Mobile Ed: CS201 Western Civilization: Greeks to Aquinas (8 hour course - audio)
Overview
Survey over 1,200 years of western civilization with Dr. Bryan Litfin—theologian, historian, and acclaimed author. Hear about the trials and triumphs of the church throughout the most pivotal stages of western civilization, from the spread of Hellenism, to the fall of Rome and the rise of Europe. Find out how the church established the canon of scripture and developed the early creeds. Gain insight into why the church met in councils and how they defined doctrines like the nature of Jesus Christ and the Trinity. Discover how Christianity influenced western culture, as well as how western culture influenced Christianity—in politics, art and architecture, and education. Finally, learn about the role of the papacy in religious reform and how the crusades related to the emergence of Islam.
This is the audio only version of CS201 Western Civilization: Greeks to Aquinas. To purchase the full course, click here.
Course Outline
Introduction
- Introducing the Speaker and the Course
Unit 1: Introduction: A Christian View of History
- The Concept of “Catholicity”
- The Methods of Historical Inquiry: How Do We Do History?
Unit 2: Background of the Early Church: Judaism
- Monotheism
- Jewish History to the Time of Jesus
- Key Aspects of First-Century Judaism
- Using Ratings and Collections to Search for Key Terms
Unit 3: Background of the Early Church: The Greeks
- The Classical Era
- Alexander and His Conquests
- Features of Hellenism
Unit 4: Background of the Early Church: The Romans
- Rome and the Early Church: Friends or Foes?
- A Brief Survey of Roman History
- Aspects of Roman Culture Conducive to the Gospel
- Using Search Operators to Find Information about Roman Travel
Unit 5: The Birth of Christianity
- Key Ideas of the “Orthodox” Church
- The Myth of Early Universal Orthodoxy
- The Myth of Radical Diversity
- How Orthodoxy Was Formed
Unit 6: Judaism and the Early Church
- Hebrews, Hellenists, and Heretical Sects
- James and the Jerusalem Church
- Understanding and Using the Referent Database
- The Church versus the Synagogue
Unit 7: Strategies to Achieve Catholicity
- The Monepiscopacy
- Using Louw-Nida Numbers to Research Church Leadership
- The Canon of Scripture
- The Creeds of the Ancient Church
Unit 8: Persecution in the Early Church
- The Reasons behind Persecution
- The Roman Imperial Cult
- Historical Stages of Persecution
- Using the Timeline to Look Up Persecution in Church History
Unit 9: Imperial Christianity
- The Rise of Constantine
- Two Important Successors to Constantine
- The Imperial Theology of Eusebius
Unit 10: The Council of Nicaea
- The Theology of Arius
- Nicene Trinitarianism
Unit 11: Early Christian Art and Architecture
- The Catacombs
- Finding Images of the Catacombs and Storing Them in Favorites
- Types of Early Christian Art
- Triumphal Art after Constantine
- Early Christian Buildings
Unit 12: Augustine of Hippo
- Augustine’s Life
- Augustine’s View of History
- Using Notes to Track Augustine’s View of the Two Cities
- Augustine’s Legacy for Western Civilization
Unit 13: The Council of Chalcedon
- Heretical Christologies
- The Alexandrians and the Antiochians
- Chalcedon and Its Aftermath
Unit 14: Early Christian Monasticism
- Antecedents of Early Christian Monasticism
- The Historical Motive
- Finding Information on the Origins of Monasticism
- Key Figures in Early Christian Monasticism
Unit 15: Christian Mission
- Alternate Christian Expressions
- Early Missionary Efforts
Unit 16: The Byzantine World
- Constantine and His City
- The Splendor of Justinian
- Conversion of the Slavs
- Eastern Orthodox Distinctives
Unit 17: The Fall of Rome
- Historical Explanations
- The Barbarian Invasions
- New Alliances for the Church
Unit 18: The Rise of the Papacy
- Apostolic Succession
- The Prestige of Rome
- Theology of the Papacy
- Using the Clause Search to Explore the Relationship between Jesus and Peter
- Key Figures in the Development of the Papacy
Unit 19: British and Celtic Christianity
- Early History of the British Isles
- Christianity in Britain
- The Celtic Church
- The Anglo-Saxons
Unit 20: The Birth of Europe
- Political Structures
- Religious Beliefs and Practices
- Cultural Institutions
- Using the Sermon Starter Guide to Find a Biblical Perspective on War
Unit 21: Charlemagne and the Carolingian Renaissance
- Rise of the Carolingians out of the Dark Ages
- Rebirth under Charlemagne
- The Holy Roman Empire
- The Viking Invasions
Unit 22: The High Middle Ages
- Reforms of Gregory VII
- Lay Investiture Controversy
- Romanesque and Gothic Architectural Styles
- The Great Schism
Unit 23: Life in Medieval Christendom
- William the Conqueror
- Norman Castles
- Thomas Becket and the “Murder in the Cathedral”
- Pope Innocent III
Unit 24: The Crusades
- Interpretation and Motivations
- Historical Context: The Rise of Islam
- The First Crusade
- Results of the Crusades
Unit 25: Medieval Intellectualism
- Two Important Intellectual Leaders: Alcuin and Anselm
- New Monastic Orders: Cistercians, Dominicans, and Franciscans
- Rise of the Universities
- Scholasticism and Thomas Aquinas
Conclusion
- Conclusion to the Course
Product Details
- Title: CS201 Western Civilization: Greeks to Aquinas (audio)
- Instructor: Bryan . Litfin
- Publisher: Lexham Press
- Publication Date: 2014
- Product Type: Logos Mobile Education
- Resource Type: Audio
- Length: 8 hours
Partially included
Dr. Bryan Litfin, professor of theology at Moody Bible Institute in downtown Chicago, teaches courses in theology, church history, and Western civilization from ancient and medieval periods.
He is the author of Getting to Know the Church Fathers: An Evangelical Introduction (Brazos, 2007), as well as several scholarly articles and essays. Dr. Litfin earned his bachelor’s degree in print journalism from the University of Tennessee, as well as a master’s degree in historical theology at Dallas Theological Seminary.
He has always enjoyed epic adventure stories as well as historical fiction, but most of his reading is taken up by academia.