July 7, 2000
HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY
History 3344 Summer II 2002
TEACHER
John Howe
Office: Fredericksburg Faculty/Staff Office. Hours:
MTu 9-9:30 pm, MtuW 4:00-4:30 pm, and by appointment
Telephone: at TTU (806) 742-1004 ext 233; at
Fredericksburg (830) 997-3625/6795 or (830) 997-6926
Telephone Messages: (830) 990-2717
E-Mail: john.howe@ttu.edu
Web: http://www2.tltc.ttu.edu/howe (the best way
to access this syllabus)
PURPOSES OF THE COURSE
To survey the history of Christianity from the early Church
until the present. To examine, in particular, certain themes of
this history: how Christians have a knowledge of God; how
individual believers experience God as seen in Christian
literature; how Christian communities are organized; and how
these organizations relate to secular governments.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS
Required Texts
Roland H. Bainton. Christianity. With introduction by
Jaroslav Pelikan. New York: American Heritage Library, 2000.
Augustine of Hippo. Confessions. Transl. R.S. Pine-Coffin.
Baltimore: Penguin, 1961. Or any other approved edition.
John Bunyan. The Pilgrim's Progress. Ed. Roger Sharrock.
Baltimore, Md.: Penguin, 1965. Or any other approved edition.
Margery Kempe. The Book of Margery Kempe. Ed. B. A.
Windeatt. Baltimore: Penguin Books, 1985. Or any other approved
edition.
Class Attendance
Successful completion of this course requires regular
attendance. Difficult reading assignments are interpreted and
contextualized in class; additional subject matter is introduced.
If you cannot attend 80% or more of the scheduled classes, you
should not be enrolled.
Required Reading
Specific reading assignments for each class are listed in the
"Reading and Lecture Schedule," just above and
to the right of the lecture date by which they should be
completed. Each assignment is the subject of the following class.
Read so that you come to class prepared to explain, praise,
criticize, and question. If read on schedule, the assignments are
manageable; if neglected, they quickly become overwhelming.
Examinations
Midterm tests are scheduled for Thursday July 18 and Thursday
August 1. Each will include multiple-choice
questions, identifications, a single essay (from two or more choices), and
perhaps map work. Students receiving a grade below "C"
on a midterm should meet with the teacher to discuss it (this is
part of the class participation grade). The final examination
will feature multiple-choice and identification questions on the
material covered since the third midterm, and several
comprehensive essay questions (to be chosen out of many more).
Short Research Paper and Class Report
Each student will choose a contemporary Christian group, and,
using at least four primary and six secondary sources, will
describe it in a 12-15 page, double-spaced, typed paper. The
paper should introduce the group in question, and examine its
attitudes towards the themes examined in the course (how
individual believers know and experience God; how the community
is organized; and how this organization relates to secular
government). Students will present their results to the class
during the last class meeting. The subject must be chosen by
Thursday, July 18. The papers will be due on Tuesday, July 30.
Papers received by the due date will be returned, with
corrections, on Wednesday July 31. Students may keep the grade
earned or rewrite the paper for a higher grade, but no rewritten
papers or late papers will be accepted after August 8.
Necessary Accommodations
Any student who, because of a disabling condition, may
require some special arrangements in order to meet course
requirements should contact the instructor as soon as possible so
that the necessary accommodations can be made.
GRADING
The course grade will be computed as follows: 30% from the midterm tests (that is, 15% from each); 30% from the paper (25% for the paper itself; 5% of `A' credit for a satisfactory class presentation); 10% from participation; and 30% from the final. The class participation grade is computed at the end of the semester, by dividing students into three groups on the basis of attendance, class preparation, and class contributions: 1) individuals who were outstanding; 2) individuals who were average; and 3) individuals who were well below average. The first group gets the class participation component credited as an `A'; the second group has these points neutralized (so they neither help nor hurt); and the third group has them credited as an `F'.
READING AND LECTURE SCHEDULE
Tu July 9 Introduction / Israel / The Ministry of Christ and Its Reception
Bainton vii-xii, 1-85; Netsite Guide; Tacitus ; Passion of Perpetua and Felicity ; Nicene Creed
W July 10 Persecution / Canon of Scripture / Creeds / Organization
Bainton 86-124; Augustine’s Confessions I-VI (pp. 1-132)
M July 15 The Last Persecutions / Constantine’s Christian Empire / Young Augustine
Augustine's Confessions 133-252 (Books VII-X)
Tu July 16 Augustine's Conversion(s) / The Search for God / The Fall of the Empire
Bainton 125-43; Rule of Benedict ; Bede's Ecclesiastical History ; Patrick's Confession
W July 17 Western Monasticism /The Barbarian Kingdoms and Conversion
Study. Choose paper topic.
Th July 18 Midterm Test #1
Bainton 144-67; Saxon Capitularies ; Cluny's Charter ; Dictatus Papae ; Henry IV to Gregory VII
M Jul 22 Carolingian Renaissance / Chaos / Reforms / "Gregorian Reform"
Bainton 168-91, 199; Medieval Churches (Browse); Innocent III
Tu Jul 23 Schools and Early Universities / Ecclesiastical Architecture / Papal Monarchy
Bainton 190-229; Kempe i-xi, pp. 1-60
W July 24 Popular Heresy / Mendicant Friars / The Crisis of the Late Medieval Church
Kempe xii-lxxxix, pp. 61-261; Bainton 230-59; Erasmus1, Erasmus2, Erasmus3, Erasmus4; 95 Theses; Letter to the Christian Nobility
M July 29 Margery Kempe /Humanism/ Luther
Bainton 259-95; Calvin ; 39 articles
Tu July 30 Zwingli / Anabaptists/ John Calvin/ Reformation in England
Bainton 295-317; Map
W July 31 The Catholic Reformation / Wars of Religion / English Civil Wars
Study for Test #2
Th Aug 1 Midterm Test #2
Pilgrim’s Progress; Bainton 318-43
M Aug 5 John Bunyan and Pilgrim's Progress / Enlightenment / Pietism
Bainton 344-89
Tu Aug 6 19th-Century Christian Revival / 20th-21st Century Challenges
Study
W Aug 7 Student Reports
Study
Th Aug 8 at 6:00 pm FINAL EXAM
