***News Release***
Southern Evangelical Seminary Gears Up for First Semester of Classes at New Campus Home
Courses from Apologetics to World Religion Begin Today; State-of-the-Art Technology and Improved Resources Allow Even More Students to Delve Into God’s Word and Learn to Defend the Faith
CHARLOTTE, N.C.—It’s the first day of school, in a sense, for Southern Evangelical Seminary (SES, www.SES.edu), which is beginning a fresh semester of classes at its new campus home.
Classes begin today at SES’s new campus in the rapidly growing area of West Ballantyne in Charlotte, North Carolina. The 35,000-square-foot, two-building campus symbolizes the 26-year-old seminary’s reaffirmed commitment to both on-campus and online learning.
“Even though Southern Evangelical Seminary has been a leader in apologetics education for more than a quarter of a century, this semester is a new beginning as we start another chapter in our history,” said SES President Dr. Richard, who will instruct an independent study in ethics this semester. “While other schools offer apologetics, SES was the first to be grounded in apologetics throughout all its degree programs. The anticipation and excitement about the new campus is palpable, as we embark on a new journey with on-campus and online students who are excited to learn how SES is uniquely positioned to equip them to more effectively proclaim and defend the Gospel.”
Besides Land’s ethics study, which deals with controversial issues such as the sanctity of human life, euthanasia, religious freedom and church-state issues from a Christian perspective, additional noteworthy courses, many offered on-campus, online or via live-streaming, include the following:
- Apologetics in Christian Educational Ministry: An in–depth practicum in the application of Christian education theory to apologetic teaching and training in any particular ministry context.
- Biblical Backgrounds & Criticism: A synthetic study of the background to each book of Scripture and its place in the canon. Special emphasis will be given to the development of higher criticism and to addressing its challenges to the authorship, date and structure of each book.
- Christian Apologetics to Islam: A study of the origins, basic doctrines and practices of Islam, including its beliefs about Christianity and a defense of the Christian faith in the light of these beliefs.
- Culture & Worldview: A progressive survey of how anthropology, intercultural communication, religious belief systems and biblical contextualization intersect in Christian mission and how to pursue ministry across culture.
- Old Testament Survey and New Testament Surveys: A survey of the entire Old Testament, with emphasis on the background, authorship, date, structure and content of each book and its place in the overall canon of Scripture; and a survey of the life and teachings, death, resurrection and ascension of Christ as presented in the four Gospels and the spread of Christianity as recorded in the Book of Acts, respectively.
- World Religions & New Religious Movements: A survey of world religions and contemporary cults and other aberrant doctrines that challenge the historic Christian faith.
Last month, the seminary hosted an in-person and virtual open house for prospective students on the new campus, along with a dedication and ribbon-cutting ceremony.
The more centrally located campus in the greater Charlotte area features state-of-the-art classrooms, better technological advances and increased streaming capabilities. In fact, online students will have one of fastest bandwidths available in order to stream their courses. The ideal location also affords on-campus students a variety of options for housing in nearby neighborhoods. The campus is also close to four restaurants, a YMCA and a racquetball club.
This semester’s classes aren’t the first to be offered on the new campus, however. In mid-August, SES co-founder Dr. Norman Geisler taught “Intro to Christian Apologetics” on campus; the course was also live-streamed and offered online for students from anywhere in the world. During the weeklong class, students learned the basics of defending the Christian faith through Geisler’s 12 steps that demonstrate that Christianity is true.
Along with the excitement about the start of the first full semester on the new campus, registrations for SES’s annual National Conference on Christian Apologetics topped more than 1,000 at the Aug. 1 early bird deadline. The 2018 conference will focus on the theme of “The God Who Is” and will take place at Calvary Church in Charlotte, North Carolina, Oct. 12-13, when the seminary will welcome top thinkers, scholars, authors, apologists and scientific minds, including Ravi Zacharias. For answers to frequently asked questions about SES’s NCCA conference, click here.
For more information on SES, visit its web site at www.ses.edu or its Facebook page, follow the SES Twitter feed, @sesapologetics, or call (800) 77-TRUTH.
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