Pre-requisites

None.

Co-requisites

None.

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, the student will be able to:

• Evaluate important moments, people, ideas and issues in the history of Christianity that have significantly shaped the development of the church’s actions and thought.

• Evaluate specific issues of division and disagreement in the history of the church.

• Communicate complex knowledge about the history of the church to wider audiences.

• Differentiate between primary and secondary sources in the responsible interpretation of historical texts and data.

• Adapt lessons from Christian history to the church’s contemporary self-understanding and mission.

Unit Description

The unit commences with an introduction to the nature of history and the issues that will surface in studying the church’s history. The strengths and weaknesses of differing methodological approaches will be assessed and evaluated. The distinction will be made between primary and secondary sources, and how to research and assess historical data. The issue of the subjectivity of historical sources will be introduced and re-encountered throughout the unit.

A general chronological approach to the history of the church, though themes of history will be explored. The first three hundred years will be considered and various early Church Fathers and Mothers, and their teaching will be examined. The persecution of the church by various emperors and the change that came with the conversion of Constantine (312AD) will be surveyed. The unit will then explore the early Popes and the development of doctrine; the growing development of the structures of the church; the growing power of the Popes and the struggle with barbarian invasions into the western empire; the nature of the church of the middle ages; the crusades; the Reformation; the post-Reformation world; the Wesleyan and other Evangelical revivals, the Holiness movement; the growth of modern missions; the nineteenth century and its challenges for the church; Christianity in Australia; the emergence of Pentecostalism; and the twenty-first century church.

An important component of the unit requires the student to evaluate selected arguments that took place during various periods in church history. Analysis of arguments for various positions will take place, and conclusions reached about the validity of those groups or movements.

---

Unit offerings

Please note

The Unit Offerings listed above are a guide only and the timetable for any year is the final authority. The College may vary offerings based on demand, regulatory requirements, continual improvement processes or other conditions.

This unit may be available in different modes of delivery i.e. online and face-to-face as listed above. The unit content will not differ between these modes of delivery. There will possibly be a difference in the schedule and/or the prescribed assessment tasks, however both will cover and assess the same content.