In our modern culture, many young people have the preconceived notions that science and faith are mutually exclusive, there is no such thing as a soul, and God is just an illusion of hope. We must respond confidently and fast to such notions.
There is a great need for a practical defense of the Catholic Faith that meets the surrounding culture in materialism and scientism. As more young people leave the faith, we must answer the conflict of science and faith with sound scientific research and clearly communicate the reasonability and truthfulness of the Catholic Faith. This is why, in partnership with the Sophia Institute for Teachers, Fr. Robert J. Spitzer and the Magis Center have developed a new textbook, Speak the Faith: A Public Speaking Course on Faith.
The Importance of Teaching Public Speaking
The fusion of the Catholic Faith and public speaking in an apologetic textbook is integral to the development of students’ faith and communication skills. By combining the two, we are raising confident young people who will be equipped as young evangelists to deliver strong defenses of the Catholic Faith. As a result, students will enter the social setting, higher education, and their future vocation.
Upon the completion of the 15-week semester course, students will thoroughly understand and be able to confidently defend topics such as:
- The existence of the soul
- That science proves Jesus’ divinity
- Catholicism
- What true happiness means
- Why God allows suffering
Speak the Faith: A Public Speaking Course on Faith
Speak the Faith: A Public Speaking Course on Faith includes twenty-three chapters that cover eight core topics. Each chapter is complete with readings, discussion questions, and complete instructions for activities utilizing proven teaching strategies, rubrics, and answer keys.
“Perfect as a religion class, a public speaking elective, or a confirmation prep program, this course provides speech templates and videos, and instructions for three public speaking workshops to help your students succeed in speaking convincingly about our Faith.” —Sophia Institute for Teachers
Divided into eight units, Speak the Faith: A Public Speaking Course on Faith covers:
- Introduction to Public Speaking: addresses the foundation of public speaking and the importance of impromptu public speaking.
- Do We Have Immortal Souls?: dives into scientific evidence for the soul, philosophical evidence for the soul, and concludes with a public speaking workshop focusing on impromptu speeches.
- Scientific Evidence for the Existence of God: covers scientific evidence from the Big Bang and entropy.
- Philosophical Evidence for the Existence of God: evaluates philosophical proofs of an intelligent creator and questions raised by God’s existence.
- Why Believe in Jesus?: looks at the evidence for Jesus’ divinity, scientific evidence for the Eucharistic miracles, the Shroud of Turin and its scientific validity, and concludes with a public speaking workshop on extemporaneous speeches.
- Why Believe in the Catholic Church?: assesses the uniqueness of Jesus’ revelation of God, the primacy of Peter, miracles of the saints, and the Marian apparitions.
- What is True Happiness?: discusses Aristotle’s three artistic proofs and the four levels of happiness.
- If God Loves Us, Why Do We Suffer?: dives into the Christian insights into suffering, suffering’s misunderstanding, and redemptive suffering, and concludes with a public speaking workshop on memorized/manuscript speeches and colloquium.
You can purchase Speak the Faith: A Public Speaking Course on Faith, Science, and Reason through the Magis Store! There, you can also find the first book in the series: Apologetics I: Catholic Faith and Science
