Join this Church history course with Gary Michuta, author of the book by the same name, Revolt to Reality, and trace history from the Incarnation to today’s cultural minefield.
Total classes: 15
Prerequisite: None
Suggested grade level: 9th to 12th grade
Suggested credit: One full semester Church History or Theology
Instructor: Gary Michuta
Course description: The insanity that we find ourselves in today (gender issues, the destruction of marriage, fake news, etc.) didn't appear out of nothing. It is the illogical result of a series of intellectual rebellions against God and the Incarnation. This course is based on my new book Revolt from Reality (Fall 2021) where I trace the intellectual history that has led to our current social mess.
Course outline:
Class 1: In the Beginning Was Sanity
Class 2: The First Rebellion, Its Results, and How God Prepared Us for Christ
Class 3: The Incarnation and How It Transformed the World
Class 4: Denials of Christ's True Humanity and Divinity
Class 5: Paganism Adapts and Dies
Class 6: Monasticism and the Birth of Islam
Class 7: The Closing of the Muslim Mind: Islam's Reaction to Greek Philosophy
Class 8: Organized Religion Saves the West
Class 9: Occam and God's Unchained Will
Class 10: The Protestant Revolution
Class 11: Inventing Religion (Deism, the Enlightenment, and secularism)
Class 12: Retreat from Reality (Puritanism, the Second Great Awakening, and the Restoration Movement)
Class 13: Christianity Becomes an Idea (conversionism, non-denominationalism, therapeutic Deism)
Class 14: Revolt Against Reality (Catholicism in America, Women's Movement, Abortion, etc.)
Class 15: Reality Strikes Back
Course materials:
Required: Revolt from Reality by Gary Michuta [Catholic Answers Press], https://amzn.to/3BEq771
Optional:
The Closing of the Muslim Mind by Robert Reilly [Intercollegiate Studies Institute] (https://amzn.to/3chB81V)
Roots of the Reformation by Karl Adam [CHResources], 2013 (https://amzn.to/3kZpPiI)
How the Catholic Church Built Western Civilization by Thomas Woods [Regnery History] (https://amzn.to/2O9TTMU)
The Real Story of Catholic History by Steve Weidenkopf [Catholic Answers Press] (https://amzn.to/3eqHcrI)
Homework: Reading plus weekly quizzes to reinforce learning. Quizzes are auto-graded for immediate feedback.
Reading: Class 1: Revolt, Introduction and chapter 1; Class 2: Revolt, chapters 2-3; Class 3: Revolt, chapters 4-5; Class 4: Revolt, chapters 6-7; Class 5: chapter 8; Class 6: chapter 9; Class 7: chapter 8; Class 8: chapter 9-10; Class 9: chapter 11; Class 10: chapter 12; Class 11: chapter 13; Class 12: chapter 14; Class 13: chapter 15; Class 14: chapter 16; Class 15: chapter 17.
- Teacher: Gary Michuta