Course Syllabus Outline          Please click here to return to TUA list

Course Number, Title, and Credits

CH 200 Church History – From the Beginning of the Church until the Present

Academic Level of Course

            Lower Division Undergraduate (100 -299)

            Upper Division Undergraduate (300 – 499)

            Graduate Division Master’s (500 – 599)

            Graduate Division Doctorate (600 – 699)

Expected Time Required To Complete Course

Three months minimum.

Description of Course

An overview in depth of the background, founding, and progress of Christianity and the Church with emphasis on pivotal persons, events, and developments.

Course Learning Objectives (In general terms, what the student should know at the end of the course)

To gain a comprehensive historical framework for Christianity and the Church from its beginning until the present time;

To identify the leading figures in the history of Christianity and the Church in their historical development;

To identify the pivotal events in the history of Christianity and the Church and understand their causes, actions, and results for the history of Christianity and the Church;

To gain specialized knowledge and understanding of the salient movements driving the individuals, developments, circumstances and outcomes of Christianity and the Church.

Course Textbooks (minimum of 3 book for undergraduate study; minimum of 4 books for graduate study

Justo L. Gonzalez, The Story of Christianity: The Early Church to the Present Day

            Two Volumes in One

                        Volume One: The Early Church to the Dawn of the Reformation,                                    pp. 429

                        Volume Two:  The Reformation to the Present Date

                        pp.  414

Henry Chadwick, Augustine: A Very Short Introduction, pp. 146

Josef Pieper, Guide to Thomas Aquinas, pp. 200

Alexander Campbell, Christian System

Internet Resources (research on topics available from internet resources is recommended)

The student will complete 3 internet research projects one in each of the following periods: ancient church history, medieval church history, contemporary church history. The topics of the research projects will be suggested by the student and approved by the professor. The student will complete each project in a 30 day sequence.

Course Assignments (specific activities the student must do to complete the course and accomplish the course objectives)

The student will read each textbook;

The student will select one major theological point of interest in each of the following assigned books and evaluate the presentation of that point of interest by the author

            Henry Chadwick, Augustine: A Very Short Introduction, pp. 146

            Josef Pieper, Guide to Thomas Aquinas, pp. 200

            Alexander Campbell, Christian System

The student will develop brief identifications to the following:

Gnosticism

Docetism

Marcionism

Arianism

Constantine

313-THE EDICT OF MILAN

325-THE COUNCIL OF NICEA

St. Augustine

Jerome

451-THE COUNCIL OF CHALCEDON

Benedict of Nursia

Pope Gregory I

Battle of Tours

Charlemagne

East-West Schism

Peter Waldo

Pope Urban II and the Crusades

Thomas Aquinas

Savonarola

1517-LUTHER POSTS HIS "95 THESES"

MARTIN LUTHER (1483–1546)

JOHN CALVIN (1509–64)

Zwingli

The Anabaptist movement

Henry VIII's Act of Supremacy

The Society of Jesus

The Council of Trent

George Fox

John Wesley

Thomas and Alexander Campbell

The Restoration Movement

Richard Allen

The Doctrine of Papal Infallibility (Pope Pius IX)

KARL BARTH (1886–1968)

The World Council of Churches

Second Vatican Council

The student will complete a mid term examination and a final examination

Course Grade based on reading, assignments, reports, and tests