Mobile Ed: CH101 Introducing Church History I: Obscurity to Christendom (6 hour course)
Overview
Beginning with the aftermath of Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection, CH101 covers the story of Christianity up to the 15th century. Dr. James unravels the distinct thought and persecution of the early Christians, as well as the key historical turning points that would result in the formation of doctrines such as the doctrine of Christ, the Holy Spirit, and the Trinity. This course introduces you to the important work of Augustine, who responded to the Donatists and Pelagius in a way that would have lasting marks on the church. Dr. James traces the historical context of the rise of the papacy; the violence of the first Crusades and their lingering effects; and the rise of medieval scholasticism, particularly in the work of Thomas Aquinas. This course concludes with an explanation of the Great Schism of the 14th century and the early reform attempts by John Wycliffe and Jan Hus, which paved the way for the Protestant Reformation.
Course Outline
Introduction
- Introducing the Speaker and the Course
Unit 1: Contours of the Early Church
- Expansion of the Early Church
- Explanations for Christian Expansion
- Using Lists and Search Operators to See God’s Heart for the Vulnerable
- Structure of the Early Church
- Worship in the Early Church
- Apostolic Fathers
Unit 2: Persecution in the Early Church
- Historical Context and Pagan Perceptions of Christians
- Parameters of Persecution
- Roman Persecution before AD 250
- Martyrdoms of Polycarp, Blandina, and Ponticus
- Empire-Wide Persecution Begins (AD 250)
- Identifying Times of Persecution Using the Timeline
- Establishment of the Tetrarchy
- The Great Persecution
- The Tetrarchy Undone
- Constantine and the Triumph of Christianity
Unit 3: Theological Diversions in the Early Church
- Judaizing Christians
- Gnosticism
- Gnostic Anthropology
Unit 4: Canon and Trinity
- Formation of the New Testament Canon: Part 1
- Formation of the New Testament Canon: Part 2
- The Trinity: Monarchianism
- The Trinity: Arian Controversy Unfolds
- The Council of Nicaea Decides
- The Resurgence and Eventual Defeat of Arianism
- Emperor Theodosius and the Council of Constantinople
Unit 5: Christology
- Apollinaris
- Nestorius
- Cyril versus Nestorius
- Eutyches
- The Council of Chalcedon
Unit 6: Aurelius Augustine
- Gateway to the Medieval Church
- The Life and Times of Augustine
- Creating Character Biography Reports with Factbook and Wikipedia
- Donatism
- Pelagianism
- Augustinianism
Unit 7: The Rise of the Papacy
- Leo I
- Gregory the Great and the Crowning of Charlemagne
- Papal Forgeries
- Pope Innocent III
Unit 8: The Crusades
- The First Crusades
- The Failure of the Crusades
Unit 9: Medieval Scholasticism
- The Rise of Scholasticism
- Thomas Aquinas and High Scholasticism
- Late Medieval Scholasticism: Ockham
Unit 10: Late Medieval Maelstrom
- European Crises and the Babylonian Captivity
- The Great Schism
- Attempts at Reform: Wycliffe
- Building a Custom Layout to Compare English Bible Translations
- Attempts at Reform: Hus
Conclusion
- “Saints” and Sinners
Partially includedAbout Frank A. James III
Dr. Frank A. James III brings his passion for understanding Christian faith throughout history, combined with 30 years of research and teaching experience, to bear on this two-course Church History bundle. With doctoral degrees in both theology and history, Dr. James is uniquely poised to help you better understand and trace the arc of Christian thought from its earliest days to its 21st century global presence.
Dr. James is president of Biblical Theological Seminary in the Philadelphia suburb of Hatfield, PA. Prior to taking his current post, he taught and served as president at Reformed Theological Seminary in Orlando, FL, and served as provost and taught at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in South Hamilton, MA. Additionally, he has been on the teaching faculties of Villanova University and Westmont College, and was a visiting professor at the Centre for Medieval and Renaissance Studies at Oxford University.
A Texas native, Dr. James holds a DPhil in history from Oxford University and a PhD in theology from Westminster Theological Seminary. He is married to author Carolyn Custis James.
Getting the most out of Mobile Ed
Logos Mobile Education is a highly effective cross-platform learning environment that integrates world class teaching with the powerful study tools and theological libraries available in Logos Bible Software. Every course provides links to additional resources and suggested readings that supplement the lecture material at the end of every transcript segment.
This course was produced with screencast videos. These videos provide tutorials showing you how to use Logos Bible Software in ways that are tied directly into the content of the course. We are now producing Activities resources as a replacement for screencast videos. We plan on updating this course to include this additional Activities resource in the future for no extra charge.
Reviews
5 ratings
Ruth kanani edmund costales
3/24/2024
All I know is that I want to study more about the Father Son and Holy GhostRay Mills
2/6/2024
Alex Burkhalter
9/27/2023
This is my first Logos course. Have not finished it yet but did want to let other potential purchasers know... the course includes some instructions on how to use the Logos software. While a neat feature, the videos are made using prior versions of the software and therefore difficult for me to follow with Logos 10. Will update the review once the course is completed.Cory Shiraishi
9/26/2022
This was a decent overview of western Christian history. Once the East and West split, the East ceased to exist in this course.
Cody Gustafson
3/16/2017
One of my first mobile eds, and this compels me to invest more and more. A+ content from Dr James and A+ job for Logos bringing him in and putting this together.
