“Always be prepared to make a defense to anyone who calls you to account for the hope that is in you, yet do it with gentleness and reverence” (I Peter 3:15). This course will equip students to explain and defend more persuasively the truth, goodness, and beauty of Catholicism through their words and deeds. Topics will include the perennially relevant traditional themes of natural, Christian, and Catholic apologetics, as well as more recent controversial issues. In summary, there are three main questions in our course around which the many subthemes revolve: Does God exist, and what is His nature? Is there evidence to affirm that Jesus Christ’s claims to divinity are true? Did Jesus Christ found a specific visible Church that continues to speak on His behalf and transmit His divine life today? In the first section of the course (natural apologetics) the arguments are normally philosophical and aimed at an atheistic, agnostic, or deist audience. In the second section (Christian apologetics), the arguments are normally historical and are aimed at a non-Christian theistic audience. In the third section (Catholic apologetics), the arguments are normally biblical and historical and are aimed at a non-Catholic Christian audience. When you are faced with objections peppered with ad hominem arguments, you must exercise Peter’s exhortation to defend the faith with “gentleness and reverence” in situations that will test your patience. Unfortunately, in the real world of media and watercooler conversations, your interlocutors will not always treat you with the reverence you deserve. The capacity to explain your position with calm clarity can be an important part of your overall communication as the logical truth of your content.

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