The Story of the Church

Text-only page.

The bulk of these pages consist of notes from the Church History classes taught in 1997-1999 at Community Bible Chapel, Richardson, Texas, USA. Appearance of material here does not imply approval by the leadership at Community Bible Chapel, although the material will be substantially similar to what was presented in class. 
 
Useful Church History Links 
 

Part 1 (Early Church History A.D. 50-313)

This course was taught in early 1997. 

• What is Church History; Why Study Church History; Periods; Backgrounds
• Scriptural Teaching on the Early Church; Geographic Spread; Church vs. Pagan Society; The Persecutions
• The Apostolic Fathers
• Practices of the Early Church; Organization of the Early Church
• Early Heresies and Schisms; Orthodox Responses
• The 2nd and 3rd Century Church Fathers
• The Late Persecutions; Summary of Ante-Nicene Church History

Part 2 (Early Church History A.D. 313-451)

This course was taught in summer 1997. 

• Constantine and the legalization of Christianity. Imperial meddling in the church. The church's complicity
• Doctrine of the Trinity, the Arian heresy, and the Council of Nicaea
• Christological controversies. Council of Chalcedon
• Augustine and the Pelagian controversy

Part 3 (Early Church History Concluded & Church History In the Middle Ages A.D. 313-1517)

This course was taught in March-May 1998. 

• Overview of the Middle Ages
• Summary of the Decline of Christian Practice - I
• Summary of the Decline of Christian Practice - II
• Summary of the Decline of Christian Practice - III
• Anselm's Cur Deus Homo (Why God Became Man)
• Christianization of the Barbarians
• The Later Middle Ages
• The Scholastics
• Mystics and the Early Reformers
• Medieval art and architecture

Part 4 (The Reformation and Early Protestantism 1517-1750)

This course was taught in Oct-Dec 1999.

• The Reformation: Introduction
• Martin Luther
• Ulrich Zwingli
• The Anabaptists
• John Calvin
• The English Reformation
• The Puritans
• Other Nations. "Protestant Scholasticism." Overview of the first 150 years of Protestantism

Bibliography 

Mark's Home Page 

Copyright © 1997-2005 by Mark S. Ritchie. Permission is granted to use materials herein for the building up of the Christian Church. Bibliographic entries for published works quoted may be found in the Bibliography page, which has links to Amazon.com.