"Do ordinary things extraordinarily well!" Saint Francis de Sales

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FINAL EXAM

Always be ready to give an explanation to anyone who asks you for a reason for your hope, but do it with gentleness and reverence.”  (1 Peter 3:15-16)

 Apologetics means, broadly speaking, a form of apology. The term is derived from the Latin adjective, apologeticus, which, in turn has its origin in the Greek adjective, apologetikos, the substantive being apologia, "apology", "defense".  In defining apologetics as a form of apology, we understand the latter word in its primary sense, as a verbal defense against a verbal attack, or disproving a false accusation.  Therefore, apologetics is the theological science that has as its purpose the explanation and defense of the Roman Catholic Faith.

 This project will require each student to defend a point of Catholic doctrine against the familiar and often vituperative attacks of its opponents.

 Process:

1.      Each student will be assigned a point of Catholic doctrine which they must defend. 

a.       Approved topics will be given in class

b.      One student per topic, per class.

c.       Due date: Friday, April 24th

 Written Format:

  1. Excluding the cover sheet and bibliography, the eight- ten page written ‘apologetic’ is to be type-written, 12 pt font, Times New Roman, with one inch margins. The paper must be left justified (not centered, right, or full justified).
  1. The cover sheet should display the title of the apologia in the center, and the student’s name and class marked on the bottom right-hand side of the paper.
  1. The bibliography/Works Cited should list all sources used by the student in preparation of their paper. Your bibliography must include at least 6-8 sources (only two of which may be internet sources) and must contain sources advocating both sides of the discussion. Neither the Bible nor Wikipedia will count as a source.  4
  2. Each person’s dialogue should be single-spaced, but the area between the dialogues should be double-spaced.  Thus, the format should be:

Person #1:  assorted dialogue.  assorted dialogue.  assorted dialogue.  assorted dialogue.  assorted dialogue.  assorted dialogue.  assorted dialogue.  assorted dialogue.

Person #2  :response & assorted dialogue.  response & assorted dialogue.  response & assorted dialogue.  response & assorted dialogue.  response & assorted dialogue.

5.  The dialogue must be grammatically correct.

 Other Information

Be sure to read the school policy and class handout regarding plagiarism. Be certain that what you turn in is your own work!

Adequate class time will be given for library research.

A copy of your paper must be handed in to www.turnitin.com.  A physical copy is due to me in class.  Due Date:  Friday, April 24th.  Papers may be turned in early.

Because this is meant to be an interaction between opposing viewpoints, one character in the dialogue format needs to be a Catholic and the other either needs to be a non-Catholic Christian (either from a particular denomination or from just a general Bible-based sectarian background) or a non-Christian who seeks understanding of a particular point of Catholic doctrine.

You may name your characters anything you want (non-offensive, politically correct, etc.,) 

I want this written in a dialogue because:

historically it has proven to be an enormously interesting and persuasive way of presenting theological and apologetic issues, and more than any other style of writing, it helps you to anticipate objections; and anticipating objections is an important means of understanding your own viewpoint. 

The project must demonstrate:

bulletKnowledge of the Catholic/Christian position on the matter discussed
bulletKnowledge of the opposing position 
bulletA strong ability to show how the two positions would interact with one another in an ideal situation. Note: students sometimes have trouble remembering that this is to be an ideal format – In a "realistic" paper or situation, such as the dialogues that most often take place in real life, the participants misunderstand each other, talk past one another, and engage in all sorts of irrelevancies and logical fallacies. Thus they do an injustice to their own positions. Your papers, however, ought to avoid this sort of thing. The point is to produce the best possible case for both positions.  

 Point System:

  1. Written report:  Your written report will count as your final exam grade. 100 points total.
  2. There will be a 10 point deduction for each day that the project is late.
  3. If the project is not handed in to www.turnitin.com by the due date, the entire project will be considered late.

 

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Last update January 22, 2009