Winter 2005/Pasadena
CH506
Bradley
CH506: AMERICAN CHURCH HISTORY. James E. Bradley.
DESCRIPTION:
- An introduction to the most important themes and movements in
American church history from the Puritans to the present.
RELEVANCE FOR MINISTRY:
- The study of the American church places the student's particular
denomination in the context of the pluralistic cultural, scientific, and
religious forces that continue to shape contemporary life, including the
Catholic church, the ecumenical movement, and the new sects and cults. The
modern missionary movement arose among the English speaking people of Britain
and North America, and as a result, American movements as diverse as
Fundamentalism and Neo-orthodoxy reached far afield and profoundly influenced
Protestants in such distant lands as Korea and Indonesia. The study of one's
own tradition and family of denominations will supply the knowledge necessary
for leadership, and it will enable students to discern both the threats and the
opportunities that face the Church today. The course strives to inculcate
understanding and empathy for all Christian traditions at the same time that it
fosters loyalty to one's own denomination.
COURSE FORMAT:
- The class will meet twice a week for two-hour sessions for
lectures.
REQUIRED READING:
Noll, Mark A. A History of Christianity in the United States and Canada.
Eerdmans, 1992.
Sernett, Milton C., ed. African American Religious History: A Documentary
Witness. 2nd ed. Duke University Press, 1999.
Tucker, Ruth A. and Walter Liefeld. Daughters of the Church. Zondervan,
1987.
Course reader containing three selected documents of American church history.
ASSIGNMENTS:
- There will be two examinations over the textbooks, and a final
examination covering the text and lectures, together accounting for 70% of the
final grade. A five-page paper based upon one of the three documents and
reading notes on the other two. These papers will account for 30% of the final
grade.
PREREQUISITES:
- None.
RELATIONSHIP TO CURRICULUM:
- Meets M. Div. core requirement in Church History "c" (CHC ).
FINAL EXAMINATION:
- Yes.