Lay Academy of Theology
The Lay Academy of Theology offers non-credit evening classes and other study opportunities led by Beeson faculty for interested laity as well as ministers desiring continuing education. For more information or to register you may contact Devon Bagwell (205.726.2731). You may also register online.
- Christianity in the Middle East—We sometimes think of the Middle East as exclusively Muslim, or from a more historical perspective, as home to some minor religions that are now extinct or almost so. The fact is, though, that Christianity has quite a history in this region from early on, well into the period of Islamic rule, and even today. Over the course of six weeks, Dr. Adam McCollum will present an overview of Christianity in the Middle East through its history and literature and point out several instructive paths into this rich heritage.
Adam McCollum (B.A., Union University; M.A., M.Phil., Ph.D., Hebrew Union College) has spent a great deal of his life in study of biblical languages including Semitics, Greek, and Latin. His interests are Eastern Christianity, Semitic linguistics, and the transmission of Greek literature into Syriac and Arabic. McCollum has also served as an instructor of Hebrew at Beeson Divinity School.
Schedule: Six Monday nights from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. beginning on February 22, 2010.
Cost: $79.00 IF REGISTERED PRIOR TO FEBRUARY 15; $105.00 thereafter—plus the cost of the textbooks, From the Holy Mountain by W. Dalrymple and Who Are the Christians in the Middle East by Bailey & Bailey. Available at the Beeson Bookshop in advance (205-726-2286).
Register Online
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Isaiah's Gospel—When Saint Augustine asked his pastor, Ambrose, how to best prepare for his upcoming baptism, Ambrose pointed Augustine to the prophet Isaiah. “No other prophet,” said Ambrose, “prepares one for the gospel like Isaiah.” So Augustine took to reading Isaiah and found the beginning of the book obscure and assumed the rest of the book equally so. Augustine put down Isaiah and said he would return to it later when he understood “the Lord’s style of language” a bit better. We can probably all sympathize with Augustine. The prophets are difficult to understand and take time and patience to collect their fruit. Within the early church, Isaiah was often understood as the fifth gospel. New Testament scholar Richard Bauckham says that the corpus of Isaiah 40–55 provided the fundamental resources for the early church’s grammar about Jesus Christ and his significance. This class, led by Dr. Mark Gignilliat, will focus on some of the major themes and texts from Isaiah in an attempt to understand the Lord’s style of language better than before.
Mark Gignilliat (B.A., Bob Jones University; M.Div., Reformed Theological Seminary; Ph.D., University of St. Andrews, Scotland) teaches in the areas of Hebrew and Old Testament.
Schedule: Six Tuesday nights from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. beginning on February 23, 2010.
Cost: $79.00 IF REGISTERED PRIOR TO FEBRUARY 16; $105.00 thereafter—plus the cost of the textbook, The Prophecy of Isaiah by Alec Motyer. Available at the Beeson Bookshop in advance (205-726-2286).
Register Online
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The Easy Yoke and the Sermon on the Mount—Many believers are tired of predictable formulas for spiritual success that are no match for the harsh realities of living for Christ in today’s culture. They are ready for a fresh hearing of God’s Word on what it means to follow Jesus. When years of religion and church attendance don’t add up to deeper dependence on God, ethical maturity, and authentic spirituality, it is time to reexamine Jesus’ expectations. Please plan to join us as Dr. Douglas Webster leads this examination of the Sermon on the Mount in which Jesus invites us to move beyond tradition-bound religion and the shallow answers that don’t work.
Douglas D. Webster (B.A., M.A., Wheaton College; Ph.D., University of St. Michael’s College, Toronto School of Theology) serves Beeson as professor of pastoral theology and preaching and teaches classes in both of these disciplines.
Schedule: Six Thursday nights from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. beginning on February 25, 2010.
Cost: $79.00 IF REGISTERED PRIOR TO FEBRUARY 18; $105.00 thereafter—plus the cost of the textbook, The Message of the Sermon on the Mount, by John R. W. Stott. Available at the Beeson Bookshop in advance (205-726-2286).
Register Online
