Introduction to Apologetics curriculum summary
The curriculum for our course in apologetics took over five years to develop as it went through rigorous testing in one of the largest churches in America. The goal was to cover every branch of apologetics in such a way that the average believer could incorporate it into his or her personal evangelism. In its complete form, the course consists of eleven, two and a half hour sessions, though they can easily be broken up into shorter sessions. Because none of the sessions address any controversial theological issue, they can be taught across a wide range of Christian denominations and organizations. Below is the table of contents and brief description for the course Introduction to Apologetics. Most of the sessions begin by looking at popular questions from skeptics. We then recap those questions and answers at the end of each session, giving the believers responses to these questions with wisdom from some of the greatest Christian minds in history. The entire 212 p[age curriculum can be downloaded right from our education tab above.
Session 1 Defining God
This is a foundation session in that it lays the groundwork for the apologetic arguments discussed in future sessions. It begins by defining apologetics and its Biblical mandate. Next we discuss seven views of god from various worldviews and religions, followed by a discussion of the attributes of the Christian God and their application in apologetics. We close by discussing some of the classical apologetic arguments for the existence of God.
Session 2 Conversations that Count
We know Jesus asked over 200 questions in the New Testament and yet he knew the answer to all of them. In the second and final foundational session we dig deeper into the need and mandate for knowing apologetics and its practical application in evangelism. We spend some time discussing the Socratic method and the art of asking questions and directing conversation. The session closes with a look at flawed arguments so the the believer can identify them when they come up in conversations. In short, this is a session on how to do evangelism like Jesus did, by asking pointed questions and directing the conversation to lead the skeptic into their own conclusions, which we believe is far more effective than telling people what to think.
Session 3 What is Truth?
This is the first session exclusively dedicated to apologetics. The reason it is the first, is because understanding and identifying truth is essential to any legitimate worldview. We discuss some worldviews that deny the existence of absolute truth, such as post-moderism, pluralism, multi-culturalism and the flaws in those views. The session will help the believer distinguish between an opinion, a factual statement and a statement of truth, something that is clouded in our post-modern society. We close by substantiating Jesus' epic claim that, "I am the truth".
Session 4 Understanding Worldviews
Session four begins by discussing the concept of worldview and the factors that make a worldview legitimate and valid. We then discuss a variety of worldviews, such as Mormonism, Atheism, Buddhism, Hinduism and others and their corresponding flaws. We discuss the Christian worldview, its uniqueness and some of its essential features. We close this session by providing the believer with a list of questions for each worldview that can be used in evangelism to quickly expose the flaws in each of these worldview.
Session 5 Evolution, Naturalism and Creation
This class is unique because rather than introduce new interpretations of science, we use popular science to discredit the evolutionary paradigm. We discuss naturalism and its many flaws, along with Darwinism with all its shortcomings. Finally we discuss the creation model and its support in science.
Session 6 Intelligent Design
Unlike the previous session which is more of a defensive reactionary position, here we give the believer powerful witnessing tools found throughout nature. We cover the validity of the Intelligent Design Movement along with its practical application in evangelism. We take the best scientific evidence for the existence of God found in our universe, biosphere and life systems and present them in an evangelistic framework.
Session 7 Who do Men Say that I Am?
Because so much of our Biblical worldview rests on the historicity of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, we dedicated this session to providing the factual evidence for our claims. Much of this session is spent discussing the evidence for the resurrection of Christ, which is the pinnacle of the Christian faith. We compare Jesus to other self-proclaimed Messiahs and the uniqueness of his claims and life. In the end, we give the believer a solid basis for making the claim that Jesus is the Son of the living God and that a resurrected Jesus is the only plausible explanation for the historical evidence.
Session 8 Can I Trust the Bible?
Our first order of business here is to make a strong argument for the inspiration of the Bible. Put another way: what separates the Bible from other holy books? After briefly discussing hermeneutics and the origins of the New Testament, we spend the rest of the session determining the reliability and trustworthiness of the New and Old Testament documents. Our hope is that the believer has the proper knowledge to defend the accuracy and reliability of the Bible against secular arguments to the contrary.
Session 9 Understanding Evil and Suffering
In this session we address difficult questions head on. We discuss how God, who is all loving and powerful, still allows people to suffer. We cover tough issues like all the killing in the Old Testament and answer questions such as; Does the Bible support slavery, and How could a loving God kill babies such as in Egypt. Because the problem of suffering is such an big obstacle for non-believers, we equip the Christian to answer popular objections with the insight of some of the world's leading theologians.
Session 10 The Christian Legacy
Because secularists have limited Christianity's contribution in history to the Crusades and Inquisitions, we take the time to demonstrate how everything good in Western Civilization has its roots in the Christian religion. We discuss the rise of human rights, the scientific method, public education and modern charity by highlighting some of the heroes of these movements. In the end we determine conclusively that Christianity is the only worldview that advances social progress and human dignity, while atheism, Hinduism and Islam has brought us the worst kinds of human suffering.
Session 11 Christianity and Public Policy
In this session we discuss the Christian perspective on public policy from an apologetic standpoint, demonstrating decisively that our positions are not just rooted in Biblical revelation but in science and reason. We discuss marriage, same-sex marriage, modern feminism, abortion and separation of Church and State among other topics.
The curriculum for our course in apologetics took over five years to develop as it went through rigorous testing in one of the largest churches in America. The goal was to cover every branch of apologetics in such a way that the average believer could incorporate it into his or her personal evangelism. In its complete form, the course consists of eleven, two and a half hour sessions, though they can easily be broken up into shorter sessions. Because none of the sessions address any controversial theological issue, they can be taught across a wide range of Christian denominations and organizations. Below is the table of contents and brief description for the course Introduction to Apologetics. Most of the sessions begin by looking at popular questions from skeptics. We then recap those questions and answers at the end of each session, giving the believers responses to these questions with wisdom from some of the greatest Christian minds in history. The entire 212 p[age curriculum can be downloaded right from our education tab above.
Session 1 Defining God
This is a foundation session in that it lays the groundwork for the apologetic arguments discussed in future sessions. It begins by defining apologetics and its Biblical mandate. Next we discuss seven views of god from various worldviews and religions, followed by a discussion of the attributes of the Christian God and their application in apologetics. We close by discussing some of the classical apologetic arguments for the existence of God.
Session 2 Conversations that Count
We know Jesus asked over 200 questions in the New Testament and yet he knew the answer to all of them. In the second and final foundational session we dig deeper into the need and mandate for knowing apologetics and its practical application in evangelism. We spend some time discussing the Socratic method and the art of asking questions and directing conversation. The session closes with a look at flawed arguments so the the believer can identify them when they come up in conversations. In short, this is a session on how to do evangelism like Jesus did, by asking pointed questions and directing the conversation to lead the skeptic into their own conclusions, which we believe is far more effective than telling people what to think.
Session 3 What is Truth?
This is the first session exclusively dedicated to apologetics. The reason it is the first, is because understanding and identifying truth is essential to any legitimate worldview. We discuss some worldviews that deny the existence of absolute truth, such as post-moderism, pluralism, multi-culturalism and the flaws in those views. The session will help the believer distinguish between an opinion, a factual statement and a statement of truth, something that is clouded in our post-modern society. We close by substantiating Jesus' epic claim that, "I am the truth".
Session 4 Understanding Worldviews
Session four begins by discussing the concept of worldview and the factors that make a worldview legitimate and valid. We then discuss a variety of worldviews, such as Mormonism, Atheism, Buddhism, Hinduism and others and their corresponding flaws. We discuss the Christian worldview, its uniqueness and some of its essential features. We close this session by providing the believer with a list of questions for each worldview that can be used in evangelism to quickly expose the flaws in each of these worldview.
Session 5 Evolution, Naturalism and Creation
This class is unique because rather than introduce new interpretations of science, we use popular science to discredit the evolutionary paradigm. We discuss naturalism and its many flaws, along with Darwinism with all its shortcomings. Finally we discuss the creation model and its support in science.
Session 6 Intelligent Design
Unlike the previous session which is more of a defensive reactionary position, here we give the believer powerful witnessing tools found throughout nature. We cover the validity of the Intelligent Design Movement along with its practical application in evangelism. We take the best scientific evidence for the existence of God found in our universe, biosphere and life systems and present them in an evangelistic framework.
Session 7 Who do Men Say that I Am?
Because so much of our Biblical worldview rests on the historicity of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, we dedicated this session to providing the factual evidence for our claims. Much of this session is spent discussing the evidence for the resurrection of Christ, which is the pinnacle of the Christian faith. We compare Jesus to other self-proclaimed Messiahs and the uniqueness of his claims and life. In the end, we give the believer a solid basis for making the claim that Jesus is the Son of the living God and that a resurrected Jesus is the only plausible explanation for the historical evidence.
Session 8 Can I Trust the Bible?
Our first order of business here is to make a strong argument for the inspiration of the Bible. Put another way: what separates the Bible from other holy books? After briefly discussing hermeneutics and the origins of the New Testament, we spend the rest of the session determining the reliability and trustworthiness of the New and Old Testament documents. Our hope is that the believer has the proper knowledge to defend the accuracy and reliability of the Bible against secular arguments to the contrary.
Session 9 Understanding Evil and Suffering
In this session we address difficult questions head on. We discuss how God, who is all loving and powerful, still allows people to suffer. We cover tough issues like all the killing in the Old Testament and answer questions such as; Does the Bible support slavery, and How could a loving God kill babies such as in Egypt. Because the problem of suffering is such an big obstacle for non-believers, we equip the Christian to answer popular objections with the insight of some of the world's leading theologians.
Session 10 The Christian Legacy
Because secularists have limited Christianity's contribution in history to the Crusades and Inquisitions, we take the time to demonstrate how everything good in Western Civilization has its roots in the Christian religion. We discuss the rise of human rights, the scientific method, public education and modern charity by highlighting some of the heroes of these movements. In the end we determine conclusively that Christianity is the only worldview that advances social progress and human dignity, while atheism, Hinduism and Islam has brought us the worst kinds of human suffering.
Session 11 Christianity and Public Policy
In this session we discuss the Christian perspective on public policy from an apologetic standpoint, demonstrating decisively that our positions are not just rooted in Biblical revelation but in science and reason. We discuss marriage, same-sex marriage, modern feminism, abortion and separation of Church and State among other topics.