The Christian Movement

Spring 2000

Glenn T. Miller

Purpose: The purpose of this course is to provide an overview of the development from the Christian Church. This course does not assume that the student has any necessary background in either Christian history or theology and, consequently, one of the purposes of the course is to provide elementary information about Christianity, the basic language of Christian theology and thought, and the most important people in the development of both. So the goals for the course are two-fold: to learn some basic information about faith and to get an overview of the historical development of the church.

Textbooks: There are numerous textbooks and Handbooks available that cover the history of the church. While these differ somewhat in perspective, in organization, and in content, most contain the basic information and narrative line. I have chosen two for the bookstore to order, and most students will find one or the another more to their taste. Others may, for various reasons, desire to use another volume. In any event, you are responsible for reading one of these books or an alternative with some care.

Williston Walker A History of the Christian Church: Generations of students in the liberal theological tradition have found this classic text, often revised by successive committees of scholars, to be part of their rite of passage into the ministry. Walker is, of course, comprehensive. Almost every name of note in the history of the church appears, sometimes briefly. Many students have found it to be a very useful volume to have their shelves as a reference. There are three primary limitations to Walker, as the volume now stands: 1. Walker’s historicism (belief that history can best explain historical events) means that the text tends to explain theological developments in a very secular or this worldly way. This is as much an interpretation of those developments as a more explicitly religious interpretation might be. 2. Walker neglects, at least in the current volume, some of the more important developments of Christianity in Africa and Asia. To be sure both African and Asian Christianity are overwhelmingly orthodox and, thus, are easily understood from the earlier material in Walker, but there are very important differences in how that Christianity is expressed. In some ways, it is like the difference between different romantic composers. We can tell the difference between Brahms and Wagner, although a general discussion of romantic music might tend to blur those differences, and 3. Walker is difficult for some students to read. His emphasis on factual material means that the narrative does not always flow.

Adrian Hastings (Ed), A World History of Christianity, a more recent text, has excellent material on world wide Christianity, including Africa, but it is much weaker on the early church, reformation, and, particularly, on the most important figures who have shaped modern theology (Kant, Schleiermacher, etc.). If one of a student’s personal goals in taking this course were to prepare themselves for subsequent studies in Christian doctrine, they would need to supplement Hastings at a number of points. Yet, for some students, the wealth of information about Christianity outside of the west may make that extra effort worthwhile. The work also appears to have written to do double duty as a college and seminary text, and many sections appear to have written with the collegiate audience in mind. Like all works by multiple authors, the style is uneven with some sections written with more clarity than others are.

Many students may wish to supplement their text selection with reference books or other resources. While Cross and Livingston, The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church, is an expensive volume, a person planning a career in ministry will find it an invaluable addition to their library.

Reading is so important to history that I will make you an offer you can’t refuse. Students who submit a statement with their last examination or paper stating that they have completed the reading of one of the standard texts will receive an additional + on their final grade. This will turn a B- into a B, a B+ into an A-, an A- into an A. Those of you are good with math can calculate the value of this bonus more exactly, the rest of you can see that it is a considerable value. My experience is that many students let their reading go (always, of course, planning to catch it up later) in order to complete more pressing assignments and never get back to doing it. This "bonus" makes the reading a more equal partner with the writing in this course. In terms of most students’ learning, the time spent in reading is often the time when they learn the most about history and the people who have made it.

Assignments:

Examinations. There are two take home examinations in the course. The first will be distributed on March 14 and the second at the last class. The first examination will be due back on March 21 and the second examination must be completed by the last date indicated in the official seminary catalog. The examinations will require a student to use additional resources from the library and/or the Internet in the preparation of their answers. These sources should be indicated in your text.

Reports. Each student will also prepare a report on library work. These reports may be selected from two types.

First, a "Document" report. One of the basic historical skills is the careful study of a "document" or "source" from the past. If you want to work on this specific skill, you are invited to make a careful study of one of the following:

Augustine: The Confessions, Books 1 to 3

Luther: The Freedom of a Christian

Schleiermacher: On Religion: Speeches

Athanasius, On the Incarnation.

Your "document" study should include the classical materials found in most "introductions" to a particular work, such as when the document was written, who wrote it, how it was distributed or published, the "setting in life" in which it was written, and the broader context. Once these preliminary matters have been outlined, you should discuss the argument or content of the document, any passages that seem to you to need specific or careful explication, and some of the literature about that document. (One reason for the selection of these texts is that they are discussed in some many different works by authors from so many perspectives). Finally, if you feel that the text has any contemporary meaning, you should discuss its value for the present. Those of who have done exegetical studies in Bible will recognize this as a similar exercise to an exegesis on a somewhat longer document and, of course, with far less detail and far fewer annotations.

Students working on a "document" may wish to keep with other students working on the same document. I would suggest that you exchange information on such matters as bibliography and factual material. At times, you may wish to divide up some of the research with one student reading the relevant portions of one book and the other, the relevant passages in another source, and then exchanging notes and other information.

Second, a "subject" reports. "History is made in the streets and studied in the libraries." To learn history, of course, is not simply to master a number of facts, although those are important. To learn history is to dig into a subject, read about it, and then reconstruct what you know into a meaningful "narrative" or account. If you decide to do a subject report, you are expected to take a topic to the library, study it carefully, and write an account based on your study. The idea of this assignment is to introduce the student to the various tools of research, including the Internet, and to have the student engage in some elementary historical reconstruction. This is an elementary assignment, not an advanced one, and students who have substantial background in history may wish to see the professor about alternatives.

Length of Papers, Format, etc. Papers should be, at least, ten pages in length, excluding footnotes and bibliography, double spaced, and in Times Roman, 12 points, or Courier, 12 points. Any standardized system of footnotes and bibliographic entry is acceptable, such as Modern Language or Chicago Manual of Style. Personally, I prefer sociological notation, although it is not as commonly used in theological studies. Sociological notation places abbreviated notes in the text, followed by very complete citations in the bibliography. Students planning to submit electronically will find that this makes it easier to transmit a .txt file if they do not use a standard word processor. My only rule on notes is that you need to be consistent. If you use an unusual system (some universities have their own standards that students learned as undergraduates), please include a note identifying the system. For instance, All footnotes and bibliographical entries follow the University of Michigan Handbook of Style or whatever you have used.

Electronic Submission: I prefer for students to summit their work electronically by sending it as an email attachment. If you use any of the major word processors, Word, Word Perfect, Word Pro, I can read it with little difficulty with my MS Word program. Otherwise, you may submit as a .txt file. If you do the later, I will not penalize you for any formatting that might be lost in the process. The only request with .txt files is that you insert the references in the text of the discussion. I will acknowledge receipt of your paper as soon as I open your email and this will provide you with a formal record that the paper has been submitted. Papers will be returned with comments (usually in a different color than your text) inserted in the main body and a summary statement appended to the document.

If you cannot submit electronically, hard copy will be accepted.

E-mail: I have come to use email heavily. If you have a question about your reading or an assignment, please send me an email and you will get an answer within two or three business days and often on the day that you post your message. If you need an appointment, you are also invited to email me and tell me what you want to discuss, how much time you need, and when you are available. Every effort will be made to find a common time and place for meeting.

If you do not have an email, you can establish one with Hotmail.com that can be accessed from any computer, including those in the seminary library. If you need help establishing an account, please see me after class.

If you do not have email, you can establish an account through Hotmail.com that can be accessed through one of the library computers. If you need help establishing that account, see me and I will help walk you through the steps.

My email addresses are:

Those of you who do not have email can contact me through the seminary switchboard and voice mail at 942-6781.

Alternative Assignments: I have posted on web page, which is accessible from the seminary page, a document entitled alternative assignments. Although every professor tries to accommodate as many learning and studying styles as possible, no single syllabus can envision all possibilities. If some of these assignments do not seem to be "you," or to fit your learning style, read the alternative assignment page and make a suggestion. We can negotiate assignments that more nearly met your educational goals and objectives.

This is particularly important as more students select a professional portfolio as their final assignment. Portfolios are marvelous ways for a student to demonstrate their competence and to show others how they have grown and developed over time. Prospective employers, such as churches and non-profit agencies, find the portfolio must useful in evaluating candidates for positions, and graduate schools are beginning to recognize their value over and against the traditional system of evaluation based on grades.

If you are building a portfolio, you should see me, and we will discuss some more portfolio centered options. Portfolio work is often work that is in progress, and most students want to make corrections on papers or occasionally even redo them in light of criticisms before depositing them officially in their folders. Few students want to deposit a marked up version as their final text. Portfolio students also need to work on determining their goals and objectives for the course with the professor . Their portfolio evaluation will not be primarily comments related to a grade (although they will receive those as well as an official grade) but an evaluation that indicates how well they have or have not attained those goals.

Go to Alternative Assignments

Return to Christian Movement Classroom Materials