NEW MAPI Course: "Apologetics & Polemics" (August 28 - October 16) with Dr Jay Smith

We introduce the 7th of our ten MAPI courses for our 'Master's Degree in Apologetics and Polemics to Islam' program (MAPI). This course is entitled IS507[23] "Apologetics & Polemics to Islam", taught by Dr Jay Smith, every Monday night from August 28 - October 16, 2023. This course will help students not only understand what Apologetics and Polemics is but how it has been used missiologically and historically, and how it is being employed today. Jay will introduce the major players who employ it, while explaining what works and does not work, as well as the most often asked questions and how to respond to them. Beginning on Monday the 28th of August (starting at 8:00 p.m. - Eastern Time) Dr Smith will be lecturing for 8 weeks, with each lecture followed by a 'live' discussion and Q&A between the students and himself (as well as Dr Daniel Janosik) on the material introduced in each lecture. To register for the course just e-mail "Peter" before August 28th to: info@ves.edu Dr Smith will be lecturing 'live', via Zoom Webinar, every Monday evening from 8:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m. (Eastern Time - USA) until October 16. Since all of our teaching is by Zoom Webinar, you can watch the lectures from the comfort of your own home, anywhere in the world, or at any time, as they will be recorded and the URL will be sent to you the next day by email. But you need to be a Christian to take this course, due to the fact that it is being taught at the 'Veritas International University' (VIU) which is a Christian seminary headquartered in California, and, therefore, only Christian students can participate. Every lecture will be recorded, and the URL along with the PowerPoints and PDFs will be sent to every registered student, so that those who are asleep in another part of the world and cannot thus be at the 'live lectures', can still watch them wherever they are, and at any time they choose. As we have in the past, we are offering this course for 3 categories of students: 1) Full-TIme Master's or Doctoral Degree Students: The first category are those students who want to take this course for a Master's or a Doctorate academic credit. This is a 3-credit course, so the fee for each credit is $330, which makes the cost for the whole course around $1,000 (depending on whether you are a returning or a new student). For these full-time students, the full course itself continues for 15 weeks, stretching from June 19 - September 25 (though there are only 8 weeks of lecture). This will give you ample time to read and then write logs of the books required for the course, participate in the discussions, write your Research papers, and write your final 'open book' exam. 2) Audit Students: The second category are those students who want to simply audit the course. The fee for this 8-week course is $280. An Audit student will not have any assignments, but will have access to the Populi site where the discussions and assignments are found (like the Full-time academic students), and will be able to listen to the lectures and will be sent the PowerPoints and PDFs to download. 3) Personal Enrichment Students: The third category are those students who simply want to take this course for their 'Personal Enrichment'. Their fee for the 8-week course is $225. Unlike the Full-time students or the Audit students, they will not have access to the Populi site, but will still have "live access" to all of the lectures and will be sent the PowerPoints and PDFs to download. To underline the distinctions, while all of the students in all 3 categories will have access to all of the lectures and to all of the PowerPoints and PDFs for the entire course, the full-time Academic as well as the Audit students will also have admission to the Populi site to participate in the ongoing weekly discussions, and will have access to the reading lists and assignments, though the full-time students will only be required to fulfill them. If you are interested in any of these 3 levels, simply e-mail the registrar 'Peter' at: info@ves.edu But you need to hurry, as the first lecture begins on Monday, August 28th, 2023 at 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time (US). Just e-mail: info@ves.edu Lecture Topics: Lecture 1: Defining the Need for Apologetics & Polemics Lecture 2: An Historical Overview of Islam's Polemical Agenda Lecture 3: Major Missiological Methods employed by Christians and Muslims Lecture 4: Biblical & Historical support for Apologetics & Polemics Lecture 5: 21st Century examples of Apologetics & Polemics Lecture 6: FAQs (Apologetics) Frequently asked Questions for Christians Lecture 7: FAQs (Polemics) Frequently asked Questions for Muslims Lecture 8: Conclusions: Putting it all together We're looking forward to seeing as many of you as possible on Monday, August 28th, but do register first at: info@ves.edu © Pfander Centre for Apologetics - US, August 16, 2023 (84,100) Music: 'Rustic Ballad' by Alexander Nakarada, from filmmusic-io