Exploring Ethics, Exploring Apologetics, and Exploring Faith and Discipleship

Christian Schools International

These three books are written for students studying at the upper levels of high school. It is important that they first be familiar with the Bible as a foundation for getting into the deep application and life issues encountered in these books.

Each book is a collection of articles, essays, and book excerpts, followed by discussion questions. The Teacher Guide for each is vital, for in it is background information on the author, the written work, and the topic, as well as additional discussion questions. These books can be used for a religion class, for part of a literature class, and for part of a worldview class.

I suggest beginning with either Exploring Faith and Discipleship or Exploring Apologetics, then concluding with Exploring Ethics. Faith and Discipleship helps young people to think through the reality of their faith by confronting challenges. Apologetics begins with an overview of worldviews, then deals with major challenges such as the exclusivity of Christianity, the question of evil, miracles, the nature of Jesus, the hypocrisy of some Christians, Christianity’s relevance to life, Christianity as a force for oppression, and Christianity as a crutch for the weak.

Once these foundational questions have been addressed, it’s time to tackle ethical issues in the third book. Ethics is divided into three major sections: defining morality, making moral choices, and exploring issues. The last section is further broken down into the following issues: work, human sexuality, earthkeeping, wealth/poverty, racism/bigotry, medical ethics, and peace.

The articles in all three books are from a range of Christian and non-Christian writers so that students have a chance to hear the challenges in the challengers’ own words. This can be unsettling, but there is a strong affirmation of the truth of Christianity throughout. This is the kind of reading our young people need to encounter and discuss within a secure environment such as our homes, so that they will not have their faith dismantled when they encounter challenges on their own.