Fall 2014/Sacramento

HT500

Johnson

HT500: THE CHURCH’S UNDERSTANDING OF GOD AND CHRIST IN ITS HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT (4 Units: 160 hours). Richard O. Johnson

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 meet for 7.5 hours for 4 Saturdays for a total of 30 hours of classroom instruction, plus 10 hours of online directed learning activities for a total of 40 instructional hours. Class meetings will include a mixture of lecture and discussion.

REQUIRED READING: 1100pages

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 [200 pages assigned]

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

Kärkkäinen, Veli-Matti. Christ and Reconciliation. Eerdmans, 2013. ISBN: 978-0802868534, Pub. Price $40.00 [30 pp. assigned]

MacHaffie, Barbara J. Her Story: Women in Christian Tradition. Fortress Press, 2006. ISBN: 978-0800638269, Pub. Price $44.00 [50 pp. assigned]

Plantinga, Richard J., Thomas R. Thompson, and Matthew D. Lundberg. An Introduction to Christian Theology. Cambridge, 2010. ISBN: 978-0521690379, Pub. Price $32.99 [200 pp. assigned]

Rusch, William C., ed. The Trinitarian Controversy. Fortress, 1980. ISBN: 978-0800614102, Pub. Price $24.00 (150 pp. assigned]

Wilken, Robert Louis. The First Thousand Years: A Global History of Christianity. Yale University, 2012. ISBN: 978-0300118841, Pub. Price $35.00 [200 pp. assigned]

RECOMMENDED READING:

Core, Deborah. The Seminary Student Writes. Chalice Press, 2000. ISBN: 978-0827234475, Pub. Price $16.99.

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.

Rampolla, Mary Lynn. A Pocket Guide to Writing in History, 7^th ed. Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2010. ISBN: 978-0312610418, Pub. Price $24.99

ASSIGNMENTS AND ASSESSMENT:

1. Classroom participation (10%)
2. Directed learning activities (10%) [This assignment is related to learning outcomes #2 and 3] [10 hours]
3. 1,100 pages of required reading [This assignment is related to learning outcomes #1, 2 and 3] [73 hours]
4. Completion of three 2-page reflection essays (20%) [This assignment is related to learning outcome #2] [12 hours]
5. Final exam covering readings and lecture (20%) [This assignment is related to learning outcome #2] [5 hours, including preparation]
6. A research paper (2,500-3,000 words) on an assigned topic (40%) [This assignment is related to learning outcomes #2 and 3] [30 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.