Fall 2015/Fuller Online
HT500
Núñez
HT500: THE CHURCH’S UNDERSTANDING OF GOD AND CHRIST IN ITS HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT (SPANISH) (4 Units: 160 hours). Emilio Antonio Núñez M.
DESCRIPTION: HT500 is a survey of patristic theology and early church history that focuses especially on the doctrine of God, including the Christian church’s development of trinitarian and christological theology and creeds in its dialogue with its opponents and with its multiple cultural contexts, including the empires, languages, religions, and philosophies of the ancient Asian, African and European regions. Related topics and themes to be addressed may include the role of the apostolic fathers and apologists, the controversy with Gnosticism, tensions between Eastern and Western forms of Christianity, and selected doctrinal developments that extend through the Protestant Reformation to today.
LEARNING OUTCOMES: Students who complete HT500 will demonstrate: (1) a basic historical and theological knowledge of the doctrines of God and Christ as those and other selected doctrines emerged in the early church and developed to this day; (2) a basic competence in interpreting this history and theology and an ability to evaluate these theological issues and their historical development; and (3) a critical and sympathetic appreciation for the breadth, unity, and diversity of the Christian church.
COURSE FORMAT: This course will be conducted online on a ten-week schedule aligned with Fuller’s academic calendar for a total of 40 instructional hours. Students are required to interact with the material, with each other, and with the instructor regularly through online discussions, reading, and other assignments that promote active learning.
REQUIRED READING: 1,237 total number of pages required
Agustine. La Ciudad de Dios. http://historicodigital.com/download/la-ciudad-de-dios.pdf, Free online: [140 pp. assigned]
Driver, Juan. La fe en la periferia de la historia. Semilla, 1997. ISBN: 978-848938908X, Free online: http://menonitas.org/vistaprevia/fe_periferia/driver_fe_periferia_00c.htm [73 pp. assigned]
González, Justo L. Historia del pensamiento cristiano. Editorial Clie, 2010. ISBN: 978-84-8267-571-8, Pub. Price $39.99 [424 pp. assigned].
González, Justo L. Historia del cristianismo: Obra complete. Editorial Unilit, 2009. ISBN: 978-0-7899-1786-7, Pub. Price $39.99 [320 pp. assigned].
Plantinga, Richard J., Thomas R. Thompson, Matthew D. Lundberg. An Introduction to Christian Theology. Cambridge University Press, 2010. ISBN: 978-0521690379, Pub. Price $32.99 [170 pp. assigned.] Special note: if the student cannot read in English, equivalent Spanish readings in content and length must be approved by the professor].
Primary source reading on the following topics: Persecution and martyrdom, the first seven ecumenical councils, the role of women in early Christian history, monasticism, the relationship of church and state, and early church polity [150-200 pp.].
RECOMMENDED READING:
Erickson, Millard. Teología Sistemática. Editorial CLIE, 2008. ISBN: 978-8482675466, Pub. Price $49.99. [Readings from parts 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, and 8: “Estudiar a Dios,” “Conocer a Dios,” “Cómo es Dios,” “Lo que hace Dios,” “La persona de Cristo,” “La obra de Cristo.”]
Kärkkäinen, Veli-Matti. “Is the Spirit Still the Dividing Line Between the Christian East and West?” (On the Filioque) in Perichoresis: The Theological Journal of Emanuel University of Oradea 9:2 (2011): 125-42.
Kärkkäinen, Veli-Matti. “The Chalcedonian Tradition: A Horizon for Understanding Christ,” pp. 106-118, in Veli-Matti Kärkkäinen, Christ and Reconciliation (Eerdmans, 2013).
Kärkkäinen, Veli-Matti. “Atonement Traditions,” pp. 294-314 in Veli-Matti Kärkkäinen, Christ and Reconciliation (Eerdmans, 2013).
McGrath, Alister E. The Christian Thelogy Reader. 4th ed. Wiley- Blackwell, 2011. ISBN: 978-0470654842, Pub. Price $54.95 [Readings from the first five sections of the book: “Getting started: Preliminaries,” “The Sources of Theology,” “The Doctrine of God,” “The Person of Christ,” “Salvation in Christ.”]
ASSIGNMENTS AND ASSESSMENT:
On-line lecture presentations, including Power Point presentations (10% of grade) [This assignment is related to learning outcomes #1, 2, and 3] [15 hours].
Weekly forum posts (maximum 250 words each) (20% of grade). [This assignment is related to learning outcomes #2 and 3] [10 hours].
Four reflections on the primary source reading covering four topics (one of the topics must be on the role of women in early Christianity). Each reflection should be approximately 500 words. (10% of grade) [This assignment is related to learning outcomes #1, 2, and 3] [7.5 hours].
PREREQUISITES: None.
RELATIONSHIP TO CURRICULUM: Option to meet the TH1 or TH4 requirement in the 120 MDiv Program. Meets the CHA requirement in the 144 MDiv Program.
FINAL EXAMINATION: Yes.