Instructor(s)

Course Objectives

By the end of the course the student should be able to: 

1.        Discuss the origin of Christianity, and the rise and growth of the church in its cultural, and political context

2.        Critically examine the controversies and persecutions of the early church and late developments comprising monks, crusaders, heretics, abolitionists and many more;

3.        Explore the major contributions of Catholicism, Orthodoxy, Protestantism and their significance to contemporary ministry.

Course Content

Topics

1.        Christianity in the first century

2.        Rise and growth of the church in Roman Empire after the first century.

3.        Controversies and persecutions of the early church

4.        Monks, crusaders, heretics, abolitionists and more

5.        Catholicism and Orthodoxy

6.        Protestantism

7.        The church going to Latin America and Asia

8.        The Early African Church Fathers

9.        The Church coming to West Africa

Mode of Delivery

Through lectures, demonstrated examples, class interaction, group discussion, reading and assignments.

Reading Materials

1.        Agbeti J. K. (1991). West African Church History. Leiden: Brill.

2.        Gonzalez, L. Justo (2010). The Story of Christianity. Vol 1: The Early Church to the Dawn of the Reformation. New York, NY.: HarperCollins Publishers.

3.        Hart, Bentley D (2015). A Story of Christianity: A History of 2,000 Years of the Christian Faith. London: Quercus. 

4.        Kalu, O. U. (1980). The History of Christianity in West Africa. London: Longman.

5.        Shelly, B. (2013). Church History in Plain Language. 4th ed. Nashville, TN.: Thomas Nelson.

6.        Wilhite, D.E. (2017). Ancient African Christianity. New York, NY: Routledge.