The Bible And The Curriculum At Florida Christian College
If it were not for the emphasis given to spiritual values and Bible teaching none of the schools operated by Christians would have outstanding reasons for existence. It was the idea of giving young people Bible teaching in connection with their secular studies that prompted the founding of all our Christian schools. When any school which has this reason for existing ceases to emphasize this peculiarity it ceases to have any special appeal peculiar to Christians and Bible loving people.
Conscious of the need to keep the Bible foremost in all its considerations, Florida Christian College proposes to give four years' college work in Bible and Religious Education beginning with the 1950-'51 session. In this respect Florida Christian College will be unique among all Christian Colleges. Standard junior college work will be offered in academic studies but the last two years will be devoted wholly to the fields of Bible and Religious Education.
The Bible courses offered in Florida Christian College are not hit-and-miss survey courses. They deal with the text in a thorough and systematic manner. The Bible department is so arranged that a student covers every book in the Bible within four years and does this without being rushed in his study. For example, eighteen weeks with class meeting each day is devoted to a study of Genesis alone. The same is true of the Book of Acts. This gives some idea of the attention given to the Book of God by those who propose to teach it. We believe that the text itself needs to be exposed rather than merely exposing the student to the text.
In addition to the attention given to the Bible itself, various courses are offered in Evidences of Christianity. Modernism and various forms of infidelity are carefully analyzed and refuted by competent teachers. Religious dogmas and errors of various schools of thought and groups are studied and refuted in the light of Bible teaching.
Very practical courses are offered in the field of Religious Education. "Problems of the Preacher" and "Marriage and the Family" are but two of a number of equally interesting and valuable courses. Classes are offered which have to do with the training of Bible School teachers, elders, etc. Due attention is given to such matters as Bible Schools, children's classes, and young people's work.
A student who desires to enroll in Religious Education can take minor fields of study in Religious History, Biblical Languages, or Bible. The Religious Education Department offers many practical courses for girls and young women as they prepare themselves to be better wives, mothers, homemakers and Christian workers generally.
Those who are directly connected with Florida Christian College believe that the school has something outstanding to offer in Bible and Religious Education. Most students now in the Bible Department believe the same. A growing number of visitors to the campus and in our classes think likewise. Ask any student majoring in Bible or any preacher of the gospel who has recently visited the campus. Those who know firsthand can tell you the facts.
Secular studies are important and have their proper place. That which Florida Christian College does in these lines it proposes to be of the highest quality. The Word of God, however, is the center of the entire curriculum and we have neither desire nor inclination to make it otherwise.