The History of Christian Theology

In this 36-lecture course, you'll find an engaging way to explore profound religious questions and the many responses believers, scholars, and theologians have developed over more than 2,000 years. Through this series, Professor Cary reveals the enduring power of the Christian tradition - as both an intellectual discipline and a spiritual path. These lectures begin at the very dawn of Christianity, as you examine some of the earliest examples of scripture recorded by the first communities of the faithful. You'll see how, over the centuries, these teachings developed into the orthodox teachings of the mainstream church as well as the divergent doctrines taught by splinter groups branded as "heretics." You'll explore the causes and outcomes of the split between the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church during the Middle Ages and examine the explosion of the many Protestant groups that resulted from the Reformation in the 16th century. And finally, you'll come to the modern era, with a survey of the evolution of Christian thought in today's society - the ongoing story of how faith persists in an increasingly secularized world. Each lecture illuminates the conceptual structure of Christian theology as it connects to spiritual practices such as prayer, worship, the use of sacraments, and the contemplation of religious icons. Through lucid and engaging explanations, they provide intriguing analyses of theological ideas in their unique historical, social, and biographical contexts to help you understand the power of each tradition within its particular time and place. The result is a sweeping survey that probes some of the most common questions about Christian faith over the centuries.

All Lectures:
1. What Is Theology?
2. Early Christian Proclamation
3. Pauline Eschatology
4. The Synoptic Gospels
5. The Gospel of John
6. Varieties of Early Christianity
7. The Emergence of Christian Doctrine
8. Christian Reading
9. The Uses of Philosophy
10. The Doctrine of the Trinity
11. The Doctrine of the Incarnation
12. The Doctrine of Grace
13. The Incomprehensible and the Supernatural
14. Eastern Orthodox Theology
15. Atonement and the Procession of the Spirit
16. Scholastic Theology
17. The Sacraments
18. Souls after Death
19. Luther and Protestant Theology
20. Calvin and Reformed Theology
21. Protestants on Predestination
22. Protestant Disagreements
23. Anabaptists and the Radical Reformation
24. Anglicans and Puritans
25. Baptists and Quakers
26. Pietists and the Turn to Experience
27. From Puritans to Revivalists
28. Perfection, Holiness, and Pentecostalism
29. Deism and Liberal Protestantism
30. Neo-Orthodoxy - From Kierkegaard to Barth
31. Evangelicalism and Fundamentalism
32. Protestantism after Modernity
33. Catholic Theologies of Grace
34. Catholic Mystical Theology
35. From Vatican I to Vatican II
36. Vatican II and Ecumenical Prospects