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Seminars and Workshops
Areopagus Christian Studies Institute
The foundational curriculum for the Areopagus is our Christian Studies Institute (ACSI), which includes two major components: A comprehensive survey of Christian history entitled Seminar in Christian History and a comprehensive study of Christian apologetics entitled Frontline Apologetics: Defending the Christian Faith in a Skeptical Culture.
Seminar in Christian History
A 2-year (4-semester) study of the major people, events, and themes in Christian history from Jesus through the Reformation era. For Christians who want a substantive understanding of the origins, growth, development, major themes, and controversies in Christianity over the centuries, there is no substitute for a systematic study of Christian history.
Part I: Jesus of the Nazareth and the Apostolic Age.
The life and times of Jesus of Nazareth,
What do we know of the historical Jesus?
Major people, events, and themes in 1st century Christianity.
Early growth and spread of Christianity.
The Jewish/Roman wars.
Part 2: The Post-Apostolic and Constantinian Eras.
The early Church Fathers.
Heresies, persecutions, and the evolution of Christianity, circa 100-450 A.D.
Constantine and the establishment of the Christian religion.
Origins of the Roman Catholic Church.
The life and theology of Augustine.
Part 3: Medieval Christendom.
Major people, events, and themes in medieval Christendom, circa 500-1500.
Evolution of the Roman Catholic Church.
Medieval church/state relations.
The Crusades and the Inquisitions.
Medieval scholarship and spirituality.
The Renaissance papapy.
The state of the church, circa 1500.
Part 4: The Reformation Era.
Causes of the Protestant Reformation.
The proto-reformers: Wycliffe, Huss, Erasmus, et. al.
Luther, Zwingli, Calvin, Tyndale, and the mainstream Reformation.
Anabaptism and the Radical Reformation.
Was the Reformation Necessary?
Legacies of the Reformation.
Frontline Apologetics: Defending the Christian Faith in a Skeptical Culture.
A 2-year (4-semester) study of the Biblical, rational, and factual bases of the Christian faith. This course equips Christians to better understand their faith and communicate the truth-claims of Christianity more effectively in the midst of our increasingly pluralistic and skeptical culture.
Part 1: Foundations of Christian Apologetics.
Introduction to Christian apologetics.
The theological and practical value of apologetics.
The absolute truth about relativism.
Does faith correlate to reason and science?
Does God exist? The classical arguments for the existence of God.
Part 2: Alternative Universes: A Study of Basic Worldviews.
The practical value and necessity of Christians understanding alternative worldviews.
Christian Theism as a comprehensive and coherent worldview.
Christian Theism compared and contrasted with alternative worldviews such as...
Deism;
Naturalism (including secular humanism and atheism);
Nihilism;
Existentialism;
Eastern pantheistic monism;
The New Age; and
Postmodernism.
Parts 3 & 4: Defending the Christian Faith in a Skeptical Culture.
Developing a philosophy of the Bible.
Biblical inspiration and authority.
Has the Bible been accurately preserved and transmitted through the centuries?
The historical search for the real Jesus.
The centrality of the resurrection to Christian faith.
The theodicy issue: The problem of God and evil.
Is Christianity the only true religion?
What is the fate of non-Christians?
Other issues and controversies in contemporary apologetics.
General Course Catalogue
The following is a list of regular Areopagus seminars and workshops. Most are 12-hour courses, but courses range from 2 hours to 12 hours.
AP Apologetics and Philosophy
101 Developing a Christian Mind: Truth, Logic, and Critical Thinking
102 Introduction to Christian Apologetics
170 Postmodernism
201 C.S. Lewis and "Mere Christianity"
202 A Mere Christian: The Life and Works of C.S. Lewis
210 The Life and Works of G.K. Chesterton
301 Developing the Case for Christ (Based on "The Case for Christ" by Lee Strobel)
307 The Historical Quest for the Real Jesus
501 The Classical Moral Philosophers:
Socrates
Plato
Aristotle
901 Driving Forces of the 20th Century:
Charles Darwin
Karl Marx
Sigmund Freud
Mahatma Gandhi
Albert Einstein
Martin Luther King, Jr.
The Sexual Revolutionaries: Margaret Sanger, Alfred Kinsey, and Hugh Hefner
AR The Arts and Entertainment
101 A Christian Philosophy of the Arts
201 Art and Culture: A Survey History
333 The Gospel According to "The Simpsons"
401 Film Analysis: Aesthetics, Philosophy, and Theology
444 The Gospel in "The Lord of the Rings"
501 American History Off the Record: World War I
503 American History Off the Record: The Great Depression
504 American History Off the Record: World War II
506 American History Off the Record: The Civil Rights Movement
507 American History Off the Record: The Vietnam War
508 American History Off the Record: Political Dissent and Revolution in the 1960s
509 American History Off the Record: The Sixties' Counterculture
510 American History Off the Record: The Sexual Revolution
601 Songwriters' Forum:
Woody Guthrie
Pete Seeger
Bob Dylan
Phil Ochs
Paul Simon
Joni Mitchell
John Denver
Cat Stevens
Jackson Browne
Bruce Cockburn
Kate Wolf
Mary Chapin Carpenter
701 The Gospel According to Dylan
702 The Beatles
703 The Moody Blues
707 The Gospel According to U2
777 The Jesus Movement Off the Record
801 Jazz
850 God's Music: Bluegrass and Cajun
901 A History of Baseball
950 The Spiritual Odyssey of Pete Maravich
BIB Biblical Studies
101 Principles of Biblical Interpretation: Exegesis and Hermeneutics
103 Developing a Philosophy of the Bible
200s Studies in the Old Testament
300s Studies in the New Testament
701 The Bible and Archaeology
910 Church as Community
920 Discerning and Utilizing Spiritual Gifts
930 Body Life Ministry in the Church
BIO Biographical Studies
700s Modern Theologians:
Soren Kierkegaard
Kark Barth
Rudolph Bultmann
Paul Tillich
Reinhold Niebuhr
900s Lights of the 20th Century:
Watchman Nee
Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Dorothy Day
Martin Luther King Jr.
Malcolm Muggeridge
Billy Graham
Mother Teresa
Pope John Paul II
CE Christian Education
100s Selected Topics
501 A Montessori Approach to Christian Education
CH Christian History
101 Seminar in Christian History: Introduction: The Cultural Context
102 Seminar in Christian History, Part 1: Jesus and the Apostolic Age
103 Seminar in Christian History, Part 2: The Post-Apostolic and Constantinian Eras
104 Seminar in Christian History, Part 3: Medieval Christendom
105 Seminar in Christian History, Part 4: The Reformation Era
350 The Life and Times of the Apostle Paul
401 A Survey of Early Christian Literature
420 Women in the Early Church: A Biblical and Historical Study
450 Augustine and Aquinas
501 An Alternative Tradition: The Dissenting Church in History
620 The Radical Reformation
CON Contemporary Issues
101 The Evolution of Modernity
201 The Culture War
250 Liberalism, Secularism, and Political Correctness
501 Original Intent: Restoring a Proper Relationship Between Church and State
CR Comparative Religions
101 Judaism
201 Islam
250 Kahlil Gibran's "The Prophet"
301 The Vedic Tradition and Hinduism
350 The Life and Teachings of Mahatma Gandhi
401 Buddhism
450 Hermann Hesse's "Siddhartha"
501 Chinese Religions and Philosophies: Daoism, Confucianism, etc.
601 A Survey of Contemporary Cults
HIS General History
110 The Ancient Middle East and Egypt
120 Israel to 137 A.D.
122 Israel: From 137 to the Present
130 Ancient and Classical Greece
150 Ancient and Classical Rome
200s Topics in Medieval History
250 The Crusades
300s Topics in Modern World History
500s Topics in U.S. History
550 Destructive Generation: The 1960s Revisited
701 Modern Political Ideologies
LIT Literature
201 Novel Approaches to the Gospel:
Charles Dickens
Feodor Dostoevski
Leo Tolstoy
T. S. Eliot
William Faulkner
George Orwell
Ayn Rand
Flannery O'Connor
Graham Greene
Walker Percy
John Updike
301 20th Century Literary Prophets:
G.K. Chesteron
C.S. Lewis
J.R.R. Tolkien
Aleksander Solzhenitsyn
E.F. Schumacher
401 The Gospel in "The Chronicles of Narnia"
SCI Science and the Christian Faith
101 Creation, Evolution, and Intelligent Design
201 Biogenetics and Christian Ethics
SP Christian Spirituality and Spiritual Psychology
101 Writing Your Spiritual Autobiography
501 Sigmund Frued and Carl Jung: A Christian Analysis
510 Viktor Frankl and "Man's Search for Meaning"
520 Philip Rieff and "The Triumph of the Therapeutic"
530 Scott Peck and "The Road Less Traveled"
540 Paul Vitz and "Psychology as Religion: The Cult of Self-Worship"
701 The Contemplative Spiritual Tradition: Background, Theology, and Practice
720 Early Christian Mysticism:
Apostle John
Apostle Paul
Clement of Alexandria
Anthony
Gregory of Nyssa
730 Medieval Mysticism:
Francis of Assisi
"The Cloud of Unknowing" and "Imitation of Christ"
Teresa of Avila
John of the Cross
Madame Jeanne Guyon
750 Contemporary Contemplatives:
Sadhu Sundar Singh
Evelyn Underhill
Thomas Merton
Catherine de Houck Dougherty
Henri Nouwen
Bede Griffiths
901 Health and Christian Spirituality: A Wholistic Approach
TH Theological Studies
101 Introduction to Christian Theology
501 Comparative Traditions: The Theology and Ecclesiology of Roman Catholicism,
Orthodox Christianity, Protestantism, and Anabaptism
701 Theological Conservatism and Liberalism: The Fundamental Differences
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