Winter 2013/Pasadena

CH506

Feldmeth

CH506: AMERICAN CHURCH HISTORY. Nathan P. Feldmeth.

DESCRIPTION: This course will trace the development of Christianity in America from the Puritan beginnings to the church of the present day. Emphasis will be given to key personalities, ideas, and movements that have shaped Christian belief and practice in North America, including covenant theology, revivalism, liberalism, modernism, fundamentalism, and ecumenism, and of how these were interpreted in their own time and by later Christian writers. The church planted in the colonial period was powerfully shaped by Reformation and Puritan influences and developed rapidly. Another key area of emphasis will be on the rapid development of distinctly American approaches to doctrine and Christian practice, including Christian cults.

SIGNIFICANCE FOR LIFE AND MINISTRY: Students will gain an awareness of key ideas and movements necessary for understanding and working in the church in North American. To minister effectively in any U.S. context one must understand the forces that shaped the American church and its specific denominations.

LEARNING OUTCOMES: Students can expect

1. to gain a general working knowledge of the history of the church in America;

2. to come to understand the nature of American revival, theological diversity, liberalism, denominationalism, Fundamentalism, etc.;

3. to be equipped to think critically about the key issues, theological ideas, major movements, and influential personalities that shaped the church in America;

4. as the end result of this study, to gain a deeper appreciation of the breadth, unity, and diversity of the church.

COURSE FORMAT: Class will meet twice a week for two-hour sessions and will center on lecture and student interaction.

REQUIRED READING:

Feldmeth, Nathan P. Pocket Dictionary of Church History. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2008. ISBN 978-0830827039. $8.00. (200 pages).

Marsden, George M. Fundamentalism and American Culture: The Shaping of Twentieth Century Evangelicalism. New York: Oxford University Press, 1980. ISBN 978-0195300475. $18.00. (468 pages).

Noll, Mark. A History of Christianity in the United States and Canada. Eerdmans, 1992. ISBN 978-0802806512. $30.00. (421 pages).

Sernett, Milton C., ed. Afro-American Religious History: A Documentary Witness. Duke University Press, 2000. ISBN 978-0822324492. $21.00. (329 pages).

Tucker, Ruth, and Walter Liefeld. Daughters of the Church. Zondervan, 1987. ISBN 978-0310457411. $27.00. (150 pages).

RECOMMENDED READING:

Gaustad, Edwin S. A Documentary History of Religion in America since 1865. Eerdmans, 1983. ISBN 978-0802806185. $11.00.

Smith, H., R. Handy, and L. Loetscher, eds. American Christianity. 2 vols. Scribner, 1960, 1963. ISBN 978-0684157443. $139.00.

ASSIGNMENTS AND ASSESSMENT: The course grade is determined by an evaluation of student work including a twelve to fifteen-page research paper (35%), a midterm examination (20%), and a final examination (45%). Reading questions will be distributed with the course syllabus. Mastery of the material covered in these questions will be tested in the short-answer portion of the final exam.

PREREQUISITES: None.

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

FINAL EXAMINATION: Yes.