Apologetics Application Paper Instructions

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:

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      600 words.
2. Use      Groothuiss 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.
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 600-750 words.
4. 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.

These four requirements will form the basis of the structure of your paper and must be treated as four 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 statementa 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 2800 3300 words (including the main text only, not footnotes, front matter, or the bibliography).

Given these instructions, the basic outline for your paper should be as follows:

I. Introduction

II. Summary of the Worldview

III. Evaluation of the Worldview

IV. Evaluation of Christianity

V. Defense of Christianity

VI. Conclusion

Instructions continued next page

Worldview Choices – Choose one of these three worldviews to write about in this paper:

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. 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 Universitys online research tools can be used, which will provide full-text electronic copies of print sources.

This assignment will be completed in 3 parts:

• Parts 1 and      2 are designed to help you develop the building blocks of what will become      your final paper. Both Parts 1 and 2 will be submitted on the submission      forms provided in Blackboard. Each submission form indicates the instructions      and requirements for that part of the assignment and the submission      froms must remain unchanged with the exception of the required content      that you type on the form. Attempted submissions that do not use the provided      submission form will not be accepted for credit. Each of these parts is      designed to help you write a final paper that meets the requirements      stated in these instructions. For each part, you must download the form      and save it on your computer with a new file name using your last name and      the assignment name. Then, type your content directly on the form (without      making any other changes to the form) and submit the form in Blackboard      using the links provided.
• The final      paper must conform to the requirements named above. All aspects of the      final paper must follow current Turabian format and the current version of      the School of Divinity Writing Guide.

Submit the Apologetics Application Paper Part 1 by 11:59 p.m. (ET) on Sunday of Module/Week 3.

Submit the Apologetics Application Paper Part 2 by 11:59 p.m. (ET) on Sunday of Module/Week 5.

Submit the Apologetics Application Paper Final by 11:59 p.m. (ET) on Friday of 

Module/Week 8.