CH500

Fall 2006

FTX - Houston
CH500
Burch

CH500: EARLY CHURCH HISTORY. Maxie B. Burch.

DESCRIPTION:

This course examines the development of Church History from the post-apostolic period through the Council of Chalcedon. Focus will be upon key Christian leaders and thinkers and the major movements, both orthodox and heretical, that influenced the development and practice of the church during this turbulent and formative period.

COURSE OBJECTIVES/LEARNING OUTCOMES: This course will equip students to think critically about the key issues, theological ideas, major movements and influential personalities that shaped the Church from its origins until about 590 CE. Students will gain an awareness of key original source documents, creeds, treatises, apologies, etc., and how these were interpreted in their own time and by later Christian writers. A key area of emphasis will be on chronological development and the evolution of both orthodox and heterodox doctrines over the first five centuries of church history. Finally, the end result of this study will be a deeper appreciation of the breadth, unity, and diversity of the Church.

RELEVANCE FOR MINISTRY:

The effective practice of Christian ministry requires an understanding if the important historical and theological developments that occurred during the first five centuries of Church History – a period in which a number of the most important Christian doctrines first gained widespread articulation and acceptance.

COURSE FORMAT:

The class will be taught over four weekends for a total of 30 contact hours.

Regular attendance is very important considering the limited number of meetings times. Time in class will center on lecture and professor/student interaction that is encouraged through the use of assigned readings.

REQUIRED READING:

Bettenson, Henry and Chris Maunder, eds. Documents of the Christian Church. 3rd edition. New York: Oxford University Press, 1999. ISBN- 0192880713

Wilken, Robert Louis. The Spirit of Early Christian Thought. Yale University Press, 2003. ISBN- 0300097085.

Clark, Elizabeth. Women in the Early Church. Liturgical Press, 1984. ISBN 0814653324

Chadwick, Henry. The Early Church. Revised edition. New York: Penguin Books, 1993. ISBN 0140231994

St. Augustine. Confessions. trans. R.S.Pine-Coffin. New York: Penguin Books, 1961. ISBN 014044114X

Burch, Maxie B. Early Christian History Notebook (Scholargy Press, 2004). ISBN 1-59247-397-0