DESCRIPTION: This is a survey course that studies the development of Christian doctrines and the formation of various confessional groups in the Western theological tradition from the sixth through the sixteenth centuries.

SIGNIFICANCE FOR LIFE AND MINISTRY: This course should help students identify origins of a number of major confessional traditions among Christian churches, as well as their own. As they learn how the early Christian church was transformed into various traditions in Europe during the Medieval and Reformation periods, students will be able to understand and explain similarities and differences among the traditions. In such a way, this course can help students become more effective ministers to people with diverse Christian backgrounds, as they approach people with better historical understanding of their practices and beliefs. Students can also engage in theological discussions about issues relevant to the life of Christians today with more intelligent and historically based information and with better understanding of the great diversity within the Christian church.

LEARNING OUTCOMES:

1. Students will be able to identify and explain major theological developments and historical events that shaped the Christian church during the Medieval and the Reformation periods.

2. Students will demonstrate through written and oral presentations their ability to analyze important historical texts and to explain their significance within different historical contexts.

3. Students will demonstrate through presentations and writing assignments the ability to interpret various ecclesiastical traditions by analyzing their development and changes during the Medieval and Reformation periods.

4. Students will be challenged to reflect upon some of their religious assumptions by studying the complexity and diversity of Christian churches in history and will develop a greater understanding of various Christian traditions and individuals by understanding how their beliefs and practices were formed during this period.

Gonzalez, Justo L. The Story of Christianity. Vols. 1-2. Harper Collins, 2010. ISBNs: 978-0061855887, 978-0061855894. Pub. price $25.99 each.

Bettenson, Henry S., and Chris Maunder, eds. Documents of the Christian Church. Oxford University Press, 2011. ISBN: 978-0199568987. Pub. price $29.95.

Janz, Denis, ed. A Reformation Reader. Fortress, 2002. ISBN: 978-0800634735. Pub. Price $34. (Or the 2008 ed. ISBN: 978-0800663100. Pub. price $39.00.)

Tucker, Ruth A., and Walter L. Liefeld. Daughters of the Church: Women and Ministry from New Testament Times to the Present. Academie/Zondervan, 1987. ISBN: 978-0310457411, Pub. price $39.99.