JR/JV Limited Prep Apologetics
Description: In Apologetics speaking, the speaker is given two minutes to prepare a speech which defends a tenet of the Christian faith.
Goal: Apologetics should motivate students to study and articulate the core issues of their faith.
Preparation Rules:
1. Students prepare for Apologetics through Bible study, research, and topic organization.
2. Each competitor should create a file of note cards (3 X 5 is acceptable, but no larger than 4 X 6) with Scripture, definitions, quotations, and any other material deemed to be helpful.
3. Students may work together on boxes prior to the tournament, but students may not share boxes during competition.
Presentation Rules:
1. At least one judge in each room will be given instructions and an envelope of topics to distribute to the student.
2. As soon as the student enters the competition room for their 2nd Round of Apologetics, they should tell the judge the Apologetics Question they answered in their previous Round. This is so they will have a full two minutes for preparation in their 2nd round.
3. In the room, the speaker will receive three single topics from the judge, choose one, and return the other two topics before leaving the room.
4. All 12 JR/JV Apologetic Questions will be used for both rounds. So, students may receive any three of the 12 questions listed below in both of their speech rounds.
5. If inadvertently, in their 2nd Round a student receives the same question they chose to answer in their 1st Round, they are to set that question aside and ask the judge for another question, so they again have 3 new-to-them Apologetics Questions to choose from in Round 2.
5. A two-minute preparation time begins as soon as the student receives the 3 new-to-them Apologetics Questions, counting a two-minute prep time if they have inadvertently received the same question they answered in Round 1 and have had to exchange that for a new question.
6. The speech must be the original work of the speaker.
7. During prep time, the speaker may use a Bible, access card files, and write additional notes on note cards.
8. During the speech, the speaker should use only note cards.
9. All Questions/Topics will be posted on the tournament site and are listed below.
10. JR/JV Apologetics judges should be sympathetic to the ideals of Stoa, able to agree with Stoa’s Statement of Faith, just as in Apologetics for the older students. See our tournament Homepage for Stoa's Statement of Faith.
Tips:
- Consider a personal story, statistics, or quote to introduce your speech.
- Be sure and answer the specific question chosen.
- Know what your cards say, so as not to read from them the entire time.
- This allows for making eye contact with the judge.
JR/JV Apologetics Questions
- What is the Bible and how is it different from other religious writings?
- In what ways does the world around us show that there must be a Creator God?
- What does it mean that God is omnipresent? Why is this important? (Cat-1/Q-3)
- Who is Jesus?
- What does it mean that Jesus Christ is the Messiah? Why is this important? (Cat-1/Q-9)
- Why must Jesus be truly human and truly God?
- Why did Jesus have to die?
- What is the importance of the resurrection of Jesus? (Cat-2/Q-13)
- Can a person do enough good in their life to get into heaven? (Cat-4/Q-11)
- What is God’s grace and why is it significant?
- What is the Gospel, and why is it the core of the Christian faith? (Cat-3/Q-6)
- What is prayer and why is it important? (Cat-2/Q-10)
Speaking Time Limit– Preparation time – two (2) minutes. Speaking time – three (3) minutes. No minimum time.minutes No minimum limit.