Fall 2013/Houston
CH500
Ayers
CH500: EARLY CHURCH HISTORY. James Ayers.
DESCRIPTION: This course will provide a broad survey of persons, issues, and events from the second through fifth centuries. Within that framework, students will have the opportunity to appreciate the depth of the church’s heritage, and to engage with the work of some of its greatest thinkers. Students will grapple with (1) the process whereby certain understandings came to be accepted as orthodox, while others did not; (2) the contrast between how the church understood its mission when it faced martyrdom, and when it enjoyed imperial favor; (3) the variety of ways people endeavored to express the heart of their faith.
SIGNIFICANCE FOR LIFE AND MINISTRY: The course will regularly interact with the question “How did early church people read and apply the Bible, and how does that influence how we read and apply the Bible today?” We will give special attention to four topics of particular relevance: evangelism, baptism, the person and work of Christ, and the doctrine of the Trinity.
LEARNING OUTCOMES: Students successfully completing the course will have demonstrated that they (1) can place their own confessional tradition within the broader framework of early catholic Christianity; (2) have an understanding of the ways in which the doctrines and the practices of the church emerged in specific historical contexts; (3) have learned the vocabulary of the Trinitarian, Christological, and soteriological debates of the first four centuries; (4) have critical skills in reading and writing through the study of primary source materials.
COURSE FORMAT The class will meet over four weekends, three and one/half hours on Friday evening and four hours on Saturdays, for a total of 30 hours in a lecture/discussion format.
REQUIRED READING:
Gonzalez, Justo. The Story of Christianity, Volume 1 (2nd edition). New York: Harper One, 2010. ISBN: 978-0061855887, Pub. Price: $25.99 [pages 7-260]
Placher, William. Readings in the History of Christian Theology, Volume 1. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1988. ISBN: 978-0664240578, Pub. Price: $25.00 [pages 11-130]
Shelley, Bruce. Church History in Plain Language. 4th ed. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2012. ISBN: 978-1401676315, Pub. Price: $29.99 [pages 1-160]
Clark, Elizabeth A. Women in the Early Church. Liturgical Press, 1983. ISBN: 9780814653326, Pub.price: $21:33 [pages 260].
In addition, the student is expected to read 600 pages of self-selected primary source material, keeping a briefly-annotated reading log, from the following early writers: the Apostolic Fathers (Clement, Didache, Ignatius, Polycarp); Justin Martyr (Dialog with Trypho); Irenaeus (Against Heresies); Tertullian (Against Marcion, On the Flesh of Christ); Origen (On First Principles); Hilary (On the Trinity); Gregory Nazianzus (Theological Orations); John Chrysostom (Homilies on Matthew); Augustine (Confessions, On the Trinity). The student must choose at least one writer from each of the second, third, and fourth centuries, and at least one who wrote in Greek and one who wrote in Latin.
ASSIGNMENTS AND ASSESSMENT: Students will be assessed on:
Two short (four page) papers on readings from early church authors, analyzing that author’s perspective on a given topic and comparing that with the student’s own religious heritage (each short paper worth 10% of final grade) First paper due: October 25. Second paper due: November 8.
A larger research paper (15-20 pages) that explores a relevant doctrine in more detail, and demonstrates the student’s critical reading and writing ability (30% of grade). Due: November 22.
A reading log that demonstrates a grasp of the issues involved in each reading (10% of grade). Due: November 22.
An in-class final exam (30% of grade) focused on the Christological and Trinitarian material presented during class and in the readings.
Class participation and discussion (10% of grade).
PREREQUISITES: None.
RELATIONSHIP TO CURRICULUM: Meets MDiv core requirement in Church History "a" (CHA).
FINAL EXAMINATION: Yes.