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Earliest Christian Communities

Module description

This module is suitable for students who are interested to learn about various social aspects of the earliest Christian communities and the perspectives on these topics developed in contemporary scholarship. These will include the membership, meeting places, and rituals of the early Christian communities, their patterns of leadership, and the processes of institutionalization. You will find the module most accessible if you have previously done some study of the New Testament and of Christian origins, but with that proviso it would suit students on interdisciplinary courses, including in history, social science, liberal arts, and ancient history, as well as students of Theology and Religion.

Module aims - intentions of the module

This module aims to:

• examine social aspects of the earliest Christian communities, by focusing on a range of topics and their diverse interpretation in contemporary scholarship
• introduce relevant textual and other (e.g., archaeological) evidence and to the debates that are current in research

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

ILO: Module-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 1. demonstrate knowledge of relevant primary evidence relating to specific topics in the social history of earliest Christianity
• 2. demonstrate knowledge of scholarly discussion of the topics addressed in the module and the ability to appraise scholarship critically
• 3. formulate one’s own ideas and perspectives on the topics outlined in the syllabus plan, using the relevant primary sources and in critical interaction with scholarly discussion

ILO: Discipline-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 4. the ability to assess primary evidence (primarily in biblical texts) and to develop one’s own deductions and suggestions based on it
• 5. to critically appraise the work of scholars, especially the methodological bases of their work

ILO: Personal and key skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 6. the ability to present one’s own arguments cogently and coherently, in written form
• 7. to summarise material clearly and accurately, to demonstrate critical reflection, to organise one’s own study-time effectively

Syllabus plan

Whilst the content may vary from year to year, it is envisioned that it will cover some or all of the following topics:

• introduction: methods and sources
• the earliest Christian communities: ancient and modern analogies
• the socio-economic status of the first Christians
• early Christian meeting places
• ritual and worship in the Christian communities
• patterns of power: developing structures and leadership patterns

Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)

Details of learning activities and teaching methods

Formative assessment

Summative assessment (% of credit)

Details of summative assessment

Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)

Indicative learning resources - Basic reading

• W.A. Meeks, The First Urban Christians (London & New Haven: Yale University Press, 1983)
• T.D. Still and D.G Horrell (eds), After the First Urban Christians (London & New York: T&T Clark, 2009)

Indicative learning resources - Web based and electronic resources

• ELE – https://vle.exeter.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=6195

Indicative learning resources - Other resources

• D G Horrell (ed.) Social-Scientific Approaches to New Testament Interpretation (Edinburgh: T&TClark, 1999).
• E Stegemann and W Stegemann, The Jesus Movement: A Social History of its First Century (Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1999)
• G Theissen, The Social Setting of Pauline Christianity (Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1982)
• M Y MacDonald, The Pauline Churches (Cambridge: CUP, 1988)

Key words search

Early Christianity; New Testament