COURSE SYLLABUS

APO 101 – General Apologetics

Master of Arts in Christian Apologetics /Certificate in Apologetics
Baptist Bible College of Asia
Location: Canvas Recordings (Online) When: Self-Pace
Ramon N. Margallo, Adjunct Professor
Email: ramonmargallo@ratiochristi.org
Guest Professors: Dr. Richard Howe, Dr. Jonathan McLatchie,
Dr. Ross Hickling, Prof. Allen Hainline, Prof. Don Deal

Course Description

General apologetics is an introductory course on the defense of biblical Christianity: the nature
of truth, the existence of God, the possibility of miracles, the problem of evil, the historical
reliability of the New Testament, the deity of Christ, and the Resurrection of Christ

Objectives

Upon the successful completion of this course, the student must be able to:
1. Articulate the truths of the Christian worldview thru philosophy, theology, history,
science, and Scriptures.
2. Critique popular arguments and some academic arguments brought forth by atheists,
agnostics, skeptics, cultists, evolutionist and other critics of biblical Christianity.
3. Evaluate the strengths or weaknesses of the common apologetic arguments for the
Christian faith.
4. Establish apologetics as an integral part of one’s growth in Christ and as a springboard
for Gospel presentation.
5. Further develop apologetics as an avenue of discipleship of other believers.

Grading
97-100 A+ 78-80 C+
93-96 A 76-77 C
89-92 A- 74-75 C-
86-88 B+ 72-73 D+
83-85 B- 70-71 D
80-82 B Below 70 Failed

Attendance: 15%
Reading and Video Viewing: 10%
Presentation: 15%
Open Book Test: 20%
Research Paper: 40%
TOTAL 100%
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 Attendance - 15%

View and Attest ALL Class Lectures

Readings and Debate Video Viewings - 10 %

Required Reading

Dawkins, Richard. The God Delusion. Bantam Press: London, 2006.

Geisler, Norman L. Baker Encyclopedia of Christian Apologetics. Grand Rapids: Baker

Books, 2000.

_______, and Frank Turek, I Don’t Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist.

Wheaton: Crossway, 2004.

_______, and Thomas Howe. When Critics Ask: A Popular Handbook on Bible
Difficulties. Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1997.

Why I Am A Christian: Leading Thinkers Explain Why They Believe. Edited by Norman L.
Geisler and Paul K. Hoffman. Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2001.

Note: At this point, it is not necessary to read the entire Baker Encyclopedia of Christian
Apologetics. The only required reading topics are:

Acts, History of Adam, History of Agnosticism

Anthropic Principle Apologetics, Argument of Apologetics, Need for
Apologetics, Types of Archaeology, New Testament Archaeology, Old Testament
Atheism Barnabas, Gospel of Bible, Canonicity of
Bible, Criticism Bible, Evidence for Bible, Jesus’ View of
Big Bang Theory Calvin, John Canaanites, Slaughter of the
Causality, Principle of Certainty/Certitude Chance
Christ Death of Christ, Deity of Christ, Uniqueness of
Christ of Faith Vs. Jesus of History
Christ’s Death, Moral Objections to
Christ’s Death, Substitution Legend Classical Apologetics
Common Ground Conventionalism Cosmological Argument
Creation, Views of Daniel, Dating of Darwin. Charles
Dead Sea Scrolls Deism Determinism
Divine Birth Stories Edwards, Jonathan Einstein, Albert
Evil, Problem of Evolution Evolution, Chemical
Evolution, Cosmic Evolution, Theistic Experiential Apologetics
Faith and Reason Fideism Finite Godism

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First Principles
Flood, Noah’s
Genealogies, Open or Closed
God, Alleged Disproof of
Gospel of Thomas, The
Hell
Hittites, Problem of
Humanism, Secular
Infinite Series
Jesus, Quest for the Historical
Justin Martyr
Kushner, Harold
Logic
Lying in Scripture
Materialism
Miracles, Apologetics Value of
Miracles, Arguments Against
Miracles, False
Missing Links, Evolutionary
Mystery
Naturalism
New Testament, Dating of
Noetic Effects of Sin
Omnipotence of God, Alleged Contradictions
Origen
Panentheism
Pentateuch, Mosaic Authorship
Pharaoh, Hardening of
Polygamy
Prophecy, as Proof of the Bible
Redaction Criticism, Old Testament
Resurrection, Alternate Theories of
Resurrection Claims in Non-Christian Religions
Resurrection, Evidence for
Revelation, General
Sagan, Carl
Science and the Bible
Self-Evident Truths
Tautology
Theism
Virgin Birth of Christ
Witnesses, Hume’s Criteria for
Flavius, Josephus
Free Will
Genesis, Days of
God, Evidence for
Greenleaf, Simon
Historical Apologetics
Holy Spirit, Role in Apologetics
Hume, David
Jesus, Non-Christian Sources
Jesus Seminar
Kalam Cosmological Argument
Lewis, C.S.
Logos, Theory
Martin, Michael
Miracle
Miracles, Cessation of Sign Gifts
Miracles, Magic and
Monotheism, Primitive
Mythology and the New Testament
New Testament Apologetic Concerns
New Testament Manuscripts
Ockham’s Razor
Origins, Science of
Pascal, Blaise
Pluralism, Religious
Presuppositional Apologetics
Resurrection, Physical Nature of
Revelation, Special
Satan, Reality of
Scientific Dating
Self-Refuting Statements
Teleological Argument
Thermodynamics, Laws of
Wellhausen, Julius
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Flew, Anthony
Freud, Sigmund
Gnosticism
God, Objections to Proofs for
“Heathen,” Salvation of
History, Objectivity of
Infants, Salvation of
John, Gospel of
Luke, Alleged Errors in
Marx, Karl
Miracles in the Bible
Moral Argument for God
Nietzche, Frederick
Old Testament Manuscripts
Paley, William
Passover Plot
Pharaoh of the Exodus
Progressive Revelation
Q Document
Resurrection of Christ
Russell, Bertrand
Shaeffer, Francis
Scientism
Swoon Theory
Tertullian
Truth, Nature of
William of Ockham
Worldview
Further Reading

Geisler, Norman L. When Skeptics Ask: A Handbook on Christian Evidences. Grand Rapids:
Baker Books, 2000.

McDowell, Josh. The New Evidence That Demands a Verdict. Nashville: Thomas Nelson
Publishers, 1999.

Sproul, R.C. Defending Your Faith: An Introduction to Apologetics. Wheaton: Crossway,

2003.

_______. Consequences of Ideas: Understanding the Concepts That Shaped Our World.
Wheaton: Crossway, 2000.

Strobel, Lee. The Case for Christ: A Journalist’s Personal Investigation of the Evidences for
Jesus. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1998.

Turabian, Kate L. A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertation:
Chicago Style for Students and Researchers, 7th ed. Edited by Wayne C. Booth,
Gregory G. Colomb, Joseph M. Williams and the University of Chicago Press
Editorial Staff. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 2007.

Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, “Fallacies,” https://www.iep.utm.edu/fallacy/

Suggested Reading Schedule

Why I Am A Christian

I Don’t Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist

The God Delusion

When Critics Ask (to be read side by side with your Bible)

Baker Encyclopedia of Christian Apologetics (aka BECA)

Debate Videos

William Lane Craig VS. Christopher Hitchens (must be viewed by March 24)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FofDChlSILU

John Lennox VS. Richard Dawkins (must be viewed by March 24)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zF5bPI92-5o

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Frank Turek VS. Michael Shermer (must be viewed by March 24)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8aZn7XUFSmA

Richard Howe VS. Ed Buckner (to be viewed at the class)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vG_z5PVZo00

Presentation - 15%

The student is to present and record the presentation of “Why Christianity?” (see lecture video
and power point) to three (3) individuals (non-believers are preferred) at different times. Student
may revise the power point to his/her preference.

Open Book Test (Due 3 Months After Course Enrollment) – 20%

The Open Book Test will consist of multiple questions to evaluate your understanding of the
course materials. The answer for each question must fit in no less than one (1) page and no more
than two (2) pages single-spaced. You must use you own words to answer the questions. If you
must, minimally, the citations for this test must adhere to Kate L. Turabian’s A Manual for
Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations. It is allowable to consult with a
proofreader to edit the grammar, syntax, flow, coherence, and unity of your answer. The
proofreader, however, may NOT alter the substance of the test answers. (See sample Title
Page.)

Research Paper (Due 4 Months After Course Enrollment) – 40%

Including the Title Page and Bibliography, the length of the Research Paper must be 15 pages
long at 12-point Times New Roman font size double-spaced. On this paper, which will include
one (1) page Introduction and one (1) page Conclusion, the student is to critique seven (7) of the
many arguments against God and Christianity that are championed by Richard Dawkins in his
book The God Delusion. The student is to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of these
arguments. The response may include any combination of logical, philosophical, scientific,
historical, theological, and biblical arguments on where Dawkins’ assertions might succeed or
fail.

The citations for this paper must adhere to Kate L. Turabian’s A Manual for Writers of Research
Papers, Theses, and Dissertations. The Bibliography must contain a minimum of ten (7) books
(ebooks included). Students may use a maximum of five (5) internet articles (Wikipedia is NOT
allowed). It is allowable to consult with a proofreader to edit the grammar, syntax, flow,
coherence, and unity of the paper. The proofreader, however, may NOT alter the substance of the
paper’s content. See sample Research Paper that can be used as a guide for formatting,
citations, and Bibliography. This shortened paper is for reference purposes and is not necessarily
detailed, robust, and complete in content

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 Student Facebook Discussions (Secret Group)

All students are required to become members of a Facebook Student Discussion Page (Secret
Group). Here, the Zoom links to each course sessions will be posted. Also, students may share
their thoughts on the assigned readings, video viewings, and lectures.

It is important to remember that among the many students, there are different levels of
apologetics knowledge and denominational backgrounds. That is, this Discussion Group is
purposed to encourage and assist one another and not designed for students to engage in heated
debates.

The Apostle Peter penned, “But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give
an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this
with gentleness and respect,” (1 Peter 3:15). Indeed, the first task of an apologist is to revere
Christ as Lord. And true, preparation to give an answer for the hope in Christ is a must do. Yet
sometimes, humbly, the answer is, “I’ll get back to you.”