DESCRIPTION: This course will provide an overview of American church history through an examination of the important people, movements, and ideas that have influenced the communities we live in--both spiritual and secular. Some consideration will be given to other religious groups (Christian and non-Christian alike), but focus will be largely on the development of the Protestant tradition in America.

SIGNIFICANCE FOR LIFE AND MINISTRY: John Calvin began his Institutes of the Christian Religion with the sentence, "Nearly all the wisdom we possess, that is to say, true and sound wisdom, consists of two parts: the knowledge of God and of ourselves." As Christians, we are members of a community of faith with a history. People who shared that faith, events that influenced it, and ideas that shaped its expression long before us have an abiding impact. Our knowledge of ourselves can only be enhanced by the study of church history--seeking to understand our place within our respective denominations and among the other traditions within the Christian faith.

LEARNING OUTCOMES: There are three general objectives for this course. As a result of our study of church history, the student will (1) increase his or her familiarity with the general details of the history of Christianity in the U.S.; (2) become more adept at reading historical narratives and interpretative documents with a certain degree of critical objectivity and awareness; and (3) be able to evaluate his or her own particular traditions with new depth and insight as well as to gain a new level of understanding regarding other denominations, movements, and historical events that have influenced and shaped American expressions of the Christian faith.

COURSE FORMAT: The class will meet for two-hour sessions twice a week, for lectures and discussion.

REQUIRED READING:

Marsden, George M. Fundamentalism and American Culture: The Shaping of Twentieth Century Evangelicalism. New York: Oxford University Press, 1980.

Noll, Mark. A History of Christianity in the United States and Canada. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1992.

Raboteau, Albert J. Slave Religion. New York: Oxford University Press, 1978.

Robeck, Cecil M. The Azusa Street Mission and Revival. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2006.

Marsden, George M. Reforming Fundamentalism: Fuller Seminary and the New Evangelicalism. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1987.

Miller, Donald E. Reinventing American Protestantism. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1997.

Tucker, Ruther, and Walter Liefeld. Daughters of the Church. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1987.

Synan, Vinson. The Holiness-Pentecostal Tradition. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1997.