This course surveys the efforts of classical and contemporary theologians to defend the Christian faith. Special attention is given to the question of methodology in Apologetics, to the challenges presented to the Christian faith by post-modernism, and to the role of Apologetics in preaching and evangelism. This course alerts students to the differences between the Eastern and Western Christian mindsets and the influence of those mindsets on the way each group approaches Scripture. Using selections from appropriate primary sources, students study the teaching of the Eastern Orthodox Churches on the relation between Scripture and tradition and on God, humanity, and salvation. Students are encouraged both to learn from the insights of Eastern Christendom and to evaluate and critique Orthodox theology in light of Scripture .
Emphasis is placed on the mastery of vocabulary, morphology and syntax.