Graduates: Amy's Story
Amy studied on our undergraduate degree program and graduated in 2019. She now works to support young people in further education in Northern Ireland. Hey Amy, it’s good to hear your story. I’d love to know - some people say they feel really called to study theology. What was it like for you? I guess it had always been something I had thought about. But to be honest, I was a bit hesitant about applying; I didn’t even tell anyone I was going to
Announcing our New Principal
Today Belfast Bible College announced the appointment of a new Principal, Rev. James Burnett. Having read Theology at Oxford University and Politics, Economics and Philosophy at Queen’s University, Belfast and Cambridge University, Rev Burnett is currently the minister of Lowe Church Belfast and comes with considerable experience of Christian service – in leadership, teaching, pastoral ministry and mission activity. Commenting on his appointment Dr Norman Morrow, Chair of the Coll
Church Leaders' Survey 2022
Northern Ireland has over 1,000 churches from many different denominations. Each of these churches faces different issues according to their specific contexts. Belfast Bible College is committed to providing theological education for 21st-century disciples from across all denominations. We want to encourage followers of Jesus to live out their faith with wisdom, a deep knowledge of the Bible, and a personal relationship with Him. To ensure that our tr
QAA Action Plan
Belfast Bible College always aims to provide our students with the best environment in which to study, learn and grow. As part of this we go through assessment with QAA. If you would like to read more about the Colleges QAA report then please click on the links below and if you have any further questions then please get in touch with the office. Click here to view Belfast Bible Colleges QAA report on their homepage Click here to view Belfast Bible College Action Plan October 2021
News Release about the Principal
News Release The Principal of the Belfast Bible College, Dr Helen Warnock, has announced this week that she is coming to the end of her time leading the College. Helen strongly believes that God is calling her to another sphere of work and ministry but will be remaining in post until February 2022. Helen joined as Principal in December 2016 and has led the College with vision and purpose for the last five years. During her time at the College the MA Theology program
Abraham in Genesis 22: Model or Monster?
Abraham in Genesis 22 – Model or Monster?1 'God has told me to kill my son!' How would you respond if someone told you that? On a practical level you would probably seek immediate help for the speaker (and their son) to avoid a disaster. On a theological level you would almost certainly think that the speaker is wrong – God wouldn't ask such an immoral thing! How, then, do we read and use a passage in the Bible where it appears that God does just t
Serving God in a Foreign Land
Daniel's Faithful Improvisation in the Court of the Babylonian King In his famous list of the OT heroes of faith, the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews makes the following claim: ‘All of these died in faith without having received the promises, but from a distance they saw and greeted them. They confessed that they were strangers and foreigners on the earth, for people who speak in this way make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. If they had been
The Mission of the Church in a Post-conflict Context: A Reflection on Reformed and Anabaptist Approaches among Christians in Northern Ireland
My Masters dissertation focused on the core purpose of the Church, as it applies to our post-conflict and still intractably divided community in Northern Ireland. Twenty-Two years after the signing of the Good Friday Agreement, the Northern Ireland public and their political representatives appear to have settled for ‘an end of violence’ and protracted division of the two main communities, each with its own separate culture. The Church in Northern Ireland has, in the main
Seeds. Season 2
Seeds. has returned for a second season, focusing on personal encounters with Jesus. Seeds. is a weekly series of stories about the interesting and diverse people who study, work for & visit the College. These stories of encounters with Jesus are created with the hope of sharing the work of God through personal testimonies of real people. Tommy Karla Underneath it all, whether we are Christian or not, we have all been there - when w
Theological Thoughts
Our Theological Thoughts series is posted on our social media (Facebook & Instagram) on a regular basis. This is where we ask readers to pause for a couple of minutes to consider a thought written by one of our lecturers that will make them think a little bit deeper about their faith. 10 Commandments of Theological Study by Dr. William Ford 1. I shall remember that my relatio
The Groaning of Creation (Romans 8:18) and Contemporary Christian Attitudes to Climate Change
‘Climate change’ is a modern problem which is not addressed specifically in the Bible. However, the doctrine of creation was central to the biblical authors’ understanding of the world and consequently Scripture is peppered with relevant references that can guide modern Christian attitudes to the environment. Some Christians hold that the Earth is only a temporary home which will ultimately be destroyed but such a stance can make believers ‘careless stewards’ (Orr,
Charlie's new publications
We're delighted to share that our Old Testament and Hebrew Lecturer Dr. Tchavdar Hadjiev (Charlie) has had two significant academic books recently published. These are wonderful resources to Church Leaders and Academics alike. It is a wonderful testament of Charlie's deep study and brilliant teaching that these books are widely available and we pray the Church would be blessed through them. They are both available through our library to our students as well as widely available f
Bias and Biblical Faithfulness: Becoming Self-Aware Readers of Scripture
Many of us spend a lot of time reading the Bible. It is a core tenet of living out our faith. The triune God has revealed Himself to us through His Word and, therefore, it demands our attention. Not only that, but it demands our best efforts to faithfully understand what it means. Because the text is revelatory and divinely inspired it has an authority (Goldingay, 1995, 3). More than that, a genuine engagement with it should transform us and provide us with a perspective for how to live as faith
Changing Context: An Interview with Karen Webb
ANGLICAN CHURCHES IN THE GREATER SHANKILL ROAD AREA AND THEIR CHANGING CONTEXT Peter McDowell: Karen, you’re very welcome to this conversation. Could you tell a little bit about yourself, who you are, what you are doing and then perhaps why did you apply to do this MA course? Karen Webb: I am a Church Army evangelist. Church Army are a group of evangelists across the UK and Ireland and I am the lead evangelist in the North Belfast area. I’m married to Tim. He’s a jou
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Spiritual Abuse: Making Churches a Safer Place
‘Abuse in any form is a serious problem…not least for the church’ (Ozanne, 2017, 1). This is the unfortunate reality. Abusive environments, both past and present exist. For the church, accepting that abuse can and does exist within these environments is a sobering, yet inevitable, reality. In recent years, the Church has worked hard implementing safeguarding policies and practises and this deserves to be celebrated. I would suggest, however, the Church has so much more to cont
Self-Awareness and Spiritual Development of Adolescents: The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator as a Possible Tool for Youth Ministry
YOUTH MINISTRY AND SPIRITUAL DEVELOPMENT Young people are masterfully and uniquely designed by the Creator who calls them beloved. Those within Christian youth ministry have the privilege to highlight these unique designs and to guide and encourage each young person on their journey. The potential is great for young people to grow spiritually when they understand the intricacies of how God created them. Amy Jacober (2014, 107) writes: [Youth ministers] play a vital role in celebrating t
Insight Magazine
Launched in January 2020 'Insight' is a digital magazine by Belfast Bible College filled with news, articles, updates on alumni and much more about the life and community of the College. If you would like to be added to the mailing list please click here. Issue 4 - October 2020 Our biggest issue of the magazine yet. Issue 3 - July 2020 We hope that the articles we have written this month help to shape your thinking on issues and he
God Sent His Son - Devotional
The reflections focus on five texts where the phrase, ‘God sent his Son,’ is used as a way of summarising the event of the first Christmas. This year we are suggesting that this devotional would be good to use after Christmas and before the New Year, to dwell and reflect on the significance of the incarnation.
COVID 19
COVID UPDATE 18 NOVEMBER 2020 In response to guidance from the NI Executive and UK Government all teaching and events by Belfast Bible College will be delivered online for the remainder of the semester. The campus remains closed to visitors during this time. If as a student you are experiencing difficulty accessing your online classes, college email or Moodle please contact IT on kward@belfastbiblecollege.ac.uk Should you have any questions regarding your studies, please email
Seeds.
Seeds. is a weekly series of stories about the interesting and diverse people who study, work & visit the College. These stories of growth are created with the hope of sharing the work of God through personal testimonies of real people. Jordan "I'm preparing and I'm studying and I'm doing things to hopefully help people I haven't even met yet." Excitement about future possibilities can distract us from what God is doing now. Jordan, a se
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The Promised One
A Picture of Jesus This reflection explores the picture of Jesus in Matthew’s gospel. It focusses on the infancy narratives, with all but the last devotion looking at passages from the first two chapters. These two chapters introduce key elements about Jesus’ identity. After a genealogy there are five narrative sections, each showing how Jesus fulfils Old Testament prophecy. We will see below that the ‘fulfilmenKeep Reading -
Abraham in Genesis 22: Model or Monster?
Keep Reading
Abraham in Genesis 22 – Model or Monster?1
'God has told me to kill my son!' How would you respond if someone told you that? On a practical level you would probably seek immediate help for the speaker (and their son) to avoid a disaster. On a theological level you would almost certainly think that the speaker is wrong – God wouldn't ask such an immoral thing!
How, then, do we read and use a passage
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God, Pharaoh and Moses
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A God who sends plagues and hardens hearts?1
Arguably the greatest act of salvation in the Old Testament is the exodus from Egypt, recounted in the first fifteen chapters of the book of Exodus. However, the means by which God brings about this deliverance seem deeply problematic. Not only does he inflict violence upon a whole nation (ten increasingly destructive plagues), but he also hardens the heart of Pharaoh, seemingly preventing him from
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God Commanding Violence?
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At Christmas, we remember the birth of one described as the ‘prince of peace’. We read in the gospels how he taught us to turn the other cheek and love our enemies, before demonstrating this in an amazing display of love by dying on the cross. Elsewhere in the Bible, however, we come across passages that portray God in a rather different way: either commanding or carrying out acts of violence. How do we read and understand these passa