Details for History of Christianity
This introductory paper covers key turning points in Christian history from Christ to the contemporary era, with a view to providing a basis for future historical and theological studies.
Quick Info
- Currently offered by Alphacrucis: Yes
- Unit code: HIS101
- Credit points: 15
- Total workload hours per week: 9
- Number of timetabled hours per week: 5 *
Prerequisites
No pre-requisites
Awards offering History of Christianity
This unit is offered as a part of the following awards:
- Bachelor of Contemporary Ministry
- Diploma in Christian Leadership (Level 5)
- Diploma in Theological Studies (Level 5)
Unit Content
Curriculum Objective
TThis introductory paper covers key turning points in Christian history from Christ to the contemporary era, with a view to providing a basis for future historical and theological studies.
Outcomes
Students should be able to:
- Display clear knowledge of the methods and skills used by historians, including those used to study primary documents, movements, issues and time periods
- Describe the sweep of the Christian tradition from both a historical and global perspective
- Demonstrate an understanding of the interaction of the church with wider society over time
- Recognise the role of identity formations (e.g. gender and racial diversity, nationalisms and transnationalisms) in the Christian story as it has been lived out in cross cultural contexts
- Identify the importance of past foundations and future directions of the church
Subject Content
- The first six centuries of growth, struggles, controversies, relations with the state, developing patterns and major personalities.
- Medieval themes include the Christianisation of Western Europe, the supremacy of the papacy, Crusades, monastic reforms, scholasticism, heresies, Renaissance.
- Modern church history including the Reformation and the great missionary wave of the 19th century.
- Revivalism through several expressions including Pietism and Puritanism.
- Early church history in New Zealand
This course may be offered in the following formats
Lectures, discussion, tutorials
Assessment Methods
Book Review (25%, 1000 words); Major Essay (50%, 2000 words); Exam (25% )
Prescribed Text
Bruce L. Shelley, Church History in Plain Language.
Representative References
Chidester, David. Christianity: A Global History. San Francisco: Harper, 2000.
Davidson, Allan K. Christianity in Aotearoa: A History of Church and Society in New Zealand. Wellington: Education for Ministry, 2004.
Available as Ebook
Dowley, Tim. Ed. Introduction to the History of Christianity. 2nd Ed. Minneapolis: Fortress, 2013.
Falloon, Malcolm, To Plough or to Preach: Mission Strategies in New Zealand during the 1820s. The Latimer Trust, 2010.
Fergusson, David. Church, State and Civil Society. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004.
Freeman, C. A New History of Early Christianity. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2009.
Gonzalez, Justo L. The Story of Christianity, Vol 1: The Early Church to the Dawn of the Reformation, 2nd ed. New York: HarperOne, 2010.
_____The Story of Christianity, Vol 2: The Reformation to the Present Day, 2nd ed. New York HarperOne, 2010
Heinze, Rudolph. Reform and Conflict: from the Medieval World to the Wars of Religion, A.D. 1350-1648. Grand Rapids: Baker, 2005.
Hillerbrand, Hans J. The Protestant Reformation, rev edition. New York: Harper Perennial, 2008.
Hutchinson, Mark and John Wolffe. A Short History of Global Evangelicalism. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2012. (e-book).
Judge, E. A. The First Christians in the Roman World: Augustan and New Testament Essays. James R. Harrison ed. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2008.
Kalu, Ogbu U. ed. African Christianity: An African Story. Trenton, NJ: Africa World Press, 2007.
Kidd, Thomas S. The Great Awakening: A Brief History with Documents. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2008.
Knowles, Brett, Transforming Pentecostalism: The changing Face of New Zealand Pentecostalism, 1920-2010. Lexington, KY: Emeth Press, 2014.
Lange, Stuart M. A Rising Tide: Evangelical Christianity in New Zealand 1930-65. Otago University Press, 2013.
MacCullough, Diarmaid. A History of Christianity: The First Three Thousand Years. London: Penguin, 2010.
McLeod, H. World Christianities- c. 1914-c. 2000. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006.
Morrison, Hugh and Lachy Paterson et al. Mana Maori and Christianity. Wellington: Huia Publishers, 2012.
Noble, T. F. X., Smith, J. M. H. and Baranowski, R.A. (eds.). Early Medieval Christianities: c. 600-c. 1100. Cambridge, UK; New York: Cambridge University Press, 2008.
Noll, M.A. The New Shape of World Christianity: How American Experience Reflects Global Faith. Downers Grove: IVP Academic, 2009.
Orange, Claudia. An Illustrated History of the Treaty of Waitangi. Wellington: Bridget Williams Books, 2004.
Peters, Greg. The Story of Monasticism: Retrieving an Ancient Tradition for Contemporary Spirituality. Grand Rapids: Baker, 2015.
Sanneh, L.O. Disciples of All Nations: Pillars of World Christianity, Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press, 2008.
Troughton, Geoffrey and Hugh Morrison, eds. The Spirit of the Past; Essays on Christianity in New Zealand History. Wellington: Victoria University Press, 2013.
Woodward, Ernest L. Christianity and Nationalism in the Later Roman Empire. Brooklyn, NY: Ams Press, 2005.
Journals
Church History
Christian History and Biography
Journal of Ecclesiastical History
Journal of Religious History