Winter 2017/Pasadena

HT500

Lopez

HT500: THE CHURCH’S UNDERSTANDING OF GOD AND CHRIST IN ITS HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT (4 Units: 160 hours). Eric Lopez, Ph.D.

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 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.

REQUIRED READING: 1250 pages required.

TEXTBOOKS [603 pp.]

Norris Jr., Richard A. The Christological Controversy. Sources of Early Christian Thought. Fortress Press, 1980. ISBN: 978-0800614119, Pub. Price: $24.00. [160 pp.]

Plantinga, Richard J., Thomas R. Thompson, Matthew D. Lundberg. An Introduction to Christian Theology. Cambridge University Press, 2010. ISBN: 978-0521690379, Pub. Price: $34.99. [175 pp.].

Wilkens, Robert Louis. The First Thousand Years: A Global History of Christianity. Yale University Press, 2012. ISBN: 978-0300198386, Pub. Price: $22.00. [268 pp.]

BOOK CHAPTERS, ARTICLES & PRIMARY SOURCES IN TRANSLATION [647 pp.]

We will also be spending time in primary sources and assorted chapters and articles relevant to our discussions. I’ve subdivided them below into fluid but helpful categories. The following readings may be found on the course site in Moodle in eReserves:

New Testament [29 pp.]

Hill, Wesley. “Ch. 1: The Eclipse of Relations in the Interpretation of Pauline God-Talk.” In Paul & the Trinity: Persons, Relations & the Pauline Letters, 1-29. William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2015. [29 pp].

Early Christianity

Second & Third Century [14 pp.]

Ignatius, “Letter of Ignatius to the Smyrnaens,” in The Apostolic Fathers: Greek Texts and English Translations, Third edition, 248-261 [Read the English translation only]. Edited and translated by Michael W. Holmes. Backer Academic, 2007. [14 pp.]

Fourth Century [52 pp.]

Gregory of Nyssa. “III. Gregory of Nyssa:That one should not believe in speaking of three gods. To Ablabios.” In Gregory of Nyssa, De Beatitudinibus IV, Ad Ablabium and Adversus Macedonianos, 35-60. Translated with introduction and notes by Igor Pochoshajew. Patrologia 20. Peter Lang, 2008. [26 pp.]

Gregory of Nazanzius. “Letter 101: The First Letter to Cledonius the Presbyter,” in On God and Christ: The Five Theological Orations and Two Letter to Cledonius, 155-166. Translated with introduction and notes by Fredrick Williams and Lionel Wickham. St. Vladimir’s Press, 2002. [12 pp.]

Basil of Caesarea, “Letter 214.” In Saint Basil: Letters, Vol. 2 (186-368), 99-103. Translated by Agnes Clare with notes by Roy J. Deferrari. The Fathers of the Church 28. The Catholic University of America Press, 1955. [5 pp.]

Basil of Caesarea, “Chapter 12,” and “Chapter 16.” In On the Holy Spirit, 58-9, 69-75.Translation and introduction by Stephen Hildebrand. Popular Patristics Series 42. St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 2011. [9 pp.]

Fifth Century [59 pp.]

Kärkkäinen, Veli-Matti. “The Chalcedonian Tradition: A Horizon for Understanding Christ,” in Christ and Reconciliation, pp. 106-118. [13 pp.]

Augustine, “Sermon 52” in Sermons III (51-94) on the Old Testament, 50-65. Translated with notes by Edmund Hill. The Works of Saint Augustine: A Translation for the 21st Century New City Press, 1991. ISBN: 978-0911782851 [16 pp.]

Augustine, “Sermon 117” in Sermons IV (94A-147A) on the New Testament, 209-223. Translated with notes by Edmund Hill. The Works of Saint Augustine: A Translation for the 21st Century New City Press, 1992. ISBN: 978-1565480001 [15 pp.]

Cyril of Alexandria, “Letter 45,” and “Letter 46,” in St. Cyril Letters 1-50, 190-204, translated by John I. McEnerney. The Fathers of the Church 76. The Catholic University of America Press, 2007. [15 pp.]

Sixth Century [52 pp.]

Ps.-Dionysius the Areopagite, “Divine Names: Ch. 2 and Ch. 4 sections 7-35,” in Pseudo-Dionysius: The Complete Works, 49-67, 76-96. The Classics of Western Spirituality. Paulist Press, 1987. [25 pp.]

Justinian, “Edict of the True Faith,” in On the Person of Christ: The Christology of Emperor Justinian, 159-185. St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 1991. [27 pp.]

Late Antiquity [69 pp.]

Maximus, “Ascetic Life,” in St. Maximus: The Ascetic Life, The Four Centuries on Charity, 103-17. Ancient Christian Writers 21. The Newman Press, 1955. [15 pp.]

Maximus, “Centuries on Love 1.1-25, 1.80-100, 2.1-10, 2.24-30,” in Maximus Confessor: Selected Writings, 36-8, 44-51. Translated by George C. Berthold. The Classics of Western Spirituality. Paulist Press, 1985. [10 pp.]

Maximus, “Ambiguum 5” in On Difficulties in the Church Fathers: The Ambigua, Vol. I, 31-59 (Read only the English translation). Dumbarton Oaks Medieval Library 29. Harvard University Press, 2014. [10 pp.]

Maximus, “Ambiguum 41” in On Difficulties in the Church Fathers: The Ambigua, Vol. II, 103-21 (Read only the English translation). Dumbarton Oaks Medieval Library 29. Harvard University Press, 2014. [10 pp.]

“Chapter XII: The Statement of Faith of the Third Council of Constantinople (Sixth Ecumenical),” in Christology of the Later Fathers,375-386. Edited by Edward R. Hardy in collaboration with Cyril C. Richardson. WJKP, 1954. [11 pp.]

John of Damascus, “An Exact Exposition of the Orthodox Faith, Book 1, Ch. 8,” in St. John of Damascus: Writings, 176-88. Translated by Frederic H. Chase, Jr. The Fathers of the Church 37. The Catholic University of America Press, 1958. [13 pp.]

Middle Ages [65 pp.]

Nieuwenhove, Rik Van. “Chapter 12; Thomas Aquinas,” in An Introduction to Medieval Theology, 171-210. Cambridge University Press, 2012. [40 pp.]

Felmy, Karl Christian. “Chapter 15: Development of the Trinity Doctrine in Byzantium: Ninth to Fifteenth Centuries,” in The Oxford Handbook of the Trinity, 210-226. Oxford University Press, 2011. [17 pp.]

Hildegard of Bingen, “Vision Two: The Trinity,” in Hildegard of Bingen: Scivias,translated by Columba Hart and Jane Bishop,161-68 Paulist Press, 1990. [8 pp.]

Reformation [13 pp.]

Swain, Scott R. “Ch. 16: The Trinity in the Reformers,” in The Oxford Handbook of the Trinity, 227-39. Oxford University Press, 2011. [13 pp.]

Modern Era [149 pp.]

O’Regan, Cyril et alia. “Chapters 17-22” in The Oxford Handbook of the Trinity, 240-329. Oxford University Press, 2011. [89 pp.]

Kärkkäinen, Veli-Matti. “Ch. 6: Christologies from the Global South.” In Christology: A Global Introduction, second edition, 143-200. Baker Academic, 2016. [32 pp.]

Boff, Leonardo. Holy Trinity, Perfect Community, xv-17, translated by Phillip Berryman Orbis Books, 2000. [20 pp.]

Moltmann, Jürgen. “Ch. 10: Some Reflections on the Social Doctrine of the Trinity,” in Christian Understanding of God Today: Theological Colloquium on the Occasion of the 400th Anniversary of the Foundation of Trinity College, Dublin, 104-11. Edited by James M. Byrne. Studies in Theology. Columba Press, 1993. [8 pp.]

Global Era [145 pp.]

Kärkkäinen, Veli-Matti. “Chapter 17: Introduction: Trinitarian Reflections in the World Context,” “Chapter 18: The Latin American and Hispanic Context for Trinitarian Reflections,” “Chapter 21: The Asian Context for Trinitarian Reflections,” and “Chapter 24: The African Context for Trinitarian Reflections,” The Trinity: Global Perspectives, 257-382. WJKP, 2007. [37 pp.]

Kärkkäinen, Veli-Matti. “Ch. 7 ‘Contextual’ Christologies in Global North,” and “Part 4: Jesus Christ among Religions: Diversity without Unity.” In Christology: A Global Introduction, 93-226. Second Edition. Baker Academic, 2016. [52 pp.]

Coakley, Sarah. “Ch. 6: ‘Person’ In the ‘Social’ Doctrine of the Trinity: A Critique of Current Analytic Discussion,” in The Trinity: An Interdisciplinary Symposium on the Trinity, 123-44. Edited by Stephen T. Davis, Daniel Kendall and Gerald O’Collins. Oxford University Press, 2001. [22 pp.]

Yong, Amos. “Ch. 2: Pneumatology and Trinitarian Theology,” in Spirit-Word-Community: Theological Hermeneutic in Trinitarian Perspective, 49-82. Ashgate, 2006. [34 pp.]