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CATALOGUE 2014–2015 Westminster Seminary California CATALOGUE 2014–2015 TABLE of CONTENTS

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CATALOGUE 2014–2015 Westminster Seminary California CATALOGUE 2014–2015 TABLE of CONTENTS Westminster Seminary California CATALOGUE 2014–2015 Westminster Seminary California CATALOGUE 2014–2015 TABLE OF CONTENTS Welcome from the President 5 Introduction to the Seminary 6 Faculty 10 Degree Programs 23 Course Descriptions 34 Admissions 47 Financial Aid 58 Student Life 70 Academic Information & Policies 74 Appendices 87 Map and Directions 91 Index 94 WELCOME FROM THE PRESIDENT Do you believe the gospel of Jesus Christ? Do you want to understand the Bible more deeply and faithfully? Do you desire to serve Christ and his church? If your answer is “yes,” then Westminster Seminary California (WSC) is an excellent For Christ, His Gospel, place for you. Here you will discover a community of faith and study, of fellow- ship and prayer. At WSC, you will find an encouraging place to reflect on and prepare for your calling from Christ. We hope that this catalogue will help you get to know us better. As you look and His Church through it, you may want to notice, in particular, our commitments, our faculty, our programs, and our facilities. We are committed to the gospel of Christ as taught by the inerrant Scriptures and as summarized in our Reformed confessions of faith. Our faculty is outstanding. Each member is an experienced pastor and an ex- cellent teacher. They are active in their churches and committed to helping stu- dents in and out of the classroom. Their academic credentials are impressive, and they are active in research and writing in their fields. WSC offers two primary programs of study. First is the three-year Master of Divinity program. This program is carefully designed to prepare men for the or- dained pastoral ministry. Second is the two-year Master of Arts program. With concentrations in biblical, theological and historical theological studies, it en- courages women and men to pursue their own interests in preparation for vari- ous kinds of service in Christ’s kingdom. The photographs in this catalogue will give you a glimpse of the beauty and fine facilities of our campus. However, the catalogue cannot convey the warmth and abilities of our students nor the sense of community that we enjoy. We hope that you will visit us and experience for yourself the strengths of WSC. Our prayer is that the Lord will use this catalogue to help you know his call for your life and future service. May the Lord bless you richly. W. Robert Godfrey President WESTMINSTER SEMINARY CALIFORNIA 2014–2015 Learn more at WSCal.edu 888 480 8474 5 Westminster Seminary California exists to prepare experts in the Bible who glorify Christ, promote His Gospel and serve His Church. Through graduate theological study in the Reformed tradition, we provide students with the tools for a lifetime of studying and sharing God’s Word. Our rich educational heritage shapes the instruction and community which happens face-to-face on our campus in Southern California. MISSION Westminster Seminary California Westminster Seminary California (WSC) is a Christian institution seeking to began as a branch campus of West- glorify God through graduate theological study. Its primary responsibility is to minster in Philadelphia, and became educate future pastors for Christian churches, especially for Presbyterian and fully independent in 1982. WSC es- Reformed denominations. It also provides theological education for others who tablished a campus with an extensive will serve the Christian community and the larger society. library, a comprehensive curriculum, Westminster Seminary California offers instruction in biblical, theological, and a full faculty of teachers who and ministerial disciplines to both men and women in order to help them de- were both experienced pastors and velop intellectually and spiritually as leaders. While the primary focus at WSC experts in their academic fields. The is to educate and prepare men for ordained pastoral ministry, the Seminary also first Reformed seminary in the west- trains women and men who are preparing to serve Christ and his church in non- ern United States, WSC welcomed ordained vocations, so that the whole body of Christ may be enriched. its first students in the fall of 1980 and Because “zeal without knowledge” or “knowledge without zeal” can only in- now, thirty years later, remains com- jure the church, WSC seeks to develop in each student a balance of scholarship mitted to the inerrancy of Scripture, and Christ-like piety. Westminster Seminary California strives to maintain a the gospel of Christ, and the impor- community of Christian research and scholarship where the proper cultivation tance of the church and her ministry. of the mind increases the devotion of the heart. WSC thrives as a community of faith where the best of scholarship and pi- HISTORY ety are combined to serve Christ and WSC traces its commitment to Reformed theological education back to the Ref- the church. We are committed to the ormation and especially to John Calvin’s educational approach in his Genevan “whole counsel of God” (Acts 20:27) Academy. In America, that educational heritage was maintained at Princeton and we pursue a union of knowl- Theological Seminary in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Old Princeton was edge and zeal for the sake of Christ’s devoted to the inerrancy of Scripture, outstanding scholarship, fine academic ed- church. ucation and service to the church in its preaching and missionary work. In 1929, Dr. Robert B. Strimple and Introduction when Princeton reorganized in order to tolerate theological liberalism, several Mr. Robert G. den Dulk shared in members of the faculty (led by the distinguished scholar J. Gresham Machen) founding the Seminary in 1979. Dr. left Princeton to establish Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia, Strimple became the first president in Pennsylvania, with the purpose of preserving the educational heritage of Old 1982, overseeing the movement of the Princeton and the scholarship and theology of the Reformation. Seminary from its temporary home in San Marcos to its permanent campus WESTMINSTER SEMINARY CALIFORNIA 2014–2015 Learn more at WSCal.edu 888 480 8474 INTRODUCTION 7 in Escondido. In 1988, Dr. Strimple returned to full-time ACCREDITATION LOCALE CHRISTIAN COUNSELING & EDUCATIONAL teaching and scholarship and Mr. den Dulk became presi- Westminster Seminary California is an accredited school Located in beautiful, culturally-rich Escondido, and situat- FOUNDATION (CCEF) PARTNERSHIP dent, increasing the size and financial strength of the school. of theology at the graduate level, authorized by the state ed in north San Diego County, Westminster Seminary Cal- Since 1968, the Christian Counseling & Educational In 1993, Dr. W. Robert Godfrey, who joined the faculty in of California to grant graduate theological degrees upon ifornia is just minutes from the Pacific Ocean. The sunny Foundation (CCEF) in Philadelphia, PA has trained God’s 1981 as Professor of Church History, became the third presi- recommendation of the faculty and by the authority of the beaches, Mediterranean climate, and countless attractions people in biblical counseling by exploring the rich wisdom dent of the Seminary. Board of Trustees. make this region a popular vacation destination. of Scripture and applying it to the complexities of human Westminster Seminary California is accredited by the The celebrated San Diego Zoo and San Diego Safari life. In July 2011, Westminster Seminary California began a DOCTRINAL COMMITMENT Accrediting Commission for Senior Colleges and Univer- Park are in close proximity. The California Center for the partnership with CCEF through which students admitted The Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, breathed sities of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges, Arts offers live performances ranging from classical sym- to a WSC Degree Program or as a Visiting Student may out by the Spirit of God through human authors, are the 985 Atlantic Ave., Suite 100, Alameda, California 94501, phonies to modern theater productions by internationally take select CCEF courses via distance education for elective very Word of God written—the only infallible and inerrant phone: 510.748.9001. acclaimed artists. Downtown Escondido features quaint credit toward their WSC degree program requirements. authority for faith and life. WSC is also accredited by the Commission on Ac- shops, antique car shows, and a weekly farmers’ market of The teaching faculty for these courses have been appointed The doctrines of the Christian faith, held by orthodox crediting of the Association of Theological Schools in fresh produce. North San Diego County also offers some as WSC adjunct faculty (See Adjunct Faculty and Course churches throughout the ages, express the central truths the United States and Canada, 10 Summit Park Drive, of the top hospitals and medical facilities in the nation, in- Descriptions for more information). concerning the triune God and his works of creation and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15275, phone: 412.788.6505, fax: cluding the Scripps Hospitals, Rady Children’s Hospital redemption, particularly as they confess the saving work of 412.788.6510, website: www.ats.edu, which has approved San Diego, and Palomar Medical Center. Jesus Christ as revealed in Scripture. The Reformed con- the Master of Divinity degree and Master of Arts (MDiv, As one of the nation’s fastest growing regions for bio- fessions (Westminster Confession and Catechisms, Hei- MA) degree programs. medical and telecommunications industries, San Diego is delberg Catechism, Belgic Confession, and the Canons of ATS and WASC are recognized by the U.S. Depart- on the cutting edge of science and technology. It is home Dort) are the fullest and most accurate summary of the sys- ment of Education. WSC is approved for the Veterans to several first-class academic and research institutions, in- tem of doctrine revealed in Holy Scripture. The church is Administration’s educational benefits, and Title IV Fed- cluding the University of California at SanDiego, Salk In- to be governed according to the principles of Presbyterian eral Student Loans.
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