“Church history II: 1300-2000”
Munster Bible College
Crawford Gribben [c.gribben@qub.ac.uk]
Course description: this intensive module will offer an overview of church history from 1300 to
2000, paying particular attention to theological contexts such as evangelicalism, to themes such as
baptism and believers-church ecclesiology, and to geographical contexts such as Ireland.
Participating students will read extensively in relevant primary and secondary sources in advance of
the module, will interact in class discussions and multi-media presentations during the module, and,
after the module, in an essay in which they will relate the content of the module to their own
pastoral, missional or ecclesiological contexts.
Timetabling: this intensive module will be convened over one week in early January 2016.
Required reading:
Primary sources:

Henry Bettenson and Chris Maunder (eds), Documents of the Christian church, fourth edition
(2011): please read as much as you can of the material relating to the period covered by this
module, focusing especially on pp. 184-227, 232-69, 271-4, 277, 285, 306-11, 327-8, 334-39,
357-68, 373-4, 384-89, 421-2.

Second London Baptist Confession of Faith (1689)
Secondary sources:

Diarmaid MacCulloch, Reformation (2003)

Crawford Gribben, The Irish puritans (2003; 2014)

Mark Hutchinson and John Wolffe, A short history of global evangelicalism (2012)
Please also attend the module being prepared to present a 20-minute Powerpoint presentation on
the significance to the church of any individual of your choice who was active within the period
described in this module. This presentation should include a variety of media and be suitable for
display in a congregational context. Please submit your Powerpoint presentation by email to the
module convener by 31 December 2015.
Aims and objectives: upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to

understand major themes in the history of the church from 1300 to 2000

explain the significance of key events and movements, including the renaissance,
reformation and counter-reformation, Puritanism, evangelicalism, revivalism, and
ecumenism, as well as the contexts of post-Christianity

explain the significance of the changing contexts of the history of the church in Ireland

communicate the results of their study at an appropriate levels and in appropriate forms to
a variety of audiences
Assessment: students will be assessed by one 20-minute Powerpoint presentation, as described
above, which will be submitted to the module convener by email by 31 December 2015, and by an
essay of 4,000 words, which will relate the content of the module to their own pastoral, missional or
ecclesiological contexts, and which will be submitted to the module convener by email by 31 March
2016. Please negotiate the title of your essay with the module convener.
Topics: this module will describe, inter alia, the situation of the medieval church; the purpose and
effect of scholastic theology; the geopolitical situation of Europe and the beginnings of Renaissance;
Luther, Calvin and the reformation; the counter-reformation; the emergence of English Puritanism,
and the first Baptist churches; the development of evangelicalism; revivals and awakenings; the
Enlightenment; the impact of secularisation; ecumenism and liberal theology; the contexts of postChristianity and the challenges of mission in the contemporary west; contemporary evangelical
growth in Asia, Africa and South America; and what might happen next.
Disclaimer: this syllabus is intended to reflect accurately the leaning objectives, instructional format,
readings, activities, evaluation criteria, policies and procedures, and other information necessary for
students to complete this course, it is not a contract. This syllabus is not a contract. The instructor
reserves the right to modify any portion of this syllabus as deemed necessary to maintain the
integrity of the learning experience as a result of events and circumstances that occur during the
course.