ASSIGNMENT 1:
After reading Winter & Hawthorne, chs. 48-52, choose 1 of the pioneers of the world Christian movement (William Carey, Hudson Taylor, William Cameron Townsend, or Samuel Zwemer) and write a brief biography. What was his major contribution to global missions history?
Assigned Reading:
• Textbook Readings • Moreau et al.: chs. 6-7 • Winter & Hawthorne: chs. 36-50
PART 1: APOLOGETICS APPLICATION PAPER INSTRUCTIONS
Choose a non-Christian worldview (see below for choices). Write a paper that demonstrates a working knowledge of the assigned course readings and accomplishes the following goals:
1. Summarize the worldview by using the main categories of belief discussed in the assigned course reading (see Groothuis Chapter 4 for some of the main categories of belief: ultimate reality, source of authority, human beings, source of morality, etc.). This section of the paper must be approximately 2 pages.
2. Use Groothuis's criteria for evaluating worldviews (see Groothuis Chapter 3) in order to reveal the significant ways in which the selected worldview fails in providing a rational, livable, comprehensive system. This section of the paper must be 2-3 pages.
3. Evaluate Christianity by the same criteria. Show that Christianity is a better (both intellectually and existentially), more reasonable alternative to the worldview selected, and that Christianity is more likely to be true. By using the same evaluation criteria as given in the previous section, this will show that Christianity does not suffer from the same flaws as the worldview you evaluated. This section of the paper must be 2-3 pages.
4. Develop a plan to share and defend the Christian worldview. The plan must take into consideration the beliefs and perspective of the worldview you have selected. This section must include significant discussion on at least 2 of the following subjects: the problem of evil, several arguments for the existence of God, defense of the resurrection of Jesus, defense of objective truth and/or moral values. This section of the paper must be 3-4 pages.
These 4 requirements will form the basis of the structure of your paper and must be treated as 4 separate sections in the body of the paper. In addition to these requirements, the paper must have a proper introduction, conclusion, and follow the structure of a standard academic essay. The introduction must include a clear thesis statement-a main claim about the worldview that provides unity to the overall presentation. Including both the introduction and conclusion but not the title and bibliography pages, the total length of the paper must be 10-13 pages. Page length measurement is based on current Turabian formatting (i.e. number of pages when using 12-point Times New Roman font, 1-inch margins, etc.) and the current LUSD Writing Guide.
Worldview Choices: 1. Scientific Naturalism 2. Secular Humanism 3. Postmodernism Outside Research (Required) Course textbooks may be used. In addition to these, at least 10 high-quality, scholarly sources must be used. A scholarly source is one that is published in print by an academic publisher, university, or scholarly society. Academic journal articles and books are acceptable sources. Many scholarly sources are available in both hard-copy printed format and electronic form through the Jerry Falwell Library. Articles appearing on scholarly websites published and maintained by universities or scholarly societies (such as the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy) may be used, but generic websites (such as bible.org, CARM.org, Wikipedia, personal websites, blogs, etc.) must not be used.
Given the nature of the assignment, you must consult and use several sources written from a perspective that defends the worldview of your selected target audience. Liberty University's online research tools can be used, which will provide full-text electronic copies of print sources.
ASSIGNMENT 3: THEOLOGY OF MISSIONS PAPER INSTRUCTIONS
You will write a 1500-2000-word (6-8 page) paper on a biblical theology of mission. The purpose of this paper is to help you to articulate a biblical and theological basis for global mission (see learning outcome A of the syllabus). Your paper should explore the following questions:
• In 1-2 pages, discuss 2 Old Testament and 2 New Testament texts that relate to mission.
• In a half page to 1 page, discuss: how does the nature of God relate to mission?
• In 1.5-2 pages address: how does mission theology relate to 2 other aspects of theology? (i.e., Trinity, ecclesiology).
• In 1.5-2 pages address: what are 2 key themes or motifs of mission theology? (i.e., Kingdom of God, shalom).
• In a final concluding page, discuss how mission theology relates to (1) a missionary (2) church leaders (3) lay people not in full-time ministry.
Papers should conform to current Turabian (see guide in Blackboard) and include: a title page, table of contents, section headings, footnotes, and a bibliography of at least three scholarly sources. See the rubric for specific grading criteria. Aside from your textbooks (Moreau et al., Introducing World Missions and Winter and Hawthorne, Perspectives), some other helpful resources include:
Glasser, Arthur, Announcing the Kingdom: The Story of God's Mission in the Bible. Grand Rapids: Baker, 2003.
Ott, Craig; Strauss, Stephen J.; Tennent, Timothy, Encountering Theology of Mission: Biblical Foundations, Historical Developments, and Contemporary Issues. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2010.
Peters, George W., A Biblical Theology of Missions, Chicago: Moody, 1972.
Piper, John, Let the Nations Be Glad: The Supremacy of God in Missions, Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 1993.
Tennent, Timothy, Invitation to World Missions: A Trinitarian Missiology for the 21st Century. Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel, 2010.
Wright, Christopher, The Mission of God: Unlocking the Bible's Grand Narrative. Downers Grove, Ill: Intervarsity, 2006.