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Christian
Theology: An Historical Introduction (TH-530-2)
Winter/Spring
2003 |
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course is an opportunity to look at the development of
Christian doctrine. Starting with the emergence of the
creeds and the development of doctrine in Augustine of Hippo
and Thomas Aquinas, the course then moves to a thematic
examination of such key ideas as the doctrine of creation, the
concept of God, Christology, Trinity and eschatology.
The historical development of the traditional doctrines is
compared with certain contrasting contemporary approaches.
At the end of the course, students should have a good grasp of
the historical roots of certain key doctrines and the
contemporary debate surrounding continuing significance of
such doctrine.
Meeting
Day, Time and Dates:
Wednesdays from
7:00 p.m. to 9:20 p.m.
Location: Room
205/Meeting Room
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 Professor
Ian Markham
Contact
Information:
phone: (860)
509-9536
email:
markham@hartsem.edu
Dr. Markham's web page
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Course
Syllabus
Class web site
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Aim of the
course:
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To
provide the student with a
sense of the historical variety and development of
Christian doctrine;
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To
facilitate the understanding of the theological ideas within a
particular historical content;
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To
cultivate both historical and philosophical skills.
At the end of the course, the student will:
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Have
an overview of the movement of theological ideas from the New
Testament to the 20th century;
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Have
a grasp of the link between theological ideas and historical
periods;
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and
have a good historical and philosophical sensitivity.
Content of Course
Session 1: An
overview of the course. Grappling
with the Past.
Session 2:
Moving from the Bible. (P/ chapters 1 & 2.)
Session 3:
Patristic Period: part 1 – Gnosticism and the Apologists. (P/
chapters 4 & 5)
Session 4:
Patristic Period: part 2 – Trinitarian and Christological
Controversy. (P/ chapter 6)
Session 5:
Augustine (P/chapter 8)
Session 6: The
Middle Ages. (P/chapters 9/10/11)
Session 7:
Aquinas
Session 8:
Luther and the Reformation (P/chapter 12/13)
Session 9:
Calvin and the English Reformation. (P/chapter 14)
Session 10: The
Enlightenment. Kant and Schlieremacher. (P/chapter 15)
Session 11:
Theology in the United States (P/chapter 16)
Session 12:
Modern Theology (P/chapters 17 & 18)
Session 13:
Where to now?
Required
texts:
William Placher,
A History of Christian Theology. An Introduction
(P = reading required from Placher)
Henry Bettenson
and Chris Maunder, Documents of the Christian Church. This
will be used in the class.
Augustine, Confessions,
translated by Henry Chadwick. (Oxford World Classics)
Course
pre-reading:
Anderson, W. P
& Diesslin, R. L. A Journey through Christian Theology
(Fortress 2000)
Select
Bibliography:
McGrath,
Alastair Historical Theology.
Chadwick, Henry,
The Early Church (Penguin 1967)
Chadwick, Owen, The
Reformation (Penguin
1964)
Frend, W. H. C. The Early Church (Fortress 1982)
Gonzalez, Justo,
A History of Christian Thought (Abingdon 1988)
Hodgson, Peter
C. & Robert H. King, Christian Theology.
An Introduction to its Traditions and Tasks
(Fortress Press 1982)
Neville, Robert,
A Theology Primer (SUNY)
Russell, Jeffrey
B. A History of Medieval Christianity
(Harlan Davidson 1968)
Assessment:
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(By
week five). Take
either Augustine’s Confessions and (a) locate the text
historically, (b) describe the main themes of the text, and (c)
offer an analysis of his contemporary value for modern theology.
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Write
a 15 page paper on a particular controversy, which can be
individually determined with the instructor.
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