The Portable Seminary: A Master's Level Overview in One Volume

Book Overview

A Seminary Overview for Those Who Can't Attend Classes In this one-of-a-kind book, lay people and pastors will find the major topics included in a typical seminary masters program, including surveys... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0764201603
• ISBN13: 9780764201608
• Release Date: September 2006
• Publisher: Bethany House Publishers
• Length: 784 Pages
• Weight: 3.13 lbs.
• Dimensions: 2.4" x 6.5" x 9.4"

Customer Reviews

Thanks

This book has become a irreplaceable part of my library. It was in the condition the seller said it would be in and it was delivered promptly. I appreicate the service I was given. Thanks again!

Hey Mr.Clergyman Buy this book. Mr. Funeral Director too.

Being a funeral director,I have interacted with thousands of members of the clergy. In my opinion every member of the clergy should read this book. So should every Funeral director. Clergy need this book because the book is as it claims to be a Portable Seminary. Funeral directors need this book because of it's Overview of Systematic Theology, the old and new testaments, as well as the world's religions. The Funeral Director uses all this information in his Funeral services and arrangement conferences. The general public expects YOU Mr.Funeral Director to know this information. The overview of Buddhism,Zen,Hinduism,Islam,Mormonism and many more will prepare the mortuary student and funeral director for anyone who walks into a funeral home. This work has some minor flaws, and leaves out many Catholic Thinkers.It is truly helpful to people who did not go to seminary,lay ministers. These pages are truly an overview.So if you minister in any way find a way to purchase this work.

Excellent OVERVIEW of a typical seminary education

Since receiving this book the most common question I get is whether or not it is really equivalent to a Master's Level education. The first thing to note is that it does not claim to be equivalent to a Master's Level education. The subtitle calls it a Master's Level Overview. It is a summary of important points and details and never claims to be an actual Master's Level detail education. The Portable Seminary: A Master's Level Overview in One Volume is a great resource for those who would like to know the basics of what one learns in a Seminary program. The areas covered include the doctrines of Scripture, God, Christ, the Holy Spirit, Humanity, Sin, Salvation, the Church, and Last Things, the subjects of Biblical Languages, Scripture Interpretation, the Old Testament Survey, the New Testament Survey, and the time between the Testaments, Apologetics, World Religions, Church History, Missions, Church Leadership, Christian Ethics and Christian Education. Remembering that this is an overview the Biblical Languages section gives a good example of the level at which this is written. Obviously in 20 pages you are not going to learn to read Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek. However, it does provide the alphabet in both Hebrew and Greek, examples of translational problems, examples of unique aspects of the language, historical information, grammar, style, figures of speech, and other items of interest related to the language. This in turn brings a much greater respect for the language and the problems of translation. The chapters on church history are excellent and include many of the early church heresies as well as important individuals and movements. The primary items you will learn at a typical seminary but are not included in this book are things like how to pastor a church, church finances, performing church functions, church human resources, Christian counseling, and similar items related to the running of a church. The focus is much more on classic Bible doctrines, history, and other educational items directly related to understanding and applying the Bible and not church administration. That makes this an excellent resource for those who want to deepen their knowledge of the Bible, the history of the church, comparative world religions, and applying Biblical principles in everyday life. The book is written in a style that allows the average reader to understand concepts easily. A thoroughly enjoyable read and an excellent high-level overview of a typical Master's level seminary education, The Portable Seminary is highly recommended to all Christians.

Portable Seminary

Envisage taking classes in systematic theology, apologetics, Biblical studies, church history, comparative religion, missiology, and ethics from professors such as Alister McGrath, Mark A. Noll, John R.W. Stott, Dallas Willard, and similarly noteworthy Christian thinkers. Imagine gaining an introductory but solid, basic understanding of Biblical languages that is enjoyed by a relatively small number of Bible readers. Imagine knowledgeable guides explicating contentious interpretations and theories without getting recklessly caught up in dogmatic sectarianism. This is the premise and promise of The Portable Seminary, edited by David Horton. Given the premise, this volume could obviously be an extensive series of volumes, but in roughly 700 pages, the promise is generally realized. Simply stated, the concept here is a stroke of genius. No, it's certainly not as comprehensive as working your way through a Master's level course of studies would be, but the reader who critically assimilates the material here and augments it with some of the reference works cited, may come to know as much about some of these disciplines as a seminary graduate is likely to have long retained. The second and third chapters alone (Biblical languages and hermeneutics/exegetics respectively) might be worth the price of the book for many Christians interested in not merely reading the Bible, but actually understanding it better. Recall that the Sadducees (a sect of fiercely literalistic "Bible-thumpers") knew all the words of the Torah exceedingly well, but that Jesus told them they failed so completely to understand those words that they really didn't know scripture at all. It is frequently apparent to this reader that 20 centuries later this same circumstance persists. These two chapters in particular can be a valuable starting point for the individual who is ready to see deeper. This rather large book need intimidate no potential reader; the selected writings are generally directed toward what might be called a 'popular level.' Works are referenced for further study and these are, so far as I can see, not really "specialist" level resources either (for example, "Interpreting the Old Testament: A Guide for Exegesis" by Craig C. Broyles, is a far more robust book on Old Testament exegesis than what you'll find in this book, although it treats the same themes). This book's stated premise is to present "a Master's level overview in one volume." Bearing in mind that this is indeed an overview, it seems that it does just that. I was happy to see the concise, non-sectarian treatment of eschatological theories. On this topic the editor has but briefly sketched the landscape of contending views. Given how stridently dogmatic (and yes, even `nutty') some Christians are prone to addressing these contentionable issues, I think this was wise, although these few paragraphs are perhaps too brief. Some of the selected essays are not as strong as others, but I tend to overlook the weak

Great overview!

I found this to be a wonderful overview of a graduate level seminary program. Pondering whether or not to pursue a MDIV degree, this volume helped me to explore what the typical cirruculm would be like. This book also has great references for additional study.