Basilisa Marie Posted February 20, 2015 Share Posted February 20, 2015 I'm trying to start up a weekly apologetics class for adults at my work church. These people are in serious need of some basic catechesis, and some have expressed interest in apologetics and being able to give good answers to basic questions (or not so basic questions) about the faith. In all likelihood it's going to be something made from scratch, or mostly scratch, and I'm going to try to get a small team of adults to switch off leading it. I'm thinking part lecture and part discussion/q and a time. I have my own experiences with engaging in apologetics, but I'm wondering if any of you have any ideas? I'm looking for anything - best practices, helpful tips, good resources, unexpected challenges, good topics, the whole enchilada. My primary goal is to use apologetics as a vehicle for teaching them some theology, but I also want them to feel confident in their ability to give a good answer when non-Catholics (or their kids) ask them questions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nihil Obstat Posted February 20, 2015 Share Posted February 20, 2015 Just fire up a Fr. Hesse video. Should be all you need. :| Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ash Wednesday Posted February 20, 2015 Share Posted February 20, 2015 I prop and applaud your efforts and will keep you in my prayers. Knowing you live in the Seattle area, I'm sure they are in dire need of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CatherineM Posted February 20, 2015 Share Posted February 20, 2015 I've taught one for women for several years. It's empowering. Be prepared for lots of questions about raw family issues. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheresaThoma Posted February 21, 2015 Share Posted February 21, 2015 If you know of a solid RCIA program/director near you pick their brains. They probably have some good resources to the most common questions. One of my priests suggested the Beginning Apologetics series as a good resource. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basilisa Marie Posted February 21, 2015 Author Share Posted February 21, 2015 Thanks guys. Part of the reason I'm basically making it from scratch is that my boss (the pastor) is kind of picky about the kinds of materials he likes. He's been pretty vocal about what he doesn't like, but not very clear about what he does like. He keeps saying he wants things that are "middle of the road" but I'm only just beginning to understand what he means by that. A lot of the apologetics stuff out there that I know about is stuff I'm pretty sure he'd classify as too conservative. Plus I don't have a lot of time to fully review a bunch of curriculum or video series (I'd rather just spend that time writing a bunch of stuff myself that I know we'll use). And this way I can dance around his objections while still making sure these people get solid catechesis that is neither too academic/historical-critical/spirituality-isn't-for-thinking-people or too jesus-loves-me-that's-all-that-matters/the-church-today-is-exactly-the-way-things-have-always-been Argh. I've been working as a pastoral assistant for just over 4 months now and I'm still at the very beginning stages of building up my own resources and network. I'm probably biting off way more than I can chew. I just want things to be good, ya know? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
truthfinder Posted February 21, 2015 Share Posted February 21, 2015 Hmm, if you're describing your pastor that way, then maybe my suggestion won't be as helpful. Otherwise, I was going to suggest the Didache series, they are 'highschool' level so it could give you the intellectual middle ground, and has a set on history, morality, etc - even if you just add it to your own arsenal of resources. I have used the Didache textbook for the history course as a student. We never used workbooks and I find that once people are older than about middle school, workbooks quickly lose their efficacy and should be replaced by discussion. My $.02 for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kyrie eleison Posted February 22, 2015 Share Posted February 22, 2015 How about this? http://www.kofc.org/un/en/cis/courses/index.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ark Posted February 22, 2015 Share Posted February 22, 2015 Just fire up a Fr. Hesse video. Should be all you need. :| Surprised someone knows of Fr. Hesse here ; ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ark Posted February 22, 2015 Share Posted February 22, 2015 Peace be with you Basilisa, I think focusing on the pressure issues of our times: contraception, abortion, homosexual marriage, all-male priesthood, would be the main things to focus on. You can't defend those topics without going over important pieces of theology. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nihil Obstat Posted February 22, 2015 Share Posted February 22, 2015 Surprised someone knows of Fr. Hesse here ; ) But of course. ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhuturePriest Posted February 22, 2015 Share Posted February 22, 2015 Any Priest in his 50s whose hair goes past his shoulders is obviously not worth listening to. :| Also, Fr. Hesse just comes across to me as having been far too abrasive and angry. To answer the question at hand, the best resource I know of for straight-up apologetics questions and answers is The Essential Catholic Survival Guide by Catholic Answers. It goes through every single major issue today raised by protestants, Mormons, atheists, etc. Your pastor may find it too "conservative" because it is Catholic Answers, but there really is nothing "conservative" about it. It's a simple format of "If a Protestant says 'Call no man on earth 'father'', show them these verses." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ark Posted February 22, 2015 Share Posted February 22, 2015 Any Priest in his 50s whose hair goes past his shoulders is obviously not worth listening to. :| Also, Fr. Hesse just comes across to me as having been far too abrasive and angry. That's an ad hominem my brother, judge the man's words and not his person. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tinytherese Posted February 22, 2015 Share Posted February 22, 2015 That's an ad hominem my brother, judge the man's words and not his person. Sometimes a person's tone can be distracting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tinytherese Posted February 22, 2015 Share Posted February 22, 2015 What does your priest mean when he says that he doesn't want any "conservative" resources? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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