DESCRIPTION:

This survey course will chart the early history of Christianity. The focus will be upon key personalities and major movements in the development of Christian doctrine in this turbulent and formative period. The class will meet for lecture and discussion and regular attendance is very important.

Christianity is a uniquely historical religion in which the divine plan is revealed in an unfolding drama of redemption. To minister effectively in any age requires a thorough knowledge of the events and ideas that have shaped the present. This course will provide the student with a historico-theological context for ministry, and especially for teaching and preaching.

The class will meet twice weekly for two-hour sessions. Time in class will center on lecture and student interaction. The student will engage in independent research outside of the class and submit a paper at the end of the course.

Bettenson, Henry, ed. Documents of the Christian Church. New York: Oxford University Press, 1970.

Froehlich, Karlfried, ed. and trans. Biblical Interpretation in the Early Church. Fortress, 1984.

Latourette, Kenneth Scott. A History of Christianity, Vol. 1. Rev. ed. San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1975.

Rausch, William C. The Trinitarian Controversy. Fortress, 1980.

Tucker, Ruth A. and Walter L. Liefeld. Daughters of the Church: Women and Ministry from New Testament Times to the Present. Academie/Zondervan, 1987.

Hägglund, Bengt. History of Theology. Trans. Gene J. Lund. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1968.

Kelly, J. N. D. Early Christian Doctrines. 3rd ed. Harper & Row, 1978.

Students will be given regular reading assignments and reading-response questions. The course grade is determined by a fifteen-page research paper and the final examination. The paper and reading-response assignments must be typed, double-spaced.

None.

Meets M.Div. core requirement in Church History "a" (CHA).

Yes.