Course Introduction
Hi everyone, and welcome to the First History of Christianity course.
This course covers the history of the Christian church until around 1500 AD. This course is intended to cover this history in a systematic, organized, consistent format to aid the student's learning and application of the material. This course attempts to be intellectually significant, without overwhelming with boring details. It is intended to help the student make the connection between what you will learn from the past with how you can better live in the present and future. It will cover the events and people in the past. But it will also concentrate on the lessons and principles that can be learned from the past. It focuses on learning the significance and application of lessons from history.
I have taught this material at the college level for years. And I'm now making this material available for schools, churches, small groups, and individuals who would like to know God's Word and God's world better. I'm blessed to be able to offer this material without charge, but please don't assume that it is low quality because it is free. This course has been proven in many educational settings, and I have worked hard to make this material beneficial at many levels. Feel free to use this material in any way that honors Christ and advances His kingdom.
Introduction Video:
Course Introduction
Click the Thumbnail to view this Lecture Video
Course Description
Click the Thumbnail to view this Lecture Video
The official description of this course is: A study of Christian history from apostolic times through the Reformation. Students discover how believers in previous generations served as ambassadors in the ministry and marketplace to impact their world for God. Such a study not only reveals the proven character of historic men and women of God, but their outstanding ministry and leadership skills, and their sound theology, leaving the student an inspiring example and model to follow. In addition, the study of the mistakes and failures of the past serves to warn and protect the student from similar dangers in contemporary contexts. The study of key events and turning points in church history will also give students a greater understanding of their own church tradition, place, and role in His Story. A sound and working knowledge of church history as a witness to God's faithful work through, among, and for His people will help students to evangelize and disciple the nations, plant and lead churches, and represent Christ in whatever they do.
Devotional
Read Job 8:8-10
Notice that Job's friend Bildad referred to the past, and the people of the past, as a source of knowledge and insight. Job's friends were not always correct in the lessons that they learned from the past, but the reference to the past for helpful lessons is a Biblical principle. What are the reasons Bildad gave why the past is helpful and should be applied to his situation? Are these reasons still true for you and your own situation?
What about the past do you think caused Bildad to speak about it in this way? What kind of lessons have you learned from your own experience? What kind of lessons have you learned from the experiences of other people? What kind of lessons have you learned from history? What kind of lessons do you hope to learn from this course? In what ways do you hope that this course will help your discipleship and ministry? What about history makes it a helpful resource for wisdom and insight, and how does that impact your expectations from this course?
What You'll Accomplish
Who should take this course?
This course is aimed to be useful for a broad spectrum of students. This course is an introductory survey of the History of the Christian church from the time of the New Testament to the dawn of the Reformation. Therefore, it is aimed for people with little or no previous knowledge of Christian History. However, this course can also be beneficial to those with significant previous exposure.
This course is primarily designed to help Christians grow in their faith. But it will also be informative for any person who would like to be better informed about the History of this time period. This course will give an overview understanding of what How Christians have believed and lived in a variety of historical situations, facing various struggles and challenges, sometimes remaining faithful, and sometimes failing to live up to their beliefs. It will also demonstrate God's unfailing faithfulness as He superintended the history of His people throughout the ages and built and expanded His church.
This material was originally taught at the college level, but it is designed to be accessible to people at almost any stage, because it is a beginner level course.
And this course has been designed to be used by either an individual, or by a group. Therefore, it is appropriate for churches, colleges, schools, small groups, or any group or individual who wishes to understand Christian History better. As such, this course may be profitable taken by any individual who wishes to grow in their knowledge and character on their own. However, I would recommend that you consider inviting some friends, family, and/or members of your church to work through this material with you in a group, because we all learn and grow better in a community setting where everyone will help and encourage one another.
Course Objectives (Cognitive):
Upon successful completion of this course, each student should be able to:
- Describe & explain the essential context of the World of early Christianity
- Delineate the development of Christianity from Jesus to medieval Christianity
- Explain the effects of persecution and heresy on the development of Christianity
- Demonstrate basic knowledge of the key people in the History of Christianity
- Demonstrate a basic understanding of the formulation of critical Christian dogmas and doctrines, e.g. Dogma of the Holy Trinity, etc.
- Describe Emperor Constantine's effect upon the History of Christianity
- Describe the character, theology, and challenges of the church during the medieval period.
- Demonstrate a survey understanding of the different expressions of Christianity outside of Europe during this time period, and the challenges they faced.
- Demonstrate an understanding of the dynamic work of God through the story of Christian history
Course Goals (Mindset):
Upon successful completion of this course, each student should have opportunity to:
- Use their knowledge of history as a means to grow in worship, devotion, and Christian character
- Use the foundation from this survey as the basis for continued fruitful study in Christian History
- Demonstrate a growing wisdom in using the lessons learned from the past to discern and appropriately respond to the current challenges and opportunities.
- Demonstrate a growing trust in God's providential activity to lead, protect, and grow His church in every era.
How This Course Works
Course Syllabus
Click the following link to access the course syllabus, which gives detailed overview, explanation, instruction, and resources for the entire course.
Introduction to Course Resources & Activities Video
Click the icon to watch a brief video, which describes the course resources and the student activities which make up this course.
Course Textbooks
The following resources are required for this course, and the student is responsible to acquire them for use in this course:
Primary Textbook
Gonzalez, Justo L., The Story of Christianity - Volume 1 - Revised and Updated, New York, Harper One, 2010. ISBN:9780061855887, (earlier editions of this textbook are not acceptable for this course because they lack assigned information).
Secondary/Supplemental Texts
Copp, Brad, History Overview
.
Lewis, C. S., On the Reading of Old Books
This resource can be found either in: C.S. Lewis, God in the Dock, edited by Walter Hooper, Eerdmans, 1970, ISBN: 9780802871831, pp. 217-225 (page numbers are different in earlier editions) OR online at: Reasonable Theology.
Stonestreet, John and Glenn Sunshine, Church and State.
Davis, Ben, The Horrors of History....
Course Resources
The following resources are made available to the student as part of this course:
Video Lectures
Each module contains a number of lectures on video. The videos cover a portion of the course material. And they also include reviews at the end to summarize the teaching of each section. It is recommended that the student not just passively watch the videos, but actively interact with the course material. Blank lecture notes are included in each module for your benefit. These can all be watched from the course website or, if you prefer, there are links to each video in the Rumble or YouTube interface, in addition to an audio only version for download.
Instruction Documents
Each module contains links to documents which contain detailed instructions for all the module's activities. There are two different instruction documents in each module. One is for a person who is working through this course on their own, with instructions for individual activities. The other instruction document is for people working through this course in a group setting. And it contains instructions for group activities.
There are also detailed instruction documents for all of the ongoing activities for every module. These can all be found below in the Course Documents
section.
Study Guide Documents
Each module contains a study guide document for that module's reading from the Gonzalez textbook. The purpose for the Gonzalez study guides is to aid the student to read intelligently and to give a sense of which material is most relevant for this course from among the high volume of material in the textbook. And there are also instructions and study guides for the midterm and final exams, intended to help the student review and retain the relevant information and work through the application of the course material for life and ministry, which will all be evaluated by the exams. Versions of some of those documents may also be found below in the Course Documents
section.
Reviews
As mentioned earlier, each video lecture contains summary reviews. The review material for each module is gathered into a slideshow, so that the student can view all the review material for each module in a convenient format.
Quizzes & Discussions
Quizzes on Gonzalez Textbook reading -
Each module contains a quiz on the assigned textbook reading. This is designed as a learning aid to help the student learn and retain the most important material from the textbook readings.
Review Quizzes on all course material -
Each module also has a review quiz to review and evaluate the student's understanding and retention of the course material. Most of the questions come from the video lectures, but the required textbook reading is also fair game for the review quizzes. The questions are objective type questions and are automatically graded. The quiz questions are randomly generated from a larger bank of questions, so that the quiz is different each time. Therefore, the student may profitably take the quiz more than once in order to see more questions.
And each module has a list of discussion type questions which concentrate on thematic issues and application of course material. If the student is working through this course as an individual, these questions can be used for personal reflection and meditation. If the course is taken in a group setting, these questions are appropriate for group discussion, or possibly for essay questions on an exam, if the group leader chooses.
These discussion questions are a key part of the Response and Application Reflection
for individual students and the Response and Application Discussion
for groups. Detailed instructions for each of these activities can be found below in the Course Documents
section.
Midterm & Final Exams
Midterm Exam -
At the end of the eighth module, there is a midterm exam for review and testing of the student's understanding and retention of the course material up to that point. The Midterm Exam contains two parts, an objective section and an essay section. The objective section will be automatically marked. The essay section may be marked by a group facilitator, or simply be used by an individual to challenge and solidify their own understanding.
A detailed study guide for the Midterm Exam and a document containing all the correct answers for the objective section of the exam will be found in the Course Documents
section below.
Final Exam -
At the end of the sixteenth module, there is a final exam for review and testing of the student's understanding and retention of the course material covered after the midterm exam. The Final Exam contains two parts, an objective section and an essay section. The objective section will be automatically marked. The essay section may be marked by a group facilitator, or simply be used by an individual to challenge and solidify their own understanding.
A detailed study guide for the Final Exam and a document containing all the correct answers for the objective section of the exam will be found in the Course Documents
section below.
Course Documents
The following documents (in addition to the syllabus above) are relevant throughout the entire course, and so, they are included on this introduction page to cover the whole class. They are also made available in every module in which they are necessary. You may wish to look them over now, and then review them whenever they are relevant.
Instruction Documents
Each module contains links to documents which contain detailed instructions for all the module's activities. There are two different instruction documents in each module. One is for a person who is working through this course on their own, with instructions for individual activities. The other instruction document is for people working through this course in a group setting. And it contains instructions for group activities. These documents are found near the top of each module's individual page.
Course Schedule
This course is designed so that it can be taken by an individual at their own pace or a group can mutually determine a flexible schedule. It is divided into sixteen modules, based on the content. Below you will find a suggested schedule which reflects this division, and also gives an overview of the topics covered and required reading at a glance. It is included as a possible guideline for groups.
Whether you are working through this course as an individual or as a group, I recommend finding whatever schedule works best for you. And I encourage you to remain faithful to completing this course and growing in your wisdom, knowledge, and practice. And setting and keeping deadlines is often a helpful tool for motivation.
Course Bibliography
Below you will find a document which gives a detailed list of various resources for further study. This is not an exhaustive list, but will give you a head start at some of the resources available.
History Overview
Any discipline is easier to learn if the student has a big-picture overview of the topic as a framework on which to hang the new knowledge to which they are being exposed. That is the purpose for the brief Overview of Christian History document below. It serves as an easy overview and introduction to this topic, and is part of the first module's reading.
Textbook Reading Guide
Each module contains a study guide document for that module’s reading from the Gonzalez textbook. The purpose for the Gonzalez study guides is to aid the student to read intelligently and to give a sense of which material is most relevant for this course from among the high volume of material in the textbook. These individual study guides are also collected into one comprehensive document, found below. This document has the same material as the individual guides, so each student can choose which document format is more convenient.
Response & Application Instructions
Below you will find the instruction documents for the Response & Application assignments for each module. The instructions are the same for each module, but the topics will differ. The topic for each module's Response & Application assignment will be given with each module, and below are instructions for the (individual) Reflection or the (Group) Discussion.
Timeline Assignment Instructions
Below you will find the instruction document for the optional Timeline assignment which is an optional part of every module. The instructions are the same for every module, and are included in this document. But all the details for the particular portion of this assignment to be done in each individual module are contained in each module's instructions.
Principles Chart Instructions & Blank Chart
Below you will find the instruction document for the optional Principles Chart assignment which is an optional part of every module. The instructions are the same for every module, and are included in this document. The details for the particular portion of this assignment to be done in each individual module are contained in each module's instructions. You will also find a down-loadable Blank Principle Chart in Microsoft Word format that you may use (if you would like) as a template for completing this assignment.
Term Project Instructions
Below you will find the instruction document for the optional Term Project assignment which is an optional part of every module. The instructions are the same for every module, and are included in this document. The details for the particular portion of this assignment to be done in each individual module are contained in each module's instructions.
Primary Source Reading Instructions & Resources
Below you will find the instruction document for the Primary Source Reading assignment which is a part of every module. The instructions are the same for every module, but the primary sources are different for every module. The document below contains the instructions for this assignment as well as a categorized list of recommended primary source documents for each module. The list of resources for each module are also listed in each individual module.
Exam Preparation Documents
Below you will find documents that help prepare for and write the midterm and final exams. There is a detailed study guide to help study for each exam. I recommend you read through those documents and refer to them often throughout the course in order to help you learn and review the information throughout the course, and not just before taking the exam. And the answers to the objective portion of each exam is included on a separate sheet to be used while taking each respective exam.
Course Activities
There are three basic groups of student activities for each module: intake activities, interaction activities, and application activities. In each of the activities, the student should concentrate on gaining knowledge, but also focus on growing in wisdom by conforming their attitudes and lifestyle to the lessons learned in the course material.
Intake of course information -
The intake activities are designed for the student to gain access to and receive relevant information about the course topics. Because of the nature of Christian History as given historical truth, it is important that the student start with a listening posture, to receive and understand what has actually happened, free from their own prejudices. There is certainly a time for the student to contribute their insights (in the next two types of activities), but it is important to start with accurately understanding the information before beginning to assess it and its lessons. This does not mean the student should be passive in these activities. Rather the student should actively engage with the course material, with a goal to listen and learn.
Interaction with course information -
The interaction activities are designed for the student to thoughtfully process and mull over the information until they thoroughly understand it and have it committed to memory. The student will rehearse the information in a variety of ways and assess how well they have understood and retained the course content.
Application of course information -
And finally, the application activities are designed for the student to solidify their understanding by working through the ways that the course information connects with their own life and ministry in current society. The process of learning is not complete until the information is put into practice.
Detailed activity instructions -
Detailed instructions for all course activities are included in each module in slightly different forms for either individual or group study. See the Student Guide or Group Guide in each module for a description of each module's activities.
How This Website Works
The layout of this website is intended to be fairly self-explanatory. You follow each module, in order, from top to bottom, completing each activity in the order it is given.
In order to keep each page from being too long, requiring the student to scroll down to the center of the earth, much of the material is hidden at first, and the student may click to access the material as they need it. There are three general types of triggers to access hidden material, demonstrated below.
Links to Internal Documents
Many documents, such as instruction sheets and study guides are embedded into each module. If your browser allows display of pdf documents, these links will open on the same module page, with appropriate buttons to download, print, zoom, etc. those documents as your browser's settings allow. If your browser does not have a resource to read pdf documents, this link will appear and function the same as the link to External Documents, as described below. Click the link below to see an example of this type of embedded document and to test your browser's functionality.
Links to External Documents
Some documents are hosted on external websites, and are linked to those other pages. These links will open the external documents on another page or tab in your browser. The links themselves are displayed in a slightly different shape to indicate that it will lead to an external page. Click the link below to see an example of a link to a different page.
Links to Various Activities
Various activities such as quizzes, videos, etc. can be accessed by clicking on the icon such as the one below. Clicking these icons will trigger access to the activity.
Click the Thumbnail to view this Example Activity
Sorry, but there is not really an activity here. This is just an example to demonstrate the activity triggers you will see on this site. You may click the Close
tab at the upper right to close this lame excuse for an activity.
Main Navigation Menu
The menu at the top of the page may be used to jump to any module in this course at any time. This menu should be self-explanatory.
Links to the Next Module
At the bottom of each module is a link to the next module. Directly below is an excellent example of this. I pray that you will be able to find your way around the site with no issues and get the most out of this course. Happy Learning!
Getting Started
At any time, you can click the menu at the top to jump to any module in this course. Or you can click the button below to begin Module 1. I hope you enjoy this course. And I pray that you grow in understanding of the history of God's people and grow in your love of History's Author and His people.
