Ligonier Academy Bible College: An Interview with Michael Morales

Michael, as an introduction to this interview, would you be open to include a brief explanation of the subject upon which you are doing your Ph.D.? I believe that you can discover something of what you can learn from a Professor by the subject of the dissertation he worked on; and I’d love to introduce you, and your work, to our readers?

I love the Scriptures and am particularly fascinated with Hebrew narrative. My dissertation, supervised by Gordon J. Wenham (Trinity College, Bristol U.K.), develops and examines the pattern of going through the waters to the mountain of God for worship in the Pentateuch (in the Creation, Deluge, and Sea Crossing narratives). The thesis had begun as a study of Old Testament “baptism” (the first part of the pattern just mentioned) but has now developed into something of a narrative theology on worship. Readers can get something of a “taste” of the topic in a series of three blog-posts, with a fourth to come, on Ligonier’s website under the title “Who Shall Ascend the Mountain of the LORD?” The mountain of God motif (also known as “cosmic mountain ideology”) is pervasive in biblical literature as well as in the ancient Near East in general, and served as the archetype for temples. I am also trying to demonstrate, then, that these early narratives in Genesis prefigured the tabernacle cultus—demonstrating its logic and necessity (a point which accords well, incidentally, with the wilderness generation’s being the original audience). By God’s grace, I’d like eventually to develop this work into a complete biblical theology.

R.C. Sproul said, “My dream is that Ligonier Academy will supply this nation with an entire generation of articulate Christians who understand the Bible and their faith deeply, and that those individuals will then live out their faith in every nook and cranny of the world in which we live.” When we consider the general decline in biblical knowledge, both in our society and in our churches, as well as the decline in morality that inevitably follows, it becomes clear that something must be done. Convinced the prophetic warning “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge” (Hosea 4.6) remains truer than it has ever been, a solid Bible college—not simply a Christian “liberal arts” college, but a college focused upon biblical and theological studies—is, we believe, a strong step toward the true remedy. There are, to be sure, many Bible colleges around—so why another? Our answer is that, while most Bible colleges teach from a baptistic and fundamentalist perspective, Ligonier Academy’s college is a specifically Reformed Bible college, committed to teaching the riches of the historic Christian faith. For understanding the vision of the school better, I would really commend the two videos, one on the consequences of ideas and the other with R.C. Sproul introducing the school, on the homepage of our website.

No academic institution is “born” accredited, because the process takes a couple years (and usually only after its graduates can be assessed)—thus we are not accredited, although the discussion is on the table for prayerful consideration. To be sure, we want to prioritize the integrity of the curriculum. However, it’s important to know that accredited, graduate-level institutions are allowed to accept some 10% of their incoming students from non-accredited schools. Also, Ligonier has longstanding relationships with the presidents and faculty of various seminaries, for example, many of which have already endorsed our programs. Sincere recommendations of top students to our seminary “friends” will likely prove more valuable to a student than a transcript from one of the thousands of accredited Bible colleges around the country. Perhaps the chief issue with accreditation is that being accredited allows students to apply for government financial aid. In the meantime, however, we hope to be able to offer qualified students comparable financial help.

What degrees and programs are offered at the Academy?

The Academy offers two four-year Bachelor of Arts and one two-year Associate of Arts:

Bachelor of Arts in Biblical Studies—focuses on the history and background of Scripture, the theology of Paul, and the original languages of Hebrew and Greek.

Bachelor of Arts in Theological Studies—focuses on the history of theology, philosophy, and apologetics, and on the historic ecclesiastical language of Latin.

Associate of Arts in Biblical and Theological Studies—offers a foundation in Scripture and theology.