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Teluog

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  • Gender
    Male
  • Location
    Kitchener-Waterloo
  • Interests
    Biblical studies, theology, ancient history, philosophy, apologetics, spiritual formation and character growth, psychology.
  • Application Season
    Not Applicable
  • Program
    Biblical/theological studies

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  1. Since religious studies requires a multitude of language skill, and with time to spare before I can afford graduate school, I'm thinking of tackling another language--either modern or ancient--to prepare myself. My question is how should one go about studying & learning. I have 3 semesters of biblical Greek from Bible College but no Hebrew yet. If I was to tackle Hebrew, should this be done for credit at a school or is self-study considered legit enough when applying for graduate programs (assuming the school offers competency exams to prove yourself)? In other words, is it necessary or just better on paper to take language courses for credit? Or can one simply self-study in one's spare time by purchasing books or borrowing from libraries and using any available internet resources and flash card applications? If coursework is necessary, is distance education frowned up? Is any of this different when it comes to modern languages vs the ancient ones?
  2. I've been considering this for a while now. But what is a "regionally accredited nonsectarian" school? I just noticed that Tyndale in Toronto offers a BA in Bible & Theology (including an honours option). They can take up to half the coursework required for a degree in transfer courses. And that raises another important question: how does one stand out among the competition?
  3. Language is actually one thing I hope to take care of before I actually go to apply. My question with this is whether or not I should pursue Hebrew and Aramaic and any other ANE language for credit during school or if I should tackle them in my spare time with self study.
  4. Having looked around at various faculty at various places, I do in fact see a lot of MDivs. Joseph45 pointed out that an MDiv is also useful for getting a job. I was actually considering pastoral ministry when I first enrolled in bible college, but I realized immediately that I was not ready for preaching or teaching anytime soon, so instead of the 4 year BTh in Pastoral Ministry program I dropped down to the 3 year Arts and Biblical Studies, and of course at the time I had no idea a 4 year bachelor was necessary for doctoral admission. I wonder if it's a good idea to go back and pick up that 4th year? FYI I'm not planning on applying anywhere anytime soon, I've already decided to take time off of school, partially because I need to figure out what is even a possibility, partially because I just need to work and make money and survive. And partially for a host of personal reasons (eg I don't even know if I'm cut out to preach or teach, I've always had communication issues). So I'm hoping that taking time away from school isn't a I hindrance either, especially if it's for personal growth and to take the time to do personal studying (I have a consortium of theology, biblical studies, psychology, spirituality, and philosophy books). BTW are graduate schools admission department or program directors helpful on what degrees or types of schools I need to enter their programs? As you've seen, I don't think the profs from my bible college can be very helpful. The reason why my bible college has hardly any profs with doctorates is because those who are working on doctorates come to teach a course as adjunct, then they get their degree and get hired elsewhere.
  5. As in another bachelors before getting to M*? Would it be possible or wise to attempt an MDiv + MA or MTh? Or would my bachelors still be a hindrance even with a couple M*?
  6. None of them have mentioned any top schools at all. In fact, hardly any of the profs have doctorates, even though the academic nature of the courses was challenging intensive. Am I not alone here in wishing that I would have done my bachelors somewhere else? I mentioned earlier that I'm committed to an evangelical or ecumenical/non-denominational position, and am hoping to teach at such a place. I would however love to obtain a "broader" education as long as it's not an extreme liberal or conservative pole. I was wondering if Wheaton or TEDS are at least 2nd tier. I'm under the impression that Duke, Chicago, and Drew are ecumenical in nature? I'm not having any luck acquiring a half decent job even after graduating with my BRE. This economy I've learned seems to require a gazillion degrees/certificates/licenses/trophies/medals/$$$$$ to find ANY stable employment of any kind anyway. I'm curious though to know what those of us have done who didn't "make the cut" as a scholar/professor.
  7. I can't seem to find any student profiles from any of those schools that show where their PhD students come from. So where do those who obtain master's degrees from TST, Wheaton, and TEDS usually end up going for their PhDs? And I thought MacDiv was top tier or at least 2nd tier, not a "lesser known school." Someone already mentioned getting a second bachelors degree. Would it be wise to aim for, for example the MA in Theology at TST or MA in Biblical Exegesis at Wheaton followed by an MTh at a top tier place before attempting a PhD? Are masters degrees at top tier places difficult to get into? MThs especially?
  8. I'm not aware of McMaster being John McArthur conservative. But I would like to avoid finding myself in either a left wing or right wing bubble. My goal is eventually to teach at some kind of ecumenical or evangelical institute, as long as the institute doesn't live in a vacuum.
  9. Yes, those are questions I intend to ask any institution offering a master's degree that I'm interested in. That being said, I already asked in a separate thread about top tier PhD programs, but now it needs to be asked: what are top tier or acceptable masters degrees that are accepted at TT PhD programs? I'm looking into the best evangelical or ecumenical schools especially for the masters, since I don't have a denominational tie. I thought MacDiv WAS TT? As for TST, I recently noticed their MA in Theology. It's considered an "advanced degree" even though it is designed for those with no previous theology training and requires a bachelors only in general arts. I'm not sure if any of this matters though when applying for a TT PhD. And how do they determine what the quality is?
  10. Their MA as stated on their website is designed to prepare PhD students, and biblical studies is one of the emphasis options: http://www.mcmasterdivinity.ca/programs/master-arts-christian-studies
  11. The college is accredited with ABHE. The program was 96 credit hours: http://emmanuelbiblecollege.ca/res/pub/Academic_Catalogue/2014-2015/Academic_Program_Offerings/BRE/BRE_Arts_Biblical_Studies.pdf Apparently McMaster Divinity accepts a lot of students from my school, though mostly for their MDiv. My bible college and current residence is only 45 minutes away from MacDiv, and they have ties to my bible college, since some staff know know each other and the interim president I had is married to the editor of MacDiv's theology journal, who also teaches Greek. They both also go to my mother's church was is basically right behind my apartment! I'm considering MacDiv's MA in Christian Studies program, if anyone know anything about that. I might create a separate post on this.
  12. I have a Bachelors of Religious Education in Arts and Biblical Studies from an evangelical Bible College. It was an enjoyable program and I got to study a broad variety of topics, including Bible, theology, new religions and cults, world missions, communication, and I took all 3 Greek courses that were offered as my electives. I struggled with 3 or 4 courses early on due to personal and family issues but once that got cleared I was getting at least A- on nearly every exam and assignment. I got 4.0 in all 3 Greek courses. My GPA ended up at 3.5. My biggest concern is that the program was a 3 year program, not a 4 year. I worry if this will hinder admissions into a good MA program in bible or theology, and eventually a top PhD program. I'm considering focusing on Old Testament studies so I know I will need at least 2 introductory Hebrew courses before applying, but will I need to transfer or pick up an entire full time year of undergrad coursework still? Or just a couple more undergrad courses aside from Hebrew?
  13. So what is it that makes Harvard Divinity, for example, top tier? Is it simply because Harvard has been a staple school in America for years? Is it merely because it's always been a popular school, or is its faculty truly known as producing the best scholarship and best student satisfaction? Fair enough. I guess my biggest worry is acquiring an actual teaching job upon graduation, preferably in a generic evangelical institution. But any school that isn't too left wing or too right wing would be fine, regardless of denomination (I realize I might be asking too much already!) Thus I would need a doctoral program that will allow for good networking and make your resume or vitae look really good. I would also greatly appreciate a program that offers some pedagogical training aside from TAships. I don't just want to teach, I want to be a good teacher. I am also going to need a school that offers as full funding as possible and/or the cheapest tuition. As for subject matter, I'm interested in biblical studies and theology as a whole, but more biblical than theology. I'm interested in studying the Bible in a way that I call "inside and outside." Inside being exegesis and hermeneutics (biblical languages, historical background, archaeology, what a passage teaches theologically, etc.); outside being the higher and lower critical issues (form criticism, textual criticism, historical issues, etc.) In sum, I'd love to study everything from the interpretation of Genesis one to JEDP to historical Jesus to Johannine theology. I realize this is a broad outlook but I'm aware that no one really ends up teaching exclusively on their dissertation area of study, and thus interdisciplinary expertise is highly valued. If I had to narrow it down, so far I'm thinking of majoring in OT and minoring in NT. So far it seems that Chicago Divinity is the best gig. But I need to mention that I have a bachelors in arts and biblical studies and need a good masters before a doctoral program, and I'm aware that one school's masters program doesn't necessarily entail that they have a good doctoral program . . . or does it? I live about 45 minutes from both McMaster Divinity and Toronto School of Theology, and I hear good things about them. Gupta's blog post lists both as top tier so if anyone has experience with either of those let me know. It'd be ideal to not have to move away.
  14. As I've been looking into which schools are the best of the best in consideration of graduate programs in Bible/theology, I'm becoming more aware of which schools are worthy of consideration and which ones aren't. Especially thanks to Gupta's chart as seen here: http://cruxsolablog.com/phd-advice/ My question is this: who decides and ranks which schools belong in which tier? What factors are these schools ranked on (quantity of publications produced from their staff? Placement rate?) My other question is where else besides that blog post can one find a list of divinity schools and seminaries according to rank? Gupta seems to have forgotten about Vanderbilt and Trinity Western/ACTS seminaries in western Canada.
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