The Religion Major | Degree Requirements | Course Descriptions
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Biblical Studies
COURSE DESCRIPTIONS
BL110 Biblical History and Literature (3 credits)
A survey of Christian Bible with the following objectives: understanding the central ideas and themes of the Bible; familiarity with its chief persons, places, and events; awareness of the types of Biblical literature; and developments of the ability to study the Bible effectively.
BL111 Old Testament World and Ideas (3 credits)
An introductory survey of the leading ideas, primary characters, social and religious customs, or the social context of the Old Testament. The subject will be determined by the professor. Offered on demand.
BL/HE201 Introduction to Biblical Hebrew I (3 credits)
An introduction to the grammar and vocabulary of Biblical Hebrew, part 1.
BL/HE202 Introduction to Biblical Hebrew II (3 credits)
An introduction to the grammar and vocabulary of Biblical Hebrew, part 2.
Prerequisite: BL/HE201
BL/HE214 Intermediate Biblical Hebrew (3 credits)
Translation of a portion of the Hebrew Bible with a continued emphasis on grammar.
BL/GK101-102 Elementary New Testament Greek (3 credits)
An introduction to Koine Greek grammar as it is used in the Greek New Testament.
BL/GK211 Intermediate Greek New Testament (3 credits)
A continued study of the grammar of Koine Greek while translating selections from the Greek New Testament.
Prerequisite: BL/GK102
BL/GK212 Reading Koine Greek (3 credits)
A seminar on a book of the Greek New Testament. Emphasis will be placed on interpretation of the work based on exegetical studies.
Prerequisites: BL/GK211, BL/HE202
BL310 Pentateuch (3 credits)
An historical, literary, and theological study of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticas, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.
Prerequisites: BL110, CP295
BL318 Old Testament Historical Books (3 credits)
An historical, literary, and theological study of the kingdoms of Israel and Judah as
presented in the Deuteronomistic History (Joshua, Judges, 1 and 2 Samuel, and 1 and 2
Kings) and the Chronicler’s History (1 and 2 Chronicles, Ezra, and Nehemiah).
Prerequisites: BL110, CP295
BL323 Synoptic Gospels (3 credits)
A study of the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke). Special attention is given to their literary relationships and the uniqueness of their respective portrayals of Jesus.
Prerequisites: BL110, CP295
BL327 Pauline Epistles (3 credits)
A study of the life and teachings of Paul as presented in the letters attributed to him, with some attention given to the portrayal of Paul in Acts.
Prerequisites: BL110, CP295
BL410 Daniel/Revelation (3 credits)
A study of the literary genre known as apocalyptic with special attention given to the canonical books of Daniel and Revelation.
Prerequisites: BL110, CP295
BL445 Seminar in Biblical Studies (3 credits)
Advanced study of particular Biblical writings, themes, or issues chosen according to the interests and/or needs of students and professor. This course may be taken more than once in different topics. Offered on demand.
Prerequisites: Two courses with prefix BL that are 301 or above
BL499 Independent Research in Biblical Studies (3 credits)
Individualized course of study for qualified students. A topic, outline, and bibliography are
to be developed by the student in consultation with a faculty member. The Division of
Religion and Philosophy must approve the proposal before the student registers. A written report and oral discussion of the research are to be presented to two or more faculty members. Offered on demand.
Prerequisite: Senior standing
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Christian Education/Youth Ministry
COURSE DESCRIPTIONS
CE222 Philosophy and Methods of Youth Ministry (3 credits)
An introduction to the field of Youth Ministry. Topics include: Biblical, theological,
psychological, and sociological, and cultural foundations; curriculum and methods; programming; organization; and administration. Observation and participation in several youth activities are required.
Prerequisite: BL110
CE401 Issues in Youth Ministry (3 credits)
A seminar course designed to address current and significant issues in Youth Ministry. Current or previous experience in youth ministry expected.
Prerequisites: Senior standing and CE222
CE485 Practicum in Youth Ministry (3 credits)
A practicum requirement of 1 to 4 credit (75-300 clock hours). Youth Ministry majors are required to complete 4 credit hours with at least half of the time in a local church setting. This requirement may be completed over several semesters.
Prerequisites: Two courses in Christian Education, permission of department
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Missions
COURSE DESCRIPTIONS
MI110 Introduction to Missions (3 credits)
An introduction to various components of the Christian mission, including the Biblical, theological, and historical, cultural, and biographical components of Christian missions, as well as contemporary mission efforts, strategies, and movements.
IN210 Peoples and Cultures of the World (3 credits)
An anthropological approach to the study of human culture and its various forms around
the world. The major features of culture are presented, including subsistence patterns,
organizing devices, patterns for transmission of culture, economics, religion, political
organization, social control, and culture change. The methods of anthropological research and theoretical orientations are also examined. Examples of cultural variation, including traditional as well as modern societies, are discussed.
MI/PH300 World Religions (3 credits)
A study of the historical understandings and practices of the major belief systems of the
world, such as: animism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, and
secularism, and secondary groups that have developed from them. Attention will be given to approaches to the basic problem of humankind as compared to Christianity, with particular attention to the Christian Scriptures and the unique person of Jesus Christ.
Prerequisites: BL110 and CP295
MI320 Travel Course in Missions (3 credits)
A field course designed to offer those interested in missions an immersion into the cultural,
theological, socioeconomic, psychological and practical demands of ministry, by placing students in a host culture to work with missionaries/indigenous clergy in a variety of settings.
Prerequisites: MI110 or permission of instructor
MI330 Theology Of Missions (3 credits)
A study of contemporary evangelical theology in relation to the cross-cultural aspects of the Christian mission, including the particular contribution of Wesleyan tradition.
MI420 Issues In Contemporary Missions (3 credits)
An integrative seminar course designed to give upper level missions students opportunity to
lead in discussion of contemporary issues in missions such as the people group movement, development of indigenous leadership, issues of plurality and post modernism. Students will relate these understandings to mission practice.
Prerequisites: MI110, MI300 or MI330, or permission of instructor
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Pastoral Ministry
COURSE DESCRIPTIONS
PM372 History and Polity of the Church of the Nazarene (2 credits)
A survey of the beginnings of the Church of the Nazarene, its policy, organization, leaders, and growth. Offered in alternate years.
Prerequisite: Sophomore standing, CP295
PM440 Introduction to Pastoral Counseling (3 credits)
An examination of the classical and contemporary models for pastoral counsel and their application in contemporary ministry settings.
Prerequisite: PS110, TH300, or TH441. Recommend: PS240, PS392
PM452 The Practice of Christian Ministry (3 credits)
An introduction to the basic responsibilities of the pastor. This course will include such
topics as church administration, Christian education, and the handling of church finances. Issues pertaining to pastoral ethics in dealing with finances, authority, interpersonal relationships, and pastoral expectations will be discussed.
Prerequisite: PS240 Lifespan Development
PM461 Making of Sermons (3 credits)
A course in the theology of preaching and the construction of sermons designed to inculcate and encourage Biblical preaching, in order to develop strong, informed, and growing churches. Alternate years.
Prerequisites: Two courses with prefix BL that are 301 or above
PM462 Expository Preaching of Holiness (3 credits)
Practical study in Wesleyan-holiness hermeneutics and principles of sermon construction. Students will write and deliver a series of expository sermons on various aspects of the experience and the life of Christian holiness. Alternate years.
Prerequisites: Two courses with prefix BL that are 301 or above
PM485 Ministerial Practicum (3 credits)
Designed to offer the student a specific, supervised, integrating, and significant opportunity to apply theological knowledge to a field experience, i.e., the local church.
Prerequisite: Senior standing
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Spiritual Formation
COURSE DESCRIPTIONS
SF110 Introduction to Spiritual Formation (3 credits)
A survey course designed to introduce students to the history, theology, methodology, and
resources of spiritual formation.
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Theology
COURSE DESCRIPTIONS
TH212 Christian Mission and Evangelism (2 credits)
A survey of the historical development of Christian mission and the evangelistic task of the
Church, including cross-cultural, personal, and public evangelism. Offered on demand.
Prerequisite: BL110 or permission of instructor
TH300 Christian Tradition (3 credits)
An introduction to the Christian Tradition according to what the Christian Church has
believed, taught, and confessed on the basis of the Word of God. This course is a necessary
counterpart to Biblical History and Literature. Hence, this course will have two foci: historical
and doctrinal. The Apostles’ Creed and the Nazarene Articles of Faith will serve as models by
which students survey the historical and doctrinal foci of the Christian Tradition.
Prerequisites: BL110, CP210, CP295, Junior standing
TH/PH385 Christian Ethics (3 credits)
An introduction to standard ways persons have dealt with conflict of duty in its personal and
social aspects. The course will treat the major contributors to ethical discourse from
philosophical and theological perspectives. Special attention will be given to theological
solutions as they relate to Christian ethical thought and behavior. It will include a survey of
the major ethical problems of the contemporary world.
Prerequisites: CP295 or PH381 or PH382; TH300 or TH441; permission of instructor
TH399 Topics in Theology (3 credits)
Selected theological topics dealing with contemporary and/or cross disciplinary issues. This
course may be taken more than once on different topics.
Prerequisites: CP295, BL341 or BL343, TH300, or permission of instructor
TH430 Early Christianity: Pentecost to the Fall of Rome (3 credits)
Considers Christianity from its inception through the first 4-5 centuries of the common era,
focusing on such issues as persecution, Constantinian influence, the Desert Fathers, heresy
and orthodoxy, Trinity and Christology, and the life and influence of St. Augustine.
Chronological and theological perspectives will be employed.
Prerequisite: TH300
TH431 Medieval Christianity: Augustine to Luther (3 credits)
Surveys the major topics of the 1000-year-period between the lives of Augustine and Luther,
including Byzantium and Eastern Orthodoxy, Benedictine monasticism, the rise of missions,
the development of the papacy, sacramental theology, scholasticism, popular piety, the
Crusades, the Mendicant Orders, schism, and conciliarism. The organizing poles will be
chronological and theological.
Prerequisite: TH300
TH432 The Reformations: Sixteenth Century (3 credits)
This course focuses on the reshaping of the Western church through the proliferation of
differing theological, doctrinal, and institutional understandings of Christianity. Topics
include Luther, Zwingli, Calvin, the English church, the Radical Reformers and the Roman
Catholic Reformation.
Prerequisites: CP295, TH300
TH433 American Christianity: Plymouth Colony to the Present (3 credits)
Focuses on the development of Christianity in the United States, including such topics as
Puritanism, conversion of native populations, the Great Awakening, Unitarianism, the
Second Great Awakening, Methodism, the Shakers, Transcendentalism, the rise of black
churches, Roman Catholicism, Holiness and Pentecostalism, the fundamentalist-modernist
controversy, liberalism and neo-orthodoxy, mainline decline, and disaffiliation.
Prerequisite: TH300
TH434 Modern European Christianity: 17th Century-Present (3 credits)
This course focuses on the various developments in European Christianity since the end of
the Reformations, and includes such topics as confessionalization, secularization,
Arminianism, the Thirty Years’ War, Puritanism, Pietism, the Enlightenment, church reform
in Protestantism and Roman Catholicism, liberal theology, the twentieth-century church
and world missions.
Prerequisites: CP295, TH300
TH443 Revealed God and Sinful Humanity (3 credits)
Addresses topics including the nature and sources of the study of God (theology), the
meaning and necessity of revelation, the nature and attributes of God, God as Trinity, God as
creator, and the nature of humanity as both free and sinful. A Wesleyan perspective will be
emphasized, with additional reflection from other branches of Christianity.
Prerequisites: TH300, Junior standing
TH444 Salvation, Sanctification, and Life in the Spirit (3 credits)
Addresses topics including sin and evil, Christ as Savior, the need for salvation, Wesleyan
sanctification, the work of the Holy Spirit, the Church, the Sacraments, and the Kingdom of
God. A Wesleyan perspective will be emphasized, with additional reflection from other
branches of Christianity.
Prerequisites: TH300, Junior standing
TH445 Seminar in Theology (3 credits)
A seminar devoted to a specific problem, figure, theme, or doctrine in Theology. Topics may
include: Christology, Soteriology, Pneumatology, Christian Perfection, Ecclesiology,
Revelation, Hamartiology, Inspiration, Theological Method, Theodicy, Augustine, Aquinas,
Luther, Calvin, Barth, Brunner, Tillich, Kierkegaard, Arminius, Chrysostom, Zwingli,
Bonhoeffer, etc.
Prerequisites: Senior Religion major standing, two courses with TH prefix, 401 or
above; Offered in alternate years.
TH446 Life and Thought of John Wesley (3 credits)
Examines the historical-theological setting just prior to and during Wesley’s time in order to
unravel the complex tapestry of sources and events that shaped his thought and practice.
This will unfold the richness and legacy of Wesley’s place in historic Christianity. The scope
will be both historical and theological, with focus always upon Wesley’s assessment of the
Christian life.
Prerequisites: TH300, two courses with the prefix BL that are 301 or above, Junior
standing, or permission of instructor
TH450 Christian Worship (3 credits)
An introduction to worship in a Wesleyan context. The course will examine the Biblical,
historical, and theological foundations of Christian corporate worship. It will deal with the
traditional components of worship, the place of the Church calendar, and the role of
hymnody and the sacraments. It will include a section dealing with the history, practice of,
and resources for spiritual formation.
Prerequisites: One course with prefix BL that is 301 or above, Junior standing, or
permission of instructor
TH472 Doctrine of Holiness (3 credits)
A Biblical, historical, and theological study of holiness. Special attention will be given to the
formulation of the doctrine in the Wesleyan tradition, with emphasis on the holiness of God
and his provision for the holiness of his people. Offered in alternate years.
Prerequisite: Junior standing
TH495 Senior Seminar (3 credits)
In-depth examination of issues and problems, academic and professional, pertinent to the
discipline of religion. Required of all seniors who are majoring in any undergraduate
program offered by the Department of Religion. Successful completion of this course fulfills
the requirement for a senior exam or project.
Prerequisite: Senior standing
TH499 Independent Research in Theology (3 credits)
Individualized course of study for qualified students. The topic, outline, and bibliography are to
be developed by the student in consultation with a faculty member. The Division of Religion
and Philosophy must approve the proposal before the student registers. A written report and
oral discussion of the research are to be presented to two or more faculty members.
Prerequisite: Senior standing
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Religion Department
Eastern Nazarene College | 23 East Elm Avenue
Quincy, Massachusetts 02170
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