Glad to have you in this course,

The course will help equip you to critique erroneous worldviews for the purpose of Christian discernment and for the purpose of becoming effective in evangelism. You will learn how to reach this generation in a ‘cross-cultural’ manner. And, like any missionary who is training to reach a people group, you will gain a general understanding of the humanistic and pantheistic philosophies that have shaped Western thought. Close attention will be given to the darkening effect of sin upon the human heart and mind. And, as our class unfolds, you will become aware that communication is guided and conditioned by a person’s worldview commitment. Knowing this is revolutionary in our gospel conversations with unbelievers.

Glad to have you in this course,

Prof. Jay Wegter

Module One: Dear Students, our Lord has sent out His church to spread the gospel in every generation since the Apostles (Acts 1:8). He refers to us as "His witnesses." It is indeed interesting that the publication of the gospel is not done by the holy angels, but only by redeemed sinners. We are 'exhibit A', walking testimonies of the power of the gospel. Every true believer has a history as a former practicing sinner. We have a story to tell of a mighty Savior and of deliverance from sin.

In this course, which is a very ambitious one, we are seeking to meld together, apologetics, worldview, and evangelism. Many of your assignments will involve combining these three disciplines. And your assignment for Module One is no exception. This first assignment is to get you thinking in terms of worldview categories in connection with personal evangelism. Most unsaved folks have never had their erroneous worldviews scrutinized. And, the questions you will be writing will serve as powerful points of conversation for your gospel outreach and for discerning elements of a person's worldview.

The methodology for writing your set of worldview survey questions is as follows:

The questions you will write will be divided into four categories:

1. Origins (creation vs. evolution, 'big bang' etc.);
2. Anthropology (is mankind an advanced animal, product of chance, image of God?);
3. The Fall and Human Sin (have war, injustice, oppression always been with us? Are they normal?)
4. Redemption and Restoration (what does the gospel indicate we are saved from? Will this trouble planet ever be restored to its original pristine state? Why? How? etc.)

The four categories or divisions of questions correspond to the four foundational worldview questions in this course:

1. Who made you and me? (Origins)
2. What is our value, why do we have dignity and worth? (Anthropology)
3. What has gone wrong with the world? (The Fall and Human Sin)
4. What can we do to fix it? (Redemption and Restoration)

Write at least five questions under each of the above divisions. (Example of a question from division one: Do you believe that an Almighty Personal God was absolutely necessary for the creation of the cosmos? Why or why not? Example of a question from division two: Do you believe that a human being has more value than an animal? Why, why not. Please give this assignment your care and attention, (read over the assignment description several times) the questions you will be writing will help you

immensely in your personal evangelism.

Thank you, and I am very glad to have you all in this class, Prof. Jay Wegter

Module 2: Response to Survey assignment. Dear students, your survey questions were excellent. But, I want to challenge you to think even more deeply and biblically about the subject of Restoration (the last category in your Survey assignment). Here is the reason why: unbelievers also long for an existence in which there is love and justice —a world in which relationships are not ravaged by oppression, bereavement, injustice, or disease. But, here is the caveat, though the unbeliever desires such an existence, he or she does not seek it through the Lord Jesus Christ. This point of tension can be a vital talking point in a gospel conversation.

Author, Greg Koukl brings this out in his excellent book on Christian Apologetics, The Story of Reality. The author states that our longing for perfect love and justice is actually our yearning for an ‘immutable family’ (a place of perfect love and belonging that cannot be damaged or severed by death, disease, loss, or injustice). Koukl states that we are created for God’s Kingdom—that is what we are actually hungering for—the love, joy, security, order, glory, and structure of an immutable family! This ‘immutable family’ is our Lord’s coming Kingdom which will be His rulership with His subjects resting in Him—that means your purpose is to be found under His purpose (your story is found in His story) (pp. 48-49).

The Father’s Kingdom will be glorious and beautiful (‘come home forever to God’ will answer perfectly all of our family hunger). It can seem unattainable in the broken world we live in—in fact the utopian endeavors of the 20ᵗʰ Century resulted in the deaths of millions. The politicians of the liberal left will not produce a utopia by its policies—for, an immutable family will only be the result of Christ’s work in putting an end to sin—for sin and its effects are what destroys family life. Only when sin is decisively dealt with by Christ Jesus and His finished work, can there be the reality of an immutable family, the eternal Kingdom of God. “The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil” (1 Jn 3:8b). “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly. ‘I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep’” (Jn 10:10-11).

Begin thinking about these elements of restoration now so that not only can you introduce them in your evangelistic conversations, but also be able to explain restoration in your Worldview Paper.

Thank you, Professor Jay Wegter

Module 2: Dear Students, that last email announcement was sent prematurely by an overly eager computer. Here is the proper copy: Your "Right from Wrong" paper due Module 2 is actually a critical part of Biblical Worldview. As Christians, how we teach ethics is critically joined to the character of God. We must not forget that Buddhism, Islam, and the sub-Christian cults all teach ethics. But, our approach to teaching ethics differs from theirs because our instruction on morality comes from God's infallible Word And, we instruct out of 'moral logic'--in other words, moral absolutes are a clear display of God's immutable righteous character. God's moral law is permanent, and immutable because of God's immutable character and attributes.

Today the word, 'legalism' is bantered about in Christian circles, and sometimes falsely applied to believers who insist on moral virtue and ethical excellence. Well, let us not forget that NT Scripture insists upon moral excellence (2 Pet 1:5). This paper will hopefully challenge your thinking and ability to communicate why God demands we live virtuously.

One of the best ways to approach your writing is to organize your work around the required writing objectives. In fact, dividing your paper up by these divisions, set as bold sub-heads is an excellent approach:

1. Why moral instruction must be joined to biblical teaching about the character of God.
2. Why morals are an expression of God's holy character.
3. Why the Gospel is absolutely essential to a Christian philosophy of teaching morality (Be sure to include how the power of the gospel deals with the inability and rebellion inherent in human depravity.)
4. Why is the ability to articulate right from wrong (and its authoritative source) so crucial to effective Christian apologetics? Include in your paper a one or two paragraph sample scenario dialog of how to conduct a conversation with an unbeliever about morality and its source and significance.

Discovery Point Hint: Rather than merely telling an unbeliever: “Lying is wrong because the Bible says that it is a sin." We go further in our explanation. In our apologetic methodology, we will have learned from this assignment that our hearers need to know the truth that we are created in the image of God in order to reflect the moral excellence of God. Our creational identity IS the moral image of God; therefore our identity, or description is to BE the moral image of God. Therefore, all human sin is against God Himself, and opposes God because our sin tells a lie about who God is.

Please read and re-read the assignment description under module two, and make an outline first before you write your paper for the best results. Thank you, Prof. Jay Wegter

Module 3: Dear Students, you have heard the old doggerel, 'you don't eat an elephant all at once'. That certainly applies to your Worldview Paper due at the end of this course. Leading up to Module 8, you will be 'building' your ideas and structure for your worldview paper. One of the ways we are going to guide you in this process is by requiring the student to make an outline for your paper. The better your outline, the more smoothly the writing of your paper will be. Please do not approach this assignment as busy work. We have a saying about good outlines: "When you have a great outline, your paper will practically write itself." Here is a portion of the instructions from the syllabus.

This week's assignment includes the creation of an outline for your final paper, the Worldview paper. To properly explain the outline assignment for the final paper, let's begin with a review of the Worldview Paper assignment.

Overview Of the Worldview Paper: (due at the end of Module 8)

Learning Objective for the portfolio research paper:

To diligently apply and trust God's truths in every area of life by capturing more of God's worldview and thereby develop a comprehensive faith, or unified worldview that will stand against the unrelenting tide of our culture's non-biblical ideas; to commit ourselves to the process of transformation through renewing the mind so as to bring God glory by seeing the entire cosmos in light of biblical worldview.

Description:

Your Worldview paper should convey your understanding of Christian worldview. Please carefully read "Clashing Civilizations, Culture Wars, and the Academy: The Illuminating Role of "Worldview" located in Module 2: Reading Requirements and Laying the Foundation Stones of Christian Worldview.docx.

The paper must include the gospel basics of God, creation, man, sin, and salvation in Christ, etc. Treat this assignment with the importance it deserves knowing that biblical worldview is both the context for, and the vital preparation for incorporating Christian apologetics in effective personal evangelism.

Requirements:

The Worldview Paper must be free from spelling and grammatical errors. The paper should be 7 to 10 pages in length, double spaced, 12 point Times New Roman font, 1-inch margins with proper citation in Turabian formatting. In order to receive full credit, utilize at least four sources other than study Bibles and include at least one journal article. Sources must be carefully cited in your paper as footnotes or endnotes. A Turabian formatted bibliography is required.

In order to demonstrate that you grasp the concept of unified worldview, please answer the following questions or address the following points within the body of your Worldview paper:

1. Prove in your paper that because this is God's world created to operate in the way God intends, there really are no secular categories in human experience.
2. Prove and support this statement: since all truth is God's truth, and truth has no existence or authority apart from God; truth is therefore an ethical issue.
3. Explain what is meant by Christ's epistemic authority. What is the connection between Christ's epistemic authority and Logos doctrine?
4. Demonstrate why these four events of human history: creation, fall, redemption, and restoration form an excellent diagnostic for critiquing every erroneous worldview.

Worldview Paper Outline - Due by the end of Module 3

Description:

This is a formal outline for the portfolio research paper. The outline should be created as a "sentence outline." In the outline, you should present the following:

• A thesis statement which asserts the importance of biblical worldview to one's life view, to Christian apologetics, and to evangelism
• Major points in support of the thesis which affirm what the student believes (organize your major support points as follows: I. creation and man, II. fall into sin, III. redemption, IV. restoration and judgment.
• Sub-points supporting each major point (the student should answer the four questions related to a unified worldview at the end of the research paper)

The sub-points in the outline ought to cover the major points in the doctrine they are supporting. For instance, under I. creation and man, be sure to include: young or old earth creation (six-day creation versus theistic evolution), the significance of man as the image of God, the importance of the phrase, after their kind, the fact that matter was not eternal, God's relation to the creation (Maker, Owner, Ruler, Upholder, Definer, Lawgiver), etc.

The outline may include additional levels of sub-sub-points, if necessary.

Guidelines:

The outline needs to demonstrate substantial research behind it with at least three resources cited in Turabian format.

Guidelines for formal outlines are presented in Purdue University OWL:

https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/658/05/Â (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.

https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/544/01/ (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.(This link is referenced in the link provided above) https://owl.english.purdue.edu/media/pdf/20081113013048_544.pdf (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.(This pdf document shows sample outlines referenced in the two OWL links provided above. This PDF document provides an example of a "sentence outline.")

The basic idea of a formal outline is that different types of letters or numbers (I, A, 1, a, i) represent different levels of the hierarchy of your paper, and sub-levels are indented below main levels.

 Procedure for Writing the Sentence Outline

Step 1: Write out your thesis at the top of the page.

Step 2: Make a list of points you must prove from Scripture in order to prove your thesis. Like the thesis, these should be complete, declarative sentences. These are your sub-points for that section. Repeat the process for each of your main points. See example of a Turabian outline: https://easybib.files.wordpress.com/2011/10/outline_1.jpg (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.

Step 3: Review your work. Don't just settle for one organization. You'll be surprised at the connections that emerge, the possibilities that open up, when you rearrange your ideas. You may find that points that seemed unrelated in fact belong together. Good writing is all about re-vision, which literally means "seeing again" that is seeing your work from a fresh perspective.

Step 4: Cite and list your sources in the body of the outline.

Thank you, Prof. Jay Wegter

FEEDBACK ON OUTLINE ASSIGNMENT: Dear Students, here is feedback from your Worldview Paper Outlines. You have heard the old doggerel, 'you don't eat an elephant all at once'. That certainly applies to your Worldview Paper due at the end of this course. Leading up to Module 8, you will be 'building' your ideas and structure for your worldview paper. A sentence outline is one of the ways we are going to guide you in this process. We have a saying about good outlines: "When you have a great outline, your paper will practically write itself."

The major weakness in most of your Outlines (except for students who received an 'A' score on their outline) was a lack of Scriptural support for your points. Our Christian worldview finds its authoritative source in Scripture. Therefore, the basis and authority for your worldview statements (truth claims) must be tied to the Bible. Your readers need to know where your ideas originate, and why they are authoritative. This is only possible if your support your assertions with Scripture.

How to use Google as a Bible concordance: as a comprehensive search engine,

Google can help you locate the Scripture passages you need to support your points.

Here is an example. If you are writing on the doctrine of sin, type in the Google search

bar, Bible verses on sin being universal, or Bible verses on the spread of sin to all of

mankind. You can do this for any doctrine. The references come up immediately.

There is no excuse for an absence of Scriptural support for your doctrinal statements.

Using Google: some vital help for your Worldview Paper from Prof. Jay Wegter

Dear Students, you can use Google as if it were a librarian assisting you in your searches. You really ought to take this advice, for a number of you would do well to strengthen your Bibliographies as well as demonstrate, by additional footnotes that you have researched each portion of your paper.

For instance, if you are defending 6 day creation, you could Google, 'evidences for 6 day creation', or 'the significance of young earth creation'. A number of links to articles will immediately come up.

You can also use Google to locate biblical cross-references. For instance if you Google, 'Bible verses on the restoration of all things', or 'Bible verses on the new heavens and earth' the Scripture passages would be right at your finger tips. Also, if you Google a particular passage of Scripture, you will see links to excellent commentaries which explain in a sentence or two. You are only a click away from finding the doctrinal importance of the passage.

This is so easy and quick! There is just no excuse to have a poorly researched paper.

Thank you, Prof. Jay Wegter

Dear students, your worldview paper is actually a very significant project in terms of ongoing preparation for the ministries that God will entrust to you. For, your ability to effectively and accurately articulate Biblical truth takes practice—and much of that practice will come in the form of writing.

Superior worldview papers will demonstrate careful research. The lazy approach is to just speak ‘off the top of your head’. Research is key. As an aid to your research, please avail yourself of some of these links. The content in these links will help you think ‘outside the box’ and will give you an abundance of ideas in how to organize and communicate the specifics of your Christian worldview.

https://www.focusonthefamily.com/faith/whats-a-christian-worldview/

https://www.uu.edu/centers/faculty/teaching/article.cfm?ID=364

https://www.summit.org/christian-worldview/ https://www.olivetree.com/blog/what-is-a-christian-worldview/

https://www.gospelproject.com/the-importance-of-a-christian-worldview/

https://www.gotquestions.org/Christian-worldview.html

Thank you, Prof. Jay Wegter

Overview of the Worldview Paper: (due at the end of Module 8)

Learning Objective for the portfolio research paper: To diligently apply and trust God's truths in every area of life by capturing more of God's worldview and thereby develop a comprehensive faith, or unified worldview that will stand against the unrelenting tide of our culture's non-biblical ideas; to commit ourselves to the process of transformation through renewing the mind so as to bring God glory by seeing the entire cosmos in light of biblical worldview.

Description:

Your Worldview paper should convey your understanding of Christian worldview. Please carefully read "Clashing Civilizations, Culture Wars, and the Academy: The Illuminating Role of "Worldview" located in Module 2: Reading Requirements and Laying the Foundation Stones of Christian Worldview.docx.

The paper must include the gospel basics of God, creation, man, sin, and salvation in Christ, etc. Treat this assignment with the importance it deserves knowing that biblical worldview is both the context for, and the vital preparation for incorporating Christian apologetics in effective personal evangelism.

Requirements:

The Worldview Paper must be free from spelling and grammatical errors. The paper should be 7 to 10 pages in length, double spaced, 12 point Times New Roman font, 1- inch margins with proper citation in Turabian formatting. In order to receive full credit, utilize at least four sources other than study Bibles and include at least one journal article. Sources must be carefully cited in your paper as footnotes or endnotes. A Turabian formatted bibliography is required.

In order to demonstrate that you grasp the concept of unified worldview, please answer the following questions or address the following points within the body of your Worldview paper:

1. Prove in your paper that because this is God's world created to operate in the way God intends, there really are no secular categories in human experience.
2. Prove and support this statement: since all truth is God's truth, and truth has no existence or authority apart from God; truth is therefore an ethical issue.
3. Explain what is meant by Christ's epistemic authority. What is the connection between Christ's epistemic authority and Logos doctrine?
4. Demonstrate why these four events of human history: creation, fall, redemption, and restoration form an excellent diagnostic for critiquing every erroneous worldview.

Thank you, Prof. Jay Wegter

Dear Students, email for Module 4,

Please carefully read your professor's evaluation of your Worldview Paper Outline assignments. This worldview paper, due Module 8, is in many ways a compilation of what you have learned in this course and have now 'taken with you' into your Christian walk and ministry. The most common areas of weakness detected in your outlines were as follows: 1) a lack of Scriptural support for your statements of worldview beliefs. 2) bibliographies not in Turabian format, 3) a neglect of the sub-points required in the assign. desc. (In order to demonstrate that you grasp the concept of unified worldview, please answer the following questions or address the following points within the body of your Worldview paper: 1) Prove in your paper that because this is God's world created to operate in the way God intends, there really are no secular categories in human experience. 2) Prove and support this statement: since all truth is God's truth, and truth has no existence or authority apart from God; truth is therefore an ethical issue. 3) Explain what is meant by Christ's epistemic authority. What is the connection between Christ's epistemic authority and Logos doctrine? 4) Demonstrate why these four events of human history: creation, fall, redemption, and restoration form an excellent diagnostic for critiquing every erroneous worldview.

God's world operating in God's way; Truth having no existence apart from divine authority; and 3) Christ as the Logos is inseparable from His epistemic authority (storehouse of all wisdom and knowledge). If you hope to receive a high score on your WV Paper, you must give attention to the above.

Your movie review assignment due at the end of Module 4 is great practice in applying Christian worldview discernment to entertainment media. Here are some ways to do well on this assignment, 1) spend most of your paper on answering the 7 worldview discernment questions about your film. 2) keep the summary of the movie plot brief in comparison to your answers to the 7 WV Discernment questions.

Thank you, Prof. Jay Wegter

Dear Students, Module 4 cont.

This is a reminder to keep caught up on your evangelism project. Sharing the gospel in conversation is a skill learned by experience. The best teacher is 'experience'--get out there and strike up conversations! You will be surprised how often people are willing to talk about eternal issues. Romans 1:18-23 tells us why, God has made His testimony in creation and in conscience "evident to them." "They are without excuse." Knowing and believing this immutable truth does wonders to our boldness.

In addition, your evangelism can take the form of a conversation more than a presentation and be equally effective. I would encourage you to read my attached article on sharing the gospel, using worldview subject matter as talking points in sharing the gospel.

Thank you, Prof. Jay Wegter – attached PDF: “How to share the gospel in a . . .” (Wegter/Gilley).

Module 5 -- Module 5 -- Dear Students, an important announcement for Module 5 Assignments. Please read the attached doc' regarding the 11 contributions the Bible has made to Western Civilization. Each student will be assigned a different 'contribution' of the eleven. (See Assign. desc. in Module 5).

Josiah C. will write on Contribution # 3 (what was the Bible's role in making civilization 'humane'?)

Barbara F. will write on Contribution # 6 (why did the Bible encourage using technology for reducing toil/suffering?)

D. J. K. will write on Contribution # 2 (freedom and dignity are real values developed from the Bible)

Jake Mc. will write on Contribution # 4 (the Bible is the foundation for rationality; Logos for reason)

Justin Mc. will write on Contribution # 5 (the Bible is the source of rational relations in economics)

Dustin R. will write on Contribution # 9 (the Bible gave the Western world the foundation for limited government)

Grace S. will write on Contribution # 10 (biblical worldview became the impetus for modern education)

By examining these eleven contributions, students will discover that the truths of Scripture are the foundational ideas behind law, order, dignity, justice, freedom, and economic opportunity. The Bible created the modern world; it is the soul of western civilization. It is that great first cause of universities, science, economics, and freedoms. The deviation from the Bible as the final authority for belief and practice took place when humanism ‘amputated’ the Bible and thus the soul of man (Mangalwadi).

Thank you, Prof. Jay Wegter

Dear Students, this is an important announcement for Module 5 Assignments. Please read the attached doc' regarding the 11 contributions the Bible has made to Western Civilization. Each student will be assigned a different 'contribution' of the eleven. (See Assign. desc. in Module 5).

Sophia will write on Contribution # 3 (what was the Bible's role in making civilization 'humane'?)

Josiah will write on Contribution # 6 (why did the Bible encourage using tech' for reducing toil/suffering?)

By examining these eleven contributions, students will discover that the truths of Scripture are the foundational ideas behind law, order, dignity, justice, freedom, and economic opportunity. The Bible created the modern world; it is the soul of western civilization. It is that great first cause of universities, science, economics, and freedoms. The deviation from the Bible as the final authority for belief and practice took place when humanism ‘amputated’ the Bible and thus the soul of man (Mangalwadi).

Thank you, Prof. Jay Wegter

Module 6 -- This 'first four pages' assignment of your Worldview Paper (due Module 6) is designed to help you work out any bugs that might inhibit you from turning in an excellent WV final Paper. Therefore, please pay close attention to the assignment description. Begin by re-reading the requirements for the Worldview Paper.

The 'first four pages' of your WV Paper will demonstrate that you are indeed using the Turabian formatting for your footnotes (citations), and for your Bibliography. As per the assign. descript. - Students will submit the first four pages of their Worldview paper along with a list of at least three references listed in a Bibliography (your professor recommends more than three references in your Bibliography, which would demonstrate your breadth of research, you can locate journal articles through Google). For full credit on this assignment, the paper citations (footnotes) and bibliography will be in Turabian formatting.

GUIDELINES:

Your draft version of the Worldview paper should be the first four pages of the paper with proper formatting (not a loose representation of you final paper)--in other words, you will be showing your professor exactly how the first four pages of your final paper will look. The paper should convey critical analysis/thinking. All critical analysis needs to be presented with supportive evidence. If you make an assertion, always support it with Scripture, and/or citation of a source.

Your paper must be free from spelling and grammatical errors. The four pages should be double-spaced, 12-point Times New Roman font with 1-inch margins. (And we reiterate, for full credit, include in the four-page draft version a Turabian formatted Bibliography and proper Turabian citations.)

The goal is to create a four-page draft that would mirror the first four pages of the final paper. These four pages should reflect a polished, quality paper and not require significant recommended edits from the instructor. Professor Wegter will provide critical feedback, similar to the feedback an author would receive from a publisher or editor. After reviewing the feedback, you are expected to incorporate any recommended edits or additions in their final version of the Worldview paper.

It is important to review the final Worldview paper requirements before submitting the first four pages as a draft version. To review the final paper requirements, please click on this link: Worldview Paper

Dear Students, due to the small size of our class, we will not do role playing in the Romans one assignment in Module 6. Instead, each student is to select two topics from the following list and then explain how the passages from Romans answer the questions or objections. You may use commentaries and Study Bibles in preparing your answers (please cite your sources). The criterion for grading the response: your response should be at least two paragraphs in length. Make sure that your response demonstrates critical thinking and that your answers are drawn from Scripture.

• When it comes to absolute truth and the knowing God, “No one can know for sure” is answered precisely how, and by what verses in Romans chapter one? Explain your answer with clarity (See 1:19-21, 28-32).

 How is God’s wrath being revealed from heaven now, before the Day of the Lord? (1:18, 24-28—see also the ways in which ‘God gave them over’).

 How has the unbeliever exchanged glory? How has he exchanged truth for the lie? (1:23-25). Your apologetic response from Romans must address both of these sinful activities.

• “No one can know for sure” is answered by what verses in Romans chapter one? How does Paul refute “no one can know for sure?” (See 1:19-21, 28-32).

 What evidences in creation and conscience has God written indelibly? (Why are all men consequently without excuse?) (1:19-21).

 What activities of man produce futility and ignorance? Why do those activities produce such foolish ‘fruit’? (1:22-25).

 Why does the cycle of truth suppression open the floodgates of immorality? (1:26-27ff.).

 Why, and what evidence is there for the fact that all men are constant worshippers (even atheists)? (1:25).

 What does Paul mean when he speaks of being given over to a ‘reprobate mind?’ (1:28).

 How and why does the conscience ‘take God’s side morally’ even in the most wicked individual? (1:32; 2:14-16).

Module 7. Dear Students, I am sorry about the 'built-in' confusion regarding the group discussion assignment for Module 7, titled, 'Redemptive History'. Since our enrollment in this class is small, I am altering the assignment--there will not be assigned discussion groups. Here is the new description of the assignment:

Each of you will put in your own words, (or the words of a person with whom you have shared the gospel) the most common objections lodged against the biblical truths of redemptive history. Those four events are: creation, fall, redemption, restoration. You will only write on one of the four redemptive events. Below, each of you is assigned one of these elements of redemptive history:

Josiah will write out an unbeliever's objections to special creation and then the biblical response concerning creation from Romans one.

Kyle will write out an unbeliever's objections to the universal fall into sin through Adam and then the biblical response concerning sin from Romans one, etc.

Sofia will write out an unbeliever’s objections to only one way of redemption through the Person and work of Christ.

Chad will write out an unbeliever’s objection to ultimate restoration of redeemed mankind over the creation.

Bree will write out an unbeliever's objections to the universal fall into sin and then the biblical response concerning sin from Romans one.

During this written assignment, include at least four verses of Scripture from Romans one and other portions of the Bible which refute the unbeliever's objections about that particular event from redemptive history. Another alteration of this assignment is that your professor, other than scoring the assignment, will not be interacting with your responses.

Module 7 cont. Dear Students,

My mistake. The redemptive history assignment for module 7 is an expansion of module 6's assignment. I am sorry for the confusion, but we had to alter the assignment due to the small size of this class Below is the altered assignment for module 7:

Because of the small size of this class, I am completely changing the Romans one assignment for module 7. Please select any three of the statements/questions below for your post. Write out the statement/question in bold before you answer it, and be sure to provide a brief interpretation/exposition of the appropriate Scripture passages in Romans one for your response.

Because of the small size of this class, I am completely changing the Romans one assignment. Please select any three of the statements/questions below for your post. Write out the statement/question in bold before you answer it.

 “No one can know for sure” is answered by what verses in Romans chapter one? (See 1:19-21, 28-32). Explain why these verses completely refute skepticism.

• What evidences in creation and conscience has God written indelibly? (Why are all men without excuse?) (1:19-21; 2:14-16). Comment on the verse references you list. Why can't the unbeliever fully shed, or suppress these evidences (what makes them 'indelible'?).
• How is God’s wrath being revealed from heaven now? (1:18, 24-28—see the ways in which ‘God gave them over’.) Explain the present 'revelation of divine wrath'. How would you use this truth with an unbeliever in terms of explaining to him, that being given over to one's rebellious thoughts and deeds is a present revelation of wrath?

• How has the unbeliever exchanged glory? How has he exchanged truth for the lie? (1:23-25). See also Jeremiah 9:2-24 in terms of the knowledge of God being the heart of our glory as His creatures.

 What activities of man produce futility and ignorance? (1:22-25). Explain why the activities in these verses, though touted as wisdom, are actually a fast track to folly.

 Why does the cycle of truth-suppression open the floodgates of immorality? (1:26-27). Cross reference this to Ephesians 4:17-19 explaining why bad desires yield bad theology.

 Why are all men constant worshippers—even atheists? (1:25). (Hint: idolatry is a form of worship.)

• What does Paul mean when he speaks of being given over to a ‘reprobate mind?’ (1:28). Consult a worthy commentary and/or theological dictionary and explain what is meant by a reprobate mind.

 How does the conscience ‘take God’s side’ even in the most wicked individual? (1:32; 2:14-16). How can you employ this reality in a witnessing situation?

Thank you, Prof. Jay Wegter

Dear Students, here are several important considerations concerning your worldview paper. 1) The purpose of this assignment is to demonstrate that you have a Christian Worldview, and that you are able to communicate that worldview in writing, and that your worldview is clearly drawn from Holy Scripture, and not merely from your own opinions or feelings. 2) This is a research paper, and as such, it is to demonstrate that you have carefully investigated the subjects through your research, and you are documenting your research by means of citations in footnotes. Thus, this assignment is to show that you are capable of writing a university level research paper. 3) Since this paper is to be written to the glory of God, it ought to be evident to the student that a lazy half-hearted effort will not bring honor to your Lord. 4) Make the effort to use Turabian format as required. This is a portfolio assignment; it is to provide evidence of your diligence.

Dr. MacArthur has a message for TMU students. His emphasis is that the great value of an education at TMU is mastering the skill of learning to write. Please read the attached document on the value of writing assignments--it is guaranteed to help you with your worldview paper.

Thank you, Prof. Jay Wegter

Understanding the Value of Writing Assignments

Jay Wegter

1. A grade represents a measurement of the student’s ability to fulfill a specific assignment—there is a direct parallel in Christian ministry as one fulfills specific assignments under the guidance of, and accountability to church leaders.
2. Education provides a ‘return’ that is directly proportional to how much of yourself you invest in the learning process. Therefore, push yourself—be a steward—don’t let it be said of you, “When it came to education, he or she didn’t care about receiving his or her money’s worth.”

3. The pressures faced in school are a microcosm of the pressures one will face in ministry. School is a terrific place to gain experience in balancing the Christian life. Therefore, grades do factor in when recommending a person to a ministry position. Faithfulness in Christian ministry will require faithfulness in laboring in the Word and faithfulness in fulfilling the day to day responsibilities of life. Avoid the temptation to pit one set of responsibilities against the other.

4. One of the key skills learned in writing assignments is communication. The more effective you become at expressing yourself—the greater will be your effectiveness in spoken word and written word ministries. Writing represents a learning opportunity in which biblical concepts and convictions are committed to specific language. Writing involves critical thinking (what something is; is not; and how related to other things). Writing is a discipline required of us in order to excel in communication.

5. Ministry is the spiritual influence of others—whether by teaching; by leading; by counseling; or by sacrificial service. Christian education is a God-ordained spiritual opportunity to become better equipped for ministry (for the spiritual influence of others). If you see education in that way, it will affect your study habits—it will change the way you view assignments; and it will help you study with a view to equipping yourself for effective ministry. Students with spiritual ‘vision’ will reject the notion that writing assignments are busy work. Instead they will “connect the dots” so to speak between writing assignments and increased effectiveness in ministry. Effective Christian writing is ‘logic on fire’— the ability to persuade as the importance of truth believed and applied.

6. Writing ability is a neglected skill in today’s world. Good writers are urgently needed in today’s workplace. The curriculum at TMU is designed to foster good writing skills. Those learning to write effectively will benefit from the mastering the skill of outlining. Learning to construct a simple outline is the best way to overcome the ‘fear factor’ when faced with a writing a paper. The discipline of outlining pays big dividends. Outlining is the best way to begin a research paper —it will keep you on track as you follow the writing objectives contained in the description of the assignment. The challenge.

Christian life is a collection of ‘second hand convictions’—in other words you have built your understanding of doctrine on what you have been taught. You must strive to go further in your comprehension of Bible doctrine until through diligence in study you learn to build ‘first hand convictions.’ The development of ‘first hand convictions’ is the intent in all of our reading and writing assignments.

Why are ‘first hand convictions’ so valuable? It is difficult to lay a theological foundation for all of life on ‘second hand convictions.’ It is ‘first hand convictions’ that are needed in order to construct a working foundation of doctrine that translates into spiritual wisdom in all of our daily life decisions. You must learn to write so that your ‘first hand convictions’ appear in your paper as backed up (not by your authority) but by the authority of Scripture.

8. Presently your theology is under construction so to speak. Your ‘first hand convictions’ are being fleshed out—these are the convictions from which you will teach, preach, disciple, defend, and counsel in your ministry. Building effective writing skills is the number one way to develop first hand theological convictions.
9. The opportunity you have now to pursue your studies through The Master’s University is priceless. There are countless believers around the world who envy the privilege you have of gaining a Bible-based education. You ought to regularly think about how to maximize your educational experience here. Through diligence in your studies, you will be building a skill set for lay and vocational ministry. Central to this skill set is the art of learning to express yourself in

writing and speaking.

10. Consider that 75% of leadership in ministry is verbal communication. The ability to motivate others to obedience rests upon the skill of using verbal communication effectively. Those who are making the most impact in ministry today are those who are masterful in communication and who tend to surround themselves with those who are effective at articulation of truth—they have learned the skill of verbal communication. Learning to write well is the number one skill necessary to gain skill in verbal communication.

11. Effective communication is built, established, and honed through the process of learning to write well. Powerful writing skills lie just beneath the surface in the most effective ministries that involve the spoken word. Excellent writing is more than just filling pages with words—compelling writing is critical thinking in action. That means that the writer has learned to define his or her terms; draw correlations between concepts; demonstrate the consequences of ideas; produce understanding; and convince and persuade his or her readers of the value of what is being said. These abilities only come with time, patience, and practice.

12. Your ‘hire-ability’ and/or effectiveness in lay ministry, depend in part upon your contribution as a team member in ministry. Those forming a ministry team are looking for the very qualities you will be developing through your studies at The Master’s University. Those qualities may be summarized as follows:

 Analytical in thought

 Creative in problem solving

 Proactive about obstacles (solution oriented)

 Effective at writing

 Skilled in verbal communication

13. What may not have crossed your mind in the recent past is that your writing assignments are designed to build these skills into your ministry ‘tool box.’ In fact, the three most difficult ‘dots to connect’ in your education experience here are these: (One) your assignments—(Two) which are intended to develop writing skills—(Three) are the means by which you will grow to be a spiritual influencer of others through effective communication.
14. This of course means that your assignments must not be viewed as busy work; but are to be viewed as a God-ordained ‘pathway’ to effective communication (which leads to greater potential for the spiritual influence of others—which is ministry!).

15. Maximizing your educational experience requires humility. Here’s the reason why—writing assignments are a humbling task! They expose our weaknesses in the area of communication. And, in order to grow from our writing assignments, we will have to admit how far we have to grow in order to become proficient at communication. Of course, this is just the opposite of the ‘hamburger flipper’ mentality which says, “Hey, I showed up, where’s my grade?”

16. Now for students who have been away from academics for a while, one of the most loathsome aspects of writing is outlining (as a preliminary stage to composition). But, as a pastor who has crafted and preached hundreds of sermons, I want to commend outlining to you as a skill indispensable to good writing. Outlining before you write can be as simple as jotting down 5 or 6 lines in pencil on a piece of scratch paper—or it may be as complex as a typed formal outline with roman numerals and indents. The value of outlining must be stressed though, or many of you will never take the time to do it.

The immediate value of outlining is as follows:

It provides the STRUCTURE for your paper It provides the SEQUENCE of the thoughts you will communicate It provides the CONTENT for the body of your paper It provides the LOGIC for the argument of your thesis It provides the APPLICATION of the truths you are

explaining It provides the CONCLUSION as the summation of your thought

17. Without the benefits of outlining listed above, most attempts at writing are loosely joined ramblings at best that do not move purposefully from thesis to premise(s) to conclusion. Once you get a ‘taste’ of the writing success that comes through the discipline of outlining; you will never go back to a formless style.

MODULE 8 Video Evangelism Report

Overview:

Students will have shared the gospel with six unsaved individuals over the period of the eight weeks of the course. The students make a personal video 10 to 15 minutes in length describing the one or two most significant evangelism encounters.

Description:

You will make a personal video describing the one or two most significant evangelism encounters that occurred during the eight-week course. Your video should be 10 to 15 minutes in length. Please also include in the video the number of individuals evangelized during that same eight-week period. For full credit on your video report, be sure to mentioned whether

or not the gospel was communicated to each of the six unsaved persons.

Your video report should include the following:

• the time and place of the evangelism encounter
• how you met the individual o their first name(s) o how the conversation began o how the conversation was steered to the gospel o what questions were utilized (Did you use the questionnaire wrote for the Module One assignment? Did you use the four worldview questions?)
• if you employed Christian apologetics in response to any objections lodged
• if you were able to share the complete gospel
• did you ask for a response to the gospel? What was their response?

• how each evangelism encounter provided a learning experience that gave you more information and skill for the next encounter
• what approach was effective and what you would do differently next time

GUIDELINES:

The video report will be created as a YouTube video and uploaded into this discussion. Please refer to the Recording_Equipment Requirements document for information regarding your video recording equipment.

The videos below are provided to aid students in their evangelism of nonbelievers.

MODULE 8 Dear Students, Please carefully read your professor's comments on your Worldview Paper Draft, and then incorporate those changes in your final Worldview Paper. In this way you will turn in your best work.

Thank you, Prof. Jay Wegter