Welcome
Hello and welcome to my Bible web pages. My name is Dan Ribera and I teach some of the required and elective
Bible classes at Bellevue Christian High School. If you are a student you will find resources here for our classes, including: the syllabus, presentations, handouts, assignments, and research links. Click on the class pages in the left column navigation bar.
The discussion forum is disabled this semester while I work on completing my doctoral disseration. I am not able to manage the forum or keep a blog updated along with the added work load at this time. My apologies to all the students who were eager to participate in the online discussion forum.
This website is an ongoing project, and my goals are to provide resources and opportunities for our students to "understand, evaluate, and transform the world," and also to inform members of our community of the learning that is taking place in our classroom.
See you
in class,
Dan Ribera
Ethics
The Introduction to Christian Ethics class is designed to assist the students to 1) understand the nature of ethics, 2) evaluate non-Christian ethical systems, 3) develop a Christian approach to ethics, 4) understand the demands of Kingdom living, and 5) apply God's Word to the moral choices that confront them every day. This course is a required Bible credit and is usually taken by students in their sophmore or senior years.
Immanuel Kant, a brilliant 18th century philosopher, has had a tremendous influence on the way we view reality and how we practice ethics. Can you recognize his influence in how we talk about right and wrong?
Church History
The Church in History class is designed to 1) help the student understand the spiritual and theological development of the Christian church in its historical and cultural context, 2) introduce students to the major figures and movements in the history of the Church, and 3) acquaint the student with social, political, and intellectual developments during the first 2000 years of Christian history. This course fulfills an elective credit in bible, and is typically taken by students in either the tenth or twelfth grade
St. Augustine of Hippo, a great theologian of the fourth century, battled heresies, preached the Word of God, and wrote works that are influential to this day. Are you familiar with Augustine's view of the effects of sin?
Apologetics
The Introduction to Christian Apologetics class is designed to help students 1) understand the nature of the Apologetic task, 2) develop critical thinking skills, 3) recognize the underlying assumptions that govern unbelieving thought, 4) evaluate non-Christian modes of thought, and 5) become equipped with specific answers to the common objections raised by unbelievers.
Bertrand Russell, famous atheist, wrote an essay entitled, Why I am Not a Christian. What would you say in response to Lord Russell's vehement attack on the Christian faith?
Mission Statement
Our goal is to prepare young people to live fully for God in a rapidly changing world, with the ability to understand, evaluate, and transform their world from the foundation of God’s unchanging values.
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In addition to the original English version, on this page you may read the BCS mission statement in fifteen world languages as translated by friends and faculty of Bellevue Christian School. If you or someone you know is able to accurately translate this statement into an additional language, please let me know.
Go to Mission Statement page
Creeds
Historically some churches have used creeds, confessions, catechisms, and other statements of faith for the purpose of summarizing their beliefs, confessing their faith devotionally as individuals, corporately as congregations in worship, for guiding preachers and teachers in their work, and for discerning truth and error. This page is a collection of Creeds both ancient and more recent. Explore church web pages for additional statements not listed on this page.
In church history we ask questions such as, "What is the church?" "Who is the church?" "How do we understand denominational differences today?" Historically, how has the church determined what is true doctrine?" 
A detail of Plato, gesturing toward the world of ideas, from Raphael's School of Athens