A NEW FAITH IN AN OLD WORLD

PART I: EARLY CHRISTIANITY

Sept 12 JESUS OF NAZARETH

Sayings of Jesus (www.earlychristianwritings.com/q.html)
Passion Narrative (www.earlychristianwritings.com/passion-young.html)
Video: Jesus the Jew (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LjAWyg7ZCJk&feature=relmfu)
Who was Jesus?
What do we know about him and his message?
Sept 17 PETER, PAUL, & MARY
Letter to the Galatians (www.earlychristianwritings.com/galatians.html)
Gospel of Mary (hwww.gnosis.org/library/marygosp.htm)
Video: “The First Christians” (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RirSyr5wYn4&feature=related)
Who speaks in the name of Jesus and the church?
How did early Christians establish their authority?
Sept 19 ORTHODOXY & HERESY
Secret Book of John (www.gnosis.org/naghamm/apocjn.html)
Ptolemaeus, Letter to Flora (www.gnosis.org/library/flora.htm)
Why do Christians read the Jewish Scriptures or “Old Testament”?
Who defines heresy?
Sept 24 PERSECUTION & MARTYRDOM
Pliny’s Letter to the Emperor Trajan (www.earlychristianwritings.com/text/pliny.html)
Video: How Christianity Spread (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_fdwyAprd6g&feature=fvwrel)
How did the Romans react to the early Christians?
Why would Christians die for their beliefs?
Sept 26 ATHENS & JERUSALEM
Clement, Stromata, Book 1.5 (www.earlychristianwritings.com/text/clement-stromata-book1.html)
Tertullian, Prescription of the Heretics (www.earlychristianwritings.com/text/tertullian11.html)
Is theology compatible with philosophy?
Can pagan and Christian thought be reconciled?
PART II: IMPERIAL CHRISTIANITY
Oct 1 RELIGION & EMPIRE
Edicts of Toleration (http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/edict-milan.html)
Inscription of Kirdir (http://www.avesta.org/mp/kz.html)
How did Christians relate to the idea of “empire”?
How did Christians react to political power?
Oct 3 HOLY MEN & WOMEN
Life of Paul the First Hermit (http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/3008.htm)
Life of Macrina (http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/basis/macrina.html)
What did Christians seek out in the wilderness?
How did early Christians relate to their bodies?
Oct 10 COUNCILS & CREEDS
Letter of Eusebius on Nicaea (www.newadvent.org/fathers/2804.htm)
Nicaea (http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/3801.htm)
What was the central issue of the Christological debates?
How did/does politics influence theology?
Oct 15 ISLAM & ICONOCLASM
John of Damascus, Defense of Icons (http://www.fordham.edu/Halsall/source/johndam-icons.asp)
Pact of Umar (http://www.fordham.edu/Halsall/source/pact-umar.asp)
What is the religious function of an image?
What new perspectives did Islam bring to the debate?
Oct 17 BYZANTIUM
Justinian, Dialogue with Paul of Nisibis (http://www.voskrese.info/spl/nisibtext.html)
Procopius, Secret History (http://www.fordham.edu/Halsall/source/procop-anec1.asp)
Video: Byzantium, Building the Dream (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_LWr9MkYtAE)
Was this a “Christian” civilization?
What is the long-term legacy of Byzantium?
PART III: MEDIEVAL CHRISTENDOM
Oct 22 BISHOPS & KINGS
Gelasius I on Spiritual & Temporal Power (http://www.fordham.edu/Halsall/source/gelasius1.asp)
Conversion of Clovis (http://www.fordham.edu/Halsall/source/496clovis.asp)
Why would ancient European kings convert Christianity?
What did Christianity bring to medieval Europe?
Oct 24 CRESCENT & CROSS
Urban II Speech at Clermont, 1095 (www.fordham.edu/Halsall/source/urban2-5vers.asp)
Usmah Ibn Munqidh On the Franks (www.fordham.edu/Halsall/source/Usamah2.asp)
Video: The Crusades (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-TunMN8tJ34&feature=related)
How did Christians justify their invasion of the Holy Land?
What is the long-term legacy of the Crusades?
Oct 29 SCHOLASTICISM
Anselm (1033-1109) Proslogium (http://www.fordham.edu/Halsall/basis/anselm-proslogium.asp)
Thomas Aquinas, On the Existence of God (www.fordham.edu/Halsall/source/aquinas1.asp)
Is it possible to know or define God?
On what foundations are theological systems based?
Oct 31 HEARTS ON FIRE
Heloise, Letter to Abelard (http://www.fordham.edu/Halsall/source/heloise1.asp)
Julian of Norwich, Divine Love, Revelation 1 (www.ccel.org/ccel/julian/revelations.pdf)
Is there room for Eros in the life of the church?
What is the mystical path to God?
Nov 5 CULT OF THE SAINTS
Bede, The Life of St. Cuthbert (http://www.fordham.edu/Halsall/basis/bede-cuthbert.asp)
Life of Saint Francis (http://www.fordham.edu/Halsall/source/stfran-lives.asp)
What is the function of saints for Christian tradition?
What makes a person holy?
PART IV: A NEW WORLD
Nov 7 RADICALS & REFORMERS
Luther, The Freedom of a Christian (www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/luther-freedomchristian.asp)
Calvin, Letter to the King (http://www.fordham.edu/Halsall/source/calvin-onclergy.asp)
Video: Reformation (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fd3tyCTXINQ&feature=relmfu)
What issues were the reformers frustrated with?
What was the basis of their vision of Christianity?
Nov 12 COUNTER-REFORMATION
Tridentine Creed (www.traditionalcatholic.net/Tradition/Prayer/Tridentine_Creed.html)
Ignatius of Loyola, Spiritual Excercises (www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/loyola-spirex.asp)
What kind of Catholic Church emerged from the Reformation?
How is that legacy played out today?
Nov 14 MISSION
St. Francis Xavier, Letter from India (www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1543xavier1.asp)
Video: Dark Continents (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hbGw6IE4i-o)
Do Christians have a right to carry on missions?
Have Christian missionaries done more harm or good?
Nov 19 MODERNITY
Vatican II, Gaudium et Spes (www.cin.org/v2modwor.html)
Christian Defense of Religious Freedom (www.worldevangelicals.org/resources/source.htm?id=464)
Video: “God and the Scientists” (www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZnOrARlBdoE&feature=relmfu)
What frightens Christians about the modern world?
What is the role of the church in contemporary society?
Nov 21 WHAT NEXT?
Video: “The Future of Christianity” (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o7ACTxwtUTI)
Is there a future for Christianity?
What might Christianity look like in another millennium?
Nov 26 SPECIAL TOPIC: CHRISTIANITY IN POPULAR CULTURE
How are Christians represented in popular media?
Nov 28 SPECIAL TOPIC: CHRISTIANITY AND PUBLIC LIFE
What does Christianity contribute to public issues and debates?
Dec 3 CONCLUSIONS & REVIEW

ORDER THIS ESSAY HERE AND GET A DISCOUNT !!!

You can place an order similar to this with us. You are assured of an authentic custom paper delivered within the given deadline besides our 24/7 customer support all through.