Christian Worldview and Apologetics Primer (Jan. 2026)

Course Overview

This one-term, stand-alone course aims to be accessible to students from 12 to 18 years old.

Our society is dominated by secular priorities: the notion that life can be understood, lived, and celebrated without any need for, or reference to, God. As every day passes, Western culture discovers the folly of such a worldview. Take away the contemporary addictions to consumption and entertainment and there is very little left to live for. Everywhere we find lives characterised by emptiness and focused on the trivial.

In such a climate it is essential that Christian young people are trained to analyse the world at a much deeper level, challenge the received wisdom of the day, and answer the common objections to Christianity. This course is designed to do just that. Students are encouraged to think biblically about all of life, helping them to survive the collapse of our Judeo-Christian heritage, and one day rebuild from the ruins.

Course Method

Students will be given notes, mainly in the form of PowerPoint slides used in class, but may also want to take additional notes during the lessons. Students should therefore come to this Classroom with a notebook and be ready to jot down things that they think are important.

Lessons are interactive with students being encouraged to participate.

Assessment is minimum for this PX Classroom, but there will be some homework, either as a supplement to what we have already done in class or to prepare for the next class. There may be a video to watch, a lecture to listen to, or a short paper to read.

Students must read around 15 pages of Gregory Koukl’s The Story of Reality per week for the whole term (ISBN 9780310525059; 1st edition), and a copy of this book must therefore be procured in advance. Please note that this course is not based on this book, but the book does strongly support the course.

It is difficult to overstate the additional value that students will derive from making time for the required reading and homework. There is so much material to cover and not everything can be done in one class per week. It is suggested that parents take time to assist their child, if necessary, by reading the text with them and talking through the main ideas.

The first aim of this course is to introduce students to the biggest questions of all. E.g. Why is the world here? Is there a God? What is a human being? Where do ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ come from? What is the nature of truth? What happens when we die? etc. Following this, four competing approaches to answering these big questions are considered: theism, atheism, pantheism, and paganism. The Christian faith as a worldview is then compared with rival worldviews.

The second aim of this course is to develop the Christian worldview in more detail, considering such matters as: How should we interpret history? Who is Jesus Christ? What do we mean by our ‘Judeo-Christian heritage’ and what happens when we smash it?

The third aim of this course is to consider and answer the big objections to the Christian faith. E.g. If God is good and all-powerful, why is there suffering? Has Science disproved Christianity? Aren’t there many paths to God? Aren’t Christians simply intolerant? Won’t the ‘rainbow’ worldview unite the peoples of the world in peace and love? etc. But Apologetics isn’t only defensive, and so this course also explores how Christianity offers compelling, positive evidence for being the truth about the universe. As such, students will learn how to deconstruct unbelief, expose the secular narrative,  and bear witness to the truth.

A note to students from Dr Carter

“Please take this course seriously. The material we cover may well be the most important you will ever study. If you are a Christian, one thing you can be sure of is that the day will come when your faith and upbringing will be challenged and even treated with scorn. It is my prayer that this course will prepare you for that moment and equip you to not only stand firm but give an answer for the hope that is within you.”

Course Details

This course comprises 11 weekly lessons. Each lesson lasts 55 minutes.

This PX classroom is held on Mondays at 1pm (London time zone) starting from Monday 5th January 2026. There will be no lesson on 16th February due to the half-term break. The last lesson is due to be on Monday 23rd March 2026.