Religion 302W:
History of Christianity
Mon., Wed., Fri.
10:30am to 11:35am, 318 Chapman Hall
course website:
http://faculty.samford.edu/~drbains/ucbp101
David R. Bains, Assistant Professor
Office: 325 Chapman Hall, phone: 726-2879, email: drbains@samford.edu
Office Hours: Mon & Wed 1-3pm. I'll be happy to make an appointment for a
different time, just let me know.
Course Description & Objectives:
Surveys the course of the
history of Christianity and acquaints students with the intellectual,
institutional, and cultural heritage of the Christian church. This course examines the diversity of Christian
experiences through the twenty-one centuries of the Christian era.
Students
will be able to:
Required Texts:
Books
available at the Samford University Bookstore:
Dowley,
Tim, ed. Introduction to the History of Christianity.
Janz,
Denis R., ed. A Reformation Reader: Primary Texts with Introductions.
Jenkins,
Philip. The Next Christendom: The Coming of Global Christianity.
Jolly,
Karen Louise, ed. Tradition & Diversity: Christianity in a World Context
to 1500.
A
copy of the Bible.
Access
to course WebCT site
Requirements: subject to adjustment
Mid-term exam (take home essay(s)) (20%)
Final exam (in-class) (30%) While
weighted toward later material. This
will be cumulative including major
persons, events, concepts from throughout the term. A study guide will be provided. The final will be at time and place announced
by the university.
Essay (20%) An essay (8-10
pages) on a major theme that we have discussed throughout the course (e.g.,
sanctity, church and state, cultural adaptation of Christianity, justification)
it can be focused more narrowly on late-medieval and early modern material (Reformation). You must write on one of the themes
suggested. This essay will primarily be
based on assigned reading for the course with a few other suggested articles.
Alternative: While I recommend the main option since it
focuses on the reading you are doing throughout the term, students may choose
to write a research paper on a topic of interest that is related to assigned
course readings.
Details on this assignment
will be provided by March 18. Proposals
of students wishing to write research papers are due by April 4. Essay will be due by April 29.
Participation (30%) This includes class
participation (explained in detail below) and other occassional quizzes,
essays, and other assignments on the readings discussed in class that day.
Class procedure: As a rule
classes will begin with a discussion of the reading (focusing on the primary
sources). There are three study
questions before each of the readings in Jolly.
There is also one question for each of the readings in Janz in the Study
Guide available on the CD-ROM that comes with the book. These questions will help you read each of
the individual documents. Since we will
generally be discussing 2-4 documents each day, I will provide one or more
questions to help you synthesize the readings.
These last questions will be our departure point for our class
discussions.
The questions for the day are listed on the syllabus. Other questions will be provided in-class or
on the WebCT site.
I
strongly suggest keeping a notebook in which you record your observations and
questions about each of the documents we read.
You should also jot down answers for the study questions. Leave room in the section for each document
to record additional notes from our class discussions.
You
should come to class each day (a) having done the assigned reading, (b)
prepared to discuss the assigned questions and the readings in general, and (c)
with your own questions about the readings (including things you didn't
understand and things you think are interesting and want to discuss). On some days you may have particular
assignments (e.g., short written essays, a position to prepare to debate, or an
in-class writing assignment).
Your
classroom participation will be assessed on the following scale:
Unattentiveness
in class = 0, Good attendance and attentiveness = C, Strong attendance and
active participation in class discussions (showing interest in topic or issues
and familiarity with assigned materials) = B; Strong attendance, active
participation in class discussions (showing interest in topic or issues and
familiarity with assigned materials), and demonstrable leadership (somehow
making a positive difference in the class dynamic) = A.
Class
participation grades will be posted approximately every two weeks to the
gradebook on WebCT. Poor attendance and
frequent tardiness will hurt your grade.
Academic Integrity:
"Students upon
enrollment, enter into voluntary association with
Attendance
and Grading:
Roll will be taken each
day. In a MWF class a student may miss
six classes without penalty. After the
seventh absence your final grade will be reduced one letter grade. After the ninth absence the student will receive
an FA for the course. Three tardies
count as one absence. If you come in
after your name is called, you will need to notify your professor at the end of
the class period, or else the tardy will become an absence. The Department of Religion grading scale is:
A=
100%-95%, A- = 94%-92%
B+ =
91%-88%, B = 87% - 85%, B- = 84%-82%
C+ =
81% - 78%, C = 77%-74%, C- = 73% - 70%
D+ =
69% - 66%, D = 65% - 63%, D- = 62% -60%
F =
below 59%
All students with disabilities seeking reasonable
accommodation must register with Disability Support Services #726-4078 or
#726-2105. Thereafter, you are invited
to schedule appointments with the instructor to discuss reasonable
accommodation requests verified by Disability Support Services.
Attendance requires your
active attention. Cell phones should not
ring, if your cell phone rings or vibrates your final grade will be reduced by
1 point.
Inclusive
Language
"Language—how it is used
and what it implies—plays a crucial role in
All
papers should be typed and double spaced.
Occasionally, the readings and assignments may have to
changed. I will announce these changes
in class. If you miss class, check with
another student before the next class to see if there were any changes.
1. January 26
Guest lecture by
Distribution of syllabi and first assignment.
Early Christianity
2. January 28: History, Reform, and Orthodoxy
*Paul's Letter to the Galatians (any Bible, preferably NRSV)
*Acts of the Apostles 10:1-15:35
Gasque, "The Church Expands:
David Bebbington, "What is History" in Patterns in History, 1-20. (handout)
look over chart "The Christian Centuries," Dowley, 12-13.
Key terms: orthodoxy, catholic, heresy, Peter, Paul,
history, apostle
Questions: Paul's letter to the
Galatians reveals the clash between different movements in early Christianity,
two rival orthodoxies. The Galatians
were first evangelized by Paul. Later
they were visited by other evangelists who sought to reform their Christian
practice. Thus, in his letter Paul is
engaged in the task of counter-reformation.
1.) How do Paul and his opponents support their positions? (What authorities do they appeal to? How do they seek to impugn the authority upon
which their opponent's case is based?)
2.) What challenges do Christians encounter as they minister among the
Gentiles? How does this appear to change
it from its Jewish origins?
3.) Based on these early sources what appear to be emerging as the major
beliefs and practices of Christianity?
4.) Given what Bebbington says about the role of argument in history, what
argument does Luke appear to be making?
What argument does Gasque make?
What other arguments about the events and times they describe do you
think you could make?
Recommended: The entire Acts of the Apostles
Hemer, "Archeological light on earliest Christianity," in Dowley,
69-77
Briggs, "Weighing up the evidence," in Dowley, 34-36.
3. January 31: Early Practice and Piety
First Apology of Justin Martyr, chapters 65-67 (handout) (Read Dowley, 94 for
an introduction to this document)
Jolly, "Introduction," 3-9, 13-14, 22-26 (Apostolic Tradition), 28-34
(Dionysius the Wise)
Dowley, [sections on worship] [29-33,] 123-129, 152-161
Dowley, [apologists], 78-81
4. February 2, [Candelmas/Presentation of the Lord]:
Christianity and Rome
Jolly, 34-51 (Tertullian and Clement, Eusebius on Constantine and Helen,
Symmachus and Ambrose)
Dowley, 82-95
BiblePlaces.com, "Church of the Holy Sepulcher," http://www.bibleplaces.com/holysepulcher.htm
Franciscan Cyberspot, Basilica of the
Holy Sepulchre
http://www.christusrex.org/www1/jhs/TSspmenu.html
Franciscan Cyberspot, Basilica of the
Holy Sepulchre, "The Byzantine monument at the Garden of
Golgotha (335 AD)" http://www.christusrex.org/www1/jhs/TSspbyza.html
Franciscan Cyberspot, Bethlehem,
"From Jesus to Emperor Justinian" http://198.62.75.1/www1/ofm/sites/TSbtjust.html
5. February 4: Heterodoxy and Orthodoxy I
Jolly, 52-63 [Gnostics and Origen]
Dowley, 96-122, 139-146, 148-151 [Gnostics and ante-Nicene theology,
6. Feburary 7: Christological and Trinitarian
Controversies
Jolly, 63-72
Dowley, 164-186 [This is a very detailed (and very good!) history. Be sure to focus on 164-169 and 179-186]
7. Feb. 9, Ash Wednesday: Life and Death
Jolly, 73-98
Life of St. Antony 1-14. The complete
text is online: http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/basis/vita-antony.html
These three popular, widely read lives of saints reflect early Christian
understandings of the holy life and death.
Based on these, describe the kind of life that a Christian should
live? What affect do you think these
stories had on their early audiences?
What similarities do you see between martyrdom and monasticism?
8. Feb. 11: Foundations of Medieval Thought
Jolly, 99-100, 105-106, 113-128
Dowley, 187-211
Recommended: Jolly, 101-106, 107-112
[Jerome on Bible and Augustine, Confessions]
9. Feb. 14 [Sts Cyrl and Methodius]: Monasticism and
Saints
Jolly, 129-154
Dowley, 212-224, 230, 307-309
10. Feb. 16: Eastern Christianity
Dowley, 247-259, 316-319
Jolly, 215-218, 154-159, 505-509
Recommended: Attend a Sunday service at an Eastern
Orthodox or Eastern-rite Catholic Church.
Birmingham has lots to choose from:
St. George the Great Martyr (Melkite) 425-Sixteenth Ave. S. ,Birmingham, AL
35205, (205) 252-5788
Holy Trinity / Holy Cross (Greek Orthodox) http://holytrinity-holycross.org/
307 19th St. S., Birmingham, AL 35233 (205-716-3080)
St. Nicholas (Russian Orthodox) http://www.russianchurchusa.org/SNCathedral/english/rpcd.asp?ID=36
Brookside, AL (206)
674-1325
(Antiochene Orthodox) worships in Chapel of Mountain Chapel United Methodist
Church, Rock Ridge Rd. (get info)
St. Symeon (Orthodox Church in America) http://www.stsymeon.com/sspics.html 3101 Clairmont Ave, Birmingham, AL 35205
11. Feb. 18: Christianity beyond the Mediterranean
Jolly, (7.4 Nestorians in
Dowley, 202, 217-219, 228-238
The texts here relate to the spread of Christianity beyond the Mediterranean to
China, to the Franks in Gaul, to the Anglo-Saxons in England, to the Saxons in
modern-day Germany and Belgium, and to the Vikings again in England.
Key questions: What strategies do Christian missionaries use
to covert the pagans? Why do the pagans
convert? What is the role of women? How is Christianity changing? How is it remaining the same?
Note on the Nestorian Stele from China: Students who have had "World
Religions" or otherwise know something about South Asian and East Asia
religions should recognize much familiar language in this text (emptiness, sutras, non-assertion, Teaching (or dharma), "heat of their
distress" desire (kama). How does this text use these concepts to
express Christian theology? Would a
European Christian recognize this as Christian?
Note the "twenty-four Sages" refers to the Old Testament, Jews
traditional count the TaNaK as containing 24 books (I & II Kings, I &
II Samuel, I & II Chronicles, Ezra and Nehemiah) are each counted as
one. The twelve "minor
prophets" are also counted as one book.
Medieval Christianity
12. Feb. 21: Popular Medieval Spirituality
Jolly, 255-282, 288-292
Dowley, 238-245
Recommended: Jolly, 238, 243-248
(John Scottus Eriugena)
13. Feb. 23 [Polycarp of Symrna]: Kingship and Investiture Controversy
Jolly, 218-237, 303-317
Dowley, 309-314 (Reforms of
14. Feb. 25: Crusades
Jolly, 333-349
Dowley, 275-281
15. Feb. 28: Bernard and Hildegard
Jolly, 369-383
Dowley, 267-269
16. March 2: no class
17. March 4: no class
18. March 7: [Perpetua and Felicity]: The Material Culture of Medieval Christianity
Dowley, 293-298
Jolly, 510-515 (Seven Sacraments)
Mapping Margery Kemp http://www.holycross.edu/departments/visarts/projects/kempe/
Windows in the Trinity chapel, Canterbury Cathedral http://www.uvm.edu/~lbrought/Chaucer.html
Canterbury Buildings. Very good for
exterior of Cathedral http://weblingua.hostinguk.com/invictaweb/canterburybuildings/Index.htm
Medieval Images. Excellent collection http://www.pitt.edu/~medart/
19. March 9: Reform and Orthodoxy
Jolly, 321-332 (Beguin)
Jolly, 395-400 (Francis and Clare)
Jolly, 412-424 (Waldensians, Albigensians, and Spiritual Franciscans)
Dowley, 268-276, 320-329
Recommended:
Rule of
20. March 11:: High Medieval Theology and Practice
Jolly, 387-395 (Innocent III and Fourth Lateran)
Jolly, 350-354 (Anselm)
Jolly, 357-362 (Averröes)
Jolly, 400-404 (Bonaventure)
Jolly, 405-411 (Thomas Aquinas)
Dowley, 282-293
Recommended: Abelard and Maimonidies (355-357, 363-368)
21. March 14: Spirituality: Mystical and Popular
Jolly, 491-505
Jolly 515-526 (Last Judgment from
22. March 16: Dissent and Reform in Late Medieval &
Renaissance Christianity
Janz, # 2 (p. 13-14) (Bontiface VIII,, Unam
Sanctum)
Jolly, 475-490
Janz, #13 (pp. 57-68). (Erasmus)
Dowley, 330-350
23. March 18: Late
Medieval Debates on Justification
Janz, # 7-8 (pp. 38-50) (Brandwardine and
Spring Break / Holy Week
(Gregorian/Western Calendar)
Reformations of the Sixteenth Century
24. March 30: Luther's
Autobiography and Controversy over Indulgences
Janz, #14-16 (pp. 69-78) Luther on Luther
Janz, # 9-11 (pp. 52-54) Documents on Indulgences
Janz, #19 (pp. 81-86) Luther, Ninety-five Theses
Dowley, 352-369
25. April 1: Luther's
first treatises
Meditation on Christ's Passion in
Janz, 86-90
To the Christian Nobility in Janz,
90-98
The Freedom of a Christian in Janz,
98-106
Recommended: Janz, #75-76
Dowley, 370-378
26. April 4 Building
Lutheranism
Prefaces to the NT and OT in Janz, 106-111
Small Catechism, in Janz, 110-121
Smalclad Articles, in Janz, 122-138
Augsburg Confession and Apology of the Augsburg Confession on
justification, in Janz, 138-144
Recommended:
Formula of Concord 145-149
Dowley, 395-400
27. April 6 Roman
Catholic Response
Janz #77-79 (332-347) Cajetan, On Faith
and Works in Janz, 333-346
Dowley, 410-414
Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of
Justification http://www.elca.org/ecumenical/ecumenicaldialogue/romancatholic/jddj/declaration.html
This
document was adopted by the Lutheran World Federation and the Pontifical Council
for Promoting Christian Unity of the Roman Catholic Church on October 31, 1999,
the 450th anniversary of the posting of the 95 Theses. Please print this out and read it. Our discussion will focus on the sections
beginning at paragraph 19.
Questions: What is faith for Cajetan? What is faith for Lutherans (see especially
#27-28 in Janz)? Under what conditions
do human actions "merit" divine rewards according to Cajetan? Why do Lutherans reject this argument? What role does Christ play in redemption
according to Cajetan? What is the role
of "charity" in Cajetan's theology?
How does the Joint Declaration
on the Doctrine of Justification
reconcile the two positions?
28. April 8 Zwingli,
Bucer, and the Reformed tradition
selections from Zwingli in Janz, 152-162
Twelve Articles of the Peasants,
165-167
Dowley, 378-386
Recommended: Erasmus, In Praise of Folly, 57-69
Questions: How does Zwingli's conception of the
"Gospel" or "Word of God" compare to Luther's?
How does Zwingli's sacramental theology differ from Luther's? What ideas, views of the world, are
responsible for this difference?
What similarities are their between the Twelve Articles of the Peasants and
Luther's theology, particularly "To the German Nobility"? What would (or did) Luther think of their
demands?
29. April 11 Anabaptists:
Radical Protest
Hubmaier, Catechism, 172-176
Schleitheim Confession, only section
VI is required, pp. 178-179. the entire document pp. 176-180 is recommended
Trial and Martyrdom of Michael Sattler in Janz, 180-183
Hans Derick, Concerning True Love in
Janz, 183-190
Dowley, 401-409
Questions: Compare the Anabaptists to the Lutherans and
Zwingli on Baptism, Eucharist, and Scripture.
Compare their understandings of the life of Christians and its relationship to
the state to Lutherans.
30. April 13 Views
of Christian Community: Anabaptist and Calvinist
Hubmaier on Heretics, 170-172
Walpot in Janz, 194-201
Calvin, Geneva Ordinances, 214-218
Calvin, Institutes, 280-282
(4.20.1-3), 273 (4.2.4)
documents on Servetus Affair in Janz, 222-226
31. April 15 Reformed
Theology—Calvin's Institutes
Calvin, Institutes of the Christian
Religion, selections from Janz, 226-244, 253-268, 278-282
Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, 4.17.10-12 [on the presence of
Christ in the supper] (ON WEB-CT)
Calvin, , Institutes of the Christian
Religion, 2.7.6-14 (pp. 354-363 in Battles edition) Available online
(scroll down to paragraph 6). http://www.ccel.org/c/calvin/institutes/bookii/bookii09.htm
Recommended:
Rest of
the selections from the Institutes in Janz.
Book 4, Chapters 16 and 17 in entirety (Baptism and Lord's Supper)
32. April 22 Reformation
in
Nota Bene: In sixteenth-century English the semicolon (;) is the most important
punctuation mark. Watch for it! Read
it as a period! Otherwise your
eyes may glaze over as you make you way through the 250-word sentences.
Cranmer, A Sermon on the Salvation of Mankind, 303-309
Thirty-Nine Articles, 317-324
Recommended:
Cranmer, Preface to the Great Bible, 294-302
Act of Supremacy, 285
Act of Uniformity, 313-314
Dowley, 386-394
Questions: What does Cranmer mean by a "true and
lively faith"? How does his
position on Justification compare to Cajetan's and the Lutherans? How does the sacramental doctrine expressed
in the Thirty-nine Articles compare
to Luther's? to Calvin's? How does the
vision of Scripture and Tradition compare to the other reformers?
33. April 25 Counter Reformation & Catholic Humanism
Janz, 349-361, 363-368 [Decrees of Council of
Dowley, 414-434
April 22: Earth Day
Global Christianity in the Modern World
34. April 27 Global
Janz, 377-379
Jenkins, The Next Christendom, 1-38
Dowley 466-482
35. April 29 Foundations of Modernity: Enlightenment /
Nation-States / Colonialism
RHCT2, pp. 87-90 (Tindal). 101-106 (Lessing, and Kant) (to be supplied)
Dowley, 485-499
36. May 2: Foundations of Modernity: Confessionalism /Pietism
/ Evangelicalism / Voluntaryism
RHCT2, pp. 91-96, 101-106 (Spener, Wesley, and Edwards) (to be supplied)
Dowley, 444-461
37. May 4: Reformation in the Secular World: Ecumenism and
Documents of Vatican II, edited David R. Bains
Dulles, Avery. "
O'Malley, John W. "The Style of
Long, John F. et al. "Further Reflections on
O'Malley, John W. "
Dulles, Avery. "
Dowley, 508-510
38. May 6: World Christianity
Jenkins, 39-105 (skim chapter 5)
Dowley, 548-580
39. May 9
Jenkins, 105-162
Dowley, 646-653
40. May 11
Jenkins, 163-220
Final Exam: Friday, May 13, 10:30 AM