Year of Faith Boot Camp

I’ve been an apologist almost since I’ve been a Christian.¹ I remember arguing theology in high school, uncatechised as I was, and coming up with answers that surprised me. I guess I was vocal enough that the Holy Spirit decided to give me the gift of understanding in order to preserve the Church from my heavy-handed ignorance.

The minute I realized that I wanted to spend my life teaching others about God,² I started coming up with arguments for every single thing. Since the moment I started teaching, I was an apologist, always giving explanations rather than just definitions.

My second year of teaching, I inadvertently taught a year-long apologetics class. I say inadvertently because I thought it was supposed to be an apologetics class; I found out second semester that it wasn’t really but it was going so well that my department chair didn’t say anything. Oops? We’ll call that a little more Holy Spirit action.

The class I began that year (HSP class of 2010!) is the best thing I’ve ever done. My notes for the class are 125 pages of hardcore apologetics, answers to pretty much everything. We start the year as atheists and build to a solid orthodox Catholicism, using Scripture, Tradition, and reason to defend everything along the way. At the end of the year, I always ask if there are any more questions:

Any questions on priestly celibacy? *pause* Any questions on holy orders? *pause* Any questions on the sacraments of vocation? *pause* Any questions on any of the Sacraments? *smugly* Any questions on anything the Roman Catholic Church believes, teaches, and professes to be true?

Some student: Nope. I think you pretty much covered it.

God willing, this document will one day be a book. But soon, it’ll be a workshop! It’ll be a whirlwind version, of course, cramming something like 150 hours into 1-3 days, but you can move a lot more quickly when people are there voluntarily and aren’t going to be tested.

Here’s my plan: your parish or diocese or campus ministry or whatever sets aside a chunk of time–ideally Friday evening through Sunday evening, although we can do a short version in one day or a few evenings. We’ll have prayer and fellowship (Mass every day, maybe the Liturgy of the Hours, meals in common, even set it up as a retreat if you like) and tons of fascinating, energetic presentations building a case for the faith from the ground up.

The short version of the apologetics “boot camp” will cover the very basics:

• Session One: Is there a God?
• Session Two: Is Jesus God?
• Session Three: Catholicism and Protestantism
• Session Four: Revelation and the Church

If you’re up for a longer experience, we’ll add in some of the particulars (your choice):

• Session A: Salvation by Faith Alone
• Session B: The Papacy
• Session C: The Eucharist
• Session D: The Sacrament of Reconciliation
• Session E: Mary and the Saints
• Session F: Purgatory and Indulgences
• Session G: The Church’s Moral Teachings

Doesn’t this sound awesome? Oh my gosh, you guys, I’m so excited! And it’s so perfect for the Year of Faith!

I’m thinking this will be good for people college-aged and up, although younger folks should certainly be welcomed. I’ve just never met a large group of high-schoolers who’d really be into something this hardcore. Maybe on a diocesan level….

So if you’re with me in thinking that this sounds awesome (or you just like me and want to help me serve the Lord), will you please, please help me out? Print out this page with all the basic info and take it to your pastor/campus minister/DRE/whoever. Tell them I’m practically free³ and that I’m awesome. Lie if you have to.⁴ If they’re not convinced, point them to any of my posts tagged apologetics or anything in the Truth category. Send them to watch this video, similar to what you’d see in Session Two, although more disjointed since my notes were in my car and my car was at a Firestone in Alabama and I was in Florida. I can do everything but 3 or 4 quotations from memory, though. Or take a look at this video, an excerpt from Session Four.

If you want to convince them that I’m entertaining, show them this picture:

If you want to convince them that I’m holy, try this one instead:

Basically, I”m so excited about this that I’m just babbling now and my babbling is manifesting itself in the form of random pictures I found on facebook. So I’ll shut up and leave it in your hands–don’t you really, really want to go to all these sessions? Let’s make it happen!!

Apologetics Bootcamp

1. By conviction, that is, not just by baptism. [↩]
2. Which, incidentally, was the minute I found out one could do such a thing and get paid for it. You know, back when I used to want to get paid. [↩]
3. Okay, I’m literally free. But “the worker deserves his wage” and all that (Mt 10:10), so, you know. Do what you can. [↩]
4. That was a joke. [↩]