ABOUT THE TEACHER
Dr. Gastón Espinosa is Professor of Religious Studies at Claremont McKenna College. He attended Dana Hills High School, where he played football and ran track & field before going on to graduate from Biola University, Princeton Seminary, Harvard University, and the University of California at Santa Barbara (PhD). He was a visiting scholar at Dartmouth College and Princeton University, is the author/editor of nine books, enjoys teaching, worship, singing, dancing, sports, the outdoors & beach, and has a passion for serving the church and society with the love & knowledge of Jesus Christ.
ABOUT THE COURSE
This apologetics class explores tough questions & criticisms in Christian history, theology, and culture through different views of Jesus in other religions, Jesus and Muhammad compared, 5 myths about the crusades, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict with Hamas, 5 Proofs for God’s existence, Protestant & Catholic similarities & differences, and trends in world Christianity & claim that Christianity in a state of decline around the world. It will provide you with a brief introduction to the key issues and leaders, scholarly interpretations, and how to respond to honest questions about them with family and friends and help prepare you for informed and meaningful dialogue with people from a wide variety of beliefs.
Class 1 (Jan. 21) – Christian Apologetics 101: Different Approaches to Defending and Explaining Christianity
Class 2 (Jan. 28) – Who is Jesus in Christianity and Other Religions? Do other religions believe in the same Jesus?
Class 3 (Feb. 4) – 5 Proofs for God’s Existence: Can you proving God’s existence without referencing the Bible?
Class 4 (Feb. 11) – Jesus and Muhammad Compared: How are they similar & different?
Class 5 (Feb. 18) – 5 Myths About the Crusades to the Holy Lands, 1095-1291: Were they unprovoked wars?
Class 6 (Feb. 25) – Israeli-Palestinian Conflict & Rationales for Hamas’s attack on Israel?
Class 7 (Mar. 3) – Protestants & Catholics: What are the Differences?
Class 8 (Mar. 10) – Is God Dead & Christianity Declining? Trends in American & Global Christianity
The class will run from January 21st to March 10th in Classroom 2, 9:30-11am.
Class Content
Check out the provided class content from each weeks class.
Christian Apologetics 101: Different Approaches to Defending and Explaining Christianity
Normal Geisler, The Big Book of Christian Apologetics (Baker 2012).
William Lane Craig, Reasonable Faith (Crossway 2008).
Normal Geisler, Christian Apologetics, 2nd ed. (Baker 2013).
Peter Kreeft & Ronald K. Tacelli, Handbook of Christian Apologetics (IVP Press 1994).
Norman Geisler; Ronald Brooks, When Skeptics Ask: A Handbook on Christian Evidences (Baker 2013).
Normal Geisler, Christian Ethics: Contemporary Issues & Options (Baker Academic 2010).
Josh McDowel & Sean McDowell, Evidence that Demands a Verdict (Thomas Nelson 2017)
Who is Jesus in Christianity; Other Religions? Do other religions believe in the same Jesus?
Geisler, Christian Apologetics.
Kreeft & Tacelli, Handbook of Christian Apologetics.
Josh McDowel & Sean McDowell, Evidence that Demands a Verdict.
5 Proofs for God’s Existence: Can you prove God’s existence without referencing the Bible?
Geisler, Christian Apologetics.
Kreeft & Tacelli, Handbook of Christian Apologetics.
Anthony Flew, There Is A God: How the World’s Most Notorious Atheist Changed His Mind (HarperOne 2013).
Francis Collins, The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief (Free Press 2007).
Karl Giberson & Francis Collins, The Language of Science and Faith: Straight Answers to Genuine Questions (IVP Books 2011).
David Bentley Hart, Atheist Delusions (Yale University Press 2009).
Alister McGrath, The Twilight of Atheism: The Rise and Fall of Disbelief in the Modern World (Doubleday 2006).
Jesus and Muhammad Compared: How are they similar & different?
Kreeft & Tacelli, Handbook of Christian Apologetics.
Josh McDowel & Sean McDowell, Evidence that Demands a Verdict.
Walter Martin, Kingdom of the Cults (Bethany House 2019).
Geoffrey Parrinder, Jesus in the Qur’an (OneWorld Publications 2013).
Nabeel Qureshi, No God But One: Allah or Jesus? Former Muslim Investigates the Evidence for Islam & Christianity (Zondervan
2016).
Nabeel Qureshi, Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus: A Devout Muslims Encounters Christianity (Zondervan 2018).
5 Myths About the Crusades to the Holy Lands, Were they unprovoked wars?
Thomas F. Madden, Crusades: The Illustrated History (Duncan Baird Publishers 2004).
Rodney Stark, God’s Battalions (HarperOne 2009).
Mark Juergensmeyer, Terror in the Mind of God: The Global Rise of Religious Violence, 4th ed. (University of California Press
2017). Raymond Ibrahim, Sword and Scimitar (DeCapo Press 2018).
Christopher Catherwood, A Brief History of the Middle East (Running Press 2011).
Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, Rationales for Hamas’s attack on Israel?
Dan Cohn-Sherbok; Dawod El-Alami, The Palestine-Israeli Conflict (OneWorld 2006).
Christopher Catherwood, A Brief History of the Middle East (Running Press 2011).
Protestants and Catholics: What are the Differences?
Books: Eric Metaxas, Martin Luther: The Man Who Discovered God and Changed the World (Viking 2017).
Is God Dead; Christianity Declining? Trends in American and Global Christianity
Robert Wuthnow, Why Religion is Good for Democracy (Princeton University Press 2020).
Rodney Stark, America’s Blessing: How Religion Benefits Everyone, Including Atheists (Templeton Press 2013).
Rodney Stark, The Triumph of Faith: Why the World is More Religious Than Ever (ISI Books 2015).
Anthony Flew, There Is A God: How the World’s Most Notorious Atheist Changed His Mind (HarperOne 2013).
David Bentley Hart, Atheist Delusions (Yale University Press 2009).
Alister McGrath, The Twilight of Atheism: The Rise and Fall of Disbelief in the Modern World (Doubleday 2006).