Learning Modules

PBI courses are referred to as “learning modules.” They are designed for maximum learning aimed at fitting into the life-style of adult learners. All are “completion-based,” in that you need to complete the modules, not “pass” the modules. There are mastery-quizzes over much of the material, but these are designed so that you can take them over and over again until you know the ideas. Modules are designed to be completed in 8 weeks. (Extensions may be granted with a minimal fee.) More information can be found in the PBI Catalog .

The list below represents all planned learning modules. These modules will be available for enrollment on a rolling basis. For a list of current offerings, please refer to the Current Offerings page .

OTT-200 Christian Theology of the Old Testament
A thematic study of the Old Testament focusing on interpreting key texts theologically in the light of the revelation of Christ in the Gospels.
THE-200 Sin and Salvation
An in-depth study of sin and salvation with a focus on the meaning of the atonement.
NTT-201 Matthew: Gospel of Kingdoms
A theological study of Matthew's Gospel emphasizing Jesus as the King of an alternative kingdom to the power structures of the world.
INT-203 Reading the Bible in Community
A study of hermeneutics which provides skills and tools for biblical interpretation. The module focuses on coming to the text humbly within the Christian community.
NTT-203 Gospel of John: Book of Signs and Glory
A theological study of John's Gospel emphasizing John's key themes such as overcoming of darkness, the Kingdom of God overcoming the kingdoms of the world.
NTT-207 Romans: Salvation through the Body of Christ
A theological study of the faithfulness of God revealed in Christ Jesus as articulated in Paul's letter to the Romans. Focusing on Paul's exposition of God making the world right through Christ.
NTT-215 Philemon and Ephesians: Forgiveness and Reconciliation in Paul
A practical development of radical forgiveness and reconciliation from Philemon and Ephesians worked out in healthy community.
THE-250 Marginalization and Restorative Justice
A biblical and theological study of the Kingdom of God approach to issues of power and inequality among oppressed groups including gender, race, disability, socio-economic status, etc.
REL-300 World Culture and Religion
A study of world religions which aims to demonstrate how Christ exposes and defeats the religio-cultural understanding as it exists in several of the world's major religions and cultures as well as how Christ redirects and completes this understanding.
THE-300 The Work of the Spirit in the Kingdom of God
An advanced theological study of the Holy Spirit as a practical outworking of lived salvation as it looks forward to the telos, or end goal, of the kingdom of God in Christ.
THE-301 Living in the Kingdom of God
A study of peaceful Christian traditions in light of the Constantinian shift with a view towards eschatology.
THE-310 Christian Community in the World
A study of the Kingdom of God as it restores community and creation.
THE-315 Imaginative Apologetics
A study of apologetics which shifts the focus from argument to reimagining the world through the person and work of Jesus Christ.
THE-325 Rene Girard and Nonviolent Atonement
This course will sharply focus on how mimetic theory impacts our understanding of the death of Jesus. It will however range in conversation with other Christian doctrines as well as the insights to be gained from many of the anthropological sciences.
THE-350 Philosophy for Theology
A critical study of philosophy through the lens of theology which reveals the inherent nihilism of the foundations of philosophy.
THE-360 The Theology of Maximus the Confessor
This course introduces students to one of the greatest luminaries of the patristic era, St. Maximus Confessor (580–662 AD). A lay monk (thus he held no church office), Maximus’s influence even in his own lifetime was immense. His torture and eventual death at the behest of political and ecclesiastical authorities were an attempt to extinguish his weighty influence, an attempt that failed: Maximus’s ideas were vindicated 19 years after his death at the Sixth Ecumenical Council (681 AD) and his legacy has remained vital especially among Eastern Christian traditions. We aim in this course to grasp (1) Maximus’s highly synthetic Christological vision of all things and (2) the way this vision illuminates the action or practices that comprise the spiritual life of Christians. What emerges might be described as a sustained mediation on this single verse: “[These actions] are a shadow of things to come, but the Body [which casts it] is Christ’s own” (Col 2.17).