Doctrines of the Lutheran Church (Dogmatics)

Students study the doctrines of Holy Scripture for four semesters in their middler and senior years. Classes meet five times a week, except for the first semester of the middler year when the class meets four times per week. The various teachings of the Bible are presented and discussed. These courses help the student gain a thorough knowledge of the whole will of God for Christian faith and life. The doctrines of the Lutheran Church as set forth in the Lutheran Confessions are examined in the light of Scripture to strengthen the student’s conviction that they are in fact drawn from the Bible. This intensive two-year study of Christian doctrine aims to give those who are preparing to become public ministers of the gospel a clear and comprehensive understanding of the truths of God’s Word. This will enable them to preach and teach with the assurance, "This is what the LORD says." The class discussions follow an outline prepared by the dogmatics department. Students write several papers on topics of their choice. Latin, German, and Spanish electives that meet the seminary non-biblical language requirement are offered during the first semester of the middler year. Opportunities are provided for German, Latin, and Spanish research.

* Courses numbered 1000-1999 are given for juniors (first year students), 2000-2999 for middlers (second year students), 3000-3999 for seniors; 4000-4999 are electives taught during the regular school year; 7000-7999 are electives taught during the Winterim. ** These figures represent the number of credit hours. Classes are conducted Mondays through Fridays, five periods per day, beginning at 7:30 a.m. Length of regular class period: fifty minutes.