DI5530 From Nazareth to Nicaea: The origins of Christian theology

Academic year

2024 to 2025 Semester 1

Further information on which modules are specific to your programme.

Key module information

SCOTCAT credits

15

The Scottish Credit Accumulation and Transfer (SCOTCAT) system allows credits gained in Scotland to be transferred between institutions. The number of credits associated with a module gives an indication of the amount of learning effort required by the learner. European Credit Transfer System (ECTS) credits are half the value of SCOTCAT credits.

SCQF level

SCQF level 11

The Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF) provides an indication of the complexity of award qualifications and associated learning and operates on an ascending numeric scale from Levels 1-12 with SCQF Level 10 equating to a Scottish undergraduate Honours degree.

Planned timetable

2-5 Thursday

This information is given as indicative. Timetable may change at short notice depending on room availability.

Module coordinator

Rev Dr S R Holmes

This information is given as indicative. Staff involved in a module may change at short notice depending on availability and circumstances.

Module Staff

Dr Stephen Holmes

This information is given as indicative. Staff involved in a module may change at short notice depending on availability and circumstances.

Module description

This module traces the beginnings of Christian doctrinal formulation from the New Testament period through to the fourth century. It invites students to explore the interaction of early Christian theology with Biblical studies, and situates the development of core theological ideas in a historical framework, paying special attention to Christological and Trinitarian ideas. Key considerations include the significance of scriptural reasoning in the articulation of theological arguments; the relationship between faith and philosophy; the emergence of what might be deemed in some sense systematic theology; and the connections between doctrinal themes and Christian practice. We seek to engage closely with primary texts, biblical and patristic; we invite close reflection on the ways in which early Christian theology developed, the reasons why it took the forms it did, and the implications of this inheritance for theological work today.

Assessment pattern

Coursework = 100%

Re-assessment

Coursework = 100%

Learning and teaching methods and delivery

Weekly contact

2x1.5 hour seminar (x 5 weeks) (weeks 1-6)

Scheduled learning hours

10

The number of compulsory student:staff contact hours over the period of the module.

Guided independent study hours

572

The number of hours that students are expected to invest in independent study over the period of the module.

Intended learning outcomes

  • Articulate the essential logic of early Christian faith, some of its major historical and intellectual influences, and its ways of speaking of the relationship between the God of Israel, Jesus of Nazareth, and the final purposes of creaturely existence.
  • Discern the significance of exegesis in the formulation of early Christian theological arguments.
  • Describe some of the key influences on Christian exegetical activity in the early centuries.
  • Appreciate the determinative roles of spirituality, ethics and mission in early Christian thought: the significance of prayer and worship, the assumptions about creaturely transformation, and the terms of Christian engagement with the world.
  • Develop and sustain arguments clearly and cogently, in group discussion and written work.