Content

This unit uses text, art and artefact to explore developments in theology and Christian practice in early church communities, to 500 CE. It then explores through text, film and liturgical practice how ancient Christianity is reflected in selected modern interpretations and practices. Themes include: unity and diversity of belief and practice; church identity in early and modern periods; the relationship between body and soul; the tension between charismatic and institutional forms of ministry and authority; the Trinitarian and Christological debates; issues of historical religious primitivism.

Unit code: CH8701S

Unit status: Archived (New unit)

Points: 24.0

Unit level: Postgraduate Foundational

Unit discipline: Church History

Delivery Mode: Online

Proposing College: Stirling College

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Learning outcomes

1.

Identify significant dates, people and themes in the Early Church’s theology and practice

2.

Apply key principles of historical interpretation to a diverse range of primary sources

3.

Demonstrate an understanding of how an aspect of practice or belief has developed over time within Protestantism

4.

Describe how selected modern church interpretations and practices (incl. Restorationist, Fundamentalist, Pentecostal and Primitivist) reflect and understand a relationship to aspects of early church

5.

Assess the impact of the interpretation of an aspect of the Early Church’s theology or practice within a modern church’s identity, worldview and tradition.

Unit sequence

Prohibited combinations Foundational / first level Early Church History units

Pedagogy

Lecture audio and visual aids provided online, moderated forum discussion, online lesson and resource provision

Indicative Bibliography

  • Burrus, V. ed. Late Ancient Christianity: A People’s History of Christianity Vol. 2. Minneapolis: Augsburg Fortress, 2005.
  • Davis, J. The Landscape of Belief (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1996).
  • Chadwick, H. The Early Church. London: Penguin, 1993.
  • Guy, L.D. Introducing Early Christianity: A Topical Survey of its Life, Belief and Practices. Downers Grove IL: IVP, 2004. (recommended for purchase)
  • Hughes, Richard T., ed. The Primitive Church in the Modern World. Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 1995
  • Humphries, M. Early Christianity. London: Routledge, 2006.
  • Jensen, R.M. Understanding Early Christian Art. New York: Routledge, 2000.
  • Lossl, J. The Early Church: History and Memory. London: T&T Clark, 2010. ( recommended for purchase)
  • Miles, M. The Word Made Flesh: A History of Christian Thought. Malden, MA: Blackwell, 2005.
  • Pelikan,J. Jesus Through The Centuries: His Place in the History of Culture. New Haven and London, Yale University Press, 1999.
  • Shelley, Bruce L. Church History in Plain Language. Waco: Word, 1995.
  • Van Liere, Katherine, Simon Ditchfield and Howard Louthan, eds. Sacred History: Uses of the Christian Past in the Renaissance World (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012).
  • Williams R. (ed.). The Making of Orthodoxy. London: CUP 1989
  • Young, F. The Making of the Creeds. London: SCM Press, 2002.

Assessment

Type Description Word count Weight (%)
Essay

Essay of 3000 words

0 50.0
Book Review

Book/Film Review of 1500 words

0 25.0
Essay

Source Analysis of 1500 words

0 25.0
Approvals

Unit approved for the University of Divinity by John Capper on 30 Jul, 2015

Unit record last updated: 2022-10-04 13:24:08 +1100