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, thiswill 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

If you wish to select a worldview other than one mentioned above, explicit permission from the instructor must be received by 11:59 p.m. (ET) on Sunday of Module/Week 2. Approval for such will only be granted in rare cases in which you are able to demonstrate sufficient justification.

Outside Research (Required)

Course textbooks may be used. In addition to these, at least10 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 articlesandbooks 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 defendsthe 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.

This assignment will be completed in 3 parts:

• Parts 1 and 2 will be submitted on the submission forms provided in Blackboard. Attempted submissions that do not use the provided submission form will not be accepted for credit. Each submission form indicates the requirements for that part of the assignment. Each of these 2 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 submission directly on the form and submit the form in Blackboard using the SafeAssign 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.