Lesson 1 The Early Church 31-135—The Ephesian Era (August 17-30)

 Learning Objectives
A student completing this lesson should be able to:
  1. State at least seven significant reasons accounting for the spread of Christianity across the Roman Empire;
  2. Identify the characteristics of the church at Ephesus as given in Revelation 2 and compare and contrast with the Church of God in the first 100 years of Christianity;
  3. Describe the defining characteristics of worship services in  first-century Jewish synagogues in contrast to worship services in the Judeo-Christian synagogues;
  4. Describe with specificity the impact of Simon Magus in the New Testament Period;
  5. Identify and leaders of the church in apostolic times and identify the major writers and sources for learning about the period;
  6. Identify the areas of the world served by each of the original apostles; and
  7. Define basic terms and identify persons associated with the Early Church.

Reading Assignments

TOPIC

 REQUIRED READING SUPPLEMENTAL READING

Topic 1 Introduction

 Peterson Ch. 1 (pp. 1-22)  

Topic 2 Early Christianity

Peterson Ch. 2 (pp 25-50)

Richardson pp. 29-73

Hoeh "Where Did the Twelve Apostles Go?"

Pixner, Bargil. Church of the Apostles Found on Mt. Zion, Biblical Archaeology Review 16:03, May/Jun 1990.

Kelly "The Age of Shadows"

Viewing Assignments

Lecture 1 – Introduction

Lecture 2 – The Nature of Revelation 2 and 3

Lecture 3 – The First 100 years of the Church of God

 Forum Assignment (Icebreaker due August 26)

Complete your icebreaker assignment. For credit, you will need to make three postings consisting of your short autobiography and two comments on the autobiographies of other students. The purposes of this icebreaker assignment are for you to introduce yourself to your classmates, to verify your enrollment in this course, and to promote student interaction. The icebreaker assignment is due by the tenth day of the semester (Wednesday, August 26). Post your autobiography as a reply to the "Bios" topic on the course forum. You can earn 25 bonus points in this course by doing so “on time.” On this assignment there is no credit granted for postings made after August 26.

Words and Phrases

You can earn a total of 10 points extra credit for this course by developing a one or two sentence glossary entry for each of the Words and Phrases listed in Lesson 1. You have to complete the whole set to receive the extra credit. See the Extra-Credit Assignments on the Assignments section of the course website.

Adolf Harnack

Alexandria in Egypt

brethren

Church of God

a convert

Cornelius

Diaspora

diffusion

Dispersion

doctrine

empire

Eusebius

Galatia

Gentile

gnosis

God fearer

gospel

Gosticism

Hellenized

heresy

humanitarian

Iraneus

Jew

Judea

Judaism

Justin Martyr

Lost Ten Tribes of Israel

Menander

monarchy

mystery religions

Pax Romana

Peter

Phillip

promiscuity

Proselyte

Proselyte of the Gate

religio licita

religio prava

ritual circumcision

Samaria

Samaritans

sect

Simon Magus

syncretism

tolerant
Drill and Practice Quiz (due August 30)
We have not developed a quiz for Lesson1. You can earn 10 points extra-credit if you prepare 10 quiz questions for this lesson. They must be true/false, multiple choice, or matching. See Assignments.

Writing Assignment (due August 30)

In the Churches of God today we meet on the Sabbath and enjoy hymns, a sermonette, a sermon, announcements, and sometimes special music. The preacher stands in front of the congregation, looks us in the eye, and delivers his message in about 90 minutes. Many listeners have open Bibles on their laps and are busy taking notes. Our children, even the little ones, are there with us. After services we sometimes share a meal or snacks. How does this differ from church services in the Church of God in the New Testament period? How did this differ from the services in the synagogues of the Jews? Cite your sources. End by stating your own personal conclusions and why you have reached them. This assignment is worth 50 points. Post your assignment as an attachment to preserve its format.