How to Get a Theological Education Through iTunes U

Guest Blog Post by Joshua W. Anderson (joshuaanderson<at>fuller.edu)

What if I told you it’s possible to get a free theological education online? It’s well known that one can get a degree online these days; more and more schools are making their courses available on “virtual campuses.” They include the same lectures you would hear in the classroom—just recorded and posted online. Applying for school online has become a viable option, especially for those whose current walk in life makes them unwilling or unable to move across country to be on campus.

But let’s say you don’t want to actually enroll in a program and dish out the money for a degree. (Maybe you already have another degree, or are in the workforce, or ministry). Can you still get a theological education for free? You sure can: many Christian colleges and seminaries have posted classes to download for free on iTunes U. So much so, you can build your own curriculum rivaling the amount of classroom time it would take to actually go to school. At the end of your studies you won’t get a piece of paper to hang on the wall and show your friends, but you will learn a lot that God will be able to use for your ministry.

If you’re feeling led to do this, I’d recommend downloading a flash card program like Anki http://ankisrs.net/ and building flash card decks full of only the information you hear in the lectures you want to stick in your brain. Don’t go crazy building a huge deck of cards you’ll feel overwhelmed with; just put stuff on there you actually want to be able to quote off the top of your head. Then incorporate a daily (or weekly) time of study into your life. Just listen to a lecture (taking notes or adding info to your Anki deck), and then go over your flashcards again for the day. Anki is really cool because it’s designed upon an algorithm that works with the way we learn—so you only have to designate a set amount of time you want to study each day and over time you will master large amounts of material.

The time is going to pass either way: a year from now either you will have absorbed the equivalent of a master’s degree of knowledge, or not. I’m just telling you that you can do it for free!

Check out the links below for schools that have courses online, and my own ideas for putting together a curriculum.

God bless you in your studies.

Christian Schools:

Fuller Theological Seminary:

http://itunes.apple.com/us/institution/fuller-theological-seminary/id380159118

Reformed Theological Seminary:

http://itunes.apple.com/us/institution/reformed-theological-seminary/id378878142

Biola University:

http://itunes.apple.com/us/institution/biola-university/id389654288

Dallas Theological Seminary:

http://itunes.apple.com/us/institution/dallas-theological-seminary/id386158137

Liberty University:

http://itunes.apple.com/us/institution/liberty-university/id427898998

Westminster Theological Seminary:

http://itunes.apple.com/us/institution/westminster-theological-seminary/id430331214

Concordia Seminary:

http://itunes.apple.com/us/institution/concordia-seminary/id426790662

Christian History:

History of Christianity I (Reformed Theological Seminary)

http://itunes.apple.com/us/itunes-u/history-of-christianity-i/id378878676

History of Christianity II (Reformed Theological Seminary)

http://itunes.apple.com/us/itunes-u/history-of-christianity-ii/id378878708

History I (Reformed Theological Seminary)

http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=378878750

History II (Reformed Theological Seminary)

http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=378878755

History of the Christian Church I (Liberty University)

http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=427913072

History of the Christian Church II (Liberty University)

http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=431286200

Ancient and Medieval Church History (Covenant Theological Seminary)

http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=418582066

Christian Philosophy and Apologetics:

Critical Reasoning for Beginners (Oxford University)

http://itunes.apple.com/us/itunes-u/critical-reasoning-for-beginners/id387875757

Ethics for Complete Beginners (Oxford University)

http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=438910219

History of Philosophy and Christian Thought (Reformed Theological Seminary)

http://itunes.apple.com/us/itunes-u/history-philosophy-christian/id378879176

Ancient and Medieval Philosophy (Notre Dame)

http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=382668779

Defenders Class by William Lane Craig (ReasonableFaith.org)

http://itunes.apple.com/podcast/defenders-podcast/id252618196

Apologetics and Outreach (Covenant Theological Seminary)

http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=418582076

Introduction to Apologetics (Liberty University)

http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=427913229

Christian Apologetics as Taught by Ronald Nash (Reformed Theological Seminary)

http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=409829793

Christian Apologetics as Taught by John Frame (Reformed Theological Seminary)

http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=378879273

History and Nature of Apologetics (Westminster Theological Seminary)

http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=430339495

Hermeneutics and Exegesis:

Biblical Hermeneutics (Fuller Theological Seminary)

http://itunes.apple.com/us/itunes-u/ne505-biblical-hermeneutics/id380159148

Bible Study Methods (Dallas Theological Seminary)

http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=386158693

Biblical Hermeneutics (Concordia Seminary)

http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=426809720

The Gospels as Histories taught by Richard Bauckham (Reformed Theological Seminary)

http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=426936770

The Pentateuch (Fuller Theological Seminary)

http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=380159249

The Prophets (Fuller Theological Seminary)

http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=380159288

Textual Criticism:

The Center for the Study of New Testament Manuscripts (Daniel Wallace)

http://itunes.apple.com/us/institution/center-for-study-new-testament/id416966041

Biblical Languages:

Basics of Biblical Hebrew (Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary)

http://itunes.apple.com/us/itunes-u/beginning-hebrew-ruth-class/id392738805

Elementary Hebrew (Concordia Seminary)

http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=426804337

Elementary Greek (Concordia Seminary)

http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=426804037

Elements of Greek I (Dallas Theological Seminary)

http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=386159183

Elements of Greek II (Dallas Theological Seminary)

http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=386159200

Preaching and Homiletics:

Overcoming Public Speaking Anxiety (UC Davis)

http://itunes.apple.com/us/itunes-u/overcoming-public-speaking/id414117823

Expository Preaching I (Dallas Theological Seminary)

http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=386159618

Homiletics II (Concordia Seminary)

http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=426816801

Systematic Theology:

Systematic Theology as Taught by Wayne Grudem

http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/wayne-grudems-systematic-theology/id322844869

Intro to Theology (Dallas Theological Seminary)

http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=386159276

Some Notable Secular Institutions and Courses:

Oxford University:

http://itunes.apple.com/us/institution/oxford-university/id381699182

Yale University:

http://itunes.apple.com/us/institution/yale-university/id341649956

Harvard:

http://itunes.apple.com/us/institution/harvard-university/id379060688

MIT:

http://itunes.apple.com/us/institution/mit/id341593265

Stanford:

http://itunes.apple.com/us/institution/stanford/id384228265

Philosophy of Mind as Taught by John Searle (UC Berkley)

http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=438307693

Science and Religion Lectures (Cambridge University)

http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=418516646

*Note

I stuck with only links through iTunes U (except for William Lane Craig’s Defender’s class, and Dan Wallace’s material, because I couldn’t resist) but obviously you don’t have to limit yourself to this; there are also awesome podcasts that you could learn from that are not affiliated with a Christian university. Just go for it!

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