The Blacksmiths And The Bible Scholar

September is always a busy month at the Center for Lifelong Learning. We have just published our fall catalog with the course offerings for the rest of the year. If you did not get a catalog, you can stop by the Center, located at 121 South Marion Street, in Athens.

This fall we offer Blacksmith Classes taught by Travis Fleming and Al Stephens. Classes are offered on Saturdays – September 17, October 8, and November 5. Sign Language will start on September 20, and the Lunch and Learn Series: Caring for Older Adults will start on September 28. And this is just the beginning of the offerings.

For those who can’t make it to class but want to continue their education, we offer over 300 professional development and leisure courses online, everything from accounting to languages is available. You can check out our website at www.athens.edu/cll – then, click on Online Learning. One of the newest courses to add to the online learning library is Microsoft Excel – Pivot Tables. Most organizations rely heavily on Microsoft Excel Pivot Tables to analyze and report financial information. Your company is probably no exception. With this course, you can impress your coworkers by learning how to create functional and eye-catching interactive dashboards using a combination of Pivot Tables, Pivot Charts, and Slicers.

This fall we have also partnered with the Coleman Center for Religious Studies and Ethics to offer a Bible Studies Certificate Course. Using the book, Reading Responsibly: A Guide to Biblical Interpretation, this course will focus the methods and ethics of interpretation. Dr. Tony Moyers, author of the book, will lead the discussion. Classes are scheduled the first Tuesday of the month and will continue from October 4, 2016 through April 4, 2017. Class is held at the Center for Lifelong Learning from 6:30 pm to 8:00 pm, each session. The fee is $5 per session. The textbook is available at the Athens State Bookstore.

This course is a non-denominational academic study that will guide students in the understanding of methods commonly used by biblical scholars in the study of the Bible. The methods will focus on historical, literary, and reader-oriented aspects of biblical interpretation. Everyone is welcome to come to the discussions each month. Those students who attend six sessions will receive a certificate of completion.

For those of you who don’t know him, Dr. Tony L. Moyers is a professor of religion and philosophy at Athens State University. He is the department chair of the humanities and social sciences. He received his Ph.D. in Biblical studies from Baylor University, in Waco, Texas. Dr. Moyers did additional graduate work at Vanderbilt University and is also the author of The Moral Life: Obligation and Affirmation.

We hope to see you at one of our classes or on one of our trips. We are going to New Orleans in March 2017 and would love for you to travel with us. Information is available on the website or stop by to get a brochure.
By: Wanda Campbell
Center for Lifelong Learning – 121 South Marion Street, Athens, AL 35611 – 256-233-8262