BIBLE

NINTH GRADE
The student will focus on the application of life skills found in the Old Testament and the life-long pursuit of becoming Christ-like. Students will learn inductive Bible study skills so that they are able to read and study Scripture for proper application of life issues. Students will study an overview of the Old Testament with a particular emphasis on the Pentateuch as the foundation to the rest of scripture.

TENTH GRADE
Students are challenged and inspired to draw applications to their daily walk with Christ through the study of church history. The student is able to recount the history of God's power working through individuals, situations, and how that history reveals the growth of Christianity. The student will cover the people, dramatic events, major cultural and theological currents, and ideas that shaped the first fifteen centuries of Europe, such as the Spanish and Portuguese conquest of the New World. The course will cover how various social, political, and economic movements affected Christianity's internal growth.

The class will weave in relevant details the lives of prominent figures from the apostles to John Wycliffe, tracing out core theological issues and developments as reflected in the lives and struggles of leading thinkers within the various traditions of the church. It is a history of the deeds of the spirit in and through the men and women who have gone before in the faith. The text - The Story of Christianity - demonstrates at each point what new challenges and opportunities faced the church, and how Christians struggled with the various options open to them, thereby shaping the future direction of the church. The student is able to understand how Christian doctrine developed into what it is today.

The students develop skills, which they use throughout their lives, including how to have a meaningful quiet time with God. Doctrinal issues such as God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, regeneration, sanctification, grace, evangelism, and missions are understood and applied.

ELEVENTH GRADE
The student will focus on the application of life skills found in the New Testament and the life-long pursuit of becoming Christ-like. Students will refine the inductive skills learned so that the students are able to read and study Scripture for proper application of life issues. The students will understand the genres contained in the biblical literature, and the skills necessary to interpret each genre type.


TWELFTH GRADE
Students will know that it is the person of Jesus Christ that separates Christianity from all other worldviews and makes it unique from Judaism and Islam. Students will recognize that being an effective Christian in today's world means more than just knowing what the Bible says; it means knowing how the Bible speaks to everyday life. Students will understand that everyone has a worldview-a basic set of beliefs, by which they explain the world, interpret circumstances, and live their life. They will study how our worldview determines the values we hold and the actions we take. They will focus on how the contemporary culture offers us many worldviews, each drastically different, each competing for our attention. Students will begin to think broadly and deeply (I Thessalonians 5:21; I John 4:1) about the world around us from a Biblical perspective and live consistently within the Biblical worldview.

The students will understand the following different worldviews:

Naturalism claims that only the physical universe is real, and nothing exists outside of this reality. The universe, including humans, arose from exclusively natural processes without any supernatural or metaphysical involvement. The pursuit of life is self-determined. Morality, as well as meaning is only a product of human construction, either by the individual or the society. There is no afterlife to look forward to, only a final natural death. Atheism, existentialism, secular humanism, and nihilism would all fit into this category.

Transcendentalism claims that the universe is primarily spiritual. According to this view, the natural world is an illusion or merely a manifestation of the 'spiritual-ness' of all things. This worldview also holds that everything (and everyone) is connected as a manifestation of the divine "force" that includes all things. The pursuit of life is unity, and this goal is finally achieved through the process of reincarnation. After each death, one assumes another life form based upon their performance in this life, until finally one reaches the state of nirvana, the ultimate rejoining with the spiritual fabric of the universe. Many eastern religions, the New Age movement, scientology, Wicca, and polytheism all fit into this category.

Theism claims that both the physical and spiritual realms are distinct parts of reality. Most importantly, theism holds the belief in a personal, supernatural God who created the physical universe. In this worldview, God, who determines both the meaning of life and the moral principles that govern His creation, specially designed humanity. After death, humans will face judgment, which will determine whether eternity will be spent in the presence of God or away from His presence. The three main theistic religions are Christianity, Judaism, and Islam.