BIBLICAL AND THEOLOGICAL BASIS FOR DEVELOPING AN
DETAILS AND DESCRIPTION OF THE PROJECT
Creationism vs. Evolution
The first class began by discussing the aim and objectives of the eight-week course, as well as providing a quick overview of what would be covered during each lesson. The lesson then shifted to answering questions about origins: "How did we get here?" “Are we here because of an Intelligent Creator or as a. The purpose of lesson 1 was to help members understand that all Christians are called to defend the faith.
Second, the lesson provided believers with answers to the most common scientific objections to the Christian faith. Although not all members had a background in science, they were able to understand that evidence for an Intelligent Creator is all around them and can be seen in every field of science, including. At the end of lesson 1, participants were equipped to push back against statements made by non-believers that "science has disproved the existence of God". Participants learned to ask simple questions, such as.
What science has disproved the existence of God?” By learning these simple tools, believers were encouraged and equipped to better defend their faith. Although Lesson 1 ended with all the evidence pointing to a Creator being the cause of our existence, it opened the door to another question: "Which Creator is the cause of the universe?" This question was answered in Lesson 2.
Christianity vs. World Religions
Proving the uniqueness of Christianity and the deity of Christ through the use of the Bible creates another dilemma: "Can the Bible be trusted?" This question about the reliability of Scripture was addressed in lessons 3-5.
The Uniqueness of the Bible
The Formation of the Bible
Participants learned why the Bible was written, who wrote it, why they wrote it and what their qualifications were. The lesson also addressed books that are included in the Roman Catholic Bible, but not in the Protestant Bible, in order to answer the question "Are there other gospels or books that have been removed from the Bible?".
The Reliability of the Bible
Mormonism
This lesson asked the question, "Are Mormons our brothers and sisters in Christ or members of a religious cult?" We answered this question by looking at the beliefs, history and prophecies of Mormonism and other topics related to this faith. After studying Mormonism, the class was able to identify the errors of the Mormon church (ie, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) and see that Mormons hold doctrines that are not in the Bible. At the conclusion of Lesson 6, the Bible class understood that Mormons are not our brothers and sisters in Christ and that, unfortunately, they are members of a religious cult.
Jehovah’s Witnesses
The Problem of Evil
EVALUATION OF THE PROJECT
Pre-Course Assessment
The first goal was to assess LBC members' current knowledge of apologetics and biblical worldview. Each completed inventory allowed me to gain insight into each participant's strengths and weaknesses. For example, part 2 of the inventory included twenty Likert-scale questions, with five questions focusing on the responsibility of evangelism, eight.
While many participants indicated that they were afraid of how people would react or that their schedules were too busy to share the gospel, all participants indicated that they felt that evangelism was the responsibility of all Christians. Each of the inventories showed that while all participants had a correct view of God and affirmed that Christianity is the only true faith, their weakness had to do with their overall self-confidence and their ability to apply their biblical worldview when confronted with competing worldviews. For example, each participant stated: "I am convinced that Christianity is the only true religion." However, when presented with the statement, "I find it offensive to force my religious beliefs on someone else," half of the participants agreed with this statement.
The results of these inventories showed that the participants' theological understanding had to be applied to real scenarios. That is, participants had to be given real-life scenarios where they could take their biblical understanding that there is only one God and only one way to heaven and learn that "pressing the truth" that will lead to eternal life does not "offensive" is not, but the most loving thing Christians can do. Their fear of man appears to be a major reason why they do not share their faith with non-believers.
However, 58 percent of the inventories revealed that participants did not feel equipped to answer difficult questions that may arise when sharing the gospel. Equipping participants to do just that is the goal of the curriculum that was developed—discussed next.
Curriculum Development
Curriculum Implementation
The success of the third objective was measured by re-administering “Apologetics and the Biblical Worldview” to LBC members who participated in the apologetics course and comparing pre- and post-course survey results. My goal in approaching this project was to develop an apologetics and biblical worldview curriculum that would address many of the obscure and difficult questions that Christians wrestle with (e.g., questions regarding the origins of the Bible, the reliability of the Bible, the problem evil and others ), which are researched at a scientific level and presented at a level that the average person can understand. In order to test my curriculum, I constantly discussed the content of the curriculum with my three children (ages 10, 8, and 6).
It was clear from the responses I received to this course that I had achieved this goal. While not everyone saw such drastic results, most participants saw their scores increase. Another indication of the success of the course comes from the anonymous feedback on the course evaluation.
Of the assessments that were completed, each one showed increased knowledge, growth and confidence. I feel more empowered to share my faith and the reasons for my beliefs with colleagues, friends, and family members in a loving way because of the way this class was taught.” Another participant said: “My faith was. Throughout this project, I have noted that the call to forgiveness is found in several parts of the New Testament, but that the primary text is 1 Peter 3:15.
Good, broad knowledge base provided." A review of the post-count scores and comments clearly indicates that participants were encouraged and equipped to pursue more gospel conversations and remain steadfast in their faith. One of the major weaknesses of the project was that I tried to cram too much information into each lesson. However, I could have thinned out some of the slides and allowed for more participant interaction throughout the course.
One of the attendees commented, “Have to shorten or cut some quotes from a few lessons. I also received feedback from one of the participants on this point: “The course was great. Another weakness of the project was that there were several instances where the quote I read didn't match what was on the projected screen.
Would Do Differently
APOLOGETICS CURRICULUM ASSESSMENT RUBRIC
APOLOGETICS COURSE PARTICIPANT EVALUATION
STATISTICAL ANALYSIS OF T-TEST RESULTS
COURSE CURRICULUM
