Summer 2019/Fuller Online

HT500

Waldrop

HT500: THE CHURCH’S UNDERSTANDING OF GOD AND CHRIST IN ITS HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT (4 Units: 162 hours). Jeffery Waldrop, PhD.

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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: 1,290 total pages required

Chadwick, Henry. The Early Church, revised edition. Penguin, 1993. ISBN: 978-0140231991, Pub. Price $17.00 [320 pp.].

Available through Amazon Kindle

Clark, Elizabeth A. Women in the Early Church. Liturgical Press, 1984. ISBN: 978-0814653326, Pub. Price $29.95 [260 pp.].

Available through Amazon Kindle

González, Justo L. The Story of Christianity, vol. 1: The Early Church to the Dawn of the Reformation, 2nd. Ed. Harper One, 2010. ISBN: 978-0061855887, Pub. Price $27.99 [220 pp. assigned].

Available through Amazon Kindle

Gonzalez, Justo. A History of Christian Thought, vol. 1: From the Beginnings to the Council of Chalcedon, revised edition. Abingdon Press, 1987. ISBN: 978-0687171828, Pub. Price $33.99. [380 pp. assigned]

Freely available as an eBook through the Hubbard Library

Placher, William. Readings in the History of Christian Theology, vol. 1. Rev. Westminster John Knox Press, 2015. ISBN: 978-0664239336, Pub. Price $27.00 [110 pp. assigned].

Freely available as an eBook through the Hubbard Library

RECOMMENDED READING:

Bettenson, Henry, and Chris Maunder.Documents of the Christian Church. 4Th ed. / edited by Chris

Maunder. ed. Oxford University Press, 2011. ISBN: 978-0199568987, Pub. Price $25.15

Cross, F. L, Elizabeth A. Livingstone, et. al., eds. The Oxford Dictionary of the

Christian Church. 3d ed. Oxford University Press, 2005. ISBN: 978-0192802903, Pub. Price $ 110.00

Frend, W. H. C. The Rise of Christianity. Fortress Press, 1984. ISBN: 978-0800619312, Pub. Price $55.00.

Kelly, J. N. D.Early Christian Doctrines. 5th ed. New York:Continuum, 2000. ISBN: 978-

0826452528, Pub. Price $ 38.70

MacMullen, Ramsay. Christianizing the Roman Empire: A.D. 100-400. Yale University Press, 1984. ISBN: 978-0300036428, Pub. Price $28.00.

Norris, Richard A.The Christological Controversy. Sources of Early Christian Thought. Fortress Press,

1980. ISBN: 978-0800614119, Pub. Price $ 15.27

Pelikan, Jaroslav. The Emergence of the Catholic Tradition (100-600). The University of Chicago Press, 1975. ISBN: 978-0226653716, Pub. Price $25.00.

Rusch, William G, and Robert C. Saler.The Trinitarian Controversy. Sources of Early Christian

Thought. Fortress Press, 2012. ISBN: 978-0800614102, Pub. Price $ 21.00

ASSIGNMENTS AND ASSESSMENT:

1. Watch YouTube/MP3 Lectures, documentaries, and read Lecture notes and Power Points [This assignment is related to learning outcomes 1, 2, 3] [20 hours].
2. Read assignments from class texts (about 1,310 pp.) [This assignment is related to learning outcomes 1, 2, 3, 4] [80 hours].
3. Engage in Classroom Forum Discussions—(1) Initial posts and (2) Response to classmate posts (20%). [This assignment is related to learning outcomes 1, 2, 3] [20 hours].
4. Submit two (2) 1000-word essays (20%) [This assignment is related to learning outcomes 1, 2, 3, 4] [10 hours].
5. Mid-term exam (20%). [This assignment is related to learning outcomes 1, 2, 3] [10 hours].
6. Final Exam (20%) [This assignment is related to learning outcomes 1, 2, 3] [10 hours].
7. Submit a 2,000-word analytical essay based upon one of the primary documents posted in the weekly readings (20%). [This assignment is related to learning outcomes 1, 2, 3, 4] [12 hours]. This essay serves as the signature assignment for the course. This assignment will be graded according to the Program Learning Outcome Rubric for Church History Signature Assignments, based on three major criteria: Overall Impression, Evidence & Argumentation, and Style & Grammar.

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.