Week 06: The Church...Goes to War

This class examined some of the simple questions one might encounter when talking about the Crusades. We started off by defining what the Crusades were, and what they were not. We then looked at events leading up to the first campaign in 1096 and briefly review the remaining Crusades.

Notes

Lecture Recording (1:20:54)

Additional Resources

Various Crusade Topics	http://www.ctlibrary.com/ch/2002//issue74
Details on each Crusade	http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/the_crusades.htm
Pope Urban II Speech	http://legacy.fordham.edu/halsall/source/urban2-fulcher.html
Myths about the Crusades	http://www.firstprinciplesjournal.com/articles.aspx?article=1483
St. Augustine’s Just War Doctrine	http://oregonstate.edu/instruct/phl201/modules/Philosophers/Augustine/augustine_justwar.html http://www.catholic.com/blog/steve-weidenkopf/were-the-crusades-just-wars
Pilgrimages	http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/pilg/hd_pilg.htm http://www.medieval-life-and-times.info/medieval-religion/pilgrimage.htm
Indulgences	http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/286800/indulgence
Related Recent History	Islamic State in Iraq and Syria/Levant/al-Sham https://www.worldwatchmonitor.org/2014/06/article_3183091.html http://www.christianitytoday.com/gleanings/2014/june/thousands-flee-as-terrorists-take-over-iraq-christian-mosul.html Pope backs up military action against IS http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/vatican-backs-using-force-against-is/ar-AA9Myn3

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Week 05: The Church...Gets Political

The disintegration of Rome did not mean just the loss of a culture. There were very pragmatic and dire consequences to losing governing institutions, including loss of most basic needs like food distribution, social order, law enforcement, and so on. When Rome disintegrated, the Holy Roman Empire emerged to fill the void.

This class looked at the development of that Empire. We also looked at an institution that continues to this day: the Papacy.

Notes

Lecture Recording (1:12:52)


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Week 04: The Church...Disobeys

Tonight's class looks at martyrdom and persecution in early Christianity. We examine how Romans understood the role of religion in the Empire. This knowledge helps us to understand the motivations that drove local persecutions - and eventually across the Empire itself.

Notes

Lecture Recording (1:11:03)

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Week 03: The Church...Disagrees

Tonight's class looks at dangerous ideas in early Christianity. We learn about different levels of disagreement before looking at two specific heretical ideas.

Notes

Lecture Recording (1:15:19)

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Week 02: The Church...Disperses

Luke 2:1-6 gives us a glimpse of the three cultures that would help shape the Christian faith.When the Temple is destroyed in 70 AD, Jews and Christians alike are forced out into a culture full of Greek thinking and Roman order. This is the first generation living in the Kingdom meantime.

Notes

Lecture Recording (57:02)

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Week 01: The Church...Changes

We learn that history is all about transition: from this to that.

We will spend this semester answering two questions:

1. What changes transformed a small, Jewish sect into a worldwide faith? 
2. What do those changes have to do with us today? 

Notes

Lecture Recording (58:47)

Thomas Jefferson's Bible

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