I. Course Description
Study the history and distinctives of Baptists from their seventeenth century origin as a separate denomination to the present day. Topics of study include: 1) The rise and development of English Baptists, 2) Baptist Beginnings in the United States to the formation of the Southern Baptist Convention, 3) The History of the Southern Baptist Convention to the present. Dr. Tom Nettles is one of the foremost Baptist historical theologians in America. Since 1997 he has served as Professor of Historical Theology at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, KY.
II. Course Mentor
If you are taking this course as directed studies, you must have a mentor to successfully complete the course requirements. A list of available mentors for this course and their contact information is posted in the Student Area. If you have any difficulty arranging for a mentor, please contact the Study Center Director.
III. Attendance and Participation
This course meets for 16 sessions. Students will have 20 weeks to complete all the sessions (from February 6, 2012 to June 22, 2012).
Your participation in the course will be determined largely by your contact time with your mentor. You may work through the course material online at your own pace, but to fulfill the attendance requirement for the course, you must stay in contact with your mentor and log at least 16 meetings with your mentor (one for each session of the course). If you meet long enough to sufficiently cover two sessions, your mentor may give you credit for two meetings. It will be up to your mentor to determine at the end of the course if you have fulfilled the attendance requirement and sufficiently covered the course material.
If extenuating circumstances arise and you will not be able to complete the course in the allotted time, please contact the Study Center Director.
IV. Required Texts
Five texts are required for this course:
V. Outline of Sessions
The 16 sessions of this course follow the course lectures by Dr. Tom Nettles.
1. A Profile of Baptist Theology / Theories of Baptist Origins
2. Anabaptists and the Rise of Baptists / John Smyth / Separation of Helwys and Beyond
3. Rise of Particular Baptists
4. Baptists 1640 - 1660
5. Renewed Persecutions 1660 - 1689 / Benjamin Keach
6. Thomas Grantham / Decline 1689 - 1770 (Part 1)
7. Decline 1689 - 1770 (Part 2)
8. Revival, Mission and Union 1770 - 1892 (Part 1)
9. Revival, Mission and Union 1770 - 1892 (Part 2)
10. Baptist Beginnings in America
11. The Philadelphia Association / William Screven
12. Baptists in the South / Fight for Religious Liberty in Virginia
13. Baptist Mission Organization
14. Divisive Controversies
15. The Southern Baptist Convention
16. Baptists and Reformation in the Southern Baptist Convention
VI. Method of Instruction
Teaching methods will include:
VII. Course Assignments
All assignments for the course are outlined on the session pages and in the study guides.
Weekly Assignments:
Each session will include the following:
1) Reading Assignments from required texts
2) Discussion Questions over chapters
3) Discussion Questions over lectures
Please complete all the readings for the session and print out a hard copy of your answers to the discussion questions so you are prepared for your meetings with your mentor. You will receive credit for doing your weekly assignments once you have met and covered the material with your mentor.
Major Project:
Your major project for this course will be a Research Paper.
Research Paper You will choose a Baptist doctrine, Baptist personality or Baptist institution and prepare a research paper. Your paper should be 7 to 10 pages (not including title page or bibliography), double-spaced, no larger than 12-point font (Times Roman or Arial), with 1 inch margins. Your paper should cover a historical overview of your topic as well as a disccussion of the its significance to Baptist life and theology today. More detailed instructions on this project will be provided in Session 12.
Your mentor will assign a specific due date for your paper. All course work must be complete to the satisfaction of your mentor by June 22, 2012.