Church History: Advanced Study Bundle

by Gerald L. Bray; Frank A. James III; Roger E. Olson; Logos Mobile Education

and

10 more

Publisher:

Lexham Press

, 2014–2021

Overview

In the Church History: Advanced Study Bundle you’ll comprehensively study the history, theological development, and impact of the church. You’ll explore the story of the text of the Bible and biblical interpretation from Second Temple Judaism to the present day; the origins and development of preaching, pastoral care, and counseling; and the history and theology of the African-American church. You’ll perform a historical investigation into the resurrection of Jesus and some of the heresies that have arisen. This extensive set of courses will help you understand the history of Christianity and the relevance of the church today.

Product Details

• Title: Church History: Advanced Study Bundle
• Publisher: Lexham Press
• Product Type: Logos Mobile Education
• Resource Type: Courseware, including transcripts, audio, and video resources
• Courses: 16
• Video Hours: 110

CH101 Introducing Church History I: Obscurity to Christendom

• Instructor: Frank A. James III
• Publication Date: 2016
• Video Hours: 6

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.

Contents:

• Contours of the Early Church
• Persecution of the Early Church
• Theological Divisions in the Early Church
• Theological Turning Points: NT Canon, Marcion, the Trinity and Chalcedon
• Augustine’s Life and Work (against Donatism and Pelagianism)
• Rise of the Papacy
• Crusades
• Medieval Scholasticism
• Thomas Aquinas
• Late Medieval Maelstrom: The Great Schism and Early Reform Attempts

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.

CH102 Introducing Church History II: Reformation to Postmodernism

• Instructor: Frank A. James III
• Publication Date: 2016
• Video Hours: 7

If you’ve ever wished you knew more about the events of the Protestant Reformation and how the Reformation produced the contemporary Protestant church, CH102 is for you. This course dispels popular misconceptions of Martin Luther’s intentions, and it provides a close look at Luther’s call from God which led him out of the monastery, his teaching on sola fide, and his eventual excommunication. Dr. James teaches you how to distinguish between Luther, the Swiss Reformers (including John Calvin, the “accidental reformer”), and the so-called Radical Reformers. He also provides a helpful explanation of the Council of Trent, the formation of the Jesuits, and the Catholic Counter-Reformation.

Dr. James then helps you navigate the historical and theological developments that led to Arminianism, English Puritanism, and Puritanism in New England. Learn how the spiritual decline in England led to John Wesley’s Methodism, the English Revival, and the Great Awakening in America, and get an in-depth look at Christianity in the modern era. After this course, you will be able to articulate how even through all of the twists and turns of the past 2,000 years, God is still working in the modern church.

Contents:

• Luther’s Reformation
• The Swiss Reformation
• Radical Reformation
• Catholic Counter-Reformation
• Arminianism
• English Puritanism: Context and Cause
• New England Puritanism
• Methodism: John Wesley, English Spiritual Decline, and Moravian Influence
• The Great Awakening
• The Modern Church
• Protestant Liberalism
• Liberation Theologies
• Black and Feminist Theologies
• American Evangelicalism and Neo-Evangelicalism
• The Rise of Global Pentecostalism

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.

CH151 Introducing Historical Theology I: Apostles to the Reformation

• Instructor: Roger Olson
• Publication Date: 2016
• Video Hours: 6

In this course, you’ll learn about the first 1,500 years of Christian history, focusing especially on the development of Christian doctrine. Instructor Roger Olson expands on doctrines such as the Trinity and Christ’s hypostatic union—doctrines that most Christians are aware of, but may never have studied at length. The Middle Ages are covered, particularly highlighting the way that medieval theologians understood the knowledge of God and the relationship between faith and reason. The course ends with the Renaissance—a period during which there were initial calls for reform within the church—and early church reformers who came before the theology of Martin Luther.

Contents:

Introduction

• Introducing the Speaker and the Course

Unit 1: Establishing the Roots of Theology

• What Is Theology?
• The Definition and Purpose of Historical Theology
• Theology in the New Testament and Early Church
• Heresies in Early Christianity
• Challenges for Theology in Early Christianity
• The Beginnings of Theology in the Apostolic Fathers
• The Role of Christian Apologists in Early Christianity

Unit 2: Theology in the Post-Apostolic Church

• Irenaeus: The First Christian Systematic Theologian
• Irenaeus: Defending the Incarnation within the Doctrine of Salvation
• Clement of Alexandria: Theologian and Philosopher
• Origen of Alexandria: A Speculative Christian Theologian
• Tertullian: The Father of Latin Christian Theology
• Tertullian: Influence on Christian Doctrine
• The Changing Landscape of Theology in the Early Church
• Cyprian of Carthage: Catholic Theologian and Bishop
• The Development of the Christian Canon of Scripture

Unit 3: Theology in the Christian Roman Empire

• Constantine and the Rise of Christendom
• The Arian Controversy
• The Trinitarian Controversy and the Council of Nicaea
• The Christological Controversy: Jesus as Both Human and Divine
• Heresies Addressed by the Third and Fourth Ecumenical Councils
• Christian Orthodoxy: The Trinity and the Hypostatic Union
• Augustine: The Father of Western Christianity
• Augustine’s Core Beliefs
• The Impact of Augustine’s View of Predestination on Church History

Unit 4: The Deepening Divide between the East and the West

• Gregory the Great: Foundation of Roman Catholic Theology
• The Gradual Separation of the Greek Orthodox from the Roman Catholics
• Controversies in the Eastern Orthodox Church
• Filioqueand the Great Schism
• The Eastern Orthodox View of Filioque

Unit 5: Theology in the High Middle Ages

• Scholasticism and Anselm of Canterbury
• Scholasticism and Thomas Aquinas
• Atonement Theology and Anselm’s Response
• Moral Influence Theory: The Atonement Theology of Peter Abelard
• Philosophy and Theology in Medieval Christian Universities
• The Impact of Saint Francis of Assisi
• The Power Struggles Which Laid the Groundwork for the Reformation
• Scholastic Theologians: Duns Scotus and William of Ockham
• Medieval Catholic Dogmas and Councils

Unit 6: Renaissance Theology

• Christian and Secular Humanism
• The Life of Erasmus: Christian Humanist
• Peter Waldo and the First Protestants
• Catherine of Siena and Catholic Mysticism
• John Wycliffe: The Morning Star of the Reformation
• Jan Hus: Forerunner to Martin Luther
• The Catholic Church on the Eve of the Reformation

Conclusion

• Concluding the Course

Roger E. Olson is the Foy Valentine Professor of Christian Theology and Ethics at Baylor University's George W. Truett Theological Seminary. Previously he served as professor of theology at Bethel University in Minnesota. He is the author of eighteen books including The Journey of Modern Theology: From Reconstruction to Deconstruction (Intervarsity Press). Dr. Olson was born and raised in the Upper Midwest of the United States and considers himself a "Bapticostal." He grew up Pentecostal but became Baptist while attending North American Baptist Seminary. His PhD in Religious Studies is from Rice University (Houston, Texas) and he studied at the University of Munich with theologian Wolfhart Pannenberg. He served as editor of Christian Scholar's Review in the 1990s and has served as consulting and contributing editor for Christianity Today. He is married and has two adult daughters and two beautiful grandchildren. He enjoys Southern gospel music, Victorian gothic mystery books, and traveling.

CH152 Introducing Historical Theology II: Luther to the Twenty-First Century

• Instructor: Roger Olson
• Publication Date: 2016
• Video Hours: 6

In this course, you’ll begin by studying the Catholic church and its theology on the cusp of the Protestant Reformation, setting the stage for the work of Luther, Calvin, and other Protestant Reformers. You’ll continue on to study the post-Reformation period and various Christian movements such as Pietism, Puritanism, and Methodism. A study of modernity, beginning with the Enlightenment and the scientific revolutions, introduces the advent of liberal theology and the response of conservative theologians to the challenges of modernity. The course ends with a study of the postmodernity—its meaning, and the variety of ways that Christian theologians have responded to postmodern thought.

Contents:

• Introducing the Speaker and the Course

Unit 1: Sixteenth-Century Reformation

• Roman Catholic Theology on the Eve of the Reformation
• Luther and the Beginnings of Protestant Theology
• The Doctrinal Views of Luther
• Zwingli, Calvin, and Reformed Theology
• Key Views of Reformed Theology
• The Radical Reformers
• The English Reformation and Anglican Theology
• Counter-Reformation and the Council of Trent
• The Scottish Reformation and Puritanism

Unit 2: Aftermath of the Reformation

• Protestant Scholasticism and Confessionalism
• Arminius and the Remonstrant Controversy
• Puritan Theology and Jonathan Edwards
• Pietism
• Wesley and Methodism
• Deism and Natural Religion
• Beginnings of Baptist Theology

Unit 3: Theology in Relation to Modernity

• The Enlightenment: Science and Theology
• The Enlightenment: Philosophy and Theology
• Friedrich Schleiermacher and Liberal Theology
• Charles Hodge and Conservative Theology
• Roman Catholic Modernism
• Mediating Theology

Unit 4: Early Twentieth-Century Movements

• Fundamentalism
• The Social Gospel
• Karl Barth and Dialectical Theology
• Reinhold Niebuhr and Christian Realism
• Existentialist Theology
• Process Theology
• Religionless Christianity and the Death of God Theology
• Theology of Hope

Unit 5: Late Twentieth-Century Movements

• New Approaches to Roman Catholicism
• Theologies of Liberation
• Evangelical Theologies
• Renaissance of the Doctrine of the Trinity

Unit 6: Postmodern Movements

• Development of Postmodernity
• Deconstructionism
• Postliberal Theology
• Stanley Hauerwas and Postmodernity
• The Global South

Conclusion

• Concluding the Course

Roger E. Olson is the Foy Valentine Professor of Christian Theology and Ethics at Baylor University's George W. Truett Theological Seminary. Previously he served as professor of theology at Bethel University in Minnesota. He is the author of eighteen books including The Journey of Modern Theology: From Reconstruction to Deconstruction (Intervarsity Press). Dr. Olson was born and raised in the Upper Midwest of the United States and considers himself a "Bapticostal." He grew up Pentecostal but became Baptist while attending North American Baptist Seminary. His PhD in Religious Studies is from Rice University (Houston, Texas) and he studied at the University of Munich with theologian Wolfhart Pannenberg. He served as editor of Christian Scholar's Review in the 1990s and has served as consulting and contributing editor for Christianity Today. He is married and has two adult daughters and two beautiful grandchildren. He enjoys Southern gospel music, Victorian gothic mystery books, and traveling.

CS201 Western Civilization: Greeks to Aquinas

• Instructor: Bryan Litfin
• Publication Date: 2014
• Video Hours: 8

Survey over 1,200 years of western civilization with Dr. Bryan Litfin—theologian, historian, and acclaimed author. Hear about the trials and triumphs of the church throughout the most pivotal stages of western civilization, from the spread of Hellenism, to the fall of Rome and the rise of Europe. Find out how the church established the canon of scripture and developed the early creeds. Gain insight into why the church met in councils and how they defined doctrines like the nature of Jesus Christ and the Trinity. Discover how Christianity influenced western culture, as well as how western culture influenced Christianity—in politics, art and architecture, and education. Finally, learn about the role of the papacy in religious reform and how the crusades related to the emergence of Islam.

Dr. Litfin combines his research in the early church, cultural studies, and historical doctrine into this unique eight-hour course, designed for Mobile Ed.

Contents:

Introduction

• Introducing the Speaker and the Course

Unit 1: Introduction: A Christian View of History

• The Concept of “Catholicity”
• The Methods of Historical Inquiry: How Do We Do History?

Unit 2: Background of the Early Church: Judaism

• Monotheism
• Jewish History to the Time of Jesus
• Key Aspects of First-Century Judaism
• Using Ratings and Collections to Search for Key Terms

Unit 3: Background of the Early Church: The Greeks

• The Classical Era
• Alexander and His Conquests
• Features of Hellenism

Unit 4: Background of the Early Church: The Romans

• Rome and the Early Church: Friends or Foes?
• A Brief Survey of Roman History
• Aspects of Roman Culture Conducive to the Gospel
• Using Search Operators to Find Information about Roman Travel

Unit 5: The Birth of Christianity

• Key Ideas of the “Orthodox” Church
• The Myth of Early Universal Orthodoxy
• The Myth of Radical Diversity
• How Orthodoxy Was Formed

Unit 6: Judaism and the Early Church

• Hebrews, Hellenists, and Heretical Sects
• James and the Jerusalem Church
• Understanding and Using the Referent Database
• The Church versus the Synagogue

Unit 7: Strategies to Achieve Catholicity

• The Monepiscopacy
• Using Louw-Nida Numbers to Research Church Leadership
• The Canon of Scripture
• The Creeds of the Ancient Church

Unit 8: Persecution in the Early Church

• The Reasons behind Persecution
• The Roman Imperial Cult
• Historical Stages of Persecution
• Using the Timeline to Look Up Persecution in Church History

Unit 9: Imperial Christianity

• The Rise of Constantine
• Two Important Successors to Constantine
• The Imperial Theology of Eusebius

Unit 10: The Council of Nicaea

• The Theology of Arius
• Nicene Trinitarianism

Unit 11: Early Christian Art and Architecture

• The Catacombs
• Finding Images of the Catacombs and Storing Them in Favorites
• Types of Early Christian Art
• Triumphal Art after Constantine
• Early Christian Buildings

Unit 12: Augustine of Hippo

• Augustine’s Life
• Augustine’s View of History
• Using Notes to Track Augustine’s View of the Two Cities
• Augustine’s Legacy for Western Civilization

Unit 13: The Council of Chalcedon

• Heretical Christologies
• The Alexandrians and the Antiochians
• Chalcedon and Its Aftermath

Unit 14: Early Christian Monasticism

• Antecedents of Early Christian Monasticism
• The Historical Motive
• Finding Information on the Origins of Monasticism
• Key Figures in Early Christian Monasticism

Unit 15: Christian Mission

• Alternate Christian Expressions
• Early Missionary Efforts

Unit 16: The Byzantine World

• Constantine and His City
• The Splendor of Justinian
• Conversion of the Slavs
• Eastern Orthodox Distinctives

Unit 17: The Fall of Rome

• Historical Explanations
• The Barbarian Invasions
• New Alliances for the Church

Unit 18: The Rise of the Papacy

• Apostolic Succession
• The Prestige of Rome
• Theology of the Papacy
• Using the Clause Search to Explore the Relationship between Jesus and Peter
• Key Figures in the Development of the Papacy

Unit 19: British and Celtic Christianity

• Early History of the British Isles
• Christianity in Britain
• The Celtic Church
• The Anglo-Saxons

Unit 20: The Birth of Europe

• Political Structures
• Religious Beliefs and Practices
• Cultural Institutions
• Using the Sermon Starter Guide to Find a Biblical Perspective on War

Unit 21: Charlemagne and the Carolingian Renaissance

• Rise of the Carolingians out of the Dark Ages
• Rebirth under Charlemagne
• The Holy Roman Empire
• The Viking Invasions

Unit 22: The High Middle Ages

• Reforms of Gregory VII
• Lay Investiture Controversy
• Romanesque and Gothic Architectural Styles
• The Great Schism

Unit 23: Life in Medieval Christendom

• William the Conqueror
• Norman Castles
• Thomas Becket and the “Murder in the Cathedral”
• Pope Innocent III

Unit 24: The Crusades

• Interpretation and Motivations
• Historical Context: The Rise of Islam
• The First Crusade
• Results of the Crusades

Unit 25: Medieval Intellectualism

• Two Important Intellectual Leaders: Alcuin and Anselm
• New Monastic Orders: Cistercians, Dominicans, and Franciscans
• Rise of the Universities
• Scholasticism and Thomas Aquinas

Conclusion

• Conclusion to the Course

Dr. Bryan M. Litfin professor of theology at Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, teaches courses in theology, church history, and Western civilization from ancient and medieval periods. He is the author of Early Christian Martyr Stories: An Evangelical Introduction with New Translations and Getting to Know the Church Fathers: An Evangelical Introduction as well as several scholarly articles and essays.

CH221 Milestones of the Protestant Reformation

• Instructor: Jennifer Powell McNutt
• Publication Date: 2016
• Video Hours: 4

Discover a selection of milestone moments in history that have introduced you to the events, figures, and ideas of the Protestant Reformation. From reformation precursors to the exploration of Erasmus’ publication of the Greek NT, Luther’s posting of the 95 Theses and his translation of the NT. We’ve explored the “radical reformations revolution and re-baptism” and how the Turkish invasion of Europe had an impact on the Protestant Reformation. Delve into “the meeting of Protestants and Catholics at the Colloquy of Regensburg” and the issuing of the Peace of Augsburg. Gain a better understanding of the church today through the church of the past.

Contents:

Introduction

• Introducing the Speaker and the Course

Unit 1: Precursors to the Protestant Reformation

• Conceptualizing the Protestant Reformation
• Key Events Leading Up to the Protestant Reformation
• Key People Leading Up to the Protestant Reformation

Unit 2: The Contribution of Renaissance Humanism

• No Humanism, No Reformation
• Humanism and the Printing Press
• The Egg that Luther Hatched: Part 1
• The Egg that Luther Hatched: Part 2

Unit 3: Martin Luther and the Ninety-Five Theses

• An Obscure Monk and an Ordinary Event
• Scholasticism in the Rearview Mirror
• The Instigating Event
• The Content of the Ninety-Five Theses

Unit 4: Martin Luther and the Forgotten Bible

• The Last Voice
• The Game Changer: Frederick of Saxony
• Scripture Gains Primacy
• The Diet of Worms
• The September Bible Unleashed

Unit 5: The Radical Reformation

• The Stepchild of the Reformation
• The Peasants’ New Revolt
• The Swiss Brethren’s Radicalization of Baptism: Part 1
• The Swiss Brethren’s Radicalization of Baptism: Part 2
• The Struggle for Separation: Part 1
• The Struggle for Separation: Part 2

Unit 6: The Turkish Empire and the Protestant Reformation

• The Threat to Western Christendom
• A Potential Ally
• The Rhetorical Turk

Unit 7: The Marburg Colloquy

• Leading Up to Marburg
• The Marburg Articles
• Eucharistic Theology: Agreement and Disagreement
• The Implications of Marburg

Unit 8: John Calvin: The Second-Wave Reformer

• Passing the Baton
• The Frenchman’s Journey to Geneva: Part 1
• The Frenchman’s Journey to Geneva: Part 2
• A Pastor Emerges
• The Institutes of the Christian Religion

Unit 9: Settling the Protestant Question

• A Slow Response
• The SpiritualiGain Prominence
• The Colloquy of Regensburg

Unit 10: The Diversification of Western Christianity

• Who Has the Authority?
• The Peace of Augsburg

Unit 11: Queen Elizabeth and the Church of England

• The Half Reformation
• The Mother of the Church of England

Unit : Conclusion

• A Mere Introduction

CH241 The History of Christianity in the United States

• Instructor: Chris Armstrong
• Publication Date: 2016
• Video Hours: 10

In The History of Christianity in the United States, Chris Armstrong provides an introduction to the major movements, ideas, figures, and events in American church history, from colonization to recent decades. See how transplanted European churches took root, and American originals sprang up, over the course of five centuries of challenges and opportunities: early settlements, the expansion of the frontier, wars of independence and unification, slavery, immigration, intellectual challenges to the faith, and the new political and social realities of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Learn how the church reinvented and reaffirmed its central identity in the face of these social changes, and discover the implications of American church history for Christian life and ministry in today’s culture.

Contents:

Introduction

• Introducing the Speaker and the Course

Unit 1: European and Reformation Backgrounds

• European Roots
• Convictions of Early Protestants
• The Word and the Reformed Tradition
• Key Elements of the Reformed Tradition
• The Purity of the Church

Unit 2: The English Reformation and the Roots of Puritanism

• Introduction to the English Reformation
• Two English Queens
• Church Order in the Anglican and Presbyterian Traditions
• Church Order in the Congregational Tradition
• The Formation of Puritanism
• The Failure of Puritanism in England
• Introduction to American Puritanism
• The Puritan Trajectory

Unit 3: Puritanism in America

• The Puritan Dream
• Key Themes in Puritan Thought
• The Puritans’ Application of Covenant Theology
• Reasons for the Puritan Decline
• The Salem Witch Trials and the Halfway Covenant
• The Puritan Legacy

Unit 4: The First Great Awakening

• An Introduction to the Great Awakening
• Traits of Evangelicals
• The Progress of the Awakening
• Heart Religion
• Misunderstanding the Movement
• The Evangelical Impulse for Social Reform
• George Whitefield
• Results of the Awakening

Unit 5: The Revolutionary Period

• Religious Factors in the Revolution
• Thomas Paine and the Language of Revolution
• Involvement in the Revolution: Puritans and Anglicans
• Involvement in the Revolution: Baptists, Methodists, and Presbyterians
• Involvement in the Revolution: Catholics and Pacifists

Unit 6: Deism

• An Enlightenment Worldview
• Deism and the Founding Fathers: Thomas Paine
• Deism and the Founding Fathers: Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson
• Deism and the Founding Fathers: Conclusion

Unit 7: Catholicism

• American Catholic History
• Navigating a Protestant Context
• Special Issues of an Immigrant Catholic Church
• A History of Anti-Catholicism
• Reasons for Anti-Catholicism
• An Introduction to Americanism
• The Irish Catholic Position on Americanism
• The German Catholic Position on Americanism
• Evaluating the Irish and German Positions on Americanism

Unit 8: The Church in the Early Republic

• The Disestablishment of State Churches
• The Rise of Religious Freedom
• The First Amendment and the Public Role of Religion
• Evangelicalism as a Radical Force
• A Profile of Frontier Religious Groups
• A Crisis of Authority
• New Methods for a New Age

Unit 9: Social Reform

• Charles Finney and the Birth of the Benevolent Empire
• Aspects of Benevolent Reform
• Other Benevolent Causes
• The Benevolent Empire through the Civil War
• Social Issues in the New Industrial Economy
• Examples of Christian Social Action
• Key Social Gospel Figures
• Theological Dimensions of the Social Gospel
• Twentieth-Century Developments
• Assessing the Influence of the Social Gospel

Unit 10: Gender in Nineteenth-Century Christianity

• Introduction to the Topic
• Protestant Women and Ordination
• The Changing Fortunes of Women Ministers
• Roles of Women in the Church, 1860–1920
• The Paradox of Conservative Feminism
• Conclusion to the Topic

Unit 11: African-American Christianity

• Black Christianity in America
• Geographic Contexts of Slavery
• The Apostolic Age of Black Christianity
• The Slave Mission Period to Emancipation
• Black Worship in the Time of Slavery
• Black and White Spiritual Mutuality
• Resources for Spiritual Mutuality
• The Post-Emancipation Period and Historiographical Issues
• Summary Thoughts on African-American Christianity

Unit 12: Holiness and Pentecostalism

• Those Embarrassing Emotionalists
• Pentecostalism’s Role in the History of American Evangelicalism
• The History of the White Holiness Movement
• The Map of Expected Spiritual Experiences
• The Postbellum Holiness Movement
• Black Holiness Groups
• The Roots of Pentecostalism
• The Development of Pentecostalism
• Restorationism and the Pentecostal Hermeneutic

Unit 13: Fundamentalism

• Introduction to Fundamentalism
• Fundamentalist Roots in Protestant Orthodoxy
• The Princeton Seminary Dynasty
• The Early Decades of Fundamentalism
• The Scopes Monkey Trial
• Common Features of Fundamentalist Theology

Unit 14: From World War II to the Twenty-First Century

• Introduction to Post-World War II Christianity
• The Map of Post-War Religious Normalcy
• Seekers
• Ethnic Religious Communities
• Religion in the Public Square
• Final Reflections and Questions in American Church History

Conclusion

• The History of Christianity in America

Dr. Chris Armstrongis the founding director of Opus: The Art of Work, a new institute at Wheaton College dedicated to understanding God’s call for work in the world. Prior to taking this post in 2014, he was director of Bethel Seminary’s Work with Purpose initiative while serving as a professor at Bethel. His training is in the field of American church history, and his areas of interest include religion and emotion; Christianity and literature; the holiness, Pentecostal, and charismatic movements; the Christ-and-culture conversation; and the “ancient–future” and “new monastic” movements within evangelicalism. He received his BA from St. Mary’s University in Nova Scotia (Canada), his MA from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, and his PhD from Duke University, where his research focused on the 19th-century holiness movement.

Dr. Armstrong wrote over 70 articles as the former managing editor of Christian History & Biography magazine, and he continues to contribute to Christian History & Biography and other publications, including Christianity Today and Leadership Journal. He has contributed chapters to Singing the Lord's Song in a Strange Land (edited by Mark A. Noll and Edith L. Blumhofer) and Portraits of a Generation: Early Pentecostal Leaders (edited by James R. Goff Jr. and Grant Wacker). Dr. Armstrong’s book, Patron Saints for Postmoderns, was published in 2009 by InterVarsity Press, and his forthcoming book, Getting Medieval: An Exploration with C. S. Lewis, will be published by Baker Academic.

CH201 Historical Theology: Patristic

• Instructor: George Kalantzis
• Publication Date: 2017
• Video Hours: 11

In Historical Theology: The Patristic Period (CH201) Dr. George Kalantzis provides an in-depth study of the theological developments of the early church during the patristic era. Beginning with the world of early Christianity, you will grasp the major historical events, the philosophical ideas, and the pagan religions that shaped the world into which the New Testament church was born. The course covers topics such as persecution and martyrdom, apologetics, Gnosticism, ecclesiology, Christology, and the Trinity in the context of the Roman Empire. Lastly, you will learn what religious, historical, and political influences gave rise to the ecumenical councils that produced the foundational summaries of the Christian faith.

Contents:

Introduction

• Introducing the Speaker and the Course

Unit 1: The World of Early Christianity

• Why Study History & Key Developments of the First Six Centuries
• The Unification of the Mediterranean World
• The Maccabean Interlude
• History of the Roman Empire
• Geography of the Roman Empire
• Social Organization in the Roman Empire: Part One
• Social Organization in the Roman Empire: Part Two
• Slavery in the Ancient World
• Virtue and Humility
• Platonic Thought
• Mystical Theology and Aristotelian Thought
• Roman Religion
• Religion and the Imperial Cult
• Graeco-Roman Attitudes toward Jews
• Graeco-Roman Attitudes toward Christians

Unit 2: Persecution and Martyrdom

• Causes of Christian Persecution
• The First Persecutions under Nero and the First Jewish Revolt
• The Second Persecutions under Domitian
• The Church under the Antonines: Part One
• The Church under the Antonines: Part Two
• Ignatius of Antioch
• The Martyrdom of Polycarp
• The Martyrs of Lyons and Vienne
• The Passion of Perpetua and Felicitas

Unit 3: Apologetics

• Christian Apologetics
• Justin Martyr
• Christianization of Hellenism and Christian Defenses against Civil Charges and Mystery Religions
• Christian Response to Non-Christian Myths and Philosophy
• Marcus Aurelius and Celsus on Christianity
• Two Kinds of Reason

Unit 4: Gnosticism

• Origins of Gnosticism
• Gnostic Basis on the Bible
• Fundamental Tenets of Gnosticism
• Gnostic Movements and Motifs of “Christian Gnosticism”
• Marcion and Christian Gnosticism
• Irenaeus and Gnosticism
• The Self-Defining of the Early Church
• The Rule of Faith

Unit 5: Monarchianism

• Introduction to Monarchianism
• Tertullian and Against Praxeas
• The Self-Revelation of the Triune God

Unit 6: Ecclesiology and Church Order

• The State of the Roman Empire
• Emperor Decius’ Edict
• Those Who Denied the Faith
• Ecclesiology and the Doctrine of Penance
• Sacramental Theology

Unit 7: Conversion of the Empire

• An Imperial Chronology
• The Great Persecution
• Constantine’s Consolidation of the West
• The End of the Great Persecution
• Constantine and the Christological Controversies
• Origen on the Trinity
• The Arian Controversy
• The Council of Nicaea
• From Constantine to Theodosius

Unit 8: Christology and Trinity

• Christological Formulas, Confessions, and Creeds
• The Apostles’ Creed and the Nicene Creed
• Christological Language: Part One
• Christological Language: Part Two
• Arianism after Nicaea
• The Cappadocian Fathers: Basil the Great
• The Cappadocian Fathers: Gregory of Nazianzus and Gregory of Nyssa
• Trinitarian Language
• Nestorius and Cyril: Part One
• Nestorius and Cyril: Part Two
• Eutyches and the Council of Chalcedon

Conclusion

• Conclusion to the Course

Dr. George Kalantzis was born and raised by the shadow of the Acropolis in Athens, Greece. He is Professor of Theology and Director of The Wheaton Center for Early Christian Studies at Wheaton College. His research and writing interests focus on the dynamic relationship between the written documents and their interpretation in early Christianity.

He is the author of Caesar and the Lamb: Early Christian Attitudes on War and Military Service, Theodore of Mopsuestia: Commentary on the Gospel of John, and numerous articles and essays on patristic thought. Dr. Kalantzis is also coeditor of Evangelicals and the Early Church: Recovery, Reform, Renewal; Life in the Spirit: Spiritual Formation in Theological Perspective; and The Sovereignty of God Debate. He is currently completing a project on wealth and poverty titled Crumbs from the Table: The Eucharist in the Life of the Church.

Dr. Kalantzis holds a BS in Neurophysiology from the University of Illinois at Chicago; an MS in Neurobiology and Neurosciences from Northeastern Illinois University; an MABS (Master of Biblical Studies degree) from Moody Graduate School; a MTS (master’s degree in Theological Studies) in Patristics from Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary; and a PhD in Patristics and Classics from Northwestern University.

CH321 History and Theology of John Calvin

• Instructor: R. Michael Allen
• Publication Date: 2018
• Video Hours: 4

BI351 History of Biblical Interpretation: Second Temple Judaism through the Reformation

• Instructor: Gerald L. Bray
• Publication Date: 2016
• Video Hours: 8

In BI351 Dr. Bray explores the history of the text of the Bible and biblical interpretation. He examines the concept of the Bible as self-revelation—a record of the encounters people had with God, which presents a message to be received by faith. He also covers the importance of the Word being communicated and understood, and the value of the discipline of interpretation as a means of bringing people to truths beyond what they are able to discover on their own.

Contents:

Unit 1: The Concept of Scripture: Revelation and Its Forms

• What Revelation Is
• Personal Relationship and Communication
• Speech as the Preferred Mode of Communication
• Human Hearing and the Bible
• Spoken and Written Words: Part 1
• Spoken and Written Words: Part 2
• The Character of Revelation

Unit 2: Jewish Interpretation in New Testament Times

• General Themes of Jewish Interpretation
• Literal Interpretation
• Midrashic Interpretation
• Pesher Interpretation
• Allegorical Interpretation

Unit 3: Early Christian Use of the Old Testament

• General Principles
• Jesus Christ’s Teaching
• Paul’s Preaching
• Gospels, Acts, and Hebrews

Unit 4: The Formation of the Christian Canon of Scripture

• What Is the Canon?
• The Establishment of the Old Testament Canon
• The Establishment of the New Testament Canon
• A Canon within the Canon?
• Heretics and the Canon
• Scripture and Creedal Formation: Creeds and the Gospel Message

Unit 5: The Four Senses of Interpretation

• The Greek Background
• Origen’s Basic Principles
• The Literal and “Higher” Sense of Scripture
• The Moral, Spiritual, and Anagogical Senses of Scripture

Unit 6: Medieval Exegesis

• Jerome and the Latin Bible
• The Inspiration of Scripture
• The Literal Sense of Interpretation
• The Commentary Style
• The Medieval Legacy: What We Still Do Today
• The New Synthesis
• Lectio, Disputatio, Praedicatio, and the Decline of Spiritual Interpretation
• Thomism

Unit 7: Renaissance Humanism and the Reformation

• John Wycliffe and Jan Hus
• Lorenzo Valla and Onward
• Martin Luther (1483–1546)
• John Calvin (1509–1564): Part 1
• John Calvin (1509–1564): Part 2
• The Authority of Scripture

Unit 8: Orthodox Protestant Hermeneutics

• The Supremacy of Scripture
• The Covenant Principle
• Interpretation of the Covenant
• Application of Orthodox Protestant Hermeneutics
• Strengths and Weaknesses of Orthodox Protestant Hermeneutics

Dr. Gerald L. Bray is research professor of divinity, history, and doctrine at Beeson Divinity School in Birmingham, Alabama, and distinguished professor of historical theology at Knox Theological Seminary in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Dr. Bray is the editor of the Anglican journal Churchman and has published a number of books, including the award-winning Biblical Interpretation: Past and Present, Yours Is the Kingdom: A Systematic Theology of the Lord’s Prayer, God Is Love: A Biblical and Systematic Theology, and God Has Spoken: A History of Christian Theology.

BI352 History of Biblical Interpretation: Seventeenth Century to the Present

• Instructor: Gerald L. Bray
• Publication Date: 2016
• Video Hours: 11

In BI352 Dr. Bray examines the foundations of the Old and New Testaments as well as the development of new theological perspectives since the 17th century. He outlines significant trends and major players in biblical criticism and how these relate to the modern scholarly climate. Dr. Bray provides guidance on how to approach Bible study and emphasizes the importance of applying God’s word.

Contents:

Unit 1: The Beginnings of Critical Method

• Disagreements about the Bible
• The Growth of Skepticism
• Beginnings of Old Testament Criticism
• The Attack on the Supernatural
• Neologism and Romanticism

Unit 2: Old Testament Criticism: de Wette to Wellhausen (1800–1918)

• W. M. L. de Wette and the Old Testament Text
• Old Testament Theology
• Revival of Confessionalism
• The New Liberalism

Unit 3: Old Testament Criticism: Wellhausen to Alt (1918–1956)

• New Directions
• History of Religions School
• Beyond Literary Criticism

Unit 4: Anglo-Saxon Old Testament Scholarship since 1800

• The Situation from 1800 to 1850
• The Acceptance of Critical Method
• The Development of Archaeology
• Liberal/Conservative Divide

Unit 5: Modern Old Testament Criticism

• Do We Need the Old Testament?
• Post-Barthian Criticism
• Marxist Biblical Interpretation
• Current Issues in Old Testament Interpretation

Unit 6: New Testament Criticism: Reimarus to Strauss (1750–1835)

• H. S. Reimarus (1694–1768)
• Early Rationalism and Some Important Proponents of These Ideas
• The Invention of the Historical Jesus

Unit 7: New Testament Criticism: Strauss to Bousset (1835–1920)

• Reactions to Strauss
• The Tübingen School and Ferdinand Christian Baur (1792–1860)
• Bruno Bauer (1809–1883)
• Later Lives of Jesus
• The Final Phase

Unit 8: Anglo-Saxon New Testament Scholarship since 1800

• Background and the Cambridge School
• English Liberalism and Source Criticism
• The Impact of Archaeology
• English Neo-Conservatism

Unit 9: Modern New Testament Criticism: Jesus

• Form Criticism (1920–1950)
• Redaction Criticism (after 1945) and the Historical Jesus: the New Quest
• The Historical Jesus: Third Quest
• Jesus and the Church

Unit 10: Modern New Testament Criticism: Church

• Paul and the Law
• Paul and Judaism: Montefiore (1856–1938)
• The New Perspective on Paul

Unit 11: Recent Trends in Interpretation: Historical-Critical Approach

• The Inadequacies of the Method
• Two Horizons: the New Hermeneutic
• Points to Remember about the New Hermeneutic

Unit 12: Recent Trends in Interpretation: Literary Approaches

• Literary Criticism and Linguistic Theory
• Non-Ideological Literary Criticism

Unit 13: Recent Trends in Interpretation: Sociological Approaches

• Introduction to Sociological Approaches
• Some Examples of Interpretation
• Sociology as Normative for Interpretation

Unit 14: An Evangelical Approach to Critical Issues

• Introduction to Evangelical Approaches to Critical Issues
• Evangelical Achievements
• The Inspiration of Scripture
• Inerrancy and Infallibility
• Evolving Attitudes on Inerrancy
• Two Testaments, One Bible
• Evangelical Strengths and Weaknesses

Unit 15: An Evangelical Approach to Practical Application

• Different Ways of Reading the Bible
• How to Approach Reading the Bible
• How to Preach the Bible
• Preaching and Application: Part 1
• Preaching and Application: Part 2
• Preaching and Free Interpretation
• Preaching and the Preacher: Part 1
• Preaching and the Preacher: Part 2

Dr. Gerald L. Bray is research professor of divinity, history, and doctrine at Beeson Divinity School in Birmingham, Alabama, and distinguished professor of historical theology at Knox Theological Seminary in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Dr. Bray is the editor of the Anglican journal Churchman and has published a number of books, including the award-winning Biblical Interpretation: Past and Present, Yours Is the Kingdom: A Systematic Theology of the Lord’s Prayer, God Is Love: A Biblical and Systematic Theology, and God Has Spoken: A History of Christian Theology.

CM100 Basic History of Preaching

• Instructor: Gary Carr
• Publication Date: 2014
• Video Hours: 2

In Basic History of Preaching, Dr. Gary Carr surveys the history of preaching from the early church to the present. He begins with an introduction to the origins of preaching in classical Greek rhetoric and then highlights notable preachers and their contribution to the nature of preaching in the time of the Church Fathers, the Middle Ages, the Reformation, and the succeeding centuries up to modern times.

Contents:

Introduction

• Introducing the Speaker and the Course

Unit 1: Origins of Preaching and the Early Church

• Greek Origins
• From Cicero to the Early Church
• Downloading and Using the Perseus Classics Collection
• Early Adopters
• Searching the Early Church Fathers Collection
• Chrysostom
• Search a Custom Collection of Chrysostom’s Writings

Unit 2: The Medieval Ages

• Early Medieval Preaching
• Studying Medieval Preachers in History Books
• Savonarola
• Using the Timeline to Study the Life of Savonarola
• John Wycliffe
• Exploring the Community Pricing Program with Focus on Medieval Works

Unit 3: The Reformation

• Martin Luther
• François Fénelon
• John Calvin

Unit 4: The 18th Century

• John Wesley
• George Whitefield
• Jonathan Edwards
• Observing the Contents of Jonathan Edwards’ Preaching

Unit 5: The 19th Century

• Charles Finney
• Charles Spurgeon
• Dwight L. Moody
• Phillips Brooks
• John Jasper

Unit 6: The 20th Century

• Martin Luther King, Jr.
• Phoebe Palmer and Other Female Preachers
• Aimee Semple McPherson
• Fulton Sheen
• Billy Sunday
• Using the Handbook of Contemporary Preachingto Improve Sermon Style
• Billy Graham
• G. Campbell Morgan
• James Stewart
• George Buttrick
• Harry Fosdick
• Two Resources Useful for Researching Historical Christians
• Today’s Preachers
• Finding and Bookmarking Resources from Modern Preachers

Dr. Gary Carr is vice president for adult and graduate studies at Southern Wesleyan University, overseeing administration operations and providing leadership for faculty services, student services, and chaplains’ services. He served as vice president for translations for the International Bible Society and as division chaplain, 2nd Marine Division and 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit. In addition, Dr. Carr has served as command chaplain aboard the aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk and Battle Force Seventh Fleet. He is an ordained minister in The Wesleyan Church and served as pastor for the Diamond Springs Wesleyan Church in Michigan.

CO107 Introducing Biblical Counseling: The History of Counseling

• Instructor: Ian Jones
• Publication Date: 2016
• Video Hours: 5

Explore how to develop a biblical theory of personality by first looking at some of the fatal flaws in the secular models as they relate to caregiving and Scripture. Gain knowledge of God and His Word, and of yourself in relation to God.

Contents:

Introduction

• Introducing the Speaker and the Course

Unit 1: Psychology through a Historical Lens

• A Changing Understanding of the Human Condition
• The Changing Definition of Psychology
• The Changing Landscape of Psychology
• The Benefits and Limitations of Studying Secular Theories of Counseling

Unit 2: Psychology through a Biblical Lens

• Understanding God’s View of the Human Condition
• Identity, Direction, and Purpose within a Biblical View of History
• The Search for Meaning
• An Example in Scripture: Romans 14
• The Tension between Greek Philosophy and Christianity
• Using the Secular as a Bridge
• The Example of Jesus in the Care of Souls
• The Care of Souls: Characterized and Modeled
• Defining Soul Care

Unit 3: Caregiving in the Ante-Nicene Church

• Polycarp
• Tertullian
• Clement of Alexandria
• Perpetua
• Cyprian

Unit 4: Caregiving in the Post-Nicene Church

• Ambrose and Gregory of Nyssa
• Chrysostom
• Augustine
• Gregory the Great
• Hildegard of Bingen

Unit 5: Caregiving in the Reformation

• Martin Luther, Advice for the Mind
• Martin Luther, Advice on Responding
• Calvin, Bucer, Herbert, and Taylor
• Richard Baxter

Unit 6: Caregiving in the Post-Reformation

• Count Zinzendorf
• John Wesley
• Jonathan Edwards
• Alexander Gerard
• Ian Maclaren (John Watson)
• A Summary of Counseling Principles Found in the Historical Church

Unit 7: Historical Biblical Psychologies

• Introduction to Historical Biblical Psychologies
• The Myth of Objectivity in Behavioral Sciences
• Historical Christian Roots of Modern Science
• The Impact of Our Views of Human Nature
• The Landscape of Premodern Psychology
• Biblical Psychology: The Importance of Our View of the Soul
• The Shifting Views of Psychology

Unit 8: Developing a Biblical Theory of Personality

• Identity: The Core of a Biblical Theory of Personality
• Developmental Psychology: The Importance of Critical Thinking
• Developmental Psychology: The Absence of Purpose
• The Problem with Developmental Theories: Distortion of Identity
• The Influence of the Enlightenment on Modern Developmental Theories
• Christian Developmental Theory: A Journey of Pilgrimage
• The Characteristics of Christian Personality Theory
• Mapping the Spiritual Journey

Conclusion

• Course Summary

Dr. Ian F. Jones is professor of psychology and counseling at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, where he is chairman of the Division of Church and Community Ministries and holds the Baptist Community Ministries’ Chair of Pastoral Counseling. Dr. Jones has taught, counseled, and conducted family conferences in the USA, Mexico, Costa Rica, Malaysia, Taiwan, Korea, and Australia. He is a licensed professional counselor and a licensed marriage and family therapist, and his areas of teaching specialization include counseling theory, cross-cultural counseling, historical pastoral counseling, and counseling and ethics.

CS251 History and Theology of the African American Church

• Instructor: Carl F. Ellis, Jr
• Publication Date: 2016
• Video Hours: 7

Carl Ellis is uniquely qualified to teach about Christianity in an African-American context and his depth of experience makes him an ideal guide for relating how theology developed over time within the African-American church. For thousands of years, God has mightily used many Africans to advance his kingdom. In this course, Ellis delves into Scripture, church history, and describes important movements like African-American missions during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the civil-rights movement, and analyzes important events happening today.

Study a rich heritage of culturally and ethnically African models of faith for modern believers. This course draws on Old Testament examples, like Ebed-Melech from Jeremiah chapter 38, New Testament Christians like Simon the Cyrene, initial African believers in Acts chapter two, and the church in Antioch where Paul based his ministry. Furthermore, many of the early Church Fathers, like Augustine, were themselves African. Viewers will better understand parallels between initial Greek Christians and modern day African-American Christians in, two populations that Ellis refers to as similarly sub-dominant.

As application, Ellis advocates for a modern-day reformation among African-American Christians instead of revival, citing the present need for a radical reassessment and revitalization of modern faith. Reframing the concept of righteousness into a covenantal setting, he emphasizes relationship between God and the individual Christian. The task of modern believers is to display the gospel by emphasizing social justice and social Godliness, personal justice, and personal Godliness in all aspects of life. The Bible has much to say about social justice and this course equips Christians to recognize societal, systemic examples of injustice and to address them via a God-honoring model for the African-American church. African-American believers should readily express their faith beyond merely personal Godliness, bringing to bear ethical and relational values of God's kingdom in every modern setting.

Contents:

Introduction

• Introducing the Speaker and the Course

Unit 1: From Africa to America

• Africans in Scripture and Early Church History
• The African Church under Slavery
• The Early American Experience
• Theological Development among African-Americans
• Life Concerns
• Southern Antebellum African-American Theology
• Resistance to Oppression
• Characteristics of Resistance
• The Slaves and Christianity-ism
• Central Themes in the African-American Experience

Unit 2: Phases of African-American Church Development

• The Peanut Gallery Phase
• The Soul Dynamic
• The Plantation Phase
• Slave Revolts
• The Indigenous Phase
• Indigenous African-American Churches (Part 1)
• Indigenous African-American Churches (Part 2)
• Indigenous African-American Churches (Part 3)

Unit 3: Black Missions

• Theological and Missional Developments
• Divine Significance
• Black Missionaries Not from America
• America’s First Missionary
• Nineteenth-Century African-American Missionaries
• African-American Theologians of the Antebellum North (Part 1)
• African-American Theologians of the Antebellum North (Part 2)
• African-American Theologians of the Antebellum North (Part 3)
• Christianity, Commerce, and Civilization

Unit 4: Before and After the Civil War

• Events Leading up to the Civil War (Part 1)
• Events Leading up to the Civil War (Part 2)
• The African-American Church after the Civil War
• African-American Church Growth
• Economic Development in the African-American Church
• The End of Reconstruction in the South
• The Industrial Revolution in the North
• The Consolidation of Colonialism in Africa
• The Marginalization and Expulsion of Black Missionaries
• Effects of the Three Great Traumas on the African-American Church
• Attempts to Fill the Theological Vacuum
• The White Church at the End of the Nineteenth Century

Unit 5: The Twentieth Century

• Approaches to Theology
• The Window of Theology
• Pentecostalism (Part 1)
• Pentecostalism (Part 2)
• The Diminishing Prophetic Voice of the African-American Church
• Two Great African-American Migrations
• Challenges that Arose from the Great Migrations
• The Urban Church
• The Separational and Sociological Church Models
• The Associational Church Model
• Nontraditional Church Models (Part 1)
• Nontraditional Church Models (Part 2)

Unit 6: The Civil Rights Movement

• The Struggle for Civil Rights
• The Montgomery Bus Boycott
• What Made the Civil Rights Movement Effective
• The Peak of the Civil Rights Movement
• A Dysfunctional Bible-Believing Church
• Civil Rights and the Gospel

Unit 7: African-American Cults

• Christian Cults
• The Black Jews
• The Moorish Temple of Science
• The Temple of Islam
• The Nation of Islam

Unit 8: Current Challenges and New Models

• Today’s African-American Cultural Crisis (Part 1)
• Today’s African-American Cultural Crisis (Part 2)
• Disconnected Generations
• Developing an Authentic African-American Theology
• Opportunities for Ministry
• The Dominion Church Model
• Discipleship
• Kinship Compassion
• What a Reformation Would Look Like

Carl Ellis is the associate pastor for Cultural Apologetics at New City Fellowship. In addition to a D.Phil. from Oxford, Ellis holds a Master of the Arts from Westminster Theological Seminary and is also a graduate of Hampton University in Hampton, Virginia. He has served as adjunct faculty and as dean of Intercultural Studies at Westminster Theological Seminary, still serving there at the center for Urban Theological Studies.

CS151 Philosophy of History

• Instructor: Michael R. Licona
• Publication Date: 2016
• Video Hours: 8

Philosophy of History (CS151) establishes a theory of history and then applies it to a historical investigation of the resurrection of Jesus. It provides an extensive and detailed consideration of the many issues related to historical investigation—including the uncertainty of historical knowledge, the influence of one’s worldview in historiography, the historian’s right to investigate miracle claims, burden of proof, and arguments to the best explanation.

The course then walks through this strictly-controlled historical method to investigate the historicity of the resurrection of Jesus. You’ll learn the relevant biblical and non-biblical sources which are identified and evaluated according to their historical reliability. Finally, the course weighs two prominent hypotheses that account for the historical bedrock according to the historical method set forth above. The bodily resurrection of Jesus is shown to be a near-certain historical probability, and thus, a solid basis for one’s faith in God—a faith that produces an eternal hope in the resurrection life.

Contents:

Introduction

• Introducing the Speaker and the Course

Unit 1: Theory of History

• Second-Guessing and the Challenge of History
• Defining Terms and Challenges to Knowing the Past: Part 1
• Challenges to Knowing the Past: Part 2
• Transcending Horizons
• The Role of a Consensus
• The Uncertainty of Historical Knowledge
• Postmodernist History
• Problems with Postmodernist History
• Three Views of History, Historical Facts, and Burden of Proof
• Theory and Historians
• What Historians Do

Unit 2: Method to History

• Arguments to the Best Explanation
• Arguments from Statistical Inferences
• Criteria of Authenticity
• Application of the Criteria of Authenticity to the Historical Jesus

Unit 3: Miracles and the Historian

• Defining Miracles
• David Hume and the Impossibility of Miracles
• The Principle of Analogy and Philosophical Assumptions
• Bart Ehrman and the Reliability of the Gospels
• Contradictions
• Most Probable Explanation
• James D. G. Dunn, the Interpretation of Data, and Burden of Proof
• Preponderance of Evidence and a Turning Point for Historians

Unit 4: Historical Sources and the Resurrection of Jesus

• Relevant Sources
• Canonical Gospels
• Matthew’s and Luke’s Use of Mark
• Reliability of the Gospels and the Letters of Paul
• Q and Speeches in Antiquity
• Speeches in Acts and Oral Formulas in Paul
• Origin and Reliability of the Oral Tradition in 1 Corinthians 15:3–7
• Josephus
• Tacitus, Mara bar Serapion, and Thallus
• Lucian, Celsus, Babylonian Talmud, and the Apostolic Fathers
• Gospel of Thomas
• Gospel of Peter, Gospel of Judas, Revelation Dialogues, and Pseudo Mark

Unit 5: Historical Bedrock Pertaining to Jesus’ Fate

• Jesus’ Life and Death
• Jesus’ Death by Crucifixion
• Appearances to the Disciples
• Three-Day Motif and the Nature of the Appearances: Part 1
• Legitimization of Authority and Nature of the Appearances: Part 2
• Gospel of Mark and Resurrection Appearances
• Appearances to Women, the Emmaus Disciples, and the Doubters
• The Apostles’ Testimony and Appearance to Paul: Part 1
• The Fate of Paul and Appearance to Paul: Part 2
• Paul’s View of the Resurrection: Part 1
• Paul’s View of the Resurrection: Part 2
• Paul’s View of the Resurrection: Part 3
• Appearance to James
• The Empty Tomb and Historical Bedrock
• B-Grade Facts

Unit 6: Weighing Hypotheses

• Michael Goulder’s Hallucination Hypothesis
• Analysis and Concerns of Goulder’s Hypothesis
• Marian Apparitions and Weighing Goulder’s Hypothesis
• Resurrection Hypothesis
• Evidence for a Supernatural Element in Reality
• Concluding Thoughts

Conclusion

• Summary of the Course

Dr. Mike Licona is associate professor of theology at Houston Baptist University. He holds a PhD in New Testament Studies from the University of Pretoria, which he earned with distinction and the highest marks.

Dr. Licona was interviewed for Lee Strobel’s book The Case for the Real Jesus and he appeared in Strobel’s video The Case for Christ. He is the author of numerous books, including The Resurrection of Jesus: A New Historiographical Approach and Paul Meets Muhammad: A Christian-Muslim Debate on the Resurrection, coauthor with Gary Habermas of the award-winning book The Case for the Resurrection of Jesus, and coeditor of Evidence for God: 50 Arguments for Faith from the Bible, History, Philosophy, and Science. His next book will concern ancient compositional devices resulting in discrepancies in the Gospels and Plutarch’s Lives. Dr. Licona is a member of the Society of Biblical Literature, the Institute for Biblical Research, the Evangelical Theological Society, and the Evangelical Philosophical Society. He has spoken on more than seventy university campuses and has appeared on dozens of radio and television programs.

CH351 History of Heresies

• Instructor: Michael F. Bird
• Publication Date: 2017
• Video Hours: 7

In History of Heresies Dr. Michael Bird examines the missteps of theologians from the beginning of the Christian faith. The course begins by placing Christian heresy in the context of ancient Jewish and Graeco-Roman ideas about heresy. After looking at the unity and diversity of the early church, Dr. Bird examines Paul’s opponents, as well as false teachings/teachers in later New Testament documents like Jude and Revelation. From there, he explores later heresies like Docetism, Gnosticism, modalism and Arianism. The course concludes by looking at the Person of Christ and how to spot and avoid heresies today.

Contents:

Introduction

• Introducing the Speaker and the Course

Unit 1: What Is Heresy and Orthodoxy?

• Overview: Why Study Heresy?
• Heresy in the Graeco-Roman World (Part 1)
• Heresy in the Graeco-Roman World (Part 2)
• Heresy and Judaism (Part 1)
• Heresy and Judaism (Part 2)
• Unity and Diversity in the Early Church (Part 1)
• Unity and Diversity in the Early Church (Part 2)
• Unity and Diversity in the Early Church (Part 3)
• Did Heresy Precede Orthodoxy? (Part 1)
• Did Heresy Precede Orthodoxy? (Part 2)
• Did Heresy Precede Orthodoxy? (Part 3)

Unit 2: Paul’s Opponents

• Introduction to Paul
• Was There a Jewish Legalism? (Part 1)
• Was There a Jewish Legalism? (Part 2)
• Does Jesus Top Up Moses, or Displace Moses?
• The Jerusalem Council
• The Incident at Antioch
• Galatians
• Philippians
• Second Corinthians
• Colossians
• Letters to Timothy and Titus

Unit 3: Other Heresies in the New Testament Era

• Overview of Other Heresies in the New Testament Era
• Hebrews
• Jude and Second Peter
• Churches of Revelation

Unit 4: “Other Christianities”

• Overview of “Other Christianities”
• Docetists
• Ebionites
• Adoptionism
• Christ as Angel

Unit 5: Gnostics, Montanists and Modalists

• Gnosticism 101 (Part 1)
• Gnosticism 101 (Part 2)
• Simon Magus
• Egypt: Basilides, Carpocrates and Valentinus
• Saturninus (Antioch) and Cerinthus (Ephesus)
• Marcion
• Gnostic Writings
• Montanists
• Modalists

Unit 6: Later Heresies and Controversies

• Logos from John to Justin to Origen
• Arius
• Council of Nicaea
• The Divine and Human Natures of Christ (Part 1)
• The Divine and Human Natures of Christ (Part 2)
• How to Spot and Avoid Heresies

Conclusion

• Discerning True and False Expressions of Faith

Michael F. Bird is lecturer in theology at Ridley Melbourne College of Mission and Ministry. He is the author of several books, including Jesus and the Origins of the Gentile Mission, The Saving Righteousness of God, and with James Crossley, How Did Christianity Begin?