Fall 2015/Sacramento

HT502

Oden

HT502: THE CHURCH’S UNDERSTANDING OF THE CHURCH, HUMANITY, AND THE CHRISTIAN LIFE IN ITS HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT (4 Units: 161 hours). Patrick Oden.

DESCRIPTION: HT502 is a survey largely of medieval and Reformation history and theology that focuses especially on the doctrines that received their crucial shape for Protestant Christians during this period. Among these are the doctrine of the church (including the authority and office of the ministry, sacraments, the place of councils, and the role of the laity), the doctrine of scripture (including the place of tradition), theological anthropology (including human nature as created and fallen, and original sin), and the doctrine of the Christian life (including the entire order of salvation—election, calling, faith, justification, sanctification, and final glory). Key figures to be studied include Aquinas, Luther, and Calvin.

LEARNING OUTCOMES: Students who complete HT502 will demonstrate: (1) a basic historical and theological knowledge of the doctrines of the church, humanity, and the Christian life as those and other selected doctrines emerged especially in the medieval and Reformation 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 on four Saturdays over the ten-week quarter for a total of 30 hours of classroom instruction for lectures and discussion; in addition, there will be 10 hours of directed learning activities through engaging in online forums for a total of 40 instructional hours.

REQUIRED READING AND VIEWING: 1140 total number of pages required.[76 hours].

González, Justo. The Story of Christianity, vol. 1. HarperOne, 2010. ISBN: 978-0061855887, Pub. Price $25.99 [131 pp. assigned].

________. The Story of Christianity, vol. 2. HarperOne, 2010. ISBN: 978-0061855894, Pub. Price $25.99 [166 pp. assigned].

(Note: if available, purchase the above two vols. in a less-expensive 1-volume ed: Prince Press, 2004. ISBN: 978-1565635227. [297 pp. assigned].)

Oden, Amy. In Her Words. Abingdon, 1994. ISBN: 978-0687459728, Pub. Price $32.99 [~100 pages assigned]

Plantinga, Richard J., Thomas R. Thompson, and Matthew D. Lundberg. An Introduction to Christian Theology. Cambridge University Press, 2010. ISBN: 978-0521690379, Pub. Price $32.99 [141 pp. assigned].

Pine-Coffin, R. S., trans. Saint Augustine: Confessions. Penguin, 1961. ISBN: 978-0140441147, Pub. Price $10.00 [232 pp. assigned].

Ware, Timothy. The Orthodox Church: New Edition. Penguin, 1993. ISBN: 978-0140146561, Pub. Price $18.00 [170 pp. assigned].

Readings packet (~200 pp., online), primary source material focused on themes and issues of the course. Including Cyprian, Cassian, Ratramnus, Aquinas, Wycliffe, Francis of Assisi, de las Casas, Luther, Erasmus, Zwingli, Calvin, Simons, Teresa of Avila, George Fox, Conciliar documents, etc.

RECOMMENDED READING:

Cross, F. L. The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. Oxford, 2005. ISBN: 978-0192802903,
Pub. Price $175.00.

Fairweather, Eugene R., ed. A Scholastic Miscellany. Westminster John Knox, 1982. ISBN: 978-0664244187, Pub. Price $29.95.

Feldmeth, Nathan P. Pocket Dictionary of Church History. InterVarsity Press, 2008. ISBN: 978-0830827039, Pub. Price $8.00.

Jeune, Norman, III. Theologian Trading Cards. Zondervan, 2012. ISBN: 978-0310328582, Pub. Price $27.00.

MacHaffie, Barbara J. Her Story: Women in Christian Tradition. 2nd ed. Fortress Press, 2006. ISBN: 978-0800638269, Pub. Price $44.00.

Muller, Richard A. Dictionary of Latin and Greek Theological Terms. Baker, 1985. ISBN: 978-0801020643, Pub. Price $30.00.

Payton, James R. Getting the Reformation Wrong: Correcting Some Misunderstandings. IVP Academic, 2010. ISBN: 978-0830838806, Pub. Price $23.00.

Sunquist, Scott, and Irvin, Dale. History of the World Christian Movement: Earliest Christianity to 1453. Orbis Books, 2001. ISBN: 978-1570753961, Pub. Price $34.00.

__________ and Irvin, Dale. History of the World Christian Movement, Vol. 2: Modern Christianity from 1454- 1800. Orbis Books, 2012. ISBN: 978-1570759895, Pub. Price $40.00.

ASSIGNMENTS AND ASSESSMENT:

1. Read 1140 pages of assigned reading. [This assignment is related to learning outcomes #1, #2, #3]. [76 hours].

2. Class attendance and class participation (10% of final grade). [This assignment is related to learning outcomes #1, #2]. [30 hours].

3. Weekly Moodle (online) forum discussions on primary source readings. (20% of final grade). [This assignment is related to learning outcomes #1, #2, #3]. [10 hours, DLAs].

4. 5-page Critical Reflection on the topic of human freedom in light of Augustine, Pelagius, Cassian. (10% of final grade). [This assignment is related to learning outcomes #1, #2]. [5 hours].

5. 5-page Critical Reflection of either baptism or eucharist or atonement in historical and contemporary perspective. (10% of final grade). [This assignment is related to learning outcomes #1, #2, #3]. [5 hours].

6. 10-page research/analysis paper (30% of final grade). [This assignment is related to learning outcomes #1, #2, #3]. [25 hours].

7. Final examination (20% of final grade). [This assignment is related to learning outcomes #1, #2, #3]. [10 hours].

PREREQUISITES: None.

RELATIONSHIP TO CURRICULUM: Option to meet the TH2 or TH4 requirement in the 120 MDiv and 80 MAT Programs (Fall 2015). Option to meet the TH2 requirement in the 80 MATM and 80 MAICS Programs (Fall 2015). Meets the CHB requirement in the 144 MDiv Program.

FINAL EXAMINATION: Yes.