Church History 1

HIST/BHIS 340

Harding University

Fall 2010

 

Monday, Wednesday, Friday          1:00-1:50          MCIN 352

 

Instructor: Dr. K. Stanglin

Office phone: 279-4620

Email: kstanglin@harding.edu

Websites: www.harding.edu/kstanglin and www.facebook.com

Office hours: MCIN 209, 8:00-9:00, 2:00-4:00 (MWF); Student Center, 4:00-5:00 (F)

I want you to do well in this course, so please let me know if you are having difficulty with the class material.

Office phone, hours, and email should suffice for class business. 

 

Course Description:

A survey of the history of Christianity from the subapostolic age to the Protestant Reformation, with attention to the events, institutions, people, and doctrines that have shaped the church.

 

Core Values:

Because we love God, we love the church he created and redeemed.  Because we love his church, we take her history seriously.

 

Course Objectives:

In light of the university’s mission and objectives, the student who successfully completes this course will be able to:

 

1. Identify and describe significant turning points in the history of the church.

 

2. Define and describe vocabulary and concepts foundational in the history of doctrine.

 

3. Identify particular historical figures, events, and theological trajectories that affect the church today.

 

4. Challenge and rectify popular misconceptions about church history.

 

5. Understand, evaluate, and address current issues of faith and practice in the church from an informed historical perspective.

 

6. Avoid the repetition of errors and emulate the examples of success.

 

7. Understand and appreciate the identity of today’s church in continuity with its past.

 

Required Course Textbooks:

 

Bettenson, Henry, and Chris Maunder, eds. Documents of the Christian Church. 3rd ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 1999. ISBN 978-0-19-288071-0

 

Ferguson, Everett. Church History, Volume One: From Christ to Pre-Reformation. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2005. ISBN 978-0-310-20580-7

 

Bring these two books to each class meeting.  A Bible will also be helpful for many lectures.

 

Attendance Policy:

Students are expected to attend classes regularly.  In the event of illness, family emergency, a school-sponsored activity, or an extenuating circumstance, it is the responsibility of the student to notify the instructor as soon as possible of the reason for the absence.  With regard to excuses, I defer to the criteria set by Academic Affairs.  A doctor’s note is required for excusing personal illness.  Print a hard copy for my records.  N.B.: Excuses will not be accepted more than one week after returning to class.

 

The official policy of COBR states that the equivalent of one week of unexcused absences (2) is allowed in this class.  Each additional absence above 2 automatically reduces your final grade by 4.5 percentage points.  Anyone accumulating a total of 6 unexcused absences will be dropped from the course with a “WF” (withdrawn, failing).

 

You will be considered tardy if you are not present when the roll is checked or if you leave during class.  3 tardies = 1 unexcused absence.  If you are tardy, it is your responsibility to make sure you were not counted absent.  If you come in more than 10 minutes late, or leave before the end of class without telling me why, you will be counted absent, and will not be allowed to take the test or quiz.  Take care of all business before and after class.

 

Students with Disabilities:

It is the policy for Harding University to accommodate students with disabilities, pursuant to federal and state law.  Therefore, any student with a documented disability condition (e.g., physical, learning, psychological, vision, hearing, etc.) who needs to arrange reasonable accommodations must contact the instructor and the Disabilities Office at the beginning of each semester.  (If the diagnosis of the disability occurs during the academic year, the student must self-identify with the Disabilities Director as soon as possible in order to get academic accommodations in place for the remainder of the semester.)  The Disabilities Office is located in Room 102 of the Lee Academic Center, telephone, (501) 279-4019.

 

Academic Honesty:

Harding University places a high priority on honesty and a biblical commitment to truth.  Incidents of cheating, plagiarism, or any other activities deemed dishonest will result in penalties.  These penalties may range from receiving a zero (0%) on the assignment to failing the course or dismissal from the school.  (According to Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, to “plagiarize” is to steal and use as one’s own the ideas, words, etc., of another.  Collaborating on written assignments that should be done individually would fall under this category of dishonesty.)

 

Classroom Expectations and Decorum:

I expect all students to behave in a Christian manner in and out of the classroom.  Appropriate behavior includes abiding by the conduct and dress codes set by the university.  Turn off all cell phones.  Do not eat food in the classroom. Only drinks in spill-proof containers are allowed in class.  If you make a mess, it is your responsibility to clean it up or pay for it to be cleaned.

 

If it looks to me like you are sleeping, texting, or doing other work in class, I will ask you to leave and it will be counted as an unexcused absence. 

 

You may use laptops for taking notes only.  If you use a laptop, you must sit on the front row.

 

Class will begin promptly 1:00, so be ready.  It will be dismissed when I finish, not necessarily when the bell rings.

 

Course Requirements:

 

1. Preparation.  You are expected to complete all assigned readings prior to the class meetings.  Some readings will be given to you in class.  The class lectures, which will not recapitulate the textbook, will assume that you have read the assignments and know the material.  Be prepared to take notes, discuss, and answer questions about the reading material in class. 

 

2. Notebook: 50 pts.  Keep a notebook that contains all notes over readings and lectures, as well as handouts and anything else pertinent to the study of church history.  Notes should be legible and thorough.  Most handouts will be available on the website (www.harding.edu/kstanglin).  Near the front of your notebook, make a timeline (or table) that shows 25 important events in the history of the church (with dates).  At the back of the notebook, you should have summaries of each group of primary readings from Bettenson (see #3).  Due December 1.

 

3. Summaries: 50 pts.  As you read Bettenson, write a summary for each group of readings (see schedule).  The beginning of each summary should include the author, title of the work, and historical occasion for writing.  In the body of each summary, sum up the author’s thesis and argumentation.  The summary is descriptive, so do not make judgments about the orthodoxy or heterodoxy of the author.  At the end of each summary, restate the main theme that binds the individual readings together.  They will go in the back of your notebook and be turned in with it.  (The summaries should total 7-8 pages, single-spaced.)

 

4. Tests: 100 pts. each.  Three tests will cover material from lectures and both textbooks.  Make-up Policy: A test may be made up for full credit only if the absence is excused (see “Attendance Policy” above).  Contact or see me as soon as possible to arrange it.  After I am notified, the make-up test will be given on Tues./Thurs., 6:00 p.m., room 233.  All make-up tests will be entirely essay format.  There will be no make-ups for unexcused absences.

 

5. Quizzes: approx. 10 to 20 pts. each.  Vocabulary quizzes will be announced the class period before the quiz.  Find vocabulary on my website.  Pop quizzes over Ferguson will be given at the discretion of the professor.  You may use your notes on Ferguson quizzes.

 

6. “Past and Present” paper: 50 pts.  Write a paper that puts the content learned in church history to practical use in addressing issues or problems in the church today.  Focus on an event or thinker or controversy from the past, and show how this knowledge can help the church today.  The goal is to give concrete evidence of how knowing the church’s history can help the present-day church move forward.  This paper is to be your own individual work, and should not require any outside research.  It should demonstrate a clear knowledge of the historical aspect as well as insightful reflections and observations on real current issues.  It should offer general principles illustrated by specific examples, past and present.  It should be single-spaced, and at least 1,000 words.  It is due on Thursday, Dec. 3.

 

7. Visit and Report on Liturgies: 50 pts.  The class will travel together to Little Rock twice on the weekend of September 11-12 to attend liturgies at a Jewish synagogue, Roman Catholic Cathedral, and Eastern Orthodox Church.  Each student’s individual report will be based on personal observation of the liturgy itself, the architecture, how these relate to the group’s distinct theology, and an interview with the synagogue/church leader.  Potential interview questions should be written and turned in to the professor by or before the previous Tuesday. 

The report should be at least 1,000 words, and it is due on the following Thursday.  Among a variety of historical/theological observations, the paper should also include a significant reflection comparing and contrasting the worship experiences.  (Anyone who does not/cannot travel with the class must visit these places of worship on another weekend, conduct their own interviews, etc.  This may only be done by special permission and arrangement with the professor.)

 

8. For those taking three hours credit: Research paper: 100 pts.  Write an original research paper (1,800-2,200 words, double-spaced) on the topic of your choice. 

a) You may examine a particular thinker, idea, or event of church history (see website for possible topics).  Or…

b) You may discuss the impact of church history on a particular area of life, church, art, family, worship, or confessions and catechisms, etc.  You may trace the influence of a particular thinker, event, or doctrine.  I want to know how church history impacted a particular area of life of interest to you.   

Use at least one primary source besides Bettenson, and at least four secondary sources besides Ferguson.  The paper should demonstrate that you read and interacted with these sources.  Use standard Turabian/Chicago Manual of Style footnotes.  Take note of the following due dates:

a) Talk with me or email me about your topic before Week 7. 

b) Annotated bibliography: A bibliography of at least five sources, due before Week 12.

c) Outline, due before Week 13.

d) The paper is due on Nov. 17, at 1:00 p.m.  Late papers will be reduced by 10% (e.g., A to B) for every two days it is late (beginning with the due date).  Papers will not be accepted after Dec. 3.  Evaluation criteria: Thesis, style, interaction with sources.

In addition to the hard copy, you must also submit the paper electronically before the deadline.  Go to www.turnitin.com.  The class ID is 2126554, and the password is chist.  Click “submit” and follow the instructions.  Papers not submitted through this website will not be accepted. 

 

9. Final exam: 100 pts.  The final will be comprehensive.  Monday, Dec. 13, 1:30-3:30.

 

10. Extra credit:

a) Attend and take notes at the lecture by Don Meredith on church history research on Monday, Sept. 27, at 3:00 p.m., and/or any (up to three) of the lectures by Everett Ferguson on Tuesday, Sept. 28.  For more information, see lectureship schedule.  Make a copy of your notes, and turn them in to me on Sept. 29, and no later.  (up to 10 pts. for notes from each lecture)

 

b) Write a critical review of an approved secondary source from the bibliography, or a detailed analysis of a primary source.  Points earned will be commensurate with the length of the book and the depth of the review.  Due Nov. 17.  Late work will not be accepted for extra credit.  (up to 20 pts. on final exam) 

 

Grading Scale:

Total points: ca. 650/750.

 

90-100% = A     80-89 = B (“Good”)     70-79 = C (“Average”)     60-69 = D      0-59 = F

 

Although it is your responsibility to keep up with your grades and absences, I will periodically post them on my website.  Check your grades with last name and password (H number).

 

Course Schedule:

Lecture Topics                                                            Ferguson Chapters       Bettenson Pages          Vocab.

Importance of Studying Church History

 

I. Ancient Church (100–313)

Backgrounds of Christianity and Empire                     1         

 

Apostolic Church in the 1st Century                            2                                                              1

 

Apostolic Fathers                                                        3

 

Outward Focus and Life in the Empire

 

Trouble from Without: Persecutions                           4                      1-5, 14                              2

 

Second-century Apologists                                                                  5-6                                    3

 

Trouble from Within: Heresy                                      5                      38-41

 

Response to Heresies                                                  6-7                   31-32   (“Apostles’ Creed”)

 

Old Catholic Fathers                                                   8-9                   32-33

 

Exam 1

 

II. Christian Empire (313–604)

Constantine the Great                                                 10                    18-20

 

Arian Controversy and Council of Nicaea                   11                    27-29                                4

 

Nicene/Post-Nicene Fathers

 

Biblical Interpretation and Liturgy in the Church        12                    93-95

 

Ecumenical Councils of the Early Church                  13                    50-51, 56-57, 97-103       5

 

Augustine and the Pelagian Controversy                     14                    78-80, 85, 66-68               6

 

Germanic Invasions and Fall of Rome                                    15

 

Exam 2

 

III. Middle Ages (604–1517)

Development of Roman Papacy                                  16                    86-93, 167

 

Rise of Islam                                                               17                    103-106

 

Medieval Church and State                                         18-19               114-22

 

Crusades                                                                      20

 

Scholastic Theology                                                    21                    151-66

 

Monasticism                                                                22                    127-46

 

Medieval Dissenters                                                    23                    123-24, 146-49                             7

 

Babylonian Captivity and Papal Schism                      24                    124-27

 

Forerunners of the Reformation                                                          191-93

 

Exam 3

 

IV. Reformation (1517–1619)

Medieval Councils, Renaissance. and Humanism                                149-150

 

Lutheran and Reformed (Calvinist)                                                     205-12, 270-72                             8

 

 

Church History Select Bibliography

compiled by Dr. K. Stanglin[1]

 

General:

Attwater, Donald. The Penguin Dictionary of Saints. 3rd ed. New York: Penguin Books, 1995.

 

Benedetto, Robert, ed. The New Westminster Dictionary of Church History, Volume 1: The Early, Medieval, and Reformation Eras. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2008.

 

Bradley, James E., and Richard A. Muller. Church History: An Introduction to Research, Reference Works, and Methods. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1995.

 

Ferguson, Everett. Church History, Volume One: From Christ to Pre-Reformation. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2005.

 

Hannah, John D. Charts of Ancient and Medieval Church History. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2001.

 

Hart, David Bentley. The Story of Christianity: An Illustrated 2000 Years of the Christian Faith. London: Quercus, 2007.

 

Kelly, J. N. D. The Oxford Dictionary of Popes. New York: Oxford University Press, 1986.

 

Lane, Anthony N. S. A Concise History of Christian Thought. Rev. ed. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2006.

 

Latourette, Kenneth Scott. A History of the Expansion of Christianity. 7 vols. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1970.

 

Noll, Mark. Turning Points: Decisive Moments in the History of Christianity. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1997.

 

Pelikan, Jaroslav J. The Christian Tradition. 5 vols. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1971–89.

 

             and Valerie R. Hotchkiss, eds. Creeds and Confessions of Faith in the Christian Tradition. 4 vols. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2003.

 

Placher, William C. A History of Christian Theology: An Introduction. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1983.

 

Price, Matthew A., and Michael Collins. The Story of Christianity. Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, 1999.

 

Schaff, Philip. The Creeds of Christendom, 3 vols. Available at www.ccel.org 

 

            . History of the Christian Church. 8 vols. 3rd ed., rev. New York: Scribners, 1907–10; repr., Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1976.

 

Seeberg, Reinhold. Textbook of the History of Doctrines. 2 vols. in 1. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1977.

 

Walker, Williston, et al. A History of the Christian Church. 4th ed. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1985.

 

Wainwright, Geoffrey, and Karen B. Westerfield Tucker, eds. The Oxford History of Christian Worship. New York: Oxford University Press, 2005.

 

Ware, Timothy (Kallistos). The Orthodox Church. New edition. New York: Penguin Books, 1993.

 

Early:

Bauer, Walter. Orthodoxy and Heresy in Earliest Christianity. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1971.

 

Brown, Peter R. L. Augustine of Hippo. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1967.

 

Dünzl, Franz. A Brief History of the Doctrine of the Trinity in the Early Church. New York: T and T Clark, 2007.

 

Ferguson, Everett. Backgrounds of Early Christianity. 3rd ed. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2003.

 

            . Baptism in the Early Church: History, Theology, and Liturgy in the First Five Centuries. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2009.

 

            , et al., eds. Encyclopedia of Early Christianity. 2 vols. New York: Garland, 1997.

 

            . Recent Studies in Early Christianity: A Collection of Scholarly Essays. 6 vols. New York: Garland, 1999.

 

            . Studies in Early Christianity. 18 vols. New York: Garland, 1993.

 

Frend, W. H. C. The Rise of Christianity. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1984.

 

Gavrilyuk, Paul. The Suffering of the Impassible God: The Dialectics of Patristic Thought. New York: Oxford University Press, 2006.

 

Grant, Robert M. From Augustus to Constantine: The Rise and Triumph of Christianity in the Roman World. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1970.

 

Green, Michael. Evangelism in the Early Church. Rev. ed. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2004.

 

Grillmeier, A. Christ in Christian Tradition, Volume One: From the Apostolic Age to Chalcedon (451). 2nd ed. Trans. John Bowden. Atlanta: John Knox Press, 1975.

 

Guy, Laurie. Introducing Early Christianity: A Topical Survey of Its Life, Beliefs, and Practices. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2004.

 

Hanson, R. P. C. The Search for the Christian Doctrine of God: The Arian Controversy, 318–81. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1988.

 

Hinson, E. Glenn. The Early Church: Origins to the Dawn of the Middle Ages. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1996.

 

Kelly, J. N. D. Early Christian Doctrines. Rev. ed. San Francisco: HarperCollins, 1978.

 

            . Golden Mouth: The Story of John Chrysostom—Ascetic, Preacher, Bishop. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1995.

 

Meeks, Wayne A. The First Urban Christians: The Social World of the Apostle Paul. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1983.

 

Need, Stephen W. Truly Divine and Truly Human: The Story of Christ and the Seven Ecumenical Councils. Peabody: Hendrickson, 2008.

 

Quasten, Johannes. Patrology. 5 vols.

 

Wilken, Robert Louis. The Spirit of Early Christian Thought: Seeking the Face of God. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2003.

 

Williams, Rowan. Arius: Heresy and Tradition. Rev. ed. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2002.

 

Medieval:

Bethencourt, Francisco. The Inquisition: A Global History, 1479-1834. Trans. Jean Birrell. Cambridge, Eng.: Cambridge University Press, 2009.

 

Bornstein, Daniel E., ed. Medieval Christianity. A People’s History of Christianity. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2009.

 

Brown, Peter R. L. The Rise of Western Christendom: Triumph and Diversity, 200–1000 AD. 2nd ed. Oxford: Blackwell, 2003.

 

Gratsch, Edward J. Aquinas’ Summa: An Introduction and Interpretation. New York: Alba House, 1985.

 

Levy, Ian C., ed. A Companion to John Wyclif: Late Medieval Theologian. Brill’s Companions to the Christian Tradition 4. Leiden: Brill, 2006.

 

Louth, Andrew. Greek East and Latin West: The Church A.D. 682–1071. New York: St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 2007.

 

Lubac, Henri de. Medieval Exegesis. 3 vols. Trans. E. M. Macierowski. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1998–2009.

 

Markus, R. A. Gregory the Great and His World. Cambridge, Eng.: Cambridge University Press, 1997.

 

Nichols, Aidan. Discovering Aquinas: An Introduction to His Life, Work, and Influence. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2002.

 

Oberman, Heiko A., ed. Forerunners of the Reformation: The Shape of Late Medieval Thought Illustrated by Key Documents. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1981.

 

Riley-Smith, Jonathan S. C. The Crusades: A History. 2nd ed. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2005.

 

            . The Crusades, Christianity, and Islam. New York: Columbia University Press, 2008.

 

Rollo-Koster, Joëlle and Thomas M. Izbicki. A Companion to the Great Western Schism (1378–1417). Leiden: Brill, 2009.

 

Smalley, Beryl. The Study of the Bible in the Middle Ages. New York: Philosophical Library, 1952.

 

Southern, R. W. Western Society and the Church in the Middle Ages. The Penguin History of the Church 2. New York: Penguin Books, 1970.

 

Volz, Carl A. The Medieval Church: From the Dawn of the Middle Ages to the Eve of the Reformation. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1997.

 

Wilkinson, John. Jerusalem Pilgrims before the Crusades. 2nd ed. Warminster, Eng.: Aris and Phillips, 2002.

 

Websites:

 

www.ccel.org   Christian Classics Ethereal Library.  A collection of primary sources.

 

www.earlychristianwritings.com          NT, Apocrypha, Gnostics, Church Fathers.

 

www.earlychurch.org.uk          An internet resource for studying the early church.

 

http://www.fourthcentury.com/        Fourth-century sources.

 

www.iclnet.org/pub/resources/christian-history.html            Guide to early church documents.

 

http://moses.creighton.edu/NAPS/napslinks/index.htm

 

www.ntgateway.com/patristi.htm       Early church and patristics links.

 

www.wabashcenter.wabash.edu/resources/result_browse.aspx?topic=664&pid=650 

 


[1] See my more extensive bibliography at http://www.harding.edu/kstanglin/bibliography.htm