HS503M: Syllabus William Travis
Fall 2009, SemPM Bethel Seminary
September 28 – December 11, 2009 Phone: 651 636-8790
Mod W1: Mondays, 5:30 – 7:30 pm email:
Mod W2: Mondays, 8:00 – 10:00 pm
Church History Survey
Course Description:
This course looks at Christian thought and institutions from the first century through the twentieth, describing the expansion of Christianity from its Mediterranean beginnings to its global extension. Students will become acquainted with some of the primary and secondary sources used for understanding the church's history. Classes are conducted in a lecture/discussion format, and student participation is encouraged. We are taking a three-pronged approach in our study:
1) The Noll text provides the narrative line for the course, giving us the general picture of the sweep and flow of events and concepts.
2) The documents and the Bettenson text provide study of some of the details without which the general picture cannot be drawn, thereby enhancing the Noll narrative.
3) Class lectures move from the Noll material to take “samples” of a particular concept, event or person in ways that allow for more complete “soundings” of some significant idea in history; at the same time we will use the lectures to relate to our era the ideas being discussed.
Learning Outcomes: at the end of the course the student should be able to:
1. Recount the significant events and outline the importance of the central figures in the history of the church.
2. Read with understanding selected documents from the church's history.
3. Relate some of the ecclesiastical and doctrinal traditions of the past to contemporary movements and theological thinking.
4. Engage in analytical writing on selected documents in church history.
5. Understand the global nature of the church and the attendant multicultural forms it takes.
Texts:
Noll, Mark A., Turning Points: Decisive Moments in the History of Christianity. 2nd edition. Grand Rapids: Baker, 2000. ISBN: 0-8010-6211-X
Bettenson, Henry and Chris Maunder, eds., Documents of the Christian Church. 3rd edition. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999. ISBN: 0-19-288071-3
Testing:
1. Four short-answer tests (multiple-choice, true-false, matching) on major persons/events/concepts in church history, taken from the Noll and Bettenson texts. See the Study Items page. The Bettenson items will be discussed in class prior to the tests.
2. An essay exam on the class lecture material, given in the final class session. Possible essay topics for the exam will be given throughout the course.
Dates: October 12, October 26, November 9, November 30
Document Analyses: Length: 1,500 words each Papers Due: Oct. 19, Nov. 2, Nov. 16
Documents are the sine qua non of history study. This assignment allows the student to engage fuller documents and thereby get a better feel for the basis of historical research.
Note: Please read both documents in each set, one for the writing assignment, the other one for discussion. The discussions will take place online.
The three analyses should address the following questions--you will be graded on how well you handle these questions, and on how well you write:
a. What is the author saying: What is/are the central contention(s)/themes of the document; what arguments does the author marshal in support of the contention(s).
b. How convincing is the author: Distinguish between stronger and weaker arguments or themes in the writing; give reasons for your assessments.
c. How might the document apply to today's church: E.g., some action to be taken, some new understanding of the practice of the faith, or NA.
1. Early Church Analysis: Choose one of the following documents:
Tertullian. "The Shows."
At http://www.ccel.org/fathers2/ANF-03/anf03-09.htm#P890
Chrysostom, John. "On Vainglory and the Right Way for Parents to Bring Up Their Children." In M. L. W. Laistner, Christianity and Pagan Culture, 93-122.
2. Reformation Analysis: Choose one of the following documents:
Luther, Martin. “Comfort for the Sick and Dying.” In Luther: Letters of Spiritual Counsel, ed. Theodore G. Tappert, 26-52.
Calvin, John. “Discipline in the Church," Book IV, chapter 12, sections 1-21, Institutes of the Christian Religion. www.iclnet.org/pub/resources/text/m.sion/cvin4-13.htm
3. Modern Church Analysis: Choose one of the following documents:
Palmer, Phoebe, chapters 1, 2, 3, 16 of Entire Devotion to God (Salem OH: Schmul Publishers Reprints, 1949), 6-22, 76-78.
Barton, Bruce, “His Advertisements,” chapter 5 of The Man Nobody Knows: A Discovery of the Real Jesus (Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill, 1925), 124-158.
Grading: Tests - 40%
Papers - 30%
Document Discussion - 15%
Integrative Paper - 15%
Class Schedule
Date / Topic / AssignmentSept. 28 / Christianity and Classical Culture
The Early Church / Noll, chapters 1-3
Bettenson readings, I
Oct. 5 / The Early Church / Tertullian or Chrysostom document
Oct. 12 / The Imperial Church
Test 1 / Noll, chapters 4-6
Bettenson readings, II
Oct. 19 / The Medieval Church / Due: Early Church Analysis
Discussion One, Oct. 20-23
Oct. 26 / The Medieval Church
Test 2 / Noll, chapters 7-9
Bettenson readings, III
Nov. 2 / The Reformation / Due: Reformation Analysis
Discussion Two, Nov. 3-6
Nov. 9 / Early Modern Church
Puritanism
Test 3 / Noll, chapters 10-12
Bettenson readings, IV
Nov. 16 / Church and State
Revivalism / Due: Modern Church Analysis
Discussion Three, Nov. 17-20
Nov. 23 / No lecture class
Nov. 30 / The Modern Missionary Movement
Evangelicalism and Liberalism
Test 4 / Due: Integrative Paper
Dec. 7 / The Recent Church / Essay Exam on Class Lectures
Noll and Bettenson Study Items
TEST 1: NOLL: destruction of Jerusalem as a turning point; RC, Orthodox and Protestant interpretations of early Christian history; canon issues; differing views of episcopacy; the role of Constantine at Nicea; the views of Arius; Nicea and politics; Nestorius and Apollinaris; Leo I; the theological importance of Chalcedon. BETTENSON: Pliny on persecuting the Christians, pp. 3-4; Tertullian on loyalty to the emperor, 8-9; miracles and Polycarp, 9-13; Constantine’s support of the church, 18-19; Julian on Christianity, 22; Augustine on two kinds of assistance, 60-61; teachings of the Didache, 70-71; Irenaeus on apostolic succession, 74-76; Cyprian on salvation and the church, 80-81; the African bishops on appeals to Rome, 89-90.
TEST 2: NOLL: the inner motives of monasticism; the foundation of the Rule; Noll’s evaluation of monasticism; monastic developments in the M.A.; Pope Gregory I; the role of the sacraments in the M.A.; effects of Muslim expansion on Christian history; differences between East and West leading to the Great Schism; the Crusades’ role in East-West division; Prince Vladimir. BETTENSON: Nicholas I on the Apostolic See, 103-104; breach between East and West, 106; Clericos Laicos on excommunication and interdict, 125; Unam Sanctam, the two swords, 126; Rule of Benedict, divine office, 128; the Rule on excommunication, 130-131; Aquinas on the Inquisition, 147-148; Anselm on God’s existence, 151; Anselm on satisfaction, 152-153; Aquinas on the necessity of the Incarnation, 157-158.
TEST 3: NOLL: post-Worms developments; Luther’s literary productivity; Luther, theology of the cross; centrifugal forces in Christendom; crises in the late medieval church; divisions among Protestants—relation between church and state; significance of the founding of the Jesuits; new Catholic monastic orders in the 16th century; Tridentine Catholicism; the Chinese Rites Controversy. BETTENSON: the machinery of indulgences, 203-205; the “first wall” in Luther’s Appeal to the German Nobility, 214-216; Luther on confession, 229-230; Calvin on hardening of the heart, 237; Loyola on thinking with the church, 272-274; Arminianism, 282-284; Presbyterianism, the WCF, 319-323; Baptist Confessions, 323-325; the Independents, 330-331; the Quakers, 338-340.
TEST 4: NOLL: the new approaches of Wesley et al; Philipp Jakob Spener’s Pia Desideria; changes from the 16th to the 18th century; the most important religious convictions of evangelicals and pietists; the turning point of the French Revolution; politics, philosophy and science in the 19th century; Pius IX; the turning point of the Edinburgh Missionary Conference; William Carey; William Wade Harris. BETTENSON: Leo XIII on wages, 291-292; the Assumption of Mary, 297-298; Matthew Tindal on reason and revelation; Newman on Romish vs. Primitive, 355-358; Vatican II on the people of God, 361-362; the Barmen Declaration, 373-374; James Cone on Black Theology, 378-379; Rosemary Radford Reuther on feminism, 392-393; Matthew Fox on ecotheology, 395; views on homosexuality, 436-440.
Online Discussions. After each document paper is turned in, discussion of the other document in the assigned pair takes place. Whichever document of a pair you choose not to write about will be the subject of your discussion with other class members who also chose not to write on that document. For example, all those who write on Tertullian will discuss the Chrysostom document. The discussion will occur on BlackBoard. One or two points for discussion will be posted by the instructor to get the process started. Each student will make three postings: an initial post (up to 200 words), dealing with the starter points; then, two other posts (up to 100 words each), in response to what fellow class members have written. The postings begin on a Tuesday and are to be concluded by Friday of that week. You will be graded on your understanding of the document and the cogency of your posts.
Integrative Project. Each student is to write a 1500-word Integrative Paper, in response to one of the following topics. Sources for the paper include material from the church history course, your experience in congregational life, reading you have done, and personal reflection. NOTE: for this paper, church history starts in 100 A.D.
Due: November 30
1. A long-standing truism has it that “there are no new heresies, just older ones in new garb.” Do you agree with this? Give evidence to support the view. Where does the truism not hold up? Give evidence.
2. The church through its history has shown both positive and negative features. In what ways can we say that the church has “prevailed”? Illustrate your points.
3. One reason for studying the history of the church is to see how those in past generations have spoken to issues common to every generation. Choose an issue, and show the responses made to it in at least three eras of church history: Early Church, Middle Ages, Reformation Era, Early Modern Era (17th and 18th centuries), Modern Era (since 1800).
In addition to submitting this assignment to the course instructor, you are also required to upload your assignment to your Integrative Portfolio. For important uploading instructions, visit your Integrative Portfolio Blackboard course (GS002 or GS003). This requirement began in the fall quarter of 2008 and applies to all degree seeking students from that point forward.
Academic Course Policies
(Please see catalog for full range of requirements.)
1. Academic Integrity (88-9): “Written material submitted must be the original work of the student. Academic dishonesty constitutes a serious violation of scholarship standards at Bethel and can result in denial of credit and possible dismissal from the school. Any act that involves misrepresentation regarding the student’s academic work is forbidden. Academic dishonesty includes cheating on assignments or exams, plagiarism, fabrication of research, multiple submissions of work in different courses, misrepresentation of academic records, the facilitation of academic dishonesty, and depriving others of necessary academic resources.”
2. Course Papers (90):
· “All assigned course and term papers in all degree programs (with the exception of those in Marriage and Family Studies) are to be submitted in thesis form in conformity with the most recent edition of Kate Turabian’s A Manual for Writers…Students submitting papers in the Marriage and Family Studies and Marital and Family Therapy programs should follow the requirements of the fifth edition of The Publication Manual of the America Psychological Association.”
· “In addition, students are expected to use inclusive language.”
3. Grades (91): “Grades will be assigned using the full range of letter grades (A-F), representing the following levels of performance:
A Excellent work submitted; evidence of outstanding ability to synthesize and use course knowledge; consistent evidence of creativity and originality; insightful contributions in class; consistent demonstration of integrative and critical thinking skills; regular class attendance; and respectful interaction.
B Good work submitted; evidence of substantial ability to analyze and use course knowledge; evidence of creativity and originality; thoughtful contributions in class; demonstration of integrative and critical thinking skills; regular class attendance; and respectful interaction.
C Acceptable work submitted; evidence of adequate ability to analyze and use course knowledge; appropriate contributions in class; attempts at integration and critique; regular class attendance; and respectful interaction.
D Poor work submitted; little evidence of ability to analyze and use course knowledge; inconsistent evidence of mastery of course content; few contributions in class; no attempts at integration and critique; inconsistent class attendance; and respectful interaction.
F Inadequate work submitted; insufficient evidence of ability to analyze and use course knowledge; inappropriate and/or disrespectful contributions in class; poor class attendance; or failure to complete course requirements.”
4. Incomplete Course Work (92): “Students are expected to submit all work by the dates set by the course instructors and complete all course requirements on or before the last day of the quarter. The grade ‘Incomplete’ is temporary and will be granted only in unusual circumstances (such as serious illness or critical emergencies) and will not be considered for a student who is simply behind in the assignments.”
5. Harassment Policies (93): “Bethel Seminary is committed to providing a Christ-centered community where students, faculty, and staff can work together in an atmosphere free from all forms of harassment, exploitation, or intimidation, including racial and sexual harassment. All members of the Bethel community are expected to educate themselves about sexual and racial harassment.”
6. Accessibility: Please contact the instructor as soon as possible if disability-related accommodations are needed. Accommodations for students with documented disabilities are set up through the office of Disability Services. Contact Kathy McGillivray, director of Disability Services, at (651) 635-8759.
7. Drops/Withdrawals: If you are dropping or withdrawing from a course, it is important to establish your last day of attendance. Please notify the registrar’s office and contact your instructor of your intent to drop or withdraw from a course. Students carrying financial aid, please contact the financial aid office prior to dropping or withdrawing from the course in order to be informed of the consequences of this action on financial aid. If you are in a course that uses distance education delivery (e.g. Blackboard), be sure to sign on to your Blackboard course prior to withdrawing in order to establish the last day of attendance in your course.
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