Marrow of Theology

What is the "Marrow of Theology?"

The "Marrow of Theology" program is named after the Puritan William Ames' concise systematic theology. In 1623 Ames published a series of lectures, which he had delivered over a two-year period to the sons of Dutch merchants, under the Latin title, Medulla theologica. Ames did not intend the Marrow to be an exhaustive treatise but a clear and brief compendium of sacred truth for layman and student alike. In his preface he writes, "I intend this for all those who have neither the ample leisure nor the great skill to hunt the partridge in mountain and forest. Their situation calls for showing them the nest itself, or the seat of what they are pursuing, without ado." Like Ames' brief compendium, the Marrow program is a streamlined theological curriculum. For laymen, non-vocational elders, or men whose aspirations to the ministry are tentative, the Marrow offers the Master of Theological Studies (M.T.S.) degree and the Diploma of Theological Studies (D.T.S.), which may also serve as the initial stage of the Bachelor of Divinity (B.Div.) or Master of Divinity (M.Div.) programs. For foreign pastors and students who are providentially hindered from pursuing a fuller theological education, the Marrow offers the Certificate of Theological Studies (C.T.S.).