Assignment: Apologetics Application Paper Instructions
Length: 2800 - 3300 words.
Choose a non-Christian worldview (see page 2 of these instructions for the worldviews you may choose from). Write a paper that evaluates the worldview using the method described in the Groothuis text, that defends Christianity, and that demonstrates a working knowledge of the assigned course readings and accomplishes the following goals:
I. 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 600 words.
II. 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 600-750 words.
III. 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 600-750 words.
IV. Defend key aspects of the Christian worldview. The defense must take into consideration the beliefs and perspective of the worldview you have selected; and must demonstrate a good working knowledge of the standard arguments as presented in the course materials. 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 750-1000 words.
Given these instructions, the basic outline for your paper should be as follows:
1) Introduction
2) Summary of the Worldview
3) Evaluation of the Worldview
4) Evaluation of Christianity
5) Defense of Christianity
6) Conclusion
Instructions continued next page
Worldview Choices - Choose one of these three worldviews to write about in this paper:
• Scientific Naturalism
• Secular Humanism
• 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. While less than ideal, it is permissible to use a few websites that contain articles written by people who hold to the worldview you are writing about, even if these websites do not strictly fall into the definition of "scholarly."
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.
Format your assignment according to the give formatting requirements:
1. The answer must be double spaced, typed, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides.
2. The response also includes a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the course title, the student's name, and the date. The cover page is not included in the required page length.
3. Also include a reference page. The references and Citations should follow APA format. The reference page is not included in the required page length.