Obadiah
Member
Well, not much in life is truly free, and if they try to give everything away for free, this is what happens.
I looked around a while back for the same kind of thing you are looking for and found that most of what was offered for free only amounted to what I would call "teaser courses" where they just show you what "could be" but if you really want to learn anything worthwhile you have to sign up for their paid courses. But what you will get from those courses will go far beyond what you would probably ever be able to find in a "church Bible study". If it's a reputable school, the difference will be like getting a medical doctors degree as opposed to just taking a Red Cross first aid course!
But it really does make sense that the school you looked into is out of business if it truly was being given away for free. It costs a lot of money to run a college and it costs a lot of money for the professors to get the kind of education they need to get in order to impart that knowledge to you. They can't be expected to invest those hundreds of thousands of dollars to work for free, and those who run the schools can't be expected to pay the costs of that out of their own pockets with no anticipation of getting any of it returned to them. Nothing in this world runs that way. Someone has to pay for it somewhere.
Of course, that someone that pays doesn't always have to be you. There are scholarships, grants, and other kinds of assistance. (Although I don't recommend taking out loans, as I believe this is unscriptural and can trap you for life!) You may not be able to leave home due to your circumstances, but not to worry about that. Many times God uses our circumstances to guide us to where He needs us to be. Your circumstances may be leading you to that online school, but He may have ways in mind to provide you with the money to pay for it too if indeed that is what He is calling you to do and you are unable to find a free one.