Summer 2006/Pasadena
Two-week Intensive: July 31-August 11
CH504
Ahn

CH504: MODERN CHURCH HISTORY. Katherine H. Lee Ahn.


DESCRIPTION: This course surveys the history of Christianity around the world from the seventeenth through the twentieth centuries. Additional attention will be given to the transitional process of Christianity moving from a Western to a world religion and major themes and events that dominated the process.

COURSE OBJECTIVES/LEARNING OUTCOMES:

  1. Students will be able to identify and explain many of the principal theological developments and historical events and personalities that have shaped the modern church since the Protestant and Catholic Reformations.

  2. Students will demonstrate through presentation and writing assignments the ability to think critically about historical texts and arguments, placing them in context.

  3. Students will demonstrate through presentation and writing assignments an ability to interpret their own ecclesiastical tradition and other traditions with critical awareness and reflection.

  4. Students will be challenged in some of their religious assumptions by the complexity and diversity of Christian history and through this process will develop a greater understanding of and sensitivity toward the beliefs and practices of churches in different cultural and social contexts.

RELEVANCE FOR MINISTRY: Christianity is no longer the possession of the Western world, as the majority of Christians now live in the Southern Hemisphere. Non-Western Christian churches are growing rapidly, bringing fresh new energy, as well as new challenges, to the Christian church today. At the same time world Christians are still largely influenced by historically Western Christian tradition and theology. This course seeks to lead students to a broader understanding of the historical development of both the Western and non-Western churches and to find relevance of their ministry in this global Christian time. In the course of the study we will seek to understand various Christian traditions and theological and ecclesiastical developments and how they interacted and resulted in today's Christian churches. In the process we hope to gain new appreciation for the breath, unity, and diversity of the worldwide Christian church.

COURSE FORMAT: The class will meet daily for two weeks for four-hour sessions.

REQUIRED READING:
Bettenson, H. S., and C. Maunder, eds. Documents of the Christian Church. Oxford Univ. Press, 1999.

González, Justo. The Reformation to the Present Day. Vol. 2 of The Story of Christianity. Harper & Row, 1984. (The chapters after the Reformation only.)

Hastings, Adrian, ed. A World History of Christianity. Eerdmans, 1999. (Chaps. 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 13.)

Sanneh, Lamin. Whose Religion Is Christianity? The Gospel Beyond the West. Eerdmans, 2003.

Tucker, Ruth, and Walter L. Liefeld. Daughters of the Church: Women and Ministry from New Testament Times to the Present. Zondervan, 1987. (The chapters after the Reformation only.)

ASSIGNMENTS:
  1. Completion of all required readings.

  2. One class presentation on a regional specific historical event, movement, or person, with an outline submitted simultaneously; the formal written presentation of the materials (8-10 pp.) submitted by August 25 (25% of grade).

  3. A critical book review (5-7 pp.) on one text from a list of recommended books, due Sept. 8 (25%).

  4. Take-home midterm at the end of the first week, based on required readings and lectures (25%).

  5. Final exam on the last day of the second week (25%).

PREREQUISITES: None.

RELATIONSHIP TO CURRICULUM: Meets MDiv core requirement in Church History "C" (CHC).

FINAL EXAMINATION: Yes.