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 stu-
dents 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, 73
