DO720CE Apologetics
This course is an introduction to Catholic apologetics equipping the student to clearly explain and charitably defend their faith fulfilling St. Peter’s mandate to: “Always be prepared to make a defense to any one who calls you to account for the hope that is in you, yet do it with gentleness and reverence.” (1 Peter 3:15)
Course Syllabus
The course will first examine “why” one should study it, that is, what is its purpose and how it fits with mission, evangelisation and objective truth, followed by the “how”, namely, which dispositions are necessary and what attitudes to avoid, and finally, the “what”, where do we find evidence in Scripture, the Fathers, and tradition for our beliefs in order to logically explain them. Topics include: God’s existence, Jesus’s divinity, the Bible’s validity, the Church’s hierarchy, man’s purpose, the case for sacraments, and the Church’s moral teaching.
Required Texts
- Kreeft, Peter and Ronald Tacelli. Handbook of Christian Apologetics. San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2016.
- Armstrong, Dave. A Biblical Defense of Catholicism. Manchester, NH: Sophia Institute Press, 2003