SYLLABUS
KINGDOM, COVENANTS, AND CANON OF THE OLD TESTAMENT
Course description
This course gives a brief survey of the Old Testament, examining the themes of “Kingdom, Covenants and Canon.” It shows that the Old Testament is not a random amalgam of episodes, genealogies and prophetic tidbits. Instead, it is unified around the central theme of the kingdom of God, which was administered through covenants and applied to life through the Old Testament as a "canon" (guideline) for our lives. It is based on the Third Millennium DVD series by Dr. Richard L. Pratt, Jr.
Dr. Richard L. Pratt, Jr.
Dr. Pratt is the president and founder of Third Millennium Ministries. He received his M.Div. from Union Theological Seminary and his Th.D. in Old Testament Studies from Harvard University. He formerly chaired the Old Testament department at Reformed Theological Seminary in Orlando, Florida. Then he transitioned in 2006 from his teaching role at RTS to work full time with Third Millennium Ministries. Among his published books are: Every Thought Captive, Pray With Your Eyes Open, He Gave Us Stories, and Designed For Dignity.
Goals and Objectives
GOALS
In this course, we would like to accomplish the following:
1. We hope you will develop a new interest in studying and teaching from the Old Testament.
2. We hope you will make use of all the instruction elements of the course to grasp the unity of the Old Testament, as expressed in the theme of the Kingdom of God, to understand the purpose of God in the history of the Old Testament, as expressed in the covenants, and to discern how the Old Testament should be applied in our lives today.
3. We hope you make changes in your life as a response to the teachings of this course.
OBJECTIVES
When you have done the following, it will show that the goals are met:
1. Use all the assignments and activities of the course to express your own thoughts and attitudes regarding the Old Testament.
2. Obtain satisfactory grades on the tests of the course, demonstrating that you can identify key concepts of the Kingdom of God, as expressed in the Old Testament, that you can identify the key covenants of the Old Testament and explain their relationships, and that you can identify valid principles for using the Old Testament today.
3. Answer the application questions in the study guides, in which you express your own responses and opinions, showing how you have applied the teachings of the course to your own life.
Resources
The course is based on materials taught by Dr. Richard L. Pratt, Jr., produced and distributed by Third Millennium Ministries.
Credit
Birmingham Theological Seminary offers two hours of credit for this course, as part of the program leading to a Certificate in Christian Ministry.
Thematic Outline of the Course
1. Why Study the Old Testament?
2. The Kingdom of God
3. Divine Covenants
4. The Canon of the Old Testament
Required Additional Reading
A Brief Bible History, by James Oscar Boyd and John Gresham Machen
The Canon of the Old and New Testaments Ascertained, by Archibald Alexander
The Theology of the Old Testament, by A. B. Davidson
Assignments
You should begin with the following for each lesson:
1. Read the "Preparation" document and complete any activity mentioned there in preparation for the lesson.
2. Read the instructions for the lesson.
3. Watch all the videos (or listen to the audio, or read the text version).
4. Complete the study guide for each section of the videos.While they are not required, and while they will not be graded, we recommend that you do the following for each lesson to prepare for the acummulative test and to get the maximum benefit from the lesson:
1. Take the quiz on each section of the videos.
2. If there are any, watch the videos of class discussion forums.
3. Browse through the glossary of the lesson.The accumulative test
Take the accumulative test on each lesson. This is required and will give you the grade for the lesson.
Required Additional Reading
After completing the lessons based on the video lectures, there is a final lesson based on required additional reading. The student should do the reading, complete the study guides, and take the corresponding test based on the reading.
Estimated Time for Study
While each student is different, we estimate that each lesson may take around 10 hours to do the required assignments, if the student is already familiar with how to use these courses.
Grades
You may see your grades at any time by clicking on the link. (It is in the left margin in the computer version, and at the bottom in other versions.)
1) Each accumulative test is worth 100 points and the test on the required reading is worth 100 points.
2) The quizzes on each section of the lessons are graded (10 points for each) so that you can evaluate your learning, but they will not be included in the official course grade. They are only for the purpose of practicing and learning.
3) The final grade for the course will be calculated by taking the appropriate percentages from each accumulative test and from the test on required reading, to make a total of 100%.
The evaluation scale has the following meaning:
90-100%: Excellent (A) 8
0-89%: Good (B)
75-79%: Average (C)
0-75%: Insufficient (F)
Include Other People
We highly recommend that you involve other people in your studies, in order to avoid isolating yourself. You may choose to form a study group with other students that are in the same program, or in a similar program of studies. You could share what you are learning, encourage one another, and pray for each other. It would also be a great idea to form a mentoring relationship with your pastor or with another person you respect, to make yourself accountable to him. You could meet once a week to share what you are learning and pray together.