The Institute for Religious Research (IRR) no longer administers online Bible courses—something we did for well over twenty years. However, the good news is that there are much better and more extensive course offerings available elsewhere, from organizations that specialize in such courses. Today, there are almost innumerable online courses available on the Bible. Here are three of the very best sources of online courses that are also free of charge (because people generously support them). Each of these three sites hosts numerous free courses on the Bible and related subjects. Take a look!
BiblicalTraining.org. Founded by Bill Mounce, a noted biblical scholar and translator. Offers an extensive suite of courses at four levels: basics, foundations, academy (basically like college courses), and institute (comparable to seminary courses). Well-known evangelical scholars such as Lynn Cohick, Craig Keener, I. Howard Marshall, Sean McDowell, Douglas Moo, Ronald Nash, John Piper, Daniel B. Wallace, and Bruce Waltke (to name just some of them!). Beginners could start with Life Is a Journey (on living as a Christian) or Basics (on the Bible and Christian beliefs). The teaching in these courses is from a broad cross-section of evangelical theology representing a variety of Protestant denominations.
DTS Global Institute. Free courses hosted by Dallas Theological Seminary, one of the premier evangelical graduate schools in the United States. Courses are taught by Dallas professors such as Ron Allen, Mark Bailey, Darrell Bock, John Hannah, Scott Horrell, Michael Svigel, and Mark Yarbrough. There are courses on many of the books of the Old and New Testaments and on topics such as Bible study methods, the trustworthiness of the Bible, the life of Christ, the names and attributes of God, and the Nicene Creed. These courses reflect a broadly “Baptistic” theological perspective consistent with the stance of the seminary.
The Gospel Coalition Courses. Renowned New Testament scholar D. A. Carson and popular pastor and author Tim Keller co-founded The Gospel Coalition. In addition to its numerous articles, podcasts, and videos, TGC provides numerous free courses online taught by many well-known scholars such as Carson, Gregg Allison, G. K. Beale, Craig Blomberg, Michael Kruger, and Carl Trueman. Courses cover every book of the Bible as well as Christian foundations, church history, theology, and much more. An unusual section lists eleven courses of Christian guides to the classics taught by Leland Ryken. The courses are taught from a broadly Reformed (or Calvinist) perspective, perhaps most pointedly in its apologetics courses.