Units timetabled for 2013 and 2014 are provisional only, and details of semester and time will change. The official timetable for each year is released on 1 September of the prior year.

Archived unit descriptions for 2011 are available here.

Practice and Belief in the Early Church

Unit Code: 
CH300
RTI: 
United Faculty of Theology
Unit Value: 
15 points

This unit is a foundation for further study in Christian Thought and History and complements CT300 Faith and Understanding. This unit offers historical study of the first five centuries of Christianity with an emphasis on the practice and belief of the community. It examines the formal clarification of doctrine through key primary texts in the light of the wider life of the church, offering an introduction to Christian traditions of theological reflection.

Learning Outcomes: 

Upon successful completion of this unit, it is expected that students will be able to:

  1. Outline a chronology of key events within the Christian community c.70-500 CE and describe their significance.
  2. Articulate key principles of historical interpretation of ancient Christian texts.
  3. Identify key features of the context and method of at least one writer in the early Christian church.
  4. Demonstrate the ability to interpret a range of historical sources.
  5. Discuss the implications of historical understanding for ministry in the contemporary Christian church.
Lecturer/s: 
Andrew McGowan
Timetabling
Semester: 
Semester 1
Day: 
Tuesday
Time: 
2:15 - 5:15
Location: 
Trinity College Theological School
Unit Frequency: 
Annual
Years Offered: 
2011
Years Offered: 
2013
Years Offered: 
2014
Notes: 

In 2012 this unit will be taught online with an optional face-to-face fortnightly seminar, held from 2.15-4.15pm on Wednesdays at Trinity College Theological School on 7 and 21 March, 18 April, 2 and 16 and 30 May. Students who wish to attend the face-to-face seminar are expected to commit to attendance at all sessions.

Unit Fields
Courses: 
Graduate Certificate in Theology
Courses: 
Graduate Diploma in Theology
Courses: 
Master of Divinity
Field: 
Field C Christian Thought and History
Disciplines: 
Church History
MDiv Field: 
Christian Thought and History
Department Name: 
Department of Christian Thought and History
Unit Level
GradDip Field: 
Foundational
MDiv Type of Study: 
Foundational
Mode of Teaching: 
Semester
Teaching Methods: 

Lectures and tutorials

Workload
Number of timetabled hours per week: 
3
Expected personal study hours per week: 
9
Total workload hours per week: 
12
Total workload hours for unit: 
144
Assessment
Assessment TypeWeightingLearning Outcomes Assessed
Assessment Type: 

1 x 1500 word short paper

Weighting: 
15%
Assessment Type: 

1 x 1500 word short paper

Weighting: 
15%
Assessment Type: 

1 x 3000 word essay

Weighting: 
70%
Recommended reading: 

* = set texts recommended for purchase

 

Bradshaw, Paul F. The Search for the Origins of Christian Worship (2nd ed.; New York: Oxford University Press, 2002).

Brown, Peter. The Body and Society: Men, Women and Sexual Renunciation in Early Christianity (New York: Columbia, 1988).

Burrus, Virginia (ed.) Late Ancient Christianity: A People’s History of Christianity Vol. 2 (Minneapolis: Augsburg Fortress, 2005).

* Hall, Stuart. Doctrine and Practice in the Early Church (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1992).

Humphries, Mark. Early Christianity (London: Routledge, 2006).

* Jensen, Robin Margaret. Understanding Early Christian Art (New York: Routledge, 2000).

Young, Frances. The Making of the Creeds (London: SCM Press, 1991).

© United Faculty of Theology, 2008-2012.