We are indebted to the Church Fathers for the lasting influence of their lives and their works. This course covers the history of the ancient church (Pentecost to AD 500) and the men and writings of that era. Following a historical progression, the course covers the development of doctrine and the main figures in the Patristic Age. Lectures focus on the influential men like Irenaeus, Origen, Chrysostom, Athanasius,and Ausgustine. Significant creeds are also analyzed for their intentions, influence, and correctness. Throughout the course, students are prompted to evaluate their own beliefs as compared to historical orthodoxy.
Legacy CollectionThis course is part of a collection of courses taught by world-class evangelical professors from across the globe on a variety of topics. The lessons are presented on an intermediate to college or seminary level and provide a wealth of information for those who want to dig deeper into their faith. Select courses in the collection are from the Institute of Theological Studies (ITS), which was acquired by Our Daily Bread University.
Materials
Study Guide- Understand the historical development of doctrine and how we came to believe what we do today.
- Know the creeds of the church and how they came to exist.
- Understand the theological mistakes of the past so as to prevent those errors from happening today.
- Understand the history of interpretation of the Scriptures.
- Appreciate the roots of today’s church.
- Appreciate the relation between church and state.
- Understand church government and its different shapes.
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I learned a great deal from this course, the lectures, and the text. I have enjoyed listening to Dr. Gambles lectures, he makes it real. Thank you so much for this course. I have already enrolled in my next learning experience.
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I have studied Scripture and been in church my entire life and I have to say I really enjoyed and learned from this course. I really like the lecture style of Dr. Gamble, he is knowledgeable and very easy to listen to and understand. I learned more than I ever thought possible from this course even though I have had and taught many Bible study classes myself. Thank you so much Dr. Gamble and Our Daily Bread University for giving me this opportunity to delve back into the history of the Ancient Church.
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These are very concise and focus classes with minimum and almost no rambling.
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What an excellent course of study, I thoroughly enjoyed it and it gave me new insight into the ancient church. The website is easy to navigate and I look forward to continuing my study with Our Daily Bread University.
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This course is absolutely awesome, it has brought me to a deeper understanding of the Church and How God has moved through history. I will study this topic in-depth as much as I can now. I have been inspired to grow in learning church history.
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Great details. A lot to take in, over more than one reading of the transcripts. Lessons on the papacy were very interesting coming from a Catholic upbringing.
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I have really been blessed by this course.
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Great course. Eye opening and very informative. Often, we are faced with issues or debates where people get lost. Church fathers spent time discussing the same topics arising in the 21st century church, but if you are not informed about the work that the Holy Spirit had already done in these fields, you try to re-invent the wheel. I have been spending hours and hours listening to these teachings, and once I started, I was hooked. As a Pastor, this knowledge is very important and useful to lead people that the Lord has entrusted to me.
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Great course. Very educational.
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Very well presented in a concise manner. I would like to have time, some time, to go into detail over some areas in which I had questions. An example of that would be your use of the word "mode" which brought to mind modalism (I know that's not what you were addressing). This was a very good look at the first 600 years of the Christian Church.
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This course was very interesting and deep for me. This is the first time I have ever did any kind study concerning the early church father. I'd like to learn more. Thank you so much for offering this course.
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I enjoyed this course and a great deal of new information concerning the history of the doctrines of the Church and its practices. The recommended text book is very good and a great read and covers what I have had great interest and many questions concerning. Thank you for the opportunity to have studied this topic.