Apologetics and Public Theology

by with No Comment AnnouncementsApologeticsNews

This course, taught by Steve Osmond of Solas, explores the questions, doubts and thinking of contemporary culture, in order to enable you to reasonably defend the Christian faith, and engage in persuasive evangelism using apologetics.  The course also seeks to challenge your thinking in order to strengthen your faith.  As a result of studying this discipline, you will be in a better place to understand modern secular culture and its worldviews, to critique the arguments used against Christianity, in order to show the superiority of the Christian worldview and to understand the shift required in apologetics, given the contemporary cultural mood.

Full course details are available here, and the course will be run over 10 Wednesday mornings between 11.00 and 1.00, starting on 1st October 2025.  The course will be held over zoom so that WHOEVER your are and WHEREVER you are, you can take part and benefit.

There are two ways to get involved:

  • You can audit the course – simply taking part, enjoying the teaching and online fellowship, and benefitting from notes and materials.  Cost is £140
  • You can submit assessments – completing an assignment for marking and gaining EBC study credits.  Cost is £200

Please note that fees must be paid in advance. Registration is essential and can be done here

If you have any questions or want more information, please email info@edinburghbiblecollege.co.uk

 

Apologetics

by with No Comment AnnouncementsApologetics
https://youtu.be/6s8ed9bbrlE?si=y7eD29zF-y57ONa7

“…always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect…” (1 Peter 3:15)

Steve Osmond of Solas CPC, the newest member of our teaching team, will teach this course which explores the questions, doubts and thinking of contemporary culture, in order to enable you to reasonably defend the Christian faith, and engage in persuasive evangelism using apologetics.  The course also seeks to challenge your own thinking in order to strengthen your faith.

The course will run over 10 Thursday mornings, from 11.00 – 1.00pm, starting on January 11th, and since they are held over zoom you don’t even need to leave home!

There are two ways to get involved:

  • You can audit the course – simply taking part, enjoying the teaching and online fellowship, and benefitting from lots of notes and materials; cost £150
  • you can submit assessments – completing an assignment for marking and gaining EBC study credits; cost £200

Please note that fees must be paid in advance. Registration is essential and can be done here.

You can download a Module Description: here

If you have any questions or want more information, please email info@edinburghbiblecollege.co.uk

New Faculty Member at EBC

by with No Comment AnnouncementsApologetics

We are delighted to welcome Steve Osmond to our team of EBC Lecturers.

Steve, who currently works full time for Solas Centre For Public Christianity, will be teaching Apologetics in the Spring 2024 term.

Steve was trained in the sciences and earned his MSc cum laude in Zoology from the University of Johannesburg where he specialised in ecotoxicology and ecological risk assessment. He has run his own environmental consulting business for several years, focussing on specialist assessments for biomonitoring and exploration studies, as well as managing a marine biosecurity consultancy. Along with his passion for the natural world, he also has a love for theology and exploring the connections between faith and reason, and how Christianity makes sense of the world and answers life’s big questions.

He has spent several years in church ministry where he has been involved in pastoral ministry and creating training programmes for discipleship in theology and apologetics, as well as having spoken evangelistically at churches and universities in South Africa. Steve holds a MA in Apologetics & Theology from Southern Evangelical Seminary (North Carolina, USA)

Steve moved to Scotland from South Africa in 2023 with his wife, Robyn, and two daughters, Olivia and Hazel.

BIBLICAL APOLOGETICS

by with No Comment AnnouncementsApologeticsVirtual Classrooms

Here are details of another of our new virtual classrooms which are running this autumn and which are open to anyone.  (You can find more information about our virtual classrooms here.)

We live in a world where doubt is heroic and faith is moronic.  That’s why we need apologetics, which helps us in two ways: (1) personal edification and (2) persuasive evangelism. 

It is common for Christians to be disturbed by things they find in the Bible and doubts that they have encountered out in the world.  Apologetics helps us tackle and understand these issues that otherwise can undermine our confidence in the person and promises of the Lord Jesus. 

Also in our increasingly post-Christian society there are many objections to taking the Bible seriously and many difficulties in communicating the gospel with secular people.  Apologetics helps us to think through the hardest questions in the classroom, and equips us with strategies for sharing the good news of Jesus out in the field. 

The course will be taught by Rev David Nixon and Dr Andy Bannister, drawing on materials and experiences developed while doing apologetics ministry in 21st century Scotland.

Course dates:

Wednesdays October 7, 14, 21, 28; November 11, 18, 25; December 2, 9

Time: 11.00am – 1.00pm

Course Tutors:

Rev David Nixon

David is Associate Pastor at Carrubbers Christian Centre in Edinburgh, and also lectures and writes.

Dr Andy Bannister

Andy is Director of Solas Centre for Public Christianity. He holds a PhD in Islamic studies and is an Adjunct Research Fellow at the Centre for the Study of Islam and Other Faiths at Melbourne School of Theology.

Course Cost:

We want to make our courses as widely accessible as possible so this course, like our other virtual classrooms, is available on a donation basis, though the usual cost for this course would be £90.

Registration:

Pre-registration for this course is essential and can be done here.