DESCRIPTION: This course introduces the more important themes and events in the life of the church around the world from the seventeenth through the twentieth centuries. Beginning with the years following the Reformation, students will survey the growth and contributions of the church in Europe, North and South America, Africa, Asia, Australia, and Oceana. Attention will be given to some of the more important theological and ecumenical developments, as well as sociological and cultural developments that have shaped or been shaped by specific regional and global historical contexts.

LEARNING OUTCOMES: Students will be able to (1) identify and explain principal theological developments and historical events and personalities that have shaped the modern church; (2) think critically about historical texts and arguments, placing them in context; (3) interpret their own ecclesiastical tradition and other traditions with critical awareness and reflection; (4) critically assess their religious and cultural assumptions by examining the complexity and diversity of modern Christian history.

RELEVANCE FOR MINISTRY: This course should enable students better to understand and interpret contemporary events and discussions in light of their historical and social contexts. Students should expect to be both culturally and ecumenically sensitized.

COURSE FORMAT: This class will meet weekly for three-and-a-half hours in lecture-discussion format.

REQUIRED READING: Some of the regional texts will only be available on library reserve.

Anderson, Allan, An Introduction to Pentecostalism. Cambridge University Press, 2004.

Jenkins, Philip. The Next Christendom: The Coming of Global Christianity. Oxford Univ. Press, 2002.

Johnstone, Patrick, and Jason Mandryk. Operation World: The 21st Century. Paternoster, 2001.

Miller, Glenn T. The Modern Church. Abingdon, 1997.

Syllabus (available online from professor).

Students must also choose all other texts from one of the following regional categories:

Latin America:

González, Ondina E., and Justo L. González, Christianity in Latin America: A History. Cambridge University Press, 2008. And

Gutierrez, B. F. and D. A. Smith, eds. In the Power of the Spirit. Presbyterian Church USA, 1996.

OR Africa:

Bediako, Kwame. Christianity in Africa: The Renewal of a Non-Western Religion. Orbis, 1997. And

Pobee, J., and G. Ositelu II. African Initiatives in Christianity. Risk/WCC Publications, 1998.

OR Asia:

Bays, Daniel H., ed. Christianity in China. Stanford University Press, 1996. 483 pp. And

Clark, Donald N. Christianity in Modern Korea. Asian Agenda Report 5. University Press of America/The Asia Society, 1986. 55 pp.