In 313 A.D. Emperor Constantine made Christianity legal in the Roman Empire, ending the Roman Persecutions. Over the following decades, the religion of the emperors—Christianity—became fashionable among the people. False teachers quickly arose and gained popularity, to the point where most of the people calling themselves Christians actually followed after heresies, and not biblical Christianity. Faithful Christian pastors devoted much of their efforts to refuting those heresies, and suffered for it—both from the attacks of those “within” the church, and from political persecution at the hands of the rulers, who tended to side with the false teachers.
One pastor in particular, Athanasius of Alexandria, stood firm for biblical truth despite decades of attacks being brought against him from all sides. He stood firmly on the word of God to the end. Thus, when he died, it was written on his tombstone, Athanasius Contra Mundum—Athanasius Against the World.
A thousand years later, this motto was applied anew to another giant of the faith, Martin Luther. In his lifetime, just like Athanasius, Luther fought against both false teachers claiming the name and authority of Christ and political rulers who assisted them in persecuting faithful believers. Luther, too, stood contra mundum, on the true word of God.
Welcome to Contra Mundum
This motto has been an inspiration and an emblem for Christians for close to 2,000 years. At Contra Mundum speech & debate club, our aim is to prepare our students to believe God’s word and stand firmly on it, though the entire world may come against them.
What our Students Learn.
Contra Mundum meets weekly for speech & dialectical debate. Our meetings are centered around 3 main subjects:
- Apologetics.
- Speech.
- Scholastic Disputation.
More details about that below…
Affiliation.
Contra Mundum competes in Stoa Christian Speech & Debate league. Each local club is independently-run, and there is a lot of variation in how each is operated. Through Stoa, our students participate in tournaments where they compete with other students in Texas, neighboring states, and around the nation. These tournaments also serve as qualifying contests for NITOC.
The National Invitational Tournament of Champions (NITOC) is put on by Stoa each year in May. At NITOC, top students from across the country compete for national recognition in their events.
The fun, friendly competition at tournaments really motivates our students to work hard to hone their communication skills—skills they will make use of, God willing, for the rest of their lives.
Apologetics.
Stoa’s flagship Speech event is Apologetics, and participation in the Apologetics event is required for all Contra Mundum students.
Students learn to speak on topics such as:
- What does it mean that God is triune, and why is this important?
- What is the gospel, and why is it the core of the Christian faith?
- What does it mean that God is immutable, and why is this important?
- Why is it important that Jesus Christ is both fully God, and fully man?
Speech.
Including Apologetics, Stoa offers 12 different speech events for competition, broadly organized into three categories: Limited Preparation, Platform Speech, and Oral Interpretation. Contra Mundum students are welcome to participate in as many, or as few, of these events as they choose.
At Stoa tournaments, you can be assured that immoral content, vulgar language, and blasphemy are all strictly forbidden.
Scholastic Disputation.
For the 2024–2025 school year, Contra Mundum is introducing dialectical argumentation or debate, on the model of Puritan-era classical education.
Students will be taught that the art of logic, including training in debate, is the right use of reason in the inquiry after truth. The pursuit of truth will be upheld as the first and last goal of debate and logic, and the centuries-old Rules of academic debate will be followed, including:
- No timers.
- Invalid arguments identified and rejected.
- Use of logical syllogisms.
- No use of sophisms such as emotional manipulation to persuade hearers.
The course text is Isaac Watts’ The Improvement of the Mind.
N.B. This is not a recognized event in our league, so students will not compete in this event in tournaments.
Expectations.
Contra Mundum is a welcoming place where students are safe to try hard things, fail, learn from their mistakes, and try again. They work hard, and strive after excellence. This may not necessarily mean winning at tournaments, but our students pursue excellence personally, and we leave tournament results in God’s hands.
We make no bones about Christian worldview; we plainly teach that God is sovereign over all, that He created the world and everything in 6 days, and that the Bible holds the answers we need to know for all of life.
Weekly club attendance is required, barring a genuine emergency. Students will be given homework each week, and they are expected to return with that homework completed. Parents are needed to help at club meetings and at the tournaments. (Parents learn alongside their students, so there is no prior experience or training necessary.) By God’s grace, we all work together to provide something amazing for our students!
Cost.
Stoa membership, at an annual cost of $95/family (before October 1st).
Club dues cover supplies and related expenses, at an annual cost of $150/family.
Contra Mundum competes in 3 tournaments each year as a club, and some families choose to go to additional tournaments, as well. Tournaments have entry fees, which are typically around $15–25 per speech event.
Dress.
Students are required to dress professionally for tournaments; young men dress in suits, and young ladies in equivalent feminine apparel. (Making it a habit to pop into your favorite thrift store regularly is an excellent way to equip your students to fulfill this requirement without breaking the bank.)
Club Meetings.
Time
Thursdays, 4:30–8:45 pm
Location
Wisdom’s Way
402. N. Center St., Ste. 201 (upstairs)
Bonham, TX 75418
Club Directors
Roel & Robyn van Eck
To visit us sometime, or for more information, send us a message through the contact form below.
Speak Boldly
Speak Boldly from Stoa USA on Vimeo.