The goal of the AIM Spiritual Perspectives Module is to prepare students to engage sensitively and effectively with others from a wide variety of differing denominational, religious, and philosophical perspectives.
The AIM Spiritual Perspectives Module includes extensive training in apologetics and evidence for the Christian worldview, an introduction to significant worldviews and world religions, including Catholicism, Orthodoxy, the Church of the East, Protestantism, Charismatic/Pentecostal Movements, and Restoration Movements, New Age Movements, atheism, postmodernism, in-depth teaching about the Holy Spirit, and various popular teachings within groups and denominations professing Christianity, as well as an introduction to the history of world Christianity, and much practical training about how to effectively evangelize and share the Good News about Jesus with others.
This module is for anyone desiring sound and effective training and knowledge on how to reach out to anyone sensitively and knowledgeably. Students will learn how to make new relationships and engage in great conversations about personal belief with nearly anyone, regardless of what they may believe.
This course introduces the student to Apologetics and Christian Evidences, from the Creation/Evolution debate to Archaeology to Theodicy (the problem of suffering)--and much more! You will learn how to put together convincing presentations for unbelievers, and make apologetics a part of your own personal ministry. (Also valuable in campus ministry, teen ministry.)
A significant component of this course is pneumatology, the study of doctrines related to the Holy Spirit. In addition overviews of the fundamental beliefs and worldview of pentecostalism, Calvinism and Arminianism, Mormonism, Catholicism and Protestantism, Sabbatarianism, Messianic and Judaic Christianity, New Age Movements, postmodernism, liberal theology, fundamentalism, prosperity theology, the megachurch movement, and several influential doctrinal systems developed in America will all be covered in this course.
As one wise person said, "Those who ignore the lessons of history are bound to repeat them." There is so much to learn from two millennia of church history--a valuable course indeed. Includes sections on the early church, Patristics, Restoration Movement, Crossroads/Campus Ministry, ICOC, and more. 20 church history dates will be learned.
Introduction to the major world religions: Islam (900 million adherents), Hinduism (800 million adherents), Buddhism (300 million adherents) [Note: Christianity and Judaism are covered respectively in AIM Doctrine/Holy Spirit and AIM Old Testament Survey. A serious look at the major religions of the world, including their scriptures.
40 useful passages will be learned.
Field trip: visit to a Mosque or Hindu/Buddhist Temple.
Goal: To learn the importance of worldview apologetics in “pre-evangelism,” and begin to implement new strategies for connecting with outsiders.