Course Syllabus Course title: ST 502 The Word Course description: Course instructor: Bob Gonzales Course lecturer: Jeffrey Johnson Course credit:

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1 Course title: Course description: Course instructor: Course lecturer: Course credit: Course objectives: Course requirements: ST 502 The Word Course Syllabus The content of this course includes an overview of the entire doctrine of revelation beginning with revelation in general, proceeding to redemptive revelation, and concluding with a treatment of the doctrine of Scripture, especially as it has been developed within the Reformed tradition. The course will address the major attributes of Scripture, including the necessity, identity (canon), authority, adequacy, availability, finality, and reliability of Scripture. The course will conclude with a an examination of the debate over the cessation of special revelation. Bob Gonzales has served as a pastor of three Reformed Baptist congregations and has been the Academic Dean and a professor of RBS since He has a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Old Testament Interpretation and is the author of Where Sin Abounds: the Spread of Sin and the Curse in Genesis, as well as a contributor to Reformed Baptist Theological Review, The Founders Journal, and Westminster Theological Journal. Bob is also a member of the Evangelical Theological Society. He and his wife, Becky, have five children. Jeffrey Johnson is the teaching pastor of Grace Bible Church in Conway, Arkansas. He has a Master of Religion (M.Rel.) and a Doctor of Ministry (D.Min.) from Veritas Theological Seminary. He is also the author of The Fatal Flaw of the Theology Behind Infant Baptism, Behind the Bible: A Primer in Textual Criticism, The Church: Why Bother?, The Kingdom of God: A Baptist Expression of Covenant & Biblical Theology, and the forthcoming book The Absurdity of Unbelief. Jeff resides with his wife, Letha, and their three sons, Martyn, Christian, and Britain. 3 credits To better acquaint the student with the doctrine of of divine revelation with a special focus on Holy Scripture and the issues surrounding the doctrines of inspiration, inerrancy, and authority of Scripture. To familiarize the student with issues pertaining to the transmission and translation of Scripture. And to make the student aware of the issues surrounding the debate over the cessation of special revelation. Student must satisfactorily complete the following course requirements: (1) General The student is required to attend all lectures, participate in class discussions and exercises, and do the assigned homework. If a student misses a lecture, he is responsible to watch and/or listen to the recorded version of it prior to the next class and to insure that the professor is made aware of this. No late work will be accepted for credit, except in case of emergency as defined by the professor. (2) Reading Student must read the assigned pages from the following works: Primary Textbooks John M. Frame, The Doctrine of the Word (Presbyterian & Reformed, 2010). [read entire book, approx. 640 pages.] N. B. Stonehouse and Paul Woolley, The Infallible Word: A Symposium (Presbyterian & Reformed, 1978). [read entire book, approx. 300 pages.]

2 AND EITHER Samuel E. Waldron, To be Continued? Are the Miraculous Gifts for Today? (Calvary Press, 2005). [read and review entire book, approx. 115 pages.] OR O. Palmer Robertson, The Final Word: A Bible Response to the Case for Tongues and Prophecy Today (Banner of Truth, 1993). [read and review entire book, approx pages.] Reading in other related works may be allowed to substitute for some of the reading above. The student, however, must first obtain the instructor's permission (drgonz985@gmail.com). (3) Book Review The student should write a book review of either Waldron s To Be Continued? or Robertson s The Final Word. The review should be between 6 to 8 pages (doublespaced) or 1,500 to 2,000 words. The first half of the review should include a summary of the book. The second half should include an appraisal of the book, highlighting its strengths and any perceived weaknesses. (4) Course Exams There will be two exams (midterm and final). The instructor will provide students with a study guide, which will highlight the content of the lectures the student needs to know for each exam. The study guide will be posted on the online campus. The student should direct any questions to Dr. Gonzales (drgonz985@gmail.com). (5) Term Paper The student shall write a term paper for the course on one of the topics listed below: (1) The Doctrine of General Revelation (2) The Necessity of Scripture (3) The Canon of Scripture (4) The Authority of Scripture (5) The Sufficiency of Scripture (6) The Clarity of Scripture (7) The Transmission of Scripture (8) The Translation of Scripture (9) The Inerrancy of Scripture (10) The Cessation of Special Revelation The paper must be 10 to 12 pages (double-spaced) with 12 point font or 4,000 to 4,800 words in length with a minimum 10 sources referenced in the footnotes and/or the bibliography. The paper should be formatted according to the standards set forth in the seminary s Guidelines & Expectations for Students and, more fully, in Kate L. Turabian s A Manual for Writers of Term Paper, Theses, and Dissertations, 8th edition. The student may use and reference secondary sources such as Bible dictionary or encyclopedia articles, journal articles, or books like those listed below in the recommended reading list. The student will submit a first draft of the paper to the instructor. The instructor will note any modifications that need to be made. Then the student will revise and submit a final draft for grading. Course grading: Lectures and reading = 10% Book review = 20% Course Exams = 30 % Term Paper = 40% No student will be deemed to have successfully completed the work in any RBS course who does not achieve a cumulative grade of 75 or above for his course work. No individual quiz or exam will be accepted which does not achieve a score of 71 or above. The letter equivalents for the percentile grades assigned are as follows:

3 A B A C B C B C Recommended Reading: In addition to relevant articles in journals, Bible dictionaries, and encyclopedias, the following list includes secondary literature recommended for the student s research for the term papers and for his study of the doctrine of divine revelation and Scripture. The list is not exhaustive but suggestive. Therefore, the student may also want to consult the bibliographies provided in the assigned textbooks. Moreover, the student should be aware that neither the instructor nor the seminary necessarily endorses all the perspectives and conclusions represented in the suggested reading below. Select Bibliography G. K. Beale, The Erosion of Biblical Inerrancy in Evangelicalism (Crossway, 2008). Roger T. Beckwith, The Old Testament Canon of the New Testament Church (Wipf & Stock, 2008). John Beekman and John Callow, Translating the Word of God (Zondervan, 1974). David Alan Black, New Testament Textual Criticism (Baker Books, 1994)., ed. Rethinking New Testament Criticism (Baker Books, 2002). Ellis R. Brotzman, Old Testament Textual Criticism (Baker Books, 1994). L. Russ Bush and Tom J. Nettles, Baptists and the Bible, revised and expanded (Broadman & Holman, 1999). F. F. Bruce, The Canon of Scripture (Intervarsity Press, 1988). Donald Carson, Collected Writings on Scripture (Crossway, 2010).. The Inclusive Language Debate: A Plea for Realism (Intervarsity Press, 1998).. The King James Version Debate: A Plea for Realism (Baker Books, 1979). Donald Carson and John D. Woodbridge, ed. Hermeneutics, Authority, and Canon (Zondervan, 1986).., ed. Scripture and Truth (Baker Books, 1992). Harvie Conn, ed. Inerrancy and Hermeneutic (Baker Books, 1988). Steven Cowan and Terry Wilder, In Defense of the Bible (Broadman & Holman, 2013). Stewart Custer, Does Inspiration Demand Inerrancy? (The Craig Press, 1968). Kevin DeYoung, Taking God at His Word: What the Bible is Knowable, Necessary, and Enough (Crossway, 2014). Craig A. Evans and Emanuel Tov, ed. Exploring the Origins of the Bible (Baker Books, 2008). Gordon Fee and Mark Strauss, How to Choose a Translation for All Its Worth (Zondervan, 2007). Sinclair Ferguson, From the Mouth of God: Trusting, Reading, and Applying the Bible (Banner of Truth, 2014). Norman Geisler, ed. Inerrancy (Zondervan, 1980). R. Laird Harris, The Inspiration and Canonicity of the Bible (Zondervan, 1969).

4 Paul Helm and Carl R. Trueman, ed. The Trustworthiness of God: Perspectives on the Nature of Scripture (Eerdmans, 2002). Carl F. H. Henry, Revelation and the Bible: Contemporary Evangelical Thought (Baker Books, 1958). James K. Hoffmaier and Dennis R. Magary, Do Historical Matters Matter to Faith? A Critical Appraisal of Modern and Postmodern Approaches to Scripture (Crossway, 2012). Jeffrey D. Johnson, Behind the Bible: A Primer on Textual Criticism (Solid Ground Books, 2012). Walter C. Kaiser Jr., The Old Testament Documents: Are They Reliable & Relevant? (Intervarsity Press, 2001). David T. King, Holy Scripture: A Biblical Defense of the Reformation Principle of Sola Scriptura (Christian Resources, 2001). Don Kistler, ed. Sola Scriptura: The Protestant Position on the Bible (Reformation Trust, 2009). Meredith G. Kline, The Structure of Biblical Authority, second edition (Eerdmans, 1972). Michael J. Kruger, Canon Revisited: Establishing the Origins and Authority of the New Testament Books (Crossway, 2012).. The Question of Canon: Challenging the Status Quo in the New Testament Debate (Intervarsity Press, 2013). Sakae Kubo and Walter Specht, So Many Versions? Twentieth Century English Versions of the Bible (Zondervan, 1975). Gordon Lewis and Bruce Demarest, Challenges to Inerrancy: A Theological Response (Moody Press, 1984). Peter A. Lillback and Richard B. Gaffin Jr., Thy Word Is Still Truth: Essential Writings on the Doctrine of Scripture from the Reformation to Today (Presbyterian and Reformed, 2013). Harold Lindsell, The Battle for the Bible (Zondervan, 1986). John MacArthur, ed. The Scripture Cannot Be Broken (Crossway, 2015).. Why Believe the Bible? (Baker Books, 2015). Robert Martin, Accuracy of Translation and the New International Version (Banner of Truth, 1989). Keith A. Mathison, The Shape of Sola Scriptura (Canon Press, 2001). J. Merrick and Stephen Garrett, Five Views on Biblical Inerrancy (Zondervan, 2013). J. I. Packer, Fundamentalism and the Word of God (Eerdmans, 1958). Clark Pinnock, The Scripture Principle (Harper and Row, 1984). Vern Poythress, Inerrancy and the Gospels (Crossway, 2012).. Inerrancy and Worldview (Crossway, 2012). Earl D. Radmacher and Robert D. Preus, ed. Hermeneutics, Inerrancy, and the Bible (Zondervan, 1984). Herman N. Ridderbos, Redemptive History and the New Testament Scriptures (Presbyterian & Reformed, 1963).

5 Leland Ryken, The Word of God in English: Criteria for Excellence in Bible Translation (Crossway, 2002). Robert L. Thomas, How to Choose a Bible Version: Making Sense of the Proliferation of Bible Translations (Mentor Press, 2000). Mark D. Thompson, A Clear and Present Word: The Clarity of Scripture (Intervarsity, 2006). Glen G. Scorgie, Mark L. Stauss, and Steven M. Voth, ed. The Challenge of Bible Translation: Communicating God s Word to the World (Zondervan, 2003). B. B. Warfield, The Inspiration and Authority of the Bible (Presbyterian & Reformed, 1948). James R. White, The King James Only Controversy: Can You Trust the Modern Translations? (Bethany House, 1995). James B. Williams and Randolph, ed. God s Word in Our Hands: The Bible Preserved for Us (Ambassador Emerald International, 2003). John D. Woodbridge, Biblical Authority (Zondervan, 1982). Edward Young, Thy Word is Truth (Eerdmans, 1957). Ronald Youngblood, ed. Evangelicals and Inerrancy: Selections from the Journal of the Evangelical Society (Nelson, 1984).