Summer 2016/Fuller Online

HT500

Griffin

HT500: THE CHURCH’S UNDERSTANDING OF GOD AND CHRIST IN ITS HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT (4 Units: 160 hours). Kathleen M. Griffin.

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: The class will be conducted online using a 10-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: Approximately 1,215 pages required.

Brown, Peter. Augustine of Hippo: A Biography. University of California Press, 2000. ISBN: 978-0520280410, Pub. Price $29.95. [75 pp. assigned, available on eReserves]

Coakley, John W. and Andrea Sterk. Readings in World Christian History: Volume 1: Earliest Christianity to 1453. Orbis, 2004. ISBN: 978-1570755200, Pub. Price $34.00 [75 pp. assigned, available on eReserves].

González, Justo. The Story of Christianity: Vol. 1: The Early Church to the Dawn of the Reformation. 2nd edition. HarperOne, 2010. ISBN: 978-0061855887, Pub. Price $25.99 [260 pp. assigned, the first edition available on eReserves].

Irvin, Dale T. and Scott W. Sunquist. History of the World Christian Movement, Volume 1: Earliest Christianity to 1453. Orbis, 2001. ISBN: 9781570753962, Pub. Price $34.00. [280 pp. assigned, available on eReserves]

Jolly, Karen Louise. Tradition and Diversity: Christianity in a world context to 1500. Routledge, 1997. ISBN: 978-1563244681, Pub. Price $ [150 pp. assigned].

Kärkkäinen, Veli-Matti. Christ and Reconciliation. Eerdmans, 2013. ISBN: 978-0802868534, Pub. Price $40.00 [34 pp. assigned, available on eReserves].

Origen, “Homily XXVII on Numbers”, in Greer, Rowan A. Origen, in The Classics of Western Spirituality. Paulist Press, 1979. ISBN: 978-0809121984, Pub. Price $24.95 [25 pp. assigned, available on eReserves].

Plantinga, Richard J., Thomas R. Thompson, and Matthew D. Lundberg. An Introduction to Christian Theology. Cambridge, 2010. ISBN: 978-0521690379, Pub. Price $34.99 [150 pp. assigned, available on eReserves].

Rusch, William C., ed. The Trinitarian Controversy. Fortress, 1980. ISBN: 978-0800614102, Pub. Price $24.00 [179 pp. assigned].

Turabian, Kate L., et al., A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses and Dissertations: Chicago Style for Students and Researchers. Chicago University Press, 2013. ISBN: 978-0226816388, Pub. Price $18.00.

RECOMMENDED READING:

Bowes, Kimberly Diane and Michael Kulikowski (eds.). Hispania in Late Antiquity: Current Perspectives. Brill, 2005. ISBN: 978-9004143913, Pub. Price $262.00 [e-book available].

Browning, Robert. Justinian and Theodora. Praeger, 1971. ISBN: 978-0500250990.

Capitani, Diane, and Melanie Baffes. Research and Writing in the Seminary: Practical Strategies and Tools. McFarland, 2014 ISBN: 978-0786478644, Pub. Price $40.00.

Heine, Susanne. Women and Early Christianity —A Reappraisal (trans. John Bowden). Augsburg Publishing House, 1988. ISBN: 978-0806623597, [out of print].

Herrin, Judith. Women in Purple: Rulers of Medieval Byzantium. Princeton University Press, 2001. ISBN: 978-0691095004.

Holum, Kenneth G. Theodosian Empresses: Women and Imperial Dominion in Late Antiquity. University of California Press, 1982. ISBN: 978-0520041622.

Pelikan, Jaroslav. The Christian Tradition: A History of the Development of Doctrine, Volume 1: The Emergence of the Catholic Tradition (100-600). University of Chicago Press, 1975. ISBN: 978-0226653716, Pub. Price $25.00.

Swan, Laura. The Forgotten Desert Mothers: Sayings, Lives and Stories of Early Christian Women. Paulist Press, 2001. ISBN: 978-0809140160, Pub. Price $16.95.

ASSIGNMENTS AND ASSESSMENT:

1. Online video lecture presentations (15% of grade). [This assignment is related to learning outcomes #1, 2, and 3]. [20 hours].

2. 250-word bi-weekly forum posts (5% of grade). [This assignment is related to learning outcomes #2 and 3]. [5 hours].

3. 2 x 150 word weekly forum replies (10% of grade). [This assignment is related to learning outcomes # 2 and 3]. [10 hours].

4. 1,215 pages of required reading [This assignment is related to learning outcomes #1, 2 and 3]. [81 hours].

5. Three five-page analytical papers (approximately 1250 words each) (45% of grade). [This assignment is related to learning outcomes #1 and 2]. [35-40 hours].

6. FINAL exam (25% of grade). [This assignment is related to learning outcomes #1 and 2]. [5 hours, including preparation].

PREREQUISITES: None.

RELATIONSHIP TO CURRICULUM: Option to meet the TH1 or TH4 requirement in the 120 MDiv and 80 MAT Programs (Fall 2015). Option to meet the TH1 requirement in the 80 MATM and 80 MAICS Programs (Fall 2015). Meets the CHA requirement in the 144 MDiv Program.

FINAL EXAMINATION: Yes.