Instructions
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Course Description:
This course comes in two parts. First it briefly surveys what theologians call theology proper or the doctrine of God, dealing with questions such as: Who is God? What are his attributes? What is his eternal plan? What are his works in history? Then we will take a step back and look at systematic theology as a discipline, analyzing the steps of building systematic theology, especially the formation of technical terms, theological propositions, and doctrinal statements. This course is based on two Thirdmill video series, We Believe in God, as well as Building Systematic Theology produced by Third Millennium Ministries and presented by Rev. Dr. Thurman Williams and Dr. Richard L. Pratt, Jr. with contributions from a variety of professors.
GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
Goals
In this course, we would like to accomplish the following:
- We hope you will make use of all the instruction elements of the course to understand the primary concerns and terminology of systematic theologians in regard to theology proper, become familiar with the teachings about God in several historical creeds, understand many of God’s most important attributes, and understand the theological issues regarding God’s decrees and His plans.
- We hope you will understand the process of developing systematic theology, including the proper use of human logic, the proper use of the Scriptures, and the proper method of defining technical terms, making theological propositions, and designing doctrinal statements.
- We hope you make changes in your life as a response to the teachings of this course. It should help you develop a closer and more faithful walk with God as you learn to formulate, evaluate, and use systematic theology properly.
Objectives
When you have done the following, it will show that the goals are met:
- Obtain satisfactory grades on the quizzes and test, demonstrating that you can identify
- a) identify the primary concerns of systematic theologians in regard to theology proper,
- b) identify many of the most important incommunicable and communicable attributes of God
- c) identify how theologians have explained the relationship between God’s decrees, His foreknowledge, and His providence.
- d) define some key terms of systematic theology
- e) identify the proper use of the Scriptures in the process of systematic theology.
- Complete the study guides and other assignments of the course, expressing your attitude regarding systematic theology, and showing how you have assimilated the teachings of the course and applied them to your own life, especially that you can formulate, evaluate and use systematic theology properly in your pursuit to walk more faithfully with God.
- Participate in weekly discussions that both review and reflect up on the teachings of the Thirdmill videos, in order to more fully understand the concepts and apply them to your life and ministry.
Thematic Outline of the Course
- What We Know About God
- How God is Different
- How God is Like Us
- God’s Plan and Works
- What is Systematic Theology?
- Technical Terms in Systematics
- Propositions in Systematics
- Doctrines in Systematics
EXPLANATION OF ASSIGNMENTS
The Multimedia Lessons
- Study the lessons, watching the video, listening to the audio, or reading the text.
- Complete the Study Guide for each lesson. These study guides will prepare you for the online quizzes and help you apply the teachings of the lesson to your own life.
- Take the online quizzes for each lesson. The quizzes may be taken as many times as you want, but you must wait one hour between each attempt. Your highest grade will be the official grade. We suggest achieving at least an 80% before participating in the weekly discussion to ensure you understand the concepts correctly.
- Participate in the weekly discussions with your group and Trainer, utilizing that sessions Discussion Guide. These discussions are vital to your full understanding of the course material and your ability to correctly apply the concepts to your life and ministry. We recommend the discussion on the video lessons last at least one hour.
- Take the The Doctrine of God – Final Exam. You may take the test again as many times as you want for review, but you must wait one hour between each attempt. The official grade will be your highest grade and we recommend achieving at least an 80% before moving on to the next course.
Course Requirements:
1. You must complete each lesson in the course. After you complete the requirements for a lesson/session, go to the Activity Feed and post a comment about something that interested or impacted you as you worked through the lesson. Your comment needs to be well thought out and at least 75 words. These posts will be counted as part of the writing requirement for the course so please write well thought out comments on what you are learning in the lesson. Please start your comment by referring to the course name and session or lesson number of the course. You also need to post comments on two other students recent comments on courses they are currently taking.
2. After completing all of the lessons in the course, you will need to write a 750 word paper on three things that have impacted you during the course and submit it using the Completed Coursework Upload form. At the Bachelor’s Degree Level, your paper must be well-written.
Click here if you need information on How to Write a Paper. Your forum posts can be helpful in writing your paper.
3. Once you complete a course with a satisfactory grade at Third MIll Institute (IIIM), you can print out a certificate for yourself and then you need to email us a copy so we can record it as a completed course in your school record.
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