CHRISTIAN APOLOGETICS Semester 1, 2013: "I DON'T HAVE ENOUGH FAITH TO BE AN ATHEIST" SEMESTER 1 & HOLIDAY SCHEDULE Semester 1: SEMESTER 2 & HOLIDAY SCHEDULE Semester 2: o Sept. 9, 2013 Jan. 17, 2014 o Sept. 9, 2013 Jan. **10, 2014 Thanksgiving break: o November 25 29, 2013 Christmas break: o December 23, 2013- January 3, 2014 o January 20, 2014 May 23, 2014 o January **27, 2014 May 23, 2014 Winter break: o February 17 21, 2014 Spring break: o April 14-18, 2014 TEACHER (Mon & Wed): Larry A. Blythe, M.A.A. (Master of Arts in Apologetics) (B.A. Pastoral Theology) 704.299.4931 larry@apologia.com. TEACHER (Tues): Matt Barclay, M.Div/A (Apologetics) MrBarclay@apologia.com COURSE DESCRIPTION Sometimes referred to as Indoctrination Inoculation, this course is a survey of the evidences for the central truths of Christianity; the existence of God, the deity and resurrection of Christ and the authority and truth of the Bible. The defense of the Christian faith is a Biblical command. Christians must be prepared to explain what they believe and why they believe it, with gentleness and respect. There are 'proofs' throughout the cosmos and in the Bible. This course will focus on these 'proofs' and argue that Christianity is superior to all worldviews because it is the most reasonable. The evidence for truth, God, and the Bible will be examined in logical order and in a simple, non-technical, engaging style. The goal is to inoculate the student before attending college, from the onslaught of faith-destroying philosophies.
REQUIRED TEXTS FOR ALL STUDENTS 7th through Adult (7th-8th - Selective Readings - See Assignments) I Don't Have Enough Faith To Be An Atheist, by Frank Turek, Apologia.com Purchase this from Apologia but there is no discount. I Don't Have Enough Faith To Be An Atheist, WORKBOOK, by Frank Turek, Apologia.com Receive a 40% discount on this Workbook only, by calling Apologia after you register. Tactics: A Game Plan for Discussing Your Christian Convictions, By: Gregory Koukl, Zondervan / 2008 / Paperback, ISBN: 0310282926 ISBN-13: 9780310282921 Purchase from your favorite book seller. Living Loud, by Geisler, Holden, purchase anywhere (not Apologia) Purchase from your favorite book seller. THIS BOOK IS FOR JR. HIGH ONLY 7-8th GRADES ONLY: YOU MAY USE A DIFFERENT SYLLABUS UPON REQUEST If you think the above reading and assignments (below) are too advanced, you may send an email request to the teacher. 1. Possible Options for 7-8th Grade Students: 2. You AND your parents work through the above text and textbook, oryou choose a different syllabus. Differences: o Read Living Loud and answer Review Questions after each chapter o Purchase the above textbook and workbook, but do only the Jr. High assigned reading and workbook (student will be using the text like a research book using it only to answer about ¼ of the contents) o Easier research assignments (see requirements below) Mid-term and Final exams much easier o If choosing Jr. High Syllabus, you must do end of chapter "Review Questions" in Living Loud
COURSE REQUIREMENTS 7-8th Grade Students 9th-Adult Students Not Required (except 4 chapters -see Special Projects) Read Weekly 20% final grade Not Required (10% FREE added to final grade) (except 4 chapters -see Special Projects) 1. Read/Answer Questions 20% 2. Read Sidebars/Gray Sections 5% Read Weekly 20% final grade Read Weekly 20% final grade EOS SP 1. Read All - 20% final grade 2. Answer all Questions - 15% You must complete ALL LIVING LOUD questions at the end of each chapter. End of Semester Completion - 25% All LIVING LOUD questions completed and verified by a parent. All students must keep up on the LIVING LOUD questions weekly and "turn it in" (as assigned) at the end of the semester. This will consist of a form filled out by a parent verifying completion (ex: John has completed 90% of LIVING LOUD questions (hopefully 100% ). This will be reflected in your final grade. SPECIAL PROJECTS x 4-10% You will be required to read 4 assigned chapters in IDHEF and fill in the questions from the corresponding WORKBOOK (do NOT do the LOOK section). X End of Semester Completion - 25% Workbook Completion: ALL question filled in (in the Workbook, not separately). A parent will submit a form verifying completion at the EOS. SPECIAL PROJECTS x 4-10% The workbook has sections titled LOOK which consists of various written assignments. You are required to choose any LOOK assignment from the completed chapters, choose one of the options (there are 3 or 4 options under each LOOK), and turn it in on the due date (a total of 4 will be required one per month). You may choose 4 options (one per month) from the same chapter if you wish.
RECOMMENDED READINGS FOR ALL: CREATION/EVOLUTION By Dr. Jonathan Sarfati (CMI, Creation.com): Refuting Compromise; The Greatest Hoax on Earth-Refuting Dawkins on Evolution; Refuting Evolution; Refuting Evolution 2 CHRISTIAN APOLOGETICS By Paul Copan: How Do You Know You're Not Wrong?: Responding to Objections That Leave Christians Speechless Is God a Moral Monster? Making Sense of the Old Testament God Contending With Christianity s Critics: Responding to the New Atheists and Other Objectors "True for You, But Not for Me, rev. ed.: Countering the Slogans that Leave Christians Speechless By J.P. Moreland: Scaling the Secular City: A Defense of Christianity Rob Bowman and Kenneth Boa: Faith Has its Reasons Habermas and Licona: The Case for the Resurrection of Jesus Lee Strobel: All of his "Case for..." books are great C.S. Lewis: Any, but especially Mere Christianity Geisler & Hoffman: Why I Am A Christian Geisler: Christian Apologetics; When Skeptics Ask Dinesh D'Souza: What's So Great about Christianity? Josh McDowell: New Evidence That Demands A Verdict Ravi Zacharias: The End of Reason: A Response to the New Atheists RESEARCH LINKS: www.garyhabermas.com/links.htm (GREAT site that links to MANY others) www.creation.com crossexamined.org www.leaderu.com/orgs/probe/docs/bib-docu.html www.probe.org/ www.christiananswers.net www.carm.org/ apologeticsindex.org/ www.ankerberg.com/ answers.org/ str.org www.gotquestions.org www.allaboutgod.com www.tektonics.org www.rationalchristianity.net www.christian-thinktank.com www.gotquestions.org www.tektonics.org/index2.html www.carm.org/bible_difficulties.htm www.rationalchristianity.net/apol_index.html debate.org.uk/topics/apolog/contrads.htm www.answering-islam.org/bible/contra/index.html www.christian-thinktank.com/hway.html allaboutscience.org www.xenu.net/ (SCIENTOLOGY) www.answersingenesis.org www.icr.org/ (CREATION VS EVOLUTION) www.drdino.com/ (CREATION VS EVOLUTION) RECORDED STUDENTS: Need the Webex Player? 1. Do NOT sign in or sign up for an account even if it prompts you to 2. The link below will take you to the download page 1. Scroll down and find "Watch" 2. Under ".ARF File" click on "Windows" or "Mac OSX" 3. Remember you do NOT need to sign up or in for an account on webex
SEMESTER 1 & HOLIDAY SCHEDULE Semester 1: o Sept. 9, 2013 Jan. 17, 2014 o Sept. 9, 2013 Jan. **10, 2014 Thanksgiving break: o November 25 29, 2013 Christmas break: o December 23, 2013- January 3, 2014 SEMESTER 2 & HOLIDAY SCHEDULE Semester 2: o January 20, 2014 May 23, 2014 o January **27, 2014 May 23, 2014 Winter break: o February 17 21, 2014 Spring break: o April 14-18, 2014 Teacher: Larry A. Blythe, M.A.A. 704-299-4931 Email: larry@apologia.com CHRISTIAN APOLOGETICS SEMESTER 2: Answering Atheists, Skeptics, & Others Apologia Academy / Apologia Educational Ministries, Inc. Phone: (888)524-4724 COURSE DESCRIPTION: This class will address challenges from noted New Atheists like Richard Dawkins (The God Delusion) and other contemporary critics of Christianity concerning belief in God, the historical Jesus, and Christianity's doctrinal coherence. It will also teach the student good answers to recent controversial bestsellers such as God Is Not Great, The God Delusion, and Misquoting Jesus. Arguments regarding the existence of evil, the historical Jesus, evolution, the Trinity, hell, morality, and others will be analyzed and learned by the student. Additionally the student will be able to answer skeptics of Christianity when they make statements like "who are you to judge me?," "Christians are intolerant bigots," "it's all a matter of perspective," "you can choose whichever religions you wish," "who are you to impose your morality on other?," "you can't legislate morality," "biological evolution explains morality," "we can be good without God," and many more ignorant rants. REQUIRED TEXTS: (Purchase from your favorite book seller) 1. True for You, But Not for Me: (Revised) Overcoming Objections to Christian Faith, Paul Copan, 2009, Bethany House, ISBN- 10: 0764206508 2. Cold-Case Christianity: A Homicide Detective Investigates the Claims of the Gospels, by J. Warner Wallace, Paperback: 288 pages, Publisher: David C. Cook (January 1, 2013), ISBN-10: 1434704696, ISBN-13: 978-1434704696
COURSE REQUIREMENTS for ALL Students WEEKLY EXPECTED: Class participation and Attendance: No points. All students be expected to participate in discussions, and q&a. For the preparation of each class period the student will be expected to have completed all assignments. 1. WEEKLY: Text reading assignments: 25% of final grade. For the preparation of each class period the student must have read all assigned pages in the textbooks. Prior to each class session students will post their reading completion on their student portal page. Texts are to be read according to the attached details chart. 2. WEEKLY: Questions/Answers & Study Guide Jr. High may choose only one if too difficult: 50% of final grade. Please give brief, but good answers. 1. 25%: Students will answer all questions using the download of questions from TRUE FOR YOU Download the pdf notes found above (click on picture on Student Portal) and save to your computer. Highlight, copy, and paste the questions to your favorite word processing program Answer every question briefly but intelligently - Type your answer after each question Submit to the portal and ATTACH your answers (use ONLY Word, Plain Text, or pdf files) NOTE: The questions are also used for group study. Here's what to do when "group" questions are asked: "Discuss..." = write down your thoughts based on the reading and your thinking "Talk about..." = write down your thoughts based on the reading and your thinking "Read Psalms...(or other passages)..." = Go ahead and read the passages. This is part of doing the homework. Multiple questions in one question: some q's have 2 or more questions within a question. Answer those too. Sometimes it's a "yes" or "no." 2. 25%: Students will read, then answer all questions in the study guide of Cold Case (study guide is TBA) END OF SEMESTER - True For You Study Guide Completion 25% o You must have a parent send a personal email to the teacher at larry@apologia.com stating 100% completion of this study guide. RECOMMENDED WEB SITES FOR RESEARCH, STUDY, & ANSWERS TO TOUGH QUESTIONS: www.garyhabermas.com/links.htm (GREAT site that links to MANY others) http://crossexamined.org http://www.probe.org/ www.leaderu.com/orgs/probe/docs/bib-docu.html www.probe.org/ www.equip.org/ www.christiananswers.net www.carm.org/ http://apologeticsindex.org/ www.ankerberg.com/ http://answers.org/ www.letusreason.org http://str.org www.gotquestions.org
www.allaboutgod.com www.tektonics.org www.rationalchristianity.net www.christian-thinktank.com www.gotquestions.org www.tektonics.org/index2.html www.carm.org/bible_difficulties.htm www.rationalchristianity.net/apol_index.html http://debate.org.uk/topics/apolog/contrads.htm www.answering-islam.org/bible/contra/index.html www.christian-thinktank.com/hway.html http://allaboutscience.org www.xenu.net/(scientology) www.answersingenesis.org creation.com/ www.icr.org/(creation VS EVOLUTION) www.drdino.com/(creation VS EVOLUTION) The mission of Apologia Educational Ministries is to provide products, resources, and services that help homeschool students and families learn, live, and defend the Christian faith.