# Online courses



## INsearch (May 16, 2011)

Do you guys know of any good Christian colleges that provide online courses that I can take at home? thanks.


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## Andres (May 16, 2011)

What kind of courses? Do you want the school to be accredited?


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## Damon Rambo (May 16, 2011)

Not sure your theological convictions/preferences (Credo/Paedo, etc.), or what you want to study, but...

For college (undergrad), you have a lot of options.

Criswell College Criswell College

Boyce College (College at Southern Seminary) Boyce College &ndash; Online Learning

Liberty University has a wide range of degree offerings online Liberty University Christian College Education

All of these are conservative, the first two are "reformed friendly" the third is "reformed tolerant." All three are regionally accredited as well.


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## INsearch (May 16, 2011)

Andres said:


> What kind of courses? Do you want the school to be accredited?



I'm interested in Christian Philosophy, New Testament Studies, Apologetics ect. In regards to the accreditation it can be, but I would settle for non-accredited, because the idea behind this whole online course idea is to get some education under my belt, but I plan to actually make it to a PHYSICAL college...in a few years.


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## Notthemama1984 (May 16, 2011)

Damon should be able to correct anything here, but when I took undergrad at Liberty I did not take Philosophy or Apologetics and I am unaware if they are offered as undergrad courses. Seminary level? Sure. Just not sure about undergrad.

---------- Post added at 10:40 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:39 PM ----------

If you are wanting to take courses simply for knowledge, I would download various RTS courses from Itunes. You would get top notch instruction and it would not put a dent in your pocket.


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## Andres (May 16, 2011)

well then if it's just knowledge you're after and not really concerned with credits, accreditation, etc., then I suggest starting here. This should be enough free courses to keep you busy for a while.


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## Notthemama1984 (May 16, 2011)

Andrew,

I had no idea the Gospel Coalition had all that stuff. Thanks for posting.


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## Damon Rambo (May 16, 2011)

Chaplainintraining said:


> Damon should be able to correct anything here, but when I took undergrad at Liberty I did not take Philosophy or Apologetics and I am unaware if they are offered as undergrad courses. Seminary level? Sure. Just not sure about undergrad


 
They are. Actually they offer several philosophy classes, including Phil 240 Christian Evidences, which is (evidential) Apologetics . 

Here is what they offer at the undergrad level, in terms of apologetics and philosophy:

PHIL 104 - Contemporary Worldviews
PHIL 201 - Philosophy & Contemporary Idea
PHIL 240 - Christian Evidences
THEO 104- Intro to Christian Thought

A complete Religion course listing...

Online Religion Courses | Liberty University Online

However, I agree with everyone else; if you are not interested in accumulating credits at this point, RTS offers some great free stuff.


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## Jeffriesw (May 17, 2011)

Lot's of good replies here so far, but if indeed you intend on attending a physical school at some like you said, I would give serious consideration to going with an accredited online program, if you are able to afford it.
I am considering somewhat of the same options myself.

Sent from my iphone


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## Andres (May 17, 2011)

Chaplainintraining said:


> Andrew,
> 
> I had no idea the Gospel Coalition had all that stuff. Thanks for posting.


 
No prob. I think many of those are the RTS and WTS lectures from itunes as well, the Gospel Coalition site just did the helpful work of putting everything conveniently together for us.


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## James Swan (May 17, 2011)

INsearch said:


> Do you guys know of any good Christian colleges that provide online courses that I can take at home? thanks.


 
Westminster (Philadelphia) offers distance courses for a Certificate of Christian Studies degree. It's 25 credits, the cost per credit is the same as if you went there. The classes can typically be transfered over to be used toward a Master's degree. The application is the same as if you were attending WTS, so I think you need an undergraduate degree to be qualified to apply.

Also RTS has a distance program.


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## MLCOPE2 (May 17, 2011)

Andres said:


> No prob. I think many of those are the RTS and WTS lectures from itunes as well, the Gospel Coalition site just did the helpful work of putting everything conveniently together for us.



There is also a good bit from Covenant worldwide on there as well.


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## Pilgrim (May 17, 2011)

Your choice is going to have a lot to do with whether you are looking to take courses for credit or if you are simply looking to obtain knowledge. 

Here are a couple of options that haven't been mentioned so far: 

Reformed Baptist Seminary - Home
| The North American Reformed Seminary


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## semperreformata (May 18, 2011)

I have a question with some relevancy to this I will graduate in the Fall with my BS in biology at a Secular university(Gordon College, Barnesville,GA). Curious I have thought about Seminary, would I need to go take any classes from one of those mentioned or get a degree from an undergrad bible college?


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## Ask Mr. Religion (May 18, 2011)

Pilgrim said:


> Reformed Baptist Seminary - Home | The North American Reformed Seminary


Yes, especially like the second suggestion. I'm just sayin'. 

AMR


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## steadfast7 (May 18, 2011)

Pilgrim said:


> Here are a couple of options that haven't been mentioned so far:
> 
> Reformed Baptist Seminary - Home
> | The North American Reformed Seminary



NARS looks interesting, but is non-accredited. What exactly are the benefits of accreditation? Is a degree a TRUE degree if it's from a non-accredited seminary?


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## Pilgrim (May 18, 2011)

steadfast7 said:


> Pilgrim said:
> 
> 
> > Here are a couple of options that haven't been mentioned so far:
> ...



I don't think RBS is accredited either, although I don't know if they plan to pursue it. 

Non-accredited schools are often dismissed as "diploma mills" in which the student basically pays for the degree and where there is little academic rigor. However, that's certainly not always the case. And there can be compelling reasons why a seminary would not pursue accreditation through an agency like ATS. Cost would be one and alleged compromise is another reason often cited. There are some good non-accredited schools and there are some very bad accredited ones. 

Basically the importance of whether or not a school is accredited or not will be related to what a man is planning to do with the degree. Some churches may insist on an accredited degree and many Th.M. and doctoral programs at accredited schools will require one.


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## Ask Mr. Religion (May 19, 2011)

steadfast7 said:


> Is a degree a TRUE degree if it's from a non-accredited seminary?


Well they all started out without any accreditation. So this is sometimes a chicken and egg situation. Speaking from experience on the secular accreditation side of things, and a past member of visiting accreditation teams in that realm, most accreditation bodies will not even consider evaluating an institution until it has actually produced graduates. I am not sure how the ATS process works, but I would be surprised if it were very different in this one aspect.

AMR


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