Subjects
Philosophy
Ideas have consequences.
The way we think today is born out of millennia of philosophers, each building, or adjusting or tearing down ideas that came before them.
Understanding how ideas have developed through the ages equips us to think clearly and to not be fooled by every new idea that becomes popular.
What you will learn
Philosophy: from the Greek philosophia ‘the love of wisdom’.
Starting with the early Greek philosophers, we will take a tour of western philosophy. This includes discussion of thinkers from the ancient, medieval, renaissance, and enlightenment eras right up to contemporary philosophy.
Students will learn to understand and critically evaluate significant philosophies, comparing and contrasting key ideas to Biblical thought.
History
“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” — George Santayana.
The history of Western Civilisation is our family history. It tells us who we are, where we came from, and where humanity has gone wrong in the past.
Learning about our past is the first step to learning from our past.
What you will learn
The history of Western Civilisation is our family history. It tells us who we are, where we came from, and where humanity has gone wrong in the past.
We will take students through an overview of the world starting with ancient empires, working through the medieval era and the reformation before dealing in detail with modern history in the 19th and 20th centuries.
Students will learn to see the hand of God in history, as the place where God unfolds his plan and will practice engaging with historical events from a Reformed Christian perspective.
Literature
Ideas are important, but Literature is how those ideas become tangible.
Classic poems, stories, plays and novels have shown us the Good, the True and the Beautiful. And at times they have shown us the opposite.
By exploring the wealth of our literary history, we hope to awaken our students to the power of words and stories.
What you will learn
Our God speaks, and so we speak. Stories, poems, epics and plays – men and women have sought to express the good, the true and the beautiful through these written forms for millennia.
Students undertaking the Literature course will receive an overview of western literature from Greco-Roman epics to romantic poems through to fantasy and sci-fi.
We want students to understand the various genres of literature and to see literature as imaginative expression which seeks to make connections, communicate ideas and explore experiences.
The Good, The True and The Beautiful will be themes we return to again and again as we consider how key literary texts engage with these transcendent concepts, always comparing the authors perspective to God’s perspective.
Students will have the opportunity to try their hand at writing as we want to convey the power of words to impact people and ultimately shape the world.
Historical Theology
Theology is not static.
The Truth has never changed since our God never changes, but it has become clearer and richer as challenges arose throughout time.
As we show students the way God has worked in developing and preserving the Truth they will be equipped to love and apply this Truth to their life and the contemporary situation.
What you will learn
The faith we hold was “once for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 1:3) but Christians have been contending for it in every era.
As heresies and challenges attack the truth, the church has responded by clarifying and carefully defining what we believe. Historical Theology is the study of this chain of events.
We want students to understand and love the richness and beauty of the Reformed faith as it has been developed. We will explore major theologians and developments including Athanasius, Augustine and Anselm as well as the Reformation, the Puritans and recent thinkers like Kuyper, Machen and Lewis.