MODULE 06 · Theology and ethics
Church history contains remarkable service, serious scholarship, division, violence, reform and ordinary faithful communities. This module uses the site's public-domain collections to trace changing interpretations and institutions without portraying any writer as flawless. Students practice source criticism and learn to describe Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant and other Christian traditions fairly.
Acts presents a community of worship, shared life and generosity; later church fathers describe a changing institutional and theological landscape. Read sources by date, author, genre and audience. A later bishop's assertion is evidence for that author's time and tradition, not automatically a verbatim report of all first-century Christia…
Early Christian disputes over Jesus' identity and the language of creeds involve Scripture, Greek vocabulary and historical politics. Read John 1 alongside a historic creed and an account of its formation. Neither romanticize the council as disagreement-free nor portray every doctrinal debate as mere corruption.…
Reformation writers disputed authority, grace, practices and church structures. Compare Luther, Calvin, and later Catholic responses using sources rather than memes. Record where their concerns overlap and differ. Also investigate episodes of coercion, anti-Jewish rhetoric and political entanglement rather than separating a famous theolog…
Revival and missionary movements have inspired education and charity but also existed inside colonial systems and social hierarchies. Study Whitefield's preaching alongside his support of enslavement; examine other sources, including affected people's testimony. Recognition of religious influence cannot become an excuse to conceal harm.…
These are substantive guided studies with more reading, questions and Scripture connections. Use them to extend the brief unit introductions in this module.
Knowledge check: Five questions, with an 80% pass threshold for this self-study checkpoint. The score does not certify ministry competence.
Written assignment: Use the practical tasks from this module to prepare an original portfolio document. A submission is marked as awaiting human review, not automatically approved.
Review the six published assessment dimensions · What would be needed for a verifiable program certificate?
