CH500
Badger
CH500: EARLY CHURCH HISTORY. Carlton M. Badger, Jr.
DESCRIPTION:
- An introduction to the early Church (2nd through 6th century) as it
confronted the pagan world and classical culture, defined many of its most
fundamental teachings, and cultivated distinctive patterns of biblical
interpretation, worship, and practice which have stamped Christianity up to the
present.
RELEVANCE FOR MINISTRY:
- The gradual process of self-definition, punctuated as it is by
crises and conflict, which occurred in the first five centuries of the Church
have formed a matrix--whether acknowledged or not--for the continued thought
and practice of Christians worldwide. A critical appropriation of this heritage
is crucial to situate ourselves in the wider catholic and apostolic church, and
to understand our faith in the fuller, more judicious--even
chastened--perspective given in the historical experience of the Church. The
student will thereby come to appreciate the historic conflicts and options
behind Christian practice and doctrine, and by such critical engagement better
attend to the needed articulation of faith in one's own ministry and
witness.
COURSE FORMAT:
- Intensive two-week course, with one four-hour block of
lecture/discussion each weekday (with breaks!). Readings to be completed before
class.
REQUIRED READING:
- Brown, Peter. The World of Late Antiquity. Norton, 1971.
(pp. 1-112.)
- Chadwick, Henry. The Early Church. Penguin Books, 1967.
- Norris, Richard, ed. The Christological Controversy. Fortress,
1980.
- Richardson, Cyril C., ed. Early Christian Fathers. Macmillan,
1970.
- Wiles, M. and Santer, M., eds. Documents in Early Christian Thought.
Cambridge, 1975.
- Syllabus and selected primary readings.
RECOMMENDED READING:
- Ferguson, Everett, ed. Encyclopedia of Early Christianity.
Hamden, CT: Garland, 1989.
- Fox, Robin Lane. Pagans and Christians. Knoff, 1989.
- Hazlett, Ian, ed. Early Christianity. Abingdon, 1991.
- Kelly, J. N. D. Early Christian Doctrines, 5th rev. ed. Harper and
Row, 1975.
- Norris, R. A. The Apostolic Faith. Protestants and Roman Catholics.
The Liturgical Press, 1992
- Pelikan, Jaroslav. The Emergence of the Catholic Tradition
(100-600). Chicago, 1971.
- Quasten, Johannes. Patrology. Vols. 1-4. Christian Classics.
- Young, Frances. From Nicaea to Chalcedon. Fortress, 1983.
ASSIGNMENTS:
- Completion of assigned readings in preparation for lectures and
discussions. It is seriously in the student's time interest to read the book by
H. Chadwick and the selection from P. Brown before the first day of
class, providing more time to concentrate on primary sources during the two
weeks of class.
- Four short responses (1-2 pp.) to primary sources in preparation for class
discussions.
- Book review, due a week after the final exam.
- Final exam.
PREREQUISITES:
- None.
RELATIONSHIP TO CURRICULUM:
- Meets M. Div. core requirement in Church History "A" (CHA).
FINAL EXAMINATION:
- Yes.