The expansion of Christianity in the West from its inception to the contemporary period is covered. It includes the spread of early Christianity in the western Mediterranean region, such as Italy, North Africa, Gaul, Britain, and other parts of the Roman Empire before its decline in the west in the fifth century, as well as the later development of Christianity, including the Protestant Reformation, and the missions in the Americas.
The student learns how we got here and how the missionary expansion of Christianity has shaped the entirety of Western culture and civilization.
Students are either from the Western Christian tradition or have encountered that tradition in history, or through missionary efforts. This course helps students from both backgrounds understand how missions in the West have shaped the institutional church and all of Western culture.
The course explores how Biblical doctrine and practice developed in the Western context.
Whether or not the student comes from the Western tradition this course prepares them to engage Western culture with the gospel.
The Western tradition crosses a variety of cultures and contexts and has impacted cultures and contexts around the globe.
Western Chrstianity arose in various cultures and has been adopted, adapted, and shaped by many non-Western cultures.
The course leads the student to engage the positives and the negatives of the Western tradition in order to be more effective missionally and practically.
The course causes the student, especially from a Western background, to explore and evaluate assumptions, traditions, and biases.
