New MAPI Course: "Critical Analysis of ISLAM'S ORIGINS" (Jan.27 - Mar.17)

We are proud to introduce the 4th of our 10 MAPI courses for our 'Master's Degree in Apologetics and Polemics to Islam' program (MAPI), entitled IS504[25] "A Critical Analysis of Islam's Origins", and taught by Dr Jay Smith every Monday evening, from January 27 - March 17, 2025. This is the foundational and the signature course for the whole MAPI program, and tends to be the most popular course that we teach, mainly be cause we are the only ones in the world who teach this new and exciting research into how Islam actually began, using only evidence from the 7th and 8th centuries. Each of the 8 weeks Jay will introduce the newest research concerning the sources of Islam, the city of Mecca, whether Muhammad ever existed, and the historicity of how we got the Qur'an. Beginning on Monday the 27th of January (starting at 8:00 p.m. - Eastern Time) Jay will lecture for 8 weeks, with each lecture followed by a 'live' discussion and Q&A between Dr Jay Smith, and Dr Daniel Janosik and the students on the material introduced that week. Dr Jay Smith and Dr Daniel Janosik have promised that everything they do is done "live" so that you as students can have "live" access to them every week. To register for the course just e-mail "Eliott Davis" before January 27 at: edavis@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 March the 17th. Since all of our teaching is by Zoom Webinar, those of you who have registered can watch the lectures from the comfort of your own home, anywhere in the world, or at any time, as the lectures will be recorded and the URL along with the accompanying PowerPoint will be sent to you by Dr Smith the next day by a Mailchimp 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 New Mexico, and, therefore, only Christians can participate. 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, coupled with administration costs makes the total for the whole course around $1,500 (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 January 27 to May 23, 2025 (though there are only 8 weeks of lecture). This will give you ample time to read and then write logs on 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 the entire 8-week course is $325. 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 only $225. Unlike the Full-time students or the Audit students, they will not have access to the Populi site, but they will still have "live access" to all of the lectures, and they will be sent the PowerPoints and PDFs to download and use in their own ministries. 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 8-week 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 be the only ones required to fulfill them. If you are interested in any of these 3 levels, simply e-mail the registrar 'Eliott Davis' at: edavis@ves.edu But you need to hurry, as the first lecture begins on Monday, January 27, 2025 at 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time (US). LECTURE TOPICS: Lecture 1: Introductions Lecture 2: Mecca (Part 1) Lecture 3: Mecca (Part 2) Lecture 4: Muhammad (Part 1) Lecture 5: Muhammad (Part 2) Lecture 6: The Qur'an (Part 1) Lecture 7: The Qur'an (Part 2) Lecture 8: Conclusions © Pfander Centre for Apologetics & Polemics - US, January 9, 2025 (114,040) Music: 'Del Rio Bravo' by Kevin Macleod, from filmmusic-io