TM104 Introduction to the Christian Tradition
This module aims to provide an overview of the Christian Tradition by studying Church History from the earliest days to the Twentieth Century and the development of the Christian doctrinal Tradition as expressed in the Creeds. Links between the past and current states of the Christian Tradition will be made, enabling students to appreciate the social and historical setting of modern worship, doctrine and mission. In two parts (Christian History and Christian Doctrine), this module will help you to consider what Christians believe and how those beliefs developed. This course explores these questions through an introduction to the history of the early Church and an introduction to the main areas of Christian doctrine. The questions posed by contemporary thought are part of this course, as are the ways in which Christians explain their faith.
A: Introduction to Christian History
Welcome to the TM104 Introduction to Christian Tradition: Church History web page. This page is designed to provide useful resources for those studying or about to study TM104 with WEMTC. If you have found useful resources or have questions you would like ask, please do contribute.
One half of TM104 is a general Introduction to Christian History for first year students. The class is taught at University Level One. The module is designed to give a broad overview of Church History with particular attention to the first few centuries. It is done in a broadly academic environment acknowledging the various methods of modern scholarship but with a view to understanding how this greater knowledge can enhance our own faith through knowledge of our roots.
Click here for:
Books
The following are indicative books for this subject:
- Allison, C.F. The Cruelty of Heresy, SPCK, London, 1994
- Hylson-Smith, K. The Churches in England from Elizabeth I to Elizabeth II, 3 vols, London, SCM Press, 1996.
- Chadwick, H. The Early Church, London, Penguin, 1993
- Edwards D Christian England Vol 1,2,3, London, Collins, 1989
- Hall, S. Doctrine and Practice in the Early Church, SPCK, London, 1991
For more detailed bibliographies see our Sample book lists.
Why not tell us of some books you have found useful? If the webmaster agrees we'll list them here.
You may find the following web sites helpful when studying Church History. Material on the net has no quality control making tutors very wary - and rightly so! Nevertheless there is a growing amount of first class academic work on line particularly coming from Religious Studies Departments of good Universities. Treat with care and you'll find it very useful for essays.
The Internet is not 100% reliable and documents move, disappear and change their names. If you find a link does not work, try again in an hour, a day, or a week. But do feel free to email us to report a link doesn't work. Don't forget to tell us the name of the link!
General Church History sites
- Open Directory Church History
- A general source of Church History Links from the Open Directory Project
- Theology Website
- The Theology Website has articles on Church History from the first century to the Reformation, but looks like the site hopes to eventually include documents up to the present day.
- Christian History Institute
- One of several gospelcom sites this has pages for each century of Christian history and full search capabilities.
- Church History Timelines
- A searchable set of timelines for (primarily Western) Church History by Clay McKinney.
Early Church History
- Byzantine Studies
- Halsall's ambitious project to put his Fordham University Lecture Source Books on line doesn't involve much of the early church (although there is some useful material in the Medieval History Source Book and the Ancient History Sourcebook). But he has set up this forum for Byzantine studies.
- Christian Classics Ethereal Library
- Many documents from the Church Fathers (original sources) on line plus Encyclopaedias and Study Bibles.
- Encyclopedia of Early Church History
- Here not only can you look up any topic but you can generate a time line
- Hall of Church History
- Phil Johnson's site on church history includes The Creeds with Commentary, The Church Fathers, the Heretics and more.
- Internet Christian Library
- The Internet Christian Library has extensive easy to use links to original sources such as the Apostolic Fathers, Patristic Fathers, Creeds and Canons.
Medieval History
- Medieval History Source Book
- Halsall's ambitious project to put his Fordham University Lecture Source Books on line. Colourful, clear with lots of links to relevant web material and some helpful books on the medieval period generally - much of which is religion related.
- Hall of Church History
- Phil Johnson's site on church history includes The Medieval Churchmen (sic) and more.
Reformation
- Modern History Source Book
- Halsall's ambitious project to put his Fordham University Lecture Source Books on line. Colourful, clear with lots of links to relevant web material and some helpful books on the period - see his section on the Reformation but also the section on the Enlightenment. Although general history much of the material is religion related.
- Hall of Church History
- Phil Johnson's site on church history includes The Reformers, the Puritans,The Anabaptists and lots more.
- A Timeline for Luther
- A timeline of Luther's life and questions and answers on his theology - you can even submit your own question!
- Bate's Reformation Resources
- Laurence Bate's well set out guide to internet resources on the Reformation including key reformation figures (e.g. Luther, Zwingli, Calvin) and key sections of the Reformation (English, Radical etc.)
- The Wittenburg Project
- Project Wittenburg - everything you ever wanted to know about Luther and the Lutherans.
Modern History
- The Victorian Era
- A great site for anything Victorian including the CofE, Oxford Movement, Methodism and other religious movements in the Victorian Age.
- Modern History Source Book
- Halsall's ambitious project to put his Fordham University Lecture Source Books on line. Colourful, clear with lots of links to relevant web material and some helpful books on the period - although these books now become more secular there is still much that is religion related -coming as it does from a Catholic University.
- Hall of Church History
- Phil Johnson's site on church history is better on the older periods but has some sections worth looking at post the Reformation.
And there are always the General Religion Links as a starting point.
Why not tell us of some sites you have found useful? If the webmaster agrees we'll list them here.
TM104 Church History at Bristol
This module is taught at Bristol by Mervyn Davies or by by Ruth Gouldbourne
Click here for the Bristol timetable and exact dates for this year.
Documents for this module online include:
TM104 Church History at Cheltenham
This module is taught at Cheltenham by Margaret Goodrich
Click here for the Cheltenham timetable and exact dates for this year.
Documents for this module online include:
TM104 Church History at Ludlow
This module is taught at Ludlow by Margaret Goodrich and occasionally by John Tiller
Click here for the Ludlow timetable and exact dates for this year.
Documents for this module online include:
The Student Spot
This spot is for contributions from those who are doing or have done TM104. It needs your contributions - books that have been helpful, questions you would like answered, adverts for things related to the module etc. Content is monitored by the webmaster with reference to the tutors and class reps if necessary. Click here to submit something for the page.
Go ahead - be the first to submit something
B: Introduction to Christian Doctrine
Welcome to the TM104 Introduction to the Christian Tradtion:Doctrine section of this web page. This page is designed to provide useful resources for those studying or about to study TM104 with WEMTC. If you have found useful resources or have questions you would like ask, please do contribute.
What is this part of the Module all about?
The second half of TM104 is a general Introduction to Christian Doctrine for first year students. The class is taught at University Level One. The module is designed to give a broad overview of the many facets of Christian Doctrine and their development. The Christian Creeds are used as the starting point for exploring the Christian understanding of God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, humanity and creation. These doctrines are looked at in terms of long standing discussions but also current debates and issues are raised. It is done in a broadly academic environment acknowledging the various methods of modern scholarship but with a view to understanding how this greater knowledge can enhance our devotional allegiance to God.
Click here for:
Useful resources for TM104 Doctrine
Books
The following are indicative books for this subject:
- Doctrine Commission, We believe in the Holy Spirit CHP 1991
- McGrath, A., Christian Theology, and Introduction, 2nd or 3rd ed. Blackwells, Oxford 1996 or 2001
- McGrath, A., A Reader in Christian Theology, Blackwell, Oxford (2nd ed. 2001)
- Migliore, D., Faith Seeking Understanding, Eerdmans, 1991
- Studer B Trinity and Incarnation Edinburgh, TandT Clark, 1993
For more detailed bibliographies see our Sample book lists.
Why not tell us of some books you have found useful? If the webmaster agrees we'll list them here.
You may find the following web sites helpful when studying Christian Doctrine. Material on the net has no quality control making tutors very wary - and rightly so! Nevertheless there is a growing amount of first class academic work on line particularly coming from Religious Studies Departments of good Universities. Treat with care and you'll find it very useful for essays.
The Internet is not 100% reliable and documents move, disappear and change their names. If you find a link does not work, try again in an hour, a day, or a week. But do feel free to email us to report a link doesn't work. Don't forget to tell us the name of the link!
Christian Theology
- Christian Theology Fides Quaerens Internetum
- Start here for links to serious Christian theology
- General theology gateway
- Useful for general access to biblical, theological, church history and other web resources from Oxford Universities -soon to be part of the Humbul Humanities Hub (Religion and Theology) which also has some links but is less easy to use.
- Philosophy and Theology
- Pointers to resources related to philosophy and theology (with a religious emphasis)
- Quodlibet
- A free online journal with articles on theological and philosophical issues. It is a Christian publication but publishes articles from across the spectrum.
- St Benedict and St John's Systematic Theology Links
- A list of links on systematic theology including Christology, Trinity, Ecclesiology, Christian Anthropology, Christian Ethics and Christian Social Policy from the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John's University
- Christian Creeds
- Rev. Michael H. Anderson's website devoted to creeds of Christendom ancient and not so ancient
- New Advent Catholic Website
- St. Thomas Aquinas' Summa Theologica, writings of the early church fathers, the online Catholic Encylopedia and specific Catholic Church theology links
The Philosophy of Religion
- Philosophy of Religion
- A wide range of links
- Internet Encyclopaedia of Philosophy
- Fairly limited in subject range
- Contemporary Philosophy, Critical Theory and Postmodern Thought
- An extensive list of links
- Contemporary Continental Philosophy
- A lengthy document listing links to resources on contemporary continental philosophers, including theologians. It also includes links to general philosophical resources and magazines and journals on philosophy
Specific Theologians and Philosophers
- Kierkegaard
- A site devoted to this philosopher and his works including pointers to other resources
- Internet Christian Library
- The Internet Christian Library has extensive easy to use links to original sources such as the Apostolic Fathers, Patristic Fathers, Creeds and Canons.
And there are always the General Religion Links as a starting point.
Why not tell us of some sites you have found useful? If the webmaster agrees we'll list them here.
TM104 Doctrine at Bristol
This module is taught at Bristol by John Emmett or by Francis Miles
Click here for the Bristol timetable and exact dates for this year.
Documents for this module online include:
TM104 Doctrine at Cheltenham
This module is taught at Cheltenham by Francis Miles
Click here for the Cheltenham timetable and exact dates for this year.
Documents for this module online include:
TM104B at Ludlow
This module is taught at Ludlow by To be Advised
Click here for the Ludlow timetable and exact dates for this year.
Documents for this module online include:
The Student Spot
This spot is for contributions from those who are doing or have done TM104. It needs your contributions - books that have been helpful, questions you would like answered, adverts for things related to the module etc. Content is monitored by the webmaster with reference to the tutors and class reps if necessary. Click here to submit something for the page.
Go ahead - be the first to submit something
Code and title
TM104 Introduction to the Christian Tradition
Brief description
This module aims to provide an overview of the Christian Tradition by studying Church History from the earliest days to the Twentieth Century and the development of the Christian doctrinal Tradition as expressed in the Creeds. Links between the past and current states of the Christian Tradition will be made, enabling students to appreciate the social and historical setting of modern worship, doctrine and mission.
Level and Credits
Level I : 15 credits
Status
Core for Certificate and Diploma
Type
Standard
Prerequisites
Nil
Recommended prior study*
Nil
Restrictions*
Nil
Content summary
This course will cover a brief introduction to:
- The Early Church
- The Celtic, Anglo-Saxon and Roman Churches of the Middle Ages and Reformation
- The Caroline Divines and Wesleyan revivals
- The nineteenth century: evangelicals and catholics.
- Challenge and change in the twentieth century church
- The world view of late antiquity
- The development of the Christian doctrines of creation, the person of Christ, the Trinity and the Church.
- The Nicaeo-Constantinopolitan Creed.
Learning outcomes
By the end of this module students should:
- Knowledge and Understanding
- Be able to identify some of the key events, movements and personalities in Church History:
- Be aware of the social and historical contexts of the development of Christian doctrine and life.
- Be able to identify the main developments in Christian doctrine that led to the production of the Nicaeo-Constantinopolitan creed, and the declarations of the Council of Chalcedon, and the creative appropriation of biblical, philosophical and social insights involved in their formation.
- Be able to relate the debates and activities of the past to modern debates and activities.
- Skills
- Have begun to acquire the skills necessary for the informed handling of historical documents.
- Have developed in their ability to compare and evaluate different approaches Christian doctrine, past and present..
- Be able to consider their own stance on Christian belief in relation to the views of others.
- Be able to gather and evaluate information for relevance to a particular issue including the ability to use library resources in order to identify source material, compile bibliographies, inform research and enhance presentations.
- Be able to express conclusions and communicate information and ideas, clearly and cogently with appropriate evidence and support material.
Teaching and learning
120 hours
20 hours class contact
100 hours personal study (learning journal, reading, assignments, class preparation)
Assessment
Two assignments of 2000 words or the equivalent (50% each).
Indicative resources
- Allison, C.F. The Cruelty of Heresy, SPCK, London, 1994
- Hylson-Smith, K. The Churches in England from Elizabeth I to Elizabeth II, 3 vols, London, SCM Press, 1996.
- Chadwick, H. The Early Church, London, Penguin, 1993
- Edwards D Christian England Vol 1,2,3, London, Collins, 1989
- Hall, S. Doctrine and Practice in the Early Church, SPCK, London, 1991
- Doctrine Commission, We believe in the Holy Spirit CHP 1991
- McGrath, A., Christian Theology, and Introduction, 2nd or 3rd ed. Blackwells, Oxford 1996 or 2001
- McGrath, A., A Reader in Christian Theology, Blackwell, Oxford (2nd ed. 2001)
- Migliore, D., Faith Seeking Understanding, Eerdmans, 1991
- Studer B Trinity and Incarnation Edinburgh, TandT Clark, 1993
Unfortunately we have had to disable the online contribution form as it has been targeted by spammers who have filled the mail box with contributions mainly to do with online gambling. We still want your contribution so please send a separate email to us (webmaster @ the wemtc address) with your request giving the details set out below. All longer contributions should be scanned for viruses and emailed as an attachment in rtf format. Don't forget to tell us what Module this is a contribution to!
Unfortunately we have had to disable the online contribution form as it has been targeted by spammers who have filled the mail box with contributions mainly to do with online gambling. We still want your contribution so please send a separate email to us (webmaster @ the wemtc address) with your request giving the details set out below. All longer contributions should be scanned for viruses and emailed as an attachment in rtf format. Don't forget to tell us what Module this is a contribution to!
WEMTCCourses Last updated: 23 November 2006 at 9:45am Copyright 2007 E. Harper and W. McDougall
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Office hours are Monday to Thursday, 9.30am to 2.30pm
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