The Early Church
Syllabus
Lectures and readings in English.
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1. Lectures Listen, outline, and take notes on the following lectures:
- The Value of Church History Nick Needham 49 min Open source History Under review Teacher to review (subscription to the Westminster Standards or the Three Forms not established; unverified): Nick Needham (outside the Westminster and Three Forms line).
- Why Bother with Church History? Andrew Davies 46 min Open source History Under review Teacher to review (subscription to the Westminster Standards or the Three Forms not established; unverified): Andrew Davies (subscription not established).
- Ancient Church History 1-6 Marcelo Souza 7 h Open source History Under review Teacher to review (subscription to the Westminster Standards or the Three Forms not established; unverified): Marcelo Souza (subscription not established).
- Church History I 1-13 Dr. Gerald Bray 15 h Open source History Under review Teacher to review (subscription to the Westminster Standards or the Three Forms not established; unverified): Gerald Bray (outside the Westminster and Three Forms line).
- The Ancient Church 1-24 Dr. Richard Gamble 17 h Broken link History
- Ancient Church History 1-16 Dr. William Barker 12 h Open source History
- Ancient and Medieval Church History 1-18 Dr. David Calhoun 14 h Broken link History
- The Early Church Andrew Davies 1 h 3 min Open source History Under review Teacher to review (subscription to the Westminster Standards or the Three Forms not established; unverified): Andrew Davies (subscription not established).
Total: 67.5 hours
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2. Reading Read and provide chapter summaries:
- The History of the Christian Church Vol. 1, Books I and II Philip Smith 488 pp. Open source History Under review Teacher to review (subscription to the Westminster Standards or the Three Forms not established; unverified): Philip Smith (subscription not established).
- Ancient Christianity Exemplified Lyman Coleman 672 pp. Open source History Under review Teacher to review (subscription to the Westminster Standards or the Three Forms not established; unverified): Lyman Coleman (subscription not established).
- The Ancient Church (Period II, pp. 249-598) William Killen 349 pp. Vol. 1, Vol. 2, Vol. 3 Open source History
- Lives of the Most Eminent Fathers of the Church Vols. 1, 2, 3 William Cave 1333 pp. History Under review No link: find it in a library or bookstore. Teacher to review (subscription to the Westminster Standards or the Three Forms not established; unverified): William Cave (outside the Westminster and Three Forms line).
- The Theology of the Early Christian Church James Bennett 300 pp. Open source History Under review Teacher to review (subscription to the Westminster Standards or the Three Forms not established; unverified): James Bennett (subscription not established).
Total: 3,142 pages
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3. Assignment Write a 40 page paper on a subject of interest presented in the course material.
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Assignment It should be noted that Church History technically begins with the Old Testament Church. A great reference for this period of church history is Jonathan Edward's A History of the Work of Redemption, Period I, pp. 28-206.
Every lecture and reading carries its role. "Under review" means the teacher's subscription to the Westminster Standards or the Three Forms of Unity is not yet established; "Read as comparison" means the material teaches the 1788 American text of WCF 20.4, 23 or 31 or of Larger Catechism Q.109, which the school reads beside the 1647 text. Nothing has been removed.