Ans. Bethany is not and has not ever been a part of a denominational body, but is a free-standing school offering educational course subjects in Bible, Theology, Christian Education, and Bible related subjects. Bethany is an independent, conservative, fundamental, Bible based school, Baptist in identification, but trans-denominational in its student body.

Ans. Bethany is . . .

1. Licensed and approved by the Alabama State Board of Education to operate as a degree granting institution.

2. Incorporated under the laws of the State of Alabama and is recognized by the U.S. Department of Internal Revenue Service as a non-profit religious institution.

3. Approved by the Veteran Administration for veterans who attend on-site classes.

4. Approved (college division) by the Evangelical Training Association, formerly known as ETTA, to award the ETA certificates.

5 . A member of the United States Distance Learning Association (this is not an accrediting association). To learn more about the USDLA, you may access their web site here. To view Bethany's listing with the USDLA, you may access the listing here.

6. Bethany has been granted "Affiliate Status" with the Association for Biblical Higher Education For more information concerning "Affiliate Status" - Go here  
Note: The primary focus of the Association for Biblical Higher Education is accreditation, but non-member institutions may also relate to the Association through an Affiliate Status. This affords affiliate institutions the opportunity to take advantage of many of the programs and services that the Association provides without becoming an accredited member. Affiliation with the Association is not to be confused with accreditation.

7. Bethany is an approved teaching Center for Seminary Extension Courses in affiliation with the Seminary Extension Program of six Southern Baptist Seminaries.

8. Because of Bethany’s outstanding programs of study, the quality of education provided, Bethany students have been able to transfer to other institutions of higher learning. An example is a Bethany student with a Bachelor’s degree has been able to enroll in a different institution of learning holding accreditation with a government recognized accrediting agency. For additional information, look under the section “Information" in the top menu bar.

Ans. Bethany was founded in 1973 and was then located in North Georgia. The school was named North Georgia Baptist Bible College and Seminary.  In 1982 the school was moved to Dothan, Alabama and the name was changed to Bethany Bible College and Theological Seminary. However, in 2003 the Board of Directors voted to change the name by dropping the word Bible and inserting the word Divinity.

Ans. Basically there is no difference. However, because there were several other schools that use the name Bethany, for identification purposes, Bethany’s Board of Directors dropped the term Bible college and adopted the name Divinity College. An example: There is a Bethany Bible College in the USA associated with the Assemblies of God and there is another seminary by the name of Bethany Theological Seminary that is operated by the Church of the Brethren. Someone who does research for the World Wide Web reported that Bethany Divinity College was associated with the Church of the Brethren, but that is not true. Bethany Divinity College and Seminary has never been associated with the Church of the Brethren, but is an independent, conservative, Bible based school, standing for the inerrancy and infallibility of the Word of God.

Ans. Bethany Divinity College and Seminary does not promote or teach any particular church doctrine, but rather, holds to the fundamentals of the historical Christian faith. The school teaches Bible doctrine, doctrines that are found only in the Bible. Pastors, evangelists, missionaries and those who work in Christian education will find themselves to be comfortable with Bethany’s curriculum. It is the goal of Bethany Divinity College and Seminary to educate Christian leaders to proclaim the good news of God’s love in the church and in the world.

Ans. Bethany is different than most Bible and Theological schools because of its stand on the Word of God; its requirements and program design; its use of pastors training pastors; its goal and objectives; and its personal concern for the students.

Ans. Bethany has been a pioneer in external degree programs since 1973 and has gained a well respected position among other institutions of higher learning. Moreover, Bethany has developed a proven method of study that allows the student to study at home and get a quality education. Through the non-traditional methodology, Bethany has developed a high quality, self-motivating and self disciplining curriculum for the off-campus approach. The courses consist of conservative Bible teaching through the use of textbooks, research, assignments and deductive reasoning.