to form their own theology and to discover what it means to be Christian today. Since Columbia stands within a Reformed tradition, historical-doctrinal studies are concerned not only with right thinking, but also with the relation of Christian faith and doctrine to all arenas of life. Therefore, studies in this area engage students in consideration of the social, political, economic, and cultural life of today in the United States and across the world. In historical-doctrinal studies students acquire the tools they will need throughout their lives for dealing theologically with themselves and the world around them, tools that will enable graduates to lead the Church in a prophetic and reconciling way as it works out its mission in the world.

PRACTICAL THEOLOGY AREA studies center on the functioning of the theologian as a minister with a concern to train students to be ministers and to lead other persons in ministering. Studies in this area consider the dynamics of the minister’s role as pastor, evangelist, leader of worship, preacher, teacher, counselor, and administrator. Since the shape of the ministry of tomorrow is not fully known, these studies seek to train students to understand the issues involved, to help them see their own strengths and weaknesses, and then to develop a flexibility that will enable them to take their biblical and theological understanding and deal with whatever issues they face during their ministry.

SUPERVISED MINISTRY serves an integrative function for the curriculum. Students are involved in the actual practice of ministry under competent supervision. Through experiential, relational, and inductive learning, students explore the forms, styles, contents, and concepts of ministry and put into practice what they have learned through stud-

ies in the biblical, historical-doctrinal, and practical theology areas. These studies are integrated with the practice of ministry and personhood of each student.

Courses of Instruction

The following pages provide representative illustration of the courses taught by the faculty of Columbia. The registrar publishes the specific course offerings in the preceding spring each year. Copies are available in the Office of Academic Affairs and on the web.

The faculty reserves the right to modify individual course requirements within a degree program. Such changes will be effective the next time such courses are offered or at a later date as determined by the faculty. Degree programs and their major requirements will remain unchanged for students entering that program, but changes may be made at any time to be effective for all entering students in the next academic year. The letter in the course designation is determined by the area in which it is offered: B for Biblical; HD for Historical-Doctrinal; P for Practical Theology; I for Interdisciplinary; and SM for Supervised Ministry.

For Columbia courses, the hundred’s digit refers to whether the course is a required course for a degree program or whether it is an elective course. 500s are required courses in the master’s degree programs 600s are elective courses for master’s degree students, those numbered 650 and above typically requiring prior work in the area 700s are required courses for advanced degree programs 800s are elective courses for advanced degree programs A current list of courses can be found at www.ctsnet. edu .