Apologetics Training Ministry/Program/etc

[ahs]

I have seen where a Parish in Mesa, AZ (St. Timothy) offers an Apologetics class run by the laity of that Parish. (Well, they at least did at one time…can’t find it on their webstie anymore.) I have contacted them several months ago (and just today to find out if they are still active and gain more insight) and gotten some info, but I’d like to know if anyone else is doing something like this and find what resources are already out there so I’m not re-inventing any wheels.

What I’m envisioning is a once-a-month study group, where an Apologetics topic is thoroughly discussed. The gentleman from Mesa has provided me with some topics that were covered in their classes (but they did theirs weekly) along with the books they used.

So my basic question is, is there a syllabus of sorts already out there for something like this? For those who have done these…how deep into the topics was too deep/too shallow, is monthly meeting do-able, any other tips/advice/etc…???

Thanks,
Dave

 

[MarcoPolo]

Ive not done this as a class so it might be best to follow the lead of those who did it. If you are the leader what I would do is go with your strengths. Start with subjects you feel most comfortable with. Then do a talk or have a brainstorming meeting on best format. Just some thoughts.

 

[EricFilmer]

I have seen where a Parish in Mesa, AZ (St. Timothy) offers an Apologetics class run by the laity of that Parish. (Well, they at least did at one time…can’t find it on their webstie anymore.) I have contacted them several months ago (and just today to find out if they are still active and gain more insight) and gotten some info, but I’d like to know if anyone else is doing something like this and find what resources are already out there so I’m not re-inventing any wheels.

What I’m envisioning is a once-a-month study group, where an Apologetics topic is thoroughly discussed. The gentleman from Mesa has provided me with some topics that were covered in their classes (but they did theirs weekly) along with the books they used.

So my basic question is, is there a syllabus of sorts already out there for something like this? For those who have done these…how deep into the topics was too deep/too shallow, is monthly meeting do-able, any other tips/advice/etc…???

Are there some apologetics books that you read in the past and found particularly helpful (something from Patrick Madrid, Scott Hahn, Karl Keating, etc.)? Maybe you could use one of them as the textbook for the course. It’s table of contents would be your syllabus, and you could always flush out each chapter’s topic with any outside material that you would like to add. If you personally found a particular book to be neither too deep nor too shallow when you were first learning about apologetics then that may prove true for the people taking your class as well.

As a side note, I assisted with an apologetics course as part of a master’s degree program in theology. I did not use a text but found the various CAF tracts to be very valuable as concrete & concise material to share with the class.

 

[EricFilmer]

Out of curiosity, I just googled “Catholic apologetics syllabus” and (as you can see) a number of links came up allowing one to see the course outlines used by various professors and clergymen. I don’t know anything about the specific courses linked, but maybe this information will be helpful in designing your own syllabus.

 

[ahs]

Thanks guys for the (name removed by moderator)ut! Wow…duh! I didn’t even think to “google” search it.

Yes, actually I found Keating’s “Catholicism and Fundamentalism” to be great, as well as David Currie’s “Born Evangelical, Born again Catholic”. And many of the CAF tracts contain excerpts from Keating, and Tim Staples I believe as well (and probably more).

Keating also wrote a book called “What Catholics REALLY Believe: 52 answers to common misconceptions…”. To me, it was more “introductory”, but yes, I think it would be best to have the group set the tone for how deep they want to get…or at least take time to see where they are (collectively) before deciding exactly where to start.

Yes, I think if I focused on my strongest subjects first, and if it’s just once a month, that gives me time to hone the other subjects enough to at least cover the basics. Plus, there may be other group members who are strong in different areas.