Applied Biblical Apologetics

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$300.00
$300.00
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In this 36 week guided and interactive online high school course, students will defend each and every major Biblical doctrine of the Christian faith against real live skeptics on their own forums. Students will work in pairs and will plan and reflect on each engagement. Please scroll down for more information.

"...For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ..." -- II Corinthians 10:4-5

Additional resources required:

  • None

So, what's the story?

Have you ever been attacked by a gate?

Maybe a more embarrassing question is, “Have you ever been defeated by one?”

If Paul told us that our weapons are for “tearing down strongholds,” and Jesus said that “the gates of Hell will not stand against [the Church],” then why are we living on the defensive?

I learned this the hard way in two ways.

The first is that my high school was ranked 4th academically in the nation, with a debate team that had been national champions for as long as anyone could remember — most of whom were hostile to Christianity. Consequently, I learned early that I needed to carry my Bible to Math class, or I was going to get waylaid by classmates and teachers. I was “standing down” Ph.D.’s in apologetics battles from the time I was 15 years old.

The second way was harder, and thus, more relevant.

I worked with youth in Columbus, GA, and had trained (or so I thought) several members of the group to use the Bible effectively. They graduated, went to college, had their faith shredded there, came back, and bled out in my arms. I swore in that day: NEVER AGAIN!!

These two experiences forged this course. The need to ensure that the students are prepared to fight their own battles by having to struggle to strength, and the need to ensure that they do not despair before they succeed.

You see, there is nothing wrong with the Sword. It is only in the swordsman where the failing lies.

To graduate high school, our students must attain certain academic skills. What are their skills, before our churches pronounce them “graduated”?

Paul, at the Areopagus, opened with “I have wandered about your city, and I have seen that you are a religious people.…” Can we train to the Areopagus Standard, so our students can wander about “their city” and understand the type of religious people that they are going to encounter?
 

Adult accomplishments:

  1. Every major doctrine of the Christian faith defended against real skeptics on the skeptic's forum, while still in a supportive environment
  2. An identified disciple to whom the student will pass on what they have learned
  3. A prescribed "path to reconciliation/repentance" for a personal and an organizational problem faced by a real person and a real organization

Transferable Skills:

  1. The ability to cite "chapter and verse" for whatever they claim to believe
  2. The ability to answer objections from all sorts of skeptics to the Christian faith
  3. The ability to stand up under academic attack on their faith from college professors and other professional skeptics
  4. The ability to deal with personal problems in a Biblical way
  5. The ability to solve organizational problems Biblically
  6. The ability to win any argument
  7. The ability to evaluate the arguments that people bring about all sorts of topics
  8. The ability to understand others' viewpoint, without having to fall into the pitfalls of that viewpoint

What careers will this course give me a leg up on?

  1. Pastor - Average Salary: $48,270 (https://www.payscale.com)
  2. Youth Pastor - Average Salary: $40,000 (https://www.glassdoor.com)
  3. Counselor - Average Salary: $40,772 (https://www.glassdoor.com)
  4. Christian Author - Average Salary: $61,240 (https://www.careeronestop.org)
  5. Teacher - Average Salary: $58,030 (https://www.careeronestop.org)
  6. Lawyer - Average Salary: $118,160 (https://www.careeronestop.org)
  7. Investigative Journalist - Average Salary: $37,820 (https://www.careeronestop.org)

General syllabus (Subject to change as needed)

  • Course Start: 23 August 2021
  • Week 1:
    • Complete an Observation Worksheet on a difficult passage
    • Learn Basic Apologetic Frameworks
  • Week 2:
    • Complete an Interpretation Worksheet on the same passage
    • Learn the logic of syllogisms
    • Learn Basics of Polygon Method
  • Week 3:
    • Learn the Doctrine of God
    • Practice Polygon Method (case studies)
    • Critique classmates' interpretation documents
  • Week 4:
    • Plan with partner your attack on a stronghold that dares to elevate itself against the Doctrine of God
  • Week 5:
    • Conduct coordinated attack to demolish the first stronghold against the Doctrine of God
  • Week 6:
    • Reflect on attack on Stronghold #1 against the Doctrine of God (Doctrine of God Attack #1)
  • Week 7:
    • Learn Doctrine of the Bible
    • Plan attack on Stronghold #2 against the Doctrine of God (Doctrine of God Attack #2)
  • Week 8:
    • Execute Doctrine of God Attack #2
  • Week 9:
    • Reflect on Doctrine of God Attack #2
  • Week 10:
    • Learn Doctrine of Christ
    • Plan Doctrine of the Bible Attack
  • Week 11:
    • Execute Doctrine of the Bible Attack
  • Week 12:
    • Reflect on Doctrine of the Bible Attack
  • Week 13: 
    • Learn Doctrine of Man/Sin
    • Plan Doctrine of Christ Attack
  • Week 14: ​Thanksgiving Week
    • Execute Doctrine of Christ Attack
  • Week 15:
    • Reflect on Doctrine of Christ Attack
  • Week 16:
    • Plan Doctrine of Man/Sin Attack
    • Learn Doctrine of Salvation I
  • Christmas Vacation: 13 December 2021 - 2 January 2022
  • Week 17:
    • Execute Doctrine of Man/Sin Attack
  • Week 18:
    • Reflect on Doctrine of Man/Sin Attack
    • Learn Doctrine of Salvation II
  • Week 19:
    • Learn Doctrine of the Holy Spirit
    • Plan Doctrine of Salvation Attack
  • Week 20:
    • Execute Doctrine of Salvation Attack
  • Week 21:
    • Reflect on Doctrine of Salvation Attack
  • Week 22:
    • Learn Doctrine of the Family
    • Plan Doctrine of the Holy Spirit Attack
  • Week 23:
    • Execute Doctrine of the Holy Spirit Attack
  • Week 24:
    • Reflect on Doctrine of the Holy Spirit Attack
  • Week 25:
    • Plan Doctrine of the Family Attack
    • Learn Doctrine of the Church
  • Week 26:
    • Execute Doctrine of the Family Attack
  • Week 27:
    • Reflect on Doctrine of the Family Attack
  • Week 28:
    • Plan Doctrine of the Church Attack
    • Learn Doctrine of Angels
  • Week 29:
    • Execute Doctrine of the Church Attack
  • Week 30:
    • Reflect on Doctrine of the Church Attack
  • Spring Break: 11 - 17 April 2022
  • Week 31:
    • Learn Doctrine of Future Things (Eschatology)
    • Plan Doctrine of Angels Attack
  • Week 32:
    • Execute Doctrine of Angels Attack
  • Week 33:
    • Reflect on Doctrine of Angels Attack
  • Week 34:
    • Plan Doctrine of Future Things Attack
  • Week 35:
    • Execute Doctrine of Future Things Attack
  • Week 36:
    • Reflect on Doctrine of Future Things Attack
  • Course End: 28 May 2022

Expected Work Load

  • Typically one or more tasks that you must perform to move your project iteratively "down the road"
  • One or more discussion questions from the teacher to answer
  • Responding to classmates' answers to the discussion questions
  • Ensuring that you go through any of the learning activities for skills where you are not yet proficient to help you in future weeks' tasks

***All of this is designed to take you about 5 focused hours per week, which is less than you would have if you were attending class in a traditional school.

How can i write this up on a high school transcript?

  1. As a Bible credit, given the extensive study of the different doctrines of the Christian faith that the student will have had to undergo in an effort to defend them
  2. As a Philosophy credit, given the extensive study of argumentation and logic (with its associated fallacies) that the student will have had to put into practice in making their various cases
  3. As an English credit, given the amount of writing that the student will have had to complete, from their planning, making their arguments, and then reflecting on them in writing in order to inform the next round of arguments.