The courses

BIBLICAL LANGUAGES

The Bible is the origin and core of the Protestant Christian faith. The study of Biblical texts therefore occupies a major place within the study programme and cannot be done without a sound knowledge of the original languages in which the Bible was written. The courses in Biblical Hebrew and New Testament Greek introduce you to the particularities of these languages and lay the grammatical foundation on which students learn to understand the texts.

The Old TESTAMENT

The course The Old Testament course provides an overview of the history of ancient Israel and the genesis and structure of the Hebrew Bible. Since the texts of the Jewish people did not arise in a cultural vacuum, ample attention is also paid to the surrounding peoples of the Ancient Near East. Furthermore, it teaches the exegetical keys with which modern readers can open and interpret the texts.

The New TESTAMENT

The course The New Testament involves the study of New Testament texts and early Christian literature and their genesis in the late Jewish and Roman context. Students gain insight into the early development of Christianity and traditional theological issues, such as the search for the historical Jesus and the meaning of the 'proclaimed Christ'.
 
For a good understanding of the New Testament, in addition to the canonical texts of the Bible, it is necessary to include the apocryphal writings and the literature of the Church Fathers in the study. Intertextual research is therefore an important tool in connection with the Bible. These and other skills are taught during the undergraduate programme.

SYSTEMATIC COURSES

The systematic courses look at connections between thinking and believing, knowing and experiencing, and cover the knowledge-theoretical principles of the different subject areas. Here, special attention is paid to the relationship between these disciplines and scientific research on culture and meaning. 

The topics covered are: 

Theology and Hermeneutics (explaining the text)
Philosophy (of religion)
Religious criticism
Ethics
Dogmatics
Phenomenology of Religion
Islam
New Age
Gnosticism and Hermeticism

CHURCH HISTORY

In the course Church History connections are made between theological and philosophical developments over the centuries. The development of the church cannot be separated from the cultural and political history of society as a whole. Students are therefore introduced to concepts and historical events such as the Reformation, the Enlightenment and the French Revolution.
 
Naturally, there is a great emphasis on individuals such as Luther and Calvin, but important historical-cultural developments such as the invention of printing, the birth of modern states and the abolition of slavery are also widely covered.

PRActical THEOLOGy

This course is generally about what people today do or think in relation to the Christian faith. In particular, it is about church service and preaching, church building, pastoral care and church education. So it is theology in the practice of (church) life. For example, the module religious psychology addresses concepts of faith in psychological perspective and situates movements and their representatives in relation to faith and (pastoral) care.

Topics covered include:

Pastoral care
Pedagogy 
Psychology and Religion
Homiletics ('sermonology')
Community building