This study of Christianity in the America considers how people who profess to be Christians, have come to be divided in spite of Jesus’ prayer (John 17:21) and the Apostolic admonition (1 Corinthians 12:12ff.) regarding the unity of the Church. The course begins with an examination of the Apostolic Church and briefly surveys developments of the Patristic, Medieval and Reformation periods in Europe that set the stage for the introduction of a divided Church with established denominations in Colonial North America. The course proceeds through time to consider various efforts to unify the Church in America and particularly those of the Restoration Movement in the contexts of the First Great Awakening, the Revolutionary War, Enlightenment Philosophy, Romanticism, the Civil War, the Industrial Revolution, Modernism, and PostModernism, through which the division of the Church has persisted. Particular attention will be given to the aspirations, efforts/ strategies, accomplishments and failures of leaders in the Restoration Movement with a view to simultaneously promoting a singular Church that holds to the Faith found in Scripture which proclaims Truth in love. This course aspires to prepare MidAtlantic Christian University students to learn from the past as they integrate the Christian Faith in their life while confronting divisive issues within the Christian community and society.
Dr. Robert "Bob" Smith
Chairman of the Department of Arts and Sciences
Distinguished Professor of History
