Martin Bucer Seminary
| Motto | For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ. (Eph 4:12) |
|---|---|
| Type | Private |
| Established | 1996 |
| President | Thomas Schirrmacher |
| Students | 378 (2016) |
| Location | In Germany: Bonn, Berlin, Bielefeld, Munich, Pforzheim, Chemnitz, and Hamburg, in Austria: Innsbruck and Linz, in Brazil: São Paulo, in Switzerland: Zürich, in the Czech Republic: Prague, and in Turkey: Istanbul |
| Website | www.bucer.org |
The Martin Bucer Seminary is a European multinational evangelical theological seminary and research institute in the Protestant reformed tradition. The seminary is named after the reformer Martin Bucer.
History and education
The Martin Bucer Seminary was founded in 1996 in response to the dominance of higher criticism and liberal theology within German seminaries. It offers students theological training in a network of campuses across German-speaking Europe (Germany, Austria, Switzerland, in partnership with the German Evangelical Alliance) as well as in the Czech Republic, Turkey and Brazil.
The educational extra of the seminary[1] are the many study centres with up to 20 students, who beside their academic training are interns in local churches.[2][3] A unique feature in the world of theological education is to combine a curriculum and feature from several very different cultural settings for Christianity. The branches in growth oriented Christianity Brazil, minority oriented Christianity Turkey, a secularized Christianity in German speaking Western Europe and Czech Republic are combined into a global curriculum. Students can move around and get their credits at any of the study centers. They are taught by Christian professors and leaders from other continents with a totally different perspectives, which especially challenges Western theology.
With 378 students in 2016 (151 of them in Brazil) it is the largest Evangelical Seminary in Europe outside of the UK.[4] In addition there are further 200 students studying online. The offered courses enable to receive a Bachelor of Theology and a Master of Theology, that are bestowed by different schools worldwide, most often by South African Theological Seminary (South Africa) and Whitefield Theological Seminary (USA). The seminary is no branch of such schools, but students earn credits there by proving which courses they have taken or papers they have written. President is Prof. Dr. Thomas Schirrmacher.
Research
Martin Bucer Seminary also has a research arm that has published a wide range of texts and books focused on ethics, islamic studies, missiology, and religious freedom. Close connected to the Martin Bucer Seminary are several institutes of research as the International Institute for Religious Freedom,[5][6] the Institute of Islamic Studies,[7] the Institut für Lebens- und Familienwissenschaften[8] or Hope.21.[9] These institutes are networks of christian researchers from all over the world.
The seminary is member of the World Reformed Fellowship and connected to the Evangelical Alliance.
Notable faculty
- Dr Frank Hinkelmann,[10] Lecturer for Church History
- Professor Dr Clair Davis, Lecturer for Church History
- Professor Dr Thomas K. Johnson,[11] Lecturer for Philosophy of Religion and Ethics
- Professor Dr John Warwick Montgomery, Lecturer for Apologetics
- Professor Dr Christine Schirrmacher,[12] Lecturer for Islamic Studies
- Professor Dr Thomas Schirrmacher, Lecturer for Systematic Theology, Missiology and Religious studies
Publications
- Bonn Profiles (Press releases)
- MBS-Texte (Texts on Ethics, Philosophy and Theology)
- The WEA-Global-Issues-Series (Resources of the World Evangelical Alliance)
- International Journal for Religious Freedom
- Islam and Christianity
References
- ↑ MBS-Texte 14: An Appeal for Alternative Education Models for Church and Missions. This document explains the educational philosophy of the seminary.
- ↑ The Martin Bucer Seminary offers a special curriculum – United World Mission
- ↑ Thomas Schirrmacher on the Martin Bucer Seminary: European School of Theology and Research Institutes
- ↑ http://www.cms.org.au/missionary/europe/mike-and-caroline-clark/martin-bucer
- ↑ International Institute for Religious Freedom
- ↑ The International Institute for Religious Freedom at the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs
- ↑ Institute of Islamic Studies
- ↑ Institut für Lebens- und Familienwissenschaften
- ↑ Hope.21 is the theological advice committee of Hope for Europe.
- ↑ Frank Hinkelmann - World Evangelical Alliance
- ↑ Thomas K. Johnson at Evangelical Focus
- ↑ Christine Schirrmacher - World Evangelical Alliance