Course Syllabus

Introduction to the History of Christianity

(IST 2500; 4 Credits; HI-INTRO)

Fall Term 2018 - Residential Course;

Thursdays: 8:30 AM-Noon. Classroom: Iliff Hall, Room #-301

Instructor:  Albert Hernández, Ph.D. 

Office:  Iliff Hall, Room 111.    Office Hours: --By Appointment--

Decorated Bible Cover, 5th Century C.E.

Notre Dame Cathedral, Paris 12th Century

 

 

Description/Synopsis of the Course:

This course introduces students to the broad outlines of the history of Christianity with an emphasis on major historical developments, and on the emergence of both local and trans-local expressions of religious traditions. Students will examine and discuss a series of historical case studies, derived from primary and secondary sources, covering different periods and themes, beliefs and practices, controversies and compromises, and key religious figures. Students will apply their learning from the case studies to a broad understanding of how different social, cross-cultural, institutional and intellectual patterns have shaped the diversity and complexity of the Christian historical and religious tradition.

Course Objectives:

Required Course Textbooks and Readings: 

Justo González, The Story of Christianity, Volume I:  The Early Church to the Dawn of the Reformation. Revised and Updated Edition. New York: Harper-One, 2010. [ISBN: 978-0-06-185-588-7]. (Also available from Amazon Kindle, and from Harper-Collins e-books thru Harper Collins Publishers, and available to Rent from select textbook providers, including Amazon.com).  

Justo González, Church History: An Essential Guide. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1996. [ISBN: 978-0-687-01611-2]. (This is a concise and very useful 95-page summary of the history of Christianity, which is also available from Amazon Kindle).

Justo González, The Story of Christianity, Volume II:  The Reformation to the Present Day. Revised and Updated Edition. New York: Harper-One, 2010.  [ISBN: 978-0-06-185-558-94].  (Also available from Amazon Kindle, and available from Harper-Collins e-books thru Harper Collins Publishers, and available to Rent from select textbook providers, including Amazon.com).  

Additional required readings, from primary and secondary sources, will be made available to students under the "Files" tab of our Canvas course site, and will be listed in the "Course Outline" of the syllabus under the respective week of the course in which the reading is due to be completed with full author, title, and page number information as well as any relevant internal or external links for each source or for each excerpt.  

Suggested Additional Reading: (Optional texts; Not required to purchase)

Everett Ferguson, Backgrounds of Early Christianity. Third Edition. William B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2003.  

Kevin Madigan, Medieval Christianity: A New History. Yale University Press, 2015.

Carlos Eire, Reformations: The Early Modern World, 1450-1650. Yale University Press, 2016.

Glen S. Sunshine, A Brief Introduction to the Reformation. Westminster John Knox Press, 2017.

George E. Tinker, Missionary Conquest: The Gospel and Native American Cultural Genocide. Fortress Press, 1993. 

Course Procedures and Expectations:

• Students are expected to attend all class sessions and come to class prepared for discussion and reflection by completing the assigned weekly readings and texts.
• Excessive absences from class sessions, excessive tardiness to class, or excessive early departures from class sessions will lower your final grade for "Class Participation & Attendance."   
• Students are expected to participate in class discussions and lectures by respectfully interacting in both positive and critically thoughtful ways with their peers and with the instructor.
• Students are expected to access and use the Canvas course site/page to familiarize themselves with the entire course syllabus, the required weekly reading assignments from the different primary and secondary sources, and with all required and graded assignments and deadlines throughout the duration of the course.
• Students are expected to access and check the Canvas course site/page regularly for important announcements or updates from the instructor.
• Historical timelines, selected readings or excerpts from primary source texts, relevant images from the historical periods covered in the course, and links to additional web-based resources are also available on the Canvas course site/page for this class and on the "Files" tab for the course.

Writing Lab: 

Grammar and organization are important for all written assignments.  Additional help is available from the Iliff Writing Lab (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site., which is available for students of any level who need help beginning an assignment, organizing thoughts, or reviewing a final draft. 

Academic Integrity and Core Values:  

All students are expected to abide by Iliff’s statement on Academic Integrity(Links to an external site.), as published in the Masters Student Handbook (Links to an external site.), as appropriate regarding plagiarism and all forms of academic dishonesty. All participants in this class are expected to be familiar with Iliff’s Core Values (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site..

Evaluation:

Incomplete Grades: 

• Incomplete Grade petitions will be granted only in the case of documented and verifiable medical circumstances or other personal or family related emergencies. In the event a student requires this option, the final grade for the course will be assigned as a "Pass" (P) or "Fail" (F) grade.   

Additional Policies & Services: 

• For information about A.D.A. Accommodations, or for information about additional Iliff School of Theology "Policies & Services" go to this tab/section of our Canvas course page or go there by clicking on this Link.

Course Outline & Schedule of Weekly Required Readings

Week One – (Thursday September 13, 2018)

Introduction to the History of Christianity and Its Major Historical Periods  

             

• Overview of Christianities in Antiquity (to 600 CE): key terms and major figures; basic timeline; major historical and theological themes; broad overview of continuities and discontinuities. 
• The Emergence of Modern Historiography (ca. 1860’s).
• The Study of the History of Christianity & "Church History" Today.
• Judaism & the Cultural Matrix of the Hellenistic World in First Century C.E.
• Greek Philosophy and Christianity (basic terms and key points for consideration).
• Christianity and the Religions of the Hellenistic-Roman Era (key points for consideration).
• Jesus’ Ministry, the First Pentecost, and the Birth of the Church (key points for historical consideration and reflection about continuities and discontinuities between the Early Christian movement and the emergence of later Christian beliefs, traditions and sects, practices).
• Defining Key Theological Terms: Ecclesiology, Soteriology, Christology, Pneumatology. 
• Christian Apologists & the First Persecutions of Christians in Roman Empire.

Required Readings for Week One:  

González, The Story of Christianity, Volume I, pp. xxiii-118.

González, Church History: An Essential Guide, pp. 7-40.

Summary handouts, maps and timelines, and other resources to be distributed in-class as well as posted on Canvas.    

   

 

Week Two - (Thursday September 20, 2018)

CASE STUDY #-1, PART I: ***Christianities in the Fourth Century C.E.***

• The Rise of Diocletian & the Tetrarchy (284-305 CE);
• Christians during the Reign of Emperor Diocletian;
• The Division of the Empire into the Western Roman Empire with its capital city at Rome in the Italian Peninsula and the Eastern Roman Empire with its capital city at Byzantium in Asia Minor on the Black Sea.
• Constantine’s Rise to Power & the Battle of the Milvian Bridge (Oct. 28, 312 CE);
• The Edict of Milan (313 CE);
• Christianity in the “Age of Constantine” (306-337 CE);
• The Arian Controversy & Events Leading to Council of Nicaea (325 CE);
• A New Capital City for the New, Imperial Religion: Constantinople (Construction Time: Spring of 324 CE–to-May 11th, 330 CE);

Required Readings for Week Two:  

González, The Story of Christianity, Volume I, pp. 119-262. 

Summary handouts, maps and timelines, and other resources to be distributed in-class as well as posted on Canvas.

 

Week Three – (Thursday September 27, 2018)

CASE STUDY #-1, PART II:   ***Christianities in the Fourth Century C.E.***

• Death of Emperor Constantine on Pentecost Sunday, May 22, 337 CE;
• Constantine and his Successors in the Fourth Century C.E.
• Athanasius of Alexandria & the Nicene Party: (ca. 325-379 CE);
• The Cappadocian Fathers, Monasticism, and the Imperial Church;
• The Rise & Triumph of the Theodosian Dynasty (379-457 CE);   
• The Treatment of Heresy in the Theodosian Canon (381 CE);
• The Council of Constantinople (381 CE);
• Christianity Declared “official state” Religion of the Roman Empire (395 CE);
• Continuities & Discontinuities: Late-Antiquity & the Fall of the Western Roman Empire (395–600 CE), and the Rise of the Byzantine Empire and Eastern Christianity in Constantinople (ca.500-1453 CE). 

 Required Readings for Week Three:  

González, The Story of Christianity, Volume I, pp. 119-262.

 

Week Four – (Thursday October 4, 2018)

Introducing Christianities of the Medieval Mediterranean Region (ca.600 –1500 CE)

• Overview of Christianities in the Medieval Mediterranean (to 1500 CE): key terms and major figures; basic timeline; major historical and theological themes; broad overview of continuities and discontinuities.
• Inventing the Middle Ages in the Renaissance & Again in the 19th-Century. 
• The Study of Medieval Christianity in the Post-9/11 Period of the 21st-Century.
• Brief Overview of Medieval Feudalism and Manorialism.
• Islam and Arab Learning in the Middle Ages (622-1492 CE).
• The Crusades to the East (1095–1291), and The Spanish Reconquest (711–1492).
• The Medieval Church vs. The Medieval State, (ca.1198–ca.1492).
• Medieval Universities & Revivals of Learning (aka: Renaissance movements).
• Medieval Attempts & Failures at Christian Revitalization: reforma, restauratio, and renovatio.
• Christian Anti-Semitic Discourse and Medieval Violence (ca.1100-1492).
• Continuities & Discontinuities: The Black Death: (1347-1351); The Fall of Constantinople (May 29, 1453); The Rise of Italian Humanism (ca.1300 –ca.1500); Christian Reformism (ca.1250–1517).

Required Readings for Week Four:    

González, The Story of Christianity, Volume I, pp. 263-491;

González, Church History: An Essential Guide, pp. 41-66.       

Hernández, “The Crusades & Religious Toleration in Medieval Christianity” (16-pp E-article from M.U.P.W.J.) available on the “Files” tab of our Canvas course site, or by clicking on this Link).

Summary handouts, maps and timelines, and other resources to be distributed in-class and posted on Canvas as well.

 

Week Five – (Thursday October 11, 2018)

***CASE STUDY #-2, PART I***

The Franciscans & the Apostolic Poverty Controversy of the High Middle Ages

Detail -Order of Friars Minor Coat of Arms

Joachim of Fiore's "Three Ages of Salvation" History

Brief Summary of Major Themes/Issues: 

As the Franciscan Order of Friars Minor grew dramatically across all of European Christendom in the early 1200’s,  Francis of Assisi’s monastic ideal of adhering to the apostolic poverty of Christ and his Early Christian disciples caught the attention of many among the laity, the clergy and the nobility.  However, within a century after the Order’s founding, strict adherence to the “poverty of Christ” was being condemned as heresy by the Papacy, and social justice oriented Spiritual Franciscan adherents among both the clergy and laity became persecuted across Western Europe and the Mediterranean basin.  This CASE STUDY will introduce students to a broad overview of some of the key moments in the history of Christianity during the High Middle Ages through an in-depth examination and discussion of the “Apostolic Poverty Controversy” of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries while also exploring the complexities and compromises that have characterized the age-old tension between ecclesiastical authority and the spiritual aspirations/ideals of Christian reform movements. Students will also discuss ongoing Christian debates/reflections regarding wealth and poverty, and social justice concerns among contemporary denominations and churches.

Content Outline:

• The Life & Ministry of Saint Francis of Assisi (ca.1181-1226);
• Christian Views & Conceptions of Poverty and Wealth; 
• The Life & Ministry of Abbott Joachim of Fiore (ca.1135-1202);
• The Rise of the Medicant Orders and the spread of Medieval Monasticism;
• The Life & Ministry of Saint Clare of Assisi (1194-1253)
• The Pontificate of Pope Innocent III (1198-1216);
• Frederick II Hohenstaufen; Holy Roman Emperor (1194-1250; Regnum: 1220-1250); Founder of the University of Naples and early defender of the Franciscan Spirituals; Major critic of Papal abuses of power and excessive ecclesiastical wealth; Major supporter and promoter of Arabic learning and books for improving European scholarship.
• The Spiritual Franciscans & the Controversies over the Wealth & Power of the Church;
• The Pontificate of Pope Boniface VIII (1294-1303);
• Robert, “The Wise,” of Anjou & Naples; --French Angevin King of Naples (1275-1343; Regnum: 1309-1343); Architect of the Neapolitan Renaissance; Defender and Protector of the Franciscan Spirituals.
• The Pontificate of Pope John XXII (1316-1344) & the Persecution of the Spirituals;
• Gender oppression and women’s voices/roles in ecclesiastical leadership.

Required Readings for Week Five:  

González, The Story of Christianity, Volume I, pp. 357-406;

Hernández, Chapter 3 in Subversive Fire: The Untold Story of Pentecost, pp. 83-144. (Available in the "Files" tab on the Canvas course site for this class, or by clicking-on this here: Link).

Summary handouts, maps and timelines, and other resources to be distributed in-class as well as posted on Canvas. 

 

Week Six – (Thursday October 18, 2018)

***CASE STUDY #-2, PART II***

The Franciscans & the Apostolic Poverty Controversy of the High Middle Ages

Content Outline:         --same as Week Five--

Required Readings:    --same as Week Five-- 

EVALUATION: Mid-Term Assignment Due this week by 11:59 PM on Saturday October 20th, 2018 via email to Prof. Hernandez---details and summary of the assignment will be provided in-class & coming soon to the Canvas site for our course. 

           

                         

Week Seven – (Thursday October 25, 2018)

Christianities of the Reformation & the Early Modern Period (1500 to ca. 1650)

Content Outline: 

• What is Christian Reformism? (Theological Re-Construction);
• "Christian Revitalization" as renovatio, restauratio, and reforma;
• Reflections on Ecclesiastical Authority vs. Spiritual/Religious Experience;
• Influence of Humanism & the Italian Renaissance on the Protestant Reformation.
• 1492---The Miraculous Year!
• The Life & Career of Martin Luther (1483-1546);
• Main Goals and Themes of the Protestant Reformation;
• The Socio-Political Climate of Europe in 1517: ---Luther as a Rebel and as a Subject of the Spanish Empire;  
• The Life & Career of John Calvin (1509-1564);
• The Rise of the Catholic Reformation;
• The Impact of the Council of Trent (1545-1563);
• The Thirty Years War (1618-1648); 
• Continuities and Discontinuities: European Christendom in the Wake of the Sixteenth Century Reformations. . . .  

Required Readings for Week Seven:

González, The Story of Christianity, Vol. II: Reformation to the Present Day, pp. 7-235.

González, Church History: An Essential Guide, pp. 67-76.

                               

Week Eight – (Thursday November 1, 2018)

CASE STUDY #-3:  ***The Lutheran Reformation***

Content Outline: 

• Sola Scriptura;
• Sola Fide: Justification by Faith Alone;
• Controversy over Indulgences;
• Luther at the Diet of Worms: April 18, 1521;
• Importance of Christian Education and Literacy;
• "The Priesthood of All Believers" 
• The Legacies of the Reformation Today: 1517-2017.

Required Readings for Week Eight:

Read: Mark Noll, "The Gift of Sola Scriptura to the World," (pp.23-45) Chapter 1 from John Witte Jr. and Amy Wheeler, eds. The Protestant Reformation of the Church and the World. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2018. (Available on the Canvas "Files" tab for this course, or by clicking on this Link).  

Read: Primary Source Document--Emperor Charles V "Statement on Luther (1521)" from pp. 49-50 in Early Modern Spain: A Documentary History. Jon Cowans, ed. Philadelphia: Univ. of Pennsylvania Press, 2003. (Available on the Canvas "Files" tab for this course, or by clicking on this Link). 

González, The Story of Christianity, Vol. II: Reformation to the Present Day, pp. 7-235.

González, Church History: An Essential Guide, pp. 67-76.

 

Week Nine – (Thursday November 8, 2018)

Christianities in the Modern World (ca. 1650's to Early-2000's)

Content Outline: 

• The Thirty-Years War (1618-1648) and Its Aftermath;
• Rene Descartes and the Rise of Modern Consciousness, ca. 1650;
• The Enlightenment & the Age of Reason, ca.1715-1790;
• The Rise of Scientific Rationalism, ca. 1600's to ca. 1800's; 
• Romanticism and Revolution, ca. 1770-1850's;
• Racism, Colonialism, and Christianity in the Context of Modern Imperialism;
• Modernity Challenges Religious Authority & Religious Experience;
• The Rise of Methodism and the Wesleyan Tradition, ca. 1730's;
• Ideologies of the Modern World vs. Religious Traditions & Values;
• The Twentieth Century: "A World Beyond Christianity. . . ."
• Modern and Post-Modern Apocalyptic Visions. . . .     

Required Readings for Week Nine:

González, The Story of Christianity, Vol. II: Reformation to the Present Day, pp. 237-397.

González, Church History: An Essential Guide, pp. 77-95.

 

Week Ten – (Thursday November 15, 2018)

CASE STUDY #-4: ***Global & Contextual Christianities in Post-Modernity***

Content Outline:    

• The Impact of Logical Positivism on Religion, Theology, and Spiritual Experience;
• August Comte and the Rise of Social Science (1798-1857);
• Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) and The Future of An Illusion (1927);
• The Emergence of Global Christianity in the Twentieth Century;
• The Rise of Pentecostalism in the Early-Twentieth Century;
• The Emergence of Contextual Pneumatologies after WWII;
• Post-Modern Philosophy and the Future of Religion;
• The Growth of the "Spiritual But Not Religious" (SBNR) Demographic. 

Required Readings for Week Ten: 

González, The Story of Christianity, Vol. II: Reformation to the Present Day, pp. 398-532.

González, Church History: An Essential Guide, pp. 77-95.