A History of ChristianitySyllabus, Discussion Questions, Activities, Assignments Page | 1

Dear Professors:

Note #1: The goal of these learning materials is to make your class so irresistible that no student would want to miss a minute. Even interested students might be tempted to skip a lecture class or a class that simply repeats information from the book. But when captivating analysis of history happens through back-and-forth debate, no one wants to miss that. Plus, because your students are key players in those interchanges, they’ll learn, remember, and apply history with more accuracy.

SO….you’ll find a wide variety of Discussion Questions, In-class activities, Out-of-class assignments, PowerPoint structures (available on the B&H Academic website), Midterm Essays and Final Exam Essays (available upon request from B&H Academic). This will feed the non-predictability through which college students learn best. An approach that seems to match one student may miss her entirely, while one you thought she’d never try may fascinate her. Pedagogy evidences that students learn best through variety, that even after they find favorite approaches, trying something new stretches them to see what they might not otherwise have recognized.

You’ll have your own favorite formats as well. So when you don’t initially find your favorite format, skim subsequent and previous chapters for other approaches. For example, some sessions include more discussion questions and some sessions include longer in-class activities.

Note #2: I’ve included more than can be completed in any single class, so you can select and adapt according to your teaching style. All copy is addressed in at least one form: discussion question, in-class assignment, out-of-class assignment, or PowerPoint slide.

Note #3: I found several connection points to weave the chapters together.

Note #4: For the most part, Discussion Questions and PowerPoint slides harmonize rather than repeat.

Note #5:You’ll want to adapt the number and style of PowerPoint slides to match your room size. Many have more copy than can display well for larger groups. At least one PowerPoint slide per chapter encourages application of a principle from that chapter. These are marked “In your arena”/ “From your perspective”/ “In your experience” / and so on.

Note #6: Many in-class activities can become out-of-class assignments and vice versa.

WHOLE COURSE IDEA #1: Give extra credit to students who will keep or create a glossary of definitions/terms such as “indulgences,” “simony,” “soteriology,” and “autocephalous.” Then each time those terms arise, the student(s) can recall their meanings. Consider keeping these terms as defined in the text, as well as details your students accurately add.

WHOLE COURSE IDEA #2: Give extra credit to a student willing to read a chapter into a podcast. That student’s reading of the text will settle the content into his or her mind, as well as help classmates.

~~ Karen Dockrey and the A History of Christianity team

Syllabus

This syllabus is set up for fifteen weeks, two-days-per-week.

Week 1: Month 00, 20--

Day 1:Introductory remarks; Invite students to share their goals for the course; share your goals for the course, particularly ones that complement those of the students.

Sample introductory remarks:

  • The midterm and final exam will largely be built upon in-class assignments and take-home essays. So every time you participate in one of those, you’ll be preparing for your exams.
  • We’ll have a five-or-more-question quiz every day, drawn from the text. This quiz grade is one-third of your grade for the semester, weighted equally with the midterm and final.
  • Many Quizzes mean staying up with the material and showing your brilliance

Day 2:Chapter 1 quiz +Chapter 2

Week 2: Month 00, 20--

Day 1:Chapter 2 quiz +Chapter 3

Day 2: Chapter 3quiz +Chapter 4

Week 3: Month 00, 20--

Day 1: Chapter 4 quiz +Chapters5-6

Day 2: Chapters5-6 quiz +Chapter 7

Week 4: Month 00, 20--

Day 1: Chapter 7 quiz +Chapter 8

Day 2: Chapter 8 quiz +Chapter 9

Week 5: Month 00, 20--

Day 1: Chapter 9 quiz +Chapters10-11

Day 2: Chapters10-11 quiz +Chapter 12

Week 6: Month 00, 20--

Day 1: Chapter 12 quiz +Chapter 13

Day 2: Chapter 13 quiz +Chapter 14

Week 7: Month 00, 20--

Day 1: Chapter 14 quiz +Chapter 15

Day 2: Chapter 15 quiz +Chapter 16 +quiz + midterm tips

Week 8: Month 00, 20--

Day 1: Midterm Exam

Day 2: Review of Midterm Exam: Explain purposes for your questions: how the questions guidestudents to process and apply the history of Christianity.

Week 9: Month 00, 20--

Day 1: Chapter 17 +Chapter 18

Day 2: Chapters 17-18 quiz + Chapter 19

Week 10: Month 00, 20--

Day 1: Chapter 19 quiz +Chapter 20

Day 2: Chapter 20 quiz +Chapter 21

Week 11: Month 00, 20--

Day 1: Chapter 21 quiz +Chapter 22

Day 2: Chapter 22 quiz +Chapter 23

Week 12: Month 00, 20--

Day 1: Chapter 23 quiz +Chapter 24

Day 2: Chapter 24 quiz +Chapter 25

Week 13: Month 00, 20--

Day 1: Chapter 25 quiz +Chapter 26

Day 2: Chapter 26 quiz +Chapter 27

Week 14: Month 00, 20--

Day 1: Chapter 27 quiz +Chapter 28

Day 2: Chapter 28 quiz +Chapter 29

Week 15: Month 00, 20--

Day 1:Chapter 29 quiz + Preview of Final Exam: Questions will guide you to process and apply A History of Christianity; study recommendations that provide lifelong learning rather than simply information retention.

Day 2: Final Exam

Chapter Questions, Activities, and Assignment Ideas

Foreword & Preface

Discussion Questions

  1. After reading the Foreword, how would you define “chronological snobbery?”
  2. How have you seen historical amnesia threaten the health of the church?
  3. Through what deliberate habits will you refuse chronological snobbery? Historical amnesia?
  4. What phrase in the Preface best expresses why you want to study and apply the History of Christianity?
  5. How has God called you back to the Bible when you’ve been tempted to place personal objectives over what God has depicted in Scripture?
  6. How can you tell that God’s activities are visible in the life of someone?
  7. How has a belief or practice you hold developed over time? What have people learned about this beliefor practice in the time greater than your lifespan?
  8. Which is the greater danger for today’s church leaders: acting on selfish interests OR doing what they believe is best for the church even if not biblically based?
  9. What does it mean to be a heroic Christian, one who genuinely serves God no matter what is happening in the church as a whole?

Chapter 1: Jesus and the World into Which He Was Born

Discussion Questions

  1. What surprises you most about the world into which Jesus was born?
  2. Using the information on pages 3-4, put yourself into the shoes of a devout member of each of the four Jewish factions. What would make you choose this group? What action or belief in the group honors God, or at least intends to honor God? How might you characterize to the other three groups from your viewpoint?

a)Answer the above for the Pharisees.

b)Answer the above for the Sadducees.

c)Answer the above for the Zealots.

d)Answer the above for the Essenes.

  1. Describe the conundrums created by Greek culture, language, and philosophy. Include at least two conundrums for each.How did this setting give rise to the Septuagint?What advantage did the Roman roads offer to Christianity?
  2. Read Colossians 1:15-20 for reasons Jesus Christ is supreme. Then name at least two ways Jesus Christ is supreme over these expressions of Greek philosophies and these religions described on pages 6-9:
  3. Plato’s Forms or Ideas;
  4. Epicureanism;
  5. Stoicism;
  6. Cynicism;
  7. Traditional Roman religions such as worshipping Jupiter, Saturn, Apollo;
  8. Mystery religions; and emperor worship.
  1. Share a way Jesus is your prophet, your priest, and your king. Give a different way for each role.
  2. Paul chose wise change, both personally and for others—he chose to follow Jesus, he wrote New Testament books, he said salvation was open to Gentiles and more. Describe a few of these changes and how you suppose he worked with the Holy Spirit to implement them.

In-class Learning Activities

  1. Gather in trios. Assume you are three siblings in a dedicated-to-God family. Then assume that one of you has joined a faction group—Pharisees, Sadducees, Zealots, or Essenes—and is trying to convince the other two siblings to join. You two siblings, however, are concerned that your sibling has moved from the faith. Discuss this with care. OPTION: switch roles for every faction group.
  2. The author writes a delightful two page summary of the life and ministry of Jesus Christ (pages 9-11). If you were to create two summary paragraphs, what would you include? What if you created three summary sentences? Respond to PowerPoint Slide #4.

Assignment Ideas

  1. Write a letter from the viewpoint of an everyday believer in the world into which Jesus was born. Let this letter tell about the latest political and religious events and your hope for the Messiah in the midst of these.
  2. Write two paragraphs about how Chapter 1 helps you understand Matthew 1:18 to 3:17.

Chapter 2: Growth, Persecution, and Defense

Discussion Questions

  1. Describe the influence of Rome during the life of Christ and for three centuries thereafter. What good grew from the leadership of the twelve Caesars? What anguish grew from the leadership of these twelve?
  2. Affirming that God’s Spirit is behind all growth, through what factors did He grow Christianity in those early centuries? Howare these factors similar to and different fromwhat makes Christianity grow in this century?
  3. See the third paragraph on page 14. What did it mean to be a God fearer?
  4. How was early Christianity like, and unlike, Judaism? Why would observers conclude it was a Jewish sect? Was it?
  5. The apostolic fathers were called upon to settle theological differences. How?
  6. The writings of the apostolic fathers were meant to solve specific problems or meet needs. How do such circumstances help us to clarify our beliefs and practices? How many of these can we solve in advance rather than wait until they arise?
  7. [Consider leading In-class Learning Activity #2 before asking this question] Persecution is wicked, in God’s eyes and ours. But evil can never stop God’s goodness from expressing itself. What were some of the horrors of the persecution of Christianity reviewed on pages 22 to 29? What good did God cleverly inject into the painful situations of persecution reviewed on pages 22 to 29?
  8. Choose an apologist from pages 28-29 (Justin Martyr, Athenagoras of Athens, Theophilus of Antioch, or Tatian of Asyria) and name what you consider his primary teaching. Use that teaching to respectfully counter a present-day heresy.

In-class Learning Activities

  1. Divide the class into six teams of two or more. Assign each one of the apostolic fathers/ writings on pages 17-20 (Clement of Rome;Hermas of Rome; Ignatius of Antioch;Polycarp of Smyrna;Epistle of Barnabas; Teaching of the Twelve). Instruct each team to read the introductory paragraph and then the section related to their assignment to create a poster presenting the primary teaching of that father/group of fathers and at least one other fascinating fact. Suggest they create the poster to help the class to care about and remember details.
  2. OPTION: Display the posters throughout the next session’s quiz, writing quiz questions based on the poster. Don’t call attention to the fact that the questions come from the posters; but do affirm any who notice this. Confirm that knowledge happens as we observe and as welearn from others.
  3. Solve a problem with each group speaking from its apostolic viewpoint.
  4. [Before discussing Question #7: ] Debate this statement --Persecution brings more good than bad. Coach students to draw points for both pro and con from pages 22 to 29. Use student statements to conclude that, of course, persecution is wicked, in God’s eyes and ours. But God never stops working, never stops injecting good into any situation.

Assignment Ideas

  1. Chart the similarities and differences between early Christianity and Judaism. Use the chart format of your choice, but include at least four comparisons.
  2. Outline the development of the persecution of Christianity, accenting elements you would find particularly troubling. Speculate what could honorably be done to prevent or reduce persecution.

Chapter 3: Problems from Within

Discussion Questions

  1. Answer this well-meaning Christian: “I don’t need to learn doctrine; I just want to study the Bible.” Using examples from chapter 3 to highlight life problems that can be prevented by wise doctrine.
  2. The Gnostics believed knowledge was good but physical substance was not. Some decided to manage this by denying the body; others indulged it. How did both these approaches cause harm? What is the godly way to manage both our bodies and our minds?
  3. Marcion taught a God of the Old Testament separate from a God of the New Testament. Why do some people still see God in this way? To demonstrate that our God is One, give examples of New Testament principles in the Old Testament and Old Testament principles in the New Testament.
  4. Mani, founder of Manichaeism, taught that followers were of two levels: some merely heard the light but others understood it. Those who understood (the perfectaie)led while the hearers supported them financially. Why would someone accept two levels of spirituality? Should they?
  5. Sometimes a heresy arises to manage theological mysteries. What did Monarchianism attempt to explain and what were two explanations? (pages 35-36). Watch subsequent chapters for how explanations of the Trinity present during the history of Christianity.
  6. Montanismover-stressed the Holy Spirit but practiced asceticism. What would have led to either of these extremes?
  7. Think about all the heresies we’ve discussed: What makes a heresy appealing? That is, no believer then or now would perceive they were practicing half-truths. So what pulls people in? (This question supported by PowerPoint Slide #17)
  8. A basic problem in each of the five best-known heresies—Gnosticism, Marcionism, Manichaeism, Monarchianism, Montanism— was partial truth, leaving out the full picture. How do we study the Bible to practice the whole truth rather than just the elements we like best?
  9. Renouncing Jesus Christ is serious. In what variety of ways did Novatian and others propose to manage this?
  10. Schisms are complex. Detail some complexities of the Donatist Schism. How did, and does, Matthew 13:24-30 speak to this?How did Augustine help with this?
  11. “For Augustine, the church itself was holy; its people were not.” (See page 40.) What then is the secret to obeying Christ in community?

In-class Learning Activities

  1. Divide the class in half. Let one side name why persecution from the outside hurts the church. Then let the other side name an equally powerful reason persecution from inside hurts the church. Repeat again and again. Suggest that the volley of ideas be good natured, each side enriching the ideas of the other side, and that the sides draw on the material in chapters 2—3. Debrief with: Through what actions can we as church leaders prevent/heal hurt from both external and internal persecution? How can we prevent internal persecution?
  2. In trios name current church controversies that may be helped by what we’ve learned from the two schisms and the five heresies. What principles could be applied to solve each?

Assignment Ideas

  1. For each of the five best-known heresies—Gnosticism, Marcionism, Manichaeism, Monarchianism, Montanism—name a with-good-motives reason the heresy might have arisen. Using those five examples, write an essay on how to prevent good intentions from becoming destructive practices.
  2. Chart the five best-known heresies according to basic tenet, origin, and dangerous conclusions.

Chapter 4: Christian Orthodoxy and the Ante-Nicene Fathers

Discussion Questions

  1. Orthodoxy is not developed in an ivory tower but in response to real life threats. Explain.
  2. Apostolic succession was presented as a way to preserve purity of church doctrine and teaching. Why? What would work more reliably? Be specific.
  3. Many denominations happily proclaim themselves as using the Bible as their creed. What might be helpful about a summary statement such as the Rule of Faith or the Apostles’ Creed?
  4. How did the canon, the list of books affirmed as Scripture, come to be? (pages 44-47).
  5. Irenaeus’ wrote The Demonstration of the Apostolic Preaching to help a friend having difficulty choosing between Gnosticism, Judaism, and Christianity. This then became a guide for new converts. How can you tell when concern for people is the primary motivation for clarifying doctrine and refuting heresy? How can you tell when there are other reasons behind refuting heresy? What would some of these reasons be?
  6. Clement proposed a two-tiered approach to applying the Bible: faith in the Bible’s teachings was required of all, but using reason to build on foundational truths was needed for maturing in the faith. What’s wise about this approach? How might you modify it?
  7. With which ante-Nicene father would you most like to converse? What would you ask and why?

In-class Learning Activities