Join Professor Cary for an enriching and thought-provoking journey into the fascinating and inspiring world of Christian thought. Whether you're interested in a deeper understanding of your own faith or you're curious about the role of Christianity in the larger social and intellectual history of the Western world, The History of Christian Theology will enrich and transform your understanding of this powerful spiritual tradition.
The History of Christian Theology
Join Professor Cary for an enriching and thought-provoking journey into the fascinating and inspiring world of Christian thought.
Overview
About
Dr. Phillip Cary is Professor of Philosophy at Eastern University in St. Davids, Pennsylvania, where he is also Scholar-in-Residence at the Templeton Honors College. After receiving his B.A. in English Literature and Philosophy from Washington University in St. Louis, Professor Cary earned his M.A. in Philosophy and Ph.D. in Philosophy and Religious Studies from Yale University. Professor Cary is a recent winner of the Lindback Award for excellence in undergraduate teaching at Eastern University. He has also taught at Yale University, the University of Connecticut, and the University of Hartford. As the Arthur J. Ennis Post-Doctoral Fellow at Villanova University, he taught the nationally recognized undergraduate Core Humanities seminars on ancient, medieval, Renaissance, and modern thought. As a scholar, Professor Cary's specialty is the thought of Augustine, but he has also published scholarly articles on Luther, the doctrine of the Trinity, and personal knowledge. His most recent books include two on Augustine, Inner Grace and Outward Signs, both published by Oxford University Press in 2008, as well as a commentary on the book of Jonah, also in 2008, published by Brazos Press.
Trailer
01: What Is Theology?
For more than two millennia, Christians have explored a set of critical theological questions: Who is Jesus Christ? How does his life impact the lives of the faithful? This lecture offers a definition of the intellectual discipline that seeks to answer these questions: Christian theology.
32 min
02: Early Christian Proclamation
For the first believers, Christian faith was a quest to understand the nature of a single, remarkable person. In this lecture, you will gain an understanding of what the first members of this faith believed about Jesus as you explore the earliest recorded Christian hymns, prayers, and sermons.
31 min
03: Pauline Eschatology
Early Christians viewed themselves as living between the time of Christ's resurrection and Christ's return as redeemer and king. This lecture examines the theology of this expectation of the Second Coming—called "eschatology"—as it is presented in the writings of the apostle Paul.
32 min
04: The Synoptic Gospels
The Gospels are the four books of the New Testament that narrate the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. Three of them, the synoptic Gospels, tell his story in roughly the same order. This lecture analyzes the subtle literary structure by which these narratives evoke an answer to the question, "Who do you think Jesus is?"
31 min
05: The Gospel of John
Unlike the synoptic Gospels, the Gospel of John dwells at length on Jesus's divine identity. You explore the unique elements of John's message—including his famous prologue in which he declares that Jesus is the Word of God made flesh—and examine how the Gospel of John provides a foundation for later doctrines about Christ's divinity.
31 min
06: Varieties of Early Christianity
By the second century, the Christian church was largely non-Jewish, or Gentile. In this lecture, you take a closer look at some radical offshoots of Gentile Christianity, the Gnostics, and see how these controversial groups rejected Christianity's Jewish roots in favor of a more spiritual view of the universe.
31 min
07: The Emergence of Christian Doctrine
Here, you learn how the very idea of official church doctrine arose, as well as its opposite, "heresy." In response to Gnosticism and other rejected teachings, the mainstream church developed institutions such as the office of bishop, whose function was to maintain continuity with the tradition of teaching by the apostles.
31 min
08: Christian Reading
Looking back to Jewish scriptures, early Christians could not ignore the powerful relationship between the Jewish people and their God. You examine how early Christians created strategies to insert themselves into this grand story by interpreting the ancient teachings as bearing witness to Jesus Christ.
32 min
09: The Uses of Philosophy
You explore the profound interplay between two great forms of ancient thought: early Christianity and ancient philosophy. Agreeing with the philosophers' emphasis on reason, wisdom, and happiness, the church fathers adapted many themes from ancient thinkers, including Platonist metaphysics and Stoic moralism.
32 min
10: The Doctrine of the Trinity
You examine the most fundamental teaching proposed by the church fathers, the doctrine of the Trinity, which identifies the God of the Christian faith as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—a single divine essence that mysteriously manifests itself in three distinct, complete individuals.
32 min
11: The Doctrine of the Incarnation
The establishment of the doctrine of the Trinity paved the way for the development of a second key teaching, the doctrine of Christ's Incarnation. You examine the implications of this doctrine, which states that as the Son of the Father, Jesus is truly God, while as the son of Mary, he is truly human.
31 min
12: The Doctrine of Grace
The third fundamental doctrine proposed by the early church fathers states that believers become children of God by adoption, through the grace of Christ who is the Son of God by nature. Augustine develops this into a doctrine of the inner help of the Holy Spirit, which is necessary for salvation.
32 min
13: The Incomprehensible and the Supernatural
You move from the ancient world of the late Roman Empire to the Middle Ages as you consider a distinctive concept of Christianity: the incomprehensibility of God. This concept follows from the Nicene doctrine of the Trinity and is grounded in ineffable mysteries such as the eternal begetting of God the Son by God the Father.
31 min
14: Eastern Orthodox Theology
Next, you examine a second great development in medieval Christian history, the formation of a distinctly Eastern Orthodox version of Christian theology. You explore some of the hallmarks of Eastern Orthodox theology, including the veneration of icons, the transfiguration of Christ, and the energies of the Trinity.
31 min
15: Atonement and the Procession of the Spirit
In 1054, the Christian Church saw its first great schism: the separation between Eastern Orthodoxy and the Western church. You explore a fundamental principle that led to this schism: the doctrine of "double procession," which teaches that the Holy Spirit proceeds eternally from both the Father and the Son.
32 min
16: Scholastic Theology
In medieval universities, scholars such as Thomas Aquinas applied Aristotelian concepts of logic and science to the study of theology. You examine the result of the intellectual interplay: scholasticism, a distinctively Western deepening of the relationship of faith and reason that used a method of disputation to harmonize diverse strands in the theological tradition.
32 min
17: The Sacraments
Take a closer look at the practices of the medieval church as represented in the development of an important church institution—the seven sacraments. Derived from scripture and believed to be instituted by Christ, these sacred rites were seen as external signs that both signified an inner gift of divine grace and bestowed it on those who believe.
32 min
18: Souls after Death
While early Christians were more concerned with the second coming of Christ than with the fate of the soul after death, there eventually developed teachings about the Christian afterlife. In this lecture, you examine the development of these beliefs and see how they derived from a variety of sources, including Hebrew scripture, the New Testament, and Platonic philosophy.
31 min
19: Luther and Protestant Theology
The break between medieval Catholicism and Protestantism is marked most importantly by a single famous figure, Martin Luther (1483–1546). In this lecture, you examine how Luther came to make his break with the established church and examine some of his key teachings, including the idea that one is justified by faith alone.
32 min
20: Calvin and Reformed Theology
You begin to examine a second great movement of Protestant theology, the Reformed tradition. Founded by John Calvin, Reformed theology pioneers a new concept to Protestant thought, adoption, or the idea that God elects to make some people his children through the grace of Christ.
31 min
21: Protestants on Predestination
Calvin taught that God predestines some people for damnation as well as salvation. Later Calvinists incorporated this doctrine of "double predestination" into a system of eternal divine decrees governing all the events of time. Examine the development of these views as they appear in the classic five-point doctrine of Calvinism.
32 min
22: Protestant Disagreements
While the Reformed and Lutheran traditions of theology were very similar, they also diverged on several key points. One of these key points, which you explore in this lecture, is the nature of Christ's presence in the Eucharist, or the Lord's Supper.
31 min
23: Anabaptists and the Radical Reformation
A radical wing of Protestantism, the Anabaptists, diverged even further from the Catholic tradition when they could see no grounds for infant baptism in scripture. You explore the origins of these persecuted Christian communities and trace their development in today's Mennonite tradition.
32 min
24: Anglicans and Puritans
Now, you move from Germany and Switzerland to England to trace a further divergence within Protestant theology. You see how the Anglicans sought to find a middle way between Catholic practices and Reformed theology, while the Puritans desired a more thoroughly Reformed church divested of all traces of Catholicism.
32 min
25: Baptists and Quakers
Continue your consideration of English Protestantism with two new Christian communities: the Baptists and the Quakers. These traditions are known for their rejection of the state church, their persecution by governing authorities, and their championing of religious freedom.
32 min
26: Pietists and the Turn to Experience
In response to the dry arguments of Protestant scholasticism, the Pietist theologians of Germany advocated a focus on the inward, emotional experience of religious faith. In this lecture, you explore the teachings and practice of the Pietists and a similar but distinct group, the Moravians.
30 min
27: From Puritans to Revivalists
Continue your examination of Protestant traditions with an introductory look at American Revivalism. Beginning in the 18th century with the teachings of Puritan theologian Jonathan Edwards, the Revivalists stressed the importance of a strong, deeply felt conversion experience as a critical part of salvation.
31 min
28: Perfection, Holiness, and Pentecostalism
You trace the further development of American Revivalism as it was influenced by the teachings of John Wesley, who proposed that through the process of sanctification, one could attain spiritual perfection. This notion became a key tenet of Methodism as well as in the Holiness movement promoted by Phoebe Palmer and led to the concept of the baptism of the Holy Spirit in Pentecostalism.
31 min
29: Deism and Liberal Protestantism
You examine two traditions that grew out of the intellectual crisis of the 18th-century Enlightenment. The Deists sought to derive a "natural religion" from the teachings of Reason, while the liberal Protestants based their theology on inner experience, and especially the inner impression made on Christian consciousness by the historical Jesus.
32 min
30: Neo-Orthodoxy—From Kierkegaard to Barth
In the 20th century, neo-orthodox theologians turned from liberal theology's focus on consciousness to an Existentialist focus on the transformation of human existence. Examine how theologian Karl Barth pioneered this reimagining of faith, only to reject it later for a revision of the doctrine of election
32 min
31: Evangelicalism and Fundamentalism
You explore how Evangelicalism and Fundamentalism developed out of the concern that liberal theology was rejecting fundamental doctrines of the Christian faith. Learn about Dispensationalism, whose doctrine of the end times was influential both in Fundamentalism and its offshoot, Evangelicalism.
31 min
32: Protestantism after Modernity
Modernity is both Protestantism's child and its challenge. In this lecture, you examine this central irony—how Modernity was produced by the habits of mind inculcated by Protestantism and yet, according to some theologians, may undermine the faith through its increased emphasis on secularization.
31 min
33: Catholic Theologies of Grace
Now, you return to the 16th century and pick up the story of modern Catholicism. Starting with the teachings of the Council of Trent, you trace the development of Catholic teachings on grace, its role in salvation, and its relation to free will.
32 min
34: Catholic Mystical Theology
In modern Catholicism, mystical theology means supernatural prayer directed toward a union with God in love. This lecture explores this tradition through the writings of St. Theresa of Avila and St. John of the Cross and in Rome's response to the mystical movement known as Quietism.
31 min
35: From Vatican I to Vatican II
You continue to follow the history of Roman Catholic theology in the modern period with an examination of the 19th-century council that defined the infallibility of the pope and the 20th-century council that opened up the Roman Catholic Church's relationship to the world, other religions, and other Christians.
31 min
36: Vatican II and Ecumenical Prospects
The Roman Catholic involvement in ecumenism, initiated in Vatican II, has major consequences for other Christians, especially Protestants. In this final lecture, you explore the notion that Protestants and Catholics have much to learn from each other as they continue to develop their traditions of faith.
32 min
