Join “the Catholic Answers guy”, author and expert Tim Staples, and learn firsthand the nuts and bolts of Catholic apologetics, including Jesus’s divinity and humanity, the Trinity, how we are “saved,” the presence of Christ in the Eucharist, and more.
How to get the most out of The Nuts and Bolts of Apologetics with Tim Staples:
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First, read the course materials below before the first class meeting.
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Then have a notebook ready and available for class notes each live session.
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Read assignments before class meetings
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Watch that week’s recording if you need to revisit information from our live session.
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Do the assignments, quizzes, and any extra work assigned for that week.
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Once the course is completed to the parent's and professor’s satisfaction, there is a Certificate of Completion at the end to be filled in for your records.
Total classes: 12
Duration: 55 minutes
Prerequisite: None
Suggested grade level: 9th to 12th grade
Suggested credit: One full semester Apologetics or Theology
Instructor: Tim Staples
Course outline:
Class #1: Philosophical Apologetics: From No Faith to the Catholic Faith.
In this class I give a general overview of the case for Christ and his Church for the skeptic.
Homework: Read chapter 1 in Nuts and Bolts, and https://timstaples.com/2019/
1 hour preparation time.
Class #2: Who is Jesus Christ?
Was Jesus Christ a good man? A prophet? The Archangel Michael? A liar? A lunatic? Or was he almighty God and the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity? In this class we demonstrate the truth about who Jesus Christ is revealed to be in Scripture.
Homework: Read chapter 1 and 11 in Nuts and Bolts, and https://timstaples.com/2019/
1 hour preparation time.
Class #3: How Can One God be Three Persons? In this class we will defend what the Catechism of the Catholic Church refers to as “the central mystery of the Christian Faith: The Trinity.
Homework: Read chapters 2, 4, and 12 in Nuts and Bolts, and chapters 28-29 in The Essential Catholic Survival Guide
2 hour preparation time
Class #4: How is Man Saved? Was Luther right or wrong about “sola fide?” In this class we will present the truth about justification/salvation, the role of works, sacraments, and human cooperation in the process of salvation.
Homework: Read chapter 3 in Nuts and Bolts, and chapter 19 in The Essential Catholic Survival Guide
1 hour preparation time
Class #5: The Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist. Is the Eucharist truly the body, blood, soul and divinity of Christ, or was it meant simply to be a symbol of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross for our salvation? In this class, we will use history and as well as St. John’s Gospel to demonstrate the truth of the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist.
Homework: Read chapter 5 of Nuts and Bolts, and chapters 11-13 in The Essential Catholic Survival Guide
2 hour preparation time
Class #6: Statues, Relics, and Honoring the Saints. In this class, we will discover how Scripture never condemns the Catholic practice of venerating the saints through the use of statues and relics. In fact, Scripture encourages it.
Homework: Read chapter 6 in Nuts and Bolts, and chapter 10 in The Essential Catholic Survival Guide
1 hour preparation time
Class #7: Can We Pray to Saints? Should We? In this class, we will demonstrate the truth of the communion of saints in Sacred Scripture.
Homework: Read chapter 7 in Nuts and Bolts, and chapter 25 in The Essential Catholic Survival Guide
1 hour preparation time
Class #8: Is Confession Biblical? In this class we will demonstrate the truth of the Sacrament of Confession through Scripture and history.
Homework: Read chapter 8 in Nuts and Bolts, and chapters 1-4 in The Essential Catholic Survival Guide
2 hour preparation time
Class #9: Defending the Papacy. In this class, we will demonstrate the truth of the Papacy in both Scriptures and in the writings of the early Christians.
Homework: Read chapter 9 in Nuts and Bolts
.5 hour preparation time
Class #10: “Call No Man Father” and the Importance of Theosis. In this class we will use Matthew 23:9 and our Lord’s famous line: “Call no man on this earth father,” as a springboard into understanding the many biblical texts that claim Christ to be our unique “teacher,” “pastor,” “bishop,” “leader,” and more, when we have other texts that clearly teach men to have been gifted with those very same offices. Theosis is God’s gift to man whereby he becomes a “partaker in the divine nature.” The participation of theosis is our key to understanding.
Homework: Read chapter 10 in Nuts and Bolts
.5 hour preparation time
Class #11: The Impossible Apostasy. Mormons are famous for claiming there to be a radical apostasy in the Church shortly after the death of the last apostle, but this theme of “apostasy” can be seen among hundreds of non-Catholic sects including everything from the Protestant sects to the recent “sedevacantists” who claim to be Catholic. In this class, we will consider the essential truths of the Faith that render all of these various sects’ claims irrelevant.
Homework: Read chapter 32 in The Essential Catholic Survival Guide, and https://timstaples.com/2019/
1 hour preparation time
Class #12: Defending Purgatory. At Catholic Answers, this is the most common question asked. And my article on Purgatory is the most read post of all of our thousands of posts. In this class, we will give the students all the tools they will need to defend this crucial dogma of our Catholic Faith.
Course materials:
1. Nuts and Bolts (Basilica Press), by Tim Staples, ISBN # 0964261022
(https://shop.catholic.com/nuts-and-bolts/)
2. The Essential Catholic Survival Guide (Catholic Answers Press), ISBN # 1888992816 (https://shop.catholic.com/the-essential-catholic-survival-guide-answers-to-tough-questions-about-the-faith/)
Homework: Automated quizzes after weeks 3, 6, and 9. Students are required to write a paper no more than 3,000 words defending any one of the topics we cover over this course. The topic will be turned in by week 4, an outline by week 7, and the final paper by week 11.