Certificate in Bible

Christian University GlobalNet’s Certificate in Bible is designed for those who want to develop a solid foundation of biblical knowledge for their own learning and/or to allow them to be more effective in their teaching or preaching of God’s Word. The teaching in the certificate program opens a new understanding of the Bible, its stories, its message, its meta-narrative, and its wisdom. This program will benefit those who want to deepen their comprehension of the Bible or who need credentials showing completion of biblical education requirements.

Downloadable Program Brochure (PDF Format): Certificate in Bible Program

Next Steps:

1. Apply for the Certificate in Bible by completing the Admissions Requirements (see Additional Resources tab).
2. Receive welcome instructions via email from the Admissions Office and then enroll in your first course.
3. You will receive transcript credit for each course that you successfully complete.
4. When you have received credit for all of the courses required, notify the Registrar, who will issue a Christian University GlobalNet Certificate in Bible.

Core 1: Self-Study

Course Description

The term hermeneutics can be intimidating. It sounds academic and is foreign to most of our vocabularies. However, the act of interpretation is as common as communication itself. This course will instruct in various parameters for biblical interpretation and will show how specific methods are applied to Bible study.

Credits

2 Credits

Course Duration

90 Days

Professor

Walter C. Kaiser, Jr., Ph.D.

Syllabus

Course Description

New Testament Basics: Things We Thought We Knew provides an introduction to the New Testament as it surveys vital information that guides the student’s thinking in the study of the New Testament books. This information is both basic and essential to an accurate understanding of New Testament Scriptures.

Credits

0.5 Credit

Course Duration

90 Days

Professor

Craig L. Blomberg, Ph.D.

Syllabus

Course Description

Matthew - Mark: Two Presentations of Jesus introduces students to the Gospels as literature and then focuses in on the Gospels of Matthew and Mark. Students will study the specific purposes of each book and how the writers told the account of Jesus’ life to accomplish their unique goals.

Credits

0.5 Credit

Course Duration

90 Days

Professor

Craig L. Blomberg, Ph.D.

Syllabus

Course Description

Luke - John: Two Interpretations of Jesus provides two different renditions of Jesus’ life and ministry. Adding the perspectives of Luke and John to those given by Matthew and Mark will provide additional detail and explanation to the incredible life of Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God.

Credits

0.5 Credit

Course Duration

90 Days

Professor

Craig L. Blomberg, Ph.D.

Syllabus

Course Description

During Jesus’ time in Galilee, He introduced the basic rules of life for the Kingdom He was offering to His people. This course, Jesus in Galilee: Popularity and Misunderstanding, studies the great Galilean phase of Jesus’ ministry, which is the setting for the Sermon on the Mount, and then actually studies the Sermon itself.

Credits

0.5 Credit

Course Duration

90 Days

Professor

Craig L. Blomberg, Ph.D.

Syllabus

Course Description

As amazing as it seems, the people Jesus came to save actually rejected Him. In Luke – John: Jesus in Judea—Opposition and Rejection students will survey the Judean phase of Jesus’ ministry and gain insight into His teachings and actions that increased the Jewish opposition to the point where they would turn one of their own countrymen over to the Romans for crucifixion.

Credits

0.5 Credit

Course Duration

90 Days

Professor

Craig L. Blomberg, Ph.D.

Syllabus

Course Description

Most people recognize the fact that the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ was the turning point of world history. After His resurrection and ascension, His disciples spread His Church across the Roman Empire and changed the world. Acts: Crucifixion, Resurrection & Proclamation will add depth to the student’s understanding and appreciation of these world-changing and individual life-changing events.

Credits

0.5 Credit

Course Duration

90 Days

Professor

Craig L. Blomberg, Ph.D.

Syllabus

Course Description

The New Testament epistles to the Galatians and Thessalonians are Paul’s earliest preserved letters. In them he began to lay a theological and behavioral foundation for Christian belief and conduct. This course, Galatians - 1 Corinthians: Paul’s Earliest Letters, surveys these early writings.

Credits

0.5 Credit

Course Duration

90 Days

Professor

Craig L. Blomberg, Ph.D.

Syllabus

Course Description

The Corinthian church was planted in a moral cesspool. The people who came to Christ and formed that church brought a wagon-load of philosophical, religious, and moral baggage with them that made this a tough church. The two letters we have from Paul to the Corinthians deal with some of the most thorny spiritual and moral issues addressed anywhere in the Bible. This course, 1 & 2 Corinthians: Two Letters to a Tough Church, contains essential help for the Church in any age.

Credits

0.5 Credit

Course Duration

90 Days

Professor

Craig L. Blomberg, Ph.D.

Syllabus

Course Description

Rome was the capital of the world. Although Paul hadn’t yet visited there when he wrote his epistle to the Christians at Rome, he wanted to make certain they were clear on what the Gospel really was. In the Roman epistle, we have Paul’s great theological statement on God’s salvation. Later, Paul was imprisoned in Rome while waiting for his trial before Caesar. While there, he wrote four letters. In this course, Romans - Ephesians: The Letter to the Roman Church & Letters from a Roman Prison, we study the letters Paul wrote both to and from Rome.

Credits

0.5 Credit

Course Duration

90 Days

Professor

Craig L. Blomberg, Ph.D.

Syllabus

Course Description

This course, 1 Timothy - Hebrews: Letters to Pastors & a Church Struggling to Believe, combines three letters of instruction to young pastors and a letter to a church struggling with its foundational beliefs. The Pastoral Epistles provide doctrinal and tactical help to those who lead God’s people; and Hebrews presents Jesus Christ as the sovereign Savior and Lord of His church and encourages its readers to pursue unreservedly their relationship with Him.

Credits

0.5 Credit

Course Duration

90 Days

Professor

Craig L. Blomberg, Ph.D.

Syllabus

Course Description

Unlike Paul’s epistles, the general epistles were not addressed to a particular city or person. These letters deal more with the broader topics of suffering and the dangers of false teachings and unbelief among Christians. This course, James - Jude: Letters to Everyone – General & Johannine Epistles, covers these epistles.

Credits

0.5 Credit

Course Duration

90 Days

Professor

Craig L. Blomberg, Ph.D.

Syllabus

Course Description

In Revelation: The Book of Revelation – The End and the Beginning, the New Testament and the Bible culminate with this glorious description of the Revelation of Jesus Christ. All of history’s events are culminated in this fantastic story of Christ’s ultimate triumph over evil and the restoration of all things to their created design.

Credits

0.5 Credit

Course Duration

90 Days

Professor

Craig L. Blomberg, Ph.D.

Syllabus

Course Description

Genesis - Leviticus: God Builds a People for Himself tells the story of Israel’s roots. From the creation of all things to the creation of Israel as a nation at Sinai, this course studies God’s process of building a nation to represent Him on earth. It is the foundation for understanding the struggles and triumphs of the relationship between God and Israel that is recorded in the rest of the Old Testament books.

Credits

0.5 Credit

Course Duration

90 Days

Professor

Douglas K. Stuart, Ph.D.

Syllabus

Course Description

Numbers-Joshua: The Tragedy of Fear and the Glory of Faith is a study of contrasts. Israel’s fear prevented them from entering the land God promised to give them, resulting in the story of wandering and death recorded in Numbers. In contrast, the books of Deuteronomy and Joshua record the preparation and triumph of faith as the people allowed God to win the Promised Land for them.

Credits

0.5 Credit

Course Duration

90 Days

Professor

Douglas K. Stuart, Ph.D.

Syllabus

Course Description

This course, Judges-1 Samuel: Israel’s Choice From God-Rule to Human-Rule, covers the books of Judges, Ruth and the book of 1 Samuel. These books contrast Israel as they rebelled against God’s rule in the period of Judges, but Ruth gives a snapshot of obedience during that same period. 1 Samuel examines Israel’s amazing transition from having God-as-their-King to having men-as-their kings.

Credits

0.5 Credit

Course Duration

90 Days

Professor

Douglas K. Stuart, Ph.D.

Syllabus

Course Description

2 Samuel-2 Kings: The Difference Leaders Make will guide students through a study of Israel’s kingdom era—as a united nation and as a nation divided into Israel and Judah. It not only covers this critical time in Israel’s history, but also provides an essential foundation for studying Israel’s prophets.

Credits

0.5 Credit

Course Duration

90 Days

Professor

Douglas K. Stuart, Ph.D.

Syllabus

Course Description

1 Chronicles - Nehemiah describes the fact that while Israel and Judah flaunted their disobedience in God’s face and persecuted His prophets, He kept His commitment to His covenant promises. Chronicles traces the Davidic kings through whom God would bring His Messiah. Although God exiled His people, Ezra and Nehemiah tell how He restored them to their land and life.

Credits

0.5 Credit

Course Duration

90 Days

Professor

Douglas K. Stuart, Ph.D.

Syllabus

Course Description

Pressure and pain are realities of life. One of the verifying realities of the Old Testament record is its openness about the difficulties God’s people often suffered—and were often confused by. This course, Job-Lamentations: God’s Path Through Pain, studies three books that deal head-on with the pain and pressure often associated with being God’s people.

Credits

0.5 Credit

Course Duration

90 Days

Professor

Douglas K. Stuart, Ph.D.

Syllabus

Course Description

Times change and life’s issues take new forms. Solomon never sat in a traffic jam on the freeway and we never fret over an attack by the Philistines, but human emotions remain the same. In this course, Proverbs-Psalms: Singing the Sounds of Real Life, students will study the distilled language of Israel’s poets as they sang the songs of their lives. They are, amazingly, like the songs of people’s lives today.

Credits

0.5 Credit

Course Duration

90 Days

Professor

Douglas K. Stuart, Ph.D.

Syllabus

Course Description

God’s prophets stood up and spoke out when it was very unpopular to do so. As men with a message from God, they were preachers with a message that God-rejecting Israel and Judah wanted no part of. This course, Daniel-Micah: Studies of Integrity—Good Men in Bad Times, presents the men, their messages and their times.

Credits

0.5 Credit

Course Duration

90 Days

Professor

Douglas K. Stuart, Ph.D.

Syllabus

Course Description

This course, Ecclesiastes-Isaiah: God Guides His People Through Poets and Prophets, takes students through two of the Old Testament books of poetry and then introduces them to the writing prophets—who also used a great deal of poetry in their writings. Ecclesiastes and Song of Songs present the importance of living life under God’s direction. Isaiah introduces the prophetic literature, which is a series of calls to abandon the pursuit of alternative lifestyles and live life God’s way.

Credits

0.5 Credit

Course Duration

90 Days

Professor

Douglas K. Stuart, Ph.D.

Syllabus

Course Description

In this course you will study two prophets whose ministry related to Jerusalem’s fall to the Babylonians. This unthinkable event – that the city where God lived in His temple could be destroyed – is studied as a threat in Jeremiah and as a historical reality in Ezekiel. The miserable failure of God’s people, and God’s success in judging and yet preserving His people, are surveyed in this course that studies these two prophets.

Credits

0.5 Credit

Course Duration

90 Days

Professor

Douglas K. Stuart, Ph.D.

Syllabus

Course Description

This course demonstrates the fact that while God had chosen Israel as His covenant people, His compassion extended beyond Israel to all people. We study prophets whom God sent to Israel’s great oppressor and prophets God sent to Judah.

Credits

0.5 Credit

Course Duration

90 Days

Professor

Douglas K. Stuart, Ph.D.

Syllabus

Course Description

The prophets studied in this course ministered after Jerusalem’s destruction and, in Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi, during the return and reconstruction of Jerusalem after the exile in Babylon. They demonstrate God’s concern for all His people, Jew and Gentile and emphasize the essential place of obedience to His moral will.

Credits

0.5 Credit

Course Duration

90 Days

Professor

Douglas K. Stuart, Ph.D.

Syllabus

Course Description

This course is designed to prepare you spiritually and emotionally as you begin your biblical and theological studies. You have a desire to know more about the Bible and to develop your relationship with God. Sometimes forward movement can occur most effectively after a backward look.

Credits

2 Credits

Course Duration

90 Days

Professor

John Worgul, Ph.D.

Syllabus

John Worgul, PhD

Dr. John Worgul received his B.A. from Bethel College, Minnesota in 1977, an M.A.R. in biblical studies from Westminster Theological Seminary in 1979, and his Ph.D from the Dropsie College in Hebrew Bible in 1987.  He has taught at Seminary of the East (now Bethel Seminary) since 1987 both full time and as adjunct.  In addition to biblical studies, Dr. Worgul has a deep interest in spiritual theology and formation.

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Douglas K. Stuart, PhD

Dr. Douglas K. Stuart is Professor of Old Testament at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in South Hamilton, Massachusetts, where he specializes in Assyrian and Babylonian languages and literature. He received a B.A. from Harvard University, did graduate studies at Yale Divinity School, and earned a Ph.D. from Harvard University. Since 1971, Dr. Douglas Stuart has been a bedrock in the Old Testament department at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. As Professor of Old Testament, he has introduced thousands…

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Walter C. Kaiser, Jr., PhD

Education: Brandeis University, MA and PhD Wheaton College, BA and BD Teaching Career: President Emeritus and Distinguished Professor of Old Testament and Ethics, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary Distinguished Colman M. Mockler Professor of Old Testament Studies, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary Professor, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (1966-1993) Professor of Bible and Archaeology, Wheaton College (1958-1966) Leader of more than 20 graduate and undergraduate study tours abroad, while lecturing and preaching at thousands of schools and churches around the…

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Craig L. Blomberg, PhD

Dr. Craig Blomberg is the Distinguished Professor of New Testament at Denver Seminary, in Littleton, CO, where he specializes in New Testament Studies. He received his B.A. from Augustana College, Illinois (with a triple major in mathematics, Spanish, and religion), a M.A. from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, and a Ph.D. from the University of Aberdeen, Scotland. At Denver Seminary, Dr. Blomberg is a Distinguished Professor of the New Testament where he has served on the faculty…

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This is an online program. In order to complete it, you must have internet access and basic computer skills. To be admitted, simply submit:
If, after you receive your Certificate in Bible, you can choose to continue with CUGN to earn other Certificates or degree plans. Contact the Student Services Office at studentservices@cugn.org to develop an educational plan.
Most students pay for one course at a time.

Costs for your 16-credit hour Certificate in Bible will be as follows:

Tuition: $680-$1,280 (depending on use of subscription program)
Registration fee: $15

TOTAL $695-$1,295 (plus textbooks as needed)
Earning a Certificate in Bible prepares individuals seeking or already involved in a wide variety of ministry opportunities. See below for possibilities:

Senior Pastor, Associate Pastor, Children's Pastor, Youth Pastor, Christian Education Director, Small Group leader, Outreach Director, Church Administration, Sunday School Teacher, Deacon/Elder, Missionary.
In order to receive your certificate, you must complete all of the requirements listed herein within 36 months of registration for the program.

In order for any course in this program to apply toward the certificate, you must achieve a grade of C or higher in the course.

A student must earn at least 50% of the program credits by taking courses through CUGN.  No Certificate in Bible will be awarded to anyone who transfers in or tests out of (using the AP Exam) more than 50% of the Certificate program requirements.

Upon completing this certificate program and meeting all requirements, submit the graduation request form to receive your certificate.
We are happy to help. Please contact us as follows:

Christian University GlobalNet
Address: 3000 Kraft Ave, Grand Rapids, MI 49512
Email: admissions@cugn.org
Phone: (888) 487-5376 ext. 1