Biola University Certificate in Apologetics

I am currently working my way through the Biola University certificate program in Christian apologetics.  Biola university is a hub for Christian apologetics with such well known faculty members as JP Moreland, Gary Habermas, Kenneth Samples, and William Lane Craig as well as many others.  Their master's degree in Christian apologetics is probably the finest program in the nation.  For us regular folk, they have developed a certificate training program, which I am currently about 1/3 of the way through.  The certificate is comprised of 24 lectures, each about 2 hours in length, covering a broad range of topics.

1. The Case for Faith: A Personal Exploration
2. The Absurdity of Life Without God
3. Arguments for the Existence of God
4. Solving the Problem of Evil
5. Defending the Gospel Accounts of Jesus
6. Evidence for the Resurrection of Christ
7. Christianity and the Problem of Popular Culture
8. Responding to Relativism
9. Christianity and the Nature of Science
10. The Historical Jesus
11. Contending for the Christian Worldview
12. Reading Scripture with All Your Mind
13. Responding to the Cults
14. What About Those Who Have Never Heard?
15. Christianity Among the World Religions
16. Miracles and the Modern Mind
17. In Defense of the Soul
18. The Case for Moral Absolutes
19. Answers to Bioethical Challenges
20. Darwinism in Crisis
21. Key Issues in New Testament Textual Criticism
22. Jesus: The Smartest Man Who Ever Lived?
23. Successful Tactics in the Defense of the Faith
24. Apologetics and the Spiritual Life

Lecturing faculty include: Francis J. Beckwith, John A. Bloom, John Coe, William Lane Craig, Garrett DeWeese, Alan Gomes, Gary Habermas,Craig Hawkins, Craig J. Hazen, David Horner, Phillip E. Johnson, Clay B. Jones, Greg Koukl, Kevin Lewis, JP Moreland, Scott Rae, John Mark Reynolds, Ron Rhodes, Walt Russell, Os Guinness, Hugh Hewitt, Alvin Plantinga, Lee Strobel, and Dallas Willard. This is a veritable who's who of apologetics.  The lectures thus far have been top-notch.  I am learning things now that I have not encountered in any of the previous courses I have taken.  I cannot speak highly enough about this program.  I had emailed Greg Koukl about this program and he simply responded, "it's excellent."  I could not agree more heartily.

In addition to the audio lectures, there is also supplemental reading.  For this first module, I am reading When Skeptics Ask by Norman Geisler and Relativism: Feet Firmly Planted in Mid-air by Francis Beckwith and Gregory Koukl.  At the end of each module, there is also a quiz, again to demonstrate learning.

Summary: If you are not as concerned about cost, this is definitely the way to go. This program is amazing in its depth and breadth.

Here is the beginning of the Dr Craig's lecture, "The Absurdity of Life Without God."