Winter 2015/Fuller Live!

Pasadena and Peachtree

HT500

Feldmeth

HT500: THE CHURCH’S UNDERSTANDING OF GOD AND CHRIST IN ITS HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT (4 Units: 168 hours). Nathan P. Feldmeth.

DESCRIPTION: HT500 is a survey of patristic theology and early church history that focuses especially on the doctrine of God, including the Christian church’s development of trinitarian and christological theology and creeds in its dialogue with its opponents and with its multiple cultural contexts, including the empires, languages, religions, and philosophies of the ancient Asian, African and European regions. Related topics and themes to be addressed may include the role of the apostolic fathers and apologists, the controversy with Gnosticism, tensions between Eastern and Western forms of Christianity, and selected doctrinal developments that extend through the Protestant Reformation to today.

LEARNING OUTCOMES: Students who complete HT500 will demonstrate: (1) a basic historical and theological knowledge of the doctrines of God and Christ as those and other selected doctrines emerged in the early church and developed to this day; (2) a basic competence in interpreting this history and theology and an ability to evaluate these theological issues and their historical development; and (3) a critical and sympathetic appreciation for the breadth, unity, and diversity of the Christian church.

COURSE FORMAT: This Fuller Live! class meets once per week for three-hour sessions for a total of 30 hours of classroom instruction for lecture and discussion plus 10 hours of directed learning activities for a total of 40 instructional hours. The followed DLAs will be employed: Student peer interaction on weekly theological issue- based forums (five hours) linked to live weekly students-professor question and answer sessions (five hours).

REQUIRED READING: 1,144 pages of total reading.

Augustine. The Enchiridion on Faith, Hope, and Love. Regnery, Gateway Editions, 1996. ISBN: 978-0895267030, Pub. Price $10.95 [141 pp. assigned].

Bettenson, Henry, and Chris Maunder, eds. Documents of the Christian Church. 4th ed. Oxford University Press, 2011. ISBN: 978-0199568987, Pub. Price $29.95 [110 pp. assigned].

Clark, Elizabeth A. Women in the Early Church. Liturgical Press, 1984. ISBN: 978-0814653326, Pub. Price $24.95 [138 pp. assigned].

Feldmeth, Nathan P. Pocket Dictionary of Church History. InterVarsity Press, 2008. ISBN: 978-0830827039, Pub. Price $8.00 [135 pp.].

Irvin, Dale T. and Scott W. Sunquist. A History of the World Christian Movement. Orbis, 2001. ISBN: 978-1570753961, Pub. Price $34.00 [44 pp. assigned].

Kärkkäinen, Veli-Matti. “Atonement Traditions,” in Veli-Matti Kärkkäinen, Christ and Reconciliation. Eerdmans, 2013. ISBN: 978-0802868534, Pub. Price $40.00 [pp. 106-118 and 294-314 assigned].

Latourette, Kenneth Scott. A History of Christianity. Vol. 1. Harper One, 1975. ISBN: 978-0060649524, Pub. Price $25.99 [225 pp.].

Plantinga, Richard J., Thomas R. Thompson, Matthew D. Lundberg. An Introduction to Christian Theology. Cambridge University Press, 2010. ISBN: 978-0521690379, Pub. Price $32.99 [180 pages assigned].

Selected documents in a course reader available on Moodle [120 pages].

RECOMMENDED READING:

Kelly, J. N. D. Early Christian Doctrines, 3rd ed. Harper & Row, 2000. ISBN: 978-0826452528, Pub. Price $55.00.

Livingstone, E. A., ed. The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. 3rd ed. Oxford University Press, 1997. ISBN: 978-019280290903, Pub. Price: $150.00.

ASSIGNMENTS AND ASSESSMENT:

1. ~1,144 pages of required reading [This assignment is related to learning outcome #1, 3]. [77 hours].

2. A 12-15 page thesis-driven research paper grounded in primary source material [3,500 words]. (35%). [This assignment is related to learning outcome #2]. [30 hours].

3. Weekly issues-based forums (250 words) and “live chat” video conferencing for 30 minutes each week using the Zoom platform (10%). [This assignment is related to learning outcome #3]. [15 hours].

4. Midterm Exam covering readings and lecture (20%). [This assignment is related to learning outcome #1]. [6 hours]

5. Final exam covering readings and lecture (35%). [This assignment is related to learning outcome #1,2,3]. [10 hours].

PREREQUISITES: None.

RELATIONSHIP TO CURRICULUM: Option to meet the TH1 or TH4 requirement in the 120 MDiv Program. Meets the CHA requirement in the 144 MDiv Program.

FINAL EXAMINATION: Yes.