Apologetics (APOL) Course Descriptions

• APOL 3301 Worldview Apologetics: ‘Testing Everything’ with C.S. Lewis & Francis Schaeffer

  Prerequisite(s): Junior/Senior Standing or Instructor’s Approval

  The course begins with a focused, in-depth reading of Lewis and Schaeffer. Then it examines thinkers who serve as models of how to extend and apply, or revise and modify, their apologetics arguments, and may include works by Nancy Pearcey, Alvin Plantinga, Herman Dooyeweerd, J. Richard Pearcey, Albert Wolters, Mark Noll, George Marsden, Gene Edward Veith, and many others, enriched by shorter readings such as articles, book excerpts, and primary source documents.

• APOL 3302 Worldview Apologetics: Surviving and Thriving at the University

  Prerequisite(s): Junior/Senior Standing or Instructor’s Approval

  This course provides students with tools to analyze the prevailing secular theories across a variety of fields, to think critically about underlying assumptions, and to argue persuasively for a credible Christian perspective. The course gives a worldview introduction to several subject areas, which may include math, english, science, business, political philosophy, the arts & humanities. Readings include books specific to each of the subject areas, enriched by shorter readings such as articles, book excerpts, and primary source documents.

• APOL 3303 Apologetics for Everyone

  Prerequisite(s): None

  A survey of the contemporary approaches to apologetics, including philosophical apologetics, cultural apologetics, and biblical apologetics. The course will also introduce students to some contemporary issues in apologetics, such as the relationship between science and faith, and common challenges to traditional Christian ethics.

• APOL 3304 Scripture and Apologetics

  Prerequisite(s): CHRI 1301

  A course designed to introduce students to biblical apologetics, including an analysis of contemporary methods of biblical criticism, views of the inspiration of scripture, defense of the trustworthiness of the scriptural narratives, and the historicity of the resurrection.

• APOL 3381 Special Topics/Independent Study

  Prerequisite(s): None

  Topics are selected on basis of student need and academic qualifications of staff. If regular lectures are not given, a minimum of 30 hours of work for each hour credit must be included.

• APOL 4301 Apologetics Communication

  Prerequisite(s): None

  A practical course designed to help students develop the ability to communicate effectively through public speaking, social media, interpersonal communication, popular writing, and debate.

• APOL 4302 Science and Faith

  Prerequisite(s): PHIL 1313

  This course will examine the relationship between science and faith, including an examination of the reasons for a perceived tension between the two in modern history, and various models for how the two can be mutually enriching.

• APOL 4381 Special Topics/Independent Study

  Prerequisite(s): None

  Topics are selected on basis of student need and academic qualifications of staff. If regular lectures are not given, a minimum of 30 hours of work for each hour credit must be included.

• APOL 5111 Mentored Ministry

  Prerequisite(s): None

  An internship in a ministry program. HCU faculty will provide oversight and mentorship in partnership with a ministry. Can be taken multiple times for credit.

• APOL 5181 Special Topics/Independent Study

  Prerequisite(s): None

  Topics are selected on basis of student need and academic qualifications of staff. If regular lectures are not given, a minimum of 30 hours of work for each hour credit must be included.

• APOL 5211 Mentored Ministry

  Prerequisite(s): None

  An internship in a ministry program. HCU faculty will provide oversight and mentorship in partnership with a ministry. Can be taken multiple times for credit.

• APOL 5281 Special Topics/Independent Study

  Prerequisite(s): None

  Topics are selected on basis of student need and academic qualifications of staff. If regular lectures are not given, a minimum of 30 hours of work for each hour credit must be included.

• APOL 5310 Apologetics Research and Writing

  Prerequisite(s): None

  A practical course designed to develop graduate-level writing and reading skills and introduce students to writing in the discipline of apologetics. The course will focus on developing a robust drafting, writing and revision process; using primary and secondary source materials; writing with clarity and correctness; and writing for both academic and popular audiences. Readings will introduce students to both philosophical and cultural apologetics.

• APOL 5311 Mentored Ministry

  Prerequisite(s): None

  An internship in a ministry program. HCU faculty will provide oversight and mentorship in partnership with a ministry. Can be taken multiple times for credit.

• APOL 5315 Evangelism for Everyone

  Prerequisite(s): None

  An introductory study of personal evangelism designed to equip students to understand their cultural context, to share the gospel naturally and effectively, and to respond appropriately to issues raised as they communicate their faith in Christ.

• APOL 5320 Philosophy of Religion: Faith & Reason

  Prerequisite(s): None

  This course will deal with basic issues in philosophy of religion, such as: theistic arguments, the problem of evil, the relationship between faith and reason, miracles, and life after death. (Offered as PHIL 5320.)

• APOL 5325 Introduction to Missions

  Prerequisite(s): None

  This course of study is designed to introduce the student to the biblical, theological, historical, and practical basis for Christian missions. Special attention will be given to current practices and contemporary issues related to global missions.

• APOL 5330 Ancient Philosophy and Culture

  Prerequisite(s): None

  Christianity was shaped by Jewish, Roman, and Greek cultural forces. This class will examine the Classical heritage of the Faith. Class will survey ancient philosophy, theater, and poetry. Course will survey texts such as Theogony, Odyssey, Bacchae, Frogs, Republic, Aeneid, and Metamorphosis to examine the roots of contemporary Western Christian faith.

• APOL 5340 Medieval Philosophy & Culture

  Prerequisite(s): None

  A survey of the ideas, cultural developments, and literature of Medieval Europe, from the Fall of Rome to the beginning of the Renaissance. The course will cover topics such as the medieval Christian contribution to science, philosophy, art, and education; the rise of Islam and the Christian response; and the integration of faith and reason as expressed in medieval literature, art, and philosophy.

• APOL 5350 Modern and Postmodern Culture

  Prerequisite(s): None

  An exploration of ideas and cultural developments from the 16th Century to the present, focusing especially on the relationship between reason and faith, the cultural consequences of modernity, and the apologetics challenges and opportunities of the present day. Students will read philosophical, cultural, and literary texts by a range of authors, including some non-Christians. Apologetics topics include issues such as doubt and suffering; pro-life issues; sexuality and marriage; and the integration of reason and imagination into apologetics.

• APOL 5360 Film, the Visual Arts, and Apologetics

  Prerequisite(s): None

  An exploration of the potential of film and visual art for use in apologetics, focusing on the principles of interpreting artworks, especially with regard to discerning the worldviews embodied in particular artworks and using artworks to foster dialogue on apologetics issues.

• APOL 5370 C. S. Lewis and Imaginative Apologetics

  Prerequisite(s): None

  C. S. Lewis is the most influential public apologist of the 20th century, and his influence continues to grow. This course will explore Lewis’s thought as expressed in his fiction, poetry, apologetics, and/or academic works, and assess his contribution to the work of imaginative apologetics.

• APOL 5380 ‘Mere Christian’ Theology and Apologetics Implications

  Prerequisite(s): None

  An examination of the rational coherence of core Christian doctrines, including the Trinity, the Incarnation, and the Resurrection. Other topics may include Christian Exclusivism, Substitutionary Atonement, Heaven and Hell, etc.

• APOL 5381 Special Topics/Independent Study

  Prerequisite(s): None

  Topics are selected on basis of student need and academic qualifications of staff. If regular lectures are not given, a minimum of 30 hours of work for each hour credit must be included.

• APOL 5382 Readings in Apologetics

  Prerequisite(s): None

  Involves selected primary and secondary apologetics readings within specific areas as designated by the professor.

• APOL 6310 Apologetics Communication

  Prerequisite(s): None

  A practical course designed to develop techniques used in interpersonal, group, public, social media and other mass communication settings. The focus will be on developing individual ability to communicate Christian thought for effective engagement with culture.

• APOL 6320 Science and Faith

  Prerequisite(s): None

  This course will explore the history of the relationship between science and religion, including the alleged hostility between the two. It will examine various accounts of the compatibility between the two and ways they can be understood as mutually enriching. Other topics in the philosophy of science and how they interact with theism may be considered. (Offered also as PHIL 6320.)

• APOL 6321 Philosophy of History and the Resurrection

  Prerequisite(s): None

  Philosophical assumptions affecting the study of history will be examined and dealing explicitly with miraculous occurrences, and most especially, evidences for the resurrection of Christ.

• APOL 6322 Philosophical Theology

  Prerequisite(s): None

  A rigorous examination of the coherence of theism that addresses the Biblical justification and the proper conceptual formulation (or qualification) of divine attributes such as incorporeality, necessary existence, aseity, eternality, simplicity, omnipotence, omniscience, divine goodness and moral perfection, and the philosophical formulation of historically orthodox doctrines of the Trinity, the Incarnation, justification and the Atonement, divine creation and providence, the nature of the Eucharist, the nature of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, and questions of individual and universal eschatology.

• APOL 6323 Philosophical Apologetics: Frameworks and Issues

  Prerequisite(s): None

  An introduction to different apologetic methodologies and kinds of argument used in the defense of the Christian faith. The relative merits of classical apologetics/natural theology, evidentialism, presuppositionalism, reformed epistemology, and cumulative case methodologies will be discussed while addressing theistic arguments relying on reason, natural and historical evidences, revelation, and subjective religious experience.

• APOL 6324 Theistic Arguments

  Prerequisite(s): None

  An examination of the nature of theistic proofs that focuses on rigorous consideration of various theistic arguments from the standpoint of modern analytic philosophy of religion. Cosmological arguments, teleological arguments, ontological arguments, arguments from providence, moral arguments, arguments from consciousness, arguments from religious experience, arguments from miracles and historical evidences, prudential arguments (e.g., Pascal’s wager), and more may be considered.

• APOL 6325 Theistic Ethics and Moral Apologetics

  Prerequisite(s): None

  Various arguments grounding objective morality in the existence of God will be considered, as will various forms of the moral argument for God’s existence. The nature of divine moral perfection and the dialectic among divine love, mercy and justice may be considered, along with the philosophical problem of evil and moral tensions in the Bible (animal sacrifices, capital punishment for non-capital offenses, the Canaanite conquest, etc.).

• APOL 6330 World Religions

  Prerequisite(s): None

  A course exploring world religions and the Christian response to them. Particular emphasis will be on the way in which one can engage participants in non-Christian religions and communicate Christian thought in various cultures.

• APOL 6331 Leadership and Evangelism in the Local Church

  Prerequisite(s): None

  This course will study strategies for increasing the effectiveness of evangelism training and outreach in the context of the local church.

• APOL 6332 Evangelism Through Small Groups

  Prerequisite(s): None

  This class will train students to facilitate small groups designed to help non-Christians work through their spiritual questions, make biblical discoveries, and move toward faith in Christ. It will also examine strategies for churches and ministries to leverage evangelistic small groups to impact their communities.

• APOL 6333 Apologetics and Evangelism in Practice

  Prerequisite(s): None

  This advanced course in apologetics and evangelism will train students to incorporate apologetics in evangelism. It will be heavily focused on examining individual and institutional case studies.

• APOL 6336 Missional Church Planting

  Prerequisite(s): None

  This advanced course in church planting addresses the biblical basis, missiological principles, and methods necessary for planting domestic and cross-cultural churches, with an emphasis on the cultural context.

• APOL 6340 Eastern Philosophy and Culture

  Prerequisite(s): None

  A course exploring Eastern philosophy and culture and the Christian response to them. Particular emphasis will be on the way in which one can engage participants in non-Christian religions and communicate Christian thought in various cultures.

• APOL 6350 The Problem of Evil

  Prerequisite(s): None

  This course will examine the problem of evil as a challenge to theistic and Christian belief, and explore different responses to the challenge, both classic and contemporary.

• APOL 6360 Moral Realism

  Prerequisite(s): None

  This course explores the question of whether moral realism is true. Standing at odds with moral realism are error theory, expressivism, constructivism, and sensibility theory. This course will examine each of these theories in some detail and subject them to critical scrutiny, as well as offering several reasons to think that moral realism is indeed true.

• APOL 6361 Theistic Ethics

  Prerequisite(s): None

  Designed to explore whether the facts and phenomena of morality, realistically construed, evidentially point to God, this course will answer the question in two ways. It first explores a variety of objections to such a notion, most deriving from the Euthyphro Dilemma, then investigates ways in which morality arguably suggests God as its best, only, only possible, possible, or plausible explanation.

• APOL 6362 Secular Ethics

  Prerequisite(s): None

  This course examines and subjects to critical scrutiny a range of ethical accounts. Secular and naturalistic theories will be discussed, both those among the Cornell realists and among the nonnaturalists. It will also look at the ethical frameworks of such worldviews as pantheism and panentheism, along with various religious accounts, asking how well such views account for binding moral obligations, the value of human persons, moral knowledge, moral evil, moral transformation, and moral rationality.

• APOL 6363 History of the Moral Argument

  Prerequisite(s): None

  This course draws the various threads together while examining the history of the moral argument. Among the luminaries of this history include Immanuel Kant, John Henry Newman, William Sorley, A. E. Taylor, Hastings Rashdall, and C. S. Lewis. The course will also canvass an array of more contemporary theorists, ranging from A. C. Ewing to Austin Farrer, George Mavrodes to Clement Dore, Linda Zagzebski to J. P Moreland, John Hare to Robert Adams, William Lane Craig to C. Stephen Layman.

• APOL 6370 Literature and Apologetics

  Prerequisite(s): None

  An exploration of the use of literature in apologetics, focusing on the theory and practice of imagination as a mode of knowing and communicating truth. Theoretical perspectives will include those of C.S. Lewis, George MacDonald, and J.R.R. Tolkien. Other materials will include a range of classic and contemporary texts that explore theological themes in both fictional and non-fictional modes, by Christian and even occasionally by non-Christian authors.

• APOL 6375 Creative Writing and Apologetics

  Prerequisite(s): None

  This course is an exploration of the practice of creative writing as a mode of cultural apologetics. Students will read and analyze classic and contemporary texts with regard to genre, form, style, and technique, and will write and workshop their own creative pieces, including poetry, fiction, and literary nonfiction, culminating in a critical reflection and portfolio. The course will also include theoretical perspectives on creative writing as a mode of imaginative apologetics. Other topics that may be covered include publication options, multi-media creative writing, and writing for children and young adults.

• APOL 6380 Scripture and Apologetics Implications

  Prerequisite(s): None

  A survey and evaluation of contemporary methods of biblical criticism and their implications for the authority of scripture, the historical reliability of scriptural narratives, and the doctrine of inspiration.

• APOL 6381 Special Topics/Independent Study

  Prerequisite(s): None

  Topics are selected on basis of student need and academic qualifications of staff. If regular lectures are not given, a minimum of 30 hours of work for each hour credit must be included.

• APOL 6390 Thesis

  Prerequisite(s): None

  This course, which should be taken in the final semester of the program as a culminating project, focuses on independent research and writing to produce a thesis. The course is designed for students who intend to go on to a doctoral program or do academic research and publication in the field of apologetics.