IP 550 – Early and Medieval Western Church
This course is a general overview of the history of Christianity from third century, C.E. to the Protestant Reformation.
This course includes a required assignment in your current congregation to lead/teach a lesson/discussion on a particular element/event of/in church history. This can take place in Sunday School, a small group setting, or before the whole congregation (not appropriate for Sunday morning worship). You should begin to make arrangements for this as soon as you have registered for the course. If you are unable to schedule this assignment in your congregation, you must ask the instructor before the course begins for an alternate assignment to satisfy the course requirement.
Prerequisite: None
Credit: 1.0 (Offered during On-Campus Intensives)
Instructor: Faculty
IP 551 – From Reform to Individualistic Freedom
This course is a general overview of the history of Christianity from the end of the Protestant Reformation to the early twentieth century.
This course includes a required assignment in your current congregation to lead/teach a lesson/discussion on a particular element/event of/in church history. This can take place in Sunday School, a small group setting, or before the whole congregation (not appropriate for Sunday morning worship). You should begin to make arrangements for this as soon as you have registered for the course. If you are unable to schedule this assignment in your congregation, you must ask the instructor before the course begins for an alternate assignment to satisfy the course requirement.
Prerequisite: None
Credit: 1.0 (Offered during On-Campus Intensives)
Instructor: Faculty
IP 570 – Disciples History & Polity I
This course is an overview of the history and polity of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) from its beginnings on the American frontier to the present day.
Prerequisite: None
Credit: 1.0
Instructor: Faculty
IP 571 – The Church in North America
An overview of the history of the diversity of Christianities and Christian practice in North America and how this diversity shapes and defines the church, with an emphasis on the twentieth century and nineteenth century antecedents. The course will consist of background chapters paired with a contemporary case study of selected examples of the diversity of Christianities and Christian practice and how this diversity produces “porous and potentially creative borders” in the Church in North America.
Prerequisite: None
Credit: 0.5
Instructor: Faculty
IP 572 – The Religious Awakening of America
This course is a brief overview of the Great Awakening, which occurred in the American colonies in the early and mid-eighteenth century. The course is a survey of the political, cultural, and social consequences of the Awakening.
Prerequisite: None
Credit: 0.5
Instructor: Faculty
IP 573 – The Second Great Awakening
This course is a brief overview of the Great Awakening, which occurred in the American colonies in the early and mid- eighteenth century. The course is a survey of the political, cultural, and social consequences of the Awakening.
Prerequisite: None
Credit: 0.5
Instructor: Faculty
IP 574 – The Church’s Engagement with Social Issues of the 19th-20th Century
An overview of the history of the intersection between Christianity and social issues in America, with an emphasis on the twentieth century and nineteenth century antecedents. The social issues under consideration will include race, gender, sexuality, the media, capitalism, reform, and pacifism/warfare.
Prerequisite: None
Credit: 0.5
Instructor: Faculty
IP 575 – The Origins of Fundamentalism
This course is a brief overview of the creation, growth, and effects of the movement known as American Christian Fundamentalism and how that movement has shaped the churches we serve.
Prerequisite: None
Credit: 0.5
Instructor: Faculty
IP 576 – Civil Rights Movement through the Eyes of Christian Participants
This course is a brief overview of the American Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s. It will focus on the experiences of those in leadership who self-identified as Christians. We will use their lives as examples of how our ministry today can shape and mold the lives of our parishioners and our congregations.
Prerequisite: None
Credit: 0.5
Instructor: Faculty
IP 577 – The Church and Race Relations in America
This course is a very basic overview of the role Christianity played in the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s.
Prerequisite: None
Credit: 0.5
Instructor: Faculty
IP 578 – Christianity in the New World: Views from the Global South
This course explores the origins of Christianity in New World, that is, the Americas. It begins by examining Columbus’ so-called Discovery within its cultural context. That historical moment receives our attention because, as Luis Rivera-Pagánnotes, after 1492Christianity became the “official ideology for imperial expansion.” The assigned readings will invite students explore the ways in which Christianity as emerged from the Borderlands in the New World. It will also expose students to scholarly perspectives from the Global South. Readings give primary attention to the following topics: Borderlands Theory, early modern racism, dispossession, violent evangelism, and human rights. Ultimately, this course provides opportunities to develop a theological imagination that takes into account the colonial legacy of Western Christianity.
Prerequisite: None
Credit: 0.5
Instructor: Faculty
IP 579 – Women in the Church
An overview of the story of women in the Christian church from ancient to modern times. The focus of the course will be the role of women in the historical and theological shaping of Christianity.
Prerequisite: None
Credit: 0.5
Instructor: Faculty
IP 580 – “Heaven Below”: An Exploration of Pentecostal and Charismatic Christianity
During the course of the twentieth century, Pentecostal and Charismatic Christianity moved from the fringe to the center of American Christianity. What happened, and how? This course will provide an overview of the history and thought of Pentecostal and Charismatic Christianity in America.
Prerequisite: None
Credit: 0.5
Instructor: Faculty
IP 582 – Augustine
This course is an introduction to Augustine’s theology. Augustine is one of the greatest theologians of the church and continues to exert influence on Christian thought and on the life of the church in a variety of ways, including the doctrines on the triune God, the human condition, the church and its sacraments, and social ethics. During the course, we will focus on his theological method, overall theological project in relation to Neoplatonism, thoughts on grace and human will (theological anthropology) set forth during the Pelagian controversy, and homilies on love and life together (ecclesiology) preached against the Donatists. Through readings, discussions, and lectures, we will critically and constructively examine the relevance of his work for our own theological reflection, ministry, and Christian life.
Prerequisite: None
Credit: 1.0
Instructor: Faculty
IP 590 – IP Competency Exercise
*Please refer to section 7.1.6-7.1.8 of the Student Handbook*
Prerequisite: Completion of all other IP 500 level work
Credit: 0.5
Instructor: Prof. Bruce Breeding
IP 670 – Disciples History & Polity II
Small evangelical groups such as the Sandemanians and the Haldanes were creating lively conversations in Great Britain even as Thomas Campbell became the settled minister of Ahorey Church in Ireland in 1798. Likewise, reformers such as James O’Kelly were influencing preachers and congregations across the Atlantic Ocean in Virginia and New England at the same time Barton W. Stone became the regular supply preacher at the Cane Ridge and Concord congregations in Kentucky. This course will emphasize the theological and cultural landscape that inaugurated and informed the Stone-Campbell Movement throughout its 200-year history. In addition, because the theological and missiological beliefs of a historical movements have little meaning apart from their embodiment in human lives, students will be asked to explore the value that the Stone-Campbell Movement’s history holds for congregational life and mission today. The course will conclude with an examination and assessment of the current polity and structure of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).
Prerequisite: Successful completion of one Competency Exercise and 60% of 500 level IP work
Credit: 2.0
Instructor: Prof. Lon Oliver
IP 671 – Topics in the History of Christian Spirituality
The study of spirituality is a rapidly growing field. The concern is how one might experience the presence the divine in his or her life. One of the purposes of this course is to familiarize the student with the vast literature of the field as well as the personalities whose work contributes to our knowledge of the subject. In this course we will study both the ancient, medieval, and early modern contributions to the field as well as contemporary (20th century) writers. The field is so large and our time is so short, your professor will have to be selective on topics. There is no way we can survey the whole field in the time we have allotted.
Prerequisite: Successful completion of one Competency Exercise and 60% of 500 level IP work
Credit: 2.0
Instructor: Dr. Bill Paulsell
IP 672 – Religious and Spiritual Diversity in the Protestant Church
This course will examine the varieties of Protestantism since the colonial predecessors through the present in the United States of America (USA) and integrates historical and cultural studies with the objective of providing a better understanding of denominational, cultural, and theological traditions and alternatives, as well as possibilities for religious dialogue. This course also will explore the concepts of “mainline,” “mainstream,” “insiders,” and “outsiders.”
Prerequisite: Successful completion of one Competency Exercise and 60% of 500 level IP work
Credit: 2.0
Instructor: Dr. Edwin Aponte
IP 673 – UCC Polity, History, & Theology
This is a course in the History, Polity, and Theology of the United Church of Christ (UCC). It is designed to satisfy academic requirements in UCC History and Polity for lay and ordained persons preparing for authorized ministry in the UCC. Through readings, videos, multi-media presentations, discussion forums, and a writing project, we will engage in community dialogue and written reflection to understand the history, polity, and ecclesiology of the United Church of Christ. This course fulfills a requirement of UCC Committees on Ministry for authorization as ordained or lay ministers in the Indiana Kentucky Conference of the United Church of Christ. It may also fulfill the requirements for Authorized Ministry in other UCC Associations and Conferences, if approved. In addition, it provides an introduction for ministers from other denominations seeking privilege of call or ministerial standing in the UCC.
Prerequisite: Successful completion of one Competency Exercise and 60% of 500 level IP work
Credit: 2.0
Instructor: Dr. Antoinette Hawkins
IP 674 – Religion and U. S. Politics
TThis course will examine the history of the relationship between religion and politics in the United States of America (USA). This integrates historical, cultural, social, and theological studies with the main objective of providing a better understanding of religious participation in U.S. American public life, the nature of civil religion, and with special attention to U.S. Presidency in historical perspective and its interactions with religious life and practice.
Prerequisite: Successful completion of one Competency Exercise and 60% of 500 level IP work
Credit: 2.0
Instructor: Dr. Edwin Aponte
♦ Updated 03/29/21