Syllabus for What is Man?
Course Description
This course is an introduction to the doctrine of man. In every culture throughout history, people have asked questions such as, "Who are we?" and "Why are we here?" The Bible tells us that we are God's images, created to rule over creation on his behalf and to turn the world into his earthly kingdom. Sin has damaged us and complicated our work, but by God's grace in Christ, we can be restored and our work can be completed. This course is based on the lecture series, What is Man?, produced by Third Millennium Ministries and hosted by Dr. Greg Perry with contributions from a variety of professors.
Goals and Objectives
GOALS
In this course, we would like to accomplish the following:
1. We hope you will make use of all the instruction elements of the course to understand man's origin, composition and purpose, explore the origin of sin and its consequences, and examine humanity's covenant relationship to God.
2. We hope you will develop a greater love and appreciation for man as you learn more about him.
3. We hope your greater understanding of man will lead to changes in your life, especially in the way you treat others and in your attitude toward yourself.
OBJECTIVES
When you have done the following, it will show that the goals are met:
1. Obtain satisfactory grades on the tests, demonstrating that you can do the following: a) identify the biblical teachings about the origin of man, his composition, and his purpose, b) identify the biblical teachings about the origin of sin, its meaning, and its consequences, c) identify the aspects of God's covenant with man, the work of Christ as mediator, and the unique character of each stage of its administration.
2. Answer the application questions in the study guides, expressing how you treat others.
Thematic Outline of the Course
1. In the Beginning
2. The Image of God
3. The Curse of Sin
4. The Covenant of Grace
Explanation of Assignments
The Multimedia Lessons
1. Study the lessons, watching the video, listening to the audio, or reading the text.
2. Complete the study guides for each lesson. These study guides will prepare you for the online quizzes and help you apply the teachings of the lesson to your own life. (For those students associated with a particular institution wishing to track the completion of the completion of the Study Guides, a drop box has been provided at the end of the course.)
3. Take the online quizzes on each section of the lessons. The quizzes may be taken as many times as you want, but you must wait five days between each attempt, and the official grade will be from the first attempt.
4. Optional: We recommend that you look through the glossaries and use the learning games to become familiar with special names and technical terms used in the lessons.
5. Take the cumulative test for each complete lesson. You may take the test again as many times as you want for review, but you must wait five days between each attempt, and the official grade is from the first attempt.
6. When you have finished all the lessons on the multimedia lectures, take the final exam on the lectures.
Other Activities
1. Complete the supplementary lessons for each lesson. These lessons give you additional background information and provide other learning aids related to the lessons. You may repeat these lessons as many times as you want, and the official grade will be the highest score out of all the attempts.
2. Complete the questionnaires for the lessons to help assimilate the teachings and apply them to your own life. These are not quizzes. The answers are more subjective. The grade is for completing the assignment.
3. There is a final lesson based on additional readings. These are optional readings designed to supplement the main lesson materials. The student should do the reading, complete the study guides, and take the corresponding quizzes and cumulative test based on the reading. These are graded as extra credit. (For those students associated with a particular institution wishing to track the completion of the Reading Study Guides, a drop box has been provided at the end of the course.)
We recommend that you work on these reading assignments and quizzes during the entire course, instead of waiting until you finish all the lessons based on the video lectures. For each lesson, do the percentage of the work on them that corresponds to the number of lessons in the course.
Optional Activities
Some institutions may require you to do one or more of the following optional assignments. If so, read the instructions in lesson 1 and follow the specific guidelines given in the instructions for each lesson.
1. The Written project
2. Essay Questions
3. Journal Questions
4. Optional Additional Reading
Grades
The final grade will be calculated as follows:
1) The quizzes on the lectures are each worth 10 points.
2) Each cumulative test is worth 30 points.
3) Each supplementary lesson is worth 10 points.
4) Each questionnaire is worth 10 points.
5) The final exam on the lectures is worth 100 points.
6) Each quiz on the reading assignments is worth 10 points (extra credit).
7) The cumulative test on the additional reading is worth 30 points (extra credit).
The final grade of the course will be calculated by adding the corresponding percentages of all assignments and tests, making a total of 100% possible.
A total course score above 70% is considered passing.
Greek and Hebrew
Some lessons in our courses make reference to words in Greek or Hebrew. If you have not studied these languages, you might want to at least become familiar with the alphabets.
For the Greek alphabet, see:
https://www.billmounce.com/greekalphabet/greek-alphabet
For the Hebrew alphabet, see:
http://hebrew.billmounce.com/BasicsBiblicalHebrew-01.pdf
List of Contributors to What is Man?
Dr. Vincent Bacote is Associate Professor of Theology and Director of the Center for Applied Christian Ethics at Wheaton College.
Dr. Voddie Baucham, Jr. is Dean of Seminary at Africa Christian University in Zambia.
Rev. Bill Burns is a lecturer of Systematic Theology at Redeemer Seminary in Dallas, Texas.
Dr. Constantine R. Campbell is Associate Professor of New Testament at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School.
Dr. Gareth Cockerill is Professor of New Testament and Biblical Theology at Wesley Biblical Seminary.
Dr. Marc Cortez is Associate Professor of Theology at Wheaton College and Graduate School.
Dr. Tim Foster is Vice Principal at Ridley College in Melbourne, Australia.
Dr. Matt Friedeman is Professor of Evangelism and Discipleship at Wesley Biblical Seminary.
Dr. Jay Haley is Adjunct Professor at Birmingham Theological Seminary in Birmingham, Alabama.
Dr. John Hammett is the John Leadley Dagg Chair and Senior Professor of Systematic Theology at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary.
Dr. Alan Hultberg is Associate Professor of Bible Exposition and New Testament at Talbot School of Theology.
Dr. Dennis E. Johnson is Academic Dean and Professor of Practical Theology at Westminster Seminary California.
Dr. David W. Jones is Professor of Christian Ethics at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary.
Dr. Riad Kassis is Regional Director for Overseas Council, an international training ministry for Christian leaders.
Dr.Ken Keathley is the Jesse Hendley Chair of Biblical Theology, Director of the L. Russ Bush Center for Faith and Culture, and Senior Professor of Theology at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary.
Prof. Mumo Kisau is Vice Chancellor and Professor at Scott Christian University in Kenya.
Dr. Peter Kuzmic is the Eva B. and Paul E. Toms Distinguished Professor of World Missions and European Studies at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and the co-founder and director of Evangelical Theological Seminary in Osijek, Croatia.
Rev. Peter Liu is Pastor of Chinese Christian Church of Greater Jackson in Jackson, MS.
Dr. John McKinley is Associate Professor of Biblical and Theological Studies at Biola University.
Rev. Timothy Mountfort is Academic Dean at Western China Covenant Theological Seminary.
Dr. Alvin Padilla is Dean of Hispanic Ministries and Professor of New Testament at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary.
Dr. Gregory R. Perry is Associate Professor of New Testament and Director of City Ministry Initiative at Covenant Theological Seminary, St. Louis, Missouri.
Dr. Yohanes Praptowarso serves at Batu Theological Seminary.
Dr. Charles L. Quarles is professor of New Testament and Biblical Theology at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary.
Dr. Ramesh Richard is Professor of Global Theological Engagement and Pastoral Ministries at Dallas Theological Seminary.
Rev. Ric Rodeheaver is Senior Pastor at Christ Community Church of Laguna Hills in California.
Dr. Steven C. Roy is Associate Professor of Pastoral Theology at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School.
Rev. Agus Satyaputra is President of Bandung Theological Seminary.
Dr. Mark Saucy is Professor of Theology and Chair of the Theology Department at Talbot School of Theology.
Dr. Glen Scorgie is Professor of Theology at Bethel Seminary's San Diego Campus.
Rev. Dr. Alfred Sebahene is Dean at St. John’s University in Tanzania.
Rev. Vuyani Sindo is a lecturer at George Whitfield College in Capetown, South Africa.
Dr. Stephen Um is pastor of Citylife Presbyterian Church in Boston, Massachusetts.
Dr. David VanDrunen is Professor of Systematic Theology at Westminster Seminary California.
Rev. Dr. Simon Vibert is the former Vicar of St. Luke's Church, Wimbledon Park, UK, and is presently the Vice Principal of Wycliffe Hall, Oxford, and Director of the School of Preaching.
Prof. Jeffrey A. Volkmer is Assistant Professor of Biblical and Theological Studies at Talbot School of Theology.
Dr. Guy Waters is Professor of New Testament at Reformed Theological Seminary.
Dr. Stephen Wellum is Professor of Christian Theology at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.
Rev. Dr. John W. Yates is Rector of Holy Trinity Anglican Church in Raleigh, North Carolina.