Christian History A: The first 1500 years (CH1741Z)

Content

This unit introduces students to the study of the history of the Christian Church to 1500CE. It will address the development of Christianity in the Roman Empire to the middle of the Fifth Century and the expansion of Christianity beyond the Roman Empire to Britain, northern and eastern Europe, North Africa and Asia. It considers key movements within Christianity before the Reformation.

Learning outcomes

Unit sequence

A Level 1 unit in undergraduate theology and ministry awards

Pedagogy

UCLT uses primary and secondary sources considered through different lenses to identify and explore the challenges of the unit material for the contemporary world. Students are engaged in a range of comparative, analytical and reflective practices.

Indicative Bibliography

• Davies, Oliver & Thomas O’Loughlin. Celtic Spirituality New York: Paulist Press, 1999.
• Evans, G.R. The Church in the Early Middle Ages. The I.B. Taurus History of the Christian Church. London, UK: I.B.Taurus, 2007.
• Gonzales, Justo L. & Catherine Gunsalus Gonzales. Heretics for Armchair Theologians. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2008.
• González, Justo L. The Story of Christianity. 2nd ed. New York: HarperOne, 2010.
• Green, Bernard. Christianity in Ancient Rome: The First Three Centuries. London, UK: T&T Clark, 2010.
• Guy, Laurie. Introducing Early Christianity: A Topical Survey of Its Life, Beliefs and Practices. Downers Grove, IL: IVP, 2004).
• Johnson, Marshall D. The Evolution of Christianity: Twelve Crises that Shaped the Church. New York: Continuum, 2005.
  
• MacDonald, Stewart. Erasmus and Christian Humanism. History Review (Mar 2000): 1-5.
  
• McGrath, Alister E. Christian History: An Introduction Oxford, UK: Wiley Blackwell, 2013.
• Markschies, Christoph. Gnosis: An Introduction. (tr) John Bowden. New York: T&T Clark, 2003.
• Maas, Robin and O'Donnell, Gabriel, Spiritual Traditions for the Contemporary Church. Nashville, TN: Abingdon, 1990.

Assessment