Content

This subject is focused on the historians and other writers who have told the story of Christianity at key times in the past. We draw on writings (and some other sources such as music, images, buildings, public addresses) to trace changes and continuities in Christian self-understanding, and set the men and women who wrote, and their approaches to history, in the context of their own times.

We will also explore what it means to ‘think historically’. In the context of the Christian story we will consider the role that historical writing has played; we will explore how memories of people and events have been shaped and how historians can draw on a range of sources to enrich and enliven understandings of the past and to continue to relate understandings of the past to our experience today.

Unit code: CH1000P

Unit status: Archived (New unit)

Points: 18.0

Unit level: Undergraduate Level 1

Unit discipline: Church History

Delivery Mode: Face to Face

Proposing College: Pilgrim Theological College

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Learning outcomes

1.

Outline a chronology of key events in the history of the Christian churches from the Jesus movement to the present;

2.

Describe the significance of key events within the Christian community over time as they have shaped the historical accounts given by Christian writers

3.

Articulate key principles of interpretation of a range of historical evidence (including varieties of documents, artefacts, music and art);

4.

Identify key features of the context and method of at least one writer on the Christian tradition

5.

Discuss the implications of historical understanding for ministry in the contemporary Christian church

Unit sequence

Pedagogy

  • Williams, R. Why study the past? The quest for the historical church. London: Darton, Longman & Todd, (2005) 2014. Bauman, M. and Martin I. Klauber, eds. Historians of the Christian tradition: Their methodology and influence on Western thought. Nashville: Broadman & Holman, 1995. Brown, C. (ed.) Secularisation in the Christian World: essays in honour of Hugh McLeod. Surrey: Ashgate: 2010. Gonzales, J. The changing shape of church history. St Louis: Chalice Press, 2002. Hastings, A. (ed.). World history of Christianity. London: Cassell, 1999; Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2000. Irving, D. Christian Histories, Christian Traditioning: rendering accounts. Maryknoll: Orbis, 1998. Miles, M. The Word Made Flesh: A History of Christian Thought. Oxford: Blackwell, 2005. Pelikan, J. Jesus through the centuries: His place in the history of culture. New Haven: Yale, 1985. Sheldrake, P. Spirituality and history: Questions of interpretation and method. London: SPCK, 1995. Walls, A. The cross cultural process in Christian history: Studies in the transmission and appropriation of faith. Maryknoll: Orbis, 2002; Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 2002.

Indicative Bibliography

  • Williams, R. Why study the past? The quest for the historical church. London: Darton, Longman & Todd, (2005) 2014. (recommended for purchase)
  • Bauman, M. and Martin I. Klauber, eds. Historians of the Christian tradition: Their methodology and influence on Western thought. Nashville: Broadman & Holman, 1995.
  • Brown, C. (ed.) Secularisation in the Christian World: essays in honour of Hugh McLeod. Surrey: Ashgate: 2010.
  • Gonzales, J. The changing shape of church history. St Louis: Chalice Press, 2002.
  • Hastings, A. (ed.). World history of Christianity. London: Cassell, 1999; Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2000.
  • Irving, D. Christian Histories, Christian Traditioning: rendering accounts. Maryknoll: Orbis, 1998.
  • Miles, M. Jesus through the centuries: His place in the history of culture. New Haven: Yale, 1985.
  • Sheldrake, P. Spirituality and history: Questions of interpretation and method. London: SPCK, 1995.
  • Walls, A. The cross cultural process in Christian history: Studies in the transmission and appropriation of faith. Maryknoll: Orbis, 2002; Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 2002.

Assessment

Type Description Word count Weight (%)
Essay

Essay 2000 words

0 40.0
Book Review

Book Review 1000 words

0 20.0
Essay

Source Exercise 1000 words

0 40.0
Approvals

Unit approved for the University of Divinity by John Capper on 19 Oct, 2017

Unit record last updated: 2022-10-04 09:46:07 +1100