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lift off!
Biology Education, Biology, and Pre-Nursing
Degrees at FWBBC
by Greg Ketteman
Find out more about Free Will Baptist Bible College at www.fwbbc.edu. |
Eight reasons why Free Will Baptist Bible College is launching pre-nursing, biology education,
and biology degrees.
Get ready for change! Free Will Baptist Bible College is launching new degrees in the fields of pre-nursing, biology education, and biology. Yes, it’s different. Yes, it’s something we’ve never done before. Yes, it’s necessary. And Yes, I want to tell you why we’re making this move at this time. Here are eight reasons why FWBBC is expanding into new academic areas.
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Because we need scientists, scientific researchers, science teachers, and health care professionals who understand the true source of all that can be known.
Since 1942, Free Will Baptist Bible College has stood for the truth about the creation of man and the universe as revealed in the Bible. We have trained thousands of pastors, missionaries, Christian men and women who are in business or who are teaching English, physical education, or history. Many of our graduates serve as music ministers, youth ministers, or work in the field of psychology.
While there has been and continues to be a need for Christians in the field of science and health sciences, until now FWBBC has not undertaken the education of Christian young men and women who envision serving the Lord as high school science teachers and nurses, or who are preparing to be physical therapists, dental hygienists, or who plan to go on to medical school, dental school, veterinary school, or pharmacy school. This is changing.
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Because we want to impact the lives of the bright, gifted, motivated young adults who sense God leading them into careers in nursing, science, medicine, and health care.
Imagine having 20 or 30 LaVerne Mileys, Paul Gentusos, Mark Pascals, or Molly Barkers enter medical practice or nursing in a few years! Imagine the impact of Christian nurses and doctors who give their time and talents as medical missionaries. Imagine the lifelong impression a Christian biology or chemistry teacher will leave on the lives of hundreds of students. Imagine Christian physical therapists and pharmacists who received their undergraduate degrees from Free Will Baptist Bible College. Imagine the roles that these Christian leaders might have in our churches and communities, in our denomination, and in our world.
Because Christian doctors, nurses, and science teachers need the serious grounding in the Word of God that Free Will Baptist Bible College provides.
We are a Bible college. Every student at Free Will Baptist Bible College takes a 30-hour core of Bible courses. Every course taught at FWBBC is taught in light of the absolute truth of God’s Word. A doctor, nurse, science teacher, pharmacist, or physical therapist who receives his undergraduate degree at FWBBC will understand the truth, power, and unity of God’s Word and will recognize it as his guide for every part of his life.
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Because we believe that a Christian worldview should anchor any training in the fields of science and health sciences instead of non-Christian paradigms that currently dominate these fields.
For too long, young adults who wanted to be trained in the fields of science or health professions have had to go to secular colleges and universities for their undergraduate training. Many of these young adults lose their moorings in secular educational settings dominated by atheistic, evolutionary paradigms. Many gifted young men and women are lost to Free Will Baptists, and sometimes lost to the cause of Christ.
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Because Christian and public high schools, colleges, and universities need Christian science and health sciences teachers who have been trained from a Christian worldview.
The lack of science teachers in both Christian and public schools has become a national crisis. In order to deal with this crisis, many states have enacted policies that permit individuals with degrees in science and math to be hired with no teacher education credentials in order to fill the many vacant teaching positions in the schools. A Bible college-trained science teacher, prepared in courses taught from a Christian worldview will have multiple opportunities to enter teaching.
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Because there is a great need for Christian thinkers and writers trained in the fields of science and health sciences as the Christian community faces an unprecedented tidal wave of bioethical issues ushered in through advances in science and technology.
Since the Enlightenment, the Bible has been under assault by secular naturalists for its assertion that God created the earth, plants, animals, people, the solar system, the galaxies, and the universe. Charles Darwin’s 19th century theory of natural selection and evolution of species became the accepted scientific explanation for the existence of plants, animals, and people. Many American colleges and universities originally founded to serve Christian churches and denominations were swept up in the tidal wave of evolutionary theories about origins that gained a foothold in higher education before the industrial revolution. As a result, for over a century many American public school science teachers, scientific researchers, and medical doctors have been trained under a naturalistic, evolutionary paradigm that does not recognize God.
The scientific method has led to many remarkable achievements in the past century, yet, regrettably, it has also has served the godless agenda of secularists as a tool to “debunk” traditional religious beliefs about our origins. Today, as we face new questions about genetics, stem-cell research, and cloning, we need Christians trained in these fields to provide leadership and insight from a biblical perspective. We need Christian thinkers, writers, and ethicists who can skillfully wield the tools of science to serve Christ, His Church, and His world.
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Because we need medical doctors who will take a stand against practices such as abortion and euthanasia.
Today, we are reaping the results of the secularization of medicine and science. Abortion is commonplace and legal, and lawmakers are under pressure to legalize unrestricted genetic engineering and euthanasia. Part of the reason for widespread complacency and even support for these practices is that health and science professionals are not typically trained from a Christian perspective.
While we have correctly recognized the great need to address the godless theories of secular humanism in our thinking and writing, our efforts to have a strong Christian influence in medical ethics and practice must include having an important role in the intellectual and spiritual development of those who become doctors, nurses, and scientists.
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Because the Lord expects us to employ the talents He gave us to glorify Him; He is coming back soon.
Need I say more?
So what is FWBBC doing to put qualified instructors in place who can lead the new push into the biological, pre-nursing, and science fields?
In January 2007, FWBBC employed Mr. Ian Hawkins to anchor the developing science and biology programs. Hawkins—a lifelong Free Will Baptist, an FWBBC alumnus, and a science scholar—holds a double major in chemistry and biochemistry from East Carolina State University. He just finished a 70-hour graduate program in biological science at Vanderbilt University and is currently working to complete his doctorate in chemistry at Middle Tennessee State University.
Nine years ago, FWBBC secured the services of Dr. Ahad Nasab to teach math and science as a member of the college’s adjunct faculty. Dr. Nasab was converted to Christ after a fellow college student shared the plan of salvation with him. He holds graduate degrees in engineering, physics, and math from Georgia Institute of Technology. Along with Mr. Hawkins, Dr. Nasab will play a pivotal instructional role in the science and biology programs. Dr. Nasab also teaches at Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro.
This fall, a 2+2 Nursing Program with Belmont University has begun. FWBBC students will receive the Associate of Science in Biology degree and, upon acceptance at Belmont, will then be able to graduate with the Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree after completion of their final two years at Belmont. FWBBC plans to begin granting the BSN in 2009 following state Board of Nursing approval.
The Bachelor of Science in General Science degree is also underway this fall. FWBBC science majors will graduate prepared to teach general science, biology, and chemistry. Beginning in fall 2009, students will be accepted into the Bachelor of Science in Biology degree program. This program is designed to prepare young men and women who plan to enter medical, dental, veterinary, or pharmacy schools, or who plan to enter the field of scientific research, or who plan to pursue further training as a dental hygienist or physical therapist.
If you have questions about the new degree programs, email gketteman@fwbbc.edu, or call
(615) 844-5227.
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